Cloud's Thousand-Man Force at the Border? Minato Donned His Haori and Declared War!

The airtight doors silently slid open to either side.

Uchiha Fugaku strode into the command room.

He wore a crisp, high-collared Security Force uniform, and the scarlet Three-Tomoe in his eyes had already lit up.

The murderous aura he had suppressed for days hung between his brows, palpable even from several steps away.

"Fourth."

Fugaku came to a stop beside Minato and reported in a deep voice.

"All eight hundred combat personnel of the Uchiha Clan have completed pre-battle mobilization."

"Of those, three hundred and twenty elites have been fully equipped with the new weapons and supplies. They can depart the moment the order is given."

"The first batch of transitional Chakra Armor sent by Orochimaru has also been issued to the Chunin ranks."

Minato nodded.

"Thanks for the effort, Clan Head Fugaku. But the prey is still walking into the net, so we need to keep up this little act on the surface for a while longer."

He pressed the village-wide internal security line on the console.

"Attention, all units. Initiate the village's highest-level martial law drill. ANBU can make a bigger show of things in the streets. Create the illusion of chaos and panic. All shops are to close immediately."

Minato released the button and calmly added another sentence.

"The Daimyō's spies are still watching Konoha. Give them a convincing show of 'public panic.'"

Fugaku gave a low laugh, though the amusement never reached his eyes.

"Understood. The Security Force knows how to play its part."

Konoha Commercial Street, where the setting sun was already brushing the rooftops.

A cold wind swept down the long street, and shops along both sides lowered their shutters one after another. The usual bustle vanished in an instant.

"Bang! Bang!"

More than a dozen ANBU squads leaped down from the rooftops, their