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JST Chapter 123: The Calculated Poison of Diplomacy
🕑 Added 2024-12-06 04:14:12 +0000 UTC"Don't worry, Kazuki, leave the development of the toxin to me." Tsunade said with a somewhat melancholic tone. “Saving someone with medicine is very difficult, but if we talk about killing, it is much simpler…”
Kazuki shook his head, staring intently at Tsunade, who seemed to be wavering. He gently took her hand.
“Tsunade-sensei, every time the poison you use eliminates an enemy, our comrades in the village face one less danger. That is the best antidote to the poison of war that Konoha will be engulfed in.”
Tsunade felt the touch of Kazuki’s hand, and her hesitation disappeared. “Kid, you don’t need to tell me that…”
Tobirama watched the scene with a smile.
After aligning himself with Kazuki's thoughts, Tobirama became his strategist, proposing many tactics, including, among others, suicide attacks, poisoning, sowing terror among the Daimyo, and even causing riots among civilians, among other methods to subvert the enemy's order.
In the days when the restrictions imposed by Uzumaki Mito and Senju Hashirama did not exist, Kazuki could give free rein to many of Tobirama's frustrated plans that he wanted to bring to the battlefield.
Kazuki on the other hand wholeheartedly absorbed Tobirama's tactics, praising his imagination even when it wasn't all that direct or glorious, acknowledging that it was an excellent 'complement' to his strategies.
This made Tobirama feel satisfied, and when dealing with the enemy, he no longer saw any reason to respect limits.
Just do it!
So much so that Tobirama and Kazuki, these two people have begun to look forward to the arrival of war.
Tobirama wanted to see Kazuki collapse the entire shinobi world and bring Konoha back to the top of the entire shinobi world...
Kazuki wanted to confront the rest of the shinobi villages. After staying in Konoha for so long, it was time to go out and see the world.
There were many powerful shinobi in the world, including many Kekkei Genkai, tailed beasts, and even the Jinchuriki of the various shinobi villages themselves. All of them were perfect targets for Kazuki to bind.
If there was no war, how could he get close to all these enemies?
Besides, war has always been the best catalyst for power, especially for shinobi...
...
Meanwhile, on the other side of the shinobi world.
Madara pondered over Kazuki's response sent to the other shinobi villages, his expression growing increasingly proud.
That's what I expected!
Kazuki was definitely a proud member of the Uchiha clan.
When Kazuki was suspected of being possessed by Senju Tobirama, Uchiha Madara did not get angry. In his opinion, it was just that Senju Tobirama could not hold back because of the ugly face of Konoha, and he was furious.
But Kazuki's thoughts did not go unnoticed by Madara.
Kazuki would definitely realize that this shinobi world was hopeless.
Especially at Root, Kazuki's ability to subdue the original Root members made Madara even more satisfied.
“It seems I must help Kazuki by controlling the pacifists of the other shinobi villages so that the fire of war can be fully ignited. Besides, a weakened shinobi world will be more conducive to my plans...”
Madara slowly stood up. To ensure that the third shinobi war offered Kazuki an experience of a world without peace, he decided to add fuel to the fire.
...
A few days later.
Konoha.
Hokage Residence.
"That Uchiha brat is too extreme, old man!" Jiraiya waved Kazuki’s reply letter to the other villages, frowning as he said: “This will only provoke more war, Konoha doesn’t have a great advantage in terms of military, why do we have to provoke others?”
“Old man, I know you trust Kazuki a lot, but you shouldn’t have put him in the position of Root leader. Besides, you’ve let Tsunade be the Hokage’s assistant, why did you make such arbitrary decisions about the probable Hokage?”
Jiraiya was visibly upset.
In his opinion, Hiruzen had not been fair in promoting Tsunade to assistant Hokage while Kazuki was sent to the leadership of Root. With this, Minato would have no chance of competing with Kazuki in the future.
Jiraiya, who had initially had a good impression of Kazuki, now saw the latter's attitude towards war so firm, that it reminded him of his predecessor, Danzo.
No, this is countless times tougher than Danzo...
If Kazuki became Hokage, in Jiraiya's heart, it would only lead Konoha into an endless war.
Only the calm and wise Minato was the best candidate to become the Hokage in Jiraiya's opinion.
Sarutobi Hiruzen took out his pipe, took a deep breath, and his eyes were full of helplessness.
He originally wanted to throw this hot potato to Kazuki, but he didn't expect this result!
Kazuki, without consulting him or Tsunade, responded on behalf of Root to all the shinobi villages that criticized Konoha.
Thinking about Tobirama's attitude towards the war, the criticism of his weakness, Hiruzen already had an idea of who had influenced Kazuki.
So, there was nothing he could do about it.
It was not the turn of the Third Hokage to comment on what Senju Tobirama did...
"Jiraiya, Kazuki did what I told him to do."
Hiruzen sighed internally, but his face was firm, taking the blame for Tobirama once again.
“Weakness will not bring peace. The words may have been a little harsh, but this also shows Konoha’s attitude.”
Jiraiya widened his eyes, as if he was meeting his sensei for the first time.
"Old man, do you like Kazuki so much? This response is definitely not what you meant!"
Jiraiya shook his head helplessly. "Have you forgotten the will of the first generation? Only when people understand each other can we achieve true peace."
"Although I will fight for Konoha, this does not mean that I support war!"
Hiruzen took a deep breath and waved his hand irritably. "Okay, okay, go find your child of prophecy!"
Jiraiya's face froze. Even his sensei didn't believe in the great toad sage's prophecy?
Just then, an ANBU arrived with a bunch of reports and knocked on the door.
“Hokage-sama, here are the negotiation letters from the other shinobi villages. Please review them.”
Jiraiya and Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at each other, and a trace of tension flashed in their eyes.
War could be about to come!
The ANBU placed the responses from the main shinobi villages on the desk.
The air in the room became heavy.
Hiruzen took one of the envelopes with trembling hands, opening it slowly, as if time had stopped. He did not wish to face the final judgment that awaited him within. 'Tobirama-sensei, you really made me suffer...' Hiruzen sighed in his mind and opened the envelope.
No matter how devastating the outcome was, as Hokage, he had to face it.
Jiraiya walked around the desk and stood behind Hiruzen, staring at the contents of the letter.
If the shinobi villages united against Konoha, Jiraiya couldn't imagine how much pressure the village would face...
With a heavy heart, Hiruzen began to read the reply. However, his expression, which had initially been one of uncertainty, quickly turned into a mix of surprise and confusion.
"This... this is..."
Jiraiya, looking at the contents over Hiruzen's shoulder, opened his eyes wide.
Surprisingly, none of the Four Great Shinobi Villages, not even Amegakure, had issued a declaration of war against Konoha.
Although the answers were tinged with reproaches, they all contained an inexplicably evasive tone, as if they were trying to justify themselves.
"This is really strange, Jiraiya..." Hiruzen lit his pipe and slowly exhaled a puff of smoke. "Could this be true diplomacy?"
Jiraiya covered his face with one hand. "I don't know, old man, if a beautiful woman scolded me, I probably wouldn't mind. But Kazuki isn't a beautiful woman, and the Kage of the other villages aren't me..."
Hiruzen nodded slightly, deciding not to comment on Jiraiya's strange tastes.
However, his mind was busy trying to understand the situation.
Kazuki literally scolded them in their faces, how can they not be angry?!
After a long moment of thought, Hiruzen finally spoke: "I understand now… As expected of Tobir… Kazuki!"
"What do you understand? Explain it at once, old man!"
Jiraiya shook Hiruzen's shoulders vigorously, desperate for an answer.
"If peace can be achieved this way, then why am I still searching for the child of prophecy? I would just need to write novels every day while scolding the other shinobi villages in my writings..."
"Idiot!" Hiruzen hit Jiraiya on the head before continuing. "At first we thought Kazuki was just adopting an aggressive stance for show. However, his every word was carefully calculated."
"C-calculated?"
"Exactly. It seemed like he was provoking the villages, but in reality he was revealing their deepest secrets, showing them that Konoha knows their weaknesses. It's a clear message: we know everything about you, and we don't fear you."
Jiraiya frowned, taking the letter from Kazuki to examine it again. Something didn't fit.
"If Sunagakure really is in conflict with their daimyo, if Hanzo has really lost his combat power, what do you think they will think upon receiving such a firm response from Kazuki?" Hiruzen asked calmly. "They would be afraid and hesitant, just as they have shown in their answers."
