Once everything had been arranged, Shinichi stood once more and watched as Ryōkage carefully lifted the unconscious girl onto a stretcher and carried her away.
He then turned back to Minato and resumed the conversation they had left unfinished.
"So, Minato-senpai... if we shinobi wish to escape the fate of becoming nothing more than tools for killing, we must first see ourselves as people."
"And we must also see other shinobi as living, breathing human beings."
"Even if we were once enemies."
"Even if we fought to the death."
"Even if our clans have been locked in blood feuds stretching back for generations..."
At that, Shinichi smiled faintly.
"Weren't the Senju and the Uchiha exactly like that?"
"They slaughtered each other for centuries. Generation after generation inherited an ocean of blood and hatred."
"And yet, thanks to the First Hokage's efforts, the Senju and the Uchiha ultimately united beneath Konohagakure, becoming comrades who fought side by side and protected one another."
"The First Hokage accomplished that."
"As those who came after him, we should inherit his will."
"And more than that..."
"We should expand it from a single village and a single nation to the entire shinobi world."
"So that the shinobi of every hidden village, who now kill one another, can one day set aside their old grudges and stand shoulder to shoulder, just as the Senju and Uchiha once did."
With those words, Shinichi deftly reframed his decision to save Kirigakure's wounded—not as an act of mercy toward the enemy, but as a continuation and fulfillment of the First Hokage's ideals.
In doing so, even if others felt uncomfortable—or even dissatisfied—with his decision to spare and heal enemy shinobi, it would be difficult for anyone to openly criticize him.
Leaving aside the question of whether anyone in modern Konohagakure even had the courage to challenge Shinichi...
Even if they did—
Who would dare question Senju Hashirama?
Who would dare claim that the First Hokage's ninja way was wrong?
It was political correctness in its purest form.
"Perhaps only then..."
"...will we shinobi finally return to the original purpose and true nature that the ancestor of all shinobi, the Sage of Six Paths, intended for us when he first founded Ninshū."
Shinichi let out a quiet sigh.
To most shinobi, treating wounded enemies was almost inconceivable.
After all, on the battlefield it was kill or be killed.
Why should anyone heal the very people trying to kill them?
But to Shinichi...
The word "enemy" had always been nothing more than a temporary label.
Long ago, he had already begun to regard everyone in the entire shinobi world as his future subordinates and citizens.
Even those who hated him with every fiber of their being.
Even those who had once drawn their blades against him, determined to kill him.
As long as they possessed sufficient value...
Shinichi simply wouldn't hold it against them.
Like a broad-minded and forgiving father, he would generously overlook the foolishness of his children.
Minato fell silent for a moment before nodding earnestly.
"I agree with you, Shinichi."
"If everyone in the shinobi world could think the way you do..."
He raised his head slightly and looked toward the gloomy rain clouds overhead.
A trace of longing appeared in his eyes.
"Perhaps... the world Jiraiya-sensei dreams of—a world where people truly understand one another, where there are no more wars and no more killing—really could come to pass."
"Which means we'll have to keep working."
"We need more of our comrades in Konoha—and eventually people beyond Konoha as well—to embrace our ideals and strive toward that goal together."
"Wouldn't you agree?"
Shinichi smiled.
Turning around, he continued deeper into the ruins.
As he walked, he raised both hands once more.
Powerful gusts of wind surged forward, slowly lifting another collapsed section of rubble nearby and revealing another unconscious Kirigakure shinobi beneath it.
"Minato-senpai."
"I intend to use this opportunity to formally submit a proposal to the village."
As he spoke, Shinichi knelt beside the wounded shinobi and began treating him.
"There should be a common set of rules—or rather, mutual obligations—governing how all the great hidden villages treat enemy wounded and prisoners during wars and missions."
"You could also think of it as a public convention."
Minato paused for a moment before following after him, listening intently.
"First."
"On the battlefield, any enemy shinobi who has lost the ability to fight, laid down their weapon, or clearly surrendered should be recognized as a prisoner of war."
"They should be promptly taken into custody and given medical treatment."
"They must not be killed or simply left to die."
"Second."
"All prisoners who surrender, regardless of where they come from, should receive basic humanitarian treatment."
"They must be provided with necessary medical care."
"They must not be abused."
"They must not be publicly humiliated."
"And they must never be subjected to inhumane interrogation or human experimentation."
"Once the war ends, they should be repatriated according to mutually agreed terms."
"They must not continue to be detained without just cause."
"Third."
"Medical personnel, medical facilities, and medical transport operating on the battlefield should be recognized as protected neutral parties."
"They must not be deliberately attacked."
"Fourth."
"Civilians must never be targeted."
"Civilian homes, farmland, and water sources must never be attacked."
"Wars between shinobi should never come at the cost of civilian lives or their homes."
"Nor should civilians ever be forced to participate in any war-related activities."
"In addition..."
"Underage genin and chūnin should also fall under these protections."
"They must not be treated as military targets unless they attack us first."
"Of course..."
"This is only a rough framework."
"The specific provisions will need to be discussed and refined clause by clause with more of our comrades in the village—and even with shinobi from other hidden villages—before anything can be finalized."
After a long silence, Minato finally spoke.
"It won't be easy, Shinichi."
"Setting aside whether the village would even approve it..."
"Even if they did, if only Konoha follows these rules..."
He paused, his gaze drifting toward the Kirigakure shinobi currently receiving treatment among the ruins.
"What about the other hidden villages?"
"Will Sunagakure follow them?"
"Will Kumogakure?"
"Will Iwagakure?"
"What if we treat their prisoners humanely, but they continue experimenting on ours, torturing them, or killing them instead?"
"If that happens, it won't just be the village leadership that finds it unacceptable."
"The people of Konoha won't accept it either."
"In the end, we'd be the only ones paying the price."
"You're right."
"I know it won't be easy."
Shinichi nodded without denying it.
"But that's precisely why someone has to take the first step."
"When the First Hokage chose to ally with the Uchiha, wasn't he gambling everything as well?"
"If he had worried only about whether Konoha would suffer by acting first..."
"Konohagakure would never have existed."
"That's exactly why we must establish these principles within Konoha first."
"A convention isn't upheld because the enemy voluntarily obeys it."
"It's upheld because we choose to follow it first."
"We establish it as the rule."
"And then, through our strength and our resolve, we make it the unspoken bottom line that everyone else is forced to recognize."
At that, Shinichi turned toward Minato, his calm eyes meeting his.
"Anyone who violates this agreement will automatically place themselves in opposition to Konoha."
"And Konoha, in the name of protecting the convention, will respond with its full strength."
"When you get down to it, this convention was never meant to persuade people into signing it."
"It's meant to deter them."
"To make everyone understand that the cost of following the rules is far lower than the cost of breaking them."
"When the First Hokage proposed uniting everyone and creating a hidden village, no one in the shinobi world believed it could succeed."
"And yet, in the end, every nation and every great clan followed Konoha's example, establishing the one-country, one-village system."
"This new convention should be no different."
"Konoha should be the first to propose it."
"And just as before, it should become a standard that every great nation and every hidden village is compelled to follow."
Minato fell silent once again.
He looked at the boy standing before him—nearly ten years younger than himself.
Only after a long while did he speak, his voice carrying mixed emotions.
"I still think the same thing."
"This will be incredibly difficult, Shinichi."
"The times may have changed."
"The village..."
"...no longer has someone like the First Hokage, someone capable of pacifying the entire world through sheer strength alone."
"There will be."
Shinichi nodded calmly.
His tone remained utterly matter-of-fact.
He offered no further explanation.
Instead, his gaze slowly swept across the ruined city.
"As for the name of this set of rules..."
He paused.
Looking at the city reduced to rubble, he remained silent for quite some time before finally speaking again.
"Let's call it..."
"The Rinkai City Accord."
"What do you think, Minato-senpai?"
"The Rinkai City Accord..."
Minato quietly repeated the name.
Then he looked up, a warm smile appearing on his face.
"It's a good name."
"You're right, Shinichi."
"We can't wait for others to uphold the rules."
"We have to begin with ourselves."
"If Konoha takes the first step..."
"...then perhaps the shinobi world really can become something different."
"It may be extraordinarily difficult."
"But no matter what..."
"I'll support this proposal with everything I have."
"Thank you, Minato-senpai."
Shinichi smiled.
Without waiting for Minato's response, he simply continued walking deeper into the ruins.
Minato remained where he was for a moment, lost in thought.
Then he hurried after him.
"Shinichi."
"The society you mentioned before..."
"The Shinichi Society."
"Has it officially been established yet?"
Shinichi glanced sideways at him and shook his head.
"Not yet."
"The preliminary charter and organizational structure are still under discussion."
"I originally intended to push it forward while everyone's enthusiasm was still high."
"But then the war broke out."
"Everyone—including me—ended up tied down by the fighting on the front lines."
"Now that this campaign is drawing to a close, though..."
"The situation along the southeastern coast should remain stable for a while."
"If we have the chance to return to the village, we'll be able to formally put it on the agenda."
"What?"
He smiled.
"Are you interested too, Minato-senpai?"
"Of course I am."
Minato nodded earnestly.
"Exploring a new path for shinobi."
"Finding a road other than endless killing."
"I've been thinking about that myself for a long time."
"When the Shinichi Society is officially founded..."
"...would it be possible for me to apply for membership as well?"
"You'd be more than welcome."
Shinichi smiled.
"The whole point of discussing the future is to gather as many like-minded companions as possible."
"Especially someone as capable and dependable as you, Minato-senpai."
At the same time, however, Shinichi couldn't help feeling a strange sense of irony.
After all...
He had always regarded Minato as his greatest rival in the race for the position of Hokage.
So what was this now?
Recruiting his biggest rival into his own organization?
Getting his future opponent to work under him before they even became rivals?
Shinichi quietly shook his head, pushing the odd thought aside.
Then again...
It wasn't a bad thing.
Minato's joining would only benefit him.
From the moment he entered a society founded upon Shinichi's ideals...
Minato would, by definition, stand one rank below Shinichi, the society's president.
That would also mean he would no longer be in a position to compete with Shinichi for the title of Hokage in the future.
With that thought in mind, Shinichi continued strolling through the ruins.
As he talked with Minato, he continued pulling one buried Kirigakure shinobi after another from beneath the rubble.
Of all these Kirigakure shinobi who survived...
How many of them will one day work for me?
...
Time passed little by little.
About half an hour later, Konoha's main force returned to the ruins of Rinkai City under the command of Utatane Koharu.
The moment she stepped into the devastated city, she saw Konoha's medical shinobi moving throughout the ruins, digging Kirigakure shinobi out from beneath broken stone before applying medicine, bandaging their wounds, and treating them.
Her brows immediately furrowed.
"What's going on here?"
"Captain Higashino Shinichi gave the order," someone nearby answered at once.
The frown on Koharu's face gradually relaxed.
The words she had been about to say never left her lips.
That child... he's still just as kind-hearted.
She let out a quiet sigh inwardly.
Besides, knowing Shinichi's steady judgment and his habit of always considering the bigger picture, she was convinced he had his reasons.
So she said nothing more.
She merely gave a brief order.
"Carry on."
After that, she stopped concerning herself with the matter and instead led the others into the temporary command headquarters that had been constructed using Earth Release.
A short while later, under Koharu's direction, they finished reviewing the results from every front of the offensive—casualty reports, battle summaries, and follow-up deployment plans.
After she and Mitokado Homura highly praised everyone's performance, they dismissed the assembled shinobi to rest.
Once everyone had left...
The two of them finally picked up the document Shinichi had submitted before leaving.
The Rinkai City Accord.
Only a short time after they began reading it, both of them frowned almost simultaneously.
After a long silence, Koharu set the document down.
"Homura."
"What do you think?"
"And you, Koharu?"
Homura replied with a question of his own instead of answering.
Koharu remained silent for quite some time before speaking slowly.
"That child..."
"I think he may have inherited not only our sensei's wisdom and will..."
"...but also the same breadth of vision the First Hokage possessed."
"I finally understand now."
"Perhaps this child is destined to usher in an entirely new era."
"So?"
Homura adjusted his glasses.
"So..."
Koharu picked up the brush lying on the desk.
"The only thing old people like us can do..."
"...is support him."
"Give him room to act."
"And watch with our own eyes what kind of new era he ultimately creates."
With that, she signed her name at the bottom of the document.
Without another word, she handed it to Homura.
Homura accepted it.
After glancing at the determined expression on her face, he smiled faintly.
He said nothing.
Instead, he picked up the brush and wrote his own name beside Koharu's.
Some time later...
The latest battle report from the decisive battle along the southeastern coast of the Land of Fire arrived at the Hokage's Office in Konohagakure with the highest priority.
Inside the office, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and Shimura Danzō each read through their own copy of the report.
The further Hiruzen read, the broader his smile became.
Even Danzō—who rarely smiled—allowed the faintest trace of satisfaction to appear on his face.
By any commander's standards...
The plan for today's final offensive had been utterly insane.
Every wager Konoha possessed had been placed on a single question—
Could Higashino Shinichi, through his own power alone, command the might of heaven itself?
But just as he had done on the Northeastern Front...
And just as he had done on the Southwestern Front...
The young man had once again accomplished the impossible.
The two men set down the battle report almost simultaneously.
Then both turned their eyes toward the last document on the desk that had yet to be reviewed.
Across its cover, several neatly written characters read—
The Rinkai City Accord.
A moment later, the Third Hokage picked up his pipe and took a long draw before turning toward Danzō.
"Danzō."
"What do you think?"
"Hmph."
"I think it's completely unnecessary."
Danzō snorted.
Then he continued, "That said..."
"Since the kid's the one proposing it, there's no harm in giving it a try."
"...?"
Hiruzen blinked in surprise.
How exactly did you connect 'completely unnecessary' with 'there's no harm in trying'?
Danzō paid no attention to Hiruzen's reaction.
He had already picked up the brush and was the first to sign his name on the document.
Seeing that, Hiruzen couldn't help laughing.
Honestly... that's just like Danzō.
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