For the Village!

Let's set the aftermath aside for now.

For the moment.

With the blame assigned, the meeting continued.

From the perspective of a spectator, Hyuga Hitoshi had enjoyed the Old Village Chief's performance.

In truth, Hitoshi Clan Head highly approved of the Old Village Chief's response.

Most people would probably have given up resisting after Fugaku's combo fist, but the Old Village Chief was different. He stood back up, discarded what needed discarding, and soothed whom he needed to soothe.

You could say he was not a qualified Hokage, but you could not say he was not a qualified politician.

But after the blame had just been assigned, Hyuga Hitoshi had also received a task.

He glanced at Kakashi in the corner, whose expression was completely different from Danzo's, and smiled.

The Old Village Chief had assigned the Hyuga Clan the task of monitoring Kakashi.

It was actually a test.

And a warning, but more than that, it was groundwork.

What the Old Village Chief did not know was that his actions had already affected the future.

The Child of Prophecy's teacher would completely descend into darkness under him, then raise a Child of Prophecy who had completely descended into darkness!

Though such a thing would be difficult, it was not impossible as long as Naruto's saintly personality was erased in advance.

There really were saints in this world.

Especially in a hot-blooded world like this.

But the real situation was that, in this living, breathing place, some ideas were simply difficult to understand.

Hitoshi Clan Head felt that he had both the duty and responsibility to wake up the protagonists of this world and help them establish proper values.

Never mind what exactly proper values were supposed to be.

If someone slaughtered your parents and you turned around and forgave them, that clearly had nothing to do with being proper.

You slaughter my parents, I kill your whole family.

Now that's not a problem!

The responsibility on this Clan Head's shoulders has grown even heavier.

Looking away, Hyuga Hitoshi returned his attention to the meeting.

If they were putting on a show, they had to see it through. The Old Village Chief was still showing off his skills.

"No matter what, I was the one who had people handle the security during the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's childbirth. I still bear the primary responsibility for the Nine-Tails Attack. This is my sin, and I will never deny it!"

"But war is upon us. Protecting the village is the duty of me, the Hokage. Therefore, before the War Ended, I will certainly do everything in my power to fulfill my duties, and I hope everyone will cooperate with me!"

Fine, he had said everything himself. What was left for them to say?

This was effectively telling everyone that the matter had passed. What they needed to do next was face Kumogakure's enemy, and unless necessary, they should not dwell on the causes and consequences of the Nine-Tails Attack. Anyone who caused trouble would be making things harder for the village and would be criticized!

But Fugaku found those words extremely uncomfortable to hear.

So what had he gained?

After going to all that trouble, had he merely cleared the Uchiha Clan of suspicion? Third had not stepped down and had simply thrown the blame away?

Fugaku was very unhappy about this.

He decided to go against Third and make things difficult for the Old Village Chief no matter what.

But as for how to do that, he would have to go back and consult Hitoshi Brother.

"Lord Third, the reports from the Front Line have been compiled."

Yuhi Shin'en distributed the documents to Everyone Present. Along with his actions, the atmosphere in the meeting became heavy.

Even if they did not want to face it and did not wish to continue the war, they had no choice but to confront it now.

Their families were behind them. One step back meant death!

Kumogakure had seized this opportunity perfectly.

The previous war had already left Konoha utterly depleted. On top of that, Orochimaru had been driven mad by Hyuga Hitoshi and fled early, while Jiraiya could no longer endure Konoha's messy nonsense and chose a tactical retreat, leaving the village.

Then there were the countless elites who had died in the Nine-Tails Attack, as well as the Fourth killed in action.

Even facing Kumogakure alone, the current Konoha would find it exceedingly difficult.

"Apart from Kumogakure's direction, we must also guard against the other shinobi villages."

As Konoha's strategist, Nara Shikaku was the first to speak after reading the battle reports.

"Although the previous war depleted both Sunagakure and Iwagakure, that does not mean they will not intervene."

The Land of Fire had an excellent geographical position and was one of the best-resourced regions among the Five Great Nations.

But that also meant enemies surrounded it on all sides.

Kumogakure was attacking, yet they could not focus solely on fighting Kumogakure. They had to be wary of their rear. Konoha had suffered greatly in this regard during the previous war. If not for Orochimaru's bloody stand at Kikyo Mountain and Little Sun's spectacular destruction of Kannabi Bridge, Sunagakure and Iwagakure would likely have already stabbed into the heart of the Land of Fire.

"But Kumogakure's tactics this time seem a little too simple."

After thinking for a moment, Nara Shikaku showed no signs of relaxing. Instead, a trace of worry appeared on his face.

"They do not seem to be planning to use complex tactics. There is no sign of their main force splitting up. They are relying entirely on a frontal offensive."

To be honest, Nara Shikaku truly had a headache when dealing with this kind of reckless strategy.

No matter what schemes you had, they would just fight you head-on. After all, flanking attacks would ultimately be spotted by the Byakugan, so they would simply compete in raw strength and clash directly!

Konoha was depleted now, but Kumogakure had been building up its strength!

They were telling them plainly.

This was a contest of strength. Just charge forward, and that was enough.

"Does the Fourth Raikage want to prove that even in a direct battle, Kumogakure does not fear Konoha?"

Yuhi Shin'en thought for a moment and gave his answer.

Honestly, according to theory, taking advantage of Konoha's weakness to strike was not a fair battle to begin with. Using this battle to determine the First Shinobi Village would be a complete joke, and it could not prove that Kumogakure was stronger than Konoha.

But from another perspective, Konoha's weakness was also its own doing and had nothing to do with anyone else. History had always been written by victors. Everyone understood that the winner became king and the loser became a bandit, so no one would say Kumogakure was taking advantage of a crisis.

After all, if Kumogakure had suffered disaster, others would have attacked them too. They could only blame themselves for leaving others an opportunity.

"I have already made plans for the war's deployment."

Sarutobi Hiruzen said solemnly.

"I bear great responsibility for the Nine-Tails Attack, so it is only right that I redeem myself through service. The Sarutobi Clan and the Shimura Clan will spare no effort in going to the battlefield! We will serve as the vanguard and defend the Land of Fire's border to the death!"

"The Ino-Shika-Cho clans, along with the Aburame, will handle intelligence support."

If there was ever a time when a person was at their most imposing, it was when they were strategizing over the realm and destroying enemies thousands of miles away with a laugh.

Hyuga Hitoshi expressed his lofty respect for the impassioned Old Village Chief.

Without question, the Old Village Chief needed an opportunity to prove himself. But he had turned this obvious opportunity to show off into atonement, which was truly worthy of admiration.

The Old Village Chief had brought the art of language to new heights.

Hitoshi remained calm, treating the Old Village Chief's words as nothing but nonsense.

But Fugaku listened closely, afraid of missing where the Uchiha Clan was supposed to go and when they were meant to act.

Until the very end.

"Everyone has seen the contributions of the Uchiha Military Police Force. During wartime, the village will be depleted. I hope the Uchiha Clan can continue its excellent work, maintain public security in the village, and provide everyone with a safe strong rear base."

What did that mean?

Stay behind in the rear?

Uchiha Fugaku was instantly shocked and wanted to speak in objection, but the Old Village Chief was clearly not done. After glancing at Fugaku, he directly brought out his trump card.

"Everyone has taken the lesson of the Nine-Tails Attack to heart. And the only ones in Konoha who can control the Nine-Tails with absolute certainty, who can protect the village even if unrest occurs, are the Uchiha Clan! The Uchiha Clan must take responsibility without hesitation!"

As he became emotional, the Old Village Chief flushed red and gripped Clan Head Fugaku's hand, his eyes full of sincerity.

"Clan Head Fugaku! I am doing all this for the village!"

To hell with doing it for the village.

Fugaku flushed red and forcefully shook off the Old Village Chief's hand.

Damn it.

He had been checkmated in reverse!

More than eighty thousand words in, and there were not even ten big supporters on the fan ranking, nor had any big supporters given tips or rewards. Feeling like this story was doomed. This little author can only do his best to write the plot well and guarantee that what follows will be absolutely exciting. Earnestly Request Support.