Anna Takemoto was startled by his sudden proposal. "Start a Ninja World War? How could we possibly do that? And... what exactly is your current strength?"
Gisei Shiraishi narrowed his eyes and smiled. "If nothing unexpected happens, Danzo will soon go out and cause trouble. He will definitely be the one to instigate the Second Great Ninja War. All I have to do is add fuel to the fire, making the situation spiral out of his control."
"As for my strength... apart from those absolute freaks of nature, going 50/50 with the Third Hokage is no problem."
Anna's expression turned complicated. "Grandfather said the same thing. He said Konoha will soon go to war with the outside world. But... what should we do then? Our clansmen will have to go to the battlefield, and so many people will die."
Gisei fell silent. Of course, he knew people would die. Perhaps even people he knew well—classmates, or his own clansmen.
There was no other way. Gisei looked at Anna's worried face and tried to comfort her. "When the time comes, I will take you all to the battlefield myself. We'll try to keep the casualties as low as possible."
"But I hope you remember: the outcome of the war has nothing to do with us. Konoha's 'interests' have nothing to do with us either. When the time comes, try your best to stop the clansmen from letting the hot blood rush to their heads."
Anna nodded, but she still looked anxious. "Can you really lead us? What if someone else gets appointed?"
Gisei patted her hand and laughed. "You usually seem so shrewd; how can you be so silly at a critical moment?"
"Currently, there are five factions in the village: the Hokage, the isolated Uchiha, the permanently neutral faction led by the Hyuga, and a few fence-sitters. The rest... is us."
"Unless I drop dead, the Third Hokage will definitely let me lead you. This is what is called political compromise. He might even promise me a heap of benefits just to get me to agree."
Anna thought for a moment, then smiled. "Indeed. Since you have a plan, come with me to see Grandfather. He might have better ideas."
That old man who's about to kick the bucket? What kind of ideas could he have? If he had any, he wouldn't be clutching onto me so desperately.
Gisei complained in his heart but said aloud, "Your grandfather doesn't have many days left. Let's not bother him with this kind of thing."
"Didn't you just want to take me to see him?"
"I changed my mind. Telling him is useless. He won't drag the clan into deep water just because of a stray thought of mine. Honestly, the fact that you agreed with my approach surprises me."
Anna reached out, grabbed his ear, and twisted. "I don't agree with you; I believe in you. Also, my grandfather is your grandfather too! Why are you so prejudiced against him? You're just hoping he'll die, aren't you?"
Gisei hurriedly grabbed her wrist. "Ouch—pain! Let go! You are not allowed to do this in front of outsiders!"
Anna rolled her eyes playfully. "Does that mean I can do it when there are no outsiders?"
Gisei sighed helplessly. "You... fine, I'm afraid of you. When we were small, you pinned me down and beat me up. Now you still don't want to admit defeat. I shouldn't have been soft-hearted just now and let you take advantage."
Anna's eyes curved into happy crescents. "You are such an awkward person. I couldn't understand you at all before, but now that I do, I get especially angry. I just want to beat you up. Ideally, beat that awkward personality back into shape."
"I beg you to spare me. Some people are like rotten apples in a box; if left alone, the whole box will rot. I'm still counting on this personality to infect a few more apples. Hell, it would be even better if I infected all of Konoha."
"Who talks about themselves like that? You really are useless mud that can't support a wall."
"I said it long ago: some people are broken from the moment they are born."
"Will you continue to be broken in the future?"
"Probably not."
"That's good. It's best like this now. I like it very much."
Anna pulled him up, walked a circle around him, and nodded approvingly.
Gisei was confused by her behavior. "What are you doing?"
"Go cut your long hair tomorrow. From now on, unless it's an important festival, you are not allowed to wear those clan clothes again. Oh right, and quit cigarettes. The smell of smoke in your mouth is terrible."
Gisei's face dropped. "I never said I definitely have to marry you. If you do this, you will lose me."
"Really?"
"I'm not joking."
Anna took a step closer. Gisei took a step back.
"Unless you take a knife and kill me right now."
"Heh heh~" Anna sneered, leaned into his ear, and whispered something soft and dangerous.
After pulling back, she looked at him with a flushed face.
Gisei sniffled, stood up straight, and said righteously, "I guarantee to complete the mission."
Anna kicked him lightly, then added, "One more thing. I must learn your family's secret technique. Otherwise, I won't even have the qualifications to stay by your side."
Gisei hesitated. Creating another anomaly like Mei really wasn't a good idea; he was genuinely worried about being threatened by her power.
"Is it not okay?"
Seeing his hesitation, Anna quickly corrected herself. "Then forget it. I will just train harder to keep up with you."
"It's not that it's not okay. How about this: you select a few reliable candidates from your clan, and I will select some people from mine. Since we are going to do it, we'll need manpower."
Anna was stunned. "You plan to teach the secret technique on a large scale?"
Gisei shook his head. "The secret technique is actually just so-so. The most important thing is the butterfly species; it can speed up cultivation."
Anna looked thoughtful. "Is it that 'the faster the cultivation, the shorter the lifespan' kind of thing? Your cultivation speed..."
Gisei interrupted her. "Don't worry, I am a bit different. You will understand in the future."
Anna sighed. "You... By the way, what about the other ninja clans? Are we going to abandon them?"
Gisei looked distressed. He knew it would come to this; pull one hair and the whole body moves. He really didn't know if doing this was right or wrong.
"They just want me to fight for benefits; they won't agree with my methods. I can only say that if they want something, they should rely on their own ability to get it. I will give everything I can give."
He paced back and forth. "Let's leave it like this for now. The decision was too rushed; let me think about it properly."
Anna nodded, then hesitated. "If it weren't for the matter between us... what did you plan to do?"
"Is there something between us?"
Gisei started to play dumb. Only a fool would answer a death question like that.
"Heh heh~ You really are the most detestable guy."
Anna left with a sneer, kicking the locked front door into pieces with one foot on her way out.
Gisei looked at the shattered door and fell silent.
He sat back on the reclining chair and began to rock back and forth.
After a while, he reached his hand up and slapped himself hard in the face.
"There is a knife hanging above the character for 'lust' 色. Take this as a warning."
He was puzzled. He had always been calm as still water, so why did his heart soften the moment he saw her cry today?
Could he really not control his lower half?
He suddenly remembered Sakumo Hatake's advice.
It is impossible for a person to live alone. If such a person really exists, then he is just a monster wearing human skin.
Gisei laughed bitterly.
Worthy of being the White Fang of Konoha. The man is like his blade; every cut pierces the heart and lungs.