The situation facing the Uchiha Alliance was exceptionally dire. King Riku had never imagined that a major force that had risen so fiercely in its early days, with such immense potential, would be regarded as a latent threat by every major power.
Yet now, with only the Alliance Leader gone, they were facing their most dangerous trial.
Not only was the interior unstable, but several of the Alliance's affiliated nations had already declared their withdrawal in order to protect themselves. King Riku showed no iron-handed measures to warn those fence-sitters, while Law, Urouge, and the others merely remained silent. They did not know what judgment the Alliance Leader would have made if he were here.
Externally, they were already stretched thin. Countless hostile forces had launched attacks against the Uchiha Alliance. The Alliance's military strength still largely relied on the forces Hikaru had personally gathered in its early days, and it had yet to establish a properly organized army of any scale. Under such circumstances, merely supporting and protecting the affiliated nations was already difficult, let alone striking back to warn those hostile forces.
Hearing Kuzan's words, King Riku grew even more anxious. "What should we do? Marco's forces cannot be underestimated! And in Whitebeard's former territory, he enjoys great popular support. If Marco wants to reclaim that land, he might gather supporters with a single call!"
A trace of exhaustion appeared in Kuzan's lazy expression. After Hikaru disappeared, the entire Alliance's burden had suddenly fallen onto his shoulders. Kuzan had never expected this. During the war, Hikaru had once made Kuzan lose faith, yet while he was still hesitating, he had been pushed into taking charge and saving the Alliance.
If he did not take over, would the Alliance's many affiliated nations and millions of people die because of