Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

Uchiha Chihaya nodded slightly, and the next second she used the Body Flicker Technique to leave. Less than three minutes later, Uchiha Arashiyama pushed open the office door and walked in. As soon as he entered, he complained, "What trouble do you have to deal with now? I haven't been home for three whole days. Can't you let me rest for a while?"

"Ha ha!"

Zongxian gave a dry laugh and said in a dry tone, "Well, the capable should do more work!"

"I'd rather whip a fast horse to death! I'll be exhausted to death at my desk sooner or later!" Uchiha Arashiyama took a deep breath and sighed, "Alright, enough nonsense, just get to the point."

"He is temporarily under your care. Remember to keep it a secret. I don't want too many people to know that he was once in the hands of my clan."

Zongxian pointed decisively at Pipa Juzo.

Confidential?

Uchiha Arashiyama's mind raced, and he realized, "This is the gift that Akitaro brought back?" Was he planning to use this unlucky guy who was captured by Akitaro to cause trouble? Knowing Sogen's past well, he knew that whenever Sogen acted mysteriously, nothing good ever happened.

but,

It's always the enemy who gets hurt.

"I understand! I'll handle it."

Uchiha Arashiyama nodded in agreement.

[Chapter 73 This is impossible! (Seeking votes! Seeking investment!)]

The time is 3 PM.

The location is the conference room in the Hokage Building.

The attendees included the Fifth Acting Hokage, Akimichi Torifu, Uchiha clan head Uchiha Sogen, Hyuga clan head Hyuga Hiashi, and over thirty others including Aburame Shiki, Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi, Akimichi Choza, Inuzuka Gaku, and Kurama Murakumo, all of whom were clan heads.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the war with the Mist Ninja.

Akimichi Torifu didn't mince words. This acting Hokage made no attempt to hide his straightforward personality, bluntly explaining the village's current predicament of insufficient manpower and stating that this war with the Mist Ninja would definitely require the joint efforts of all the clans.

"...That's roughly the situation. Is there anyone else who doesn't understand?"

Akimichi Tokifu looked around and asked loudly.

Naturally, no one responded. Akimichi Torifu had explained it so clearly; if someone still couldn't understand, it would truly make one doubt whether he had put his heart into it or not.

After waiting a while and seeing that no one spoke, he continued, "Since you all understand, I won't ask you one by one. Please speak for yourselves! How much combat power can you provide to participate in this war?" As he spoke, his gaze lingered on Uchiha Sogen and Hyuga Hiashi, who were closest to him.

"The Uchiha clan can send out thirty Jonin."

Zongxian was absolutely unambiguous.

His attitude remained firm from beginning to end. The Uchiha clan never feared war. To demonstrate this determination, he revealed most of the clan's wealth in one go. Of course, this was not because he was unaware of how expensive daily necessities were. "In addition, I hope to serve as the supreme commander in this war against the Mist Ninja."

This is Zongxian's plan.

He was prepared to personally participate in and take control of this war.

"Thirty Jonin? As expected of the Uchiha!"

"This number... is terrifying!"

"Is he the best in Konoha?"

The heads of the smaller clans sitting at the lower level whispered among themselves, and Akimichi Torifu let them do as they pleased, as long as they didn't get too loud and start to shake the roof off. He was quite satisfied with Uchiha Sogen's supportive attitude, and then turned his gaze to Hyuga Hiashi.

"The Hyuga clan can also send thirty Jonin."

Hiashi Hyuga did not disappoint Akimichi Torifu's expectations.

Like Sogen, he pulled out thirty Jonin. This wasn't entirely for the sake of face; he hadn't forgotten the Byakugan of the main Hyuga clan that had been taken away by the Kirigakure. As long as that eye couldn't be retrieved, the shame of the Hyuga clan would be hard to wash away.

Akimichi's mood for taking in the wind grew increasingly pleasant.

These are sixty Jonin. To be honest, this number is already quite astonishing. If we just need to gather another one or two thousand Chunin and Genin, we'll have a full-strength army.

"The Aburame clan can send out ten Jonin."

"The Yamanaka clan can send out ten Jonin."

······

The numbers reported by the clan leaders are getting smaller and smaller, which is normal. Although these clans are not inferior to the Uchiha and Hyuga in terms of the overall size of their members, and many clans even have more members than these two major clans, the number of clan members is not directly related to the number of Jonin.

The Uchiha clan is known for its members whose strength increases rapidly once they awaken their Sharingan. Geniuses who become Jonin in their teens are as numerous as bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

The Hyuga clan is born with the ability to awaken the Byakugan. As long as they are not too stupid and train hard enough, they can at least become Chunin, and if they are talented enough, becoming Jonin is not out of the question.

These two races have a unique advantage.

No other family can compare!

After all the clan leaders had finished speaking, Akimichi Torifu took the small slip of paper handed to him from behind. He glanced at the tallied numbers on it, and his brows and eyes relaxed. "Two hundred and twenty-seven Jonin, haha! Looks like we can teach the Mist Ninja a lesson this time!"

The acting Hokage laughed heartily.

"Next, let's talk about choosing the commander for this campaign against the Mist Ninja." After laughing enough, Akimichi Torifu cleared his throat and steered the conversation back to the main topic. His gaze lingered on Hyuga Hiashi, Aburame Shiki, and the others. "Besides the Uchiha clan head, is there anyone else who wants to lead this campaign against the Mist Ninja?"

He asked three times.

No one answered.

Looking at the composed Uchiha Sogen, no one dared to compete with him for the position of supreme commander. The destructive power he displayed when he almost single-handedly wiped out Root's elite forces was not so easily forgotten.

Furthermore, this supreme commander position isn't one that just anyone can sit in.

The Mist Ninja are by no means easy targets. Just because Uchiha Sogen dared to look down on the Mist Ninja, it doesn't mean they can look down on them. It wouldn't be surprising if they were to suffer a setback at the hands of the Mist Ninja. During the Third Shinobi World War, the Hyuga clan suffered an unprecedented defeat at the hands of the Mist Ninja.

This was the first time the head of the clan had ever shown such disdain to outsiders.

This shame,

This incident remains a deep grudge for the Hyuga clan to this day, and they have never forgotten it.

"Since no one else is volunteering, then... Uchiha clan head, I entrust the war against Kirigakure to you." Akimichi Torifu decisively handed over power to Sogen.

He had seriously considered the selection of the supreme commander and had thought about choosing a commander with profound prestige and great power. However, when he looked around, he could not find many suitable candidates. The candidates were nothing more than Uchiha Sogen and Hyuga Hiashi.

White Fang committed suicide, the Three Ninja Legends fell apart, and the Yellow Flash died young...

Konoha has lost too many talented individuals over the years!

Uchiha Sogen was the most suitable candidate chosen by Akimichi Torifu after careful consideration. Although the Uchiha clan leader was young, his strength was indeed outstanding, and he was not afraid that anyone would be dissatisfied. Moreover, the excuse that the Kirigakure was using to cause trouble was because of the great sword Samehada in Uchiha Sogen's hand.

Speaking of,

It seems that the Kirigakure envoy was also captured by Uchiha Munegen, which led to the Kirigakure deputy envoy submitting a declaration of war.

"Rest assured, Lord Hokage, I will bring back victory and glory."

Zongxian said with absolute certainty.

Their confident demeanor inspired many to embrace victory. Putting everything else aside, the strength of the Uchiha clan on the battlefield was indeed reassuring!

"I'll be looking forward to it!"

Akimichi Tokifumi replied with a smile.

If a major victory in a foreign war can be achieved during his tenure as acting Hokage, it will surely be a significant chapter in Konoha's history.

"By the way, Hokage, excluding Jonin, I wonder how many troops the village can allocate to me this time?"

Zongxian asked.

"...less than two thousand."

Akimichi Torifu's smile froze slightly, but he didn't hide anything and directly told the truth.

"I know this number is a bit low, but this is indeed all we have. Of course, if we can squeeze in a little more, we should be able to reach two thousand people." His gaze swept over the clan leaders present, and his implication was clear: since so many Jonin had already been sent out, it would be only natural to give some Chunin and Genin as well.

"No need for that. Sarutobi, Shimura, Utatane, Mitomon, Kazamatsuri, and Ise—have these six families gather another 1,500 men for me!"

Zongxian's words,

It's like water being poured into hot oil.

The meeting room instantly erupted in chaos.

"This is impossible!"

The head of the Sarutobi clan stood up in shock and anger, feeling his blood rush to his head and his face turning red!

Not only him, but the heads of the other clans also stood up indignantly, glaring angrily at Uchiha Mugen... No, there was one person who did not stand up.

The head of the Shimura clan sat resignedly in his chair without getting up.

[Chapter 74: I will never allow you to smear the Third Hokage's reputation! (Seeking votes! Seeking investment!)]

Why is it impossible?

Zongxian sat in his chair, his hand on the armrest, his chin slightly raised, his cold, icy gaze fixed on the group of furious protesters, as if he were looking at a bunch of ignorant, irritable children throwing a tantrum!

Although he is less than half the age of any of these protesters.

“Fifteen hundred people! Even if we include all the children who haven’t graduated from the Ninja Academy yet, my clan can’t gather that many people! This is simply taking advantage of personal interests… forcing people to do what they can’t!” Sarutobi Saemon retorted angrily, but thankfully he managed to keep his composure and swallow back the words “taking advantage of personal interests for revenge.”

This man in his early forties is the current head of the Sarutobi clan. Five years ago, Hiruzen Sarutobi once again ascended to the throne of Hokage, and his eldest son, whom he valued highly, also entered the Anbu. As a result, Hiruzen Sarutobi handed over the position of head of the Sarutobi clan to his nephew, Sarutobi Zaemon.

This is a man of mediocre talent.

He was chosen by Hiruzen Sarutobi to become the head of the Sarutobi clan not because he was particularly outstanding, but simply because he was a very obedient nephew. He would do his best to carry out Hiruzen Sarutobi's orders, even if he couldn't do them perfectly in the end, but he was indeed very obedient.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi still held power,

His life will probably remain as carefree and happy as before.

unfortunately,

There are no "what ifs" in life.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's fall from the mountain peak not only plunged him into the abyss, but also made life unbearable for Sarutobi Zaemon! And this man seemed utterly oblivious to it all.

"I seriously doubt whether your ears are still useful, but since I'm in a good mood today, I'll say it again. This time, listen up, Sarutobi, Shimura, Utatane, Mitomon, Kazamatsuri, and Ise, you six clans, gather 1,500 people for me, of which no more than 300 are genin, and you must give me at least 1,200 chunin."

"But that's still too much!"

Even if it's only one-sixth, that's still 250 people.

This is a heartbreaking number for any clan. After all, unlike Jonin, who can at least protect themselves on the battlefield if they are not too unlucky, Chunin and Genin are just cannon fodder to be consumed on the battlefield where two ninja villages are fighting.