Konoha's Four-Man Team Can Definitely Do It

The real reason was that Uchiha Lan felt Konoha Genin all had some kind of bizarre buff.

As long as they called themselves Genin, they could often dish out outrageously devastating damage!

This also successfully convinced the Third Hokage that he was a true inheritor of the Will of Fire, worthy of being the son of Uchiha Kagami's cousin's nephew.

Sure enough, he had Uchiha Kagami's bearing!

Delighted, the Third Hokage directly taught him the Multiple Shuriken Technique and Shadow Clone Technique as extra rewards.

Later, due to his injuries, Uchiha Lan was assigned to the Uchiha Police Force as a squad captain.

Though some people initially did not know of his accomplishments and wanted to test his mettle, the moment they saw that Three-Tomoe Sharingan, they promptly chose to follow their hearts.

Then, drawing on his prior grassroots experience as an urban management officer, Uchiha Lan became the boss of a certain Konoha street.

He handled disputes and problems fairly, impartially, and openly, while also improving the street's sanitation and public safety by collecting protection fees from merchants under a unified system.

The old systems of collecting fees daily, every other day, or on the third, fifth, and seventh days were all abolished. Fees were collected monthly instead, and at lower rates, winning him enormous popular support.

He also strictly controlled the number of stores of each type, allowing many businesses to avoid going bankrupt from cutthroat competition.

For example, during wartime, ninja tool shops made money, so everyone followed the trend and opened ninja tool shops. During peacetime, restaurants made money, so everyone followed the trend and opened restaurants.

In the end, not only did no one make much money, they were left with a complete mess.

After Uchiha Lan arrived, he replanned the area, integrated resources, sorted businesses into categories, introduced new products, and did everything possible to avoid cutthroat competition.

To his surprise, he revitalized the street's economy in one stroke. It even became the street in Konoha with the highest GDP and the most foot traffic.

This also greatly changed Leaf Village's residents' impression of the Uchiha Clan.

They had thought this clan only knew how to show off, show off while fighting, and nothing else. Who would have thought some of them knew economics too?

Beyond his reputation for business acumen outside the clan, Uchiha Lan was even more renowned within it.

For a bloodline clan like the Uchiha, which worshiped strength, the Three-Tomoe held extraordinary significance.

As long as one awakened the Three-Tomoe, one could directly enter the clan's decision-making circle and gain real influence within the clan!

Uchiha Lan had undoubtedly already pushed open that door!

Those uncles, cousins, and relatives of every sort had to treat him with utmost respect when they saw him.

For their bloodline clan, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan was far more prestigious than the status of a Konoha Jonin.

But what Uchiha Lan did not know was that because he had successfully captured that Land of Wind sprint champion, the gears of fate had begun to turn slowly.

The Hokage Building, Konoha's reddest building.

Inside the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat at the head of the table. One hand held a smoking pipe as he exhaled a long plume of smoke, while the other held recent intelligence from the Land of Fire's borders.

His three fine teammates—Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane—sat on either side of him, breathing in secondhand smoke.

A huge map lay before them.

It marked the terrain around the Land of Fire and the locations of shinobi stationed along its borders.

If someone copied this document, the Land of Fire's defenses would truly go from impregnable to a shoddy tofu-dreg project.

"Cough, cough. Danzo, Homura, Koharu, take a look at this intelligence. Something has been off at the border lately."

Hiruzen Sarutobi placed the intelligence report on the table and spoke solemnly.

Smoke drifted through his words, adding a few more shades of gravity to the atmosphere.

Danzo Shimura narrowed one eye slightly and leaned closer to inspect the map.

"Recently, shinobi from the Sand Village and Hidden Stone Village have been frequently active near the border. Though there have been no direct clashes, this sort of probing is highly unusual. They must be preparing for a major operation."

Homura Mitokado pushed up his glasses and said thoughtfully:

"Indeed, troop movements on such a scale are no coincidence."

"Moreover, according to the latest intelligence we received, the Third Kazekage of the Sand Village has gone missing, and Hidden Sand's higher-ups are preparing to pin the blame on us."

"War is probably the only choice those poor bastards have, even if we still have a peace agreement with Hidden Sand."

Koharu Utatane spoke with some concern:

"If war really breaks out, although Leaf Village is powerful, we must also consider the combined pressure of the other villages."

"The lessons of the First Shinobi World War and the Second Shinobi World War were already tragic enough."

"Besides, while the younger generation of shinobi has potential, they lack combat experience. That will be a major problem."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded.

"You all have a point, so we cannot simply sit and wait."

"First, we must strengthen the border defenses and increase both the frequency and number of patrols."

"At the same time, we must secretly dispatch reconnaissance squads to gather more intelligence and learn their true intentions, especially Hidden Sand's."

"Additionally, we must prepare internal wartime reserves."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze swept over everyone present.

"First, notify every ninja clan and have them gather personnel to form combat units. Second, recall some elite shinobi currently carrying out missions outside the village, in case of emergencies."

"Third, have the Ninja Academy accelerate its training of young shinobi so they can become familiar with practical combat techniques as soon as possible. The standards for Genin assessments can be lowered appropriately."

"At the same time, we must stabilize public opinion and reassure the village's residents, avoiding unnecessary panic."

Danzo Shimura responded with a disdainful smile. A glint flashed in his eyes as he said confidently:

"Hiruzen, you are being too conservative. Everyone knows the Sand Village harbors wolfish ambitions. In my view, striking first is best!"

"As the saying goes, the first to strike gains the advantage, while the latecomer suffers. In war, we can only cast aside morality. A peace agreement is nothing but a scrap of paper!"

"My Root has already discovered where the Sand Village keeps the One-Tail. As long as we quietly slip into the village—no shooting—and seize the chance to release the tailed beast, Hidden Sand will surely fall into chaos."

"Then our vanguard can launch a massive attack while they are distracted, striking from within and without, surrounding them from both sides. We will surely secure victory in advance!"

Growing excited, the Root leader even slapped the table.

In his view, this plan was flawless. It would definitely work!

Faced with such a suggestion from his beloved friend and sworn brother—Danzo, the strongest scapegoat-shadow—

The Third Hokage, known as the strongest, naturally refused.

"No, Danzo. We cannot act rashly and provoke unnecessary conflict."

"After all, once war breaks out, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"Besides, we are not yet certain that they will be the first to tear up the agreement, so we must do everything possible to preserve the chance of resolving this dispute peacefully."