Smoke of War Thickens

The uproar over the Konoha Military Police Force forcibly detaining Root personnel did not spread too widely, thanks to the tacit understanding between the Hokage Faction and the Uchiha Clan. Still, the ninja clans and high-level Ninja who needed to know basically knew the full cause and outcome of the affair. After all, who did not have their own sources of intelligence?

Likewise, as the instigator of the "Konoha Military Police Force's forced detention of Root personnel," Uchiha Tokimitsu's name began circulating among Konoha's upper ranks. Young, exceptionally powerful, cold, and arrogant—he was practically the standard mold of an Uchiha genius. In the eyes of the old ninja clans, it was perfectly normal for the Uchiha Clan to produce such a young talent. The Warring States period, with its thousand years of chaos and warfare, had already proven the Uchiha Clan's innate gifts. So when the modern Uchiha Clan produced another figure like him, civilian Ninja and clan juniors might be astonished by his immense strength at such a young age, but the elders of the ninja clans found it nothing unusual.

Though they were often slandered as the "cursed clan," for Ninja who pursued Powerful Strength and free will, the Uchiha were the finest example.

Although the Konoha Military Police Force's forced detention of Root personnel displeased the Hokage Faction and ninja factions close to the Hokage, for ninja clans committed to preserving their own characteristics and independence, it was a good thing that the powerful Uchiha had stepped forward to slap Danzo and the Third Hokage behind him in the face.

For the sake of his Root, Danzo had often seized the children of fallen ninja clans or ninja orphans and brought them into Root, reducing them to tools. This made the ninja clans deeply wary. Yet even if they took their complaints to the Hokage, they would ultimately receive nothing more than a biased attempt at smoothing things over, dismissed with the line, "No matter where they are, they are contributing to Konoha." Over the years, the ninja clans had accumulated no small amount of resentment.

The Uchiha demonstrated the stance of a clan, while the Hokage felt the Uchiha's toughness. Thus, both sides took a step back. After three days of detention, the Root personnel were taken away by Anbu carrying the Hokage's Order, and the Konoha Military Police Force did not make things difficult.

And the greatest beneficiary—Uchiha Tokimitsu—won the support of the Uchiha Radical Faction, while his reputation began spreading through Konoha's upper ranks.

The downside was that Uchiha Tokimitsu's name had also appeared on the Black Market Bounty Broker's Bounty List, with a reward of seven million ryo.

The incident did not remain a hot topic for long. First, its spread had been relatively limited to the village's upper ranks. Second, the conflict with Amegakure had grown more intense.

After Jonin Mimura Kawaki, stationed at the Land of Rain border, received two hundred Ninja transferred from the Land of Wind, he took the initiative and struck hard at the Amegakure forces that had repeatedly probed them in recent days. In one stroke, he annihilated the Land of Rain's forward reconnaissance troops, further stirring the Land of Rain's desire to fight. When Amegakure's Border Defense Force attempted retaliation, he ambushed them and routed them completely. Under Jonin Mimura Kawaki's leadership, the Konoha Ninja Army advanced deep into enemy territory, seized three towns along the Land of Rain border, and looted the huge stockpile of supplies there. This finally made Hanzō of the Salamander, the Land of Rain's pillar, unable to sit still.

According to Root intelligence, Hanzō was gathering supplies with all his might. He was expected to mobilize half of Amegakure's Ninja and Formed Ninja Army of roughly fifteen hundred people, personally commanded by Hanzō, to counterattack Konoha.

With only six hundred Ninja in Konoha's forces stationed toward the Land of Rain, they could not withstand the Land of Rain's coming counteroffensive.

Therefore, the village's ninja army mobilization was an urgent need.

Inside the Hokage's Office, the Konoha F4 carried on Konoha's tradition of "holding big meetings for small matters and small meetings for big matters," shutting the doors to discuss military and political affairs.

"How is the ninja army organization coming along?"

As always, the Third Hokage had a pipe clenched between his teeth. He looked over the documents as he questioned the advisor Utatane Koharu.

"One thousand elite troops made up of ninja clan ninja have already been organized, but we have only gathered twelve hundred civilian Ninja..."

"Why?"

"Most ninja clan ninja are their clans' stationed forces, so they are relatively concentrated and better disciplined. Most civilian Ninja, however, are away carrying out missions. Some of those on the mobilization roster cannot be contacted for the moment, while others have yet to rush back..."

"How is the supply gathering going?"

The Third Hokage turned to Mitokado Homura.

"Ninja tools, military rations, and other equipment and supplies are all ready. It is only that we have not purchased enough Explosive Tags. We need to allocate some from the village's War Reserves, but if we do that, the village's reserves will..."

"Why?"

"Recently, the prices of all kinds of supplies have risen too quickly..." Mitokado Homura sighed.

The Hokage F4 all sighed together.

"The only thing that has not risen sharply in price is Uchiha Explosive Tags, but their supply has dropped drastically," Mitokado Homura continued.

Explosive Tags were the product of combining Fire Style and Sealing Jutsu. Among Konoha's ninja clans, the most proficient in Fire Style were the Uchiha and Sarutobi. Of those, the Explosive Tags produced by the Uchiha Clan were renowned throughout the Ninja World for their high volume and quality.

"How about this... Danzo, make a trip to the capital city and discuss military funding with the Daimyo?"

The Third Hokage came up with a rotten idea, intending to have Danzo pressure the Daimyo into coughing up more military funds.

Danzo silently nodded in acceptance.

Ever since being slapped in the face by the Uchiha, Danzo, who felt deeply humiliated, had become even more taciturn.

"When can the ninja army supporting Jonin Mimura depart?" the Third Hokage continued.

"Based on our current personnel and supplies, the ninja clan forces can leave at any time. However, the civilian Ninja forces will need about another week..."

"Then have the three led by Orochimaru depart first with the ninja clan forces. The military situation is urgent; we cannot delay." The Third Hokage made the decision.

"Danzo, go to the capital city at once to meet the Daimyo. Once you are done, rush back immediately. You will command the civilian ninja army that follows to the Land of Rain front."

The Third Hokage continued assigning commanders, giving his old friend the sweetener of commanding a ninja army.

"Yes!"

Danzo remained sparing with his words.

"Also, summon the Second Generation and Third Echelon ninja armies."

The Third Hokage took a puff from his pipe. "The movements in the Land of Wind are not normal. According to Anbu intelligence reports, we can no longer keep track of the movements of their ninja army within their territory."

"The Land of Wind..." The advisors fell silent.

The Land of Wind was, after all, one of the Five Great Nations. It truly could not be underestimated.

"We must also keep an eye on the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning. Though the two countries are currently locked in confrontation, they have also made Not small moves along the Land of Fire's border."

"Then... how many people should be summoned for the Second Generation and Third Echelon ninja armies?" Utatane Koharu asked hesitantly.

"Three thousand people each!"

"If so, the village's standing forces will be far too depleted..."

"We can have a batch of Genin graduate early from the Ninja Academy to reinforce our basic forces," Danzo said from the side.

Sarutobi Hiruzen hesitated for a moment, but ultimately shook his head. "It has not come to that. The children of the Ninja Academy are the village's future. We cannot move them lightly."

Then he added, "At least, we do not need to deploy Ninja Academy students yet."

"What about the ninja clans?" Utatane Koharu asked pointedly.

The Third Hokage pondered for a moment.

"Mobilize them fully." After saying that, he took another puff from his pipe. "For unregistered Clan Ninja, the standards for rank evaluation can be relaxed somewhat. The scale of this war may become very large. The village is in urgent need of effective strength."

"What about the Uchiha?" Utatane Koharu immediately asked again.

"Treat them equally." The Third Hokage's gaze was deep. "Draw four hundred Clan Ninja from the Uchiha Clan if possible."

"Then the cost of this..." Mitokado Homura found it somewhat troublesome.

Unregistered Clan Ninja were the foundation of every ninja clan. Naturally, the clans kept them firmly in hand and would not readily let them go. To recruit them into Ninja under Konoha's command required more than just official registration—it also required large sums of money and supplies in exchange.

"So it depends on you, Danzo." The Third Hokage turned to Danzo. "The Daimyo's military funding support is crucial. On this trip to Kyoto, you must reach an agreement with the Daimyo."

Danzo merely nodded again.

On the Uchiha Clan's side.

Uchiha Tokimitsu continued following his usual rhythm, leading the clan ninja army through various tactical drills and strengthening their combat readiness as much as possible.

Besides the ninja army under his command from the Radical Faction, the clan head's faction, the Conservative Faction, and the Military Police Force System all followed suit, drawing personnel to form their own ninja armies for concentrated drills and training.

The Uchiha Clan's four ninja armies thus gathered roughly three hundred elite Ninja in total.

Several Lesser Clans close to the Uchiha followed suit as well, beginning to concentrate their clan strength. However, their strength was comparatively lacking, and the ninja armies they formed were relatively smaller.

Seeing this, the other ninja clans also recalled their Ninja from outside and actively prepared for war.

For a time, Konoha's large and small ninja clans seemed to have produced twice as many Ninja overnight. Each clan's ninja army gathered in roaring groups, Ninja leaping and darting, moving high and low through the air. Konoha residents' rooftops needed minor repairs every three days and major repairs every five, while the normally vacant Training Grounds became packed with people.

The Konoha high-ranking officials were both delighted and worried. They were delighted that Konoha's war potential was indeed formidable, capable of handling even an expanded war. But they worried because each clan had separately assembled its own ninja army. Ninja armies bound by blood ties could fight, but they could also cause trouble, making them relatively difficult for Konoha commanders to control.

Especially in certain necessary death traps, they probably could not use those assembled ninja clan armies as expendable bait anymore.

"If only all of Konoha's clans were as selfless as the Senju Clan."

In his office, the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen looked skyward and sighed as he reviewed the wrangling documents concerning the ninja army summons.

Unfortunately, the once-glorious Senju Clan had suffered catastrophic losses during the First Great Ninja War. Apart from Tsunade and the small number of clansmen directly commanded by her, most ordinary Senju clansmen had retired during the Second Generation's era and merged into Konoha's various families, their whereabouts now difficult to trace.

Now, the mainstream ninja clans of Konoha were old powerful houses like the Uchiha and Hyuga, strong in ability and strict in their traditions. Not a single one was easy to fool.

The opportunity to use the war to weaken the ninja clans and suppress their status had died before it could even be put into practice. Konoha's high-ranking officials had no choice but to hold their noses and summon the leaders of the ninja clans to discuss recruiting Clan Ninja.

It was at the Ninja Clan Council that Uchiha Tokimitsu first met the God of Shinobi, the First Hokage of Konoha Senju Hashirama's granddaughter—Tsunade, famed in later legends for her great renown and broad chest.