Uchiha Don endured his discomfort and escorted Uchiha Xiao to the meeting room. Since relations between the Uchiha and the village were currently in their honeymoon phase, they weren't holding the meeting at Naka Shrine.
"We're here, Sixth Elder." He pointed to the meeting room, then left. All he wanted now was to lie down and get some sleep.
Uchiha Xiao watched Uchiha Don walk away and sighed. Kid, you've still got a lot of training to do! Then he turned toward the large meeting room.
Not bad! Pretty impressive. It was about as big as an entire floor of an office building. He knocked on the door, and someone inside called, "Who is it?"
"It's me! Chief Hirotomo." As soon as he spoke, the door opened. Uchiha Xiao froze, then looked down—and saw that it was Uchiha Fugaku.
Uchiha Fugaku bowed. "Elder Xiao, please follow me." Uchiha Xiao nodded. Uchiha Fugaku was young, but he always wore a stern expression. Tsk, tsk.
It made you not want to talk to him. But they were in the middle of a meeting, so he still needed Fugaku to show him the way.
Soon, little Fugaku led Uchiha Xiao into the meeting room. Uchiha Hirotomo immediately rose to his feet with a beaming smile. "Ah, the Sixth Elder is here! Come, come!"
At the sight of this, a crowd of red-eyed clan members turned to look, their eyes filled with excitement and joy. They had heard that Sunagakure had declared war, and Konoha would send shinobi to respond tomorrow.
The Uchiha were all a combative bunch. They weren't good with words—well, except for Uchiha Xiao.
They might not be good with words, but that didn't mean they didn't love the village. Rather than talk, they wanted to prove through their actions that their love for the village was no less than anyone else's!
And Uchiha Xiao, their Sixth Elder, was among Konoha's finest in both strength and military strategy. Everyone understood the outcome of the battle in the Land of Rain without needing to discuss it, but they all knew how capable Uchiha Xiao was.
"Uh, everyone's staring at me. I'm getting a little nervous!" Uchiha Xiao scratched his head. Damn, so many red-eyed clan members staring at me. There must be two hundred pairs of eyes, right?
Huh? Wait, wasn't he a red-eyed clan member too? And he had the Three-Tomoe Sharingan! What was he afraid of? Only Chief Hirotomo could overpower him. Who else could?
At the thought, Uchiha Xiao's eyes turned red, and the pressure of his Three-Tomoe Sharingan surged outward. He followed Uchiha Hirotomo to the front, then surveyed everyone in the room.
Seeing this, Uchiha Hirotomo smiled with satisfaction. As expected of the God of War. It only took him a moment to get used to being watched by more than two hundred Sharingan. He adapted much faster than I did back then. What incredible composure!
Once he'd adjusted to the gazes of the Sharingan, Uchiha Xiao took the seat Uchiha Hirotomo had specially prepared for him.
It was the third seat to the right of the main seat. After all, he was the youngest of the elders, and he was still young in terms of seniority. The Uchiha placed great importance on seniority.
As for the other five elders, the Hawk Faction showed Uchiha Xiao goodwill, while Lao Si of the Dove Faction gave a cold snort. The young man has no honor! Picking on an old man and sneaking up on him!
Uchiha Xiao returned the Hawk Faction elders' smiles. As for Lao Si, he was sorry, but he hadn't seen him.
When Uchiha Xiao ignored the Fourth Elder, his face turned livid. The other elders secretly relished it, while the Second Elder still hadn't chosen a side. He was watching Uchiha Xiao, feeling that he couldn't go wrong by following him.
The Second Elder was a shrewd old man, and he knew how to read people. Still, he needed to observe Uchiha Xiao a little longer.
Uchiha Hirotomo coughed twice and took his seat as clan chief. His expression turned serious, completely unlike the warmth he'd shown moments before. "Everyone, I'm sure you know why I called this meeting!"
"Sunagakure has invaded our village, Konoha. Lord Hokage has appointed Elder Danzo as the commander in chief, responsible for overseeing the entire operation. Our Uchiha Clan must give him our full support!"
"Therefore, I've decided that our Uchiha Clan will send two hundred Jonin, three hundred Chunin, and five hundred Genin, all under the command of our Sixth Elder, the God of War of Konoha, Uchiha Xiao!"
At his words, the two hundred Jonin below him changed expressions. They wanted to distinguish themselves, protect the village, and defend the nation. But a thousand Uchiha shinobi meant almost the entire clan was going to war!
If anything went wrong this time, they would lose nearly all of their fighting strength! That was something the clan absolutely couldn't afford.
The Hawk Faction elders went deathly pale. They stared at Hirotomo in disbelief, as if to say, Have you lost your damn mind? You're rallying the entire clan to serve the village!
Uchiha Hirotomo's expression remained unchanged. He believed that since they'd now sided with Sarutobi Hiruzen, they should offer up their strength to protect the village and defend the nation. As Konoha's foremost clan, if they did so, Konoha would remember the Uchiha forever after the battle.
Uchiha Xiao stared at Uchiha Hirotomo, shock in his eyes. He'd expected Hirotomo to commit a large force, but he hadn't imagined he'd go this far. He was betting everything!
Uchiha Hirotomo looked at Uchiha Xiao. "Sixth Elder, do you have any objections?" He trusted Uchiha Xiao deeply and believed that his reputation was well deserved.
Uchiha Xiao came back to himself. He could feel the trust—an absolute, unconditional trust. He looked at Uchiha Hirotomo and opened his mouth.
Finally, he clenched his fist. "Uchiha Xiao will obey the clan chief's orders. This time, I'll make sure the Uchiha Clan's name rings out across the land, and I'll do everything I can to reduce casualties among our people!"
Uchiha Xiao's heart was burning with excitement. This was the first time anyone had trusted him so completely. And with a shinobi force this large, he could believe it if someone said they were going to wipe out the Land of Wind!
Uchiha Xiao would do everything in his power to lead this force well!
Uchiha Hirotomo nodded, then said, "I know some of you may have doubts about Xiao, but do you know what happened on the battlefield in the Land of Rain? Xiao commanded the Senju forces, and they lost fewer than thirty people!"
"Not a single Jonin suffered serious injuries, almost no Chunin died, and only a few Genin were killed because they failed to react in time to ambushes. Have you ever heard of casualties that low? Who's managed such a feat since the Warring States period?"
When Uchiha Hirotomo finished speaking, all two hundred Jonin below him were stunned. They'd heard of Uchiha Xiao, the God of War of Konoha, but they'd never heard the actual details.
Now that they had, their eyes were no longer filled with worry or fear. Instead, they were brimming with excitement, as if flames might shoot out of them!
Uchiha Xiao knew he couldn't stay silent any longer. "I swear by the name of the Uchiha: I, Uchiha Xiao, will do everything in my power to keep you all safe!"
The two hundred Uchiha Jonin shouted in unison, "Uchiha shinobi, we obey the clan chief's orders and will follow the Sixth Elder's command! Protect the village, defend the nation, and kill the enemy!"
The elders looked at one another. None of them spoke up. At that moment, the Uchiha clan's support was behind the clan chief and the Sixth Elder, and this expedition represented both the clan and the village.
To oppose it now would be to undermine morale. So they all turned their eyes to Uchiha Xiao, hoping he would lead them wisely in the coming battle and reduce the casualties among the clan's shinobi!
I'm pretty excited. The author is even more excited than the readers. Rallying the entire clan like this should be enough to make it into textbooks and the history books. No matter what the outcome, the Uchiha have earned themselves a get-out-of-death-free card.