Inside Hokage's Office, the fatal Scroll stained with blood and sand was gently picked up by Baishi with two fingers and placed flat in the center of the table.
The Chakra corrosion traces on the edge of Scroll have stopped spreading, but the sense of death that the vitality was forcibly extracted at the last moment still permeates the air silently.
Shikaku Nara stood opposite the desk, his eyes fell on Scroll, his brows furrowed.
The frontline reconnaissance team was wiped out, and such a fatal message was sent back, which meant that the "Pure Land" operation had deviated from the preset track from the beginning. The Capital Guard that was driven by greed and Okamura's collision was far more terrifying than the ordinary laboratory of Orochimaru.
"Monster... devour... evolve..." Shikaku repeated the key words on Scroll in a low voice, trying to construct a picture of the scene in his mind.
Baishi said nothing.
He just looked at the copy of Scroll quietly, as if he was admiring a newly completed work of art.
There was a long silence in the office, with only the sound of the second hand of the clock on the wall moving, clear and regular, with a kind of indifference that had nothing to do with me.
After an unknown amount of time, there was a gentle knock on the office door.
A ANBU member pushed open the door, knelt down on one knee, and presented a copy of Scroll sealed with black paint with both hands.
"Lord Hokage, the commander-in-chief of the 'Pure Land' operation is urgently reporting."
The material of Scroll is completely different from the one just now. It is thick and tough, and the seal is intact, which means that this is a formal report sent back under completely controllable conditions.
Baishi stretched out his hand and took Scroll.
He did not rush to open it, but turned his attention to Shikaku.
"Minister Kato of the Publicity Department, where is he now?"
Shikaku was startled for a moment, then replied, "According to the schedule, he should be hosting the publicity preview for the village founding anniversary tomorrow."
"Ask him and several core staff members of General Staff Headquarters to come here for a meeting in half an hour." Baishi ordered.
"Yes."
ANBU took the order and disappeared outside the door.
Shikaku looked at Baishi with a trace of confusion in his eyes. The battle situation on the front line was unknown, so the first person Lord Hokage summoned was the commander in charge of the mouthpiece Publicity Department.
Baishi didn't explain. He gently twisted his fingers on the lacquer seal, Chakra a faint light flashed, and the seal opened with a sound.
He pulled out the Scroll inside and slowly unfolded it.
The report is not long, but the text is extremely cold, full of numbers and technical descriptions without any emotion.
1. Capital Internal Guard, composed of 372 people, was attacked by unknown organisms in the target area. It was confirmed that all members were killed and no one survived.
2. The Konoha ANBU clearance troops subsequently entered and did not engage in direct combat with the organisms. The remaining organisms at the site had dissolved on their own due to unknown reasons, and no complete samples were found. After preliminary investigation, the geological structure of the site was extremely unstable, with large-scale and high-frequency Rock Layer collapses and traces of sand liquefaction.
3. ANBU suppression troop casualties: zero.
4. All remains and equipment of Capital Guard have been safely sealed on site, and A-Rank information shielding and physical isolation have been completed on site.
At the end of the report, there is attached a site survey sketch drawn with Chakra ink, on which several huge, bottomless collapse pits are highlighted with red circles.
Shikaku Looking at the report, especially the words "casualties: zero", I felt a chill down my back.
This is not a battle, this is a precise and efficient "cleaning".
After reading the report, Baishi's expression did not change at all. He re-rolled Scroll and put it aside, then picked up the already cold Scroll on the table and placed it side by side with the official report.
There are two copies of Scroll, one is the death of chaos, and the other is the ending of order.
Together they constitute the "decency" that Daimyo needs.
Half an hour later, Publicity Department chief Kato and several General Staff Headquarters core staff arrived on time.
The atmosphere in Meeting Room is solemn.
Baishi is sitting in the main seat, and Shikaku is sitting on his left hand side.
"Everyone is here." Baishi glanced at everyone, "To make a long story short."
He pushed the official report of ANBU to the center of the table.
"Operation 'Pure Land' has ended. Some accidents occurred during the process."
Kato Minister leaned forward slightly with a focused expression.
"Capital Guard, stationed at the border between Land of Fire and Land of Wind, unfortunately encountered a particularly large-scale geological disaster while conducting routine patrol missions."
Baishi's voice was very steady, as if he was reading out a manuscript that had already been prepared.
"A large-scale geological collapse occurred in the entire area. In order to protect the safety of the border people, the Guards soldiers bravely persisted until the last moment during the evacuation process. In the end, all members died in the line of duty."
Within Meeting Room, you can hear the needle drop.
The faces of several staff officers who had just come from the command room were full of shock. They had seen with their own eyes the broken intelligence sent back from the front line, and knew that the truth was definitely not the case.
But at this moment, no one dared to raise objections.
A kind of professional sorrow and admiration quickly appeared on the face of the Publicity Department and Kato. He picked up the pen and quickly wrote down the key words in his notebook: routine patrol, severe geological disaster, protecting the people, bravery, and dying in the line of duty.
"Lord Hokage means that the external caliber of this incident is..." Kato asked tentatively.
"It's not the caliber." Baishi corrected, "It's the fact."
He looked at Kato, his eyes calm and sharp.
"From now on, this is the only, true history. I don't want to hear any other version in the village, do you understand?"
"Yes! I understand!" Kato immediately stood up and bowed to accept the order.
"Shikaku." Baishi turned to Chief of General Staff.
"Here."
"Together with Minister Kato, General Staff Headquarters will provide all necessary on-site 'evidence', such as geological survey data, meteorological anomaly reports, collapse range maps, etc. Publicity Department is responsible for writing and drafting a "Joint Investigation Briefing on Capital Guard's Unexpected Force Majeure Event at the Border" overnight."
Baishi paused and added details.
"The writing style of the briefing must be objective, detailed, and full of humanitarian concerns and heartache. It must highlight the sacrificial spirit of the Guardsmen, and also emphasize Konoha's positive attitude in dispatching rescue forces as soon as possible and doing its best to carry out the aftermath."
"In a word, we must give Capital enough dignity, and we must also let Daimyo Residence see Konoha's responsibility."
Shikaku nodded, keeping all this in mind.
Perfectly package a bloody political purge into a force majeure natural disaster. Then use this "disaster report" to communicate to the highest authority who acquiesced in this purge.
This young fifth generation has already applied the art of politics to a chilling level.
"Before dawn, I want to see the final draft of this briefing. After stamping it with the seal of Hokage's Office, it will be delivered to Daimyo Residence as quickly as Highest Level." Baishi gave the final order.
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Shikaku and Kato responded in unison.
The meeting ended, everyone filed out, and the huge office became silent again.
Baishi didn't rest. He leaned on the chair, closed his eyes and rested, as if waiting for something.
At dawn, when the first ray of morning light shone through the window into the office, a perfectly worded and logical "Joint Investigation Briefing" was packed in the highest-level Encrypted Scroll and sent to Land of Fire by the full-time ANBU.
The efficiency of Konoha is astonishingly high.
And Daimyo Residence's response was faster than Konoha expected.
Only half a day later, in the afternoon, a fast horse came galloping from the direction of Capital, rolling up smoke and dust.
A ANBU member knocked on Hokage's Office's door again, his expression was weirder than ever before.
"Reply letter from Lord Hokage, Daimyo Residence."
What he presented was a gorgeously decorated Scroll, with Land of Fire Daimyo and Family Crest embroidered with gold thread.
This is not an official letter, but a commendation order.
Baishi expands Scroll. The above content is full of praise. It highly praises Konoha for its professionalism, efficiency and responsibility in handling border emergencies, and expresses its deepest condolences to the soldiers Capital Guard who unfortunately died in the line of duty.
Everything looks like the highest affirmation of Konoha's work.
Shikaku stood aside and breathed a sigh of relief. This means that Daimyo is very satisfied with Baishi's "finishing" work.
However, Baishi's eyes fell on a thin document attached to the commendation order.
That is an attachment.
The title of the attachment is. "Supplementary Instructions on Implementing the Aftercare and Pension Work for Guardsmen who died in the line of duty."
Baishi's gaze stayed on the third item in the attachment for a moment.
It says:
"... Taking into account the temporary difficulties Capital has recently faced in its finances, as well as the good results achieved by Konoha's independent financial reform, it is recommended that Konoha advance the huge pensions for the Guards officers this time. After the subsequent financial support is sufficient, it will be uniformly allocated..."
The air in the office seemed to freeze at this moment.