Uchiha's personal opinion

"Clan leaders, if any ninja clan elites are willing to accept the recruitment, you may begin to register now."

Upon hearing the Third Hokage's words, the first person to stand up was the representative of the Sarutobi clan.

"Lord Hokage, the Sarutobi clan will have 6 Jonin and 80 Chunin summoned by the village!"

"Five Jonin and 60 Chunin from the Shimura clan will be summoned by the village."

"The Nara clan..."

"The mountain clan..."

The ninja clans of the Hokage lineage expressed their support, prompting other ninja clans to also step forward.

However, the Uchiha and Hyuga clans, along with their allies, remained unmoved.

……

After a brief moment of noise, the ninja clan member in the middle of the hall finished announcing the number of attendees, and the scene quieted down slightly.

All eyes began to turn to the two powerful clans, the Uchiha and Hyuga, on either side.

After a moment of contemplation, the Hyuga clan leader spoke.

"The Hyuga clan has selected 20 Jonin and 80 Chunin to accept the village's call-up."

Subsequently, various ninja clans behind him also expressed their opinions.

The final pressure fell on the Uchiha camp.

The Uchiha clan leader glanced at the clansmen around him, indicating whether there were any problems.

Uchiha Tokumitsu nodded to him, then raised his hand.

"Mr. Deguang, is there a problem?"

The third generation asked in a friendly manner.

"Lord Hokage, what are the arrangements for the ninja recruitment?"

"This is a village secret, you have no right to ask!" Danzo shouted impatiently upon hearing this.

"And who are you to dare spout such nonsense!" Uchiha Tokumitsu's face darkened as he retorted.

Seeing Danzo's anger rising, the Third Hokage waved his hand to silence him.

"Tokuko-kun, what are your demands?" The Third Hokage didn't beat around the bush and directly pointed out the core of Uchiha Tokuko's problem.

"Uchiha clan ninjas will not be allowed to be scattered into groups and mixed up unless they have their own personal wishes. Hokage, is this appropriate?"

When this statement came out, everyone was lost.

Although they knew that the Uchiha were arrogant and domineering, they did not know that they were so arrogant and tough.

Danzo, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu's expressions grew even angrier.

"Although this matter is against the rules, if it involves the Uchiha, then we can be a little more lenient..."

The Hokage's response was particularly sympathetic, but it also pitted the Uchiha clan against other ninja clans.

"Lord Hokage, it's not just the Uchiha clan. What I mean is, can the clans that accept the conscription form their own ninja groups according to their own wishes?"

"...The principle is acceptable, but the specific situation during wartime may require flexible adjustments, and the team formation must also be reported to the village." The Third Hokage had no intention of arguing further and said directly.

“Okay, we’re all set!” After saying that, he looked at the Uchiha clan leader beside him.

As the head of his clan, Uchiha Yomo sighed again.

"The Uchiha direct line will select 12 Jonin and 72 Chunin to accept the village's conscription."

"The Uchiha Emperor Flame Faction is recruiting 10 Jonin and 50 Chunin to accept the village's call-up." This was said by the conservative elder, Uchiha Sanchiyo, and the so-called Emperor Flame Faction was simply a name for the conservative faction.

"The police department will select 5 Jonin and 30 Chunin from its reserves to enlist." After saying this, the police department representative hesitated for a moment, looked at Uchiha Tokumitsu, and added, "and will be under the command of our clan's young lord, Tokumitsu."

Upon hearing this, not only the Naruto F4, but even the Uchiha clan leader's face darkened.

"The Nohara Clan is requesting one Jonin and eight Chunin to enlist and be under the command of Young Master Tokumitsu..."

"The Shiranui family..."

The vassal ninja clans behind them echoed the words of the police representative.

Finally, after all the affiliated ninja clans had expressed their stance, Uchiha Tokumitsu roughly calculated that there were 17 more Jonin and 110 Chunin who would join his ranks from among the affiliated ninja clans alone.

"The Uchiha Tiger Faction will be recruiting 22 Jonin and 46 Chunin!" The radical Uchiha faction, which claims to be in the Tiger Faction, has suddenly produced more Jonin than the Hyuga clan!

The room erupted in another uproar.

Chapter 24 Escalation of the War

Overall, the ninja clan meeting was quite successful.

Although the strength of the Uchiha clan dwarfed that of other ninja clans.

Although the Uchiha clan's conditions required the village to pay a higher price.

Although the Uchiha clan clearly lacked respect for the Hokage.

……

Although, although, although!

Although many problems originated from the Uchiha clan, even the Hokage could not offend the mentally unstable clan at this critical moment due to the urgent external situation.

After all, he was counting on the powerful Uchiha clan to lead the charge.

Even Danzo, after witnessing the sheer number of Jonin drawn from the Uchiha clan, became much more restrained.

After all, it was truly terrifying that the Uchiha clan representative pulled out 49 Jonin at the Ninja Clan Conference; you have to understand that before the war, Konoha only had about 280 active Jonin registered...

……

The outcomes of the ninja clan meeting must be properly digested.

In addition to the 20 Jonin and 46 Chunin given to him by the radical faction, Uchiha Tokumitsu also received command of the police reserve force and the Uchiha affiliated ninja clan. Combined, this brought him to a total of 17 Jonin and 110 Chunin. While not as elite as the Uchiha ninja army he directly commanded, their strength was certainly adequate. Uchiha Tokumitsu had been worried about the insufficient number of Chunin as his core strength, and this immediately filled that gap.

After gaining command, integration and training are essential to quickly build up combat effectiveness.

Thus, a formidable ninja army composed of 37 Jonin and 146 Chunin frequently entered and exited the village, causing fear among the Konoha clans and drawing the attention of the Hokage's faction. Even spies from various countries lurking in the village couldn't sit still and launched carrier pigeons and communication eagles in an attempt to transmit intelligence. However, many of them were busted by the police department and the Anbu, imprisoned, and severely tortured. For the village, this was an unexpected gain.

And so, a month passed.

Uchiha Tokumitsu's joint training exercise achieved certain results, greatly improving the combat coordination of his ninja army. At the same time, through various means, he successfully demonstrated the authority of his eight-year-old clan ninja army leader to his ninjas—through the simplest demonstration of strength, which was to subdue them one by one.

The growing power and influence of Uchiha Tokumitsu not only instilled fear in the Hokage lineage, but also within the clan itself. Faced with this young yet incredibly strong junior, both the direct line of the clan leader and the conservative faction felt a thorn in their side. Many clan members regarded him as the second Uchiha Madara, with opinions ranging from those who believed him to those who disliked him. However, overall, the number of clan members leaning towards the radical faction was increasing. Consequently, under the auspices of higher-ranking members, the direct line of the clan leader's ninja army and the conservative ninja army began to merge, forming the Uchiha clan's second ninja army force. This force was led by Uchiha Shigenobu, a close confidant of the clan leader Uchiha Shimo, with the clan leader's eldest son, Uchiha Fugaku, serving as his deputy.

The Uchiha clan was showing signs of splitting, but the Hokage faction couldn't afford to get involved and stir things up, because the war was changing too quickly.

After the Konoha troops stationed on the border of the Land of Rain defeated the Rain Village's outpost, they looted the border city. However, instead of the Rain Village army that was rumored to be preparing its elite forces, they were met by a puppet army from the Sand Village.

After a series of small-scale skirmishes, neither Konoha nor Sunagakure gained an advantage. As Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade led the first wave of the Allied Shinobi Forces to arrive, Sunagakure quickly withdrew from the battle line. Before the reinforcements could even catch their breath, the reorganized Rain Country Shinobi Forces had already taken over the defensive line and were facing off again.

On the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, the Sand Village army no longer concealed its whereabouts, appearing frequently and on a large scale in various parts of the border. Although the border troops commander, Hatake Sakumo, was exceptionally strong, the number of ninja under his command was severely insufficient, and since the two sides had not yet formally declared war, he was inevitably somewhat constrained. For a time, the border was riddled with loopholes, making it difficult to conceal and defend.

Meanwhile, the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning ended their border standoff and withdrew their respective border troops. The ninja forces that had gathered during the earlier standoff were nowhere to be found. Konoha's border troops dared not cross the border to conduct reconnaissance and had no choice but to send a telegram requesting support from the village.

Meanwhile, the rapidly changing situation at the Hokage Building left the Konoha F4 overwhelmed, forcing them to scrap almost all their previous war preparations and start over, especially regarding intelligence from the Lightning and Earth directions, which was of paramount importance.

As always, the Hokage's office was filled with smoke.

Danzo is reporting the intelligence he has gathered.

"...The Sunagakure forces that appeared in the Land of Rain mid-month are now confirmed to be an elite puppet force led by the son of Sunagakure elder Chiyo, numbering approximately 60. This force has since withdrawn from the Land of Rain, but their specific duties upon crossing the border are currently unknown. The Sunagakure ninja forces that Sakumo is dealing with, based on their command style and internal documents, are likely led by Sunagakure elder Ebizo. Furthermore, the Rain Ninja forces have not yet received any information regarding the movements of their leader, Hanzo of the Salamander; no trace of him has been found, neither in his frontline units nor within the Rain Village..."

A series of unclear and uncertain questions caused the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, to furrow his brow more and more.

However, he couldn't be too critical, since Sunagakure's actions were too sudden and without warning. When he sent messengers to inquire, Sunagakure refused to let them in. But judging from the current situation, a major battle was inevitable.

The third generation leader sighed softly.

It was only in front of a few old friends that he dared to show such fatigue.

"What about the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth?"

Seeing that the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, remained silent with his eyes closed, Mitokado Homura continued to ask questions.

"The situation in the Land of Lightning is unclear at the moment, but the Land of Earth has strengthened its garrison on the border of the Land of Rain. It is known that an Iwagakure blasting unit has been deployed to the border of the Land of Rain."

"What perfect teamwork! They're both planning to use the Land of Rain as the battlefield."

"Turn to the next room," Xiaochun sighed.

"Hanzo's expansion has gone too far. Not only have the surrounding small countries suffered greatly, but even the neutral Land of Iron has been invaded by him. In particular, the Rain Ninja Army has even entered the vassal states of the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth..."

The third generation leader, who had been resting with his eyes closed, spoke slowly.

Ultimately, the trigger for this war was the Rain Village in the Land of Rain, which was unwilling to accept the status quo, especially since its leader was the brilliant and ambitious Hanzo of the Salamander, who was known as a "demigod".

The Land of Rain is surrounded by the three great nations of Fire, Earth, and Wind, along with their vassal states. It has long suffered from oppression and exploitation. In particular, its abundant rainfall has made agricultural development extremely difficult. It has always relied on exchanging handicrafts with the outside world to purchase grain, but it has been suppressed and exploited by the powerful merchants of the three great nations of Fire, Earth, and Wind. The discontent within the Land of Rain has been growing stronger. After Hanzo the Salamander came to power, with the support of the Daimyo of the Land of Rain, he began to actively expand his military and wantonly expand and plunder the surrounding small countries, thus angering the three great nations of Fire, Earth, and Wind.

What puzzled the Third Hokage was that after Amegakure seized resources from the Land of Iron, they first clashed with Sunagakure on the border, only to be suppressed by Sunagakure. Then, Amegakure provoked a conflict with Konoha. After Konoha invaded the border of Amegakure, Sunagakure's puppet troops suddenly came to probe, and soon after, Amegakure sent its own ninja army to confront them. Sunagakure then withdrew on its own initiative. What was the meaning behind this coordination? And what was Sunagakure's true intention? Why did they also deploy heavy troops on the border of Konoha?

Even the cunning and shrewd Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi found himself in a difficult position due to a lack of intelligence.

"Humph!"

Danzo snorted coldly, "That old man Hanzo, who's like a ventilator, is also overestimating himself. His reckless behavior is comparable to that of the Uchiha clan. He's absolutely courting death!"

Even when no one else was around, Danzo, true to his nature, did not hide his malice and suspicion towards the Uchiha clan.

"Instead of becoming a starving corpse, we should follow the example of the praying mantis..." Koharu Utatane sighed with apparent compassion, "Just for the selfish desires of Hanzo and the Daimyo of the Land of Rain, they rashly started a war, and in doing so, the people of the Land of Rain have suffered greatly."

These words made even Hiruzen Sarutobi and his two old friends feel particularly uncomfortable.

Even a cat crying over a mouse doesn't cry like that.

Mitokado Yan thought to himself.

"When can the second batch of reinforcements from the Land of Rain depart?" Ignoring Koharu Utatane's feigned concern, the Third Hokage asked Homura Mitokado.

"It will be ready the day after tomorrow."

"Very well, Danzo, this part of the ninja army will be under your command."

"Hai!"

Having gained command of the troops, Danzo didn't mind showing his respect for the Hokage.