"very good!"
Just then, a voice came from the front of the conference room, and everyone present focused their attention.
Yu Zhuanjin stood up, clapped his hands, and said, "Now we can finally sit together and talk calmly."
"What did you do to me then? An illusion? You actually used such a despicable method."
Ninjas who are good at physical skills have always had trouble getting along with those who are good at illusions. After waking up, Kaguya Nagahide was still dizzy and dissatisfied with the unfair outcome of the battle.
"Okay, okay, let's be quiet for a while now."
Ghost Lantern Huanyue tried to be a peacemaker.
"Why do I have to listen to you?"
Kaguya Nagahide stared with one eye larger than the other.
"Haven't you ever hit me in all these years?"
Gui Deng Huan Yue spread out his hands.
"I don't know who the guy was who was hit by a mere ice escape and had no power to fight back."
Kaguya Nagahime snorted.
"..."
The person who was performing the "Mere Ice Escape" nearby remained silent.
"Ahem, let's listen to what this girl has to say first."
Bai Lian coughed twice to quiet everyone down.
Kaguya Nagahide looked around and found that his former opponents had united together without him knowing when. He sighed and sat in the chair without saying a word.
"Yoshi, seeing how tense the atmosphere is, I guess you guys don't want to hear me beat around the bush, so let's get straight to the point."
At this point, Yuzhongjin placed his hands on the table, his expression gradually becoming serious. He looked around at all the jonin present and said, "There is only one purpose for gathering all of you today, and that is to mediate the war."
煌！
After these words were spoken, the atmosphere became a little chaotic.
Some ninjas had anticipated this, but actually hearing those four words was still a little complicated.
"Everyone, please be quiet!"
Kaguya Nagahide slammed his fist on the table. The loud noise silenced all the jonin in the conference room. He looked at Hozuki Gengetsu and Mizunotsuki Ryo in turn and whispered, "Do you all have the same idea?"
Gui Deng Huan Yue stroked his mustache and did not make any excuses. Instead, he nodded, which was unusual for him.
"Ah."
The taciturn Mizunoe Leng also spoke up.
"Are you kidding me? How many lives do you think we have sacrificed over the years? Now we are going to wipe them all out with just a ceasefire?"
Kaguya Nagahide did not yell angrily, but questioned in an unusually calm tone.
Only those who know him well know that Kaguya Nagahide's temper is just normal, and he may even be overexcited at certain times, but calmness only represents anger.
Hozuki Gengetsu and Mizunotsuki Ryo really understand.
Hozuki Gengetsu, who used to be at loggerheads with Kaguya Nagahide, also remained silent.
“But you got nothing.”
Yu Zhongjin said mercilessly: "The war has continued until now, and you have only added to the lives of others in vain. It is meaningless and worthless..."
"…Because I got nothing, because it's meaningless, because it's worthless."
Kaguya Nagahide interrupted, "That's why we have to keep fighting! Until all of this no longer matters! Do you want us to admit that their lives were sacrificed for nothing?!"
"Then how long do you want to fight? Defeat or destroy the other two tribes? Unify the Water Kingdom? You and I should both know that this is impossible. It will only put more lives into the meat grinder called 'war'."
Yuzhongjin sat across from Kaguya Nagahide and said, "The hatred is growing, and the war will never end. It will not even end in your generation. Your descendants, and your descendants' descendants, will continue until your clan is destroyed by the war. In the end, everything will be an illusion. It is better to end all the grudges now. The lives lost by our clan members should make us understand the value of peace. When it comes to sacrifices, all the families present have made the same sacrifice."
"We won't lose..."
Kaguya Nagahide still wanted to make a firm statement, but the words in his mouth became so powerless.
"But you won't win either. In war, there is never a real winner or loser. The so-called victory is ultimately just a less obvious loss."
"..."
"Let's stop here for today. We'll discuss this again in three days."
Yuzhong Jin could see that among the ninjas present, although not the majority, there were still some "clan leaders" who did not support a ceasefire.
Their thoughts are similar to those of Kaguya Nagahide. They have long forgotten the cause of the war and only remember hatred and disgust.
Because they all have too many responsibilities.
It is these responsibilities that prevent them from making casual decisions.
……
Yuzan and Hozuki Gengetsu, Byakuren and Kaguya Nagahide.
Both sides led their respective ninjas back to the village.
On the way back, Gui Deng Huan Yue and Yu Zhong Jin walked side by side.
"Why are you staring at me?"
Yu Zhuanjin glanced at Gui Deng Huan Yue.
"Yeah, we were at odds just now. You and that old man beat us together. Now we're standing together, which doesn't seem right no matter how I think about it."
Gui Deng Huan Yue mentioned this matter.
"The one who hit you was Bai Lian, not me. I only hit Kaguya Nagahide."
Yuzhongjin shrugged his shoulders and then asked, "Do you want to go with Kaguya Nagahide?"
"Hiss, forget it then."
Gui Deng Huan Yue thought about it and suddenly shuddered.
"So now you can accept it?"
Yuzhuanjin asked back.
"Ugh……"
Hozuki Huanyue sighed and said, "It's really thanks to you that you were able to control Kaguya Nagahide."
"It's very difficult to beat him, but it's no problem to gain the upper hand temporarily."
The earth-based spell that Yuzuo Tsutomu performed with all his strength could have been forcibly broken by Kaguya Nagahide if the latter had been given some time. The other party mistakenly thought that he could not lift it, but it was just an illusion due to the dizziness after the soul-stealing.
Especially that combo, it is very difficult to reproduce. This time, he just took advantage of the opponent's lack of knowledge of soul techniques and overconfidence to choose to resist. Next time, he will probably just dodge.
Not to mention giving her more than ten seconds of overload time.
Zhe is the so-called first sight kill?
"No, that's not what I'm talking about. I mean, you actually told him to shut up when we were sitting in the conference room."
Gui Deng Huan Yue added: "I have never seen that madman so quiet."
"…I just said something that everyone should understand."
Yuzhongjin looked up at the sky, which was still covered with dark clouds.
"We are no longer qualified to say such things now that we are so caught up in the war."
"It means 'those involved are confused, but those who are not involved can see things more clearly'?"
"That's pretty much it."
Hozuki Huanyue stopped and whispered, "But is it really okay for us to just let him go like this? We should have finalized everything at that time. What if he goes back to reorganize the ninja army and fights to the death with us..."
"He won't."
Yuzhong Jin can say with certainty: "He is the clan leader and represents the will of the entire clan, so he will not make decisions arbitrarily. The same is true in reverse. He cannot make any willful decisions."
……
at the same time.
After returning to the Kaguya clan, Kaguya Nagahide came to the ancestral hall.
Sitting on the floor tiles of the ancestral hall, Kaguya Nagahide looked at the tablets in front of him. They were clearly arranged neatly, but it was still difficult to count them.
How many tribesmen died in the war?
Kaguya Nagahide looked at them one by one, but in the end only cold numbers were left.
When life no longer has any meaning, is everything you get really that important?
Sitting here for a day and a night, Kaguya Nagahide was thinking, should he continue fighting or stop fighting?
"Chief, the elders ask you to preside over the council."
A jonin from the Kaguya clan came to report.
"I see."
Finally, Kaguya Nagahide stood up and left the ancestral hall. He first took a walk around the clan territory. Apparently the meeting on whether to cease fire had already spread.
The faces of most of the tribesmen were filled with joy.
The Kaguya clan loves fighting, but that doesn't mean they also love war.
Fighting and war are fundamentally different things.
Finally, Kaguya Nagahide sat at the main seat of the family council, with the four elders sitting beside him, and behind him were the clan's senior ninjas and important members.
The so-called elders are the strong men of the previous generation in the family. They retreated to the second line just because they were too old and weak to fight, but their strength was still impressive.
Even if he is not as good as the top one, he is equivalent to an elite jonin.
"Chief, if you are willing, we can continue to fight."
"That's right, Chief, we must not let those guys look down on our Kaguya clan!"
"We will follow your instructions, Chief."
"that is……"
"..."
A group of Kaguya clan jonin shouted.
The elder said nothing and just waited for Kaguya Nagahide's decision.
Hearing this, Kaguya Nagahide looked around. He could see that these family jonin were only considering his thoughts and therefore said those words against their will.
“…Let’s stop here.”
Kaguya Nagahide stood up and looked at the elders, lowered his head and said, "I have failed the expectations of my people and betrayed the wishes of my ancestors. I think there is no need for us to continue fighting. This is my opinion as the head of the clan. If it goes against the will of the clan, I will take the blame and step down."
As soon as these words were spoken, the ninjas in the parliament were all moved.
The elder who was in his seventies or eighties looked at Kaguya Nagahide, and then they looked at each other.
"Is that what you think?"
One of the elders said softly, "That's it. You are the current clan leader and have the right to make such decisions. Perhaps we should stop our crazy behavior for so many years."
"Seconded."
"Seconded."
"Seconded."
The following elders also voted in favor.
It was obvious that they had informed each other when they came.
"We agree with the decision of the patriarch."
Several senior ninjas in the clan who had previously expressed their willingness to continue fighting for the clan also changed their attitudes.
While the Kaguya clan was holding a decision-making meeting, the other clans were also discussing the matter.
“Next, we will hold an anonymous vote to decide the future development of the village.”
