We Are All Students

Without a doubt, war was a high-risk gamble. Once it began, everyone involved was a gambler at the table.

And gamblers never won.

"Teacher, I believe war is always the worst option."

Even before Hyuga Kiyonari awakened his system, he had never longed for war.

Now, he couldn't simply change his stance because his identity had changed, and speak at length about the pros and cons of war from some supposedly "higher-level perspective," as though the lives of people just as insignificant as he once was were nothing more than numbers on a page.

"Konoha and the Uchiha are brothers in this story. The conflict between them is just a dispute over how to divide the family's property. It isn't the kind of conflict that can only be resolved through force."

Conflicts generally fell into two types.

If someone wanted to study but also wanted to slack off, that was an internal conflict. If someone wanted to study but couldn't because of interference from the outside world, such as noise, then the conflict between that person and their surroundings was an external one.

When applied to groups, the way to distinguish internal from external conflicts was to ask whether the group's fundamental interests were aligned.

"Konoha and the Uchiha share the same fundamental interests. They both want Konoha's ninja village to thrive and hope to live better lives."

"Yet whether it's you, Third, or even the Uchiha themselves... you all seem to have accepted that the two sides are bound to end up drawing their swords against each other."

"So! Is it because you first imagined the other side as an enemy that this outcome became inevitable, or did the inevitable prospect of hostility give rise to the thoughts you have now?"

Tsunade's hand, holding the sake bottle, froze in midair. She stopped just as she was about to pour, motionless as if time had stopped.

Shizune looked at Kiyonari in surprise, then turned to Tsunade. This powerful ninja, celebrated with so many accolades, had an almost bewildered look on her face.

"Teacher?"

It wasn't until Kiyonari called out to her that Tsunade slowly lowered the bottle.

She had left the village because she hated "pointless sacrifices." Yet after returning, she had somehow become just like the person she once despised most.

Was it because of the future described in that Drift Bottle? For the sake of... the so-called greater good?

She didn't drink again. Instead, she walked to the window and looked out at the lights.

Tsunade gazed at them intently, as though she wanted to imprint every single light in her heart, to remind herself to stay vigilant.

"Then tell me... what should we do?" She turned to Kiyonari and asked him for advice like a student.

And Hyuga Kiyonari, too, was asking his teacher for advice.

How could they resolve the group's internal conflict?

First, someone needed to criticize them. But who would do it?

Tsunade. Only she had the standing to criticize the Uchiha and Konoha High Command, to tell them, "You're wrong."

Next, how could they get the Uchiha and the people of Konoha to criticize themselves?

"Give the Raikage the choice," Hyuga Kiyonari replied.

At his words, Tsunade and Shizune both froze.

"What do you mean?" Tsunade didn't understand why he had suddenly jumped to that conclusion.

Kiyonari's eyes gleamed, and he grew more and more excited. "We shouldn't wait for Kumogakure to make a move. That would leave us on the defensive. Instead, we can give the Raikage the choice of whether to go to war, and let him worry about the consequences and agonize over how the other countries will react."

"We should mobilize troops and send them to the border, making it clear that we're prepared to fight. We should spread the word: 'We don't want to fight, but that doesn't mean we're afraid to.' That would solve Konoha's most pressing problem."

"But we must never provoke a conflict ourselves. Even if Kumogakure also mobilizes troops and sends them to the border, we mustn't start a war unless they're the ones to launch the first jutsu."

Tsunade nodded, indicating that she approved of the proposal. "And what does this have to do with the Uchiha?"

"Because war isn't our goal." Hyuga Kiyonari took a sip of water to moisten his throat.

"What we should really do is seize this opportunity to train our troops. Break up the Uchiha and the other Konoha ninjas, then mix them into different squads. Make them eat and live together, and send them on all kinds of reconnaissance missions and training exercises every day. Force them to communicate and get to know one another. With our greedy neighbor, Kumogakure, right in front of them, whatever disagreements the brothers have will become secondary."

Tsunade's eyes lit up almost at once, but Kiyonari continued.

"The next priority, then, is to give them more missions that can help them form bonds. For example, we could reduce their supply allotments and have them learn to work together through wilderness survival missions. That would also save the village money. Or we could regularly hold sparring matches between squads. With greater glory at stake, each squad would have to train closely together and build combat synergy."

"And the most important thing!"

Kiyonari paused, his burning gaze fixed on Tsunade. "You must personally command this force and completely prevent the other village leaders from interfering—not even the Third."

"As long as this force hasn't achieved unity, we can keep it at the border. Even if Kumogakure comes to ask for peace, you should deliberately create suitable conflicts to drive them away. If Kumogakure provokes a conflict, we must keep the situation under control and stop it from escalating into an all-out war."

"If a real battle breaks out, then there's nothing I can do. The conflict between Konoha and Kumogakure is a genuine conflict between enemies, one that can only be resolved through force. The historical responsibility for that would belong to the Raikage."

"Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful, Kiyonari! You're a genius!"

Tsunade cried out happily and waved her hands like a little girl. But before long, her excitement gave way to the realization that another problem still remained.

"But... ninjas had to earn commissions by completing missions to support themselves. If we kept them at the border, how would their families manage?"

Kiyonari thought it over briefly before answering. "We could rotate them, and the village could pay them a monthly stipend. You and Lord Hokage could discuss the amount and base it on Konoha's current economic situation. Also... we could use Kumogakure as an excuse to ask the daimyo for money."

"With a steady income and some positive publicity within the village, we could encourage young people from Konoha's various clans to volunteer for this force. To some extent, it could even take the place of the Genin teams formed after graduation from the Ninja Academy."

"And you could nurture someone in this force who truly understands you and our ideals. In my opinion, Shisui Uchiha might be a good candidate."

Though his idea was still a little immature, as long as he found the right direction and took the first step, he could refine it bit by bit according to the situation.

Tsunade watched him, watched him rejoice at having solved a problem for the village.

Suddenly, she thought of the First Hokage's original purpose in founding Konoha, and of the true Will of Fire.

Hyuga Kiyonari was that newly kindled flame.