Minato paused, his gaze sweeping across the Kirigakure ninjas receiving treatment throughout the ruins.
"What about the other villages? Will the Village Hidden in the Sand follow them? Will the Village Hidden in the Cloud? Will the Village Hidden in the Stones? What if we treat their prisoners well according to the agreement, but they turn around and use our prisoners for experiments, torture, or execution?"
"At that point, not only would the village leadership object, but even the ordinary people in the village would find it difficult to accept. In the end, we'd be the only ones suffering losses."
"Yes, I know that it won't be easy."
Shinichi nodded in acknowledgment.
"But precisely because it isn't easy, someone has to take the first step. When the first Hokage formed an alliance with the Uchiha Clan, wasn't that also a gamble that risked everything? If he had worried about whether taking the first step alone would put him at a disadvantage, Konoha would never have existed."
"That's why we must first establish it within Konoha. Agreements aren't upheld because enemies voluntarily obey them. They exist because we first practice them ourselves, establish them as rules, and then use strength and determination to make them everyone's unspoken bottom line."
At this point, Shinichi turned around and looked calmly at Minato.
"Anyone who violates the agreement automatically places themselves in opposition to Konoha. And Konoha will respond to violators with the strongest possible measures in the name of protecting the agreement. In the end, such an agreement is never signed because people are persuaded by words. It is signed because deterrence makes everyone understand that the cost of obeying the rules is far lower than the cost of breaking them."
"Just as when the first Hokage proposed uniting everyone and establishing ninja villages, no one in the entire Shinobi World believed it could work. Yet in the end, every nation and clan followed Konoha's example and established the one-country-one-village system. This new agreement should likewise be proposed by Konoha first and then, just as before, become a rule that every major nation and every major ninja village must imitate and obey."
Minato once again fell silent, then, looking at the young man nearly ten years younger than himself, he took a long time before speaking softly, his tone complicated.
"I'll still say the same thing. This is very difficult, Shinichi. Perhaps the times are different now. The village no longer... Has someone like the first Hokage who can pacify a chaotic age through personal strength alone."
"There will be."
Shinichi nodded, his tone calm; he offered no further explanation as his gaze slowly swept across the ruins.
"As for the name of this set of rules..."
He paused and looked at the city that had become ruins for quite some time before continuing.
"Let's call it the Rinkai City Convention, what do you think, senior Minato?"
"Rinkai City Convention..."
Minato repeated the name softly before raising his head. A gentle smile appeared on his face.
"It's a good name, and you're right, Shinichi. Rules can't wait for others to uphold them. We have to start with ourselves. If Konoha takes the first step, the Shinobi World may truly become different in the future. It may be extremely difficult, but no matter what, I will fully support this proposal."
"Then thank you, senior Minato."
Shinichi smiled, then, without waiting for Minato's response, he continued walking forward.
Minato remained where he was for a moment, thinking things over, before following after him and asking,
"Shinichi, that organization you mentioned before, the Shinichi Society, has it officially been established yet?"
Shinichi glanced at him and shook his head.
"Not yet. The preliminary charter and organizational structure are still under discussion. Originally, I planned to push it forward while enthusiasm was high, but because of the war, both my attention and everyone else's have been tied up by the front lines."
"However, now that this campaign is drawing to a close, the situation along the southeastern coast should remain stable for a while. If we have a chance to return to the village, we can officially put the matter on the agenda."
"What is it, senior Minato? Are you interested in it as well?"
"Of course I'm interested."
Minato nodded and said seriously, "Exploring a new path for ninja, searching for a road beyond killing, this is something I've been thinking about as well. When the Shinichi Society is officially established one day, I wonder if I can apply to join as a member too?"
"You would naturally be more than welcome."
Shinichi smiled and said, "Discussing the path of the future is something that only gets better with more like-minded companions, especially someone as outstanding and dependable as you, senior Minato."
At the same time, a subtle sense of strangeness arose in Shinichi's heart.
After all, he had always regarded Minato as the greatest competitor for the position of Hokage.
So what was this now? Turning his greatest rival into a member of his own association? Having his future opponent work for him in advance?
Shinichi secretly shook his head and suppressed the strange thought.
It was not a bad thing at all, and Minato's joining would only benefit him.
From the moment he joined the association centered around Shinichi's ideals, Minato was naturally one level below Shinichi, the association president.
In the future, he would also no longer be qualified to compete with Shinichi for the position of Hokage.
Thinking of this, Shinichi continued strolling forward, chatting with Minato while continuously rescuing one buried Kirigakure ninja after another from beneath the ruins.
Of these surviving Kirigakure ninja, how many would be useful to him in the future?
...
Time passed slowly. About half an hour later, Konoha's main force returned to the ruins of Rinkai City under the command of Commander Koharu Utatane.
The moment she stepped into the area, she saw numerous Konoha Medical Ninjas moving through the ruins, digging Kirigakure ninjas out of the rubble one after another, applying medicine, bandaging them, and treating them.
Seeing this, Koharu Utatane immediately frowned and asked, "What's going on?"
"It was Captain Shinichi Higashino's order." Someone nearby immediately answered.
The tightly furrowed brows of Koharu Utatane relaxed, and the words that had reached her lips were swallowed back down.
"This child... Is still as kind-hearted as ever."
She fell silent for a moment and sighed inwardly.
Moreover, in her view, given Shinichi's usual prudence and sense of the bigger picture, there had to be a reason for doing this.
Thus, she said nothing further, merely gave a simple instruction: just do as ordered, and stopped concerning herself with the matter, instead leading the troops into the temporary command headquarters built with Earth Style Ninjutsu.
A short while later, under Koharu Utatane's orders, reports from every frontline of the offensive, casualty statistics, battle results, and subsequent garrison deployments were summarized and reviewed.
Afterward, she and Homura Mitokado praised everyone's performance before ordering them to rest and recover.
Once everyone had dispersed, the two finally picked up the document Shinichi had submitted before leaving, the Rinkai City Convention.
However, after reading only for a short while, both of them frowned simultaneously.