Main War Faction and Slow-War Faction

Although this system was a little improper, it had to be said—it really had saved Uchiha Lan from certain death.

Those four lifelong skills had truly helped Uchiha Lan escape death more than once.

Otherwise, with only a Chunin's amount of chakra and a Three-Tomoe Sharingan back then, how could he possibly have killed so many Hidden Mist Shinobi in return?

As for why he had his teammates hide first while he lured away the pursuers himself?

The reason was even simpler: how could he let anyone see his life-saving trump cards?

In the ninja world, intelligence was life—something even more precious than secret savings!

There were simply too many examples of ninjas being easily killed because their information had been exposed.

For example, Hidan, who was buried alive; Deidara, who was defeated by a battery; and the Six Paths of Pain, who were taken out one by one.

Standing beside a picturesque riverbank, Uchiha Lan looked at the Konoha Bird Forehead Protector in his hand with mixed emotions.

"Why do I~ need this forehead protector?"

There was no helping it. Behind this brand-new forehead protector lay war and bloodshed.

Although I often stopped at nothing to complete those ninja missions, including but not limited to poisoning, kidnapping, murder, and arson.

I knew I was a good person, someone who longed for peace.

This perverted Naruto World, ptooey!

Uchiha Lan could only keep consoling himself. When Heaven is about to entrust a great responsibility to a man, it must first torment his mind... What came after that again? Whatever, stay steady and don't panic.

If the sky falls, the tall people will hold it up. It's only war, right? It didn't look that scary on TV before.

Just lie low.

Even if he went to the battlefield, he only needed to keep muddling through and waiting for death. Once there, he would be the first to charge backward.

At worst, he could pretend to be a corpse. That should raise his survival rate a little.

After all, I'm just an ordinary, unremarkable Genin. What more do you want from me?

You can't expect me to take on those dangerous missions with low survival rates, can you?

What? My nickname was Konoha Spark, meaning that a single spark could start a prairie fire.

That was just something other people hyped up. I didn't acknowledge it!

"Captain Lan, several elders have arrived. Elder Setsuna has called for a meeting!"

Just as Uchiha Lan was imagining how to slack off on the battlefield, Uchiha Inada's foolish voice rang out.

"A meeting, a meeting. All they know is meetings. What the hell is the use of meetings? If meetings could solve problems, why would they need frontline workhorses?"

"Fine, I got it. Stay outside and keep watch."

Though he grumbled nonstop, his body still obediently walked over.

He might be a genius now, valued by the entire clan, but if he was "accidentally" careless, even a genius could fall. For example, his eyes might get stolen, or he might accidentally fall off a cliff.

Uchiha Shisui: Uh... I suspect he's slandering me, but I have no proof.

So it was better to honestly stick together for warmth.

Because if things followed the original plot of Naruto, being reborn as a member of the Uchiha Clan was not the beginning of a chosen one—it was a hopelessly doomed start!

Externally, they faced constant suppression from the Hokage system led by the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, and the others.

Internally, the clansmen were arrogant and had no clear understanding of the situation, constantly doing things that led them toward their own destruction.

On top of that, several stubborn, covertly mentally ill figures lurked within the clan, ready to erupt with the Will of Fire at any moment.

In Fan Damingbai's words, it was impossible to guard against.

Thus, Uchiha Lan's circumstances could not simply be described with the word "difficult." It was difficult upon difficult!

Fortunately, Uchiha Lan had crossed over at a relatively early point in time. There were still many long years before the Uchiha Clan's night of extermination.

Otherwise, he would have run off carrying a bucket long ago.

Even harder was the fact that only he knew what would happen in the future.

The Uchiha Clan would be exterminated? Saying that now would be an outright rumor. Who would believe it?

It was like saying that Britain, one of the five great nations, would suddenly be wiped out, and that America had done it.

Would you believe that?

As it happened, the Konoha Four-Man Group really did it.

They chose destruction over appeasement and guidance. Once this happened, the other four great ninja villages would probably be laughing so hard they could barely breathe as they openly popped champagne to celebrate.

Uchiha Lan: In the end, I alone bore everything!

Inside the council hall of Naka Shrine.

The seven remaining elders of the Uchiha Clan all wore grave expressions.

At the head sat the representative of the Uchiha Hawks, the man who had dared to launch a rebellion right under the Second Hokage's nose, known as the toughest man in the Uchiha Clan—Uchiha Setsuna!

Of course, he had another identity: acting clan head of the Uchiha Clan, because the previous clan head had died during the Second Ninja War.

The designated fourth clan head—Uchiha Fugaku—had yet to officially assume the position.

Or rather, he did not yet possess enough prestige to succeed him, so Uchiha Setsuna could only serve as acting clan head for the time being.

This meeting had been called because the Third Hokage had just issued combat-readiness orders to every ninja clan, and each clan had begun notifying its members after returning.

This matter was also related to Uchiha Lan. The Land of Wind's sprint champion spy he had captured could not withstand the Yamanaka Clan's secret technique and confessed everything cleanly.

That immediately put Konoha's Four High-Level Officials, who had been harboring wishful hopes, on alert.

After all, having experienced the First and Second Ninja Wars, these four were no fools, and they also had the help of the Konoha Think Tank.

It was easy for them to deduce that Sand Village, that impoverished village, would definitely board the express train to war once again.

"According to news from the Hokage Building, the Third Kazekage has disappeared, and Sand Village has begun preparing for war. The target is very likely Konoha and the Land of Fire."

"The Third Monkey demands that every ninja clan send out at least one-third of its ninjas to prepare. If war breaks out, every clan must mobilize at least three-quarters of its ninjas to fight. What are everyone's thoughts on this order?"

As soon as those words were spoken, the people below immediately turned into chattering fools, discussing the matter noisily.

"Oh, war is about to begin? This is a great opportunity for our Uchiha Clan to earn merit and establish achievements!"

"Sigh, are we fighting again? I wonder how many of our Uchiha Clan members will die on the battlefield this time."

"Sand Village must have come prepared this time. If we rashly join the war, our losses will certainly be severe."

"This is our Uchiha Clan's chance to restore our prestige. How can we shrink back?"

"Even if a great war breaks out, our Uchiha Police Force cannot go directly to the front lines, can it? What if the village is attacked?"

"Those outsiders always see our Uchiha Clan as warlike, but we are thinking of the village too. Without our powerful strength, Konoha would have been swallowed by other villages long ago."

Everyone discussed the matter fervently, but interestingly, most of those opposed to war were experienced elders who had gone through the First or Second Ninja War.

Those advocating war were instead young rookies who had never set foot on a battlefield.

But that was understandable. Young ninjas also yearned for glory and merit!