Intelligence and Countermeasures from the Golden Consortium

Uchiha compound.

Looking at the intelligence in his hand, Uchiha Makoto folded it in half and handed it to Uchiha Fugaku.

"Intelligence from the Golden Consortium."

The moment Uchiha Fugaku took the report, he cried out in surprise.

"Twelve billion ryō? Makoto, we..."

Uchiha Fugaku was utterly confused. Everything had been going according to plan, so why were they lending money to Stone, Cloud, and Sand?

The situation was clearly looking excellent.

Why were they giving them military aid and making things harder for themselves?

Uchiha Makoto smacked his lips and consoled him. "Brother-in-law, it's not that the plan changed. Isn't the Third Shinobi World War about to begin? With this funding, the Hagoromo Clan can better infiltrate Cloud's upper ranks."

Uchiha Fugaku looked pained. This was all their money!

They had not anticipated spending this much!

"But it hurts!"

Uchiha Fugaku threw back his head and wailed, wearing a comically devastated expression.

"We're family, after all. Besides, we'll definitely earn it back later!"

Uchiha Makoto reassured him.

Yes, family.

Just as the Senju Clan and Uzumaki Clan, and the Hyūga Clan and Kaguya Clan were related, the Uchiha Clan also had relatives—the Hagoromo Clan.

Likewise, toward the end of the Warring States era, after the Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan formed an alliance, the Hagoromo Clan had chosen to leave the Land of Fire alongside the Uzumaki Clan and Kaguya Clan.

The Hagoromo Clan was now flourishing in the Land of Lightning, the shared homeland of the Hagoromo and Uchiha Clans, managing the Golden Consortium in the Uchiha Clan's stead.

Moreover, because the Land of Lightning and Land of Earth rejected Konoha, the Golden Consortium under the Hagoromo Clan had been given ample room to expand. Its annual revenue had now even surpassed that of the Uchiha Consortium!

"Alright, alright, stop being sad. The intelligence below is what really matters!"

Seeing Uchiha Fugaku hanging his head dejectedly, Uchiha Makoto suppressed a laugh and pointed to the lower part of the report.

"Hm?"

Uchiha Fugaku's expression sharpened. "Mist Village has actually formed an alliance with Stone, Cloud, and Sand as well?"

"No wonder the cost was so much higher. There's another village involved!"

Uchiha Makoto nodded. "That's right. And in their discussions, they decided to declare war on Konoha separately and at staggered times, creating the illusion that they haven't formed an alliance yet!"

"Now that the Hagoromo Clan has entered their upper ranks, we can consider ourselves fully prepared for this shinobi war!"

Listening to Uchiha Makoto, Uchiha Fugaku nodded slightly. That was indeed the case. They already knew the enemy's plans, so the Uchiha Clan could naturally deal with them with ease.

"Then, Ōnoki's proposal from Stone Village..."

Uchiha Fugaku asked tentatively. According to Ōnoki's plan, Uchiha Makoto would be in danger.

"You mean that plan where 'the major shinobi villages will prepare ninja forces at their respective borders to provide support at any time, and once Uchiha Makoto's whereabouts are discovered, they will reinforce one another and use sheer numbers to wear him down until he dies'?"

Uchiha Makoto chuckled.

"I heard that Ōnoki fears Madara Uchiha most of all. When the time comes, I'll use the Transformation Technique to turn into Madara Uchiha and let him properly reminisce!"

"It's only a few thousand shinobi."

Seeing Uchiha Makoto's complete disdain, Uchiha Fugaku finally relaxed.

Especially when he imagined Ōnoki seeing Uchiha Makoto transformed into Madara Uchiha, charging across the battlefield in a complete-body Susanoo.

That old man would probably have his fur standing on end on the spot!

Uchiha Fugaku thought about it. The image was rather amusing!

In the end, Uchiha Fugaku could only offer some meaningless words of advice. "Makoto, since the enemy is treating us with such seriousness, we should still be more cautious."

"And they've already recalled their tailed beast hosts. When the time comes, you may find two fists unable to fight four hands!"

In response, Uchiha Makoto merely waved a hand and spoke without much concern.

"Don't worry. I've never heard of a Mangekyō Sharingan being afraid of tailed beasts!"

"If they really use tailed beasts against me, they'll actually be doing me a huge favor! Nothing is better suited for clearing the battlefield than a tailed beast's Tailed Beast Bomb."

Seeing Uchiha Makoto like this, Uchiha Fugaku found it difficult to continue persuading him.

After all, the man's fists were bigger!

"Alright, let's stop talking about this. Let's discuss their question about distributing the ninja tools."

Uchiha Makoto pointed at the question at the very bottom of the report, changing the subject.

Uchiha Fugaku nodded and began analyzing it with Uchiha Makoto.

"The defective ninja tools you had the Land of Demons collect have now been successfully delivered to the Golden Consortium. The issue they're facing now is which shinobi village should receive these defective goods."

"I'm inclined toward Stone. They have more than twenty thousand shinobi. Although most of them are chūnin and genin, these defective tools would still be highly lethal to them."

"Those barbarians from Cloud Village probably wouldn't be affected much on the battlefield by these defective items alone."

"Sand Village has no use for these. They're clutching the borrowed money tightly right now."

"Mist Village currently has relatively few shinobi among the major villages, so I don't think these would be particularly useful to them."

At this point, Uchiha Fugaku took a sip of barley tea. After moistening his throat, he explained.

"After Mist Village implemented the Bloody Mist policy, the number of Mist shinobi was drastically reduced. They may not even have ten thousand left."

"Rather than use these on them, we might as well use them on Stone."

"That may maximize the effect."

Uchiha Makoto listened to Uchiha Fugaku's analysis with great interest.

Sand had no money, Cloud had tough bodies, Stone pursued militarism at all costs, and Mist's Bloody Mist policy had brought endless harm!

"Makoto, what do you think?"

Uchiha Fugaku asked with a smile, a hint of testing in his expression.

"I also think Stone is a good target."

Uchiha Makoto pondered for a moment before agreeing.

"Setting everything else aside, the Hagoromo Clan is still in the Land of Lightning, so we need to avoid causing unnecessary losses."

"And I think it would be even better if we targeted only the Land of Earth!"

"They say people don't fear having less; they fear unfairness. If we target only the Land of Earth, we can not only elevate the Hagoromo Clan's status invisibly and strengthen the plan's credibility."

"But after we weaken the Land of Earth, we can, if necessary, incite the other shinobi villages to shift their offensive and besiege the Land of Earth. It would also give us a way out."

Uchiha Makoto spoke eloquently, with absolutely no personal grudge involved.

Right?

Ōnoki?

Uchiha Fugaku nodded in satisfaction, then changed the subject again.

"In that case, with the Hagoromo Clan helping us in the Land of Lightning, Cloud Village is nothing to fear."

"In the Land of Earth, with these defective ninja tools working against them, Stone Village is no great threat either."

"The Land of Wind is nothing more than a grasshopper after autumn. It won't be hopping around for many more days."

"Now, there's only one thing we need to watch out for..."

Uchiha Fugaku's voice gradually became low and solemn.

"How should we deal with Mist Village in the Land of Water?"

Uchiha Makoto set down the teacup in his hands and replied with a smile, "We may have no connections in Mist Village, but the Hyūga Clan does!"

"If we're assigned to the Land of Water when war begins, we can bring along a few influential Hyūga Clan members. With their connections, won't everything work itself out?"

The Kaguya Clan...

The two exchanged a smile. Everything was understood without needing to be said.