"If he had a Hokage for a father, I'm sure Kakashi would be proud of his father, full of motivation, and work even harder."
"And Kakashi has what it takes to become Hokage, too."
"With two generations of Hokage back to back, the Hatake Clan would grow stronger than ever."
As the last slice of beef went down, the gathering came to an end.
The position of Hokage held little appeal for Hatake Sakumo.
But Kakashi's existence had forced Hatake Sakumo to admit that Uchiha Yuji had convinced him.
With the Uchiha Police Force no longer dragging the clan down, once Hatake Sakumo—stubborn as he was—took office as Hokage, the people's support across every level of society, the Uchiha's newly freed time to strengthen themselves, and, most importantly, Uchiha Yuji as their leader would all be on their side.
The Uchiha Clan had nothing left to fear.
Uchiha Yuji did not attend the Jonin meeting the next day.
But word that Hatake Sakumo had been appointed commander-in-chief in the Land of Earth reached him at once.
"You've all heard the news, right?"
The tomoe in Uchiha Yuji's eyes spun rapidly as his blood-red Mangekyo stared down at the Uchiha standing in neat formation.
"I have nothing else to say. Just one thing."
"Show those Iwa brats the might of the Uchiha. Make them submit to the fear of being ruled by us!"
No one answered. Their response was a row of bloodthirsty grins and the madly spinning blood-red tomoe in their eyes.
Hatake Sakumo had a particular fondness for decapitation and spearhead tactics.
Not only did they let him cripple the enemy command structure in the shortest possible time, they also protected his own people.
If you killed every enemy, you'd protected your own!
Wiping out all the enemies was the perfect stealth mission!
The plan was simple: Hatake Sakumo, Might Duy, and Uchiha Yuji would lead a group of Three-Tomoe Uchiha straight for Iwagakure at full speed.
After crushing Iwa's battle formation, Hatake Sakumo and Might Duy would hold the line while Uchiha Yuji led his people toward the Land of Lightning, piercing the Lightning ninja's defenses faster than Orochimaru.
It might have looked like a complicated series of maneuvers.
In reality, there were only two steps.
Charge! Kill!
They just had to cut their way from the Land of Fire to the Land of Earth, then on to the Land of Lightning. Simple as that.
Before the departing force was even ready, Hatake Sakumo had already joined up with the Uchiha.
The morning sunlight carried a slight chill, but the sight of an unbroken sea of blood-red tomoe made the air feel colder still.
"Move out," Hatake Sakumo said simply.
Everyone else was a Jonin, with the exception of Might Duy, who was a Genin. They moved with extraordinary speed.
Sustained by Military Ration Pills, they reached the battlefield in the Land of Grass far sooner than Iwa had anticipated.
The small group didn't even bother to inform Mimura Hamaki, the frontline commander of Konoha's defensive forces against Iwa. They simply charged straight for Kannabi Bridge.
The war had only just begun. Konoha and Iwa had yet to clash, so Iwa had built its defensive line along Kannabi Bridge to avoid being trapped.
The formation was excellent for defense. Once an enemy crossed Kannabi Bridge, the Iwa forces could cut off the route back to the bridge and surround them, beating them to a pulp.
The Iwa ninja could only watch as Hatake Sakumo's squad raced across Kannabi Bridge.
Hatake Sakumo was famous, and the sight of his white hair and the short blade on his back made the Iwa ninja recognize him at once.
Though the sight of Hatake Sakumo leading a group of Uchiha was a little strange, the Iwa ninja didn't think much of it.
The White Fang was strong, but that was against the Sand ninja, who favored elite fighters. We, the Iwa, are the largest ninja village. Surely all of us can beat one small squad.
Could that little short sword of yours really cut down this many people?
One spit from each of us would drown your whole squad!
Charging straight into our formation like a fool—do you think your chakra is endless?
"Earth Release: Earth Mausoleum Dumpling!"
Huge, dumpling-shaped boulders came flying from every direction. The Iwa ninja had thrown them so often that their aim was excellent; not a single one missed the squad.
Hatake Sakumo had already gripped his pure white short blade, but he did not immediately swing the White Fang.
Terrifying chakra erupted from Uchiha Yuji. Dense Yin Release Chakra condensed in an instant, and the giant Susanoo swung a thirty-meter-long chakra sword with both hands.
The sturdy earthen dumplings were sliced apart with ease, and chakra shockwaves from its slashes spread in every direction without restraint.
The Iwa ninja had prepared for their attacks to be blocked, but they had never imagined they would be destroyed so brutally.
By the time the slashing waves reached them, it was too late to dodge.
What kind of speed was that?!
The thought had barely formed when the waves swallowed them up, then continued flying into the distance without slowing down.
The Iwa ninja who narrowly dodged the slashing waves couldn't suppress their fear. They instinctively looked toward Susanoo.
The three spinning blood-red tomoe were all most of them saw.
They knew they were caught in a genjutsu, but breaking the Three-Tomoe illusion was difficult in the moment. As they desperately tried to dispel it, the White Fang's short blade was already upon them.
The Iwa ninja who could use the Hardening Technique were usually in the habit of coating themselves in a layer of defense before battle. Ordinary Kunai and Shuriken struggled to pierce it, greatly improving their odds of survival on the battlefield.
But when facing Hatake Sakumo, the ninja who used this technique only attracted his attention and became his prey.
The pure white blade struck the Iwa ninja's body. Though the Hardening Technique had been applied, the White Fang passed through without the slightest resistance.
The two halves of the body spilled blood like a fountain. Hatake Sakumo's stride never faltered as he stepped over the remains. A few drops of blood clung to his white hair, making him look even more fearsome.
The Uchiha fought with less brute force: blades at throats, wire severing heads, their elegance on full display in the silence.
A kick from Might Duy left bodies where they stood, the power of the Steel Fist plain to see.
By the time Hatake Sakumo had dashed through and dispatched the enemies in front of him, the Uchiha had finished clearing the area, and they followed close behind him across the sea of blood.
When the Konoha guards heard the rumbling and came out to gather information, all they saw was a series of red-and-white Uchiwa Crests fading into the distance.
I've got a bit of a cold and a fever. Sorry for the trouble.
Before you continue