Chapter 120: Chapter 120
The actions of Hiruzen Sarutobi indeed make it difficult to draw a clear line between right and wrong, for the perspective changes with the stance taken.
However, now that Shisui has asked, Kaito is willing to have a little discussion and provide him some 'advanced' insights.
"Shisui, the first thing to consider when looking at an issue is the stance you're taking.
The world is complex; there is no absolute right or wrong, as each person has their own standpoint.
Always remember this: the world is never as black and white as you might imagine. It could very well be a delicate shade of gray.
So, when we think about issues, we need to be more comprehensive."
Kaito chuckled at Shisui, then as he walked on, he slowly started to speak.
"If you look from Hiruzen Sarutobi's perspective, he was indeed right, for after the Second Great Ninja War, Konoha really didn't have a chance to recover.
They were quickly forced into the Third Great Ninja War, which was even more brutal, with Konoha being besieged by the four major ninja villages.
Even though Konoha eventually won, it was nothing more than a pyrrhic victory. After all, Konoha's foundation was nearly depleted.
Even in the final negotiation, Konoha didn't demand anything from the Tsuchikage. Of course, we can't overlook one thing.
That is, our Hokage might have hoped that Tsuchikage would save these supplies and fight it out with Kumogakure, but alas, things didn't go as planned."
On the surface, the Third War seemed like the four major ninja villages besieging Konoha, but in reality, they were not on the same page.
The most typical examples are Yashamaru and the Third Raikage.
Yashamaru was used by the newly-appointed Kazekage, Rasa, to stabilize the situation and to focus on fighting Iwagakure, so he was sent to Kirigakure.
Although Kaito was really curious why the Sunagakure and Kirigakure, two ninja villages far apart, could start a fight, after all, they don't have any substantial conflicts of interest.
But after much thought, he wondered if the people of Kirigakure thought that Sunagakure capitulated too quickly when faced with Konoha.
This enabled Konoha to divert their attention and resources to fight against them in the Land of Swirls, which led to their defeat. Hence, they might have taken some form of revenge.
The Third Raikage died even more pitifully. This Raikage, who was besieged by thousands for three days and nights and died from exhaustion, was actually preparing for a potential war with Iwagakure by gathering information when Konoha and Iwagakure were fighting on the front lines.
The relationship between Kumogakure and Iwagakure has always been bad, with deep-seated conflicts between them.
With the death of the Third Raikage at the hands of Iwagakure, how could they tolerate it?
It must be said that it was the death of the Third Raikage that made the current Fourth Raikage choose to temporarily cease fighting with Konoha and return to the village to prepare for war with Iwagakure.
Iwagakure, upon noticing the movements of Kumogakure, and with the morale on the frontlines severely undermined due to Minato Namikaze single-handedly fighting fifty, immediately chose to cease fighting with Konoha to prepare for the war with Kumogakure.
Frankly speaking, it was precisely because Iwagakure took down the Third Raikage that this seemingly endless Third Great Ninja War came to a stop.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's refusal of compensation was intended to incite conflict between the two sides, thus affording himself some respite.
However, things didn't go as planned, for the two parties in the end only made a show of it without any real intent to wage war against each other.
This manoeuvre backfired on him, leaving him in a tough spot, ultimately compelling him to step down, and thus ushering in Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage.
Actually, if you think about it, the incessant wars had long disgusted people. It wasn't just Konoha that suffered massive losses; the other ninja villages also incurred immeasurable damages.
The only one to retain substantial power was Kumogakure, as their greatest loss was perhaps the death of their Kage.
Under these circumstances, the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, naturally didn't wish for the war to continue.
And the newly-appointed Fourth Raikage, A, who was yet to secure his position, even with a strong desire for revenge, his subordinates wouldn't allow him to act recklessly.
Regardless, this incident fully exposed their mutual distrust, and it was this distrust that finally brought the war to an end.
"By that time, Konoha was on its last legs and had no choice but to recuperate."
Kaito, looking at the setting sun in the sky, couldn't help but smile. He stretched out his hand, pointing at it, and continued speaking.
"At that time, Konoha might have seemed like this sunset in many people's eyes. Despite winning the third war, they had paid a hefty price, and I suspect that our Third Hokage might have thought the same way.
Therefore, when Kumogakure expressed their wish to sign a full peace treaty years ago, his reaction was somewhat overzealous, completely forgetting the caution expected of a Kage, and as a result, a tragedy ensued."
Shisui, having personally experienced this history as he was already serving in the Anbu at the time, couldn't help but sigh when it was brought up again.
Back then, they had truly let down their guard and were too indulgent towards the foreign ninjas from Kumogakure. Under Hiruzen Sarutobi's tacit consent, those guys could roam freely around Konoha.
And the result was that they could gather information on Konoha quite openly, leading to detailed intelligence on the Hyuga clan and eventually brewing such a tragedy.
"As I said earlier, Hiruzen Sarutobi believed that Konoha was at its wits' end at the time, needing time to recuperate and restore its strength."
While Shisui was deep in thought, Kaito spoke again, his tone considerably more solemn this time.
"From his perspective, his goal was to prevent the situation from escalating, to avert another outbreak of war.
Perhaps he had made evaluations from all aspects, leading him to conclude that if war broke out, Konoha was bound to fail.
Therefore, he made a resolute choice: to exchange the life of one person or even one clan for peace. After all, isn't it about choosing the lesser of two evils?
Shisui, if you look at it this way, do you think Hiruzen Sarutobi was wrong?"
Was he wrong?
Shisui, hearing Kaito's question and reflecting on his words, really wanted to answer: No!
Because, from the perspective of the Hokage, there were indeed few choices at the time. Sacrificing the life of one person for peace, isn't that a good thing?
Yet, Shisui dared not answer because he couldn't forget Kaito's contradictory evaluation and perspective on this matter.
This indicated that Kaito had other answers, other answers that conflicted with this seemingly correct one.
Taking a deep breath, Shisui shook his head: "I don't know, Kaito.
If it was someone else, I might answer without hesitation: Yes."
"But facing you, I don't dare to give any answer, because I know my response may not truly hit the mark."
"Be confident, Shisui."
Seeing Shisui's demeanor, Kaito couldn't help but feel a little amused. He reached out and patted Shisui on the shoulder before continuing.
"I've said that seeing this problem from different positions will yield different answers.
But our current position requires us not to view issues from a single angle, we must think and understand in a more comprehensive and holistic manner.
We've talked about Hiruzen Sarutobi's stance. Now let's discuss the state of the shinobi world.
These years have been tough for Konoha, with a drastic drop in missions, and a struggling economy. Have you considered why?"
"Well..." Faced with Kaito's question, Shisui couldn't help but scratch his head. He was not good at such things: "Is it because of the daimyo?"
"The daimyo is one factor, but a bigger reason lies in Konoha's overall image."
Kaito, shaking his head with a smile, brought up a concept that was both unfamiliar and familiar to Shisui.
"A clan has its image, and naturally, a village has its own image.
The Uchiha's tragic situation was largely due to the perception it created among the other villagers, which affected our image in their hearts.
The same is true for the village. We won the third war, and although it was a Pyrrhic victory, we stood against four enemies. Such prestige is an intangible wealth.
However, with Kumogakure's aggression and our choice to make peace, coupled with the Fourth Hokage's unexpected demise eight years ago.
This quickly formed an impression of 'Konoha is strong on the outside but hollow inside' across the entire ninja world, leading to a plummet in Konoha's credibility.
Naturally, those clients didn't dare to entrust their missions to Konoha, and these commissions naturally fell into the hands of stronger, more credible villages.
Being in the Anbu these years, you must have noticed that Kumogakure's development is going well, right?"
Shisui nodded seriously. As part of the Anbu, he was privy to a lot of information, so he naturally knew how well Kumogakure had developed in recent years.
However, he had never thought that Kumogakure's progress was achieved at the expense of Konoha, or rather, due to Hiruzen Sarutobi's concessions!
This shook his original belief that Hiruzen Sarutobi's choices were right, causing it to waver involuntarily.
"Because of this choice, we have left a very poor impression in the shinobi world, and likewise, the situation within the Village of Konoha has deteriorated.
Originally, the demise of the Fourth Hokage and Hiruzen Sarutobi's return to power had already dissatisfied many prominent clan members.
However, for the sake of Konoha's stability, and considering that there were no suitable candidates for Hokage at the time, this issue was dropped.
But with this event's outbreak, the dissatisfaction among all the great clans towards Hiruzen Sarutobi has reached a new peak.
Shisui, do you know, the initial intention of establishing the village was to protect everyone, especially the children.
During the third war, Hiruzen Sarutobi's decision to let children go to battle has violated the original intention of the village's establishment.
Moreover, the establishment of the village itself relied on the union of major ninja clans, along with the allegiance of civilian ninjas, which made Konoha possible.
Now, Hiruzen Sarutobi's actions are damaging the village's fundamental interests, so all ninja clans are naturally dissatisfied with his actions.
They would worry, since Hyuga was thrown out by Hiruzen Sarutobi this time, who will be next, and will it be their turn?"
At this point, Kaito paused slightly, his gaze locked onto Shisui, who seemed a bit uneasy. Finally, he turned his head to look at the Hokage Rock.
"Moreover, Hiruzen Sarutobi's arbitrary actions this time, which seem to be for Konoha's sake, and everything he does seems to be for the peace of the shinobi world.
But in fact, he has overlooked one very important thing, that is, he has ignored the will of the people, in other words, he has disregarded public sentiment.
Are ordinary ninjas really willing to endure this humiliation, even to the extent that they can't even receive full missions because of this?
Do clan ninjas really want him to disregard everyone's wishes and unilaterally use one of their own as a bargaining chip?
Peace is never achieved through compromise. Hasn't the Uchiha incident taught us that?"
At this point, Kaito paused, he looked at Shisui seriously and then asked word by word.
"So, whether Hiruzen Sarutobi is right or wrong in this matter depends entirely on his stance.
For those who don't want to go to war, and for himself, this is right.
But for Konoha as a whole, he is absurdly wrong!"
//
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