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"What?"
Shin's simple question caused all the prepared arguments of the three daimyo to get stuck in their throats.
The Land of Water daimyo's angry expression froze on his face.
The Land of Wind daimyo, who had just closed his fan, nearly dropped it from his hand.
And the Land of Earth daimyo, who had just finished making threats and claiming he would unite with the others to oppose the plan, was even more shocked. His entire body went stiff with surprise.
No... a single garrison?
What did that mean?
The minds of the three cunning politicians collectively stopped working at that moment.
They had just been frantically thinking about how to unite against the Land of Fire, how to put pressure on Shin to force him to withdraw his proposal.
But now, Shin's single sentence turned all their preparations upside down.
The meeting room once again fell silent.
Only this time, the silence was no longer filled with hostility and wariness. Instead, it was filled with intense confusion and a complete lack of understanding.
Onoki and Rasa couldn't follow the daimyo's line of thought at all. Their faces were full of confusion as they tried to understand what was happening.
Watching the wonderfully varied expressions on everyone's faces, Shin laughed quietly to himself.
This was exactly the effect he wanted.
First, throw out a crazy proposal that they would absolutely never accept, making them feel a real threat.
Then, throw out bait and make them fight over it.
For a moment, Shin's playful side was greatly satisfied.
"Lord Shin..." The Land of Earth daimyo was the first to recover. He pushed down the shock in his heart and spoke carefully. "What do you mean by that?"
Shin's gaze swept over their faces one by one, and his smile deepened. "What I mean is..."
"I invited the three of you to come early because I wanted to ask..."
"Are you interested..."
"Together with my Land of Fire..."
He deliberately paused, enjoying their breathless waiting, and then spoke the words that could change the shinobi world's balance of power.
"Jointly garrisoning the Land of Lightning!"
Everyone immediately gasped, their hair standing on end.
Their minds were in a mess, stirred up by the words 'jointly garrisoning.'
Those two words immediately tore open the floodgate of greed deep within their hearts!
If the Land of Fire's proposal to garrison earlier had made them feel a deadly threat, then at this moment, joint garrisoning made them taste a completely different flavor.
An opportunity!
An opportunity laced with strong poison.
The Land of Water daimyo's shock had not yet faded from his face. His mouth opened, but he couldn't say a single word. Only his breathing became incredibly heavy.
The Land of Wind daimyo's fan dropped to the ground, and he didn't even notice.
The Land of Earth daimyo, who had always sat steadily, suddenly leaned forward. His small eyes fixed on Shin, and a terrifying light burst from within them.
The expressions on their faces were no longer just simple shock.
Instead, they were mixed with wild excitement, greed, and a deep wariness of Shin, this young daimyo.
How ruthless!
What a poisonous plan!
Dragging their three countries onto the Land of Fire's war chariot to completely carve up the Land of Lightning.
This way, it wouldn't be the Land of Fire controlling everything alone and breaking the balance of the shinobi world.
Instead, it would be the four countries uniting to deliver righteous punishment to a country that had made a mistake!
When everyone became a criminal in the feast, then there would be no criminal at all!
"This... this..."
Onoki trembled all over.
He didn't see this as an opportunity like the daimyo did.
As a kage who had lived through three shinobi world wars, what he saw was something more terrifying than any conspiracy.
Imbalance!
Complete imbalance!
It's over!
The Land of Lightning is finished!
Kumogakure and Iwagakure had fought for a lifetime as mortal enemies.
But Onoki knew better than anyone that it was precisely because of Kumogakure's equally powerful military strength that it could, along with Iwagakure, form a pincer attack against Konoha from the north and west!
The five great nations and the five great shinobi villages were like five pillars supporting the fragile peace of the shinobi world.
And now, the Land of Fire was going to tear down one of them, right in front of everyone!
Even more terrifying, he was inviting other countries to share the rewards!
Onoki suddenly looked at his own daimyo, whose face showed clear excitement and greed.
His heart instantly grew cold.
The daimyo couldn't see these things!
The daimyo only saw the immediate benefits. He only saw the Land of Lightning's minerals, land, and easily gained wealth!
He simply didn't understand that once the Land of Lightning, this nail, was pulled out, the Land of Fire's northern region would have no further limits, and the entire shinobi world's balance of power would completely collapse!
By then, Iwagakure would have to face a Konoha that had broken free of its chains alone!
Even if Sunagakure and Kirigakure still existed, Onoki knew better than anyone that in past shinobi wars, Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kirigakure—which time had they not united against Konoha?
Even Kumogakure had joined in!
Yet even so, the combined efforts of the four villages had not truly managed to completely crush Konoha.
Now... Kumogakure was gone!
And they were even being dragged in to be accomplices...
Onoki opened his mouth, wanting to yell, wanting to wake up his own daimyo.
But looking at the Land of Fire daimyo's smiling eyes, all the words got stuck in his throat. Not a single one could come out.
He knew it was useless.
This wasn't a hidden conspiracy. This was an open scheme, plain and simple!
The Land of Fire used benefits that couldn't be refused to precisely hit the weak spot of all the daimyo!
Even if he convinced his own daimyo, the Land of Water daimyo and the Land of Wind daimyo would definitely agree.
Would the Land of Earth just stand by and watch the three of them divide the profits while gaining nothing?
This... was an impossible situation with no way out!
Shin naturally didn't know what Onoki was thinking.
Even if he knew, he wouldn't care.
Because at this table, no one could refuse the offer he gave. This was a prisoner's problem that no one could escape.
"Ahem..."
Knowing he had lost some control, the Land of Earth daimyo cleared his throat, forcing himself to calm down. His mind raced.
Risk?
The risk was certainly huge!
This meant completely tearing up the fragile balance between the five great nations and setting an extremely dangerous example.
Today they could unite to carve up the Land of Lightning.
Tomorrow, would the Land of Fire use the same methods against them?
But!
What about the gains?
The gains were equally beyond measure!
What did it mean to garrison within the borders of a great nation?
It meant sharing its resources, controlling its economy, and spreading one's influence into every corner of that country!
This was more practical and more tempting than any war payments!
Especially for countries like theirs, which constantly suffered from not having enough resources, this temptation was almost deadly!
He couldn't possibly refuse such an opportunity that could lead to the Land of Earth's expansion.
One must know that in the game of great powers, one step behind means every step behind.
Wait for the enemy country to make a mistake on its own? He wouldn't be so foolish as to think such a thought.
"Lord Shin..." The Land of Earth daimyo regained some control, but the light in his eyes was much brighter than before. "Your proposal... is too bold."
"The Land of Lightning might not agree."
"Other small and medium-sized countries in the shinobi world might not stand by quietly."
He was pointing out the risks and also testing the Land of Fire's confidence.
"Heh heh." Shin laughed softly. "Does it matter whether they agree or not?"
"A country that has lost its kage, lost its strongest jinchuriki, lost... uh, in short, do they have the right to say no?"
Although there was some confusion about the Land of Fire daimyo's pause, everyone present still listened patiently.
"As for the other countries..." Shin continued, with clear contempt in his words. "When our four countries unite, in this world, besides us, whose opinions need to be listened to?"
Controlling!
Arrogant!
Yet, it was a fact that couldn't be denied!
When the four great nations united, the remaining small countries didn't even have the right to speak out!
If it weren't for the need for buffers between the great nations, those small countries would probably have been taken over long ago!