The Rift

After cleaning up the battlefield here...

Uchiha Shin and Uchiha Hana, along with five ninja squads, followed Uchiha Goichi to meet up with Uchiha Tajima and the others.

The Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka clans had suffered the heaviest losses in this ambush.

The Hagoromo Clan came next.

As for the Uchiha Clan, their losses had actually been minimal. Only a few Genin had been seriously injured or killed.

The Uchiha Clan had lost none of its elite Jonin or mid-ranking Chunin. That was a small blessing in the midst of misfortune.

"Clan Head."

Uchiha Goichi led his squad over to Uchiha Tajima and greeted him.

Then he glanced at the many Land of Fire soldiers kneeling with their hands clasped over their heads. He looked hesitant, as if he had something to say but couldn't bring himself to speak.

Uchiha Tajima understood, even without Uchiha Goichi having to say a word.

The Uchiha Clan now faced a dilemma...

They could turn against the Daimyo of the Land of Fire right now, seize this batch of standard-issue weapons and equipment, and take the opportunity to draw the Hagoromo Clan and the Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka clans into an alliance.

After all, several ninjas from those clans had died in this battle. In that sense, they shared a common enemy: the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

Because of the Daimyo's underhanded tactics, the Senju Clan had willingly become his lapdogs and joined forces with him to deal with the other clans.

After that precedent had been set, the other clans in the Land of Fire couldn't help wondering whether the Daimyo might target them someday, too.

It was like in the martial arts novels of his previous life. The fighting between sects was one thing, but if a sect willingly became the court's lackeys and slaughtered their fellow martial artists...

That was something else entirely.

If things continued like this, everyone would be on edge. Who would dare befriend a martial arts sect that served as the court's lackeys?

Uchiha Tajima believed that anyone with even a little political insight would never be willing to ally with the Senju Clan again.

After all, having someone above them pulling the strings would be a real headache for clans that were used to living freely.

But did the Uchiha Clan have the strength to turn against the Daimyo of the Land of Fire?

Uchiha Tajima couldn't help hesitating.

The Daimyo's ninja forces weren't strong enough to threaten the Uchiha Clan.

But the Daimyo of the Land of Fire had money.

One of the main sources of income for many clans in the Land of Fire was the payment they received for missions commissioned by the Daimyo.

Where there was a generous reward, there would always be someone willing to take the risk. Even Uchiha Tajima couldn't be sure that the other clans in the Land of Fire were truly willing to cut ties with the Daimyo.

After all, everyone needed money...

Whether it was keeping the clan alive or training ninjas, all the resources they needed depended on money.

So, in any era or world, it was all the same: money had its own kind of power.

If something could be solved with money, it wasn't really a problem.

Even Kakuzu in the original Naruto story had loved money, hadn't he?

Forget it. He'd better call over the Hagoromo Clan's head and the Yamanaka clan head so they could discuss it together.

Uchiha Tajima decided to share the burden. If they were going to share the benefits, shouldn't they share the risks, too?

Once he had made up his mind...

Before long, Uchiha Ryozo, the head of the Hagoromo Clan, and Yamanaka Makoto, the head of the Yamanaka Clan, were summoned by Uchiha Clan ninjas.

"Is there something else?"

"Clan Head Uchiha Tajima!"

The Ino-Shika-Cho Clans had suffered the heaviest losses. Though Yamanaka Makoto didn't dare provoke the Uchiha Clan, he couldn't hide the bitter look on his face.

Hagoromo Ryozo was in no better mood. He had been planning to ask Uchiha Tajima for some compensation.

But before he could bring it up to Uchiha Tajima, he had been summoned by the Uchiha Clan's ninjas.

"If you have something to say, then say it. Things have come to this point. There's no need to hide anything."

Hagoromo Ryozo spoke to Uchiha Tajima with some impatience.

Uchiha Tajima paid no mind to his attitude. They had more important things to deal with.

After all, in this world there were no permanent enemies or friends, only shared interests.

With things as they were, Uchiha Tajima stopped hiding anything. He laid out everything behind the mission...

He told Hagoromo Ryozo and Yamanaka Makoto all of it, including his suspicions and concerns.

"What?"

"You're saying the Daimyo of the Land of Fire is behind all this?"

"He wants to use this to weaken or even wipe out the Uchiha Clan?"

"So he can prepare to unite all the shinobi clans in the Land of Fire?"

After listening to Uchiha Tajima, Yamanaka Makoto stared at him in shock, as if he were hearing some Arabian Nights tale.

"How could that possibly be?"

Yamanaka Makoto muttered in disbelief.

"Hmph. Why not?"

Compared with Yamanaka Makoto, who was inexperienced, Hagoromo Ryozo had much sharper political instincts.

"The Daimyo of the Land of Fire wants to control both the military and the government."

"Commissions let him hire ninjas from the clans instead of raising his own. It saves him a lot of trouble and effort..."

"But clans are armed forces, and their existence is inherently unsettling."

"If the Daimyo of the Land of Fire were content to preserve the status quo, that would be one thing."

"But this Daimyo is clearly an ambitious man."

"Would someone like that ever feel at ease with armed clans like ours existing in his country?"

At Yamanaka Makoto's shock and disbelief, Hagoromo Ryozo looked at him with contempt. The clans were the clans, yet he didn't even have the political awareness or insight to understand this.

He was bound to end up as cannon fodder sooner or later.

"Hmph!"

"Then what do you plan to do, Clan Head Tajima?"

"After all, you were the one who initiated this joint mission."

Hagoromo Ryozo fixed his gaze on Uchiha Tajima.

"What do you think?"

"Among the clans in the Land of Fire, the Uchiha and Senju are the strongest, and your Hagoromo Clan comes next..."

"I'm right about that, aren't I, Clan Head Hagoromo?"

Hagoromo Ryozo silently nodded at Uchiha Tajima's words.

The Hagoromo Clan was indeed a little weaker than the Uchiha and Senju clans.

"Since you agree, this will be easier."

"I was originally going to turn against the Daimyo of the Land of Fire outright."

"If you can make the first move, I can make the next."

"Every clan that has survived from the Mythic Era to this day has mountains of bones behind it."

"As for the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, hmph, I never thought much of him!"

Uchiha Tajima folded his arms, his eyes flashing with disdain.

"But the one thing I'm worried about is..."

"The Senju Clan was willing to become the Daimyo's lapdogs and slaughter the rest of us."

"Who knows whether the Daimyo of the Land of Fire has contacted other clans behind our backs?"

"After all, the Daimyo has plenty of money, and everyone needs money."

"There's no guarantee that some clans won't take a dangerous gamble for the sake of money and join forces with the Daimyo to deal with us."

"So I don't think we should turn against the Daimyo of the Land of Fire just yet."

Uchiha Tajima finally stated his purpose.

"Clan Head Uchiha Tajima, just tell us what you want to do!"

After listening to Uchiha Tajima go on and on, Hagoromo Ryozo was getting annoyed.

"First, we have to teach the Daimyo of the Land of Fire a lesson, but without breaking with him!"

"So I've decided that we'll keep half of the standard-issue weapons and equipment we were escorting and divide them among our clans."

"I don't think the Daimyo of the Land of Fire will dare to openly break with us right now!"

"So he'll definitely swallow his anger and pretend he knows nothing."

Uchiha Tajima didn't say how much each clan would get.

Yamanaka Makoto and Hagoromo Ryozo weren't fools. They understood the unspoken meaning behind Uchiha Tajima's words.

"Second, I want to form an alliance with the Hagoromo Clan and the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans represented by Clan Head Yamanaka!"

"Clan Head Hagoromo and Clan Head Yamanaka, you should understand..."

"Only by joining forces can we avoid being punished by the Daimyo after the fact and picked off one by one."

Uchiha Tajima then put forward the idea of an alliance between the clans.

At his words, Hagoromo Ryozo and Yamanaka Makoto fell silent for the moment.

An alliance between clans was a major matter, and they had to think it through.

Seeing their expressions, Uchiha Tajima smiled faintly without pressing them.

He understood that under the circumstances, Hagoromo Ryozo and Yamanaka Makoto would naturally see which way to choose.

It was a scheme they couldn't refuse...