Once he figured it all out, Gisei found himself feeling indifferent about this secret meeting.
No matter what happened here, there wouldn't be any real results today. If these people wouldn't support his coup, they were just useless pawns to him.
Anyone can talk big and make empty promises, but when it matters most, they'll definitely drop the ball. He had no intention of letting them drag him into a pit.
Sensing Gisei's growing impatience, the clan leaders quieted down, one by one turning their eyes toward Shuichi Takemoto.
Takemoto knew he had to speak up, or Gisei might go berserk again.
"Gisei, we have to take things one step at a time. It's too early to talk about a coup. You should explain the first step clearly, and then we can decide whether to take the second step depending on the situation."
Gisei shrugged indifferently. "The first step is actually very simple. It's to win back the hearts of your clan members. You instill new ideas in them, combine that with practical benefits, and they'll have no choice but to risk their lives for the clan."
"New ideas... is it this 'people-oriented' concept you mentioned?"
"That's right. We're also very curious about what exactly this 'people-oriented' philosophy means."
Seeing the genuine interest in the eyes of these clan leaders, Gisei was truly speechless.
Every single one of them viewed their own power as the most important thing in the world; they were so incredibly shortsighted.
Gisei hadn't wanted to explain this to them, but on second thought, he realized there was no harm in it. After all, the more people who knew about ideas like this, the faster they would spread.
Especially these clan leaders—if this idea was truly useful for maintaining their power, they would spare no effort in promoting it.
Well, although it was far from his original intention, it could be considered making use of trash.
"'People-oriented,' simply put, is placing the interests of the villagers above the interests of the village."
"For example, if you have a piece of candy, and the village asks you to take it out and share it with everyone, would you be willing?"
"Perhaps some people would be very willing. After all, everyone being happy is true happiness, right?"
"But those who aren't willing would think: 'Why should I share? Originally, I could eat the whole thing, but now I only get one lick. It's ridiculous.'"
"There's a reason why ninjas are trained to abandon personal emotions. If personal emotions are too strong, it poses a threat to the village's rule."
"In short, the Third and his circle put the village first, the villagers second, and the ninja clans third."
"We want to flip that. We put the villagers' interests first, the ninja clans second, and the village dead last."
"First, propagate this idea within your clans. Once it takes root, your members will band together and follow you to fight for their own benefits."
"As long as they aren't defeated spiritually, no matter how much the Third preaches the 'Will of Fire,' he can't do a thing to us."
Gisei shut his mouth after speaking; he had already been as brief as possible.
Although these guys were selfish and greedy as snakes, they were experts at manipulating people. As long as he gave them a hint, they could come up with plenty of tricks on their own.
Everyone began to ponder, and even a trace of joy appeared on Takemoto's face.
"Gisei, can you be more specific? How exactly should we promote this idea?"
Gisei curled his lips in annoyance. After thinking for a moment, he continued, "If you really don't know how to promote it, then just tell your clan members directly: following you means getting paid every day, while following the village means working for free. It's that simple."
"Using money to win over hearts... isn't that too vulgar?"
Black lines practically appeared on Gisei's forehead.
It's useful precisely BECAUSE it's vulgar, you idiot! Everyone is vulgar!
If you don't talk money with vulgar people and try to talk about "life" instead, they'll likely spit in your face and make you swallow it.
"'People-oriented' naturally isn't just about money. Sense of belonging, sense of honor, sense of achievement, values—all of it must be included. It's not just lip service; you have to take practical action."
"You must clearly tell your clan members that Konoha consists of people first, and the village structure comes later."
"The people living here are the most important thing; the village itself has to take a back seat."
"This way, when the Third uses phrases like 'for the village' to fool your clan members, it won't work anymore. That is my point."
Aonobu Kawai looked puzzled. "Why do I feel this is similar to the 'Will of Fire' the Third talks about?"
Gisei scoffed grumpily. "Similar? It's far from it. The original intention of the Third's 'Will of Fire' is sacrifice—selfless sacrifice for the village."
"'People-oriented' means letting people value their own interests."
"It might seem like a small difference, but when the critical moment comes, it changes everything."
"For example, if someone wants to stage a coup, can the Third make them obediently commit suicide with just the phrase 'for the village'?"
"Since they refuse to commit suicide, the Third will use the excuse 'for the village' to incite others to besiege them."
"This is the method of the Third and Danzo."
"But if 'people-oriented' thinking spreads, even if the Third wants to use the excuse 'for the village' to mobilize others for a siege, he will be stopped."
"Why? Because the group staging the coup are also people of the village. That is the difference."
"The ideology itself isn't important; what's important is finding a righteous excuse for people's selfishness. That is the real killer move."
Aonobu argued, "But the village belongs to everyone. If someone wants to stage a coup, what's wrong with killing them for the sake of everyone in the village?"
Gisei felt that this guy had already been thoroughly brainwashed by the Will of Fire.
"So you mean it's right to sacrifice the interests of a small group for the interests of the majority?"
"You have to realize that we are that small group!"
As soon as he said that, everyone's eyes lit up.
They finally understood the implications.
Killing ten to save a hundred is the Hokage's way.
What they had to do was incite those ten people to stand up and fight against the hundred.
It just so happened that the Third wanted to use war to weaken the ninja clans; what they had to do was incite the ninja clans to oppose this method.
A single ninja clan couldn't achieve anything, but if there were many ninja clans united, they would become synonymous with "the village."
The Third and Danzo would instead become the minority group to be sacrificed.
Seemingly no difference on the surface, but underneath, there was a world of difference.
In the final analysis, it was a battle for public opinion.
If public opinion was on their side, even if the Third sat in the Hokage's seat and wanted to deal with them using the excuse "for the village," absolutely no one would approve.
If they caused the relationship between the Third and the villagers to sour and took the opportunity to win over hearts, even if the Third didn't want to step down, he wouldn't have a choice.
The current situation in the village was that whoever became Hokage could do whatever they wanted by using the title as a shield. Even if others knew he was manipulating them, they had no moral ground to resist.
But if this new idea spread, the Hokage wouldn't find it so easy to do whatever he wanted under false pretenses.
The old men looked at each other, and almost simultaneously, they laughed soundlessly.