Revitalizing the Uchiha clan starts with becoming a Kage.

123. Actions of All Parties (Fifth Update)

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He is Uchiha Madara, the strongest person in the history of the Uchiha clan, the future god of the new world. He is the only one who is qualified and capable of guiding the entire world onto the most correct path. It can be said that after Obito personally put on this mask and hypnotized himself, Obito was no longer the Obito he once was.

Rather, it's a collection of all negative emotions!

They could even be described as completely different entities within the same body!

"Yes, Lord Madara, I will go and carry out your orders immediately."

White Zetsu remained jovial, responding in an exaggerated tone before quickly sinking into the ground under Obito's increasingly chilling gaze, to convey the supreme command of their 'Lord Madara' to their White Zetsu companions scattered throughout the world!

'Uchiha Shoji? Hmph, two pairs of Mangekyou Sharingan, huh?'

Obito really didn't take Shoji and Fugaku seriously. The Mangekyou Sharingan might be quite intimidating to ordinary people, but to Obito, who was well aware of his clan and the characteristics of the Mangekyou Sharingan, those eyes were nothing special. Unless they were Eternal Eyes, there was no need to be too wary of them.

Regardless of the outcome in the original work, from beginning to end, Obito always viewed Itachi and Sasuke as pawns he could manipulate at will, even though Itachi was indeed very strong in some aspects, but that was all.

Obito, who hypnotized himself into being Madara Uchiha, wouldn't really care about these things at all. In this life, it was the same. When he heard the relevant news, apart from a little surprise at first, he was thinking about how to use Fugaku and Shoji.

I am the strongest person, and my plan is invincible.

Like Madara, Obito is now truly immersed in his own completely individualistic world.

Therefore, at least until Shoji truly demonstrates a power sufficient to threaten him, Obito will only pay attention to him, but will not be truly wary of him.

At this stage, Obito is only focused on his great cause of 'causing chaos in Kirigakure' and has no time to deal with other matters. Therefore, the Fourth Mizukage, who is under his control, also shows an indifferent attitude towards the outside world.

Without the Mizukage's orders, and with the village's most senior and prestigious "Master" choosing to remain almost invisible, Kirigakure completely extinguished its enthusiasm for the Uchiha clan's departure from Konoha. Even though some still believed this was the best opportunity, they still had to submit to the supreme command of their Mizukage.

Not to mention that Obito hasn't even controlled Yagura Karatachi yet, and even the 'puppet Yagura Karatachi' who wreaked havoc in Kirigakure for years in the original story was ultimately brought to his senses by Ao using his 'Byakugan' ability through a chance encounter.

Mei Terumi was able to rally a group of people to launch a coup against the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi. Therefore, during this period, Yagura Karatachi still held the power and prestige to make the final decision in Kirigakure. Unless the Master himself stepped forward, but the cunning Master would not easily express his opinion under such circumstances.

Not to mention, Obito's stated reasons for controlling Yagura were quite valid. His own village had suffered heavy losses in the Third Shinobi World War, and at this stage, it was best to focus on recuperation and rebuilding. The best option was to wait and see how the various ninja villages on the mainland, such as Konoha, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure, fought each other, and wait for a possible opportunity to come.

Admittedly, even under such circumstances, there are still a few individuals in the vast Hidden Mist Village who may have ulterior motives, but at least from a macro perspective, they have no influence whatsoever, even without the participation of the Hidden Mist Village.

Even after three or four days of this situation escalating, it still caused a huge uproar throughout the entire ninja world.

After all, the Kage of Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure had all dispatched one of their most trusted and capable subordinates to investigate the relevant intelligence. The leaders of small and medium-sized ninja villages such as Kusagakure, Takigakure, Yugakure, and Amegakure were also unable to suppress the restlessness in their hearts and had also dispatched their respective elite forces to find out what was going on!

The entire ninja world is undergoing a dramatic transformation.

The arrival of these forces from various ninja villages has made the situation even more unpredictable. The two most daring ninja villages, Iwagakure and Kumogakure, have once again sent their most important Jonin, Tsuchikage and Raikage, to the border area as they set off with their troops.

Many times!

Opportunities often slip away in the blink of an eye!

They didn't want to miss a good opportunity because they weren't prepared.

This also made the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, instantly nervous. If Iwagakure and Kumogakure really seized this opportunity and launched a new round of the Shinobi World War against Konoha, Konoha really wouldn't be able to withstand it.

While outsiders may not know the full story, Hiruzen Sarutobi understands perfectly well that Konoha, whose fighting strength would be diminished by the loss of the Uchiha clan, had already lost nearly two hundred elite soldiers in the previous battle with the Uchiha. These soldiers were almost all Chunin, and there were even Jonin among them, with the number exceeding double digits. Not to mention the death of Akimichi Torifu, a near-Kage level fighter, another crucial point is that Orochimaru, one of the pillars of the village, had already defected!

This news is currently only known to four high-ranking officials: Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane. The more this happens, the less the Third Hokage dares to announce this news, and can only inform a limited number of people, especially Danzo Shimura, even though the Third Hokage is very angry about his behavior.

However, just like a year ago, he forgave Shimura Danzo for sending Root agents to assassinate him. He only used the Orochimaru and Uchiha clan incident to try to warn Shimura Danzo, hoping that he could be more rational and composed in the future.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi was clearly misled. If Danzo Shimura had learned his lesson so easily and "reformed," he wouldn't be Danzo Shimura. The real Danzo Shimura was someone who challenged and lowered the limits of humanity time and time again!

It can be said that after learning the relevant information from Hiruzen Sarutobi and being reprimanded, Danzo showed no remorse whatsoever. Instead, he deeply resented Orochimaru for daring to betray him and was furious about the Uchiha clan!

He vehemently opposed Hiruzen Sarutobi's idea of ​​postponing the dispatch of the pursuit force.

But his objections were ultimately futile.

At a time when both Iwagakure and Kumogakure had deployed large numbers of troops to the border.

It's impossible for Konoha to continue its large-scale pursuit of the Uchiha clan.

This is asking for trouble!

Given Hiruzen Sarutobi's personality...

I would never do such a risky thing again!

124. On the Border

Therefore, aside from the remaining shadowy forces that were following behind.

The remaining thousand-plus pursuing troops, which were originally planned to be dispatched, only clashed once more with the rearguard forces left behind by the Uchiha clan before slowly retreating back to the village under the orders of the Third Hokage.

All decisions must prioritize the stability of the village. This was the Third Hokage's judgment. Even if the Uchiha clan would inevitably bring greater trouble and unrest in the future, that was something to be discussed later. At this stage, the threats from Iwagakure and Kumogakure were more direct and substantial, and the Third Hokage could not ignore that.

Mitokado Hō and Utatane Koharu also agreed with this view.

Under Hiruzen Sarutobi's intense pressure, Danzo Shimura's rebuttal was utterly ineffective.

Moreover, to prevent problems from recurring, Hiruzen Sarutobi issued a strict order to restrict Danzo's Root operations. From now on, without the Hokage's order, Root members could not freely enter or leave Konoha. All their actions required his approval as the Hokage. Although dismantling Root would be the easiest solution, now was not the time to do so. Furthermore, Hiruzen Sarutobi's old habit of being soft-hearted had resurfaced. Danzo was, after all, his old friend, and Hiruzen Sarutobi could even forgive him for assassinating him.

Not to mention what's happening now.

Even so, Danzo did not appreciate Hiruzen Sarutobi's good qualities at all. On the contrary, he became increasingly jealous of Hiruzen. In the end, ever since the Second Hokage chose Hiruzen Sarutobi to become the Third Hokage, Danzo gradually went astray and could not be pulled back.

However, he really couldn't do anything now, so he could only force himself to keep it deep inside, waiting for a suitable opportunity in the future.

"Hiruzen! You'll regret this! You'll definitely regret this!"

In the end, he could only leave behind this resentful remark before returning to his own root base with a furious expression.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, however, paid no heed to Danzo's emotional shift. Dealing with foreign affairs was Konoha's top priority. Regarding the Uchiha clan, the only solution this time was to confirm their departure from the Land of Fire. Although this was far from ideal, the inherently cautious Third Hokage truly didn't want any further complications. The Third Hokage's official announcement regarding the Uchiha clan's departure from Konoha was simply a so-called "peaceful separation!"

That's right, it's like treating everyone in the world as blind, regardless of whether others believe it or not, even treating their own family members as "blind" and "deaf." Just days ago, Hiruzen Sarutobi confidently declared that the entire Uchiha clan were S-rank traitors, to be killed without mercy. Now, he's suddenly talking about a "peaceful breakup." It's truly the most typical example of hypocrisy.

When faced with the Left Minister sent by the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, the Third Hokage gave the same answer: whether it's true or not, the most important thing is to have a 'superficial reason'!

When people around the world learned of this news, they were able to get to know the Third Hokage and Konoha Village all over again.

It's possible that Hiruzen Sarutobi saw this as the 'best judgment' he made after much deliberation, but from the outside, it was undoubtedly a very 'bizarre' decision. In other countries or ninja villages, the same choice and judgment would have been made in the same situation, but Konoha was different.

From this perspective, the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, truly had a keen eye for talent, selecting the next generation of leaders for his village that was arguably the most outstanding figure of his time.

Upon learning this news, the leaders of various countries and the Kage of the major ninja villages all displayed subtle expressions of varying degrees.

This includes the Uchiha clan, who were directly involved.

When the three elders, namely Shoji, Fugaku, Shisui, and the only remaining elders, Sogen, Genran, and Chie, learned of this news, their expressions were truly as interesting as could be!

In the Land of Fire, in the dense forests outside a medium-sized town on the northwestern border, the Uchiha clan, who had escaped from Konoha, finally arrived at this area closest to the Land of Earth after three or four days of trekking.

Although there were almost no casualties among the ordinary clansmen, more than a third of the clan's ninjas died in the two battles. The number of those seriously and lightly wounded was also not low. However, the clan could be said to have successfully broken away from Konoha Village in the first place.

The price paid by these fallen and wounded members of their tribe can be considered meaningful and valuable.

Therefore, in these days, putting aside Shoji and Shisui, the older generation of Uchiha such as Fugaku, Sōgen, and Chie all felt a mixture of sadness and relief.

Especially considering that they accurately learned about the information announced by Hiruzen Sarutobi through their own special channels, and combined this with the situation of the Konoha ninja pursuit force that had just caught up with their clan the day before, fought them, and then inexplicably retreated, they could conclude that their clan had become 'relatively safe' at least for now.

But it's only temporary!

Until a truly stable foothold is secured, everything is illusory and uncertain.

Meanwhile, the Uchiha clan members gathered in this forest needed to rest after their long journey of the past few days. Shoji, Fugaku, Shisui, Sōgen, Chie, and more than a dozen others including Yatsushiro, Kogahara, and Tekka were all gathered together to discuss the clan's next steps.

"Peaceful separation? Hiruzen Sarutobi really has the nerve to say something like that!? I really misjudged him back then, thinking this old guy was a little better than that bastard Danzo Shimura. Now it seems they're birds of a feather!"

Elder Zongxuan, with his white hair and beard, snorted coldly.

It's clear that Elder Zongxuan is still furious about Hiruzen Sarutobi's behavior before and after. Danzo aside, he was the Uchiha clan's number one and greatest enemy.

Like Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, the Uchiha clan did not have much affection for them. Only Sarutobi Hiruzen had a slight degree of goodwill within the Uchiha clan. Even clan members who did not particularly like Sarutobi Hiruzen would find it difficult to say that the Third Hokage was truly detestable, provided that this incident had occurred before.

Cunning, treacherous, and indifferent—almost any word that comes to mind is used to describe this Third Hokage.

Even Zhishui was extremely disappointed.

Within the clan, perhaps only Shoji could maintain a somewhat calm attitude towards the Third Hokage.

"Hmph, Kagami was probably deceived in the same way back then. Hiruzen Sarutobi is just like Danzo Shimura, a treacherous and cunning person!"

Elder Xuanlan snorted coldly as well.

125. Deliberation

It can be said that the older generation of Uchiha elders, such as Zongxuan and Xuanlan, really harbored resentment over the matter of Uchiha Kagami, especially since Kagami died in battle against the Sand Ninja in the western region during the Second World War. This has always been a major reason why these elders highly suspect the Konoha leadership.

All of these elders were from the same generation as Uchiha Kagami. Elders Sogen and Chie were even a few years older than Kagami. It could be said that they saw the hope for the revival of the Uchiha clan in Kagami. Unfortunately, Kagami died in battle before he was thirty years old. Now, with old and new grudges combined, these Uchiha elders truly loathed Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, and others to the extreme.

"But this is also a good thing. At least the other side will stop sending troops to hunt us down, giving our clan a chance to breathe. We can leave some things for later. Right now, the most important thing is the choice our clan will make next."

Chie Uchiha, the only female elder in the clan, gently shook her head and said, "Hatred is one thing, but the continuation of the clan is another. It was precisely because we understood this that the clan ultimately chose to agree to Tsukasa's plan to break away from Konoha. Otherwise, given the Uchiha clan's temperament and the resentment and hatred of the vast majority of its members, the most likely outcome would have been for everyone to stay and fight to the death with the Konoha leadership."

Ultimately, many people believe the Uchiha clan is an evil clan, but the Uchiha clan understands 'love' better than anyone else! To outsiders, the Sharingan is a cursed power, but to the clan members, it is the ultimate expression of their clan's 'love'!

Therefore, they can temporarily abandon hatred for love, and they can embark on a crazy path of revenge for love. This is the essence of the Uchiha clan. This time was no different. Many clan members were angry with Shoji because he was close to the village's upper class. When the conflict broke out, they were angry with Shoji. Later, they changed their attitude because they saw Shoji confront the village's leaders and possess the Mangekyou Sharingan. But the reason they truly respected Shoji was because of the plan for the entire clan to leave the village.

They care deeply about the continuation of their clan and the safety of their relatives.

Therefore, they will identify with Jiang Si and follow him.

Many people haven't noticed that Shoji's prestige within the clan is now no less than, and perhaps even slightly surpasses, that of the clan head, Fugaku. Even Fugaku himself is considering whether to appoint Shoji as the clan head. Of course, not now. Shoji's age is one thing, but more importantly, the clan's current situation is still delicate, and it's not appropriate to discuss this matter.

"Yes, Elder Chie is right. The key now is to see which direction our clan chooses. Of the four great ninja villages, apart from Kirigakure which is acting strangely by not making any moves, Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure have all dispatched their respective personnel. The former two have even mobilized their forces. Hiruzen Sarutobi has reduced his pursuit force precisely because of this, and this is also our best opportunity to make contact. The question is, which one should we choose? Or should we go our own way?"

As the clan head, Fugaku steadied the situation slightly, nodded, and said in a deep voice.

“I still think Iwagakure is the best choice. As for Sunagakure, needless to say, this ninja village is inherently incapable of becoming powerful. The country is poor and weak, and the ninja village is too limited. Even with our clan’s current size, Sunagakure might not dare to accept us. Moreover, I have heard about the character of the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, and he is certainly not a wise kage!”

"As for Kumogakure, the problem still lies in the fighting over the past six months. It's my fault; I shouldn't have suggested joining the war in the first place. Now, our clan and Kumogakure have a difficult knot to untie. Although I personally think that even if our clan really wanted to join Kumogakure, given the way Kumogakure has always handled things and the personality of the Fourth Raikage, they would most likely accept it, there would still be consequences. The risk factor is too high."

“Iwagakure doesn’t have that problem. The Third Tsuchikage is the most magnanimous of all the Kage. Iwagakure has the confidence and capacity to accept our Uchiha clan. Therefore, I still think that contacting Iwagakure first is the best option!”

As Fugaku finished speaking.

The officer, whose face was still slightly pale, was the first to speak.

Two consecutive battles, especially the initial rearguard action, where the release of Susanoo's second form and the two uses of Takemikazuchi Technique consumed a large amount of Shoji's eye power. In the subsequent pursuit battle, the clash between Root, Anbu elites, and other ninja elites consumed another wave of eye power for Shoji. The number of his clansmen who died had already exceeded one-third. If the losses continued, the Uchiha clan would truly lose the power to support the clan.

Therefore, even though his eye power consumption was slightly higher, Shoji still resolutely used the Mangekyou Sharingan to create a high-intensity dimensional reduction attack as much as possible, so as not to give the Konoha pursuit force more opportunities to threaten his own family members. Fugaku did the same. With Susanoo activated, Fugaku's eye power consumption was only slightly lower than Shoji's.