"Strength? You mean the strength you showed by defeating Makoto? Does beating one child from our Uchiha Clan make you think that's all our clan amounts to? Orochimaru, do you think so too? If so, I see no reason to stay here!"
When Uchiha Kageyama heard the teenager before him actually bring up strength, he laughed in fury. But he also knew this had to be Orochimaru's idea, so he ignored Chihane and directed his question at Orochimaru, who sat at the head of the room.
"Haha! Chihane is indeed my student, but surely you know, Clan Leader Kageyama, that some people's strength cannot be measured by their age? Chihane may be young, but on the battlefield two days ago, he killed five Iwa Shinobi Jonin and hundreds of Chunin and Genin. He even helped me drive Kitsuchi back afterward. Is his strength still not enough to earn your recognition?"
One look at Uchiha Kageyama's expression told Orochimaru that he had provoked him enough. Pushing any further might backfire. He immediately laid out Chihane's achievements in detail.
"What? Orochimaru, are you joking? Even you were probably only a Chunin at his age! Is everyone from the Hatake Clan a White Fang?"
In truth, Uchiha Kageyama already believed him. Orochimaru would not make a joke in the Jonin Council that could be exposed simply by asking any ninja.
Still, he could not help feeling shocked! At Chihane's age, even Shisui Uchiha, the clan's greatest genius, only had the strength of an ordinary Chunin. Yet this child from the Hatake Clan could actually kill Jonin.
Jonin were already the village's core fighting force. Defeating one might be relatively easy, but if Chihane could kill them, he probably possessed at least the strength of an Elite Jonin.
That put him just one step away from the highest level of strength in the shinobi world. He truly did have the right to stand as Kageyama's equal.
"Do you think I would joke about something like this, Clan Leader Kageyama? Now, please do me a favor and let Chihane's words slide. Let's get straight to the matter at hand!"
"The situation is critical. Once we resolve the immediate problem, we can discuss any other issues afterward."
Feeling that he had delivered enough of a warning today, Orochimaru immediately gave Uchiha Kageyama a way to back down gracefully and proposed beginning the vote at this Jonin Council meeting.
When the Uchiha ninja seated below heard that Orochimaru really was not joking and that Chihane truly had the strength to kill Jonin, they could not help gasping. They stared intently at Chihane, determined to remember the young man's face, and mentally added him to their list of people they must not offend.
The Uchiha Clan was certainly arrogant and looked down on the village's other clans and civilian ninja, but that did not mean they were fools who did not know how to respect the strong. If they insisted on clashing with people they knew they could not handle, the Uchiha Clan would have vanished into history long ago.
"Hmph! Fine! I'll do you that favor!"
Seeing that Orochimaru had given him a way to back down, Uchiha Kageyama cooperated and sat down as he spoke.
"All right! The Jonin Council meeting will now officially begin."
"I called everyone here today because we currently have only enough rations to last another two days. We now face two choices."
"One is to retreat to Konoha. We have enough food to make it back. But that would also leave the Iwa Shinobi unopposed all the way through the Land of Fire, from the border to Konoha! They could attack the village directly, and we would become the ones to blame."
"The other is to take the initiative and raid the Iwa Shinobi supply convoy. According to a report from our spy in Iwagakure, a supply team led by the Iwa Shinobi Elite Jonin Kakkō will arrive at the front tomorrow morning."
"We will decide our strategy by a vote at this meeting. Jonin, you may now cast your votes."
Orochimaru stood and solemnly explained the problem they faced. The Jonin below immediately began discussing it.
"We're actually running out of food?" "Are we going to retreat?"
"Wouldn't retreating be too humiliating?"
"..." × 100
"Silence!"
Watching the Jonin below descend into chaos, Uchiha Kageyama stopped them with a grim expression. Everyone present was a Jonin, yet they were discussing matters as though they were in a marketplace. They were disgracing the Uchiha Clan.
As the leader of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Kageyama's words carried considerable weight. The room immediately fell quiet.
The entire room was silent. "Those in favor of retreating, raise your hands!"
Seeing that Uchiha Kageyama had brought the room under control, Orochimaru began the vote.
The ninja below exchanged glances, but not a single person raised a hand.
"Those in favor of raiding the Iwa Shinobi's supplies, raise your hands!"
Orochimaru then proceeded to the next vote.
This time, none of the ninja below hesitated. Every one of them raised a hand.
"Good! Just what I would expect from the Uchiha Clan. You certainly have courage!"
As expected, the result did not surprise Orochimaru. The Uchiha Clan was full of lunatics. Getting them to retreat without a fight was impossible! Now that the village had let them out, how could they possibly slink back with their tails between their legs?
In fact, even if they had all voted against it today, Orochimaru had already decided to raid the Iwa Shinobi's supplies. Everything the Uchiha Clan did today had simply played out exactly as he and Chihane had predicted.
"The Iwa Shinobi team is a four-man squad, and it will be deep behind enemy lines. For safety's sake, we can only send an elite squad to slip through the Iwa Shinobi defensive line and carry out the mission! To support them, I have decided to launch an attack tomorrow morning and confront the Iwa Shinobi Army led by Kitsuchi head-on, creating an opening for the elite squad."
"My student, Chihane Hatake, will take on their Elite Jonin, Kakkō. But I will need you to assign people to deal with the others, Clan Leader Kageyama."
Orochimaru explained his plan to the Jonin present and asked Uchiha Kageyama to have the Uchiha Clan provide the remaining members of the squad.
"Very well! Our Uchiha Clan will handle the other three ninja! Fugaku! Izumi! Kōtan! You will accompany Chihane Hatake."
Seeing that Orochimaru was actually sending Chihane, Uchiha Kageyama still felt somewhat uneasy despite hearing about his strength. He therefore assigned his son, Fugaku Uchiha, an Elite Jonin of the Uchiha Clan.
Of the Iwa Shinobi forces that had currently reached the front, Kitsuchi was their only top-tier fighter. Iron Fist Kitsuchi was the only one who could threaten Fugaku. But since they would be launching an attack on the Iwa Shinobi, they would not have to worry about Kitsuchi appearing deep behind the camp.
That way, even if the mission failed, Fugaku Uchiha could still bring the other clan ninja back safely.
Before you continue