The Uchiha clan, which was wiped out entirely, lacked vision.

Chapter 226 Politics is like this

Chapter 226 Politics is like this

"what?"

Nara Shikasuke's words left Jiraiya speechless, completely unprepared for the many twists and turns involved.

"How...how could this be?"

Jiraiya stood up in surprise, glaring at Nara Shikasuke.

"You're framing me!"

"How can you say it's a frame-up?" Nara Shikasuke argued vehemently, "If they had no ulterior motives, no matter how much I tried to seduce them, none of this would have happened."

"Look at those small families who didn't participate in the war; they didn't know about our plan beforehand, but they didn't fall for it!"

"My plan is at most a sting operation."

"I know the Hokage is kind-hearted, so everything was designed based on the premise that everyone would be unharmed."

"In fact, the result was very satisfactory, and everything went as planned."

"How can things be as we wish?" Jiraiya paced back and forth in the room, furious. "The Jonin of those clans are about to go crazy."

"You clearly are, you are—"

Jiraiya pondered for a long time before deciding on the best words, but he still didn't know how to describe this approach.

Nara Shikasuke's approach was very reasonable and useful, but it was something he found hard to accept.

This approach is not aboveboard at all; on the contrary, it is full of insidious scheming and is completely out of character for him.

"Lord Hokage," Nara Shikasuke reminded him, "Things are already like this; there's no use in regretting it now."

"If the Hokage feels that my actions are contrary to common sense and will affect the harmony and stability of the village, then he may punish me severely."

"I can accept being removed from my post, or any other punishment."

"The Nara family will not have any objections to this and will choose another outstanding member of the clan to take over my position and continue to serve the Hokage."

"It's not that bad." Jiraiya waved his hand irritably. "Your intentions were for the good of the village, so I can't punish your good intentions for that."

"But this kind of thing absolutely cannot happen again. At least you should let me know beforehand so I can be prepared!"

"I'm very sorry, Hokage-sama." Nara Shikasuke immediately bowed deeply in apology. "It's mainly because I thought you were too kind-hearted, Hokage-sama. If I had told you beforehand, you probably wouldn't have agreed."

"That's why I took it upon myself to do this; please forgive me."

"Please rest assured, I will never make such a decision on my own again."

"Sigh!" Jiraiya sighed, and just as he was about to say something, he suddenly frowned, as if he had noticed something.

He pondered for a moment, and then his gaze toward Nara Shikasuke suddenly became strange.

"My decision to flip the table was a completely spur-of-the-moment idea, an impulsive act after finding absolutely no other solution."

"Even I didn't know I would do this beforehand."

"So how did you know I would choose to resolve the situation by force?"

"Or is it that your retreat at the last minute was also a last-minute decision?"

"If I hadn't chosen to use force back then, but instead had reluctantly retreated and agreed to those ninja clans' conditions, wouldn't you have simply gone along with the charade and enjoyed the fruits of victory alongside those ninja clans?"

"Ah, no, based on my understanding of you highly intelligent guys, you probably already have seven or eight plans prepared. No matter which one I choose, you have a way to deal with it."

"Anyway, those idiots are in front acting as pawns, while you stay behind the scenes. Whether you advance or retreat, you are in an invincible position."

"Lord Hokage, you're being a bit too suspicious," Nara Shikasuke replied calmly. "As the Hokage's assistant, I understand your personality quite well. I can tell that you will absolutely not compromise with the Jonin of the various clans and will definitely resolve this conflict in a very decisive way."

"As it turns out, my judgment was correct."

"Really?" Jiraiya himself wasn't very bright, but he had seen just how smart those smart people really were, so he couldn't be sure whether Nara Shikasuke's words were true or false.

"Of course it's true!" Nara Shikasuke said decisively.

"My judgment is never wrong!"

"The Hokage is indeed very powerful. The way you stood on Gamabunta's head and roared loudly is just like the First Hokage when he was awe-inspiring in the ninja world."

After being praised by Nara Shikasuke, Jiraiya couldn't help but scratch his head and grin.

"Oh dear, I'm not that great! Haha—"

Nara Shikasuke secretly breathed a sigh of relief and casually changed the subject.

"Given the current situation, Lord Hokage should start considering how much of these families' assets should be confiscated."

He pulled an account book out of his sleeve and handed it over with both hands.

"I have already compiled a list of the assets of these families. The main floating assets are listed here. Please take a look, Hokage."

"Heh, this was all planned out in advance!" Jiraiya grinned, and sure enough, his attention was drawn to this.

He didn't reach out to take the ledger, but instead frowned and hesitated.

Should we really use this pretext to confiscate the assets of these families?

Is this the right thing to do?

Seemingly guessing Jiraiya's thoughts, Nara Shikasuke continued, "Hokage-sama, you've met those people from these clans, so you should know what kind of personalities they have."

"They fear power but do not cherish virtue."

"Don't be fooled by their current surrender; they won't truly give up."

"Of course, the Hokage could pretend this never happened and let them off easily to show his mercy."

"But these families probably won't be grateful for the Hokage's kindness. Instead, they'll think the Hokage is too soft-hearted and easy to bully."

"They will only become more and more demanding because of this, and their behavior will become increasingly excessive, testing the Hokage's bottom line little by little, until the Hokage can no longer tolerate it and begins to punish them."

"I think the Hokage shouldn't give these people a chance to test us little by little. He should just take it one step at a time and completely eliminate their delusions to avoid future trouble."

"I see!" Jiraiya thought this made sense, but he still felt uneasy and couldn't get over it.

"But isn't doing this a bit too insidious?"

In response to Jiraiya's question, Nara Shikasuke smiled.

"Lord Hokage, this is just how politics is!"

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