Kannabi Bridge

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

At the foundation were Two Tomoe, and counting Fugaku, there were seven pairs of Three Tomoe.

This force was already enough to deal with a small-scale battle.

"Fugaku, you're here!"

Minato greeted Fugaku with some surprise. Even Fugaku's usually grim face rarely broke into a smile.

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

It was precisely because Namikaze Minato existed that Fugaku felt integrating the Uchiha into the village was possible.

However, dozens of the Uchiha who had followed Fugaku came over and stood behind Kagami Uchiha, drawing a clear line between themselves and Fugaku's group.

The atmosphere grew somewhat awkward.

Fugaku also found it difficult to keep a straight face. I'm the clan head, aren't I? If you want to show your allegiance, couldn't you at least wait until we've dispersed?

Kagami Uchiha glanced at the people behind him. They were all teenagers, and only one possessed Three Tomoe.

"Xuanhuo, how is Elder Shenhuo's health?" He looked toward the only young man in the group with Three Tomoe.

"Thank you for your concern. My father is in fairly good health."

Xuanhuo was Shenhuo's son and held the same beliefs as Shenhuo.

Toward Kagami Uchiha, the faction heir chosen by Shenhuo, he showed the respect of a subordinate.

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

In recent years, the Uchiha had shown obvious signs of division. Fugaku advocated integrating into the village, and as the clan head, he had originally been able to guide the clan members.

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

The Uchiha who were dissatisfied with the village now had someone to rally around. Naturally, they would not simply go with the flow, but stood firmly on Kagami's side.

This was also what troubled Sarutobi Hiruzen the most.

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

What more 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 was only pretending to be approachable—

then the position of Hokage was not impossible for him to obtain!

Kagami had no way to explain it.

It was a matter of relative weight.

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

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

He did not want to explain either.

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

In that case, there was no need to spare this clan head's feelings.

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

"Is that a problem, Fugaku... clan head?"

Fugaku's expression darkened. He glanced at Minato, who was smiling bitterly, then suppressed his anger and nodded.

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

He emphasized the words "follow orders."

Since Kagami had given him a warning, he could not be blamed for tearing off the mask of civility.

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 chuckled softly.

"Sorry, but once a general is outside, he is not bound to obey the ruler's commands."

"I do not recognize Clan Head Fugaku's ability to command. When unexpected situations arise, I will act according to my own judgment."

"You!"

You just said that everyone had to follow Orochimaru's orders, but now that I've brought out the Hokage's command, you refuse to acknowledge it?

Watching the two refuse to yield to each other, Minato was troubled as well.

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

To prevent the conflict from escalating, Minato stepped in and smoothed things over.

"We are all comrades of Konohagakure. As for the specific operations, we should decide based on the battlefield situation."

"Our main mission is to hold the border. At least we share that goal."

A day earlier, after learning that the Uchiha clan members were about to arrive, Orochimaru had led his people toward the Land of Wind.

Speed was crucial in war. He intended to catch Chiyo off guard.

The highest commander of the current front was actually Sarutobi Shin'nosuke.

However, seeing this group of Uchiha, he tactfully chose not to interrupt.

Most Uchiha looked down equally on ninja from other clans, and their difficulty in dealing with others was common knowledge. Even being the Hokage's son would not earn him much consideration.

There were very few people the Uchiha acknowledged. Fortunately, Minato was one of them.

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

Inside a simple tent at the front line.

Minato spread out a map and pointed to a location.

"I observed the terrain. This is a necessary route for Iwagakure if they want to march in force."

His finger indicated a position in the northwestern part of the Land of Grass.

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

Kannabi Bridge!

"As long as we station troops here, we can block a possible surprise attack by Iwagakure's main force."

"I'll leave Flying Thunder God marks along the border of the Land of Fire. If a few powerful enemies take another route, I can also bring people there to intercept them in time."

With the Flying Thunder God Technique, planning many tactics became much simpler.

Iwagakure had not yet attacked Konohagakure. Only a small number of ninja from both sides were roaming the Land of Grass.

Even Namikaze Minato had never considered the Land of Grass's position.

For a small country like theirs, the reason for its existence was to serve as a strategic buffer zone for the great nations.

"Why not just blow up the bridge?"

Kagami Uchiha spoke up. After all, even if history followed its original course, this bridge would eventually be blown up.

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

Destroying Kannabi Bridge on their own initiative could already be considered Konohagakure declaring war on Iwagakure.

Since the First Shinobi World War, Konohagakure had never taken the initiative to declare war on another hidden village.

Kagami Uchiha had only made an offhand remark. He knew such an act would be unreasonable.

He suddenly thought of something else...

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

So could he be there now?

It was very possible...

After all, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was such a huge piece of furniture. Moving it could not be easy.

However, it was only a guess. The information Kagami Uchiha had learned was too jumbled, and there were many bugs in the timeline, so it could only serve as a reference.

Kagami Uchiha was not worried about encountering Uchiha Madara.

On the one hand, Madara was already old and past his prime, so he probably could not use much strength. The Rinnegan was also being kept in Nagato's body.

On the other hand...

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

Even during the final battle, he had given Sasuke a chance to surrender.

It was Sasuke who had foolishly called him a relic of the old era and then rushed forward, throwing his chest against the blade and ending up half-dead.

Madara looked down on the Uchiha clan, but he would not exterminate its members. That would be beneath his dignity.

If not for the existence of Black Zetsu, Kagami Uchiha would have wanted to explain everything to Uchiha Madara and invite the old ancestor out of seclusion.

After discussion, Namikaze Minato, Kagami Uchiha, and Uchiha Fugaku led five Jonin-level fighters to Kannabi Bridge to garrison it.

Sarutobi Shin'nosuke and the other ninja were distributed along the border near the Land of Earth to serve as sentries.

Once the operation began, they encountered a small number of Iwagakure ninja and Kusagakure ninja on the way.

Since no war had broken out, everyone crossed the Land of Grass after some simple negotiations, using their mission as an excuse, and reached Kannabi Bridge.

For a small country like the Land of Grass, it was not unusual for people from any hidden village to appear there.

Everyone in Minato's group had changed their appearances, and an eight-man team did not attract much attention.

Everything was peaceful, but only temporarily.

As soon as news spread that Orochimaru's forces had begun fighting in the Land of Wind, the Land of Earth would definitely take action.

Perhaps by then...

the storm would be about to break.