Uchiha Don endured his discomfort and escorted Uchiha Kō to the conference room. Since the Uchiha and the village were currently enjoying a honeymoon period, they weren't holding the meeting at Naka Shrine.
"We're here, Sixth Elder." He gestured toward the conference room, then left. All he wanted now was to lie down and sleep.
Uchiha Kō watched Uchiha Don leave and sighed. Kid, you've still got a long way to go! Then he turned to look at the large conference room.
Not bad! Quite impressive. It was about as large as an entire floor of an office building. He knocked on the door, and a voice came from inside. "Who is it?"
"It's me, Clan Head Guangzhi." As soon as he spoke, the door opened. Uchiha Kō was startled. He looked down and saw that it was Uchiha Fugaku.
Uchiha Fugaku bowed. "Elder Xiao, please follow me." Uchiha Kō nodded. Uchiha Fugaku was still young, yet he always wore a stern expression. Tsk, tsk.
He made people not want to talk to him. But they were in the middle of a meeting, so Uchiha Kō still needed him to show the way.
Soon, with young Fugaku leading him, Uchiha Kō entered the conference room. Uchiha Hirotomo immediately stood up, beaming. "Ah, the Sixth Elder is here! Come, come!"
At the sight of him, a crowd of Red Eyes turned to look, their eyes burning with excitement and delight. They'd heard that Sunagakure had declared war, and Konoha would send ninjas to respond tomorrow.
The Uchiha Clan were all warriors. They weren't good with words—well, except for Uchiha Kō.
They weren't good with words, but that didn't mean they didn't love the village. Rather than talk about it, they'd rather prove through their actions that they loved the village just as much as anyone else!
And Uchiha Kō, their Sixth Elder, was among the very best in Konoha in both strength and military strategy. Everyone knew the outcome of the battle in the Land of Rain, even if no one said it aloud, and they all knew how strong Uchiha Kō was.
"Uh, everyone's looking at me. I'm a little nervous!" Uchiha Kō scratched his head. Damn, so many Red Eyes are staring at me—there must be two hundred pairs!
Wait, no. Wasn't he a Red Eye too? And he had the Three-Tomoe Sharingan! What was there to fear? Apart from Clan Head Guangzhi, who could overpower him?
With that thought, Uchiha Kō's eyes turned red, and the pressure of his Three-Tomoe Sharingan spread through the room. He followed Uchiha Hirotomo to the front, then looked around at everyone.
Uchiha Hirotomo smiled with satisfaction. As expected of the God of War. It only took him a moment to get used to the gazes of more than two hundred Sharingan. Much faster than I managed. He really does have nerves of steel!
Once he'd grown accustomed to the gazes of the Sharingan, Uchiha Kō took the seat Uchiha Hirotomo had specially prepared for him.
It was the third seat to the right of the main seat. After all, he was the Sixth Elder, and his seniority was still limited. The Uchiha valued seniority highly.
The other five elders reacted in different ways. The Hawk Faction elders showed Uchiha Kō goodwill, while Fourth Brother of the Dove Faction snorted. Young people have no manners. Picking on an old man with a sneak attack!
Uchiha Kō returned the Hawk Faction elders' smiles. As for Fourth Brother, he was sorry, but he hadn't seen him.
Fourth Elder's face turned livid at being ignored, while the other elders secretly relished it. The Second Elder still hadn't taken sides. He was watching Uchiha Kō, feeling that following him couldn't possibly be the wrong choice.
The Second Elder was certainly wise and experienced, with a keen eye for people. Still, he needed to observe Uchiha Kō a little longer.
Uchiha Hirotomo coughed twice and took his seat at the head of the clan. His expression turned stern, completely unlike the warmth he'd shown before. "Everyone, I'm sure you know why we've called this meeting!"
"Sunagakure has invaded our Konoha. Lord Hokage has appointed Elder Danzo as the chief commander, with overall responsibility for the campaign. Our Uchiha Clan must cooperate fully!"
"Therefore, I've decided that our Uchiha Clan will send two hundred Jonin, three hundred Chunin, and five hundred Genin, all under the command of the Sixth Elder, Uchiha Kō, the God of War of Konoha!"
At those words, the two hundred Jonin below paled. They wanted to distinguish themselves, protect the village, and defend their homeland, but a thousand Uchiha ninjas meant nearly the entire clan was going to war!
If anything went wrong this time, they would lose almost all of their fighting strength! That was absolutely unacceptable for the clan.
The Hawk Faction elders' faces turned deathly pale. They stared at Hirotomo in disbelief, as if to say, Have you lost your mind? You're committing the entire clan's strength to serve the village!
Uchiha Hirotomo's expression remained unchanged. He believed that now they had sided with Sarutobi Hiruzen, they should, as Konoha's largest clan, commit their full strength to protecting the village and defending the land. Once the battle was over, Konoha would remember the Uchiha Clan forever.
Uchiha Kō looked at Uchiha Hirotomo, stunned. He'd expected Uchiha Hirotomo to send a large force, but he hadn't expected him to go this far. He was going all in!
Uchiha Hirotomo looked at Uchiha Kō. "Sixth Elder, do you have any objections?" He trusted Uchiha Kō deeply, believing that a man's reputation was never undeserved.
Uchiha Kō came back to himself. He felt the weight of that trust, an unconditional trust. He looked at Uchiha Hirotomo and opened his mouth.
At last, he clenched his fist. "Uchiha Kō will follow the clan head's orders. This time, I'll make sure our Uchiha Clan's name rings out, and I'll do everything in my power to minimize our clansmen's casualties!"
Uchiha Kō was fired up. For the first time, someone had trusted him so completely. With a ninja force of this size, he'd believe you if you told him they could conquer the Land of Wind!
Uchiha Kō would do everything in his power to lead this force well!
Uchiha Hirotomo nodded, then said, "I know some of you may have doubts about Kō, but do you know what happened on the battlefield in the Land of Rain last time? Kō commanded an army of Senju, and fewer than thirty of them died!"
"Not one Jonin suffered serious injuries, almost no Chunin died, and the only Genin who were killed were a few who couldn't react in time and were caught by surprise. Have you ever heard of casualties this low? Who has achieved that since the Warring States Period!"
As Uchiha Hirotomo's words rang out, the two hundred Jonin below were all stunned. They'd heard of Uchiha Kō, the God of War of Konoha, but they'd never heard the actual figures.
Now that they had, the worry and fear vanished from their eyes. In its place, they were all fired up, their eyes practically spitting flames!
Uchiha Kō knew he couldn't stay silent any longer. "In the name of the Uchiha, I swear that I, Uchiha Kō, will do everything in my power to keep you all safe!"
The two hundred Uchiha Jonin shouted in unison, "Uchiha ninjas will obey the clan head's orders and follow the Sixth Elder's command! Protect the village and defend the land! Slay the enemy!"
The elders looked at one another, but none of them spoke up. At that moment, the clan's support was behind the clan head and the Sixth Elder, and this expedition represented both the clan and the village.
Trying to stop it now would undermine morale. So they all turned their eyes to Uchiha Kō, praying he would lead the battle wisely and reduce the clan's casualties!
I'm pretty fired up. The author is even more excited than the readers. Committing the strength of the whole clan should be enough to make it into textbooks and the history books. Whatever the outcome, the Uchiha have earned themselves a get-out-of-jail-free card.
Before you continue