Uchiha's personal opinion

With the help of the giant waves, the Third Mizukage easily summoned water dragons that flew continuously toward Uchiha Tokumitsu's fire dragon.

"BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!"

A tremendous explosion of chakra resounded throughout the heavens and earth, and the smoke generated by the clash of water and fire quickly spread out.

"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Technique!"

Using the steam, Yagura quickly activated the Mist Concealment Technique.

A dense fog of chakra rapidly enveloped Uchiha Tokumitsu and his two companions.

"Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning Technique!"

Orochimaru also quickly exhaled a cloud of high-temperature smoke from his mouth to counter the cover of the Hidden Mist Technique.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Sakumo Hatake then unleashed a Wind Release ninjutsu to help Orochimaru spread his smoke, before instantly disappearing from sight.

Sakumo Hatake is a traditional ninja assassin. Ninjutsu duels are not his forte; only by concealing his whereabouts can he create the greatest deterrent effect.

The mist and smoke slowly dissipated.

The figures of the Third Mizukage and Yagura Karatachi slowly came into view.

Yagura Karatachi seemed about to activate his full Tailed Beast transformation, but the Third Mizukage pressed down on his shoulder and forcibly stopped him.

"What a powerful force that I miss so much..."

Gazing at Uchiha Tokumitsu's Susanoo, the Third Mizukage sighed again, "This reminds me of the time when the God of Shinobi was still alive..."

"Humph!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu snorted coldly and dispelled Susanoo.

He could also see that the Third Mizukage, or rather, the manipulator behind him, Uchiha Madara, seemed to have no intention of fighting to the death; he was just rambling on like a long-forgotten old man.

“You, a junior member of the Uchiha clan, are still far from being as good as Madara Uchiha.”

The Third Mizukage said to Uchiha Tokumitsu, "I would call you the strongest Uchiha of our time!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu snorted coldly and did not respond.

Furthermore, the Third Mizukage's claim of being the strongest was accompanied by too many prefixes and limitations.

"Every gift that fate bestows has already had a price tag attached in secret."

The Third Mizukage noticed Uchiha Tokumitsu's resentment and chuckled lightly, saying, "Those who are obsessed with evil power will eventually fall into the abyss of darkness."

Uchiha Tokumitsu's expression grew even colder.

The so-called Dark Abyss, isn't it just that using the Mangekyou Sharingan too much will cause blindness?

What was the purpose behind his pointed remark?

"Let this war end here!" The Third Mizukage turned and left without looking back. "This battle can be considered a victory for Konoha!"

Yagura also withdrew the Three-Tails' chakra he had released and followed the Third Mizukage away.

Orochimaru looked thoughtfully at Uchiha Tokumitsu, whose face was cold and indifferent.

Sakumo Hatake slowly emerged from a treetop.

However, none of the three had any intention of continuing to pursue the Mizukage.

"Let's fire a signal flare..."

After a moment, Uchiha Tokumitsu said listlessly, "Summon the ninja army back. Let's stop this pointless fighting."

Sakumo Hatake nodded and took out a specially made signal flare from his pocket.

"Hey~"

A red signal flare shot into the sky.

Although the reason was unknown, the Konoha ninjas who were lying in ambush in various places immediately got up and retreated after seeing the signal flare.

"A war that started strong but ended weakly..."

Orochimaru stood there for a moment, then shook his head and sighed.

Chapter 149 The Deployment of the Border Troops

After the Third Mizukage and Yagura Karatachi left, Uchiha Tokumitsu and his two companions, after confirming that the Kirigakure ninja army had all left by boat, gathered their forces and returned to their camp.

If Konoha follows its usual practice, after the war ends, the ninja troops conscripted from the village must be given a rest as soon as possible, or even the ninja troops under the command of the combat commander must be disbanded, and all legal affairs must be handed over to the garrison camp or border defense forces.

However, the region that Hatake Sakumo is currently stationed in is quite special. The eastern border defense forces that were originally responsible for the region's defense have been almost completely wiped out by the Kirigakure ninja army's attack, and the former ally, the Land of Whirlpools, has long since disappeared. Therefore, Hatake Sakumo has no intention of following this rule, but has seriously begun to make defense arrangements in various places.

Although Uchiha Tokumitsu was usually too lazy to deal with such trivial matters, he was still dragged along by the overwhelmed Hatake Sakumo to share some of the work.

Uchiha Tokumitsu was in charge of rebuilding the most important eastern border defense forces.

As members of the first ninja unit in Konoha to have its command headquarters completely wiped out, none of the former members of the Eastern Defense Force dared to disobey Uchiha Tokumitsu, the notorious new commander.

As a ninja force of nearly a thousand people, only about three hundred ninjas survived and returned to their original units after the battle with Kirigakure. The original command structure had been completely destroyed.

Therefore, Uchiha Tokumitsu did not care about the original positions of these defeated soldiers. He simply extracted ninjas with special ninjutsu abilities, such as sensory ninjas and medical ninjas, and then crudely reorganized the original personnel into three squads.

Subsequently, ninjas from clans closely related to the Uchiha clan were drawn from the ninja alliance brought by Hatake Sakumo to form two detachments, temporarily filling half of the border troops' strength and barely managing to take over the defense work.

As for the vacant positions, Uchiha Tokumitsu plans to fill them within the clan and among the affiliated ninja clans.

Even if each family doesn't have enough manpower, they can draw graduates from the police training school to join, and the experience of serving in the border forces can also be used as internship experience for new recruits in the police department.

In this way, even if the eastern border defense forces are commanded by outsiders in the future, they will not be able to cause any trouble when faced with the absolute advantage that most of the ninja army brigade commanders under their command are confidants of the Uchiha clan.

Inside the central command tent, Uchiha Tokumitsu drew an Uchiha fan emblem on the eastern region of the Land of Fire on the ninja world map.

In addition to the northwestern border defense forces stationed in the Land of Grass, the eastern border defense forces are also about to fall into the hands of the Uchiha clan.

Furthermore, the northern border defense force is the original force commanded by Hatake Sakumo, and they have always been obedient to orders. Although the Hokage's son, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, recently led his troops north to join the force, this ninja army will not be able to shake off Hatake Sakumo's influence in the short term.

The western border defense force stationed in the Land of Rivers consists of Uchiha Tokumitsu and Hatake Sakumo's comrades from their time fighting against Sunagakure. The two commanders' attitudes are relatively ambiguous. Even if something happens in Konoha in the future, even if they cannot lead their troops to help, they can maintain a state of inaction and wait for the outcome to be decided within the village.

All things considered, the four border defense forces of Konoha Village are now under the overt or covert control of Uchiha Tokumitsu and Hatake Sakumo.

According to the one-country-one-village system established by the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, most ninjas, except for a few scattered ninja clans, have been placed under the jurisdiction of ninja villages. The funds for the development of ninja villages are provided by the daimyo of the country where the village is located. However, the ninjas do not engage in production; they rely on missions for rewards to make a living.

However, although the reward for a mission is considerable, ninjas must provide all the materials and tools they need for the mission themselves. This is especially true for missions of rank B or higher that involve ninja combat. Often, although the money earned from a mission is quite substantial, most of the reward is spent on treating injuries, repairing and replenishing ninja tools, and purchasing training resources.

However, one cannot skimp on this aspect, otherwise, slow recovery from injuries will delay the next mission, and failing to purchase ninja tools or training resources will weaken one's survivability during missions.

The ninjas were thus passively drawn into the ever-competitive ranks, until one day they died in a mission or were forced to leave the ranks due to injury.

The ninjas who are eliminated or even laid down in this endless involution are the largest group of registered ninjas in the major ninja villages, including senior genin and the elderly. The numerous tasks entrusted to them by the daimyo and nobles, such as catching cats and dogs and clearing out bandits, are not difficult but extremely tedious. This is tailor-made for them so that these ninjas who possess extraordinary powers will not become impoverished and choose to rob and plunder and become rogue ninjas.

All things considered, the border troops, funded and supported by the village and serving as a standing ninja force, are indeed a very good option for some ninjas with relatively mediocre abilities.

At least in peacetime, it's a perfect "iron rice bowl" (guaranteed job).

"Lord Tokumitsu..."

A Uchiha ninja entered from outside the central command tent, bowed, and said, "The genin you requested has arrived..."

"Let him in."

Uchiha Tokumitsu nodded and casually put away the ninja world map on the stage.

A middle-aged man carrying an iron pot, dressed in rags but with a resolute face, entered the tent.

"Commander Tokumitsu, Geninmaru Seikosuke has been ordered to report for duty!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu sized him up for a while.

Although his rank is only Genin, his posture and chakra fluctuations show that Maruboshi Kosuke is a strongman even among Jonin.

After all, he was someone who was personally taught Water Release ninjutsu by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, so he couldn't be an ordinary person.

"Mr. Kosuke..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu slowly spoke, "I have made some adjustments to your position. Do you have any objections?"

“Commander Tokumitsu, I swore to Lord Tobirama that I would only ever be a genin, so I truly dare not accept this order…”

"Don't misunderstand, I have no intention of promoting your ninja rank. You are still a genin!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu said calmly.

"Please give instructions, Commander Deguang."

Kosuke Maruboshi remained as composed as ever.

"I intend to appoint you as the genin training instructor, responsible for genin training affairs for the border troops."

Uchiha Tokumitsu said, "This way, you won't have to work so hard anymore, and the genin can grow quickly without making mistakes in simple missions and dying... So, what do you think?"

"Yes, sir..."

After a moment's thought, Maruhoshi Kosuke bowed to Uchiha Tokumitsu, indicating that he accepted the appointment.

"As for your rank, if you are willing to be promoted to a higher rank, you can let me know. I believe Sakumo-kun would also be very happy to have you become a member of the Jonin."

Uchiha Tokumitsu continued, "However, everything I've said is based on your personal wishes, and I won't force you to change your thoughts or actions... If there are no other objections, you may leave now..."

"I'll take my leave now..."

Maruhoshi Kosuke didn't linger any longer, bowed, and left immediately.

Uchiha Tokumitsu's relocation of existing personnel in the border forces was not limited to Maruboshi Kosuke alone.

Any ninja with outstanding strength and close ties with the Hokage's faction was identified as an unstable element by Uchiha Tokumitsu and transferred from management positions for various reasons, being relegated to a newly created sinecure to retire.

Although this may weaken the remaining forces of the eastern border defense forces in the short term, it will also help maintain the Uchiha clan's future control over this ninja army as much as possible.

The recent weakening of combat power will be reversed after Uchiha ninjas and their affiliated clans are incorporated into the eastern border defense forces.

After dealing with the affairs of the ninja army, Uchiha Tokumitsu finally breathed a sigh of relief, but the representatives of the ninja alliance came to him again.

……

"The war isn't even officially over yet, and you're already so concerned about IOUs?"

Uchiha Tokumitsu frowned and asked, "Besides, it's an agreement signed between the village and everyone. Why are you asking me about this?"

The ninja clan representatives who came to Uchiha Tokumitsu's central command tent included representatives from smaller ninja clans such as Inuju, Gekko, Yamabuki, and Toga. In order to successfully meet Uchiha Tokumitsu, they also brought along Hyuga Shuhiro's younger brother as a scapegoat.