The Uchiha Clan's Sun

"Once we take down these two thousand people from Kumogakure, the village will be severely weakened, and its elite forces will be almost entirely wiped out!"

"If we defeat the Fourth Raikage, A, then Kumogakure will be leaderless, with only a handful of people left!"

"With such a good opportunity, we can completely crush the Hidden Cloud Village in one battle!"

"Although the Land of Lightning is not as wealthy as our Konoha, it is rich in various mineral resources, so there is plenty of money to be made!"

Danzo Shimura spoke with great passion, but there were very few people in the meeting room who responded.

Compared to the Hidden Cloud Village, which is full of martial arts factions, the Hidden Leaf Village, under the management of Hiruzen Sarutobi for many years, is still dominated by moderates.

Moreover, the Third Shinobi World War, which lasted for nearly ten years, had just ended, and the Konoha ninjas, who had longed for peace for a long time, had many doubts about starting the next war immediately!

More importantly, given the way the Konoha Village leadership operates, even if they defeat the Kumogakure Village, will they really gain anything?

After the Third Shinobi World War, the village didn't even want to pay pensions, disability allowances, or war merit rewards. With that lesson in mind, it's no wonder they longed for war!

Even if there are benefits to be gained after defeating Kumogakure, those benefits will probably first satisfy the families of the Konoha F4, then the families close to the Hokage's lineage, and finally, how much of the meager amount that would be left for them?

It is said that a bad soldier is bad for one person, but a bad general makes a bad army!

Due to a variety of factors, Konoha Village can currently manage a defensive counter-attack strategy, but it would be difficult for them to launch an offensive!

Mitokado Homura spoke calmly, "Danzo, calm down! War is a matter of great importance. It's fine if we eliminate the invading enemy, but if we use this to destroy Kumogakure, the other three great ninja villages will definitely not stand idly by, as the saying goes, 'If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.'"

Although Mitokado Haru didn't say it explicitly, he made his stance clear.

The majority of people in the meeting room were clearly on Mitokado En's side!

"Exaggeration!" Shimura Danzo said coldly, "According to the intelligence I have, Kirigakure is currently busy with internal strife and has no time to spare, while Sunagakure has suffered successive defeats and is severely weakened, making it impossible for them to launch an attack!"

"As for Iwagakure... if Onoki is sensible, we might let him have a share. If he's not, we can settle all the old scores with him!"

Koharu Utatane frowned upon hearing this and said, "Danzo, you need to understand that after the Third Shinobi World War, not only did the other ninja villages suffer heavy losses, but Konoha also suffered greatly fighting against four opponents! We also need to recuperate!"

Danzo Shimura sneered, "Isn't this the result of your repeated compromises? Otherwise, as the victorious nation, Konoha could have plundered the resources of the defeated nations to cultivate more talent, using war to fuel war, and becoming even stronger!"

Koharu Utatane spoke up: "Danzo, in that situation, only by making some compromises could the war be ended as soon as possible. Your idea is too extreme!"

Mitomon Homura shook his head in agreement, saying, "Danzo, you're being too simplistic! Even a cornered dog will jump over the wall. If you push those great powers into a corner, it will only cause greater losses to our village!"

Danzo Shimura retorted without backing down, "At the same time, it will bring even greater gains! In time, our Konoha will not only be the largest village in the ninja world, but also the only large village in the ninja world!"

The three Hokage's advisors argued fiercely, each holding their own opinion. While everyone in the meeting room watched the spectacle, they were also worried about how to resolve the situation.

Such arguments had happened before, but whenever the argument reached a certain point, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, would step forward and deliver a crushing blow to Danzo Shimura with the words, "Danzo, I am the Hokage." Danzo Shimura could only reply, "Hiruzen, you will regret this," and then leave dejectedly.

But now they don't have a Hokage anymore, and Hiruzen Sarutobi is still missing!

This is really going to be a bit tricky!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Just then, several heavy knocks on the door interrupted the argument between the three Hokage's advisors. Everyone in the conference room breathed a sigh of relief and looked towards the door, wondering who would be knocking at this time.

"Enter!"

Mitomon Homura glared at the expressionless Shimura Danzo and spoke.

After receiving permission, an ANBU ninja pushed open the door and entered. Before Mitokado Homura could ask any questions, he said, "Sirs, an Uchiha ninja has arrived outside. He says he is a disciple of Jonin Namikaze and has urgent military intelligence to report!"

Chapter 193 The first battle is the decisive battle; the outcome will be decided in one battle!

Upon hearing this, everyone in the conference room looked at Minato Namikaze.

Minato Namikaze was also taken aback.

My disciple?

But his only surviving disciple, Kakashi Hatake, had already rushed to support the Konoha Guard with Hiashi Hyuga at the first opportunity, so there was no reason for him to be here!

Furthermore, the Anbu ninja said that the person was a member of the Uchiha clan, and the only person who could meet this condition and be his disciple was Obito Uchiha!

But Obito Uchiha is already dead!

Minato Namikaze sensed that something was wrong!

"Alright, let that person in!" Just as Minato Namikaze was pondering, Homura Mitokado spoke up to make the decision, explaining, "The Uchiha clan head led the Konoha Guard out to chase after him immediately; perhaps he sent someone back!"

Everyone in the meeting room nodded in agreement; this was indeed the most reasonable guess.

The ANBU ninjas accepted the order and retreated. Not long after, a series of heavy footsteps sounded, approaching from afar. Then, a boy wearing a Konoha headband and traditional Uchiha clan clothing, with the right half of his face disfigured, appeared in everyone's sight.

Many people in the conference room felt that this person looked familiar, as if they had seen him somewhere before, but they couldn't remember who he was for a moment.

This is strange. Logically speaking, the scars on this person's face are so distinctive that they shouldn't have forgotten them after seeing them once!

Minato Namikaze's eyes widened, his mouth agape, and he instinctively stood up, too shocked to speak!

"Oh, Sasashi, don't leave Desire, Mr. Minato!"

Obito Uchiha was also quite emotional at this moment, but having been mentally prepared, his reaction was not as bad as Minato Namikaze's.

"Oh, Beato?!"

Minato Namikaze finally came to his senses and appeared in front of Obito Uchiha in a flash. He looked Obito up and down in disbelief, noticing how much he had changed but still retained some of his former appearance.

"Obito? That name sounds familiar! Didn't Jonin Namikaze have a student named Obito when he was in charge of his class?!"

"Yes! Uchiha Obito!"

"But isn't he already dead? He's the one who gave Kakashi Hatake his Sharingan!"

The meeting room erupted in chaos, everyone finding it unbelievable that Obito Uchiha had been brought back to life!

"Teacher, I didn't die! Someone saved me!" Obito Uchiha glanced at everyone in the meeting room, didn't explain much, and after giving Minato Namikaze a wink, he said, "I originally wanted to give you a surprise after you became Hokage, but an emergency occurred at the front, and Chief Jin had no choice but to send me to inform you!"

Minato Namikaze understood the deeper meaning behind Obito Uchiha's words, and knew that with so many people around, this wasn't the time to pry. He took a deep breath, suppressed his emotions, and asked, "What exactly happened?"

Everyone in the conference room looked at Uchiha Obito, very curious about what kind of information a person who had come back from the dead would bring.

Obito Uchiha spoke up, "Clan Chief Jin has led his colleagues from the Konoha Police Department to capture the escaped Cloud Village delegation and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, and also intercepted a message from them."

"Kumogakure has reached some kind of cooperation agreement with Iwagakure and Sunagakure!"

"The two thousand Kumogakure ninja who have broken into the Land of Fire are currently making a rapid advance on Mount Kikyo under the leadership of the Fourth Raikage, A. At the same time, Sunagakure and Iwagakure are assembling troops on the borders of the Land of Waterfalls, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Rivers!"

"The situation is extremely urgent, and we urge everyone to make a decision as soon as possible!"

Obito Uchiha succinctly and quickly recounted the information he had, causing everyone in the conference room, including Danzo Shimura, to change their expressions drastically!

"Orange Mountain?!!"

Jonin Squad Leader Nara Shikaku suddenly stood up and said, "Once Kikyo Mountain falls, Konoha will be defenseless! The enemy will reach Konoha Castle in just one day!"

"Furthermore, we currently only have 1,500 border troops stationed in the areas of Waterfall Country, Grass Country, and River Country. They won't be able to hold off Iwagakure and Sunagakure for long!"

"Once they break through the enemy's path and establish a stronghold on Kikyo Mountain, the flames of war will inevitably spread to the village!"

Mitokado Homura's expression was extremely grim as he looked at Uchiha Obito and asked, "Uchiha Obito, right? Can you be sure of the authenticity of your information?"

The consequences of the fall of Kikyoyama are far too severe. Mitokado Homura still clings to a sliver of hope that the intelligence is wrong!

Before Obito Uchiha could answer, Shikaku Nara spoke first, saying, "Elder Mitomon, this isn't a matter of whether the intelligence is accurate or not! This is the only chance for those two thousand Cloud Ninja to launch a desperate counterattack. Once they see this opportunity, they will definitely seize it, and we must be on guard!"

Unlike Mitokado Homura, Nara Shikaku, as Konoha's 'strategist', would not take any chances and would only make corresponding contingency plans for every possible event!

Mitomon Homura was very annoyed by this and couldn't help but look at Shimura Danzo and question him: "Danzo, was this also part of your plan?!"

Danzo Shimura shifted his gaze from Obito Uchiha and said calmly, "Is there any point in saying all this now? Immediately notify Hiashi Hyuga and Orochimaru to change course and go to support Kikyo Mountain!"

"At the same time, we will also organize another group of ninjas from the village to go to Kikyo Mountain to provide support!"

Nara Shikaku chimed in, "Lord Jiraiya and his ninjas cannot be moved! Although the elite forces of Kumogakure are currently all within the Land of Fire, the village can still muster at least an army of four thousand men!"

"Now that the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure is trapped in the Land of Fire, we must be on guard against a desperate counterattack from Kumogakure!"

"At the same time, a force of two thousand men must be stationed in the village to defend against Kirigakure!"

"Since Kumogakure has already reached an agreement with Iwagakure and Sunagakure, they must have also sent someone to contact Kirigakure!"

"Although Kirigakure hasn't made any moves yet, that doesn't mean they won't! We must be prepared!"

Koharu Utatane frowned upon hearing this and said, "If that's the case, we can only spare a force of two thousand men at most. But we need to defend the lands of waterfalls, grass, rivers, and even the land of rain. What should we do with these two thousand reinforcements? Should we reinforce Mount Kikyo or other defensive lines?"

Nara Shikaku shook his head and said, "The troops we have at our disposal right now are simply not enough to defend such a long border. Rather than spreading our forces out and letting them defeat us one by one, it would be better to concentrate our forces!"

"Therefore, my proposal is that not only should these two thousand people go to support Kikyo Mountain, but the fifteen hundred ninja guarding the borders of the Land of Waterfalls, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Rivers should also retreat to Kikyo Mountain!"

"We will concentrate our superior forces to lure all the enemies to Kikyo Mountain!"

"The first battle is the decisive battle; the outcome will be decided in one fight!"

Chapter 194 Kikyo Mountain Fortress!

While everyone in Konoha was busy mobilizing troops to deal with this emergency, Uchiha Jin led two hundred ninjas, traveling light and fast, and finally arrived at the vicinity of Kikyo Mountain Fortress a few hours later.

"There are 106 ninjas guarding the fortress. There are no ambushes. It's safe!"

Hyuga Hizashi, after observing the situation inside Kikyoyama Fortress with his Byakugan eyes wide open, breathed a sigh of relief and spoke.

They hurried as fast as they could, and finally arrived at Kikyo Mountain before Kumogakure.

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Jin did not hesitate and immediately ordered, "Everyone, listen up! Dispel your concealment immediately and enter Kikyo Mountain Fortress!"

After saying that, Uchiha Jin and his group no longer concealed themselves and headed openly towards Kikyo Mountain Fortress.

Despite not receiving any orders, thanks to the Sharingan, a signature feature of the Uchiha clan, and the Byakugan, a signature feature of the Hyuga clan, Uchiha Jin and his group entered Kikyo Mountain Fortress quite smoothly.

As the first and second most powerful clans in Konoha, the Uchiha and Hyuga clans' signature bloodline limits are more representative of their identity as Konoha ninjas than any orders!

Not to mention that there are more than two hundred of them, and the presence of the Hyuga branch family members also eliminates the possibility that they are rogue ninja!

If you ask why, the answer is that a caged bird has no chance to rebel!

"Everyone, rest where you are and recover your strength!" After entering the Kikyō Mountain Fortress, Uchiha Jin first gave this order to his subordinate ninjas, then looked at one of the guarding ninjas and asked, "Who is your leader here? Where is he now?"

The garrison ninja replied, "Reporting to you, sir, the commander and deputy commander of Kikyoyama Fortress are Lord Mitomon Ōki and Lord Sarutobi Saemon. Someone has already gone to inform them, and now... they've arrived!"

The guard ninja was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly raised his hand and pointed in a direction.

Uchiha Jin looked in the direction the guard ninja was pointing and saw two middle-aged men wearing Chunin vests rushing toward them.

Mitomon and Sarutobi... Just hearing those two surnames tells you who Uchiha Jin is.

Kikyo Mountain Fortress is a transit point for supplies leading to many border areas, and the profits here are much greater than those of other fortresses and strongholds. It is quite normal that the positions of the commanders are controlled by the Mitomon and Sarutobi clans.

However, Uchiha Jin didn't have time to deal with these things right now. As Mitokado Oki and Sarutobi Saemon approached, he didn't wait for them to ask any questions before saying, "I am the current head of the Uchiha clan and the head of the Konoha Police Department, Uchiha Jin. There is an urgent military situation, and I need to temporarily take over all the defenses of Kikyo Mountain Fortress!"

Hyuga Hizashi, who was standing nearby, also spoke up: "I am Hyuga Hizashi, the head of the Hyuga clan's branch family and the leader of the reconnaissance squad! You can verify our identities, but you must immediately cooperate with all our operations!"

Mitomon Daiki and Sarutobi Saemon exchanged a glance, both seeing the astonishment in each other's eyes.

However, being assigned to such an important place as Kikyōyama Fortress as supervisors, these two were clearly not incompetent fools, and they did not immediately stand up to oppose the 'power grab'.

Moreover, in their minds, the Uchiha and Hyuga, the two great clans of Konoha, would not go to such lengths for a little bit of profit here.

Moreover, the two hundred-plus people brought by Uchiha Jin and Hyuga Hizashi were mostly Chunin and Jonin, whose strength was on a completely different level from theirs, so they didn't bother with any of this kind of nonsense.

So it's possible that some unexpected situation has occurred that they are unaware of!

Mitomon Ōki asked, "My lords, we have no problem cooperating with your operation, but could you please tell me what this so-called urgent military situation is?"

Uchiha Jin didn't hide anything and explained, "The Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure, A, is leading two thousand Kumogakure ninja towards here, and there are also unusual movements in Sunagakure and Iwagakure on the border!"

"I think you all understand the importance of Kikyo Mountain Fortress. I don't need to elaborate on the consequences if it falls!"

Upon hearing this, both Mitomon Daiki and Sarutobi Zaemon's pupils contracted, and their bodies involuntarily shivered!

They never imagined the situation would become this serious!

Uchiha Jin continued, "The Cloud Village army will be at the city gates in at most an hour, and our Konoha reinforcements won't arrive until at least half a day!"

"Therefore, we must hold out against the siege of two thousand Cloud Ninja troops for at least half a day..."

After a pause, Uchiha Jin looked at Mitokado Oki and Sarutobi Zaemon and said coldly, "So I don't have the extra energy to waste on nonsense with you guys!"

"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. I don't care which family you come from; I need your absolute obedience! Understand?"

Mitomon Ōki's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly said, "Don't worry, sir. We are all Konoha ninjas, and naturally we must prioritize the interests of the village. From now on, we will follow your orders to the best of our ability!"

Sarutobi Saemon also chimed in, "Me too!"

"Very good!" Uchiha Jin nodded in satisfaction and said, "Now, let me report on the situation at Kikyo Mountain Fortress, including personnel, living supplies, combat supplies, and so on!"