Revitalizing the Uchiha clan starts with becoming a Kage.

Danzo, who had already received the most basic medical treatment, leaped to Hiruzen Sarutobi's side with a look of fury.

This scene is one of utter devastation and tragedy.

His own severed arm further enraged this dark figure of Konoha. Even the usually indecisive Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was now devoid of any warmth. As the saying goes, at this point, the question of right and wrong is meaningless. Or rather, from the very beginning, this matter has only been a matter of opposing sides.

justice?

Right or wrong?

This is the most ridiculous statement.

The deaths of over three hundred Konoha ninja, as well as the death of his close friend Akimichi Torifu, who had barely survived.

These events, one after another, deeply affected the Third Hokage's heart, causing his expression to become extremely ugly and gloomy.

The most important thing is the sentence that Shoji said before he left. Even without that sentence, the Uchiha clan and Konoha had completely lost their last bit of room for maneuver after this great battle.

"Pass on my order: designate the entire Uchiha clan as S-rank wanted rogue ninjas, and do everything in our power to exterminate every single one of them. Immediately dispatch a pursuit team to intercept and eliminate the entire Uchiha clan before they reach the border!"

The attack by over a thousand Konoha ninjas ended in a brutal battle, with nearly three hundred killed and the number of wounded even more. Hiruzen Sarutobi knew very well that this was due to both the strength of the Uchiha clan and the destructive power of Shoji's terrifying 'Lightning Release Technique,' but also the fact that some ninja from clans like Hyuga, Aburame, Kurama, Inuzuka, and Gekko were practically slacking off. It's worth noting that the various ninja clans that had gathered earlier, even though their leaders only brought a few dozen elite soldiers (given the sheer size of the Uchiha clan, even a few dozen from each clan combined would have been enough to overwhelm them, not to mention that some of these ninjas had originally intended to observe the situation as much as possible),

All of these are enough to exert absolute suppression on the Uchiha clan.

Unfortunately, when these people saw that the Uchiha clan's initial intention was not to stage a coup but to secede from Konoha, they decided not to take action.

D.

This is not just empty talk. Putting aside the fact that these people have not committed any major mistakes on the surface, just looking at the size and number of these ninja clans, Hiruzen Sarutobi would not cause trouble for this reason. Moreover, there is the most important point.

Even those ninjas who were initially able to hold their own against the tide of battle lost their lives to Shoji's "Takemikazu no Jutsu".

The words that Shoji said before leaving can be seen as a declaration of war against the entire Hidden Leaf Village!

Given this situation, the Third Hokage did not believe that these ninja clans could remain uninvolved; the current situation was vastly different.

Therefore, when Hiruzen Sarutobi uttered these words...

He used his extremely deep gaze to scan the faces of the leaders of the various ninja clans behind him one by one.

The leaders of the major ninja clans, including Hiashi, Murakumo, and Shiki, whose expressions were not much better, were all inwardly terrified.

"Yes! I will obey the Hokage's orders!"

They could only respond in a somewhat passive manner.

119. A determined pursuit

A scene of bloodshed.

In front of the main gate of the Uchiha clan's stronghold, there were not only nearly two hundred corpses of Konoha ninja, but also nearly two hundred Uchiha clan members who had stayed behind to cover the retreat. More than half of them had died in battle. Even though this was a fairly spacious area, it looked so crowded and terrifying after more than three hundred corpses were piled up.

Most importantly, under the bombardment of Tsukasa Takefuto's technique and the destruction caused by the A and B-rank ninjutsu released by the ninjas on both sides, the entire terrain underwent a dramatic change.

Looking at this crimson scene that resembled a river of blood.

The leaders of the ninja clans, such as Hyuga Hiashi, Kurama Murakumo, Aburame Shiki, Nara Shikaku, and Yamanaka Inoichi, whether they liked it or not, had to obey the orders given by Sarutobi Hiruzen at this moment. As for the other ninja clans, such as Kazematsuri, Ise, Gekko, and Yamashiro, they were already staunch supporters of the Third Hokage's lineage.

In particular, the fact that the heads of the Kazamatsuri and Ise clans both died under Shoji's "Takemikazu Jutsu" is an irreconcilable blood feud. On this point, the Akimichi clan, and even the Ino-Shika-Cho clan, share the same attitude.

Ding was kneeling before the charred corpse of Qu Feng, his face filled with grief.

Akimichi Torifu's death in battle!

Even though Shikaku, Inoichi, and Choza clearly knew that this was an unavoidable outcome on the battlefield after the Uchiha clan was forced into this situation, they still maintained that this confrontation and clash was neither about right nor wrong, nor about justice.

It's simply a matter of differing stances and emotions.

Akimichi Torifu died, killed by Uchiha Shoji's technique. This is an undeniable fact. Therefore, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio must regard Shoji and even the Uchiha clan as their mortal enemies. It is not necessary to go to great lengths to seek revenge, after all, this is the norm in the ninja world. Who hasn't had relatives killed?

However, they would not resist the Third Hokage's orders at all, and would cooperate fully.

'Pursue and exterminate the Uchiha clan if possible!'

At this moment, it will become a consensus among all the ninja clans in Konoha. Although this is something that Tsukasa had tried his best to avoid, that's life. It's unpredictable and full of unexpected events, which is the true meaning of life.

After seeing the statements from the various ninja clans, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded with a serious expression.

"very good!"

Once the pursuing forces are assembled, they can immediately launch their pursuit. They don't need to be in a hurry, firstly because recruiting combat forces takes time, secondly because the Uchiha clan's backup plans need to be further eliminated, and thirdly because the Uchiha clan is withdrawing as a whole, although judging from the current situation, some members may have already left last night.

But all things considered, it's only been less than a day so far, so there's absolutely no need to rush.

While ninjas can move very fast, ordinary people cannot. In other words, unless the Uchiha clan completely abandons its non-ninja members, they will absolutely not be able to leave the Land of Fire in a short period of time.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was confident that he could stop the Uchiha clan.

Completely annihilating them is indeed very difficult and the probability is extremely low, but we must severely injure and cripple the Uchiha clan as much as possible in this pursuit. It is precisely because of their fear and vigilance that they understand better than anyone else just how terrifying the extremely powerful Uchiha clan truly is.

If a single clan can pose such a great threat to the mighty Konoha, what if they also reach agreements with other ninja villages, or even join other ninja villages? That would inevitably be a disastrous outcome for Konoha.

This is an easily conceivable development.

Therefore, they must eliminate as many Uchiha clan members as possible. There are less than a hundred people here, which is far from enough. They must kill as many as possible, including Uchiha clan members like Shoji and Fugaku, so that the clan will not be able to recover to its peak strength for at least twenty or thirty years.

This is the bare minimum requirement deep in Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart at this moment.

"Danzo, Flame!"

Looking at Danzo and Mitokado Homura approaching.

The two immediately grasped the true meaning in their best friend's eyes, and nodded in unison.

"Yes! We understand, Hiruzen!"

Regret is inevitable.

Anger is also never lacking.

However, what is of utmost importance is a crucial question that a leader must clearly understand. Bringing up the past is meaningless; addressing the biggest threat to the village is the most important task.

Watching Danzo's departing figure.

Hiruzen Sarutobi thought to himself silently.

Regardless of the differing intentions within Konoha, they still reached a consensus on the Uchiha clan issue and would immediately organize a force to hunt down and kill the Uchiha clan.

On the other side, Fugaku and his group, who had just evacuated the scene, immediately activated a series of traps and ambushes arranged in the clan's base as they moved away. While destroying the passage, they also tried to make things as difficult as possible for the Konoha's pursuit.

Even gaining just ten or twenty more minutes is invaluable for the Uchiha clan.

Having overcome numerous obstacles, we left the territory of Konohagakure.

Previously, his heart was pounding, but now, after escaping and relaxing slightly, he felt a sudden weakness in his body and a wave of pain spreading through his eyes. This made Jiang Si clearly realize that he had overused his eye power, especially since his chakra was almost depleted.

He almost lost control of his body and stumbled forward.

Fugaku, who was standing nearby, quickly caught Shoji.

"General? How are you?"

Not only Fugaku, but also the dozens of clansmen who had retreated looked at the pale-faced Shoji with concern and worry.

"No, I'm fine, clan leader. It's just that my chakra and eye power are a bit depleted. We need to leave here immediately. My eye techniques and the clan's backup plans can't hold us off for long. We also need to notify the team ahead immediately and change our course. We also need to prepare for the worst!"

Shoji took a deep breath, restoring some vitality to his face, and looked at Fugaku with a very serious expression.

It was a very fierce battle to cover the retreat.

To put it bluntly, if he hadn't returned, the more than two hundred clansmen who were covering the rear would likely have all died in battle, including the clan leader, Uchiha Fugaku.

120. The Great Escape Begins

This is absolutely not a joke.

It wasn't that Shoji's judgment was wrong. Firstly, the number of Konoha ninjas who came to besiege them far exceeded expectations. Even the Hyuga, Inuzuka, Aburame, Shiranui, and Gekko clans had dispatched their elite forces. Even if they were just going through the motions, it would still put a lot of pressure on their clans. Secondly, Shoji could sense that his clan leader was clearly prepared to die. It wasn't that he simply didn't want to live, but rather that he probably felt this was the best choice for him, to do his utmost to atone for his previous mistakes and to ensure the survival of his clan.

As long as they can delay for a little longer, the advance troops of their clan can have more time to escape safely. In this respect, it can even be said that those clansmen who voluntarily stayed behind to cover the rear all share the same determination.

This is something that is almost something that both sides are aware of.

But this is precisely what Jiang Si doesn't want to see. To put it bluntly, a pair of Mangekyou Sharingan can bring immense weight to the Uchiha clan, and the two hundred or so clansmen covering the rear already account for about 40% of the clan's strength.

Unless it is truly beyond saving, Jiang Si still hopes to retain as much of his clan's strength as possible. This is because he has to consider the possibility that the other ninja villages will not accept them, or that the conditions they propose will be unacceptable to his clan, forcing them to seek other places and survive independently. Once such a choice is made...

The strength of a clan becomes especially important.

Everyone in the world knows that the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan has extremely strong power. Although the Sharingan has a very strong bloodline rejection, and there have been occasional cases of Uchiha clan members who died on the battlefield having their eyes gouged out by others in the past few decades, almost no one can withstand the bloodline rejection of the Sharingan, and no one can transplant the Sharingan of their Uchiha clan.

But that doesn't stop others from continuing to covet the Uchiha clan's bloodline and trying to obtain their Sharingan bloodline limit!

Maybe one pair won't work? What if we experiment with two, three, or even more pairs of Sharingan?

Furthermore, they could consider capturing Uchiha clan members as infants and raising them from childhood, or even capturing Uchiha clan women and engaging in barbaric 'mating' to cultivate their exclusive 'Sharingan' bloodline limit!

These are all possible!

Never underestimate the limits of the ninja world.

This is a cruel and dark world, where people are capable of doing anything without any moral bottom line.

During the previous retreat, those techniques, including Shoji's "Takemikazuchi Technique," were mainly used to divide the battlefield and force Konoha to retreat, but they also had the purpose of destroying the bodies of their fallen comrades and destroying the Sharingan as much as possible.

Although it is impossible to achieve 100% destruction.

However, they have done their duty. Therefore, considering this point alone, their clan must ensure that they possess a force that is not weak, so that other forces will think twice before taking action.

"The road ahead is still difficult, and it requires our concerted efforts, Chieftain!"

Shoji looked at Uchiha Fugaku and said something very meaningful.

Fugaku met Shoji's gaze, a complex look appearing deep in his pupils, before nodding slightly.

"Yes, I understand, Shoji, don't worry!"

Seeing a junior less than half his age worrying so much filled Fugaku with a sense of shame. At that moment, Fugaku truly felt that if it weren't for Shoji, he might have led his clan to its destruction!

Even though the road ahead is still fraught with danger, at least we can see hope for survival.

This is where it becomes particularly important.

Ultimately, Fugaku's personal capacity was somewhat limited, and his vision was a bit narrow. He often tried to view issues from the perspective and interests of his clan, but in the end, he often limited himself, or even focused on a particular point.

As mentioned before, Fugaku and Hiruzen are quite similar.