Naruto: The Hyuga Mastermind

Chapter 68: The Beginning of Change

"We will return your Jonin, Terumi Mei, and the Third Mizukage when your forces retreat."

"Understood."

Standing at the edge of the forest, Minato watched Yagura and Kisame as they departed. He turned to Hyuga Fuji beside him and asked, "His real objective wasn't the tailed beasts, but Terumi Mei, right?"

"Exactly," Hyuga Fuji nodded. "The compensation Kirigakure owes is far beyond what they can repay in the short term, even if they drain their own resources. And the Daimyo of the Land of Water is unlikely to pay on their behalf."

"Given their need to rebuild and develop the village, they've likely resigned themselves to leaving the tailed beasts with Konoha for now. Terumi Mei, a dual Kekkei Genkai wielder, is their true priority."

"Kirigakure is isolated overseas. In the history of the Shinobi World Wars, no other nations have ever directly attacked their homeland. For Kirigakure, whether or not they have tailed beasts doesn't make much of a difference as long as they don't provoke other nations."

After all, their land is practically unreachable. Even if someone were to conquer it, governing it would be another matter entirely. For those just seeking profit, the Land of Water itself is not an ideal target.

Minato sighed. "In hindsight, it might have been better to let the Third Hokage handle this."

"You're the Hokage now."

Hyuga Fuji glanced at the documents and agreements in his hands, a flicker of thought crossing his eyes.

"Besides, the compensation Kirigakure has offered is already generous. The price of tailed beasts is fixed, but Konoha's losses are for us to determine."

Minato seemed to understand what Fuji meant. "But we can't overreach, right?"

He grasped Fuji's point—Konoha's losses were entirely subjective and could be set as high as they wanted. Whether it was double, quadruple, or even more, it was all up to Konoha to decide.

"Kirigakure can estimate our losses based on their own. However, their losses are certainly greater than ours. By calculating an upper limit based on their losses, as long as we don't exceed it by too much, they'll accept it."

Hearing this explanation, Minato felt as though he had learned yet another peculiar skill. Shaking his head, he remarked, "Within the upper limit, then. Kirigakure has shown genuine sincerity. And we do need allies. Fugaku has already helped the Third Mizukage recover his senses… We can cooperate against that individual."

At this, Minato glanced toward the scroll still sitting in the command post, as well as Konoha's current allies. Turning to Hyuga Fuji, he frowned.

"What about Sunagakure…"

Hyuga Fuji took over the conversation, his tone calm. "Leave it to me. The Fourth Kazekage is not a trustworthy person. Someone who can betray his own allies will inevitably betray an alliance someday. We don't need to feel burdened by that."

"I don't mind offending him, but…"

Minato paused for a moment, then smiled, shifting the topic.

"Once Kirigakure's forces retreat, we'll return to Konoha as well. When that time comes, I'll still need your and everyone else's support… Thank you for all your help so far, and please continue assisting me, my advisor."

Hyuga Fuji looked at him and nodded lightly.

…

With Konoha's approval, Kirigakure's forces began boarding ships and gradually retreating.

Before Genshi and Yagura departed, they received Terumi Mei and the Third Mizukage.

The two didn't spare the Third Mizukage a glance, focusing instead on Terumi Mei. The genius ninja of Kirigakure looked somewhat haggard but otherwise unharmed, clearly indicating that Konoha had not mistreated her.

"Lord Mizukage, Elder Genshi," Terumi Mei said sincerely, "Thank you for rescuing me."

"It's good that you're safe." Genshi waved dismissively and turned toward the ship. "Third Mizukage, I have some matters to discuss with you."

"I also have things to tell you," the Third Mizukage replied, his expression complicated as he glanced briefly at Yagura before following Genshi onto the ship.

Once the two left, Yagura gestured for the hidden Anbu to retreat, then set up a small barrier before speaking.

"What do you think of him?"

"He's dangerous!"

Thinking of the ninja who had visited her alone before her release, holding Yagura's token, Terumi Mei's expression grew serious. She pulled out a document and handed it to Yagura. After he finished reading, she said, "Lord Mizukage, working with him is no different from negotiating with a tiger. The one-country-one-village system has worked for so many years. There's no need to…"

Before she could finish, Yagura interrupted her, not taking his eyes off the document.

"Do you know why each generation of Mizukage has launched wars?"

Seeing her confused expression, Yagura explained in a deep voice:

"To divert internal conflicts. The Land of Water's isolation overseas has spared it from invasions during the Shinobi World Wars, but it has also prevented any sense of external crisis."

For other nations, the Land of Water is seen as an unreachable outpost. But for those within, seizing a piece of land on the mainland would only make them another outpost.

The benefits Kirigakure gains from wars are minimal. But if they don't fight…

External pressure is what unites people. Without it, internal strife is inevitable.

The Land of Water's geographical advantage makes it the perfect environment for infighting.

Sometimes it's internal chaos within Kirigakure; other times, it's a clash between the village and the Daimyo.

At this thought, Yagura sighed. "To some of the upper echelons of the Land of Water, Kirigakure has little actual value."

Terumi Mei froze, her expression incredulous. "How is that possible? How could they think that? Without Kirigakure, the Land of Water would definitely be invaded!"

"They wouldn't go so far as to disband Kirigakure."

Yagura clarified, "But if a militarized shinobi village can't bring the Land of Water any benefits and barely offers internal protection, wouldn't minimal funding suffice to keep it running?"

This argument left Terumi Mei speechless.

But without sufficient funding, Kirigakure's development would stagnate, its strength would decline, and the gap between it and Konoha would widen further—leaving Kirigakure powerless to resist.

Such a course of action was undoubtedly self-destructive. Rather than improving their strength, they'd continue regressing, potentially becoming like the smaller nations that rely entirely on the Land of Fire's goodwill to survive.

And yet, someone within the Land of Water's leadership had likely already considered cutting funding.

After all, there was a precedent.

"It seems you've realized it." Yagura closed his eyes. "After their defeat in the Second Shinobi World War, the Land of Wind gradually reduced its funding for Sunagakure. Even our recent attack didn't change their stance. The Fourth Kazekage even had to seek alternative ways to fund the village himself."

Noticing Terumi Mei's conflicted expression, Yagura continued. "For the Land of Wind, Sunagakure's only role is to ensure the country's self-defense. They've stopped expecting the village to bring them any profits. And the Land of Water is even more defensible than the Land of Wind."

Defeated in war, suffering heavy losses, unable to expand their influence, but capable of holding their ground—why invest heavily in a shinobi village?

"Our defeat this time gives them the perfect excuse to reduce our funding."

"But if they do that, it will lead to civil war."

Terumi Mei couldn't hold back her words. "In the coming years, we'll already be struggling to compensate Konoha for its losses. If funding is cut, the discontent among the lower-ranked shinobi will reach a breaking point. Those who opposed ending the war will surely take advantage of the situation."

"And with Konoha at its peak, a Fourth Shinobi World War is unlikely. If we wish to avoid internal strife, the focus might even shift to… the Daimyo."

Her voice grew quieter as she stared at Yagura's calm expression and the document in his hand. She murmured, "Was it him who brought about this situation?"

(End of Chapter)