Revitalizing the Uchiha clan starts with becoming a Kage.

'Even if he doesn't want to, he probably can't continue. The Iwa ninja are starting to show signs of wanting to make a move, so we have to dissuade Lord Raikage.'

After pondering for a short while, Tu Tai sighed silently and made a decision in his heart.

Like the Vermilion Bird.

A decision made in a flash.

After writing a secret letter and encrypting it, he arranged for the ninja hawks in the fortress to deliver the letter back.

The war has escalated to this point.

There's no point in continuing this. I wanted to save face before, but now I need to focus on the real issues. I'm sure my Raikage understands that.

As for Konoha's side?

Ah!

Tsuchitai was never worried. If Konoha had the courage to launch a pursuit, that would be a situation that Kumogakure would like to see. It would be perfect for inciting Iwa and Sunagakure ninjas. In short, this medium-sized clash was...

The initiative has always been in the hands of the Hidden Cloud Village.

48. Hiruzen Sarutobi's Decision (Please add to your favorites!)

This is based on the situation in the two villages.

Based on the analysis of the personalities of the two village knights, it is clear that if the Fourth Hokage had not died during the Nine-Tails' rampage a year ago, even if Konoha's other losses had been doubled, Kumogakure would never have launched this probing attack. People cannot be compared. The Fourth Raikage, A, is the most qualified person to evaluate what kind of knight Minato Namikaze was. The Fourth Raikage, A, still vividly remembers that encounter during the Third Shinobi World War.

The same applies to Tsuchikage, but Hiruzen Sarutobi is different. His performance in the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars exposed the Third Hokage's weak leadership to the fullest extent, at least in the eyes of Kumogakure. In the original work, Kumogakure dared to directly extort Konoha from Hinata Hyuga in the kidnapping case because they had this in mind.

Therefore, Tsuchikage was not worried about Konoha's reaction at all. He just wanted to persuade the Fourth Raikage to be patient for the time being. This was Tsuchikage's most sincere opinion.

Meanwhile, as Tsuchida and Suzaku tacitly relayed messages back to their respective ninja villages to report to their respective Kage, the scale and intensity of the friction between the two sides on the main battlefield of the Land of Hot Springs also suddenly decreased significantly.

The Cloud Hidden Village side seemed to have toned down their behavior considerably.

At least that's how it seems for the past two days.

In the Land of Fire, in the very center and rear of Konoha Village, inside the Hokage's office building.

Two days later, the elite squad arranged by Suzaku Nara returned with the secret text written by Suzaku and the corpse of Magnet Release ninja Troy. After reading Suzaku Nara's report and confirming Troy's body, Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered for a while and then immediately dispatched the Anbu to summon Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane.

It can be said that whenever the most important thing in the village comes up, Hiruzen Sarutobi always thinks of these three people first. Even though Danzo's ideas and style of doing things are very different from his own, Hiruzen Sarutobi's trust in him is still as strong as ever. Of course, at this time, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not know that Danzo Shimura would do such outrageous things later on.

This includes, but is not limited to, conspiring with Orochimaru to research the First Hokage's Wood Release cells, wantonly murdering his comrades in the village, and sending people to assassinate him, etc.

All I can say is that Shimura Danzo is truly the most outrageous one among the Konoha F4, always talking about righteousness while doing things to satisfy his own selfish desires.

However, these are all later developments in the original work. Whether they will continue to happen in this life depends on the subsequent developments. At least for now, the four are still close companions. Shimura Danzo, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu rushed over immediately after receiving Hiruzen Sarutobi's summons. After reading the information sent by Suzaku Nara and the explanation of some important points from the Third Hokage, the three of them fell into a brief silence as they looked at the corpse of the Magnet Release ninja—Troy—lying on the ground in front of them.

"So, you mean Uchiha Tsukasa killed three Jonin from Kumogakure, including this Magnet Release ninja, all by himself? Hiruzen."

After taking a deep breath, Mitokado Homura looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi in front of him and asked with an extremely solemn expression.

"Yes, based on what Suzaku reported, this should be confirmed, and it is consistent with the reports from the other members of Jiang Sijun's team."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly and said.

"So, Hiruzen, what do you mean?"

"I plan to take this opportunity to adjust the border defenses, test the attitude of the Hidden Cloud Village, and also take the opportunity to recall Uchiha Shoji back to the village."

Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned back slightly in his chair and spoke in a relatively calm tone.

"Do you think there will be changes on the Cloud Village side?"

Mitokado Yan's eyes narrowed as he spoke.

"Yes, this is the additional information that came later. After Tsukasa killed this Magnet Release ninja, it seems that the Cloud Ninja has completely retreated. If there are no unexpected events, the pressure on the border is likely to decrease in the near future."

"You can handle this part of the arrangements yourself, Hiruzen. What I want to ask is, how do you plan to deal with Uchiha Shoji? You deliberately singled him out, there must be some deeper meaning behind it, right? Is this the main purpose of calling the three of us over here, Hiruzen?"

Before Mitokado Homura could reply to Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Danzo Shimura, who had been silent until now, spoke up and asked a question.

As soon as Danzo opened his mouth, Mitokado Homura swallowed back the words he was about to say. At this moment, Koharu Utatane even opened her eyes for the first time, and together with Shimura Danzo and Mitokado Homura, they turned their gaze to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Yes, you're right, Danzo. The main reason I called the three of you here is because of this Shoji-kun. I plan to recruit him back and have him join the Anbu!"

"Anbu?"

"Hiruzen? Are you serious?"

Almost as soon as Hiruzen Sarutobi finished speaking, both Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane showed extreme shock. Their voices unconsciously rose at that moment. If one had to choose the most unique organization in a ninja village, it would undoubtedly be the special assassination tactical unit directly under each 'Kage', also known as the Anbu. It was first created by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, and then imitated by all the major ninja villages.

Excluding the top Kage and Jinchuriki in each village, the most elite forces in a village are deployed in the Anbu. In Konoha, the position of the Anbu is even more delicate. Since the establishment of the Anbu, almost every major ninja clan in Konoha has had members join the Anbu, except for the Uchiha clan, which has never had a member join the Anbu.

The reason is simple: the Uchiha clan is not trusted by the higher-ups.

It's impossible to allow ninjas from the Uchiha clan to join the Anbu.

Now that Hiruzen Sarutobi has actually proposed to add Shoji, a genius of the Uchiha clan, to the Anbu, it would be a miracle if Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane took it calmly. Didn't you see that Danzo Shimura's expression turned completely gloomy?

This Konoha pot king had anticipated that Hiruzen Sarutobi would have a special arrangement, but he never expected it to be such a 'stupid' arrangement. Indeed, in Danzo's view, such an arrangement was an extremely ridiculous and foolish thing to do.

"Hiruzen! Do you know what you're saying? Allowing the Uchiha clan to join the Anbu? Are you insane?"

49. Methods and Reasons

Shimura Danzo looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen with an extremely sinister expression and spoke very impolitely. Even Mitomon Homura and Utatane Koharu, who were very familiar with Danzo's personality, frowned. Although they both felt that Sarutobi Hiruzen's actions were inappropriate, Danzo's tone and attitude were really unacceptable.

However, the most important thing right now is the matter of 'Uchiha Shoji joining the Anbu'. The two of them remained silent for the time being, looking at Sarutobi Hiruzen with a hint of doubt and worry in their eyes, wanting to hear what their Hokage friend's reasons were. If they could not be persuaded, they would not allow Shoji to join the Anbu.

"Although Danzo's words were a bit direct, I also feel that it's really inappropriate to let the Uchiha clan join the Anbu. But Hiruzen, you must have your reasons for doing this, right?"

Mitokado said this in a relatively calm tone.

"Yes, adding Shoji to the Anbu was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but a decision I made after more than a month of careful consideration. I think you three, Yan, Koharu, and Danzo, are very clear about Shoji's performance on the front lines over the past six months. He is an Uchiha who inherited the Will of Fire, and like Shisui, he is a mirror-like being. He does not have the pride and arrogance that is typical of the Uchiha clan. He is kind to his comrades, always puts orders first, and does his best to protect his comrades in battle. This was especially evident in the battle against Troy."

"Shoji is a trustworthy Uchiha. I believe there is more potential in Shoji, just like Shisui."

Hiruzen Sarutobi straightened his body, and a peculiar glint flashed in his slightly cloudy pupils as he spoke in a deep voice.

His speech at the previous Uchiha clan meeting, as well as his performance over the past six months, have earned Hiruzen Sarutobi a certain degree of goodwill and trust in Shoji. This was not a hasty decision, but a choice made after careful consideration of various aspects. His personality is completely different from that of ordinary Uchiha clan members, which is the most trustworthy aspect.

Moreover, in the battles of the past six months, Shoji has repeatedly prioritized protecting his comrades. Hiruzen Sarutobi does not believe that such a person would be a vicious or treacherous individual. Of course, this does not rule out the possibility that Shoji is an extremely cunning and scheming person, but the probability of that is extremely low.

It is not something an ordinary person can do to disguise himself so perfectly, especially since Shoji is only 14 years old. Hiruzen Sarutobi is more inclined to believe that this is Shoji's true feelings. This child is an Uchiha clansman who cares about his clan but also places great importance on the village. He does not want to see his clan being ostracized or isolated, but he also does not want to see a fierce conflict between his clan and the village, which would harm the greater good of the village.

This is Hiruzen Sarutobi's impression of Shoji Uchiha.

In other words, Hiruzen Sarutobi was fully confident that he could cultivate this Uchiha genius into someone like Shisui, someone like Kagami Uchiha. It cannot be said that Hiruzen Sarutobi's idea was wrong. It should be said that in Shoji's heart, peacefully resolving the conflict between the village and the clan was the first plan. However, deep down, Shoji himself had also prepared a second plan in advance. Unlike Hiruzen Sarutobi, who saw the village and the clan as having equal or even slightly higher importance, Shoji...

From beginning to end, Jiang Si considered the pros and cons from the perspective of his clan.

Just like before, he was mentally prepared to perish together with Konoha in the worst-case scenario. It can only be said that Shoji truly deserves the reputation of having joined the drama club during his university years in his previous life. He has his own understanding and knowledge of acting skills. In addition, some of his words and actions are indeed from Shoji's heart. One part lies and nine parts truth. This is the true attitude that Shoji is showing to the outside world at present.

This completely misled Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage.

Of course, this doesn't mean that Hiruzen Sarutobi completely trusted Shoji Uchiha. Including Shinobu and Itachi from the original work, the Third Hokage always left some room for maneuver. As the Hokage who ruled Konoha for more than 30 years, he had the magnanimity and means to do so.

“Hiruzen, I understand what you mean, but there are risks involved. I admit that Uchiha Shoji is different from other Uchiha clan members, and his performance in the past six months has been quite good, but that’s not enough. He’s not like Shisui, and we don’t know enough about him!”

Mitokado Homura clearly didn't quite approve of Hiruzen Sarutobi's approach. After a moment's thought, he slowly shook his head and said...

"Yes, Hiruzen, I think we still need to give this matter some serious consideration."

Koharu Utatane opened her eyes, looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, and said in a calm tone.

"Hiruzen, I'll say it again: the Uchiha clan is untrustworthy, and what can you be sure of in just half a year? I advise you not to act on your emotions!"

Danzo said indifferently.

"It is precisely because half a year is not enough to be 100% certain that I chose to have Shoji join the Anbu. In any case, Shoji, like Shisui, is one of the most trustworthy members of the Uchiha clan. We still haven't caught the tail of that mysterious figure in the Nine-Tails' rampage. The more this is the case, the more we should pay attention to this. We must find out from within the Uchiha clan who is problematic. Shisui and Shoji are both the best options we can use. This is true not only for the Uchiha clan, but also for the two of them!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi disregarded the objections of his three old friends and calmly explained.

And as these words of explanation fell...

Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Shimura Danzo all paused for a moment. Mitokado Homura, who reacted the fastest, showed a hint of realization in his eyes and then said, "Are you planning to test each other? Is that what you mean, Hiruzen?"

"Yes, this is my initial idea. I understand Danzo's concerns, but compared to the truth that can be seen, I think a little risk is bearable. And whether Shoji is trustworthy can also be finally confirmed through this method!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi said softly with a calm expression.

After a brief moment of thought, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu slowly nodded.

50. An unexpected development

"But you're still playing with fire, Hiruzen!"

Only Danzo still disagreed with Hiruzen Sarutobi's choice. It could be said that among the Second Hokage's disciples, Danzo had the strongest reservations, vigilance, and suspicion towards the Uchiha clan. Even though the Uchiha clan hadn't really offended Danzo in any way, Danzo was the one who disliked the Uchiha clan the most, and he always claimed that he was the one who had perfectly inherited his teacher's teachings.

In Danzo's view, everything the Uchiha did was wrong. The only person he trusted was Uchiha Kagami, because they had fought side by side. All the other Uchiha were people who deserved to die.

"Danzo, it is indeed right to be wary, but your prejudice against the Uchiha clan is too deep. We must severely punish those who cause trouble, but we must also accept Uchiha clan members who have the village in their hearts, just like Tobirama-sensei trained Kagami. You must believe this!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Danzo with a rare serious expression and said.

"Hmph! Mirror is Mirror, and the others are the others. No matter what you say, I will not believe those evil people! I will never agree to let Uchiha Shoji enter the Anbu!"

Danzo snorted coldly and said with a chilling expression.

"I am the Hokage, Danzo. I will take responsibility for this matter. It's settled then. Koharu, go and check the situation at the front and then issue the deployment order. As for the body of Magnet Release ninja Troy, En, you will be in charge of it. See if you can extract any valuable information from it."

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand and said in a very resolute tone.

Sometimes, the so-called discussion is just a process. When Hiruzen Sarutobi, as the Hokage, makes a decision, unless Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, and Danzo Shimura all oppose it, and in a very firm way, Hiruzen's decision is usually the final result.

While Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu had varying degrees of concern about Uchiha Shoji's infiltration of the Anbu, they also felt that Hiruzen Sarutobi's words made some sense. They couldn't be too extreme, nor could they be too passive; they still had to bear certain risks.

In return, this can be exchanged for a worthwhile value!

"Humph!"

Seeing that Hiruzen Sarutobi had made up his mind and that Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane had tacitly agreed, Danzo had no intention of restraining his emotions. After letting out a cold snort, he got up and left in a huff.

Looking in the direction Danzo had left, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu couldn't help but sigh inwardly. These two old friends of theirs had been at odds since their youth, and they rarely agreed on many things. They might be a little better in other areas, but when it came to matters concerning the Uchiha clan, it was truly a case of two nails clashing.

However, the two of them still leaned towards Hiruzen Sarutobi's side. Danzo's approach was too cold-blooded and too extreme. In their early years, they were two advisors and elders who prioritized stability, and in their old age, they were even less willing to take risks.

The two advisors would prefer to resolve the internal conflict in a safe and stable manner. The Nine-Tailed Fox's rampage was already devastating enough, and they were unwilling to encounter a second major internal chaos!

"Hiruzen..."

"I understand, Yan. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on Danzo. Right now, the focus is on Kumogakure. You and Koharu should keep a close eye on things. What the village needs now is a more peaceful transition environment and approach."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said softly.

"Ok!"