Commoners and Noble Houses

The crowd felt a jolt of spirit, looking at Hōzuki Mangetsu with excitement.

These words had struck a chord deep within their hearts.

Whether it be a nation or a village, development and growth cannot be separated from a strong material foundation.

The people of the Land of Water have grown for generations on this barren land, isolated from the world, unable to engage in large-scale production; naturally, they lack the sufficient resources to support national construction and the strength of a ninja village.

To occupy fertile land, one must resort to the means of war.

The Land of Fire is nothing but a hypocrite; on one hand, it occupies the most fertile land, while on the other, it calls upon its neighbors to live in peace and avoid war.

This is simply speaking without back pain.

If the national conditions of the two sides were swapped, they would certainly also launch a war to plunder fertile land.

Therefore, the peace advocacy of the Konoha style is completely untenable.

A-Jian and Harusame exchanged glances and nodded slowly.

They were of the neutral faction, not participating in the power struggle between Terumi Mei and Suikazan Fuguki. But that did not mean they did not care about the village.

Everyone was well aware of the plight of the Land of Water, and to escape this predicament, war had to be waged.

And the Land of Fire, with its fertile soil, was the best target.

Water and fire are incompatible; the two countries would eventually go to war. For the sake of the Land of Water, for the sake of Kirigakure, and for the sake of their own descendants living a better life.

"Mangetsu is right!"

Harusame pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose and said, "So that our descendants can live a good life, it is nothing to suffer a little hardship and pain."

Hōzuki Mangetsu's words touched everyone's hearts, and even some of the neutral faction agreed with his point of view.

For the future happiness of the Land of Water, this war must be fought, and it must be won.

Terumi Mei still wore a smile on her face, but the smile was a bit cold.

She never expected this little brother of the Hozuki clan to stand on the side of Suikazan.

Although this guy's words sounded somewhat reasonable, she still felt unhappy in her heart.

Some are happy while others are sad; Terumi Mei on that side was unhappy, while Suikazan Fuguki on this side was grinning from ear to ear.

The situation, which was originally evenly matched, had been tipped by Hōzuki Mangetsu's intervention, with neutral forces joining the pro-war side—something Suikazan Fuguki had not expected.

"Brother Mangetsu is right. Water and fire are incompatible; this war will break out sooner or later, so we cannot let this opportunity slip. Lord Mizukage, rest assured, water overcomes fire; we will surely win the first battle this time."

He said with absolute certainty.

This absolutely will not do!

A sharp glint flashed in Terumi Mei's eyes; she would never let Suikazan Fuguki launch a war. It was not conducive to the development of her faction. Thus, she signaled Ao, who was standing to the side, to speak. As another advisor to the Mizukage, Ao also carried a certain amount of weight.

Ao understood and coughed, about to speak.

The two had already reached a defensive alliance, so naturally, they would not let Suikazan Fuguki succeed.

However...

Hōzuki Mangetsu made a sudden turn and added, "I also do not agree with Suikazan's opinion."

What?

This statement left everyone stunned once again.

Since Hōzuki Mangetsu had negated Terumi Mei's opinion, everyone had assumed he agreed with Suikazan's, as he seemed to have sufficient reasons to persuade everyone.

But Hōzuki Mangetsu feinted, only to negate Suikazan's opinion as well, which left everyone somewhat bewildered.

Hōzuki Mangetsu said in a deep voice, "Kirigakure and Konoha are both major ninja villages with deep foundations and numerous ninjas. Once a war starts, it certainly won't end in a short time. It will inevitably turn into a war of attrition. At that point, it will be a contest of financial resources, materials, and manpower. In every aspect, Konoha completely surpasses Kirigakure. Therefore, if we rashly launch a war, we in Kirigakure will only be the losing side. Furthermore, we must consider the impact of other ninja villages intervening in the war situation. Although there has been disharmony among the high-ranking officials of Konoha, there is no evidence that the two sides will go to war, so it is not wise to send troops at this time. Moreover, it would instead provoke retaliation from Konoha, which would be more trouble than it is worth."

The crowd nodded again.

They suddenly realized that everything Hōzuki Mangetsu said seemed to make sense.

"Well said!"

Terumi Mei smiled again; although she didn't know what medicine Hōzuki Mangetsu was selling in his gourd, these words were beneficial to her.

This kid actually had good eloquence; he could control the situation in just a few sentences. She really hadn't noticed that before.

Suikazan Fuguki looked gloomy, and he said coldly, "Hōzuki Mangetsu, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Hōzuki Mangetsu shrugged and said, "The war between the two countries of Water and Fire must be fought, it must be fought, but not now. War concerns the fate of the nation and cannot be taken lightly. Therefore, without the certainty of victory, we must never launch an attack rashly. My meaning is that while waiting for an opportunity, we should intensify our preparations for combat."

We agree with Hōzuki Mangetsu's opinion!

A-Jian and Harusame of the neutral faction stood up. Both of them were steady people and highly agreed with Hōzuki Mangetsu's opinion.

Very good!

Mizukage Yagura also stood up, though there was not much difference between him standing up and sitting down.

"Hōzuki Mangetsu, you truly did not disappoint me. Let's handle this matter as you said for now. Wait for the opportunity and make preparations."

With his final decision, the matter was settled.

After all, he was the leader of the village.

Suikazan Fuguki was naturally unwilling to accept this, but he had no viable recourse. Because after Hōzuki Mangetsu's thorough analysis, the majority had come to agree with his perspective. Coupled with Terumi Mei's obstruction, his plan this time had failed.

He had been defeated at the hands of Hōzuki Mangetsu.

Just you wait!

After the Fourth Mizukage departed, a sharp glint flashed through Suikazan Fuguki's eyes. He stared daggers at Hōzuki Mangetsu and Terumi Mei, let out a few cold snorts, and only then led his subordinates away.

"Little brother Mangetsu, what a silver tongue you have!"

Terumi Mei walked up with a playful smile, ignoring the gazes of others as she leaned in close to Hōzuki Mangetsu, purring seductively, "That confident look of yours just now really made this big sister's heart flutter!"

Mangetsu spoke well!

Ao also stepped forward, giving him a thumbs-up.

If they hadn't been able to thwart Suikazan Fuguki's plan this time, both sides would have had no choice but to tear off the facade and resort to violence.

Neither Terumi Mei nor the clan behind her wished for that to happen; after all, they were not yet prepared.

Hōzuki Mangetsu smiled faintly and said, "Big Sister Mei, you flatter me too much; it was merely a bit of nonsense. Shui Yue'er and Chojuro are still waiting for me to practice, so goodbye!"

With that, he turned and walked away.

Only after Hōzuki Mangetsu had gone far away did Terumi Mei's smile fade.

"Ao, do you feel like Hōzuki Mangetsu is a bit different from before?"

Ao nodded; he had the same feeling.

Hōzuki Mangetsu was notoriously cruel and bloodthirsty among the Mist Ninja. Although his strength was formidable, his mind was not considered particularly sharp, which was why Terumi Mei's faction had never really taken him seriously.

His performance at the meeting this time had left them both stunned.

It seemed, perhaps, likely, and almost certain that something was off, but they couldn't quite put their fingers on exactly what it was.

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