War isn't a nice thing at all because war is business and it's about survival, so you need to think long and hard before jumping into any fight.
A good general will sit down and compare both sides to see which one is stronger, which one has more discipline, which one is better trained, and which one is more organized, and by doing that he can figure out who will win and who will lose before any blood gets spilled.
If you look at the enemy and see they have tons of advantages and strengths then the smart move is to just walk away and not fight at all because you can already predict you'll lose, so why bother losing in the first place?
One big thing that helps with this decision is something called... The Way.
The Way is basically the moral high ground or how righteous a side is, because if the general is a good person who does the right thing then his soldiers will follow him more loyally and fight harder for him like a certain Painter many admired.
So, a general should learn everything they can about their enemies while making sure their enemies stay completely in the dark about you, because if they can't tell how strong or weak you are then it's way harder for them to beat you.
Money and human lives are not things you should waste for no good reason because they both run out eventually. If you start a huge war that drags on forever then your army will get tired and exhausted, their food and weapons will start running low, and pretty soon you'll be in big trouble, so the most important thing to remember is to strike fast and finish the fight quickly.
Your army should never get to a point where they need more soldiers or more supplies mid battle, and if you hit hard and fast then the damage to your wallet and your resources will be small, because a lot of armies lose wars not because they got outfought but because they ran out of people and stuff over time.
You also need to use whatever you can take from your enemy, so don't destroy supplies that you could use for yourself, don't burn food that you could eat, and don't kill enemy soldiers who might give you useful information or even join your side, because that would be a waste. Don't act like a reckless fool who throws everything away for no reason.
And above all else, don't kill civilians when they can be used for a workforce.
You shouldn't destroy everything when you fight a war, because what's the point of burning a city to the ground when you could have taken it over and used it for yourself?
A good general shouldn't act like a ninja.
It's way better to beat your enemy by messing with them politically while leaving the city and the people unharmed so everything stays useful.
Furthermore, If you have way more soldiers than them then you should surround them completely and trap them, if you have five times as many then go ahead and attack them head on, if you have twice as many then split their army into smaller pieces and fight them piece by piece, and if you have about the same number then fight them straight up one on one.
But if they have more soldiers than you then you should hide and avoid fighting, and if they have way more than you then you should just run away and live to fight another day, because being stubborn and fighting a battle you know you're going to lose is just stupid and will end terribly for everyone involved.
First, you need to know when to fight and when not to fight which is what those numbers just told you.
Second, you need to know how to move your army around and where to put them.
Third, you need all your officers and men to work together as one team.
Fourth, you need to be ready for any surprise the enemy throws at you.
And fifth, you need a general who can make his own choices without some politician who doesn't know anything about war butting in and messing everything up.
What wins wars first and foremost isn't having more soldiers or technology, but what wins wars is good planning and being prepared.
If you know your enemy and you know yourself then you don't need to be afraid of a hundred battles. But if you know yourself and not your enemy then every win will come with a loss. And if you don't know your enemy or yourself then you'll lose every single battle you ever fight.
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A Samurai was looking at the book he was reading with wide bulged eyes as he concentrated deeply to not miss a single syllable of what he was reading.
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Yamamoto Shikegune had been a samurai for twelve years and he had fought in skirmishes, guarded caravans, and once even crossed blades with a rogue ninja.
But none of that prepared him for the boredom of guarding a checkpoint in the middle of nowhere.
The road was dusty and the sun was hot as hell. The only sounds were the wind and the occasional creak of the wooden gate of a small wooden shack that seen days.
Yamamoto sat on a crate, his Katana leaning against the wall, and wondered if this was what retirement felt like because if it was, then he wanted no part of it.
His only escape was reading.
Back in the capital, he had been known as a man who read too much that his comrades often called him a Scholar as a joke.
But the outpost had no library and he only had one book to read which he had finished reading it a hundred times since being here that he could recite the whole book in his sleep
And the book wasn't even that good in his opinion.
Like, a prince falls in love with a peasant woman and the king kills the peasant woman which makes the prince angry and at the end of the story the prince commits suicide because he fell in love with another peasant girl that the nobles and the king killed again.
Who even reads that?
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A merchant's cart rolled through the gate that afternoon, and Yamamoto immediately perked up.
"Hey Merchant!"
"Hmm?" The merchant saw a Samurai waving at him.
"A customer?" The merchant narrowed his eyes. You couldn't trust just anyone, even Samurais. He has learned his lesson the hard way.
"You got any books?" Yamamoto called again while waving some Ryo.
"A customer it is then." The merchant muttered to himself with a nod as he looked at the money the Samurai showed. The merchant was a fat man with a fake smile, he looked like he was used to being robbed.
"Books, sir? I have them. I have actually filled my cart with books in the capital and on my way to some town to sell them."
Yamamoto got closer to the cart "ohh, then I am lucky. What do you have here?"
"I have the classic novels. GingaNinja... from a slave to a king... The Supreme Shogun... the Rogue...Peasant x Delusion...Do Women Have Souls... and last but not least, I have a new book which got published just some days ago, it's called The Art Of War." The merchant took out the books.
The merchant pointed at the books and finally showed him a book that surprisingly looked as if good quality paper was used for it, with two Katanas crossing each other in the cover while boldly written The Art Of War by Hatake Garou.
[Picture]
The Samurai has read all the previous books the merchant mentioned so he ignored them and his focus got drawn to the Art Of War immediately.
"This one, how much?" Yamamoto asked as he pointed at the art of war.
"Since it's a new book but good quality paper used, I won't sell for more than what it's worth. 300 ryo is enough." The merchant was genuinely honest with the price and the Samurai knew it since he bought many books to know how much each book is worth, so he took out the exact amount of money to the merchant.
"Thank you Samurai-sama." The merchant took the money and handed Yamamoto the book.
"Take care. The roads are safe as Ashigaru patrols have increased lately, but better be safe than sorry." The Samurai warned the honest man who nodded gratefully and left with his cart.
Yamamoto got back near his shack and started reading with the first page starting with "War is a matter of life and death. It is the path to survival or ruin. Hence, it must be studied thoroughly."
He paused for a moment and then continued reading.
"All warfare is based on deception. Therefore, when capable, feign incapacity. When active, feign inactivity. When near, make it appear as if you are far. When far, make it appear as if you are near."
"Hmmm?" Yamamoto widened his eyes as he read that.
For a moment he thought he was reading a Ninja propaganda manual or delusional book, but as he continued to read, his surprise became more and more until he was shocked.
Time passed and he read until the first light of dawn became visible.
When he finished reading the whole 3 chapters in one sitting, he sat there in dead silence.
"This... this book wasn't written by a snot nosed noble's son?" Yamamoto asked himself because most of the books in libraries are written by those nobles or their sons who have nothing else to do and the genre is almost always about some romantic things.
And this book... it was clearly written by someone who understood war!
Someone who had seen it, and felt it!
This was no normal book at all and not a single syllable was used for nonsense!
"Hatake Garou? That name sounds familiar. A noble family or maybe a clan I have previously heard about." Yamamoto muttered. He made a mental note to remember.
"I have to show this to my comrades to see what they think." Yamamoto himself didn't understand all of what was written in this book but he knew this book was a masterpiece, that he was sure of it!
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Three Days Later/
"Sato, read this." Yamamoto handed Sato, his comrade, the book.
Sato flipped through a few pages. "The Art of War? What is this, some kind of training manual? Is it boring? You know I am not into books that much, right?"
"Just read it man."
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Weeks later/
The book spread like fire in dry grass.
Not because everyone could read, most people were illiterate. People of this time never needed to be literate that much, most depended on their bodies to go by in their lives.
Civilians just did labor. And most Samurais and soldiers also just followed orders, swung their swords, and collected their pay.
That was their life.
But they could listen.
"What does it even mean to 'know your enemy'? I know my enemy, he is the bastard son of a prostitute outside the borders trying to fuck with us. Just slit their throats!" Someone shouted.
"No, you idiot! It means know how they think, what they do and stuff like that then use that information against them when we are in battle with them!"
"But we are Samurais! Not Ninjas! We don't resort to tricks to beat anyone!"
"It's not tricking you moron! It's just common sense! If we have information on our enemies then we won't be blind when we go to war!"
"Well, but what if you don't have a strategy? If you don't have a strategy then the enemy can't counter shit! Sooooo..."
"Ohh my Sage! This dumbass!!"
Conversations like this spread amongst the Samurais as they debated about the content of the book.
Some said it's dishonorable and others said that no, the book isn't against their Honor.
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A month later/
The book has been the hottest topic in the capital of the fire country. Unlike any other place, the capital had the largest population that could read and write so the book's impact was bigger than anywhere else.
Word of mouth spread the book's popularity everywhere.
In the capital... civilians, scribes, officials, merchants, Samurais, and nobles...etc, one of them read the book then he told another, then that one told another.
Soon, the book was being read aloud in teahouses. Men who couldn't read gathered to listen.
Everyone started debating the passages. They argued about what Hatake Garou really meant since the book contained many advanced philosophies that needed to be discerned.
And when the topic became Garou himself, some said he was a genius and revolutionary.
The way he wrote, the philosophy of war, the advice, the tactics... everything was genius. Some even called him a hidden master or general.
Then more copies were made since the demand was at an all time high. The Yamamoto Press were going overdrive printing copies.
Rich merchants bought them, Samurai commanders bought them, even a few ninja, disguised as civilians, bought them.
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Date Masamune, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, was not a man who read every book since most books only talked about useless stuff he didn't care about.
But today, when his senior advisor mentioned that samurai garrisons were passing around a book called The Art of War, he raised an eyebrow.
"Who wrote it?"
"I think you know him Date-sama. He is called Hatake Garou and he is a merchant who has joined the GMA not long ago. I have asked around but information about him is quite scarce. His book is becoming quite a sensation in the capital, and it's spreading fast."
Masamune grimaced immediately as he heard that cursed clan name.
"A Hatake?" He murmured to himself as he remembered Gintoki, which made him feel disgusted.
"Is he related to Gintoki? That bastard is still alive?" Masamune asked with a snort.
"Apparently, yes." The advisor replied.
"And the Samurai are reading it?"
"They cannot stop talking about it, my lord. Not just the Samurais, nobles are holding tea parties just to get together and analyse the book and discuss it to pass time."
Masamune was quiet for a moment.
He didn't really know if he should even care or not. He has come to hate ninjas with every fiber of his being after the first world war.
They have created too many problems for him and caused the massacre of his people in every way manageable. The people he vowed to protect.
He knew this Garou fellow was probably Gintoki's son because he knew the Hatake clan was dying and only Gintoki's family remained if he remembered correctly.
But Masamune wasn't unreasonable. Since Garou is Gintoki's son and apparently not a ninja and a member in GMA if what his advisor told him was the truth, which it is, then he will give the little devil a chance.
He didn't blame the sins of parents onto their sons and daughters. It goes against his Bushido.
He didn't even care about this topic at all. He had better things to do like how to build more paved roads and other stuff.
It's just a stupid book.
"Get me a copy and I will read it when I have time."
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*Bam!*
"Hiruzen!" Danzo barged in with a force that unhinged the door as he angrily approached Hiruzen.
"Sighhhhhh, that's the 5th door this week. What did my doors do to you Danzo?" Hiruzen asked rhetorically as he rubbed his forehead tiredly. Not having the energy to even look at his friend.
"It seems you are not aware but look at this!" Danzo slammed a book that had two Katanas crossed with each other on its cover.
"What's this? The Art Of War by Hatake Gar–" Hiruzen didn't finish and he raised an eyebrow.
"Exactly! That cripple has finally done it! Just give me the order and I will interrogate even his dead ancestors for this treason!" Danzo shouted.
"Calm down Danzo. It's just a book, no need to go that far." Hiruzen calmly opened page one and started to look at it which almost immediately made him raise his other eyebrow just by reading the first sentence.
"Just a book?! More like a weapon tailored for everyone that tells them how to be the perfect general to counter every ninja that exists!" Danzo said with veins visible on his forehead.
"..."
"You don't understand Hiruzen! This book is currently circulating and spreading at an alarming rate throughout the land of fire!" Danzo continued.
"How come I learned of this just now?" Hiruzen asked with narrowed eyes.
"The bastard didn't publish the book in Konoha but went all the way to the capital and dropped this bomb! Do you get what that means?!"
"He doesn't trust u–"
*Bam!*
"Exactly! He doesn't give a damn about our rule in this village! And do you know what else?!" Danzo shouted as he interrupted and slammed his hands on Hiruzen's table.
"Do you know why he dropped out of the academy? To join the Global Merchant Association! Our latest enemies! This is treason! This is betrayal on so many levels! Let me go and arrest him right here right now!" Danzo shouted madly.
"Sighhhh, calm down Danzo. We can't," Hiruzen said tiredly as he leaned on his chair while still looking at the content of the book, which he knew and recognised after a little bit of reading that it was a masterpiece and quite revolutionary... to their enemies.
"And why not?! I go into the compound with my Root, surround his disloyal ass, take him out and then he never sees the light of day again! As easy as breathing!" Danzo retorted angrily.
Hiruzen glanced at his furious friend before letting out another sigh.
"Lately, the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi made a deal with the Hatake boy, a business deal. The Hatake compound right now is going under reconstruction to build some kind of district and create many restaurants."
"..."
"The boy right now is protected by the ino-shika-cho, Mito-sama, and the GMA. If anything happens to him then we are asking for an internal strife immediately. Not to mention that the GMA won't let this go and will demand the reason for doing anything to that boy. You know how the GMA are, they are breathing down our necks." Hiruzen explained tiredly.
"It doesn't matte–"
"And Danzo, you seem to forget another thing. Do you think you can handle Gintoki?" Hiruzen asked as he stared at Danzo who went silent quickly.
"Just because Gintoki acts like a fool doesn't mean he isn't still the merciless Demon who once dominated the battlefield using a Katana alone with Tobirama-sensei." Hiruzen went on.
"He is arguably the strongest ninja in this village equal to me. You do something to his son then even I can't guarantee that I will be able to protect you and your men since I will need protection myself. He may have retired, but a lion is still a lion no matter when and where, and I don't plan to mess with that. Gintoki not involving himself in politics is already a blessing in itself."
"Then what? Just wait and look how our enemies become stronger because of a stupid book written by a damn snake in our own house? Someone who has no loyalty to this village whatsoever?" Danzo replied back with hatred.
"There's nothing we can do." Hiruzen said.
"No you are just afraid Hiruzen! Afraid of the Shogun, afraid of the Daimyo, afraid of the GMA, and afraid of a damned brat!" Danzo shouted.
"I am the Hokage Danzo!" Hiruzen narrowed his eyes at Danzo who quickly became quiet but still had his teeth clenched hard.
"Besides, the boy is already creating businesses here which will boost our economy. And his book will change the reputation of our Ninjas to be a little better. That's all for now. I don't want to hear about this anymore since it's useless. We aren't ready for a civil war just because of a boy we can ignore." Hiruzen finished, seemingly unaware yet that the book explicitly disrespects ninjas in some parts.
"You will regret this Hiruzen!" Danzo cried as he stormed out.
"Sighhhhhh," Hiruzen finally let out a sigh of relief as his friend went out.
He had been working so hard to appease the clans and stabilise his position as a Hokage. He couldn't let something like this ruin that balance. He couldn't afford having troubles at a time like this where every power outside the territories of Konoha is doing everything to weaken them.
Date Masamune already did enough damage by retaking the lands in the land of fire Konoha took over during the war which even now, Konoha is recovering from that setback.
"Peace." Hiruzen muttered to himself and then started focusing his attention back on the book that boy wrote.
"When your enemy makes a mistake, let him be? How did that kid come up with this? I don't remember him fighting beside us in the first world war. Where did he get this knowledge from?" He muttered as a glint passed through his eyes.
The End.