Hokage Building
Uchiha Fugaku was the last to arrive, taking his time.
By the time Uchiha Fugaku showed up, all of Konoha's jōnin were already there, except for those away on missions.
After Uchiha Fugaku lazily found a seat and sat down,
Sarutobi Hiruzen, seated at the head of the room, ignored his apparent lack of concern and announced that the meeting was officially beginning.
He opened with a bombshell.
"I have an important announcement."
"According to information gathered by Konoha's spies, Iwagakure, Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure have all shown signs of unusual activity."
"They're all doing the same thing: gathering their forces and heading toward the Land of Fire."
"There's a very real chance the Fourth World War will break out."
"That's why I've called everyone here."
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Everyone present was stunned by the news.
How could this be? The great shinobi villages had only finished fighting a few years ago, and now another war was about to begin?
They... they hadn't even recovered yet.
Hearing this, Uchiha Fugaku couldn't help but feel his thoughts stir.
Nothing like this had happened in the original story.
It seemed his presence as a butterfly had caused this outcome.
Still, Uchiha Fugaku was certain someone was pulling strings behind the scenes.
Who could it be? With Danzo gone, could it be Sarutobi Hiruzen?
That didn't make sense.
After all, this war would weaken the village.
It didn't fit his behavior. But with Konoha's High Command ruled out,
the only one left was Black Zetsu, the devoted son who wanted to resurrect his mother.
Thinking of Black Zetsu, Uchiha Fugaku grew serious.
If Black Zetsu was involved, he really would have to be cautious. After all, he was the only villain in Naruto with any brains.
But if they were going to war, he needed to push his clan's Senjutsu training along faster.
To be honest, it was a little embarrassing. Uchiha Fugaku had thought it was too much trouble to check in after teaching them the method. Senjutsu wasn't dangerous, and it was only the common version, so if they followed the instructions step by step, they would eventually learn it.
But with war about to begin, Uchiha Fugaku decided he needed to put in some effort after all. After all...
"Clan Head Fugaku, I hope you can take charge of the Land of Lightning front. What do you think?"
At that moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen's words interrupted Uchiha Fugaku's train of thought.
Seeing the intense look in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes, Uchiha Fugaku understood his aim.
Now that the Fourth Shinobi World War was inevitable, this was the perfect chance to send the Uchiha Clan against the strongest opponent, the Land of Lightning. They could hold off the Cloud Shinobi, weaken the Uchiha Clan, and test its true strength—a move that achieved three goals at once.
But it also showed that the Uchiha Clan's existence, along with his own, had made Sarutobi Hiruzen uneasy.
Still, Uchiha Fugaku had no intention of refusing. The moment Sarutobi Hiruzen finished speaking, he saw the benefits.
If they won, the clan would earn the prestige of standing above an entire village—or, more accurately, he would be seen as a man who could stand above one.
With that prestige, he could force Sarutobi Hiruzen to step down. After all, he had plenty of dirt on him.
There was no proof, but once the rumors got out, Sarutobi Hiruzen would surely panic. It was all true, and couldn't stand up to scrutiny.
Uchiha Fugaku had started thinking about becoming Hokage because Sarutobi Hiruzen had been acting up lately, always trying to make trouble behind his back.
That had been getting on Uchiha Fugaku's nerves. He decided to use this opportunity to stop waiting for a system mission and seize the Hokage Position ahead of time.
It would make things easier for him in the future, and he wouldn't have to keep everything under wraps.
Then it was settled.
He would step over the Raikage to rise to power and announce the Uchiha Clan's might to the Shinobi World.
And while he was at it, he would seize the Hokage Position.
Having made up his mind, Uchiha Fugaku spoke.
"Lord Hokage, for the sake of the village, the Uchiha Clan is willing to take on the Kumogakure front, the strongest enemy."
"But the village must cover all of the Uchiha Clan's expenses."
Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen was taken aback. He hadn't expected this outcome.
He hadn't thought Uchiha Fugaku would agree so readily. He had expected to spend more time persuading him and offer additional incentives, such as assigning smaller clans to support them.
Still, this was for the best. It saved him a lot of arguing.
Sarutobi Hiruzen readily agreed. It was only a matter of expenses, and those resources were nothing if it meant achieving three goals at once.
"Agreed. The village will cover the Uchiha Clan's expenses for this war."
But then Sarutobi Hiruzen laid out his own conditions.
"However, the Uchiha Clan must depart in three days."
"According to our intelligence, the main force of Kumogakure will reach the Land of Hot Water border in seven days."
"The battlefield must remain within the Land of Hot Water and must not spill into the Land of Fire."
Uchiha Fugaku didn't object to Sarutobi Hiruzen's terms and agreed.
"Fine. I'll make all the arrangements."
They weren't unreasonable demands. Besides, the Daimyo's Court paid all of Konoha's military expenses. If the fighting spread into the Land of Fire, the Land of Fire's daimyo would hold Sarutobi Hiruzen accountable. It wouldn't do much good, but it would still be a hassle.
But to be honest, Uchiha Fugaku still couldn't understand why the daimyo even existed. They seemed completely useless.
Once the great Uchiha ruled the Shinobi World, he would abolish every last one of those useless institutions.
For now, though, he would keep a low profile and focus on growing stronger.
He didn't want the Cheat-Selling Old Man or some kind of Shinobi World deity noticing him.
Though Uchiha Fugaku was already starting to feel that something was off.
He had a feeling the Dog System had tricked him.
That feeling had become especially strong after he drank the Enlightenment Tea.
Having assigned the biggest problem to the Uchiha Clan, Sarutobi Hiruzen began dividing up the other fronts.
"The Hyuga Clan and Inuzuka Clan will handle the Kirigakure front. The overall commander will be Hizashi Hyuga, with Inuzuka Tsume as deputy."
"Sunagakure will be handled by the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans and the Aburame Clan. The overall commander will be Nara Shikaku, with Aburame Shibi as deputy."
"As for Iwagakure, the Sarutobi Clan will handle it. The overall commander..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen fell silent for a moment before naming himself.
"The overall commander will be Sarutobi Hiruzen, with Kakashi as deputy."
When Sarutobi Hiruzen named himself, all the shinobi present were stunned.
But not one of them objected. They all understood that Konoha had no powerful shinobi at the moment—or rather, no one strong enough to hold off Ōnoki alone. That left Sarutobi Hiruzen with no choice but to take the field himself.
Of course, it was a choice born of necessity. It meant leaving the village's safety unattended.
At the same time, while revealing his own predicament, Sarutobi Hiruzen also showed his intentions: he planned to begin grooming Kakashi as his successor to the Hokage Position.
After they discussed things, they divided the remaining civilian shinobi and shinobi squads among the fronts. Once they had set the departure dates for each battlefield,
they adjourned and went back to prepare for another fight on four fronts.
Meeting adjourned
Uchiha Fugaku quickly left the Hokage Building and headed for the clan compound.
After all, he needed to hurry back and speed up his clan's Senjutsu training.
They only had three days now, and time was tight.
Before you continue