The Entire Uchiha Clan Joins the Battle?

The next day.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzō, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura arrived at the village gates early in the morning, as decided in yesterday's meeting.

It had been determined that Shimura Danzō would lead the troops, with each clan required to contribute no fewer than thirty jonin, fifty chunin, and one hundred genin—meaning at least one hundred and eighty ninjas per clan.

Counting all the large and small clans, this Konoha army would consist of at least six thousand ninjas.

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood there waiting with calm composure, while Shimura Danzō appeared somewhat worried.

"Hiruzen, tell me, do you think we can actually scrape together these six thousand men?" Shimura Danzō's eyes were dark and unreadable; he did not truly believe those clans would send their core assets to the battlefield.

"They will," Sarutobi Hiruzen said slowly. "There may not be that many jonin, but there is never a shortage of chunin and genin. Even if there were, there are plenty of civilian ninjas to fill the gaps."

Shimura Danzō nodded. "These great clans are all protective of their own interests and focused on preserving their strength. Expecting them to contribute jonin is not very realistic." After saying this, he sighed; the Sarutobi and Shimura clans had been close allies since the Warring States Period.

As elders and heads of their respective clans, they understood the mindset of the ninja clans perfectly, yet unlike the other high-ranking officials, Shimura Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen were the leaders of the village.

They had to think of the village and the war. In truth, if one looked closely, there was no such thing as a complete lack of friction between the great clans; every one of them harbored grudges against the others.

The idea proposed by Senju Hashirama—to build a village, forget past hatreds, and allow people to coexist in peace—was far too idealistic.

Of course, while Senju Hashirama was alive, when one man could crush all opposition, his words were the will of the ninja world.

But not long after he died, the First Shinobi World War broke out. Although he believed in peace, the ninjas of the world believed in power.

"Monkey, look, it seems a clan is arriving over there!" Utatane Koharu tapped Sarutobi Hiruzen on the shoulder. Sarutobi Hiruzen snapped out of his thoughts and looked into the distance.

They saw the Hyuga ninjas, dressed in plain clothes with long hair draped over their shoulders, approaching slowly. Leading them was Hyuga Akagi, who walked toward the village gate with a warm smile.

"The Hyuga Clan's thirty jonin, fifty chunin, and one hundred genin are all present. Please inspect them, Hokage-sama." His voice was extremely confident, and a hint of pride lingered on his face.

The Hyuga Clan was worthy of being mentioned alongside the Senju and Uchiha; they produced these ninjas without batting an eye, though they were all branch family members.

Even so, this was a force on the battlefield that could not be underestimated.

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded and smiled at Hyuga Akagi. "The Hyuga Clan is truly worthy of being a great clan, gathering so many ninjas in just one day."

"There is no need for an inspection. I trust the Hyuga Clan, and I trust Clan Head Akagi!" Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled.

Hyuga Akagi nodded. "Yes!" He then stepped aside and stood with his hands behind his back.

Immediately afterward, the heads of the other clans arrived one after another with their ninjas. How to put it—Sarutobi Hiruzen had been right; basically, they were short on jonin and made up the numbers with genin, each of them lamenting that their clan's strength was insufficient and their numbers were lacking.

Those who understood, understood. To this, Sarutobi Hiruzen still nodded with a smile, comforting them, "It's alright, I know everyone did their best."

Shimura Danzō's expression remained unchanged, but his heart burned with anger; they were all holding back.

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned as he looked at the ninjas present. What about the Uchiha Clan?

The moment this thought crossed his mind, the ground began to vibrate slightly, and over a thousand Uchiha ninjas marched toward the village gate in perfect unison.

The heads of the other ninja clans felt a jolt in their hearts, and when they saw the number of Uchiha ninjas, their expressions changed. Had the Uchiha sent their entire clan?

Sarutobi Hiruzen was stunned at first, then filled with wild joy. Even Shimura Danzō couldn't help but widen his eyes, feeling both pleasantly surprised and incredulous. Had the Uchiha gone mad?

"Hokage-sama!" Uchiha Kō waved. The other elders and clan leaders of the Uchiha had not come today, leaving Uchiha Kō to lead the men.

"Kō, you've come. And this is?" Sarutobi Hiruzen was happy at first, then frowned as he pointed at the Uchiha ninjas.

Uchiha Kō realized he should be formal at this moment, so he stepped back two paces, bowed, and saluted. "Uchiha Kō, bringing two hundred Uchiha jonin, three hundred chunin, and five hundred genin, pledges the full strength of our clan to protect the village and defend the nation! To resist the Sand Dog!"

Uchiha Kō's voice was loud and resonant. The surrounding ninja clans were all shocked. Was this the Uchiha they remembered? They were actually committing their entire clan to fight for the village!

Sarutobi Hiruzen felt Uchiha Kō's sincerity. He scanned the Uchiha ninjas and finally looked at Uchiha Kō. "Thank you for the Uchiha Clan's full support!"

He moved to bow, but Uchiha Kō dared not accept it and stepped forward, yet Sarutobi Hiruzen waved him off and bowed to the Uchiha ninjas.

"You are the Uchiha of Konoha, you were in the past, and you will be in the future. Your contributions are seen by me and all the villagers. As Hokage, I, Sarutobi Hiruzen, thank you for your sacrifice!" Sarutobi Hiruzen bowed to the Uchiha clansmen.

The Uchiha clansmen were moved, and they knelt on one knee. "For the village, for the villagers, it is our duty!"

Even Shimura Danzō felt his blood boil; he began to change his view of the Uchiha Clan. Meanwhile, the previously proud Hyuga clan head felt somewhat awkward.

Regardless of how the Uchiha had been before, this time they had committed their entire clan to fight for the village, a level of resolve that no other clan could compare to.

After this battle, regardless of the outcome, the Uchiha Clan would become the benchmark for Konoha.

Nara Rokumei's eyes lit up when he saw this. He admired Uchiha Kō and the Uchiha Clan, because even he would not have dared to make such a firm decision.

Tsunade was not here at the moment, or she would have been very excited. Due to her proposal for medical ninjas, she had been assigned to manage the village's medical corps and was serving as the medical commander for the war, not participating in the front lines.

The Senju troops stood to the side, watching Uchiha Kō and the Uchiha Clan with a sense of emotion. Indeed, different leadership leads to a different spirit within a clan.

The Uchiha as they appeared now gave them a sense of unity and responsibility.

The Third Hokage looked at all of this with satisfaction and patted Uchiha Kō on the shoulder. He smiled slightly, then gave a look to Shimura Danzō, who understood.

This was Sarutobi Hiruzen telling him to consult with Uchiha Kō more often; this time, he was here to help him.

Shimura Danzō naturally knew this. He looked at Uchiha Kō and squeezed out what he considered to be a bright smile, and Uchiha Kō responded with a smile of his own.