War

Iwai Yasuharu did not shirk, "Yes, Master. Then I shall be bold enough to speak my mind."

"The village's own defensive strength is easy to understand; when danger arrives, all power that can be used to resist the crisis is included."

"The magnitude of the village's defensive strength depends on the village's own preparations. The more thorough the preparation, the higher the magnitude, and the smaller the gap will be between it and the forces dispatched by the daimyo. These two points are the only things the village can actually control."

"The efficiency with which the village is discovered depends on the forces under the daimyo, which is indeed something beyond our control."

"It is just that I do not understand why you, Master, did not simply frame it as a comparison with the daimyo's power—isn't our crisis aimed at the daimyo? Also, I have not yet fully grasped the concept of 'opportunities of the era' at the end."

Bai Sui nodded, signaling him to continue. "Very good. Although your thinking is still somewhat one-sided, it is quite impressive that you could come up with this in such a short time. Let me address your doubts."

Kubota Noriyuki, sitting opposite, also looked toward Bai Sui, waiting for what was to come.

"First, let me address why I did not simply assume the danger comes from the daimyo. It is simple: the dangers we might face are inherently diverse. It could be the daimyo, it could be bandits, it could be a certain ninja clan, or even ninja beasts."

"These are merely man-made disasters, not even counting natural ones. Do you not think these would all pose a threat to the village's safety?"

"Or do you think these things are impossible? But do not forget, before the daimyo sent samurai to raid the village, had anyone considered such a possibility? Therefore, the arrival of danger does not change based on our thoughts. All we can do is strengthen ourselves to meet all changes with an unchanging stance."

Iwai Yasuharu bowed his head in acknowledgment. "Master, I understand. Then what are these 'opportunities of the era,' and how do they affect the village?"

Bai Sui spoke in a relaxed tone. "This, you can understand it this way: for example, if the Land of Fire suddenly declares war on the Land of Fields, that is an opportunity of the era for the village, because the Land of Fields will no longer have the energy to pay attention to the village."

"Or, for instance, if the Land of Iron and the Land of Fields go to war, and the village, being located at the border of the two countries, is discovered by their armies—that is also an opportunity of the era."

"Even if some rare ore or resources are suddenly discovered around the village, these are all opportunities of the era for the village."

"In plain terms, any large-scale opportunity that does not shift according to the village's will can be called an opportunity of the era. These opportunities can be good or bad, but you can only accept them passively; you cannot refuse them."

Iwai Yasuharu was somewhat confused. "But how could these things happen? This..."

Bai Sui raised a hand to interrupt. "Do not think it impossible. Shall I give you another example?"

"That is the flames of war. The entire ninja world is currently shrouded in war, but what if those flames were to subside?"

"Currently, because of the war, every country is unstable and itinerant merchants have surged, which is why a village like ours can remain hidden. But in times of peace, how would the village obtain the necessary supplies? By sending people out to purchase them?"

"Small quantities might be hidden, but over time, with larger amounts, you will be discovered all the same. Furthermore, in times of peace, without the distraction of war to scatter the daimyo's forces, there will be more personnel available to be dispatched, and they will find the village much faster. Am I right?"

Iwai Yasuharu still found it hard to believe. "But, but how could the flames of war subside so easily? That is just a hypothesis."

Bai Sui glanced at him. "Since you say the flames of war will not easily subside, then tell me, can you explain how the war spread in the first place?"

"What exactly caused the flames of war to spread across the entire ninja world? To the point where even the most remote corners are not spared?"

"You don't know, do you?"

"Look, you haven't even considered why the war spread so rapidly and so strangely, so how can you judge that it won't suddenly extinguish?"

"Since both are guesses, both are possibilities, how do you know it definitely won't happen?"

"Moreover, ever since the concept of the ninja world came into being, wars have always been intermittent. They often ignite suddenly and end just as abruptly. This cycle has repeated for hundreds of years. If you ask some of the older generation, they will know something about it, as they have likely experienced more than two waves of war themselves. Think about it."

Kubota Noriyuki, who had been silent, spoke up in agreement. "That is correct. I have seen this in the records of the Land of Iron. It says that the ninjas would engage in slaughter every few decades, and each time, every family would suffer heavy losses, but they would recover before long."

"Many scholars in the Land of Iron have conducted research on this, but I never paid much attention to it before, so I do not know if they reached any conclusions."

"I see. I have been enlightened." Iwai Yasuharu bowed to both of them.

"Everything I said above boils down to one meaning: 'As heaven maintains vigor through movement, a gentleman should unremittingly practice self-improvement.' Only by strengthening oneself is the eternal truth. What I proposed to the village earlier is not necessarily correct; I only wanted to make the village aware of the crisis so that it would begin to save itself."

"But as you have seen, the village itself does not want to change anything, choosing instead to leave everything to fate."

"Of course, leaving things to fate is not necessarily wrong. After all, man proposes, God disposes."

"It is very possible that one could make perfect preparations, yet no enemy comes to attack, or even if one does their best, they still cannot withstand a single blow from the enemy."

"It is just that my personal philosophy does not align with the village's. I am a person who must always hold my destiny in my own hands. Between the village and me, it is merely a clash of philosophies, nothing more." After that, Bai Sui no longer discussed anything related to this within the village.

I mentioned ninja beasts earlier; that was something Bai Sui discovered while gathering herbs in the mountains—a hedgehog with chakra flowing through its body.

Under Bai Sui's perception, the chakra within the creature was minimal, yet it undeniably existed. Considering the summoning beasts in the original story, Bai Sui quickly understood.

He had originally wanted to find more for research, but unfortunately, this hedgehog seemed to be an exception; Bai Sui never found another ninja beast in the forest.

That hedgehog, while possessing some intelligence, had very little and could not communicate with humans like the summoning beasts in the story.

Its combat power was not strong either; it was eventually dropped by an owl and fell to its death. Just as the owl was about to eat it, Bai Sui snatched it away, leaving a piece of meat in its place.

Upon inspection, the fallen hedgehog showed nothing special, save for meat that was tougher and quills that were harder.