Originally, according to General Mifune's proposal, they had intended to reuse the old building where the Five Kage Summit had been held decades ago. Located within a secret valley on the outskirts of the capital, it was both safe and secluded.
Even if the various parties started fighting on the spot, it would not endanger the civilians within the capital.
However, Isshin did not agree with this plan. He argued that since those attending this time were not the five Kage, using that building again would be inappropriate according to the protocol.
Moreover, the place was too small. This conference was intended to be open to the entire Shinobi World, making secrecy unnecessary. Representatives from large and small ninja villages and various factions would all be present, and the old building simply could not accommodate everyone.
It would be better to construct a brand-new conference hall.
He also took the opportunity to propose the concept of an international joint conference, where representatives from every nation and ninja village could be permanently stationed in the future, providing all countries and villages with a basic platform for communication, discussing affairs, promoting cooperation, and preventing strategic miscalculations.
In this way, the Land of Iron's influence could rise to an entirely new level, truly becoming the neutral hub of the Shinobi World.
Inappropriate according to protocol?
When General Mifune heard those words at the time, he was genuinely astonished.
He had never imagined that Isshin, who was usually known for being reckless, overbearing, and lawless, would actually utter the words inappropriate according to protocol.
Even more unexpectedly, the young man had gone on to propose an idea that demonstrated remarkable political wisdom and strategic vision.
After pondering it for a while, Mifune concluded that the proposal was indeed feasible and nodded his approval.
Thus, over the course of just a few months, the Land of Iron undertook a massive construction effort and erected this brand-new, dignified conference building in the center of the capital.
That morning, at the appointed time, representatives from the various small nations and ninja villages, along with reporters from the major newspapers, entered the grand conference hall of the newly constructed building one after another under the guidance of the Land of Iron's reception staff.
The conference hall featured a circular layout, an expansive interior, and an imposing atmosphere.
At its center stood an enormous round table reserved exclusively for the representatives of the Five Great Shinobi Countries and Five Great Ninja Villages, while concentric tiers of gallery seating surrounded it.
Representatives from the smaller nations and ninja villages, along with accredited reporters, took their seats there, looking down from above upon the round table that would determine the future order of the Shinobi World.
At this moment, the representatives of the Five Great Shinobi Countries and Five Great Ninja Villages had not yet arrived.
Only the representatives of the Land of Iron were seated at the massive round table: the previous General of the Land of Iron, Rokkaku; the current General, Mifune; and the representative of the new generation of samurai, the legendary samurai, Isshin, who was said to have fought Shinichi Higashino to a draw and had independently created Lightning Style Nintaijutsu.
One elder, one middle-aged man, and one youth, three generations seated together.
Witnessing this scene, many people could not help but feel their hearts stir as they quietly speculated about the deeper meaning behind the Land of Iron's arrangement.
Inheritance? Transition? Or was it meant to demonstrate to the outside world that the Land of Iron had worthy successors?
The reporters hurriedly raised their cameras, flashes going off one after another as they immortalized the scene on film.
Without changing his expression, Mifune quietly took in everyone's reactions.
Without giving it much thought, he could already guess what they were thinking.
Although Isshin had been allowed to sit here primarily because he served as the liaison with Konoha and was about to assume the position of the first President of the International Supervisory Committee, Mifune had to admit that he had indeed intended to use this opportunity to show the outside world that the Land of Iron had capable successors.
In his view, Isshin possessed extraordinary talent and tremendous strength. Given enough time, he might even become the greatest samurai in history.
Such a figure had naturally long since entered his consideration as a successor.
Although Isshin's personality remained somewhat unruly and defiant, he was still young. If a young man was not full of spirit, could he still be called young?
With proper guidance, after another ten or twenty years, those rough edges would naturally be worn smooth by the passage of time.
And by then, he himself would also be old, allowing him to hand over the position of General with peace of mind and let the new generation carry the banner of the Land of Iron.
Thinking of this, something suddenly stirred within Mifune's heart.
The previous General had been named Rokkaku; he himself was Mifune, and now this generation had produced a future General named Isshin.
Six, three, one, these numbers, arranged in sequence, might truly represent a predestined connection.
(Note: In Japanese, Rokkaku means "hexagon" or "six corners", Mifune means "three ships", and Isshin means "one mind")
A faint smile rarely appeared at the corners of his mouth before he quickly composed himself once more and calmly turned his gaze toward the entrance of the hall, waiting for the representatives of the Five Great Ninja Villages to formally enter.
A moment later, under the gaze of everyone present, the representatives of the Five Great Shinobi Countries and Five Great Ninja Villages entered simultaneously.
The Land of Iron had put considerable thought into arranging their entrance order as well.
Having anyone enter before or after the others would have been inappropriate, so they simply had the delegations of the Five Great Ninja Villages enter simultaneously through five different entrances, ensuring that none of them overshadowed the others.
There was little need to mention the official representatives of the Five Great Shinobi Countries.
Hardly anyone present recognized them anyway, and they were essentially there merely as a formality.
The attention of everyone present was focused far more on the delegations of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
As for Konoha's delegation, there was naturally no need to say more.
The representatives from the Village Hidden in the Stones were the third Tsuchikage's son, Kitsuchi, with the elite Jōnin Gari, who was rumored to possess two different Kekkei Genkai, serving as the deputy representative.
The Village Hidden in the Cloud's representative was A, the third Raikage's son, while the deputy representative was Dodai, the third Raikage's court minister and chief advisor.
The village Hidden in the Mist's representative was Yagura, with the elite Jōnin Chukichi serving as the deputy representative.
The representatives from the first two villages came as no surprise to anyone, but Village Hidden in the Mist's choice genuinely caught many people off guard.
As the commander of the Kirigakure forces on the Konoha front, Yagura had suffered a crushing defeat in the battle of Rinkai City.
Everyone had assumed that, given the Village Hidden in the Mist's way of doing things, Yagura would have already been held accountable or even forced to commit seppuku. At the very least, his political career should have been over, with him quietly pushed aside.
Yet unexpectedly, he still stepped forward as the Village Hidden in the Mist's representative on an occasion like this.
Check my Patreon for 150 more chapters
Pa treon. com/SweetestDeath