"The current head of the Uchiha Clan has been confirmed killed in action!"
"Before his death, he ordered that Uchiha Fugaku serve as acting clan head."
"His remains are now being transported back to Konoha."
Shock rippled across the faces of Konoha High Command.
Following the death of Hyuga Hideshu, a member of the Hyuga Clan's Main Family, another important figure from a major shinobi clan had fallen in battle.
And this time, the casualty was the head of the Uchiha Clan.
It seemed the fighting was about to grow even fiercer.
For the first time, undisguised grief broke through Uchiha Zonyan's perpetually rigid expression.
Unlike the others, who were horrified, Gentō had originally planned to coast through the meeting, but his eyes lit up at the news.
The Uchiha Clan Head was dead?
That was good news!
The position was vacant.
Didn't that mean he had a chance, too?
He had to enter the race for clan head!
According to the original storyline, Fugaku would formally succeed as head of the Uchiha Clan after the war.
But Fugaku's political skills left far too much to be desired.
Despite possessing the Mangekyō Sharingan and having geniuses like Shisui and Itachi in his clan, he had still ended up getting the entire clan wiped out.
Even an outright rebellion wouldn't have had to end in the clan's extermination.
Honestly, a ninja dog chained to the clan head's seat would have done a better job than Fugaku!
Now that he was bound to the Family System, rather than let Fugaku lead the Uchiha to their doom, he might as well fight for the position himself!
Meanwhile, the meeting continued.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag on his pipe, slowly exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, and said gravely:
"Given the current situation, and with all of you being pillars of Konoha, what are your thoughts?"
Mitokado Homura adjusted his glasses, his tone solemn:
"The death of the Uchiha Clan Head likely means the war will escalate further..."
"Exactly!"
Danzo immediately picked up the thread.
"We should immediately draw personnel from every shinobi clan in the village and send them to the front! We cannot let the enemy villages seize the initiative!"
Hyuga Hiashi immediately countered coldly:
"Our clans have already committed almost all our fighting forces. Those who remain are barely enough to keep the village functioning. Who else can we send?"
Utatane Koharu spoke unhurriedly:
"I wouldn't be so sure. Doesn't the Ninja Academy still have a batch of children about to graduate? Let them graduate early, and they can fill the gaps at the front."
"Well said! I completely agree!"
Mitokado Homura immediately voiced his support.
"What does their age matter? Didn't Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Shisui both make names for themselves at a young age during this war?"
Hiruzen gave no opinion. Instead, he looked toward Uchiha Zonyan, who had remained silent since the meeting began.
"What does the Uchiha Clan think?"
Faced with the Hokage's sudden question, Zonyan seemed still immersed in grief over the clan head's death.
As a result, he froze for a moment when he heard Hiruzen's question.
But Gentō, seated beside him, knew his opportunity had arrived!
If he wanted to compete for the position of Uchiha Clan Head, he first had to demonstrate his political abilities.
He possessed memories from Blue Star and knew the progression of the Naruto World's storyline inside out.
He was therefore fully confident that he could use this information advantage to stun everyone present.
He immediately turned toward Zonyan and said quietly:
"Grand Elder, may I speak on behalf of the Uchiha?"
Beside him, Uchiha Zonyan's thoughts were already in turmoil over the clan head's death, and he had no idea how to answer.
Considering that Gentō was now a Jonin with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, he was indeed qualified to represent the Uchiha Clan.
After a moment's hesitation, he nodded.
Gentō rose to his feet.
Eyes converged on him from around the conference room, some curious, some scrutinizing, and others indifferent.
He met those gazes and spoke steadily:
"The Uchiha's assessment is entirely different from the opinions expressed so far. We believe that not only will the war not expand, it will end this year!"
Of course, Gentō wasn't making baseless claims.
It was currently Konoha Year 50.
According to the original storyline, the Third Shinobi World War had ended in Konoha Year 50!
As soon as Gentō finished speaking, a few faint snickers sounded around the conference room.
The expression on Hiruzen's aged face remained unchanged as he asked directly:
Can't find it by searching the book title? Try searching for the author-it may simply have been renamed!
"What is the basis for the Uchiha's assessment?"
Facing the Hokage's question, Gentō showed no nervousness and continued his analysis:
"First, during the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, Minato successfully destroyed the bridge. With Iwagakure's vital supply route severed, we can already declare the war between Konoha and Iwagakure over."
The eyes of Konoha High Command flickered at his words.
Gentō was right.
Since the Battle of Kannabi Bridge ended, Iwagakure and Konoha had gradually begun withdrawing the shinobi stationed along the border between their two countries.
A ceasefire between the two countries was practically a foregone conclusion.
Seeing the looks in their eyes, Gentō knew he had hit the mark, so he pressed his advantage:
"Second, Iwagakure is fighting both Konoha and Kumogakure at once. Once we reach a ceasefire with Iwagakure, they will be able to free up large numbers of shinobi and deploy them inside the Land of Lightning. I am certain the Third Raikage will suffer a major setback, possibly even lose his life!"
"Once Kumogakure loses its Raikage, continuing the war will become even more difficult."
The Third Raikage's death was also one of the defining events of the Third Shinobi World War, and Gentō remembered it quite clearly.
But several members of Konoha High Command beside him laughed aloud at his statement.
Some even began whispering among themselves.
"Did I hear that right? Did he just say the Third Raikage would die in battle?"
"He's the strongest Raikage in history. How could he possibly be killed so easily?"
Danzo went even further, reprimanding him outright:
"Hmph! Ignorant brat, what do you know?"
"The current Third Raikage holds the titles of both the Strongest Spear and the Strongest Shield. How many people in Iwagakure could possibly threaten him?"
"He couldn't possibly die so easily!"
Then several mocking gazes turned toward Zonyan, as though saying:
So this was the younger generation of the Uchiha Clan?
The Uchiha Clan's political judgment was as poor as ever.
Under those stares, Elder Zonyan's cheeks began to redden.
He regretted his decision. Letting Gentō speak had indeed been too hasty.
Even he found such an extravagant prediction somewhat absurd.
He tugged at Gentō's sleeve beneath the table, signaling for him to sit down quickly and stop embarrassing himself.
Just then, a Root shinobi suddenly appeared behind Danzo.
The shinobi leaned close to Danzo's ear and whispered for a while.
Danzo's initially composed expression gradually gave way to shock.
His knuckles had begun to turn slightly white around his cane.
Beside him, Hiruzen noticed something was wrong and immediately asked:
"Danzo, what happened?"
Danzo fell silent for a moment, cast a complicated glance at Gentō, and finally spoke stiffly:
"An urgent report from the front... Iwagakure dispatched ten thousand shinobi in a surprise attack on Kumogakure. The Third Raikage faced them alone and fought for three days and nights... before dying of exhaustion."
Dead silence.
Danzo's words froze the expressions on the faces of Konoha High Command.
Their mocking gazes slowly shifted to stunned disbelief, before finally settling into bewildered suspicion.
One gaze after another focused on Gentō again.
He... had actually been right?
Were these really the same politically inept Uchiha?
In past meetings of Konoha High Command, the Uchiha representatives had merely sat there, putting on aloof airs.
Even when they spoke, they never had anything worthwhile to say.
Since when had the Uchiha become so perceptive about the political situation?
And his words had been verified almost as soon as he spoke them!
No wonder Danzo's expression had soured after receiving the intelligence. That Uchiha brat had humiliated him on the spot.
Danzo's face alternated between pale and livid, but he still forced out a cold snort:
"Hmph! The Uchiha must have received the intelligence in advance!"
At his words, realization dawned on quite a few people. Of course! That had to be it!
The Uchiha must have received the intelligence beforehand, then deliberately come to the meeting to show off.
They all turned toward Zonyan, only to discover with surprise that the Uchiha Grand Elder looked equally bewildered-even more confused than they were.
Zonyan was indeed dumbfounded.
The Uchiha had received the intelligence in advance?
Then why hadn't he, the Grand Elder in charge of clan affairs, known about it?
Hiruzen took in Zonyan's expression.
He gave Gentō a long, searching look, then reached a conclusion:
Could he really be a genius?
After taking another deep drag on his pipe, he said to Gentō:
"Please continue your analysis."
Before you continue