America’s actions had begun to make Korea and Japan uneasy, just as Jinseong had expected.
While it was well-known that the United States often committed diplomatic blunders and had limited understanding of other nations, even accounting for this tendency, their behavior seemed excessively egregious.
It wasn’t just a lack of understanding—it bordered on outright ignorance!
Korea and Japan started pushing their American liaison agents, who had been merely gathering information, to investigate furiously, and they received a shocking revelation.
“…Is this the end?”
Every key figure responsible for maintaining and steering the Giant Nation of America turned out to be Neoconservatives.
Moderates and those advocating openness had all lost power, been sidelined, or demoted, while the Neoconservatives who espoused aggressive policies wielded the reins of power. Naturally, those sensitive to the flow of power were quick to align themselves with them, sometimes even exceeding their hawkish rhetoric.
After all, a newly arrived stone must make its presence felt to merge with the established pebbles.
This way, the U.S. government had become, perhaps more than ever before, profoundly ignorant, aggressive, and authoritarian.
And such a change in policy was anything but favorable for Korea and Japan.
Could a policeman who had pretended to maintain order until now, but now openly behaved like a thug, really ever be considered beneficial?
At this revelation, the heads of Korea and Japan felt a chill run down their spines.
“Hah, this has gone mad.”
America had gone mad.
It was as if it were teeming with bizarre characters.
On top of this, America was sending its Seventh Fleet to patrol endlessly near the shores of Korea and Japan.
“America is crazy, and China and Russia are frothing at the mouth as well…”
With the American fleets roaming the seas, China and Russia were lashing out in protest. They demanded the immediate removal of these vessels to reduce military tension, threatening that they might get a taste of “hot consequences” otherwise.
Naturally, America paid no heed.
This was a nation that believed it was the best and the strongest.
How could they possibly tolerate—let alone follow—commands from China and Russia who dared to dictate terms?
For them, such an idea was entirely unacceptable.
Thus, East Asia gradually began to seethe.
The atmosphere between the three great powers became increasingly hostile, causing anguish to the nations caught in between.
It was Korea and Japan that were truly squeezed.
The initiators of this tension—those who couldn’t afford to be mere bystanders.
“Grr…”
When whales fight, the shrimp gets crushed. But somehow, Korea and Japan had managed to cling to the backs of the whales and had landed themselves right in the thick of the fight, hoping only that they wouldn’t be torn apart.
Truly, this was a tragedy.
“…Recall the missiles.”
“…Withdraw all forces but leave one missile behind.”
Confronted with this unimaginable and horrifying situation, Korea and Japan simultaneously decided to withdraw their military forces without further ado.
Korea retracted the missiles that were aimed at Japan and sent back the numerous self-propelled artillery they had been moving towards the East Sea. The mass deployment of soldiers in the area was recalled to their units, while a small number of artillery and missiles were retained for immediate response if needed.
Similarly, Japan, mindful of the potential danger of further provocation, sent its fleet back to Japan, leaving one Atago-class destroyer to handle any immediate issues.
Following this ‘reset,’ Korea and Japan unofficially exchanged opinions.
To extricate themselves from this precarious situation.
『Japan, military conflict was a misunderstanding… the fleet was sent to rescue a destroyer that had run aground on Dokdo. It was unavoidable since evil spirits were reported to have surfaced near Dokdo. 』
『Japan, the emergence of evil spirits is a tragedy. Korea and Japan will jointly investigate the matter thoroughly to uncover the truth. 』
『Korea, those who fought evil spirits to protect Dokdo… proper respect will be paid to those who have passed away.』
『Dokdo, the warriors stationed there… They were brave soldiers and warriors.』
『Korea “Will work collaboratively with Japanese Onmyoji to drive away the evil spirits.”』
In this way, the two countries officially reconciled.
The death was represented as an accident, not related to their nations, caused by the unwitting appearance of malevolent spirits. The deceased were portrayed sympathetically as victims of a natural calamity, commemorated as such, while simultaneously, propaganda videos were made that depicted their valiant battles against the evil spirits.
Of course, there was no shortage of dramatization in the portrayal…
But no, this wasn’t the issue.
The important thing was to show, at least outwardly, that the relationship between the two countries had smoothed over.
Only then might they manage to extricate themselves from the battle between the whales.
“…Congratulations on the improved relations between Korea and Japan.”
Their calculations had been correct.
When the two nations were seen publicly resolving their ‘misunderstanding’ and reconciling, the justification for the Seventh Fleet cruising between them disappeared, forcing the U.S. to yield, at least formally, to the protests from China and Russia.
Thus, begrudgingly, they had no choice but to withdraw from East Asia.
Once they were gone, China and Russia, in turn, clamped their mouths shut again as if nothing had happened.
America would surely be investigating its reasoning behind such provocation.
And thus peace, at least superficially, returned to East Asia.
Both Korea and Japan declared:
It was all a misunderstanding.
The deaths were an accident.
There was no intention of war in their actions.
Yet, they knew.
They knew their words were false.
Each knew that the other lied.
Everything was a fabrication.
The truth lay within the stench of blood.
Since lives had been lost, it could not simply end here.
Exactly.
It couldn’t end here.
Started in blood, it would have to conclude with blood.
In Korea, it was said:
“Do you know? Powerful individuals who do not belong to the military are not typically integrated into official military strength. They are assessed as individuals and excluded from numerical military metrics. Yet they undoubtedly influence both military strength and public safety, correct?”
“Yes. This is especially true of Japan. Being a nation unable to formally have an army, the existence of powerful individuals plays a significant role in the high evaluation of Japan’s combat and public safety capabilities.”
“True. When laws weaken, powerful fists gain influence. Japan is no different. They call them samurai—when samurai serve as guardians, public safety is assured, and malevolent individuals keep their distance. Though not what I should say as the President of Korea, Japan’s warriors have indeed reached extraordinary levels. When such people stand firm, public safety cannot fail.”
Warriors in Japan were exceedingly powerful.
Historically, many warriors in Japan were battle-tested and held prestigious swords among the many swords of Japan, gaining great fame with these masterpieces.
Such traditions and discipline have continued through to the present day.
Therefore, Japan became a country full of warriors so powerful as to match China’s.
“Moreover, concerning military power, officially, those capable individuals of Japan have no connection to the military… But everyone knows that, in reality, during actual warfare these individuals will ‘voluntarily’ enlist and make great contributions.”
“That’s correct. They could do so out of patriotism without any signal, or moved by an emperor’s speech, or even compelled by laws crafted by the prime minister and parliament members. In any case, it’s evident that Japanese capabilities will be converted into actual military force upon war.”
The President smiled.
“…Therefore, the Japanese capable individuals are latent adversaries, disguised as ordinary citizens but are essentially soldiers. Such a view isn’t without merit, don’t you agree?”
“I do agree.”
“Then, it might be a good time to rank comparisons. We’ll see who between Korean warriors and Japanese samurai are more powerful.”
The president said with an underlying madness.
“All battles should happen on others’ lands by law. Let us send our chosen warriors to Japan to engage in ‘combat-like sparring.'”
“Yes, sir!”
“And, if an ‘unfortunate accident’ happens during the process, well… it can’t be helped, can it? Furthermore, if by ill-fortune some buildings or tourist sites happen to be destroyed, that too can’t be helped.”
“Absolutely, an incident. An accident, one can’t help such a coincidence.”
“Exactly. Then… Ah, that’s right. We should normalize the situation on Dokdo as quickly as possible. It would showcase that any future “accidents” have no relation to Korea.”
The president’s smile carried a sticky anger and intent to kill.
In Japan, it was stated:
“Korea is a nation that officially and extensively supports and cultivates capable individuals on a national scale. Such a policy, lacking in strong traditions, allowed for less restriction.”
Always using his familiar tone to review Korea, the Prime Minister remarked.
“A country whose traditions were mostly destroyed and reduced to nothing, compelling it to directly intervene to cultivate capable individuals.”
“But that narrow land harbors a good number of talents. Efficiencies aside, these individuals flourished and have become pillars supporting the Korean nation.”
Even while making such evaluations, he refrained from underestimating Korean capabilities.
Though they lacked the long history to naturally produce such individuals, their attainment was nothing to be scoffed at.
There were quite a number of warriors like the Crimson Slash Sword Demon who were recognized even by the haughty warriors of China. Moreover, there were numerous powerful sorcerers and, via their experimental willingness to become subjects for the unstable Nirvana Summoning Technique developed by America, the number of summoners had greatly expanded too.
It was hard to believe that this was a nation rebuilt from ruins less than a hundred years ago.
Additionally, the cleverness of the Korean government was significant.
Perhaps it was an effort to show the world that they still needed help?
Whilst tightly holding their state-supported capable individuals like treasures, they refrained from exposing them to the public.
They concealed the identities of these people as much as possible and, when absolutely necessary, minimized displaying their power and attainments.
While this practice was moderately common among other countries, Korea’s was noticeably more excessive.
“The essence is plain enough. Being treated as a developing nation is far more advantageous, and pretending to be militarily weak enables them to more easily and advantageously obtain military assistance from America.”
Yet, despite all this, they still threatened others with talk of mutual destruction if they felt the need.
While boasting about missiles and shells to neighboring countries, they hid their capable individuals meticulously.
“Perhaps they also fear that other countries might entice them.”
It was also possible that Korea was trying to prevent their capable individuals from fleeing abroad. After all, people, unlike weapons that could be strongly regulated by law, couldn’t be locked up and managed that easily.
“Be that as it may, that’s the important part. Korea highly values and cherishes their capable individuals.”
Why they took such an attitude is not so important.
After all, the fact remains that Korea—a country with government-associated capable individuals—truly cherishes them.
“We boast numerous outstanding warriors in Japan. If these warriors embarked on a ‘Warrior Exchange’ to Korea, it would be beneficial. Although the atmosphere may be somewhat hostile, we cannot stop individuals from engaging privately, can we?”
The Prime Minister smiled while suggesting sending highly skilled warriors to Korea.
“Warriors, right? While sorcerers merely boast or present their gadgets, summoners share knowledge and trade summoned creatures… warriors, however, converse with swords and weapons. And in the process, if an unfortunate accident occurs during their ‘duels,’ well… haha.”
He stated:
When warriors fight during duels and accidents occur, it is something that can’t be helped. It was common, not unusual.
And this was, a matter solely of individuals—not involving the nations at all.
Thus, the Prime Minister delivered his order and chuckled in satisfaction.
Then, seemingly a thought had struck him, and he added:
“Ah, and let’s quickly normalize the situation at Takeshima. How many capable individuals are currently stationed there?”
“Currently, there are no capable individuals at Takeshima. Because of the observing eyes, all capable individuals have returned to Japan along with the fleet.”
“Hmm… I see… Then, choose some suitable people to dispatch back to Takeshima. Showing that we’re jointly repelling Korea and evil spirits might help relieve this tension. Ah, using some new faces wouldn’t be a bad idea either.”
“Understood, sir!”
Thus, Japan too began its movement.
Akin to Korea.
*
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