Danzo and the others all frowned.
Though their minds were full of questions, they still took Shikaku Nara's letter and quickly scanned it.
For a long while, no one spoke.
They understood what Hiruzen Sarutobi meant, and they agreed that Shikaku Nara had a point.
Dragging out this struggle with the Uchiha had already left them mired in a quagmire.
Even if they won in the end, what would they gain?
Mitokado Homura was the first to speak. "Shikaku is right. I agree with this plan."
"Let those Uchiha run wild for a few days. Once the war is over, we can settle accounts with them at our leisure."
Utatane Koharu looked deeply conflicted.
It was obvious.
She knew perfectly well that Shikaku Nara's thinking was sound.
Once someone reached their position in the leadership, they could not keep fixating on immediate wins and losses.
But she simply could not swallow this humiliation.
In the past, which of them had ever taken the Uchiha seriously?
They were a bunch of brainless fools, easily manipulated however they pleased.
And now?
Jin Uchiha had appeared and thrown everything into disarray.
"Jin Uchiha really is a goddamn bastard!"
"We may be bowing to the Uchiha this time, but that man has to die."
"That brat is far too dangerous."
"Even if we have to stake everything we have, we must crush him!"
Utatane Koharu's voice was chilling as she spoke.
Indeed.
As a capable leader, she naturally understood priorities.
So, however humiliated she felt, she would hold her nose and accept this.
But Jin Uchiha was another matter entirely.
That Uchiha made her skin crawl. His strength was secondary; he was merely an Uchiha who had awakened the Mangekyo. It was not as though they had never encountered one before.
What truly frightened