This was the first message from the western front after the heavy casualties in the defense of Kikyo Castle, when the combat-ready shinobi there had been reassigned, leaving behind a group of wounded. Unexpectedly, the very first message began with an earth-shattering bombshell:
Thirteen-year-old Uchiha Kin, a Medical Ninja renowned on the battlefield for his Medical Ninjutsu, had become the commander of an army!
And Minato, standing before them, who should have been the one to "take command in a crisis," had actually accepted this without complaint. Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't understand it. What kind of charisma did Uchiha Kin possess? How had he won everyone's trust and become the commander of an entire army?
Although...
This army consisted of just over three hundred wounded men, left behind to put on an "empty fortress" act for the Rock Ninja.
Minato said, "At the time, only three hundred wounded remained on the western front, some lightly injured and others badly hurt. The situation was dire. Our only urgent priority was to blow up Kannagi Bridge, so I proposed a plan to destroy it...
"Kin offered some suggestions at the time, demonstrating exceptional strategic vision. He analyzed the situation among the various countries and proposed..."
He recounted the entire situation in detail. When he mentioned that he had proposed Uchiha Kin as commander and that all the Jonin had agreed, Utatane Koharu couldn't hold back any longer. She sprang up and accused him, "Minato, you're being far too foolish! How could you let Uchiha Kin take command?" In her eyes, Minato should have claimed the position himself—that was what a capable leader would have done.
Minato was taken aback by the inexplicable accusation. "What do you mean, Elder Koharu?"
Just as Utatane Koharu was about to speak, Hiruzen Sarutobi cut her off. "So Uchiha Kin has talents like these, too." There were things he couldn't let Utatane Koharu say. He continued reading the report, and when he saw the astonishing casualty ratio, he spoke again. "Impossible! This can't be true!" He asked Minato, "Are these casualty figures accurate?"
"Our side lost 37, and the enemy lost 3,677. They're accurate. Kin controls the battlefield like an artist. His use of Phoenix Sage Fire in large-scale troop engagements, in particular, was eye-opening and almost unbelievable."
Next came the negotiations. The report included the whole story, supporting photocopies, and even the "considerations."
But this time Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent, his face dark as water... A sense of "losing control" crept from his spine into every limb, filling him with a deep unease. It felt like free-falling from a sheer cliff, terrifying him. He took a deep breath, set down the report, and began to think.
He tried hard to recall everything he knew about Uchiha Kin, but couldn't think of much. Uchiha Kin had seemed unremarkable at the Academy, and Hiruzen had had little contact with him.
He had kept an eye on some of the students, but Uchiha Kin wasn't among them. Like the other civilians, Kin had blended into the crowd.
What should he do? Hiruzen Sarutobi thought long and hard, but came up with nothing. He couldn't make Uchiha Kin give up Qingshi Town. He couldn't even let Kin show the slightest hint of "opposition"—otherwise, it would mark the end of his career as Hokage.
But if they really carried out the terms of the agreement, it seemed the Uchiha Clan would no longer be under the Hidden Leaf Village's control.
After a long while, Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Minato about some details in the report. "Was it Danzo who leaked the intelligence to the Cloud Ninja?" To Hiruzen, this detail was far more frightening than Uchiha Kin becoming a vassal of the Land of Earth and governing Qingshi Town. He thought, "Danzo, have you betrayed us?"
Of the four of them, Danzo had always been the most hostile toward the Uchiha. But what did this report say?
Uchiha Kin had become commander, and Danzo hadn't opposed him. Not only that, Danzo had even carried out Kin's order.
Danzo... What was he really trying to do?
"Yes. Lord Danzo readily accepted the order and sent his subordinates to carry it out..." Minato replied.
Hiruzen Sarutobi then asked about some of the details of the negotiations. The more he heard, the more stifled he felt, until it was almost hard to breathe.
He took a deep breath and did his best to steady himself, then dismissed Minato Squad to rest. Soon, only three people remained in the mission hall.
Mitokado Homura suddenly spoke. "The fighting on the western front is over. That means the pressure on the village has eased considerably. Should we transfer Uchiha Kin's unit to the eastern front?"
"No!" "No!" Hiruzen Sarutobi and Utatane Koharu spoke at the same time.
Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "The western front has just come through a major battle. Uchiha Kin's unit needs to rest there." Utatane Koharu was more blunt. "He turned the tide of a rout with three hundred wounded, inflicted casualties of 37 to 3,677, and secured Qingshi Town through negotiations... He's already made himself more than conspicuous enough. We can't let him appear on the battlefield again!"
"He's Konoha's finest Medical Ninja, and one of the world's leading experts in battlefield medical techniques. If he doesn't appear on the battlefield, what will the village's shinobi think?" Mitokado Homura asked a pointed question.
"But he's not only the finest Medical Ninja. He's also a military genius who routed the Rock Ninja with three hundred men and left nearly four thousand corpses on the battlefield. If he reaches the front lines, how could he possibly remain in the role of a Medical Ninja?"
Utatane Koharu's point was crucial, too. If Uchiha Kin wasn't allowed to go, the shinobi would resent the leadership. If he was allowed to go, command of the battlefield would change hands.
Just based on the contents of this report, Uchiha Kin had already become more than conspicuous enough. If he made the rounds of the other two battlefronts as well, then the moment he returned in triumph, a group of shinobi would be draping a Hokage cloak over his shoulders—"Let's not let the commander catch a chill"—and putting the Hokage's hat on his head—"The sun's rather harsh. Let's give the commander some shade."
The three of them were silent for quite a while before Hiruzen Sarutobi made his decision. "Uchiha Kin cannot go to the eastern front, nor can he go to Kikyo Castle.
"Although the western front has already made peace, there's still a great deal of work for him to handle as commander. He can't leave."
Utatane Koharu nodded. "That's a good excuse." But she still added a backup plan. "If things come to it and most people grow dissatisfied, we can pin it on Danzo... It's not as if he can't take one more hit...
"We'll say he was jealous of the talented, and that he sent people to kill the shinobi carrying the transfer order. We sent the order, but Uchiha Kin never received it."
"Then that's how we'll handle it. We'll spread word discreetly that Uchiha Kin can't leave the western front, without using official channels. If there's no trouble, we'll let the matter drop. If there is, we'll use Danzo as a shield..."
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