Seiki didn't intend to push too hard and smiled gently, "Then I'll wait for the results of your investigation, Raikage-sama."
Seeing Seiki wasn't pressing further, A let out a relieved breath and laughed loudly, "Haha, let's not dwell on these disheartening matters. By the way, Seiki, where exactly have you been these past three years? There hasn't been a single trace of you across the entire shinobi world!"
Upon hearing the Raikage's question, Dodai perked up his ears as well. He was also very curious about this issue.
Seiki turned serious and said, "For these past three years, I've constantly been investigating a secret organization! To avoid being discovered by them, I completely concealed my tracks!"
"A secret organization?" A's eyes turned heavy, "Right, I've also received similar intelligence. There indeed is a force secretly developing in our shinobi world!"
Seiki was surprised, "You guys also know about it?"
A smiled proudly, "Cloud Village may be one of the Five Great Hidden Villages, and when it comes to intel, we've got way more leads than you could gather on your own!"
"It's good that you already know. I was still wondering how to explain the Xu organization to you!" Seiki said.
"Xu (empty)?" Now it was A's turn to exclaim in surprise.
"Xu (void)?" This time it was Seiki's turn to appear "confused."
"You must've mixed up the name. It should be Akatsuki, not Xu," A asked again.
"No, the name I've been hearing is definitely Xu!" Seiki confirmed.
"Could it be that this secret organization actually has two names?" Dodai couldn't help but ask.
"Well then, let's exchange intelligence!" A eagerly said. "Let me go first. This Akatsuki organization seems to be secretly spreading dangerous ideologies of revolution and war among the small countries! Moreover, they're recklessly spreading the methods of learning chakra and ninjutsu, recruiting anyone with the potential to become a ninja into their organization!"
"Scattering the seeds of power among the masses, and then harnessing the strength of the people? Unexpectedly, there's someone insightful in that Akatsuki organization!" Seiki praised without the slightest guilt—referring to another version of himself who had proposed this strategy!
A's face darkened, "Seiki, buddy, which side are you on exactly?"
Seiki smiled apologetically, "Sorry, please continue."
A continued, "Power breeds desire and ambition. Back then, the Five Great Hidden Villages always held the reins. Even if those smaller villages wanted to cause trouble, they still had to consider our stance!"
"But now it's different. Power has been scattered like seeds across the entire world. The ambitions we previously suppressed will very likely erupt as their numbers increase!"
"Our ninjas are trained from childhood, carefully selected through strict criteria. They have their own Ninja Way and willpower, and they know their place, which is why they can control their powers! But what about regular people who fall into power? They don't have the strength of heart needed to handle it, and they'll only bring chaos and destruction!"
"I'm not saying this out of fear for us—civilian ninjas can never catch up to the Five Great Hidden Villages, no matter how fast they rise. What I fear is that they'll destroy the hard-earned peace in the shinobi world!"
Seiki gave a slight nod. What A had said actually made sense.
Power can be blinding — it can make people forget who they really are. Even the Five Great Hidden Villages produce all sorts of fools, and the proportion of fools among those smaller nations can only be even higher!
Besides, vision and perspective are indeed crucial.
The ninja of the Five Great Hidden Villages at least have some understanding of the strength of powerful individuals and know how to show respect. But those who got power overnight lack that kind of insight.
Still, even though spreading power may bring countless chaos and disasters, ordinary people would still mostly welcome such a change.
The reason is simple: those high-and-mighty ninja lords might be able to restrain their own desires, but war won't. War will destroy everything they possess!
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In truth, it's hard to say whether spreading the seeds of power is right or wrong. As for Seiki, what he truly cares about is raising the overall level of the shinobi world.
A world full of ninja — even if these commoners don't receive proper training, with their massive population, there will always be a few jaw-dropping geniuses emerging!
And for the Five Great Hidden Villages, the sudden appearance of so many new ninja chasing after them would create a sense of crisis, forcing them never to stop advancing.
A spoke harshly, "That Akatsuki organization is undermining the foundation of the Five Great Hidden Villages and overturning the order of the shinobi world. We absolutely cannot let them get away with this!"
Seiki asked, "Do you know where their base is?"
A sighed, "No. That damned group has hidden themselves away too well. If they hadn't made so much noise, we'd still be in the dark about all this!"
"If we can't catch them, then let's focus on something more important."
"Something more important?"
Seiki nodded. "Exactly — our attitude toward these emerging ninja!"
A's expression turned heavy. "That truly is a troublesome matter! Chakra and various mid to low-level ninjutsu have already spread. Now it's already too late to try and suppress it!"
Seiki fell silent for a moment before saying, "Rather than trying to suppress it, we might as well actively spread it ourselves!"
A was stunned. "We spread it ourselves?"
Seiki nodded firmly. "If your intelligence is correct, that organization is likely only spreading it in smaller countries out of fear of being detected by us. If we're any slower, even the battlefields of our own countries might be lost!"
A's face hardened — indeed, not everyone in the village qualified to become a ninja, let alone the entire nation.
Cloud Village alone could field twenty thousand ninja, yet the vast Land of Lightning only had a guard unit of a thousand ninja around the Daimyo.
Once that organization reached into their territory — even the Land of Lightning, which he considers his private domain — more than half the population would probably side with the Akatsuki.
Thinking about it, A became anxious. "We must act quickly!"
"Don't be hasty," Seiki smiled. "Compared to that Akatsuki organization, we have our own advantage — the long-standing authority of the Five Great Hidden Villages!"
"As long as we publicly reveal the secrets of chakra and ninjutsu, the majority will surely choose to join us!"
"Besides, what we've spread so far are only mid- to low-level techniques. To learn more advanced jutsu, one must join either us or the Akatsuki organization... This is exactly where our biggest gap lies—their [depth]!"
A nodded repeatedly, laughing heartily, "Exactly! When it comes to legitimacy and authority, those cowards hiding in the shadows won't stand a chance against us even in ten years!"
"If we're going to do this, why not hold a Five Kage Summit?" Dodai suggested. "The five Kage could officially announce this together. Maybe even lure the Akatsuki out of the shadows?"
"Brilliant!" A perked up instantly. He loved big shows like this. Patting Dodai on the shoulder, he praised, "Dodai, you really know how to think!"
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