Deliberately elevated reception honors and the Dual Leaders trap of praise

The atmosphere in the Hokage's Office had grown tense.

Fine beads of sweat seeped from Foreign Affairs Minister Morita's temples. The scroll in his hands now seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.

"...That concludes the preliminary reception plan for this tripartite consultation meeting, modeled on the Class-A protocols of previous Five Kage Summits. With you, Lord Hokage, as the principal representative and Lord Namikaze Minato as your deputy, we have clearly distinguished their respective standing in seating arrangements, security, and corresponding media access, ensuring..."

Morita's voice cut off abruptly as Baishi raised a hand.

Baishi did not look at him. His gaze remained on the plan spread out before him, and his fingertip lightly tapped the words "Deputy Representative."

It was a gentle gesture, yet every senior official around the conference table felt their heart jump.

"Too conservative."

Baishi spoke in an even voice, betraying no emotion.

Morita froze, instinctively looking toward Shikaku Nara. Shikaku frowned slightly but said nothing.

"Lord Hokage, these are already the highest protocols, fully modeled on..." Morita tried to explain.

"I'm not talking about the protocols. I'm talking about the thinking behind them," Baishi interrupted. "Why does Sunagakure dare mass troops on our border? Why does the Akatsuki dare monopolize power in the Land of Rain? Ultimately, it's because they think Konoha has yet to recover from the Third Shinobi World War. They think I, the Fifth Hokage, lack the experience to keep everyone in line."

He looked around the room, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the two advisers, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.

"So this summit is more than a simple consultation. It's a demonstration. We need to show everyone just how deep Konoha's reserves of strength run today."

The two advisers exchanged an almost imperceptible glance. They had indeed proposed bringing