Hearing that, the smile on Minato's face almost broke.
'Don't drag me into your boasting! Minato's Homecoming? I can't do that!'
The range of his Flying Thunder God Technique was determined by the limits of his sensory abilities. With his current sensory range, it was simply impossible for him to teleport directly from Konoha to another ninja village.
But on second thought, he realized the idea was not entirely impossible.
He truly could not reach another village in a single teleportation.
However, he could continuously leave space-time markers along the route and use them to jump from one point to the next.
Although it would be somewhat slower than the, infiltrate whenever he wanted and leave whenever he wanted, scenario Shinichi had described, in theory it could achieve a similar effect.
Or, more simply, after killing people inside the village, he could teleport into the forests surrounding it, hide there, recover, and then return to continue the slaughter.
For someone who possessed the Flying Thunder God Technique, this was never a question of whether it could be done, but merely one of time and effort.
Why had he never thought of such a useful tactic before?
At that thought, Minato unconsciously nodded.
However, the name Minato's Homecoming was far too inaccurate. Silently, he corrected it in his mind; it should be called Shinichi starts the attack while Minato comes and goes without a trace to rest and recover, to be more precise.
The moment that thought surfaced, even Minato himself was stunned.
'Wait, I almost got led astray by Shinichi. Wasn't I here to hold a humanitarian convention?'
'How did I already start seriously thinking about how to infiltrate and kill people in an endless cycle?'
The expressions of the representatives from the other villages grew even uglier.
None of them knew the true range of Minato Namikaze's space-time Ninjutsu or what limitations it might have.
Even the Village Hidden in the Cloud, which had once fought against the second Hokage and was considered the village that understood the Flying Thunder God Technique best, had no idea where the limits of the technique truly lay.
Still, there had to be limits.
Dodai carefully recalled the village's various research records concerning the second Hokage's space-time Ninjutsu and rapidly calculated the possibilities in his mind.
Minato Namikaze certainly could not simply return home or teleport directly to another hidden village.
Yet as he continued his calculations, he was horrified to discover that while Minato indeed could not go straight home in a single step or instantly cross thousands or tens of thousands of miles, in theory, he truly could achieve the so-called Minato's Homecoming.
At that realization, Dodai's expression changed drastically. He immediately grabbed the indignant A Yotsuki beside him, who was about to speak, shook his head, and signaled for him to remain silent for the time being.
Shinichi seemed unconcerned with what everyone was thinking. He merely swept his gaze slowly across the room before continuing, "What I'm trying to say is that not only are Senior Minato and I placing restrictions on ourselves, but Konoha is as well. We have always followed the first Hokage's teachings by treating the tailed beast Jinchūriki as precious symbols of peace rather than weapons of war."
"So in every great war, we have never deployed Jinchūriki onto the battlefield as weapons. We have even kept their identities under the strictest secrecy so they could grow up in an environment free from suspicious glances, instead of making their existence common knowledge the way all of you have."
Upon hearing this, Minato Namikaze instinctively started to nod along, but he quickly realized something, forcibly stopped himself midway, and maintained his gentle, composed smile.
"And that's not all."
Shinichi paused, and his tone grew even heavier.
"I'm sure all of you have heard that the second Hokage was a master of Ninjutsu. What I want to tell you is that the second Hokage left behind many immensely powerful techniques capable of changing the course of an entire war. Yet because he was kind-hearted, he ultimately classified them all as forbidden techniques and sealed them away forever. As his successors, we have faithfully honored his wishes and have never activated a single one of those forbidden techniques throughout all these years."
At this point, Shinichi said meaningfully, "Otherwise, how many more of your ninja do you think would have died if those techniques had actually been used?"
"Who knows whether anything you're saying is true? Maybe you're just making all of this up!"
Pakura could no longer hold herself back and spoke coldly.
"Whether it's true or not can be tested."
Shinichi smiled faintly, his gaze once again sweeping slowly across everyone present.
"I know all of you have your own grievances. You think these treaties are restricting your side in one way or another. Since you're dissatisfied, that actually makes things simple. Then..."
At that point, Shinichi's voice suddenly rose sharply. His eyes became as sharp as blades, and an overwhelming aura swept through the entire conference hall like a raging storm.
"Then I, Shinichi Higashino... Hereby issue an official declaration on behalf of the Hidden Leaf Village to everyone present!"
"Konoha's unrestricted war begins at this very moment!"
"Starting today, Konoha will remove all restrictions. No limits on tactics, battlefields, timing, locations, methods, and targets! Our only objective will be maximum casualties!"
Shinichi's voice exploded like thunder throughout the entire hall.
"You think these agreements only restrict you? Fine! Then we won't sign them! If it's war you want, then we'll give you war! If it's unrestricted slaughter you seek, then we'll give you a real war, one fought without reservation, without mercy, and to the bitter end!"
"And every sin and every infamy that comes from it..."
Shinichi stood with his hands behind his back, his youthful face illuminated by a cold, unwavering light.
"I, Shinichi Higashino, will bear them alone."
The moment those words fell, the conference hall descended into absolute silence.
No one had expected that this conference, which had been convened to discuss humanitarian principles and the limits of warfare, would so quickly transform into a declaration of unrestricted war in which every restraint had been cast aside.
The representatives of the smaller villages seated in the audience stared at the scene in utter disbelief.
Before arriving, they had already expected the atmosphere of the conference to be explosive, but they had never imagined it would reach this level.
Some had even assumed that although Konoha was the strongest of the Five Great Ninja Villages, as the organizer that had invited everyone else to attend, it would naturally adopt a restrained and conciliatory attitude, valuing harmony above all else.
They had even expected Konoha to make concessions on minor matters and accept small losses in order to secure the swift adoption of the humanitarian convention.
Instead, Shinichi Higashino, Konoha's representative, had become increasingly uncompromising with each of his speeches, ultimately going so far as to declare unrestricted war outright.
Such a scene was simply unprecedented, and it was the first time in their lives they had ever found themselves at the center of such an enormous storm.
Some even secretly felt that even if they died on the journey home, simply witnessing today's events would have made it worthwhile.
The invited reporters, after a brief period of shock, quickly recovered their senses. Camera flashes erupted incessantly, and excitement nearly overwhelmed them.