Start with a Zanpakuto and build the strongest Mist Village.

In recent years, with the passing of several elders, only he and his son, Sheren, remain on the moon.

This situation made even Otsutsuki Shijin himself doubt whether his own ideals and everything he did when the family split up were correct.

but now……

"Great Ancestor... do you also believe that the world you created is utterly sinful and needs cleansing?!"

Otsutsuki Abandoned Man murmured, his mind surging, while the giant Tenseigan before him seemed to respond to his words, its light shining even brighter.

"I understand……"

"I won't let you down!"

Chapter 163 The Nine-Tails' trouble was all the work of the Uchiha!

Konoha.

The news that Kumogakure had suddenly attacked Konoha and that Konoha's front lines were suffering a series of defeats reached Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately.

Even though Danzo rushed to the front lines immediately, the situation did not improve at all.

Although the current situation was anticipated, Konoha suffered heavy losses in the Nine-Tails attack, and those ambitious individuals would certainly not let such a good opportunity pass by. However, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not expect that all of this would happen so quickly and that the offensive would be so fierce!

"Three thousand elite Cloud Village warriors, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki..."

Looking at the battle report sent by Danzo from the front lines, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt immense pressure.

It had only been a little over a year since the Third Shinobi World War ended, and Konoha had not recovered at all. Now, the Nine-Tails had struck again, with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and the Fourth Hokage both dying.

Konoha at this time is arguably the weakest in terms of overall strength since the village's founding!

In contrast, look at Yunyin.

Although the Third Raikage was lost, the overall strength of Kumogakure was well preserved during the Third Shinobi World War, with countless elites and the perfect Jinchuriki, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.

One goes down and the other goes down.

How can Konoha be a match for Kumogakure now?

"Why don't we just surrender to the Hidden Cloud Village and pay compensation..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi murmured to himself.

Anyway, this isn't the first time we've surrendered. The payments from Kirigakure haven't even been settled yet, so we can just settle the payments from Kumogakure as well.

Lice don't make you itchy, and debts don't weigh you down.

But the fear is that the Hidden Cloud Village might make exorbitant demands.

The Hidden Cloud Village has always been a fanatical warmonger in the ninja world, and the Third Shinobi World War was actually started by them.

Although Konoha is weak, if it surrenders without a fight, it will be increasingly despised by Kumogakure. Given their wolfish ambition and greedy nature, even if Konoha surrenders and pays a huge amount of reparations, they will likely continue to attack Konoha until they overthrow the entire village and devour the Land of Fire!

After all, the Land of Fire occupies the most prosperous area in the entire ninja world, and everyone wants a piece of it!

"What should we do..."

With a worried expression, Hiruzen Sarutobi finished smoking all the tobacco in his pipe before picking up his Hokage hat and walking towards the conference room next to the newly built Hokage office.

The door is pushed open.

There were already more than fifty people in the Hokage's meeting room at this moment, including even Danzo Shimura.

These fifty-odd people are all the Jonin of Konoha right now, except for those on the front lines of Kumogakure. Of course, the Anbu, Root, and clan ninjas are not included.

The Third Shinobi World War and the Nine-Tails' attack—the successive wars caused Konoha to suffer unimaginable losses, to the point that the strongest ninja village in the ninja world is now reduced to just a handful of survivors.

However, the situation in other ninja villages is not much different. Apart from the Cloud Village, whose strength has been preserved relatively well, the current Jonin of Sand Village and Iwa Village are not even as good as those of Konoha!

"I apologize for being late."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took his seat in the main seat and handed the frontline battle report in his hand to Homura Mitokado beside him, indicating that he should read it and then pass it on.

Mitomon Homura took the battle report, and his expression immediately hardened after just one glance.

However, he did not speak, but silently handed the battle report to Akimichi Torifu beside him.

About ten minutes later, everyone in the conference room had read the battle report and had a general idea of ​​what it was about.

"Kumakushi's ambitions are cunning. Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, has taken advantage of the situation with three thousand elite troops and has now entered the Land of Fire, advancing with unstoppable momentum."

"And Iwagakure is also stirring... Gentlemen, war is about to break out again!"

The expressions of everyone present were extremely grim. They knew that the Third Shinobi World War, which ended in a whimper, was destined to reignite the war in the shinobi world, but they did not expect it to come so quickly, so suddenly, and at the same time as the Nine-Tails' attack...

For a moment, the ninjas in the conference room all looked solemn and their faces were gloomy.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze swept over everyone, and he couldn't help but let out a soft sigh before finally fixing his gaze on Fugaku Uchiha, who had just returned from the Land of Iron.

"Fugaku, how's it going in the Land of Iron?"

The three parties, Sunagakure, Kirigakure, and Konoha, signed a super project agreement in the Land of Iron. However, with Konoha now facing such a huge change, it's inevitable that Sunagakure and Kirigakure will have different thoughts.

Fortunately, Fugaku's words relieved Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"We signed a tripartite treaty with Sunagakure and Kirigakure, but given that Konoha has just suffered from the Nine-Tails' attack and its strength has been weakened, its role in the treaty has been reduced, and its share of resources has decreased."

Fugaku Uchiha said in a deep voice, "The final agreement is that all profits from the projects within the Land of Fire will be shared equally among the three countries, while the profits within the Sand Village will be entirely acquired by the Sand Village and the Kirigakure Village for the first ten years, and then shared equally between the two countries after ten years."

"However, the agreement reached by the fourth generation regarding the free trade between merchants from the three countries remains unchanged."

Although it was a mega-project involving cooperation among the three countries, the main focus was on Sunagakure and Kirigakure. Konoha was merely taking a toll. The fact that such a request could be negotiated surprised not only Hiruzen Sarutobi, but also all the Jonin present.

They were even prepared to completely lose the initiative and interests in this tripartite cooperation!

Sure enough, allies are allies; you still have to rely on them in times of crisis!

Both Sunagakure and Kirigakure signed alliance agreements with Konoha after the Third Shinobi World War, and it seems that the alliance has been very effective!

“If all the countries in the ninja world could love peace like Sunagakure and Kirigakure and work together to promote the development of the ninja world, how could the ninja world be like it is now, with small battles every three days and large battles every five days?” Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath: “Everyone, Kumogakure is invading, and the border is in danger.”

"Although we in Konoha abhor war, our determination to defend our homeland, protect our village, and our comrades is no less than anyone else's!"

"Chief Fugaku."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Fugaku Uchiha: "I order you to lead 1,000 troops to support Danzo's retreating forces. Each of the support units will be led by a 20-strong Jonin. The specific list is as follows:"

"Uchiha Inahi, Uchiha Yasuo, Uchiha Yumi, Hyuga Hito, Aburame Teru, Uchiha..."

Upon hearing the list from Hiruzen Sarutobi, the expressions of the people present varied.

The support force consisted of twenty Jonin, more than half of whom were from the Uchiha clan. This clearly indicated that the Uchiha were intended to be the main force of this support force!

Would the Uchiha clan agree to this approach?

Throughout the three Ninja Wars, the Uchiha clan performed admirably each time, achieving numerous victories. However, in every Ninja War, the Uchiha clan never appeared on the battlefield as the 'core,' 'main force,' or 'commander.' Instead, they were more often seen as 'elite squads' or 'surprise attack units.'

The main reason for doing this was to prevent the Uchiha clan from seizing power.

Secondly, unless they are the commander-in-chief, leader, or core member, even if the Uchiha clan achieves military merit, it will not be of great importance and will not spread widely in Konoha, thus affecting the Uchiha's status in Konoha.

Although the actions of the Konoha leadership caused considerable resentment among the Uchiha clan, it also granted them a high degree of 'freedom' on the battlefield. In almost every battle, the Uchiha clan suffered minimal losses, so they didn't cause much trouble.

And now...

Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's appointment request, Fugaku Uchiha remained expressionless, but the two elite members of the Uchiha clan who followed him were quite excited and eager for more.

"This battle concerns the life and death of Konoha. If our unit meets with Elder Danzo, I wonder who the supreme strategic commander is..." Fugaku Uchiha looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and said in a deep voice.

"The supreme strategic commander for this battle will be Police Chief Uchiha Fugaku!"

The Third Hokage's words were resolute, and only then did Fugaku Uchiha manage a smile.

"Fugaku obeys! Konoha will surely win this battle!"

They actually handed over command?!

Isn't the Third Hokage afraid that all his previous efforts to target the Uchiha clan will be in vain by doing this?!

The crowd looked slightly surprised, but after a moment's thought, they suddenly realized what was going on.

Because of the threat posed by the Uchiha clan, during the Nine-Tails attack, Danzo ordered the Uchiha clan to be prohibited from participating in the front-line battle against the Nine-Tails, and instead to go to the rear to assist the civilians in their evacuation.

This has resulted in the Uchiha clan being the strongest and most intact among all the living forces in Konoha.

Under these circumstances, the Uchiha naturally became the strongest fighting force in Konoha and one of the few forces that could be used to fight against Kumogakure.

In this situation, what's wrong with conceding some rights?!

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath and looked at Homura Mitokado.

"Elder Yan."

"Hiruzen..."

"I order you to lead five hundred elite troops to the border of the Land of Grass, to be on guard against Iwagakure at all times. If Iwagakure makes any unusual moves, do not engage in battle lightly, and report the intelligence from the front lines to me immediately!"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!"

……

With each order issued, Konoha's battered war machine began to move again.

Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse, and a wrecked ship still has three pounds of iron. If you want to take down Konoha, Konoha will naturally splatter blood all over your face!

Fugaku Uchiha immediately led the Konoha support forces to set off, while Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had given all the orders and stayed in Konoha to oversee the overall situation, was approached by Koharu Utatane.

"Hiruzen, are you sure you want to hand over command of this war to the Uchiha?"

Koharu Utatane looked serious. While not as radical as Danzo on the issue of the Uchiha clan, she was definitely an 'anti-Uchiha'.

After all, they were all taught by the Second Hokage, so they must have deeply inherited their teacher's teachings.

"You should understand the importance of this battle to Konoha. With the power of command and the victorious army, the Uchiha clan will become the heroes of Konoha. Their prestige and support will rise significantly. Even when it comes to rewarding meritorious service, Fugaku Uchiha will inevitably enter the core power circle of Konoha!"

"Of course I understand what you're saying, but besides the Uchiha clan, who else do we have to rely on?" Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff of his pipe, his tone somber. "We have no soldiers left to fight. If we don't show enough sincerity, the Uchiha won't fight for us. It's just power, isn't it? For the sake of Konoha, what's wrong with sharing some with them!"

“No, you’re wrong.” Koharu Utatane shook her head: “Do you remember the Nine-Tails’ rampage a while ago?”

"Um?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, not understanding what his old friend meant. The Nine-Tails' attack had only happened a few days ago, not only causing such a huge loss to Konoha, but also taking his wife's life. How could he forget that!

"Danzo made a different discovery..."

Koharu Utatane lowered her voice and said, "You should know about Danzo's research all along, right? Orochimaru's defection was also closely related to him."

"Besides the research results on Wood Release that you obtained yourself, Danzo also did a lot of research on the power of the Uchiha clan. You should also know about the glasses that Kagami left him back then."

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, his gaze fixed on Koharu Utatane's face: "What exactly are you trying to say!"

"Danzo sensed the Sharingan's power within Kurama!"

"what?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's pupils suddenly contracted, and he even stood up.

"Of course, I don't know much about the specifics. All I know is that a mysterious person broke into the cave where Kushina gave birth that night, which led to everything that happened."

"Of course, Kushina's childbirth was a secret, and the fact that the other party was able to obtain this information is itself suspicious."

"Secondly, the opponent was able to penetrate Konoha's barrier without any pressure and eliminate all the Anbu in a very short time. Their strength should not be underestimated. The battle was over before the barrier was even touched. This shows that there is a huge gap in strength between the two sides."

"Plus the Sharingan power remaining on Kurama... Hiruzen, Kurama was actually controlled, wasn't it in history!"

“…I understand what you mean.” Hiruzen Sarutobi took out tobacco from his pocket and put it into his pipe, his expression uncertain. “But to control the Nine-Tails, ordinary Sharingan is simply not enough. You need at least eyes of the level of the Leaf Village Asura, Uchiha Madara.”

"If the Uchiha clan now possessed the Mangekyou Sharingan, they wouldn't still be using the Dark Gold Sharingan; they would probably have already dethroned me as Hokage."

“Indeed, none of the Uchiha clans currently possess the Mangekyou Sharingan, but some do,” Koharu Utatane whispered. “Have you forgotten? That guy on Mount Higashimatsu has the Mangekyou Sharingan!”

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand trembled, and he almost dropped his pipe.

"You mean that the guy on Mount Higashimatsu controls the Nine-Tails, and all the information he obtained came from the Uchiha clan?"

"Isn't this the most likely scenario?"

"……I see."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag on his pipe: "You can go now. I'll handle this."

"I hope you can handle this well, Hiruzen." Koharu Utatane nodded: "Don't forget what our teacher taught us: the Uchiha clan... cannot be trusted!"

"Um……"

Koharu left the Hokage's office, leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi alone, smoking a cigarette with an unpredictable expression.