Uchiha! March to War!

The Hokage's imperial decree mobilizing the Uchiha Ninja Army arrived at the Uchiha Clan Head's residence the next day, along with two appointment letters.

The mobilization order itself was no issue. The Uchiha Clan had known this day would come ever since it began assembling clan ninja into a formal ninja army. The Uchiha Clan and the Hokage Faction had not been digging at each other's foundations for merely a day or two.

But the contents of the appointment letters gave Uchiha Shifang, as Clan Head, quite a headache.

The Clan Head's eldest son, Uchiha Fugaku, noticed that something was wrong with his father's expression. Ignoring any intelligence confidentiality protocols, he picked up the imperial decree and started reading.

He was greatly shocked as well.

...Uchiha Kamon, Jonin, is hereby exceptionally promoted to Commander of the Northwest Border Defense Force; following evaluation, Uchiha Tokimitsu is hereby specially granted the rank of 'Special Jonin' and promoted to Deputy Commander of the Northwest Border Defense Force.

"This is deliberately sowing discord within our clan ninja army!"

After reading the decree, Uchiha Fugaku's face was filled with fury.

As Elder Setsuna's personal guard captain, Uchiha Kamon's role as the Radical Faction's leader of the clan ninja army was to pave the way for the eight-year-old Uchiha Tokimitsu, helping him establish his authority so he could smoothly suppress dissent within the clan and win people's loyalty. The Uchiha Clan and even the other ninja clans all knew this perfectly well.

Normally, the leader of a clan ninja army should have been arranged by the ninja clan itself. Yet the Hokage Faction had not only appointed one directly, but had also made Uchiha Kamon—the transitional figure—the commander, while granting Uchiha Tokimitsu only the rank of Special Jonin. If Tokimitsu were narrow-minded, would he not resent the man paving his way and cause division within the ranks?

Uchiha Tokimitsu's position had been endorsed by Uchiha Setsuna, the Great Elder of the Radical Faction, and all of it rested on the foundation of his talent and strength. The Radical Faction called him the "Young Lord" and regarded him as the future of the clan. Although, as the Clan Head's eldest son, Fugaku felt some dissatisfaction and unease over Tokimitsu's increasingly prominent status, he could not tolerate his clansmen being provoked so openly.

"Should we reject this decree for now?" Uchiha Fugaku asked.

Uchiha Shifang pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head. "Call Tokimitsu-kun over first. We should discuss it with him."

When Uchiha Tokimitsu arrived at the Clan Head's residence and learned why he had been summoned, he could not help but smile.

Seeing how unconcerned Uchiha Tokimitsu seemed, Uchiha Shifang and his son looked at each other.

"Tokimitsu-kun, this order from the Hokage... carries a little intent to sow discord. Should we return it and reject it first?" Thinking that Uchiha Tokimitsu did not understand the hidden trap in the decree, Uchiha Fugaku deliberately pointed it out.

"That won't be necessary. Uncle Kamon is serving as commander of the Land of Fire's Border Defense Force. That is inherently within the Hokage's power of appointment." Uchiha Tokimitsu deliberately emphasized the words "Land of Fire."

Clan Head Uchiha Shifang suddenly understood.

Although the Uchiha Clan would inevitably form the main force of the Northwest Border Defense Force after the Uchiha Ninja Army joined it, as a permanent border defense unit, it would certainly include other ninja as well in order to form a complete combat system. Furthermore, Uchiha Kamon was a Jonin in his prime who had enjoyed a fine reputation in his youth. It was reasonable enough for him to command a Frontier Army; at the very least, he was more convincing than Uchiha Tokimitsu.

"Then... what about you, Tokimitsu-kun?"

"Me?" Uchiha Tokimitsu raised an eyebrow. "Naturally, I will take over from Uncle Kamon and command the Uchiha Ninja Army."

That worked out perfectly.

Uchiha Shifang and his son nodded in agreement.

"The Hokage Faction... truly understands petty propriety while losing sight of great righteousness, obsesses over trifles while lacking great virtue." Uchiha Tokimitsu looked over the Hokage's decree again and sneered.

"Then... we will accept this decree?"

"No... the clan should draft another document and send it to the Hokage's Office Building, where they can stamp and publish it." Uchiha Tokimitsu smacked his lips as he spoke.

Uchiha Shifang and his son looked at each other, unable to understand. Since he did not care about the decree's contents, why rewrite it?

Looking at these two political idiots who had no idea what was going on, Uchiha Tokimitsu felt rather helpless inside.

"By tradition, the leader of a clan ninja army is arranged by the ninja clan itself. That is correct." Uchiha Tokimitsu waved the decree in his hand. "But since these are public offices of the village, they should in principle obey the village's arrangements. However, most of the ninja in the army, including myself, are not registered with the village. Though we have accepted wartime mobilization this time, we are absolutely not under the village's command. Only you, Clan Head, can order us into battle. This concerns the fundamental issue of authority and responsibility. Therefore, this document must be returned, and a new one drafted with every duty clearly defined, so as to establish the clan's prestige and standing."

Uchiha Tokimitsu's explanation finally made Uchiha Shifang and Uchiha Fugaku understand.

Uchiha Tokimitsu also grumbled to himself. No wonder the Uchiha Clan in the original story got played like fools and ultimately met such a miserable end, dying out as a clan. With political skills like these, it was no surprise that even with control over the Konoha Military Police Force, they were pushed into rebellion.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Uchiha Tokimitsu took his leave. There was still a mountain of preparation to make before the ninja army set off. Now that the mobilization order had been confirmed, they had to prepare according to the contingency plan.

After Uchiha Tokimitsu left, the Clan Head sighed to his eldest son, "This child truly cannot be underestimated."

Uchiha Fugaku opened his mouth as if to say something, but did not know where to begin.

"As the direct heir of the clan's Main Family, you must possess the capacity to accept others. Only by embracing all can you balance the various family lineages and lead the clan to restore its former glory." Uchiha Shifang knew that his son was still somewhat unconvinced. "The clan's succession has its own ordained course; it is not determined solely by strength. And besides..."

Uchiha Shifang paused.

"The clan can no longer endure another Naraku no Yomiyama Battle."

Those words were heavy. Uchiha Fugaku hurriedly nodded in agreement.

After returning home, Uchiha Tokimitsu reported the village's mobilization order to his parents. No matter how strong-willed Emiko was, seeing her eight-year-old child don armor and head into battle inevitably left her worried and distressed. Tears dampened her clothes, and Uchiha Tokimitsu and his father, Uchiha Nakagen, hurriedly comforted her. Only after she calmed down did he leave home for Elder Setsuna's residence to report the matter.

Elder Setsuna had already learned of the mobilization order. When Uchiha Tokimitsu arrived, he did not stand on ceremony, merely instructing him one by one on the various essentials a ninja army commander needed to know. Uchiha Tokimitsu humbly accepted his guidance. The Elder then summoned Uchiha Kamon and gave him another round of instructions.

"...This deployment concerns the prestige of our clan. We must achieve a great victory," Elder Setsuna said solemnly. "We Uchiha are, in the end, a clan of battle. Being trapped within the village, managing the Konoha Military Police Force and dealing with all those petty affairs, while being hindered by every sort of criticism, does nothing but wear away our will and brings no benefit whatsoever to the growth of the clan's strength. But every Uchiha child is the future of the clan. During wartime, you must take good care of them and never let them rashly enter dangerous ground..."

Uchiha Tokimitsu and Uchiha Kamon readily accepted his words.

Once Elder Setsuna had finished, Uchiha Tokimitsu solemnly bowed in thanks.

Watching the respectful and impeccably mannered Uchiha Tokimitsu, Elder Setsuna was filled with emotion.

For this old man who placed the clan above all else, nothing was more gratifying than seeing a younger clansman grow at a speed beyond ordinary people. Yet while he had intended for Uchiha Tokimitsu to grow quickly through war, having an eight-year-old boy take part in a major battle while bearing the responsibility of leading a ninja army left him unsure whether this was healthy encouragement or forcing a seedling to grow.

After all, no one could guarantee absolute safety on a battlefield that changed by the moment.

Elder Setsuna stroked Uchiha Tokimitsu's soft hair and forced aside his reluctance to part.

"Go. An eagle must always soar alone."

Mobilizing an army was always an immensely complicated affair, no matter what world or dimension one was in.

This was also Uchiha Tokimitsu's first time serving as the leader of a ninja army, so he personally handled every type of matter. He applied to the Hokage's Office Building one by one for ninja tools, Military Rations Pills, medical supplies, and other equipment according to the army's allocation standards, and personally inspected them.

Although the Hokage's Office Building was dissatisfied that the Uchiha Clan had returned the decree and rewritten it, it was eager to send the Uchiha Clan to fill the gap in the Land of Earth. Therefore, it did not obstruct them. Every reasonable request Uchiha Tokimitsu made was met, and supplies of every kind were issued in the best possible quality, lest the Uchiha find an excuse to delay.

On the third day after receiving the mobilization order—May 3rd, Year 35 of Konoha—Uchiha Tokimitsu led the Uchiha Ninja Army out on its first campaign.

The Third Hokage personally saw off the Uchiha Ninja Army. He highly praised the Uchiha Clan's fearless spirit in daring to take the lead for Konoha, then used the opportunity to deliver another long-winded speech on the Will of Fire, drawing rounds of applause from the watching villagers.

Uchiha Tokimitsu grew drowsy as he listened to the Hokage speak. He already held prejudices against the Third Hokage because of memories from his previous life, and the empty, tedious ideology known as the Will of Fire held not at all any appeal for someone from the age of information explosion.

Including Uchiha Kamon and Uchiha Tokimitsu as commander and deputy commander, the Uchiha and their Affiliated Ninja Clans had dispatched a total of thirty-nine Jonin and one hundred forty-six Chunin. In addition, the village had specially transferred three hundred registered ninja into the formation on a temporary basis, to reinforce and rotate the Border Defense Force facing the Land of Earth.

However, after casually flipping through the profiles of the temporarily assigned ninja, Uchiha Tokimitsu could not help but sigh.

The three hundred ninja were almost all veteran Genin and newly promoted Chunin. There were only three Jonin, each serving as a squad leader. The leaders of the subordinate three-person combat squads included both Chunin and Genin. Their quality was exceedingly uneven, and they had all been assembled at short notice without prior joint training. They were strangers to one another, and there was no need to test their coordination to know how poor it would be.

Uchiha Tokimitsu suspected that even fifty Uchiha Chunin selected at random with their eyes closed would probably be enough to wipe out this supposedly ninja army that had been temporarily incorporated.

The three regiment commanders were named Shimura Takewu, Nakagawa Tsunashige, and Nagashima Daigo. Aside from Shimura Takewu, who came from a ninja clan and was also a relative of Danzo, the latter two were commoners. They belonged to the Ninja Academy Faction, having graduated from the Ninja Academy and risen through the ranks during the Second Generation's administration. Their strength was nothing exceptional.

Though Uchiha Tokimitsu was nominally the deputy commander, he was in fact the leader of the Uchiha Ninja Army. After reading the intelligence, he could not be bothered with this band of scum troops, which in his eyes were mostly rotten fish and spoiled shrimp. But Uchiha Kamon, as the force commander, had to speak with them and learn the situation. He also transferred personnel from the Affiliated Ninja Clans into this rabble, intending to take control of the unit as soon as possible.

For this campaign, the Uchiha Radical Faction dispatched twenty Jonin and forty-six Chunin, while the Konoha Military Police Force transferred five Jonin and thirty Chunin. Including Uchiha Tokimitsu himself, the Uchiha Clan alone fielded twenty-six Jonin. After discussing the matter, Uchiha Tokimitsu and Uchiha Kamon decided to assign all twelve Jonin and eighty Chunin dispatched by the Affiliated Ninja Clans to the Border Defense Force under their command, where they would form its core strength.

Thus, a ninja army of four hundred eighty-five men officially took shape. But apart from the Uchiha ninja directly commanded by Uchiha Tokimitsu, the other ninja could only be described as barely satisfactory in combat strength.

After the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, finally finished his speech with lingering reluctance, Uchiha Kamon, as commander, dryly tossed out a few words before waving his hand. The ninja army set off!

A ninja army's assembly and march differed from the Daimyo's Garrison Army. Ninja skilled at leaping high and running low naturally would not form neat ranks and march in step, though the force was broadly divided into vanguard, center, rear, and Reconnaissance Troops. Though the three temporarily assigned regiment commanders were only barely satisfactory in strength, they were experienced veteran ninja. Faced with the overwhelming strength of the Uchiha Ninja Army, they had no intention whatsoever of resisting orders. They carried out every arrangement made by Uchiha Kamon and every reorganization of the ninja under their command without a single mistake.

This left Uchiha Tokimitsu, who had somewhat hoped to find a troublemaker to make an example of through beheading, rather disappointed.

Damn it, why wasn't there even a chance to crush someone with overwhelming strength and slap them in the face? These nameless background ninja were actually so tactful. How boring.

Seeing that every one of Uchiha Kamon's orders went smoothly, Uchiha Tokimitsu could not help muttering to himself.

Marching was always boring.

Since the flames of war had not yet reached the Land of Fire, and no formal declaration of war had been made against the Land of Earth, the march was generally uneventful. Moreover, Uchiha Kamon did not lower his guard simply because they were traveling within their own territory. He strictly avoided cities and crowds, traveling by night and resting by day. Every measure of concealment and reconnaissance was thoroughly carried out. During the march, he also learned about the ninja under his command one by one, mixing all ninja outside the Uchiha Ninja Army into combined units and conducting joint drills as they traveled. His methods of winning them over through personal talks while retraining and reorganizing them left Uchiha Tokimitsu deeply impressed.

The Uchiha might have been a little lacking in political struggles, but the clan's elites were certainly capable of commanding troops in battle.

The journey remained calm and unhurried. A distance that ninja could normally cover in two days took a full five days under Uchiha Kamon's command.

Though the march was slow, it was highly effective. As the dispersed and mixed ninja army traveled, its members gradually calmed the tension of heading into battle and became familiar with one another. Carrying out reconnaissance, cover, camp construction, and various other tasks during the march also deepened their mutual understanding. The entire force's spirit and bearing had become completely different from when it first set out.

On the fifth day, the reinforcements commanded by Uchiha Kamon and Uchiha Tokimitsu arrived at the Garrison Camp in the Land of Grass of the Northwest Border Defense Force. Kunugi Mokume, the commander stationed there, had been anxiously awaiting them.