I'm Helping You Here

That night, Stone Ninja launched a surprise attack on the Hidden Leaf camp, causing significant casualties.

Fortunately, Namikaze Minato and Kushina arrived in time to stabilize the collapsing situation.

Namikaze Minato's Flying Thunder God technique and Kushina's Tailed Beast Cloak were both artifacts for clearing out grunts on the battlefield. Although the Sand Ninja were numerous, they lacked an advantage in high-level combat power. After leaving behind many corpses, they had no choice but to retreat.

The Sand Ninja forces and Hidden Leaf ninjas stood in a standoff at the border once more, but anyone with a keen eye knew that the great war had begun.

Spies scattered in all directions sprang into action, and intelligence reports quickly reached the desks of the various nations' feudal lords and Kage.

On a mist-shrouded mountain peak, the Third Raikage looked at the incoming intelligence. A hearty laugh broke out across his dark, resolute face as he slammed the table and shouted, "Onoki, this time I'm going to make you pay!"

Ever since the Third Raikage took power, the Hidden Cloud Village had gradually grown strong, but its geography and resources strictly limited its development. As a member of the militant faction, the Third Raikage had always sought to expand.

The best target, of course, was the resource-rich Land of Fire, but the strength of the "big brother" Hidden Leaf was simply too formidable. Thus, the Third Raikage set his sights on the Land of Earth, which was separated from them by a few smaller nations.

However, during the Second Ninja World War, the Third Raikage had failed to gain any advantage against the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki. This time, he intended to settle both old and new grudges together.

In the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned as he looked at the battle report delivered to him. He let out a deep sigh, turned to Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, and said in a low, heavy voice, "The war has begun!"

Mitokado Homura had always been responsible for communication with the Land of Fire's feudal lord's court. Hearing this, he nodded and said, "I will explain the situation to the court and have the feudal lord allocate additional military funds and resources."

"That would be for the best."

Sarutobi Hiruzen set down the intelligence in his hand and sighed with a touch of exhaustion. Although he was only in his forties, in an era where average life expectancy was not high, he could already be called an old man.

Utatane Koharu coughed a few times and reminded him, "Hiruzen, since the potion cannot be replicated, we must loosen our stance on the Uchiha. During wartime, the safety of the village is paramount."

"Indeed. The Land of Earth, the Land of Lightning, the Land of Water, and the Land of Wind—each is poorer than the last, and they all wish they could tear a piece of flesh from our Land of Fire. The situation this time is grim."

Mitokado Homura looked indignant. Every time he went to the feudal lord to ask for money during wartime, he would be berated mercilessly. The crux of the matter was that even if they defeated those wolf cubs, the Hidden Leaf gained no real benefits from those impoverished nations.

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded. He turned to look at the bustling Hidden Leaf Village outside the window, his voice firm: "Set aside internal conflicts for now; we must present a united front during the war. I have already handed the negotiations with the Uchiha over to Danzo and Orochimaru."

Utatane Koharu's expression turned strange, and she asked suspiciously, "Can Danzo handle negotiations like this?"

Mitokado Homura nodded in agreement, his face showing a hint of hesitation.

"I am putting him in the spotlight precisely to prevent him from pulling any tricks."

Sarutobi Hiruzen turned to look at Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu with a faint smile. As companions of several decades, they had long since seen through each other. Danzo understood him, and he, in turn, understood Danzo.

"With Orochimaru there, there shouldn't be any major issues with the negotiations."

"If the Uchiha can truly mass-produce those potions, this war might just be an opportunity. The Uchiha cannot afford to have any mishaps at a time like this!"

In the Uchiha compound, watching Obito knock out three more clansmen, the many Uchiha present kept their eyes fixed forward, their hands moving even faster in their alchemy work.

Obito rubbed his eyes with a hint of fatigue, his voice sounding somewhat regretful: "These few have poor mental fortitude; they can only last for a week."

Although Obito had been busy comprehending the secret manuals he'd exchanged for from the Republic world these days, he still took the alchemy work very seriously.

This could be considered the first step in the Uchiha's transformation, and a crucial one at that. If this step was taken successfully, the road ahead would be much easier.

Knocking out three people in the alchemy secret chamber every day had almost become a habit for Obito. It was a pity that most of the clansmen did not have mental fortitude as high as Uchiha Kenichi's, and they couldn't last for a month.

However, after the grueling alchemy sessions in the illusions, everyone could at least successfully brew effective potions, though their success rates varied. For instance, Uchiha Kenichi and Uchiha Aoki had already reached an 80% success rate, while some clansmen had yet to reach 50%.

Uchiha Kenichi crept up to Obito's side and said cautiously, "Clan Leader, should we continue? These are the last three."

"Why wouldn't we?"

Obito scanned the many Uchiha clansmen with his Mangekyo Sharingan, his tone earnest: "Don't think that I am torturing you. Now that everyone has experienced it, you know that this training is indeed highly beneficial."

"Do you think it isn't tiring for me to cast illusions every day?"

"If it were just anyone, would I put so much effort into cultivating them?"

"Everyone must work hard. How can members of the Uchiha clan be afraid of hardship?"

Seeing the complex and even guilty expressions on the faces of his clansmen, Obito nodded with satisfaction and continued, "I will continue to assist those whose success rate is below 50%."

After speaking, he turned to look at the devastated Uchiha Kenichi and said, "Kenichi, record the three people with the lowest success rate each day. Only by constant assistance can they achieve constant success."

"Yes."

Uchiha Kenichi squeezed out an ugly smile. He felt like dying. He, Kenichi, had once been one of the most handsome guys in the Uchiha clan, but now he had basically offended everyone; he was hated by everyone wherever he went.

Now he had to keep recording? He was afraid that these clansmen receiving "assistance" wouldn't dare go after Obito, so they would seek to take him down with them!

It had to be said that Obito had inadvertently achieved the feat of conquering the Uchiha these past few days.

The Uchiha clansmen who could come here to practice alchemy had all awakened their eyes and were the most elite part of the clan. When Obito had taken over as clan leader at such a young age, these people had been somewhat unconvinced.

As for now, these Uchiha clansmen trembled at the mere sight of Obito; they were truly terrified by what they had endured in the illusions.

But this wasn't because the Uchiha had changed their nature. The Uchiha clan had always been famous for their arrogance and stubbornness. If Obito had simply tortured them, few Uchiha would have feared death—at worst, they would have fought to the end.

What was terrifying was that Obito would say with a beaming smile, "I am helping you," while simultaneously using his Mangekyo Sharingan to give them a deluxe package they would never forget for the rest of their lives.

What left people speechless was that although the Uchiha clansmen who had experienced Obito's illusions were now somewhat sensitive to time, they had to admit that this illusion training was of great help.

Thus, these Uchiha elites had all been broken in by Obito. Even Uchiha Kenichi, usually the biggest troublemaker, would nod and bow with a look of respect whenever he saw Obito.

Obito was unaware of this. Watching these Uchiha clansmen diligently practicing alchemy, he nodded with satisfaction, looked toward the direction of the Hokage's office, and muttered, "It's about time. They should be coming to talk soon."