Tailed Beasts Are Pets, Eye Power Rivaling Madara!

Tekka Uchiha drew the short blade at his waist and shouted.

"Understood! Blow those Kumogakure bastards to pieces!"

Lu Ming turned to Fugaku Uchiha and continued issuing tactical orders.

"Fugaku, lead the clan's elite shinobi and follow behind."

"Once the Temple's bombardment is over, you'll be responsible for clearing out the remaining enemies. If you find any survivors, kill them on sight and completely cripple Kumogakure's combat capability!"

Fugaku suddenly understood, his fists clenching tightly.

This tactic was simply a dimensionality-reduction strike!

There was no need to expend the Mangekyō Sharingan's eye power in a war of attrition. They could simply use the Temple Formation's artillery advantage to carry out a one-sided slaughter!

With the tactical arrangements complete, Lu Ming changed the subject.

"Besides wiping out Kumogakure's main forces, we have an even more important objective in this battle!"

Lu Ming looked at the Great Elder standing nearby and gave a loud order.

"Great Elder, gather every sealing scroll in the village. Leave none behind—bring them all to the front lines!"

The Great Elder froze, his face full of confusion.

"Clan Head, what do we need so many sealing scrolls for at the front? To seal away the enemy corpses?"

"Corpses? What do I want that trash for!"

Lu Ming burst into laughter.

"I'm telling you to use them to pack money!"

"Pack money?!" Everyone's eyes widened as they looked at one another.

"That's right!"

Lu Ming slapped the table beside him.

"As one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Kumogakure has amassed an enormous treasury of gold, silver, jewels, and rare resources over the years through high-paying missions and plundering everywhere!"

"Our Uchiha need to develop the Hundred Arts Pavilion and carry out sweeping reforms. What do we lack most? Money!"

Lu Ming looked directly at the entire clan and declared loudly.

"In this battle, we'll empty Kumogakure's treasury completely! We'll seize all their vast resources!"

"We'll sustain ourselves through war and use Kumogakure's money to solve the financial crisis currently plaguing the Uchiha, supporting the flourishing development of our entire clan!"

The Uchiha clansmen erupted into cheers.

"Empty Kumogakure! Rob their treasury clean!"

"Let them taste what it feels like to lose everything!"

The Uchiha clansmen could hardly wait to charge straight into Kumogakure.

Watching the clan descend into a frenzy, the Great Elder swallowed.

Leaning on his cane, he stepped forward and voiced his concern.

"Clan Head, the tactics and plundering plan are both impeccable. But..."

Cold sweat formed on the Great Elder's forehead.

"But Kumogakure's Fourth Raikage and that Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer B, will never just sit back and watch us bombard their positions!"

"The Raikage's speed is unmatched in the Shinobi World, and the Eight-Tails is a monster with immense chakra. Ten Thousand Lightning is effective against ordinary shinobi, but it can't kill them!"

The Great Elder's words cooled the frenzy in the hall.

Everyone understood that this was Kumogakure's true foundation.

Facing the fearful gazes of the crowd, Lu Ming stood atop the platform, a wild sneer curling across his lips.

"The Raikage and Tailed Beasts?"

Lu Ming stepped forward and slowly descended the stairs.

"Bzzz—!"

The black eyes in his sockets turned into crimson Mangekyō Sharingan. Three black blade patterns, linked head to tail, spun within them.

Lu Ming swept his gaze across the hall, his voice echoing within it.

"Leave them to me!"

"It's time to let the entire Shinobi World know that Tailed Beasts have always been pets of the Uchiha Family!"

The moment those words fell, the entire hall was stunned!

The Great Elder's cane clattered to the floor, his mouth hanging wide open.

Tekka Uchiha, Nanami Uchiha, and the other Temple captains stood frozen in place.

Pets?!

Those were Tailed Beasts, ultimate strategic weapons in the eyes of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, capable of leveling an entire mountain range with ease!

Yet in Lord Lu Ming's words, they were merely pets?!

Fugaku Uchiha staggered back two steps.

He stared at Lu Ming's crimson Mangekyō.

"Lu Ming... you... you called them pets? That's the Eight-Tails! Back then, even the Third Raikage had to risk his life just to barely suppress that perfect Jinchuriki!"

Lu Ming laughed at Fugaku.

"Fugaku, your vision is far too narrow!"

Lu Ming stared directly into Fugaku's eyes and revealed a fact to the entire clan.

"Do you think my Mangekyō Sharingan is merely an ordinary Mangekyō?"

Lu Ming raised a hand and pointed at his eyes.

"After awakening the Mangekyō, the eye power in these eyes has already reached an extreme!"

"I do not possess the astonishing recovery power of Madara Uchiha's Eternal Mangekyō, which he gained by fusing the eyes of his closest kin."

Lu Ming raised his voice, stunning the entire hall.

"But! In terms of the strength and dominance of my eye power alone, I am no weaker than Madara Uchiha was back then!"

Eye power rivaling Madara Uchiha!!!

Fugaku's mind went blank.

Who was Madara Uchiha? He was a legend of the Uchiha Clan! A peerless monster who could treat the Nine-Tails as a summoned beast beneath his feet and contend with Hashirama, the God of the Shinobi World, for dominion over the world!

"With eye power of this level, controlling a mere Eight-Tails is more than enough!"

Lu Ming swept out his hand, radiating overwhelming dominance.

"Madara Uchiha could use the Nine-Tails like a dog back then, and today, I can grind the Eight-Tails into the dirt."

"I'll make Kumogakure watch with their own eyes as their ultimate weapon, the one they're so proud of, has no right even to resist before my eyes!"

Those words completely erased every concern within the clan!

"Eye power rivaling Lord Madara! Controlling Tailed Beasts!"

"My god! Our Uchiha are truly about to become invincible!"

The entire clan fell into utter madness, their worship of Lu Ming reaching the peak of blind devotion.

Just as the whole clan was fired up and ready to make a grand move,

Uchiha Shisui stepped forward.

Though he too had been won over by Lu Ming's dominance, he still retained a clear head.

"Clan Head!" Shisui dropped to one knee, his expression incomparably solemn.

"If you lead the main force on an expedition to Kumogakure, Konoha's rear will inevitably be left vulnerable!"

Shisui raised the potential danger.

"That old dog Shimura Danzō and Konoha Leadership led by Hiruzen Sarutobi will not let this opportunity pass."

"Once the front lines erupt into battle, they may very well stab us in the back and target the elderly, women, and children we leave in the clan grounds!"

Shisui's concerns brought everyone back to their senses.

Lu Ming looked at Shisui kneeling on the ground and nodded.

"Shisui, it is good that you thought of that."

Lu Ming reached out and helped Shisui to his feet.

"That is why I never intended to take you and Fugaku to the front lines from the beginning."

"What?!" Shisui and Fugaku were both stunned.

Lu Ming looked directly at Shisui.

"Shisui, I am entrusting you with the crucial responsibility of remaining behind, guarding our home, and defending the clan grounds!"

"I want you to use your Mangekyō Sharingan and stand firmly within the Uchiha clan grounds."

"As long as you are here, your power will be a sword hanging above the heads of the Konoha Leadership!"

Shisui's entire body trembled. He nodded heavily and shouted,

"Understood! Even if Shisui is reduced to dust, I will never allow anyone to set foot in the clan grounds!"

Lu Ming turned to Fugaku and the several elders.

"Fugaku, you were clan head for many years and understand the Konoha Leadership's political tactics inside and out."

"You will remain behind and oversee the rear! Great Elder, Second Elder, use your decades of political experience to assist Fugaku with everything you have!"

Lu Ming issued his final absolute order.

"Your task is to keep Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi in check! Use your experience and methods to keep all their schemes outside our gates!"

"If Danzo dares make any move, if Root dares extend even half a claw..."

The killing intent in Lu Ming's eyes erupted without restraint.

"Do not ask for my instructions. Crush them directly! Use your experience to keep Danzo in check and ensure the rear remains secure!"