Uchiha's personal opinion

If Uchiha Tokumitsu were willing, he could now lead his army north to advance on the Cloud Village's main base, Cloud Thunder Gorge.

His ninja army was happily cleaning up the battlefield, piling up the corpses of Cloud Village ninjas and burning them, making Uchiha Tokumitsu feel extremely pleased.

"Sakumo-kun, do you think it's time to call upon the ninja forces of the Himon Shogunate for reinforcements?"

Uchiha Tokumitsu sought advice from Hatake Sakumo.

"It's nothing serious. After this battle, Iwagakure should be deterred and dare not harbor any disloyal thoughts. Even if the Land of Grass is a bit weak, there won't be any major problems."

Sakumo Hatake also felt that it wasn't a big problem.

The Uchiha Himon ninja army is currently stationed in the southern region of the Land of Frost, standing by while also keeping a watchful eye on the Iwagakure ninja army that has occupied the northern part of the Land of Frost.

"Iwagakure..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu also thought of those granite-headed people.

"Why don't we send Iwagakure across the sea to the Land of Lightning as well?"

Uchiha Tokumitsu wiped his chin. "It's such a waste for the six thousand Iwagakure members to continue holed up in that remote corner of the Land of Frost. Maybe it would be better if they marched together and formed an alliance..."

"A joint operation between the ninja forces is unlikely..."

Sakumo Hatake thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "However, there might be an opportunity for a meeting... How about I go to the Iwagakure camp?"

"No, no need~"

Uchiha Tokumitsu waved his hands repeatedly, "How could someone of Sakumo's status lower himself to say such things to those Iwagakure barbarians?"

"I think the envoys from the Sarutobi Shogunate and Iwagakure will arrive at headquarters in less than two days!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu snorted and said, "Those guys... are definitely experts at stealing the fruits of others' labor!"

"So what are your plans?"

Sakumo Hatake glanced at him and asked.

He didn't believe that Uchiha Tokumitsu was so easy to talk to.

"If you want the horse to run, you can't let it go without eating grass."

Uchiha Tokumitsu replied, "If we don't give them some incentives, how can we encourage them to increase their efforts and rush to the battlefield?"

Although the Hidden Cloud Village suffered heavy losses in this war, it may not necessarily surrender.

The Tokugawa Shogunate's ninja army could take advantage of their great victory to plunder the southern region of the Land of Lightning, then leave the territory in front to the Sarutobi Shogunate and Iwagakure's expeditionary forces, while they themselves would lead their troops to wait for the arrival of the Hidden Gate Shogunate's reinforcements along the border.

Hyuga Hizashi, who had listened to the entire conversation between the two, felt as if there was something wrong with his values.

When did the infighting within the village become so open and unreserved?

However, after listening to the two's plans and schemes, Hyuga Hizashi began to get used to the bloodshed of the post-war era.

Even the bloodstains, bone fragments, and other remnants on my body no longer bother me.

But the young man in front of him, who was about the same age as him but full of vigor, made him feel genuinely envious.

……

The shogunate's victory reports were carried to all corners of the country by the shogunate's messengers.

Upon hearing the news, both Konoha and Iwagakure were shaken.

There are very few examples in the ninja world of such a rapid defeat and annihilation.

The combat characteristics of ninjas are high mobility and high attack but low defense. A war often involves a long period of probing in the early stages, from initial reconnaissance to small-scale infiltration and small-scale attempted offensives. Only after ensuring accurate intelligence and cutting off the enemy ninja army's reinforcements will they engage in the final battle.

During this process, the enemy's ninja forces were almost wiped out in the squad infiltration operations, and the final battle was usually just a cleanup.

However, all the ninja wars commanded by Uchiha Tokumitsu were different from traditional ninja battles.

From the Northern Expedition of Kusa-no-Kakuya to Iwagakure, to the formation of the Mobile Force, and even the establishment of the Tokukō Shogunate, Uchiha Tokukō had always intentionally or unintentionally drawn ninjas from his clan to form a standing ninja army and adopted a tactic of mass combat, thus changing the traditional way ninjas fought.

The pinnacle of the Uchiha ninja army was the Red Guard under Uchiha Tokumitsu.

With a mere three or four hundred men, along with the northwestern border defense forces stationed in the Land of Grass, they deterred Iwagakure, which had always hoped to advance south, from acting recklessly. Instead, they could only continue to target Amegakure, this troublesome village.

Of course, other ninja villages weren't fools either, and some tried Uchiha Tokumitsu's method of breaking the three-person squad system with a fully-serving, permanent ninja army. However, they failed to maintain a balance between combat power and economic efficiency like the Uchiha clan, resulting in their permanent ninja army being small in size or difficult to sustain.

Therefore, if we set aside the individual combat abilities of ninjas from different villages, in terms of organizational structure alone, traditional village ninjas are more like a combination of adventurers and militia, while the Tokugawa Shogunate's direct ninja army is a relatively pure, standing, regular combat force.

The result of a battle between full-time combatants and part-time militiamen is just like the current war in the southern part of the Land of Lightning.

"Uchiha Tokumitsu... he's terrifying..."

At the temporary ninja army base of the Sarutobi Shogunate in the Land of Rice Fields, Mitomon Homura's hands trembled slightly as he read the battle report.

Even the usually arrogant Sarutobi Shinnosuke looked extremely unpleasant.

Shinnosuke Sarutobi was very clear about the role the Hokage faction would play in this "mediation period" and the goals they hoped to achieve.

But precisely because of this, he found it even harder to accept such a result.

The Sarutobi clan must have had ulterior motives in drawing members to form a ninja army and incorporating them into the shogunate forces under his command.

Furthermore, according to Mitokado Homura's plan, after the conflict between the Konoha and Kumogakure ninja armies intensifies, he will privately reach an agreement with Kumogakure on something like a "sit-in battle," so that the main force of Kumogakure and the Tokugawa Shogunate ninja army will fight to the death and suffer heavy losses.

In other words, he had the intention of picking the peaches from the very beginning.

As for Iwagakure, which occupies the main peninsula region of the Land of Frost, Mitokado Homura also felt that as long as Iwagakure acknowledged the Land of Frost as part of the Land of Earth's sphere of influence, it would not be difficult to stabilize Iwagakure, whose ninja ranks were already somewhat lacking in talent.

Furthermore, allowing the Iwagakure forces to enter the Land of Frost would better restrain Uchiha Himon, who is currently ruling the Land of Grass, while the annexation of the Land of Lightning's vassals would also serve to provoke hostility.

But Uchiha Tokumitsu's overwhelming victory was like a crow overturning the table, rendering all his conspiracies and schemes futile.

But the other Konoha ninja who participated in the battle didn't have so many thoughts.

Their goal was to plunder resources during the war. Now that the Hidden Cloud Village has been defeated and fled, the entire southern part of the Land of Lightning is undefended, which is a perfect opportunity!

"Advisor Mitomon, please send an envoy to Lord Tokumitsu to agree on the war zones to be responsible for by both sides!"

A leader of a ninja clan affiliated with the Hokage couldn't help but step forward and speak out.

The ninja clan members all nodded in agreement.

The southern part of the Land of Lightning is so large that the Tokugawa Shogunate might not be able to take it all. Taking advantage of the defeat and escape of the Kumogakure ninja army in the south, it is also a good opportunity to divide up their respective spheres of influence.

Otherwise, if they get into a fight with the Tokugawa Shogunate ninjas, they might not come out on top.

"...The war zone planning means a full-scale war with Kumogakure, so we have to ask the Hokage about this."

Mitomon replied curtly.

He was in a terrible mood!

If there weren't so many people around, he would have just randomly picked someone to take down this ninja clan leader who spoke without thinking!

They even discussed dividing up war zones with Uchiha Tokumitsu?!

Isn't this a blatant division of the spoils of war from the Tokugawa Shogunate?

wrong……

Mitokado immediately realized what was happening.

What's wrong with dividing up the spoils of war from the Tokugawa Shogunate?

Moreover, does it really matter whether the Tokugawa Shogunate agrees or not?

Most importantly, we need to satisfy the participating ninja clans from the Hokage's lineage!

Besides, if Uchiha Tokumitsu refuses to divide the war zones, he will offend these profit-driven ninja clans!

After changing his mindset, Mitokado Homura suddenly understood!

"...However, considering the unpredictable nature of the battle, I may also use my advisory authority to first determine the war zones with Jonin Tokukō in order to deal with the subsequent military operations of Kumogakure."

Mitomon Homura paused, then looked around at the group of ninja leaders whose eyes were full of hope: "So, who will serve as the envoy to the Tokugawa Shogunate camp to discuss the division of the war zone?"

Upon hearing this, the leaders of the ninja clans looked at each other, none of them daring to utter a sound.

As for Uchiha Tokumitsu's personality, as fellow Konoha ninja, who hasn't heard a little about it?

Who wouldn't be afraid of being beheaded if they deliberately provoked such a fiend?

"In that case..."

Mitomon Homura paused, then glanced at the anxious yet expectant eyes of the ninja leaders: "Then the main ninja army will be under the full command of General Shinnosuke. I will go and discuss the division of the war zone with Sakumo-kun."

Uchiha Tokumitsu was indeed difficult to talk to, but Hatake Sakumo was a different story.

Although the Hokage lineage has concluded that Sakumo Hatake has been corrupted by Tokumitsu Uchiha, he has maintained his image as a kind-hearted person in the village.

A gentleman can be deceived by his principles.

Furthermore, it was perfectly reasonable for Mitokado Homura to jump out of Uchiha Tokumitsu's way and discuss war zone affairs with him, as he was the leader of the Jonin squad and the chief of the military command.

……

Meanwhile, the Iwagakure forces, which occupied the northern part of the Land of Frost, were initially shocked upon learning of the annihilation of the Kumogakure ninja army that had marched south. However, they were overjoyed at first and then immediately began to assemble their ninja army to prepare for crossing the sea. At the same time, they sent envoys to invite Uchiha Himon from the south to join them in crossing the sea to attack the western region of the Land of Lightning.

Uchiha Himon, having already received instructions from Uchiha Tokumitsu, politely declined Iwagakure's invitation, stating that he could sell them a batch of dried beef and mutton from the Land of Grass as military rations if needed.

Meanwhile, Iwagakure reluctantly purchased a large quantity of supplies, treating it as protection money to the Uchiha clan. They then easily crossed the sea and occupied several cities along the western coast of the Land of Lightning, and dispatched envoys to the Tokugawa Shogunate's main camp to discuss the next steps in the war.

However, after the Iwagakure envoy arrived at the Tokugakure Shogunate camp, Uchiha Tokugakure and Hatake Sakumo were out due to an emergency and did not have time to deal with him.

On his way from the Land of Rice Fields to the southern part of the Land of Lightning, Konoha's advisor elder, Mitokado Homura, was attacked by the defeated and fleeing Eight-Tails Jinchuriki from the Hidden Cloud Village. Elder Mitokado Homura was seriously injured in the encounter and fell into a coma.

"Eight Tails!"

After Mitokado Homura was brought back to the Sarutobi Shogunate headquarters by his subordinates at great risk, Sarutobi Shinnosuke got excited as soon as he heard the news!

That's a tailed beast!

Moreover, it is a powerful tailed beast that is second only to the Nine-Tails in Konoha!

This is undoubtedly the strongest weapon of war in the ninja world!

The reason why the Hokage lineage has been able to keep Konoha under control and prevent even the powerful Uchiha clan from openly rebelling is because the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki has always been under their control!

Even if the current Jinchuriki is from the Uzumaki clan, the Uzumaki clan leader still has no chance to come into contact with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!

Furthermore, according to the description of the Anbu ninja, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki was clearly severely injured and his strength was greatly reduced, which is why the group was able to escape!

Mitokado Homura, overconfident in his strength, insisted on confronting the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki head-on, which resulted in him being severely injured.

"Order the headquarters of the Shogunate's ninja army and all branches of the Konoha ninja clans to immediately head north!"