The real reason was that Uchiha Ran felt that Konoha Genin all had some kind of bizarre buff.
As long as they called themselves Genin, they could usually dish out absurdly overpowered 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 Kagami Uchiha's cousin's nephew.
Sure enough, he had Kagami Uchiha's bearing!
In his delight, he directly taught him the Multiple Shuriken Technique and the Shadow Clone Technique as extra rewards.
Later, due to his injuries, Uchiha Ran was assigned to the Uchiha Police Force as a squad captain.
Although some people initially did not know about his exploits and wanted to test his mettle, the moment they saw that Three-Tomoe Sharingan, they promptly backed down.
Then, with his previous experience at the grassroots level—as a city enforcer—Uchiha Ran became the big boss of one of Konoha's streets.
He handled disputes and problems fairly, impartially, and openly, while improving the street's sanitation and public security by uniformly collecting protection fees from merchants.
The old practices of collecting fees daily, every other day, or on the third, fifth, and seventh days were all abolished. Fees were uniformly collected monthly, and they were lower too, greatly winning over the people.
He also strictly controlled the number of various types of stores, allowing many shops to avoid closing down due to cutthroat competition.
For example, during wartime, ninja tool shops made money, so countless people followed the trend and opened ninja tool shops. During peacetime, restaurants made money, so they followed the trend and opened restaurants.
In the end, not only did no one make much money, but they were left with a complete mess.
After Uchiha Ran arrived, he replanned the area, integrated resources, sorted businesses into categories, introduced new products, and avoided cutthroat competition as much as possible.
To his surprise, he revitalized the street's economy in one stroke. It even became the street with the highest GDP and greatest foot traffic in Konoha.
This also greatly changed Konoha's villagers' impression of the Uchiha Clan.
They had thought this clan knew nothing but showing off and fighting, but who would have thought they even had someone who understood economics?
Beyond his reputation for commercial acumen outside the clan, Uchiha Ran was even more renowned within it.
For a bloodline clan like the Uchiha, which worshipped 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 Ran had undoubtedly pushed open that door!
Those uncles, elders, cousins, and other relatives all had to treat him with respect when they saw him.
For their bloodline clan, a Three-Tomoe Sharingan was far more prestigious than the status of a Konoha jonin.
But what Uchiha Ran did not know was that because he had successfully caught that sprint champion from the Land of Wind, the gears of fate had begun to slowly turn.
The Hokage Building, the reddest building in Konoha.
Inside the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat in the main seat. One hand held a pipe as he exhaled a long plume of smoke, while the other held recent intelligence from the Land of Fire's border.
His three good teammates, Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu, sat on either side of him, breathing in secondhand smoke.
A massive map lay spread out before them.
The map marked the terrain around the Land of Fire and the positions of ninja stationed along its borders.
If someone copied this document, the entire Land of Fire's defense line would truly go from impregnable to a shoddy tofu-dregs project.
"Cough, cough. Danzō, Homura, Koharu, take a look at this intelligence. The recent activity at the border has been rather unusual."
Hiruzen Sarutobi placed the intelligence in his hand on the table and spoke in a grave tone.
Smoke drifted through his words, adding an extra air of solemnity.
Shimura Danzō narrowed one eye slightly and leaned closer to inspect the map.
"Recently, ninjas from Sunagakure and Iwagakure have been frequently active near the border. Although there have been no direct clashes, these probing actions are highly unusual. They must be preparing for some major operation."
Mitokado Homura pushed up his glasses and said thoughtfully:
"Indeed. Such large-scale troop movements are no coincidence."
"Moreover, according to the latest information we have received, Sunagakure's Third Kazekage has gone missing, and Hidden Sand's upper echelon is preparing to pin the blame on us."
"War is probably the only choice left to those poor bastards, even if we still have a peace treaty with Hidden Sand."
Utatane Koharu spoke with some concern:
"If war truly breaks out, although Konoha is powerful, we must also consider the combined pressure from the other villages."
"The lessons of the First Shinobi World War and the Second Shinobi World War were already tragic enough."
"Furthermore, although the younger generation of ninjas has potential, they lack combat experience. That will be a major problem."
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded.
"You all make valid points, so we cannot simply sit and wait."
"First, we must strengthen our 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 determine their true intentions, especially Hidden Sand's."
"In addition, we must prepare internal wartime reserves."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze swept across everyone present.
"First, notify every ninja clan to gather personnel and prepare to form combat units. Second, recall some elite ninjas currently carrying out missions outside, in case of emergencies."
"Third, have the Ninja Academy speed up the training of young ninjas so that they can become familiar with practical combat skills as soon as possible. The assessment standards for Genin can be lowered appropriately."
"At the same time, public opinion must stabilize the villagers and avoid causing unnecessary panic."
Shimura Danzō gave a disdainful laugh. A glint flashed in his eyes as he spoke confidently:
"Hiruzen, you are being too conservative. Everyone knows Sunagakure 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 treaty is nothing more than a scrap of paper!"
"My Root has already discovered where Sunagakure keeps the One-Tail. As long as we quietly slip into the village—no shooting—then seize the chance to release the tailed beast, Sunagakure will surely fall into chaos."
"Then our vanguard can launch a full-scale attack, striking from within and without, pincer them from both sides, and secure victory in advance!"
Growing excited as he spoke, the Root leader even slapped the table.
In his eyes, this plan was simply flawless. It would definitely work!
Faced with this suggestion from his beloved relative and sworn brother—Shimura "Strongest Pot Kage" Danzō—
The so-called strongest Third Hokage naturally refused.
"No, Danzō. We cannot act rashly and provoke unnecessary conflict."
"After all, once war breaks out, the consequences will be unimaginable."
"Moreover, we are still not certain that they will be the first to tear up the agreement, so we must do everything possible to seek a peaceful resolution to this dispute."
Before you continue