Corridor Clash: Soul-Crushing Rhetoric and the High Ground of National Interests

The corridor was empty, with only the light streaming through the window at its far end stretching into a long rectangle across the polished floor.

The air still carried traces of the Meeting Room's heated atmosphere.

Baishi had not gone far. He stood by the window with his back to the way they had come. Three paces behind him, Shikaku Nara stopped like a silent shadow.

The sound of hurried footsteps approached from the distance, breaking the brief stillness.

Namikaze Minato came after them, his golden hair slightly disheveled by the wind moving through the corridor. In just a few steps, he reached the spot behind Baishi, his chest rising and falling faintly from his hurried breathing.

"Baishi!"

His voice held suppressed anger, along with a trace of confusion even he had not noticed in himself.

"Your actions will ruin this meeting! They could even trigger another war!"

Baishi did not turn around immediately.

He merely gazed at the towering Hokage Rock outside the window, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather.

"War? Lord Minato, do you think we are at peace right now?"

Minato was briefly stifled by the question.

"Using threats and extortion to force the other side to the negotiating table is playing with fire!" Minato's voice rose despite himself. "If Sunagakure and Amegakure are driven into a corner, they could very well join forces against us! If conflict breaks out along the borders again, it will be Konoha's shinobi who make the sacrifices!"

He took a step forward, nearly coming to stand beside Baishi.

"You publicly overturned my proposal and used such heavy-handed methods to drive them into a dead end. That goes against Lord Third Hokage and the principles of peace we have always upheld!"

Baishi finally turned around slowly.

His