Kannabi Bridge

A few days later, fifty Uchiha ninja led by Uchiha Fugaku arrived.

With two-tomoe Sharingan as the baseline, there were seven pairs of Three-Tomoe Sharingan including Fugaku himself.

That force was already enough to handle a small-scale battle.

"Fugaku, you're here!"

Minato greeted Fugaku with some delight, and even Fugaku's usually deadpan face broke into a rare smile.

The two had carried out missions together in their early years and forged a deep bond.

It was also because of Minato Namikaze's presence that Fugaku believed it was possible for the Uchiha Clan to integrate into the village.

However, dozens of the Uchiha clansmen who had come with Fugaku walked straight over to stand behind Kagami Uchiha, clearly separating themselves from Fugaku's group.

The atmosphere became slightly awkward.

Fugaku could barely keep his face straight. He was obviously the clan head—if they wanted to make their stance clear, couldn't they at least wait until they had dispersed?

Kagami Uchiha glanced at those behind him. They were all teenagers, and only one of them had a Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

"Xuan Huo, how is Shen Huo Elder's health?" he asked the only young man in the group with a Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

"Thank you for your concern. My father's health is still fair."

Xuan Huo was Shen Huo's son and shared the same beliefs as his father.

Toward Kagami Uchiha, the successor of Shen Huo's chosen faction, he showed the respect of a subordinate.

Like his father, he firmly believed that Kagami Uchiha could lead the Uchiha Clan to greatness!

In recent years, the Uchiha Clan had shown obvious signs of splitting apart. Fugaku advocated integrating into the village, and as clan head, he should have been able to guide his clansmen.

But Kagami Uchiha's talent was plain for all to see. It could even be said that he had already fulfilled that talent; his strength was no weaker than that of Fugaku, the clan head.

The Uchiha who were dissatisfied with the village now had someone to rally around. Naturally, they would not follow the crowd and instead firmly stood with Kagami.

That was precisely what made Hiruzen Sarutobi so uncomfortable.

I even arranged for my own disciple to be your teacher. Why can't you open your heart to the village?

What else could you possibly be dissatisfied with?

Fugaku could not understand it either. The Third Hokage had already sent such an obvious signal. As long as Kagami behaved himself—even if he had to pretend, he only needed to act a little more approachable.

Then even the position of Hokage would not be impossible!

Kagami could not explain it.

It was a matter of priorities.

No matter how much the Uchiha did, in the eyes of the Third Hokage and the others, they were still an innately evil clan that needed to be guarded against.

How could the Uchiha's weight compare to the teachings of the Second Hokage?

Nor did he want to explain.

Fugaku's arrival had already shown that he had chosen the Hokage's side, exactly as Kagami had expected.

There was no need to save face for this clan head anymore.

"According to Lord Orochimaru's orders, all Uchiha ninja are to follow my commands."

"No objections, Fugaku... Clan Head?"

Fugaku's expression darkened. He glanced at the wryly smiling Minato, then suppressed his anger and nodded.

"Of course. On the battlefield, every ninja should follow orders!"

He emphasized the word "orders."

Since Kagami had tried to put him in his place, then he should not blame Fugaku for tearing away all pretense.

He took a scroll from his robes and said in a deep voice, "Then according to the Hokage's written order, Kagami Uchiha, you should follow my commands!"

Kagami Uchiha was not surprised. He merely chuckled.

"Sorry, but a general in the field need not obey every command from the sovereign."

"I do not recognize Clan Head Fugaku's command ability. When faced with unforeseen circumstances, I will rely on my own judgment."

"You!"

You were just talking about following Orochimaru's orders, but when I brought out the Hokage, you suddenly refused to acknowledge them?

Watching the two refuse to yield to one another, Minato was troubled as well.

He knew about the Uchiha Clan's situation, as well as some of the village higher-ups' leanings. The tangled and chaotic relationships involved were not something he could sort out at present.

To prevent the conflict from escalating, Minato stepped in to smooth things over.

"We're all Konoha comrades. The specific arrangements should be decided according to the battlefield situation."

"Our primary mission is to hold the border line. At the very least, that goal is the same."

A day earlier, after learning that the Uchiha clansmen would soon arrive, Orochimaru had led his forces into the Land of Wind.

Speed was of the essence. He intended to catch Chiyo off guard.

The current supreme commander of the front line was actually Sarutobi Shinnosuke.

But seeing this group of Uchiha, he wisely kept his mouth shut.

Most Uchiha looked down equally on ninja from other clans. Their difficulty to get along with was common knowledge, and his status as the Hokage's son was of little use.

There were few people the Uchiha recognized, but fortunately, Minato was one of them.

Whether it was Kagami Uchiha or Fugaku, both were willing to give Minato some face.

Inside a crude tent at the front line.

Minato spread out a map and pointed to a location.

"I studied the terrain. This is a necessary route for Iwagakure to march in force."

The spot beneath his finger lay northwest of the Land of Grass.

There stood a famous bridge... one that would become even more famous in the years to come.

Kannabi Bridge!

"As long as we station ourselves here, we can block any surprise attack by Iwagakure's main force."

"I'll leave Flying Thunder God marks along the Land of Fire's border. If a small number of powerful enemies take other routes, I can still lead people to intercept them in time."

With the Flying Thunder God technique, many tactical plans became much simpler.

Iwagakure had yet to make a move against Konoha, and only small numbers of ninja from both sides were roaming the Land of Grass.

Even Minato Namikaze had not considered what the Land of Grass might think.

The reason small nations like the Land of Grass existed was to serve as strategic buffer zones between great nations.

"Why not just blow up the bridge?"

Kagami Uchiha spoke up. In any case, even if events followed the original course of history, this bridge would be destroyed.

Minato smiled bitterly. "It's an important transportation hub. We haven't gone to war with Iwagakure yet. How can we do something like that?"

Taking the initiative to destroy Kannabi Bridge could already be regarded as Konoha declaring war on Iwagakure.

Since the First Shinobi World War, Konoha had never proactively declared war on another hidden village.

Kagami Uchiha had merely said it casually and knew such an action was unreasonable.

Then he suddenly thought of something else...

When the Battle of Kannabi Bridge took place, Uchiha Madara should have been in the Land of Grass.

Would he be there now, then?

Very likely...

After all, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was such a massive piece of furniture. It could not have been easy to move.

But it was only a guess. The intelligence Kagami Uchiha knew was too scattered, and the timeline had too many inconsistencies. It could only serve as a reference.

Kagami Uchiha was not worried about encountering Uchiha Madara.

For one thing, Madara was already old and frail. He probably could not wield much strength, and the Rinnegan had been implanted in Nagato.

For another...

From beginning to end, Uchiha Madara had never killed a single member of the Uchiha Clan.

Even in the final battle, he gave Sasuke a chance to surrender.

It was Sasuke who foolishly called him a relic of a bygone era, then rushed forward and rammed his chest into Madara's blade, leaving himself half-dead.

Madara looked down on the Uchiha Clan, but he would not slaughter his own clansmen. That did not suit his bearing.

If Black Zetsu had not existed, Kagami Uchiha would have wanted to explain everything to Uchiha Madara and invite the clan ancestor to return.

After discussion, Minato Namikaze, Kagami Uchiha, and Uchiha Fugaku would lead five jonin-level fighters to defend Kannabi Bridge.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke and the other ninja were scattered along the border near the Land of Earth as sentries.

The operation began. Along the way, they encountered a small number of Iwagakure ninja and Grass Ninja.

Since war had not yet begun, after a brief exchange, they crossed the Land of Grass under the pretense of being on a mission and arrived at Kannabi Bridge.

For a small nation like the Land of Grass, it was nothing unusual for ninja from any hidden village to appear.

Minato's group had all disguised themselves, and an eight-man squad did not draw much attention.

Everything was calm, but only for the moment.

Once word spread that Orochimaru's forces had begun fighting in the Land of Wind, the Land of Earth would definitely make a move.

Perhaps then...

The storm would be about to break.