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In the dim forest, Yume Ryoma stared intently at Uchiha Fugaku.

Behind Uchiha Fugaku, the once-proud Uchiha clansmen lowered their heads, not daring to look up.

"Go back and save them!"

Yume Ryoma coldly snorted, from the direction the Uchiha were retreating, he could still hear sounds of resistance, Hizashi Hyuga's team shouldn't be completely wiped out yet.

"Hizashi's team has few left, we cannot disobey Lord Danzo's orders and clash with the Cloud Village's main force," Fugaku flatly refused.

If it were a month ago, Fugaku, as a member of the pro-war faction, would definitely have agreed with Ryoma's decision, and would even have come to the rescue when the Hyuga Clan was ambushed.

But now it was different.

The clan's intentions and plans were already known by the village, and the village's attitude towards the clan was ambiguous. Uchiha Fugaku needed to consider too much.

At least, he couldn't afford to lose too many clansmen because of this battle.

"But the conflict has already been provoked!"

"Since Lord Danzo has entrusted this matter to me, you must listen to me now!" Yume Ryoma frowned and glared at Fugaku.

Fugaku glanced at him, and said disdainfully, "I won't gamble with the lives of my clansmen."

Danzo had disappeared for several days, and by the time Mitokado Homura arrived, it was uncertain whether the command would still be in this guy's hands.

He only needed to use Danzo's orders as an excuse now, and even if Danzo really returned, he wouldn't be punished.

"Is this the extent of your Uchiha Clan, your Fugaku's courage and vision?"

Before his figure arrived, his voice came first.

The familiar voice rang in everyone's ears, startling them all.

"I really didn't expect that you, Uchiha Fugaku, would actually listen to me so obediently." Danzo's figure darted quickly through the branches, and soon arrived before everyone, smiling.

His smile was laced with sarcasm, and a hint of regret.

Originally, in order to suppress Uchiha Fugaku and make him more obedient and steady, Danzo had revealed a bit about the coup to him.

In this war, the Cloud Village's forces were originally less than half of Konoha's, and even with the constant ambushes, the gap between the two sides was constantly widening.

As long as Fugaku, the leader of the pro-war faction, could be a bit more steady and value life, this war would be a sure victory.

But he never expected that Hizashi Hyuga was the one who couldn't see the situation clearly, a self-righteous fool.

He had discussed the strategy with him in detail the night before the battle, did this guy listen to his words with his ass?

Originally, he had planned to engage in guerrilla warfare first, to wear down the enemy's forces, and then swarm them when the time was right, which would reduce their own losses and wouldn't drag on for too long.

Now, because of Hizashi Hyuga's momentary arrogance, they had lost nearly a quarter of their forces.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

A Kai and the rest of the Root ninjas and Anbu ninjas closely followed Danzo's arrival.

But they were all stunned as they looked at Danzo in front of them.

"Lord Danzo!"

Yume Ryoma immediately knelt on one knee, his face full of shame as he said, "Your subordinate has failed to live up to your expectations and did not command the team well."

Danzo shook his head, signaling him to rise, and replied, "This is not your fault. These two guys didn't listen to your orders and acted without authorization. They are the ones who should be explaining to me."

Ryoma was his man, and Danzo had to extract him from this fault.

Ryoma opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

"Lord Danzo, Hizashi Hyuga entered Si Ming Mountain despite my obstruction and was ambushed. Although I didn't save him, the fault doesn't lie with me," Fugaku explained with a stiff face. He really didn't expect Danzo to appear as soon as he mentioned him.

What a waste of a long life, Danzo sighed inwardly.

Didn't he know that when elders were lecturing, you only needed to answer yes, yes, yes, and there wouldn't be any more troublesome things later?

"Lord Danzo, our people have sent news that Cloud Village has dispatched reinforcements to this side, which will arrive in about four or five days," Ryoma finally said what he wanted to say.

He lowered his head, not daring to look at Danzo.

He brought people over to find Uchiha Fugaku and Hizashi Hyuga to tell them about this matter, but he didn't expect Hizashi Hyuga's team to have already attacked and suffered heavy losses.

"So fast?"

Danzo frowned, and Fugaku was also shocked.

Now that one team was missing, they were only slightly superior to Cloud Village in numbers. If they waited for the other side's reinforcements to arrive, the situation would be a bit bad.

Fugaku thought for a while and took the initiative to advise, "Lord Danzo, I suggest we retreat and defend for a while until Lord Mito arrives with reinforcements."

"Bullshit!"

Danzo directly cursed, glaring at Uchiha Fugaku and saying, "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. I originally wanted to give you some pointers, but you're thinking too far ahead."

"This matter is an opportunity to build a bridge of communication. As long as you have merit, who has the face to attack? Do you understand what I mean?"

There were too many people around, and Danzo couldn't be too clear.

Fugaku was stunned. He had considered this matter before, but the Uchiha had gained a lot of merit over the years, and he hadn't seen anyone give them a good look.

Seeing the guy's expression, Danzo knew he still didn't understand, and he took a step forward and whispered in his ear, "Since I'm telling you, it means the village doesn't want to see that situation happen."

"We will help you completely control the Uchiha, instead of being a puppet clan leader who listens to the opinions of most people. That's all I have to say. If you understand, obediently lead your Uchiha people to help me win this war."

Too lazy to argue with the guy, Danzo waved his hand and roared, "The people of Cloud Village don't know what's good for them. Everyone, follow me into Si Ming Mountain to avenge the Hyuga Clan!"

On the way here, he had noticed the encirclement on the Cloud Village side. Combining it with the situation here, he could roughly guess what was going on.

Whether it was the Uchiha or people from other clans, they had been holding back their anger for a long time.

Hearing Danzo's words, the two teams merged into one without hesitation.

They didn't know what Fugaku was carrying, they only knew that they were fighting very aggrieved in this wave of a sure-win situation.

Everyone was ready to go, leaving only Fugaku staring blankly at Danzo, not knowing what he was thinking.

Huff—

Heavy breathing, the few remaining Hyuga clansmen stood back to back, their minds blank.

Grievance and anger had long been abandoned.

Like walking corpses, facing a constant stream of enemies, they could only rely on their bodies' instincts to resist and defend. Their exhausted spirits could no longer support them in thinking about anything else.

Not far from them, Hizashi lay lifelessly in a pile of corpses. This father, who had deviated from the original storyline and did not commit suicide, finally died at the hands of the Cloud Village.

However, he still changed his son's original destiny.