Danzo: Ha, I didn't even show up, and the blame is already prepared for me?

This is the first piece of news from the western front after the heavy casualties of the Kikyo Castle defense battle, where available ninja were conscripted, leaving behind a group of wounded soldiers. Unexpectedly, this first message was a bombshell from the outset:

Uchiha Kin, a thirteen-year-old boy, a Medical Ninja renowned on the battlefield for his Medical Ninjutsu, had become the commander of an army!

And Minato before him, the one who should have been "appointed in a moment of crisis," had readily accepted this. Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't quite understand what kind of magic Uchiha Kin possessed, or how he had convinced everyone to become the commander of an entire army.

Although...

This entire army consisted of just over three hundred wounded soldiers, left behind to perform a "Empty Fort Strategy" for the Rock Ninja.

Minato said, "At that time, there were only three hundred wounded soldiers left on the western front, some lightly injured and some severely. The situation was extremely dire. The most urgent task was to blow up Kannagi Bridge, so I proposed the plan to destroy the bridge..."

"At that time, Kin offered some opinions, displaying exceptional strategic vision, analyzing the current situation of the various nations, and proposing..."

He recounted the entire situation. When he mentioned that the High Ninja unanimously agreed to appoint Uchiha Kin as commander, Utatane Koharu couldn't hold back and jumped out to accuse, "Minato, you're being foolish! How could you let Uchiha Kin be the commander?" In her opinion, Minato should have removed this commander right then and there—that's what a qualified leader should do.

Minato was somewhat stunned by this inexplicable accusation and asked, "What does Elder Koharu mean?"

Just as Utatane Koharu was about to speak, Hiruzen Sarutobi interrupted her, "So, Uchiha Kin has such talent." There were some things he couldn't let Utatane Koharu say. He continued reading the report, and upon seeing the exaggerated casualty ratio, he exclaimed again, "Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!" He then asked Minato, "Is this casualty count true?"

"Our side had 37 deaths, while the enemy had 3677. This is indeed true. Kin's control on the battlefield is like that of an artist. Especially the application of Phoenix Sage Fire in large-scale army operations, it opened my eyes and was simply unbelievable."

Next, it came to the negotiation part. It included the cause and effect, even relevant copies, and "considerations."

However, this time Hiruzen Sarutobi became silent, his expression as grim as water... A sense of "loss of control" seeped from his spine into his limbs, giving him a strong sense of unease. It felt like free-falling from a ten-thousand-foot cliff, filled with fear. He took a deep breath, put down the report, and began to think.

In his mind, he tried his best to recall Uchiha Kin, but he couldn't remember much. Uchiha Kin seemed unremarkable at school, and he had no interaction with Uchiha Kin.

He paid attention to some students, but Uchiha Kin was not among them. This Uchiha Kin, like those commoners, was lost in the crowd.

What should he do? Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered for a long time, but found no solution. He couldn't let Uchiha Kin give up Qingshi Town; he couldn't even have the slightest "opposition"—otherwise, this would be the end of his Hokage career.

But if the terms were to be executed as they were, the Uchiha Clan would seem to be beyond Konoha's control.

After a long while, Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Minato about some issues in the report, "Was it Danzo who carried out the leaking of information to the Cloud Ninja?" This detail, in Hiruzen Sarutobi's view, was far more terrifying than Uchiha Kin about to become a vassal of the Land of Earth and rule Qingshi Town. He thought to himself, "Danzo, have you betrayed us?"

Among the four of them, Danzo was the one who most vehemently opposed the Uchiha. Yet, what appeared in this report?

Not only did Danzo not oppose Uchiha Kin becoming commander, but he had also executed Uchiha Kin's order.

Danzo... what exactly did he want to do?

"Yes, Lord Danzo readily accepted this order and sent his subordinates to carry it out..." Minato replied.

Hiruzen Sarutobi then inquired about some details of the negotiation, and the more he listened, the more suffocated he felt, to the point where he could barely breathe.

Taking a deep breath and calming his mind as much as possible, Hiruzen Sarutobi told Minato's squad to rest. Soon, only three people were left in the mission hall.

Mitokado Homura suddenly spoke, "The fighting on the western front has ended, which has greatly reduced the pressure on the village. Should we transfer Uchiha Kin's unit to the eastern front?"

"No!" "No!" Hiruzen Sarutobi and Utatane Koharu said simultaneously.

Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "The western front just experienced a major battle, and Uchiha Kin's unit needs to rest in place." In comparison, Utatane Koharu was more direct, "With three hundred wounded soldiers, they turned the tide of defeat, achieved a casualty ratio of 37 to 3677, and negotiated to take Qingshi Town... He has already shone brightly enough. We cannot let him continue to appear on the battlefield!"

"As Konoha's number one, the world's top battlefield medical ninja, if he doesn't appear on the battlefield, how will the village's ninja view this?" Mitokado Homura asked a soul-searching question.

"But while he is the best medical ninja, he is also a military genius who defeated the Rock Ninja with three hundred men, leaving nearly four thousand bodies in one battle. Once he reaches the battlefield, how can he be considered just a medical ninja?"

This point raised by Utatane Koharu was also extremely critical. If Uchiha Kin was not allowed to go, the ninja would have opinions about the higher-ups; if Uchiha Kin was allowed to go, the command of the battlefield would change hands.

Based on this report alone, Uchiha Kin was already brilliant enough. If he were to visit the other two battlefields, by the time Uchiha Kin returned triumphantly, a group of ninja would be draping him in a Hokage robe, saying, "Don't let the commander catch a cold," and putting on a Hokage hat, saying, "The sun is a bit harsh, let's shade the commander."

The three were silent for a while, and then Hiruzen Sarutobi set the tone: "Uchiha Kin cannot go to the eastern front, nor can he go to Kikyo Castle."

"Although the western front has just signed a peace treaty, there are still a lot of things for him as commander to handle, and he cannot be detached."

Utatane Koharu nodded, "That's a good explanation." However, she still added a patch, "If things get really bad and most people are dissatisfied, we can push it onto Danzo... He doesn't lack this kind of thing anyway..."

"Jealous of the capable, Danzo sent people to kill the ninja delivering the transfer order halfway. So, we issued the order, but Uchiha Kin doesn't know."

"Then, let's arrange it like this. We will secretly spread the news that Uchiha Kin cannot be detached in the west, without going through official channels. If there are no problems, we'll leave it as is. If there are problems, we'll use Danzo to cover..."