Opportunity, the Hokage Seat

Hokage Building.

Uchiha Fugaku was the last to arrive, moving at a leisurely pace.

By the time Uchiha Fugaku arrived, all the jonin of Konoha had already gathered, save for those currently away on missions.

As Uchiha Fugaku lazily found a seat and sat down.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, seated at the head of the table, ignored the way Uchiha Fugaku seemed to disregard the gravity of the situation and began to formally announce the start of the meeting.

He immediately dropped a bombshell.

"I am now announcing an important matter."

"According to intelligence gathered by Konoha spies, abnormal activities have been detected in Iwagakure, Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure."

"They are all doing one thing: mobilizing their forces and heading toward the Land of Fire."

"The Fourth World War is highly likely to break out."

"I have summoned you all here today to discuss this very issue."

The people present were shocked to the core upon hearing this.

How could this be? The major ninja villages had only finished fighting a few years ago; was war truly starting again?

Clearly... clearly, none of the major ninja villages had even recovered their vitality yet.

Uchiha Fugaku could not help but feel a stir in his heart upon hearing this news.

This scene absolutely did not exist in the original story.

It seemed this was the result of the butterfly effect he had caused.

However, Uchiha Fugaku was certain that someone was definitely stirring the pot behind the scenes.

Who could it be? With Danzo gone, could it be Sarutobi Hiruzen?

That shouldn't be right.

After all, this would lead to the weakening of the village.

It did not align with his behavior, but since the upper echelons of Konoha had been ruled out.

Then it could only be Black Zetsu, that filial son who sought to save his mother.

Thinking of Black Zetsu, Uchiha Fugaku could not help but become serious.

If it were Black Zetsu, he would truly need to be cautious, as he was the only villain in Naruto with a brain.

However, since he might be heading to the battlefield, he needed to put more effort into the progress of the clan's Sage Mode training.

To be honest, it was a bit embarrassing; Uchiha Fugaku had simply taught them the method and never checked in again because he found it troublesome. After all, this Sage Mode was not dangerous, and since it was the Common Version, as long as they followed the steps, they would eventually learn it.

But thinking of the impending war, Uchiha Fugaku felt it was necessary to put in some effort, after all...

"Clan Leader Fugaku, I hope you can take responsibility for the Kumogakure battlefield. I wonder what you think?"

At this moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen's words interrupted Uchiha Fugaku's deep thoughts.

Seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen's burning gaze, Uchiha Fugaku understood his objective.

Now that the outbreak of the Fourth World War was inevitable, he could use this opportunity to have the Uchiha Clan face the strongest, Kumogakure. It would not only block the Cloud Ninjas but also serve to weaken the Uchiha Clan and test their true strength—it could be considered killing three birds with one stone.

However, this also showed that the existence of the Uchiha Clan, combined with his own, had already made him feel panicked.

But Uchiha Fugaku did not intend to refuse, because the moment Sarutobi Hiruzen finished speaking, Uchiha Fugaku also realized the benefits of this situation.

That was the prestige of a single clan suppressing a village—or rather, one man suppressing a village—after winning.

And with that prestige, he could directly force Sarutobi Hiruzen to abdicate, especially since he held quite a bit of dirt on him.

Although he lacked hard evidence, as long as he released the news, Sarutobi Hiruzen would inevitably panic, because these things were facts and could not withstand scrutiny.

Uchiha Fugaku had developed the desire to become Hokage because Sarutobi Hiruzen had been acting restless lately, always trying to pull some petty tricks.

This made Uchiha Fugaku feel annoyed, so he decided not to wait for system missions anymore and chose to take the position of Hokage ahead of schedule.

It would be more convenient for him to handle matters in the future, and he would no longer have to hide or conceal anything.

Then it was decided.

He would step on the Raikage to rise to power and declare the strength of the Uchiha Clan to the ninja world.

And while he was at it, he would seize the position of Hokage.

Having made up his mind, Uchiha Fugaku spoke up.

"Lord Hokage, for the sake of the village, the Uchiha Clan can accept the battlefield against the strongest, Kumogakure."

"However, all expenses incurred by the Uchiha Clan must be covered by the village."

Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen was stunned; this was a result he had not expected.

He hadn't expected Uchiha Fugaku to agree so readily. He had initially thought he'd need to spend more time persuading him and offer additional incentives, like sending some minor clans to assist.

But this was for the best, saving him a lot of effort.

Following this, Sarutobi Hiruzen decisively agreed. After all, it was merely some expenditure, and the resources were negligible considering the objective of achieving three goals with one action.

"Agreed. The village will cover the expenses for the Uchiha Clan's participation in this war."

However, Sarutobi Hiruzen then presented his own demands.

"But the Uchiha Clan must depart immediately within three days."

"According to intelligence, Kumogakure's main force will reach the border of the Land of Hot Water in seven days."

"And the war must be confined within the Land of Hot Water, without spilling over into the Land of Fire."

Upon hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen's conditions, Uchiha Fugaku did not object and agreed.

"Agreed. I will make all the necessary arrangements."

After all, these were not harsh demands. Moreover, Konoha's military expenses were always covered by the Daimyo's Court. If the conflict were to spread into the Land of Fire, the Fire Daimyo would surely hold Sarutobi Hiruzen accountable. While such accountability might be ineffective, it would still be troublesome.

Honestly, Uchiha Fugaku couldn't quite grasp the purpose of the Daimyo's existence. He felt they were utterly useless.

Once his great Uchiha Clan ruled the ninja world, he'd abolish such useless entities sooner or later.

Of course, for now, it was best to keep a low profile and focus on development.

It wouldn't be good if that Cheat-Selling Old Man or some Heavenly Path of Shinobi took notice.

Although Uchiha Fugaku was now gradually sensing something was amiss.

He felt like he had been tricked by the Dog System.

This feeling was particularly strong after drinking the Enlightenment Tea.

After assigning the biggest trouble to the Uchiha Clan, Sarutobi Hiruzen began allocating forces for other battlefields.

"Hyuga Clan and Inuzuka Clan will be responsible for the Kirigakure battlefield, with Hizashi Hyuga as the overall commander and Inuzuka Tsume as the deputy commander."

"The Ino-Shika-Cho Clans and the Aburame Clan will be responsible for Sunagakure, with Nara Shikaku as the overall commander and Aburame Shibi as the deputy commander."

"And Iwagakure will be handled by the Sarutobi Clan, with the overall commander..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen paused for a moment before stating his own name.

"Overall commander Sarutobi Hiruzen, deputy commander Kakashi."

Upon hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen announce his own name, all the ninjas present were stunned.

However, not a single one raised an objection, as they all understood that Konoha currently lacked any ninja powerful enough to single-handedly face Ōnoki. This forced Sarutobi Hiruzen to personally take the field.

This was, of course, a reluctant measure, as it essentially meant leaving the village's safety unattended.

At the same time, by revealing his predicament, Sarutobi Hiruzen also expressed his intention to begin grooming Kakashi as his successor for Hokage.

After discussions among everyone, the remaining civilian ninjas and ninja squads were reasonably assigned. Once the departure times for the various battlefields were set, the meeting was adjourned, and everyone returned to make preparations for another potential four-way conflict.

The meeting concluded.

Uchiha Fugaku quickly left the Hokage Building and hurried towards the clan compound.

He needed to accelerate the progress of his clansmen learning Sage Mode.

With only three days remaining, time was extremely tight.