The Lord Third's Oversight

"We're not— I don't understand why the Lord Third just made such a concession. But Minato, what do you think?"

Li Ke set down the scroll in his hands, doing his best not to say the words "exterminate the insects and shoot down the sun" to Minato Namikaze. After all, as far as Konoha was concerned, the Lord Third was a good person, and staging an armed coup in the middle of a war would be going too far.

Minato was obviously unhappy about all this too, but he still put on a smile and gave a thoroughly official response.

"Mm... It's a proposal that fully demonstrates how much we cherish peace."

Li Ke was so angry he almost laughed.

Minato's words were as good as saying nothing. Still, coming from someone in his position, they were already a sign of disapproval.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have shown the proposal to Li Ke.

"Is that so? Then why did you bring this to me, Minato? Come to think of it, if I'm willing to speak up, could the terms be changed?"

Li Ke really didn't want to hand the Three-Tails over to Kirigakure so easily. He knew that, for the time being, the Three-Tails had to be returned to Kirigakure. Konoha needed time to rest, after all.

But they couldn't just give everything away without getting anything in return!

"If it's you, Qingtan..."

Minato hesitated. He knew that he was going to become a stopgap Hokage before he'd even had the chance to properly take the position, but Li Ke's blunt attitude about becoming the one who called the shots in Konoha still struck him as unsettling.

"...You could, but there's a good chance the terms won't change. And this is only the Lord Third's own decision. Danzo is very dissatisfied with the conditions, and he's probably already preparing to send people to Kirigakure to carry out a series of operations. But based on my experience, he has little chance of succeeding."

Hearing Minato mention Danzo, Li Ke thought for a moment, seriously considering whether they should overthrow Hiruzen Sarutobi and put Danzo in power.

Danzo was even more incompetent than Hiruzen, but there was no denying that he was ruthless. As long as he was willing to step down afterward, Li Ke wouldn't mind letting him have a taste of being Hokage.

The main issue was that he wouldn't last long in the Hokage Position. It wouldn't take long for Konoha's major Ninja Clans to rebel and overthrow him.

Then Li Ke could put Minato, the stopgap Hokage, in power.

But after thinking it over, he decided against it. With Danzo's abilities, he'd probably end up believing that everyone was coveting his Hokage Position and start slaughtering people. The Hokage Position would be better off going to a dog than to him.

"So most of the village elders agree with the Lord Third, then?"

Li Ke asked, and Minato nodded again.

"Yes. You know very well, Qingtan, that the village simply doesn't have more shinobi to spare right now. If that weren't the case, you wouldn't have been sent to the front lines. The two elders only chose to support the Lord Third after taking all this into account. We really do need people to help us bear the burden of dealing with Kumogakure and Iwagakure."

Konoha was actually relatively "humane"—Li Ke couldn't deny that. After all, they graduates of the Ninja Academy had enjoyed two relatively peaceful years of the war, mostly handling tasks like patrolling the rear. It was only when they faced Kirigakure and Iwagakure that the graduates had been forced to join the fighting.

Before that, they really hadn't been pushed onto the front lines.

"Tch. It's still infuriating."

Li Ke frowned. He more or less understood what Konoha's leadership was thinking, but he was still deeply unhappy.

After all, this was a good opportunity.

But the Lord Third had genuinely treated him well...

"I know you have tremendous power, but most of the shinobi don't want to keep fighting either, Qingtan. These terms really are excessive, but if they can truly spare Konoha from another war, most people will agree to them. Besides, the Daimyo's support... still hasn't arrived."

Minato gave Li Ke a subtle reminder.

Li Ke had been guarding the Three-Tails lately, so he wasn't very familiar with Konoha's current situation.

Public opinion in Konoha was terrible. The previous rotation of shinobi had returned, and the large number of wounded had further stirred the village's desire for peace. The various Ninja Clans didn't want to keep fighting either.

And the most important thing was this:

The Daimyo's support still hadn't arrived. Konoha really couldn't afford to keep fighting.

"The Daimyo..."

Li Ke narrowed his eyes. A vast killing intent surged from him, but he quickly suppressed it.

Then Li Ke gave himself a little self-criticism.

"There's no need to get angry over a dead man... It's unbecoming."

After a moment of silence, Li Ke looked at Minato.

"Then is the Hyuga Clan Head on this front as well? I've seen plenty of Hyuga shinobi at the front lately. If he isn't, Minato, could you introduce us and bring him here? And while you're at it..."

Li Ke glanced at the Sealing Squad and continued.

"Also, have the Sealing Squad leave for a while. I have something to discuss with the Hyuga Clan Head and the Uchiha Clan Head."

Minato immediately grew wary.

"Qingtan... what are you planning to do?"

Li Ke fell silent for a moment before answering.

"Just what I can. Minato, things are moving too slowly otherwise. I plan to have both clans support me in putting pressure on the peace talks, and afterward, make sure they don't undermine either your rule or mine in Konoha."

Li Ke opened his eyes. One Sharingan and one Byakugan were now on display before Minato, reminding him of his shock when he'd first seen Li Ke in this state.

"Qingtan... are you trying to force Kirigakure to make further concessions? If we demand too much from them, they really will side with Kumogakure and Iwagakure. Then the war will start up again."

Minato hurriedly voiced the concerns he shared with most of Konoha. That was why so many people had accepted the Lord Third's proposal.

The reason was that the two of them had backed Kirigakure into a corner. In just a few days, every Kirigakure outpost had been wiped out, almost all of their elite forces had been annihilated, and they'd even lost the Three-Tails.

"I'm not going that far. I just want to use this opportunity to make the Lord Third—and this world—understand one thing."

Li Ke raised his head and looked at the Three-Tails, which still hadn't moved once. Then he pointed out the greatest oversight in the Lord Third's decision.

"The two of us are enough to destroy an entire great nation!"