Konoha: This Uchiha is extremely sneaky

Chapter 452 Having a Good Eye (4,000 words)

call!

He wore a long, greyish-white robe, his back was hunched, and he held a pipe in his hand, exhaling a puff of smoke from his chest.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's aged gaze swept over the faces of the clan heads gathered around him, before finally settling on Toshiro at the head of the table.

"Peace is hard-won; it's best to avoid war if possible!"

He never imagined that one day he would be looking up at the 'Konoha high-ranking officials' from this angle.

'I used to be the one sitting there asking for others' opinions; I never imagined that one day I would be the one being asked!'

But there's nothing we can do about it.

That evening, when Uchiha Toshiro was arranging new personnel appointments, he originally intended to try for the position of Hokage's assistant.

However, no matter how hard he or the Second Hokage tried, the other party coldly refused in the end, and even stated explicitly that they would not allow him, the previous Hokage, to hold any position.

They initially wanted to remain defiant and try to negotiate, but the first generation offered a new solution.

He directly nominated his granddaughter to serve as Hokage's assistant, while he himself didn't get any position. If he weren't still the head of the Sarutobi clan, he wouldn't even be a part of this meeting.

"Yes! Chief Sarutobi's words make a lot of sense! No one wants to start a war if they can live in peace!"

Seeing the Third Hokage's somewhat ashen face, Toshiro didn't deny what he said. He first affirmed it, then continued:

"But since the Mist Ninja came to our door without provocation, we can't appear too weak, otherwise our neighbors might think that Konoha is easy to bully!"

Moreover, I intend to take this opportunity to demonstrate Konoha's power and let the major nations of the ninja world know that Konoha is still strong and remains the number one ninja village in the world!

"The Hokage is right! Those guys should be shown the might of Konoha!"

"Yes! Over the years, we've always tried to tolerate border conflicts, and we've had enough of this kind of bullying!"

"..."

Toshiro spoke with great enthusiasm, and since he was only facing a Kirigakure ninja, both the clan ninjas and the commoners felt that they could put up a fight.

"...I...have no objections!"

After glancing at the clan leaders who were far away from him but also eager to make a move, Hiruzen Sarutobi reluctantly agreed to Toshiro's proposal to start a war.

Not only the clan leaders, but even the commoner Jonin attending the meeting, now agreed to go to war with the Mist Ninja, completely ignoring him, the washed-up Third Hokage…

"Since we are going to fight, the front-line forces are only two thousand men. Facing the Mist Ninja's nearly three times numerical advantage, it is clear that we need to continue to send reinforcements."

I plan to gather around 2000 men, forming a force of about 4000, which I will personally lead to crush the Mist Ninja in front of us!

"Although our numbers are still a bit small, I'm confident I can march straight to the Kirigakure headquarters and show them what we're made of!"

Since a war was about to break out, reinforcements were naturally needed. The family heads present were not surprised, but they were somewhat astonished that Toshiro would personally lead the troops.

Unexpectedly, the Fifth Hokage would personally take charge; this is a stark contrast to the Third Hokage's style.

The Third Hokage hasn't been on the front lines for many years. I wonder if he'll really do what the Fifth Hokage said and march straight to the Mist Ninja's hometown. That would be quite a glorious thing!

"Our Aburame clan will send 5 Jonin, plus the Chunin from our clan, making a total of 60 people!"

Aburame Shiki, who usually has little presence, spoke first this time, stating on the spot that her family could send 60 ninjas to participate in the battle.

Don't be fooled by the fact that there are only 5 Jonin and over 50 Chunin. This is all the manpower that the Aburame clan can muster. He's really going all out for this position as the head of the Anbu, drawing on every available member of the clan.

If they were to continue increasing manpower, they would have no choice but to send teenagers under the age of 18 to the battlefield.

"Our Hyuga clan will send 10 Jonin this time, and the rest will make a total of 100..."

As descendants of the Otsutsuki clan, the Hyuga clan has a significantly higher success rate in producing ninjas than the Aburame clan. If it weren't for the system of the main family and branch families, which prevents many members of the Hyuga clan from becoming ninjas, the number would probably be even greater.

"Our Inuzuka..."

"..."

With these two families taking the lead, the remaining families all reported the number of people they would send to fight, and the number was basically the limit they could muster.

As for why, although these people benefited on the night Toshiro took over, most of them were still just acting agents. If they didn't perform well, how could they secure their positions?

"I've roughly calculated that the total number of people reported by the various clan leaders this time is around 900, and if we add the Uchiha clan, it'll be about 1000."

Although these families have a considerable number of members, there are relatively few large families like the Hyuga and Aburame.

Most clans are already considered very fortunate to have one or two Jonin.

"Although there are quite a few people, it's clearly not enough." After glancing at the civilian ninjas present, Toshiro turned his gaze towards the Third Hokage.

"Alright then, Sarutobi, Shimura, Ino, Shika, and Cho clans, your clans have recently gained quite a few mission ninjas. Transfer another 300 of them, and for the remaining manpower, draw from the civilian ninjas!"

These families certainly have talented members, but with such a good opportunity, how could he easily give up without thoroughly weakening their strength?

"Uchiha Toshiro!"

The hot-tempered Koharu Utatane suddenly stood up from behind Hiruzen Sarutobi, her face completely black, glaring angrily at Toshiro.

"This is blatant revenge!"

"We're all Konoha ninja, so why should our families have 300 more people?"

300 more people? Are you kidding me? If there are 300 more people in their seven or eight clans, all the ninjas in the clans will have to be transferred out.

"Add another 300 people. All the teenagers in our clan will be drafted to the battlefield. These people have just graduated from the ninja academy and are simply not up to the pace of the battlefield!"

"Oh, so the clansmen who just graduated from the Ninja Academy can't adapt to the pace of the battlefield?" Toshiro sneered, looking at Koharu Utatane's irritable expression.

"If I remember correctly, the age for graduating from the Ninja Academy is now 12, right? Ask the clan leaders here what the youngest member of their clan who went to the front lines during the last great war was?"

After saying this, Toshiro turned his gaze to the heads of the families present.

"Yes! The head of the dormitory... the patriarch of the dormitory, one of the children in our clan was sent to the battlefield at only eight or nine years old. At twelve... he's already quite old!"

The head of the Uesugi clan glanced at Toshiro, then at Koharu Utatane, and spoke in a sarcastic tone.

He was just a medium-sized clan in Konoha. During the last great war, the children in the clan were only 8 or 9 years old when they were graduated and sent to the battlefield.

And what about the families that switch sleeping arrangements?

Even if their children graduate early, they will spend several years playing 'ninja games' in Konoha. Afterwards, many of them are transferred to very stable positions through the connections of these elders.

Most of the children in their tribe, except for a few, had died on the battlefield.

"Everyone joined Konoha around the same time, and the Utatane clan has become increasingly prosperous and its population has grown larger over the years, making us small and medium-sized clans very envious!"

This Uesugi clan patriarch was quite old, even older than Koharu Utatane. He had always been saddened to see his clan's population gradually dwindling.

Seeing his neighbors, who had also joined the Konoha clan and were doing better and better, he always felt a sense of injustice towards fate.

But there was nothing he could do. He wasn't a high-ranking official in Konoha. When the village wanted to conscript children from the clan, he was powerless to do anything about it.

He even swallowed his pride and begged Koharu Utatane, but she said: "These sacrifices are all for Konoha!"

They dismissed him without any mercy.

In the years since the war ended, whenever he heard about the young people of the neighboring Zhuanqin family growing up and getting married, and then looked at the desolate ancestral land of his own family, he could not help but feel burning with jealousy.

"Furthermore... there's the Sarutobi clan, who have been calling themselves the number one clan in Konoha and a powerful clan specializing in Fire Release techniques for years. Yet this time they only sent fewer than 80 people. Doesn't that do them a bit of a disservice to that title?"

The mere presence of the Utatane family seemed insufficient to vent the jealousy that had been building up in his heart for years. He turned his gaze to Hiruzen Sarutobi standing beside Koharu Utatane, as well as the heads of other families.

"The Ino-Shika-Cho trio is renowned throughout the ninja world. Nara clan leader, don't you intend to do more for Konoha?"

After saying this, the Uesugi clan chief glanced at the Fifth Hokage at the head of the table out of the corner of his eye. Seeing the smile on the other's face, the wrinkles on his old face seemed to smooth out considerably.

It's done!

As an elder, the head of the Uesugi family knew about the grudges between the Uchiha and the Third Hokage's lineage. Since the Uchiha had the upper hand this time, how could he not seize the opportunity?

On the one hand, he could vent his pent-up resentment over the years, and on the other hand, he could get closer to the Hokage. He did it without any burden and enjoyed it immensely.

He knew that as long as the Hokage remembered him, his clan would at least not face any difficulties in Konoha, if not many benefits.

If we can take this opportunity to build a good relationship with the Hokage, then perhaps the prosperity of the Utatane clan today is the future of our own clan.

"Yes! Elder Utatane went to the battlefield at the age of twelve, which is not young at all. Just like what Chief Uesugi said, the children in our clan were only eight or nine years old when they went to the battlefield, which is not young at all!"

"Exactly! I also heard that the Uchiha clan sent even four-year-olds to the battlefield last time. It's time for you guys to lend a hand!"

"We can't always be the ones in the back while we're at the forefront!"

Uesugi clan head started the conversation, and everyone present, whether commoner ninja or clan ninja, turned their gaze to Koharu Utatane, the Third Hokage, and the many clan heads beside him.

Each of their expressions was quite intriguing, conveying a sense of "you've finally met your match."

In the past, it was always these people who were forced to send their family's youths to the battlefield, while the Ino-Shika-Cho and other families sat back and did nothing... It really is a case of the wheel of fortune turning!

'Um!'

'The Uesugi clan chief is very perceptive!'

'And these people, they all seem to have suffered for three generations, and they're all kicking someone when they're down!'

Sitting at the head of the table, taking advantage of the height, he could see the expressions of everyone below. Toshiro silently gave a thumbs-up to the Uesugi clan chief's speech.

What the other party said makes absolutely perfect sense!

If there are any outstanding talents in the Uesugi clan, they are worth nurturing!

His connection with Uchiha Toshiro is not something anyone can just cling to. If you don't have real talent, you should go back to where you came from.

"Hiruzen!"

After being ridiculed by the people around her, Koharu Utatane's face turned bright red, and she could only look to the Third Generation for help.

These bastards are so rude, especially that old man Uesugi. He should have sent the entire Uesugi family to the battlefield as cannon fodder back then.

"Ahem!"

Coughing twice, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the scrutinizing gazes around him, a hint of sorrow flashing in his eyes.

These people used to treat him with utmost respect, but now they're all starting to scrutinize him, including those who just made their stance clear.

Are you planning to cut ties with him?

"As far as I know, this battle is not particularly fierce, and the village has not been mobilized on a large scale. Those children are still young. Doing so will only harm the interests of Konoha."

Using the interests of Konoha as an excuse, Hiruzen Sarutobi continued.

"With the Fifth Hokage's strength, the Mist Ninja are no match for him. We should hear good news soon; there's no need to sacrifice these children!"

"If the Fifth Hokage feels there aren't enough men, although I'm old, I still have plenty of strength and can go to the front lines to fight the enemy!"

After saying this, the Third Hokage surveyed the area with his gaze.

Those family heads who were just jumping around excitedly lowered their heads involuntarily when they saw the Third Hokage's gaze, not daring to meet his eyes.

They all fell silent.

Except for the Uesugi clan chief, who was determined to succeed.

Seeing this, Toshiro wasn't surprised. After all, he had been Hokage for forty or fifty years, so it was normal for him to have some authority.

"Is Chief Sarutobi planning to go to the front lines?"

"I was just hesitating about whether to send Chief Sarutobi to the front lines, and now that you've brought it up... that's perfect!"

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's somewhat surprised expression, Toshiro sneered inwardly.

The old man feigned surprise, but he seriously suspected that the old man was up to no good.

Danzo has already raided his home once, how could he be careless again!

If I were fighting a major battle with the Mist Ninja on the front lines, and Hiruzen Sarutobi had any inappropriate thoughts, he could launch a surprise attack from behind.

Doesn't that make it a joke?

(End of this chapter)