Chapter 476: Declaration Of Civilization Against Barbarism

Only then did people suddenly realize that perhaps those things they had always regarded as inevitable were not inevitable after all.

For a time, every major newspaper repeatedly promoted and debated the proposed convention.

Could it actually succeed?

What would the specific clauses look like?

When exactly would Konoha officially send diplomatic notes to the other Four Great Ninja Villages?

Would the other villages agree to send representatives?

The newspapers in the Land of Fire, in particular, seemed to have received guidance from some master strategist behind the scenes.

Raising morality as their banner and public sentiment as their foundation, they elevated the convention’s significance to unprecedented heights, portraying its signing as a "Declaration of civilization against barbarism."

Public opinion placed anyone who refused to participate in or respond to the convention under the scrutiny of moral judgment, creating an atmosphere that essentially proclaimed, "Anyone who refuses to sign is a barbarian."

When newspapers in other countries saw this trend, they quickly followed suit. It was as though overnight, the entire Shinobi World had suddenly begun caring about war, about humanitarianism, and about the lives of those ninjas whom they had never cared about before.

People began debating what should be permitted and what should never be permitted.

The attitudes of the other Four Great Ninja Villages, however, were far more subtle. Their senior leaders remained silent, and not a single Kage or advisor came forward to issue an official statement.

Privately, however, quite a few ninjas had already begun discussing the proposed clauses in small groups. Some argued that it was nothing more than a political performance staged by Konoha to glorify itself, while others believed that if it really could be signed, it would ultimately be a good thing for everyone.

And this was precisely Shinichi’s objective. He had never been naïve enough to believe that signing a single convention would truly eliminate the killing of prisoners, the abuse of prisoners, or attacks on civilians.

Secret violations would inevitably occur, and some people would never treat rules as rules.

But the Rinkai City Convention at least gave the people of the world, for the very first time, a clear standard in their hearts.

They would know what was right and what was wrong, which bottom lines should be upheld, and which red lines should never be crossed.

What was civilization? What was barbarism?

This would not necessarily make everyone obey the rules, but at the very least it would prevent those who knowingly violated them from calmly claiming, "No one ever said this wasn’t allowed."

In a sense, it was also the first time he had formally established rules for this land that had known nothing but slaughter for a thousand years.

Of course, merely occupying the moral high ground, proclaiming oneself civilized, and brandishing the cudgel of morality was useless. But if that cudgel was held by the side that truly possessed strength, its power became entirely different.

Rules are established through ideals, but they can only be enforced through awe. Neither can exist without the other.

Just as this wave of public discussion continued to intensify, on September 20, the tenth day after the founding of the Ninja Way Origins Research Society, Konoha, in the name of the third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, officially sent diplomatic notes to the Four Great Ninja Villages of the Village Hidden in the Sand, Village Hidden in the Cloud, the Village Hidden in the Stones, and Village Hidden in the Mist, while simultaneously notifying the ninja villages of the smaller nations.

The diplomatic notes invited all parties to gather in the Land of Iron to jointly discuss and sign the humanitarian convention, with the specific conference dates to be determined through consultation among the great ninja villages.

The moment these diplomatic notes were issued, they were like a piece of red-hot iron dropped into a vat of boiling oil, driving the already heated public discussion to an entirely new peak.

The following day, the Land of Iron responded as well.

General Mifune personally appeared and publicly declared that the Land of Iron was willing to provide the venue for this international conference and, as a neutral nation, would preside impartially to facilitate joint discussions of the humanitarian convention among all parties.

In his statement, General Mifune sincerely expressed his hope that the great ninja villages would set aside their present hostilities and prejudices, send representatives to attend, sit down together, discuss the matter together, and jointly sign the convention.

Even if only temporarily, he hoped they would sit down together and make a shared effort, for their compatriots still bleeding on the battlefield, and for the civilians suffering under the ravages of war.

During the first two days after the diplomatic notes were sent, the other Four Great Ninja Villages remained completely silent. It was not that they did not wish to respond, but rather that they genuinely did not know how to respond.

Among the leaders of those villages, quite a few may have privately dismissed the convention with disdain, considering it nothing more than the naïve fantasy of the young upstart Shinichi Higashino.

Unfortunately for them, Konoha had raised the issue to such lofty heights, while public opinion throughout the Shinobi World watched the matter intently.

Newspaper after newspaper portrayed it as the dividing line between civilization and barbarism, making it seem as though anyone who failed to take a position had chosen the side of barbarism.

Thus, the leaders of every ninja village found themselves suspended over the flames of public opinion, unable to move in either direction.

So they had to respond. After all, ninja villages also cared about their reputation and public image.

As military organizations whose primary business was accepting commissions, reputation might seem intangible under ordinary circumstances, but from the perspective of their clients, the choice between a ninja village with principles and integrity and one without either was obvious at a glance.

Even the underground bounty exchange had the integrity to insist on payment upon delivery, let alone the Five Great Ninja Villages.

Yet they truly did not know how to respond, because the convention had been proposed by Konoha and was even named after a city in the Land of Fire.

If they simply followed Konoha’s lead, wouldn’t that make them appear weaker, as though they had already conceded to Konoha?

With the war still raging, any sign of yielding could easily be interpreted by outsiders as a signal of bowing to Konoha.

As a result, over the next two days, the upper echelons of the other Four Great Ninja Villages held one closed-door meeting after another, repeatedly discussing the matter. Yet, they still failed to reach any conclusion.

Their silence only made public opinion outside grow increasingly restless, and the newspaper headlines became more eye-catching with each passing day.

Finally, on the third day, the Village Hidden in the Stones, the only village in this great war that had not yet officially gone to war with Konoha, was the first to break the deadlock.

The third Tsuchikage, Onoki, personally signed a diplomatic statement whose wording had been chosen with considerable care.

It first highly praised Konoha’s original intent in proposing the convention, stating that its contents were consistent with the Village Hidden in the Stones’ indomitable will of stone and its commitment to safeguarding peace.

It then shifted tone, pointing out that while the convention itself was commendable, the world was still at war, and whether its specific provisions were feasible would require all parties to sit down together for thorough discussion.

Finally, it expressed the Village Hidden in the Stones’ willingness to send representatives to discuss the convention alongside the other nations.