"A Five Kage Summit? absolutely impossible! The five great villages are currently engulfed in war. The fighting is at its peak. The other Kage would never risk leaving their villages at a time like this to attend some conference. Nor can the Land of Iron provide security at that level. If anything were to happen to even one of them within our borders, the consequences would not be something the Land of Iron could..."
"It's not a Five Kage Summit."
Isshin interrupted him and shook his head.
"They only need representatives of corresponding rank from the major villages."
"Representatives?"
Mifune's frown eased somewhat, though doubt still lingered in his voice.
"Even that won't be easy. The villages are still at war. No one knows how long this conflict will continue. To ask each village to send representatives to sit down and talk at a time like this... even if the attendees are not Kage, they would still need to be figures authorized to make decisions on behalf of their villages. People of that level cannot easily leave the battlefield or their villages either."
He paused for a second before continuing.
"Forget that. Tell me first, what exactly does Shinichi Higashino, or Konoha, intend to achieve by holding this conference?"
"The Rinkai City Convention."
Isshin replied: "Shinichi Higashino said Konoha wants to promote the joint signing of a public agreement regarding wartime restrictions among the Five Great Ninja Villages."
"The Rinkai City... Convention?"
Mifune frowned.
"What is that?"
Isshin casually explained: "The general idea is protecting civilians during war, treating prisoners of war properly, not attacking medical personnel, things like that."
Convention, protect the civilians and treat the prisoners well…?
Mifune did not answer immediately, and after a long silence, he finally spoke.
"If what Shinichi Higashino says is true, and Konoha genuinely possesses such intentions, then that is naturally a good thing. In that case, the Land of Iron is willing to provide the venue."
Throughout his life, he had strictly followed the way of the samurai, and the things he despised most were bullying the weak and meaningless slaughter.
If Konoha truly intended this, he was willing to recognize the convention itself.
"However..."
Mifune changed his tone.
"The matter cannot be accomplished simply because the Land of Iron agrees. The other four major villages must also agree. Moreover, while the contents of the convention sound admirable, whether it can be signed and whether it can be enforced after signing are entirely different matters. By the way, when does Konoha plan to hold it?"
"No idea."
Isshin spread his hands and answered bluntly.
"Shinichi Higashino only told me that if the Land of Iron is willing to provide a venue, Konoha will formally send diplomatic notices to the other four villages at an appropriate time."
Mifune nodded and was about to speak, but Isshin suddenly seemed to remember something.
"Oh, right. Shinichi Higashino also asked me for another favor. He hopes that after the convention is signed, I can serve as President of the International Supervisory Committee."
"President of the International Supervisory Committee?"
Mifune's brows furrowed once more.
"What is that supposed to be?"
"Probably something responsible for leading inspection teams through the villages that signed the Rinkai City Convention. Monitoring whether they're complying with the treaty, treating prisoners properly, protecting civilians, and so on. If violations are discovered and someone refuses to comply..."
"And if they refuse?"
Mifune unconsciously pressed further.
"Refuse?"
The moment Isshin heard that, his eyes lit up.
It was as if a flame deep within him had suddenly been ignited, and his entire demeanor instantly became eager and excited.
"That would be great!"
"Stop, stop, stop!"
Mifune immediately raised a hand to stop him; he did not need to hear the rest. He already understood everything perfectly.
He could practically picture what this battle-crazed youth would do after discovering someone had violated the treaty.
The mere thought gave him a headache, then he opened his mouth, intending to say something.
Should he tell him to exercise restraint and not to solve everything with violence?
But looking at the young man before him, whose eyes were filled with fighting spirit and anticipation, the words ultimately died in his throat.
Some things were pointless to say.
"Let's wait until Konoha formally announces the conference before discussing it further."
Mifune rubbed his temples and waved his hand.
"You may leave now."
"Then I'm off, General-sama."
Isshin turned and left, his steps light, apparently in an excellent mood.
"Wait, Isshin!"
Mifune's voice came from behind him, filled with helplessness.
"You kid, behave yourself for the next few days!"
"Got it!"
Without even turning around, Isshin waved a hand and strode out of the General's residence.
...
"Refuse to comply?"
Walking out of the General's residence, Isshin looked up at the sky, a smile curving his lips.
Then he would simply make a huge scene.
Although his publicity campaign tied to the main body had already earned him a certain degree of fame, the attention of the Shinobi World was still primarily focused on the astonishing genius Shinichi Higashino.
To most people, the name Isshin was still merely: That samurai who once fought Shinichi Higashino to a draw and nothing more, but how could that be acceptable?
Then, before becoming Saint Swordsman Isshin, it was time for the Shinobi World to first witness Sword Demon Isshin.
The Sword Demon Isshin, who had sharpened his swordsmanship through countless life-and-death battles while relentlessly advancing forward and greedily pursuing ever greater heights of strength.
And as for danger?
Although the overall combat capability of the clone, Isshin, was no longer equal to that of the main body, in terms of pure strength and durability, this clone still surpassed it.
In the current Shinobi World, there was no one capable of instantly killing this body.
At least, no one is publicly known who could eliminate Isshin before he had time to react.
Can't win? Then run.
An army encircling him? Go talk to his Summoning Technique.
No Ninjutsu capable of sealing spatial transportation currently exists in the Shinobi World.
And the Summoning Technique was fundamentally a form of space-time Ninjutsu.
In other words, after discovering that a village had violated the treaty, Isshin could immediately cause chaos if he felt like it, then leave afterward without anyone being able to stop him.
Afterward, he could relentlessly pursue the matter from the moral high ground.
On one side, there would be accusations of treaty violations, publication of evidence, and coordinated public pressure, which was the soft approach.
On the other hand, Isshin would personally show up at any time for inspections, questioning, and accountability, causing trouble and leaving immediately afterward.
Whoever violated the treaty would suffer, and that was the hard approach.
Using both methods together might still not guarantee perfect compliance from every village, but it would at least force them to exercise far greater restraint.
It would be far more effective than relying on a meaningless piece of paper alone.
In addition, there was an unexpected benefit.
By constantly using the Summoning Technique to move freely between the major villages, his actions would likely be mistaken by the public for some form of space-time Ninjutsu.
If that perception gradually spreads and intensifies, it might eventually contribute to the creation of a space-time-related talent in the future.
The more he thought about it, the more Isshin felt this position had practically been custom-made for him.
Master Swordsman and Saint Swordsman, those were already things of the past.
What would soon make its appearance was the president of the International Supervisory Committee.
Using the convention as his sword and the great ninja villages as whetstones, a man who possessed space-time Ninjutsu and could move freely through thousands upon thousands of ninjas would make his appearance!
Of course, all of this depended on one prerequisite.
The conference had to be successfully convened, and the other four great ninja villages had to agree to sign the Rinkai City Convention.