Revitalizing the Uchiha clan starts with becoming a Kage.

"Also, Mabui, tell Lei Xiao and his team to speed things up. Just take out any idiots who don't know what's good for them. We in Kumogakure don't need to be so timid. Tell him I want to see results by next month. He only has one month left. Also, tell the logistics department that starting today, we need to prepare supplies. The focus needs to shift to the western front. Understand?!"

Even wars in the ninja world.

It's not something that can be started on a whim. Small-scale skirmishes are fine, but if it involves a war of thousands or even tens of thousands of people, then it's not something that can be prepared in a few days. Especially for their Hidden Cloud Village, they have always adhered to the strategy of defending the western front and invading the southern front. All their supplies, personnel, and some necessary infrastructure are concentrated on the southern front!

Now that the Land of Hot Water has been completely incorporated into the Land of Lightning, and with the most important overall strategic shift underway, the focus on personnel and resources has already begun to change ahead of schedule.

Don't think it's too early now.

A gradual relocation is less likely to attract attention. If a large number of personnel and supplies are mobilized all at once, and large-scale construction is carried out on the western front, then only an idiot would not be able to detect the intentions of the Hidden Cloud Village.

Although the Fourth Raikage, A, believed that his village was now the undisputed number one ninja village in the world, he still had plenty of things to be cautious about.

Moreover, one of the principles of ninjas is that if a kill can be achieved with a single blow, they should never take any meaningless or wasteful actions.

"Yes, Lord Raikage!"

A tall woman in the next seat immediately bowed in response.

Different levels of strength will inevitably lead to different judgments on the situation. What Rasa considers something that must be handled with utmost care, the Fourth Raikage A has a different attitude. Caution is necessary, but more importantly, it stems from confidence in his own side's strength!

Although he didn't say it outright, even if it were confirmed how much Iwagakure and Kirigakure were colluding, the Fourth Raikage would absolutely not waver in his determination to take action against Iwagakure in the future. At most, he would just make some changes depending on the situation.

On this point, Tsuchikage, who is also the highest strategist of Kumogakure, is well aware of it. Although Tsuchikage is a little worried, he is 100% certain that his Raikage has not yet reached the level of the three Raikages. However, this Kumogakure strategist is still relatively optimistic.

One reason is confidence in the strength of their own ninja village.

Another is the disdain for so-called alliances!

You have to understand that in the earliest times...

In the five great ninja villages.

Konoha and Sunagakure are recognized allies, an alliance established during the time of the First Kage. But what happened afterward? Sunagakure and Konoha fought each other to the death, with the Battle of Kikyo Mountain being the most prominent example in the recent war!

Sunagakure was the one that broke the alliance and launched the attack.

From that moment on, there were no so-called alliances in the ninja world. At most, there were collusions based on interests, such as the four great ninja villages in the first war, and then the more recent Iwagakure and Kumogakure. But such "alliances" would definitely fall apart due to the unequal distribution of benefits. It has only been thirty or forty years since the Second Tsuchikage and the Second Mizukage perished together!

Of course, Tsuchikage didn't really believe that Iwagakure and Kirigakure would form an alliance.

But this time it really was the Fourth Raikage; Tsuchikage had miscalculated.

At least Kirigakure was really determined to keep up with Iwagakure in the next few years. The Fourth Raikage A and Tsuchida were unaware that Obito's actions had actually caused great damage to Kirigakure!

Especially the fact that the Mizukage was controlled by someone else. Even if Kirigakure were to make it public, not many people would believe it, since that was the Kage who stood at the pinnacle of the ninja world!

As a result, Kirigakure entered an unprecedented period of weakness. The destruction of the bloodline clan, the loss of middle and high-level power, and the fact that the Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, was seriously injured and could die at any time forced Kirigakure to choose to keep a low profile.

The best option is to align with a stronger ally.

In terms of both strength and geographical location, Iwagakure is the best choice!

Anyway, it's Konoha and Kumogakure that will get beaten up. As for Sunagakure, let Iwagakure be the leader of the ninja world if they want to. Keeping a low profile is Kirigakure's only strategic policy going forward. This was personally decided by Master Genji and Yagura Karatachi after their discussions!

A fatal lack of intelligence.

And that can certainly be described as an inflated ego.

The decision to force the Fourth Raikage and Tsuchikage to make more extreme decisions remains to be seen, as it is still difficult to say whether such decisions will ultimately bring good or bad fortune.

Because it depends not only on them.

It also depends on the circumstances and luck.

And then there's the attitude of Konoha, which still nominally holds the title of the strongest ninja village in the world!

This is equally crucial.

420. Konoha's Attitude

The future is bright.

For now, it doesn't matter.

No matter what happens in the ninja world, Konoha will always occupy a very important position. This refers not only to the strength of Konoha Village itself, but also to its geographical location. Located in the central region of the continent, Konoha Village is likely to be affected by any turmoil that occurs in the surrounding countries.

Therefore, Konoha Village could never sit idly by during any upheaval in the ninja world, let alone the fact that the news released by Iwagakure and Kirigakure this time directly involved the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha Village four years ago.

That riot that led to the deaths of the newly appointed Fourth Hokage, who had only been in office for a year, and many Konoha ninjas was the greatest disaster since the founding of Konoha. This is not to say how many Konoha ninjas were sacrificed in the Nine-Tails' attack, nor to say how great a crisis the Nine-Tails' attack brought to Konoha. No matter how dangerous it was, it was not as bad as the predicament Konoha faced after the deaths of the First and Second Hokage.

But this is different from before.

No matter how fierce the previous Shinobi World Wars were, how difficult the battles were for Konoha, or how heavy the price they paid, Konoha itself was always peaceful and harmonious. No large-scale invasions of the Land of Fire were ever carried out, let alone the invasion of Konoha Village itself. For 48 years before the Nine-Tails' attack, the people of Konoha lived a peaceful and tranquil life.

But the Nine-Tails' rampage made hundreds of thousands of Konoha citizens truly realize what a brutal war was like!

Don't be fooled by the fact that only a few hundred ninjas were killed or injured.

The number of Konoha residents affected is at most tens of thousands.

However, the fear this brought to the people was extraordinary. It was precisely because the contrast was so drastic, and because Hiruzen Sarutobi, whether intentionally or unintentionally, concealed Naruto's identity as the son of the Fourth Hokage, that the rumor of the demon fox's transformation spread throughout the village.

These Konoha citizens, without exception, all harbored resentment and rejection towards Naruto.

The Nine-Tails' rampage is etched into the very bones of the people of Konoha.

Regardless of their true intentions, it's certain that the four of them, including Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other Konoha F4, also want to eliminate the person behind the scenes as soon as possible!

Danzo was among the most convinced that the Nine-Tails' attack was the result of the Uchiha clan's underhanded machinations, and the subsequent actions of the Uchiha clan led by Shoji further solidified this view of the "Dark One of Konoha."

And now, at the moment when Iwagakure and Kirigakure jointly issued this statement.

Danzo, on the contrary, scoffed at it.

"Rumors, absolute rumors! A traitor? Hmph, after controlling the Nine-Tails, he went to Kirigakure to control the Six-Tails? (This was the result of a discussion between Yagura and Shoji, since the Mizukage being controlled would be too damaging to Kirigakure's reputation.) Why don't they say it's Madara Uchiha resurrected!? In my opinion, this is one of the manifestations of a conspiracy between Iwagakure and Kirigakure. The evil Uchiha clan must have played a very disgraceful role in this. I think we must strengthen our defenses on the western front, and ideally, infiltrate into the Land of Grass to strike Iwagakure ahead of time and seize the initiative!"

Inside the Hokage Building in Konohagakure.

The same old Konoha F4 gathered together.

Danzo leaned on his wooden crutch, a chilling glint in his exposed pupils, and spoke in the most ruthless tone. The empty sleeve of his robe further accentuated Danzo's sinister aura.

In this life, the Uchiha clan was not wiped out, and Orochimaru had only been defecting for a little over three years. He was also busy maneuvering within the Akatsuki organization recently. Therefore, Danzo would definitely not be able to obtain an arm full of Sharingan eyes as smoothly as in the original story. At least for now, it is impossible. As for what will happen in the future, that still depends on Orochimaru!

It would have been impossible for Danzo to do this with his own roots alone.

Even though he had started secretly researching Wood Release cells and collecting Sharingan from Uchiha who had died in battle long ago, for the most important research, he still had to rely on Orochimaru. There was no way Danzo could find a second suitable candidate in Root.

Because of his severed arm, Danzo harbored even more resentment towards the Uchiha clan than in the original story. He had become completely obsessed, and now he believed that everything the Uchiha clan did was wrong. He always tried to interpret the Uchiha clan's actions from the most insidious perspective!

Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally downplayed Danzo's words, actively filtering out the overly personal parts and ignoring the last half of the sentence, which mentioned starting with the Land of Grass and launching a direct attack on Iwagakure.

It only focuses on the first sentence.

"Danzo, do you think this is a staged performance by the Uchiha clan themselves?"

Mitokado Homura, sitting to the side, shared the same attitude as Hiruzen Sarutobi, then frowned slightly and looked at Danzo, saying this.

"Hmph, do we even need to guess? It's absolutely true, and their target is definitely Konoha. This so-called Uchiha Obito is just a decoy they've thrown out. A person who's been dead for six or seven years, suddenly resurrected, and even possessing the power to control the Nine-Tails? Is that even possible!?"

Danzo spoke with a look of utter disdain and mockery on his face.

It's important to know that Minato Namikaze had already demonstrated his extraordinary talent before the Third Shinobi World War. Later, he mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, which no one had learned since the Second Hokage's death. Minato thus caught Danzo's eye. He had once tried to persuade the Sannin to join Root, but only Orochimaru succeeded.

When Danzo saw Minato, he naturally had the same idea, but unfortunately, with Jiraiya's support and his own rapid growth, Danzo had to give up such an idea. Later, when he saw Minato personally leading the team, he was able to change his mind.

The team also includes the younger generation of the Uchiha clan.

Danzo definitely had to pay close attention, but the result of that attention was that Obito was an exception within the Uchiha clan. Putting aside his strength, he was definitely a bottom-of-the-barrel student. In terms of personality, he was completely out of step with the Uchiha clan and was nothing like the early Kagami.

This is a typical nice guy who's at the bottom of the class.

Danzo looked down on Obito in the slightest. Now you're saying that such a kind-hearted, loser, after being resurrected, could still awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan and even control the Nine-Tails to wreak havoc.

'Do they really think we, the people of Konoha, are all fools?!'

This was Danzo's truest thought upon hearing the news.

Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Sarutobi Hiruzen also had similar thoughts, but they were not as direct and extreme as Danzo. Moreover, they still had some doubts, especially regarding Kirigakure!

"Indeed, the credibility of this news is too low. I have met Obito Uchiha a few times. When he was in Minato's team, he was always a pure and kind person. Moreover, the news of his death in battle was brought back by Kakashi himself. Resurrection, or rather, escaping death, is already an unbelievable thing. To expect this Obito to have eye power comparable to Madara's in the past is simply impossible!"

Xiaochun, who was standing to the side, also shook her head slightly and said.

Those who are not Uchiha cannot distinguish the differences in the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan, nor do they really understand the extent to which the Mangekyou Sharingan can affect tailed beasts; they simply make judgments based on their own experience and direct observation.

"But Kirigakure is indeed a point of contention. Could it really be that Kirigakure is cooperating with Iwagakure? There's no logic to it at all!"

After pondering for a while, Mitomon En still frowned and said.

After immediately ruling out the correct answer, no matter which possibility is considered next, there is still a sense of incongruity on the surface of what seems reasonable. The main point is that there has been no information in the past few years that there is any connection between Kirigakure and Iwagakure.

How did they suddenly become connected together?!

"What's so contradictory about this? The four great nations are always thinking about seizing Konoha's interests. It's definitely because of our previous concessions to Iwagakure and Kumogakure, and the successive falls of Kusanagi and Yugaoku, that Kirigakure saw an opportunity. In the Second Shinobi World War, the fall of Uzushiogakure was the most important step Kirigakure took to the mainland. Now Kirigakure is definitely eyeing the Land of Waves. It's the best stepping stone for the Land of Water to invade our Land of Fire. Once Kirigakure can seize it and build it into a bridgehead for their own ninja village's attack, they will definitely be able to freely move in and out of our Land of Fire!"

"By then, our defenses along the southeast coast will be stretched thin. Therefore, I suggest we take the initiative and at least bring the Land of Waves completely under our sphere of influence, establishing the first island defense chain! This will completely keep the Mist Ninja out of the mainland, making it difficult for them to keep up with their logistics. This will greatly reduce the defensive pressure on the southeast coast, putting Konoha in a free position where it can both attack and defend!"

You can't really say Danzo was a complete idiot. Although he completely misjudged Kirigakure's attitude and intentions, he thought he had grasped the psychology of the Kirigakure ninja led by the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi!

In particular, it also takes into account the offensive performance of the Mist Ninja in the Third Shinobi World War.

Danzo was convinced that his guess was completely correct.

Even if he was completely wrong, the strategy he mentioned this time, purely from the perspective of defending against the Hidden Mist Village, was indeed the best strategy. Back when the Land of Whirlpools still existed and the Hidden Mist Village and Konoha had the strongest alliance, Konoha did not need to worry too much about the defense of the eastern front. The Uzumaki clan could serve as the first line of defense for Konoha. However, the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools and the annihilation of the Uzumaki clan allowed the Hidden Mist Village's power to reach the mainland coast. The later stages of the Second Shinobi World War and the Third Shinobi World War are the best proof of this.

Judging from the current situation in Konoha.

Relying on the Land of Waves to establish the first island defense chain is indeed the best choice. It can achieve the best defensive effect with the least cost, and at the very least, it can serve as an early warning system. Even if the Mist Ninja breaks through, it can give the Konoha Ninja on the mainland more time to prepare for battle.

From the most objective perspective, Danzo's suggestion was indeed a strategic move that aligned with Konoha's interests.

Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, who were standing to the side, were slightly taken aback. After a moment's thought, they each nodded slightly in agreement.

Indeed, if Iwagakure and Kirigakure were to unite, Kirigakure's intention would certainly be the same as in the Third Shinobi World War: targeting the Land of Waves. Just as their Land of Water has a unique geographical advantage, they would use the sea to block enemy invasions. This vast sea would also bring great disadvantages to the Kirigakure's landing war. Logistics would be a major problem. If there is no stable bridgehead at the front line, it would be difficult to even take care of the wounded.

To reiterate, logistics are not a problem at all for small-scale elite raids, but if it involves large-scale legion wars, it becomes a serious issue to reliably supply thousands or tens of thousands of ninjas with supplies!

During the Third Shinobi World War. (Gu Fu)

The failure to land at Kirigakure and the subsequent forced retreat were partly due to logistical issues. The village couldn't sustain the resources of thousands of Kirigakure ninja on the front lines; food alone was a major expense, not to mention medical supplies, military equipment, and other provisions.

It can be said that when the five great ninja villages mobilize for a war of the same scale, the resources required by Kirigakure would definitely be the greatest among the five great ninja villages.

While it won't reach the exaggerated level of two or three times, even an increase of only thirty or forty percent would be enough to make Kirigakure feel the pinch.