As for the Konoha Sannin, they were no better off than Hatake Sakumo.
With their top fighters completely outmatched and Konoha unable to provide any support, Hatake Sakumo and the Three Sannin could only let the Hidden Cloud Village invade as it pleased.
"In the end, the Hidden Cloud Village is still the greatest threat to us!"
In the Hokage's camp, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned deeply as he read the intelligence sent by Hatake Sakumo and the Three Sannin.
Rather than saying the Hidden Cloud Village was the greatest threat to Konoha, it would be more accurate to say that Yeyue Ziyun, the genius whose growth had exceeded everyone's expectations, was the greatest threat.
Without Yeyue Ziyun, a Kage Level fighter who had suddenly risen to power, the Hidden Cloud Village would not have been able to stand against Konoha with the Third Raikage as its only Super Kage Level fighter.
"Damn it! In that case, send the Uchiha Clan to the battlefield against the Hidden Cloud Village! They've taken so much of Konoha's money anyway, so let them deal with the toughest enemy!"
After careful thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi decided to try a different approach.
He would send the Uchiha Clan, the strongest clan, against Iwagakure and recall Hatake Sakumo and the Three Sannin to fight the Land of Rain and the Hidden Sand Village respectively.
That might yet turn the tide of the war.
"Hmph, that Third Hokage finally understands how important the Uchiha Clan is, doesn't he?"
At the camp of the Konoha forces fighting the Hidden Sand Village.
Upon reading Hiruzen Sarutobi's letter, the Uchiha Clan Head snorted, once again exuding the distinctive arrogance of the Uchiha Clan.
"In the end, Konoha still has to rely on my Uchiha Clan."
His Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun in his eyes as hatred continued to well up in them.
The Uchiha Clan Head would never forget how the clan had been put in its place in the Hokage's office that day, in front of Yeyue Ziyun and the Third Raikage.
Now, seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi all but "begging" the Uchiha Clan in his letter to head to the front against the Hidden Cloud Village, the Uchiha Clan Head felt a surge of boundless satisfaction, an Uchiha version of "don't bully a young man for being poor."
"Clan Head, you need to think this through. The Third Raikage and Yeyue Ziyun are no easy opponents. Even Hatake Sakumo and Orochimaru's group couldn't hold them back. Are we really going to take over this mess?"
The ninja beside him, whose clothing suggested he was the Uchiha Clan's second elder, spoke up.
"Second Elder, you don't understand. The Uchiha Clan turned the tide and defeated the Hidden Sand Village when Konoha was at its most desperate, and that has already restored some of our prestige in the village. Now, who is Konoha's most dangerous enemy? The Hidden Cloud Village!"
"All across the village, who knows how many people are losing sleep and unable to eat in peace because of the Hidden Cloud Village's invasion?"
"If the Uchiha Clan shrinks from battle, the prestige we gained by finally defeating the Hidden Sand Village will plunge back to rock bottom."
"But if my Uchiha Clan can defeat the Hidden Cloud Village, our prestige will surely reach its peak!"
"When that happens, even running for Hokage won't be a pipe dream. So the Uchiha Clan has to fight this battle, whether we want to or not."
A sharp light flashed in the Uchiha Clan Head's eyes.
If they really could defeat the Hidden Cloud Village, he might indeed become a "hero of Konoha" and use his prestige to run for Hokage.
From then on, no one would dare question the Uchiha Clan's standing in Konoha, and the clan would be revived under his leadership!
The Uchiha Clan was not yet like it would be after the Third Shinobi World War, when its conflict with the High Command had escalated to the point that the clan would be wiped out if it did not resist.
The Uchiha Clan still held some illusions and hopes about the Konoha High Command and the people of Konoha Village, so it was willing to contribute its strength to Konoha.
Besides, there was considerable bad blood between the Uchiha Clan and the Hidden Cloud Village.
Hadn't Uchiha Mikoto, the genius girl who had awakened the Mitsudomoe at only twelve, been abducted by the Hidden Cloud Village's Yeyue Ziyun?
After defeating the Hidden Cloud Village this time, he would force it to return Uchiha Mikoto to the Uchiha Clan!
Having awakened the Mitsudomoe at twelve, Uchiha Mikoto would surely awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan one day. The Uchiha Clan could not let such a genius go.
Killing two birds with one stone-he had to seize an opportunity this good!
As for losing, the Uchiha Clan Head had never even considered it.
Because he had awakened the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan!
With those eyes, the Uchiha Clan Head couldn't imagine how he could lose.
In truth, if Ziyun knew what the Uchiha Clan Head was thinking, he would certainly have said the man was getting ahead of himself.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had plenty of ways to keep the Uchiha Clan Head from becoming Hokage. All he had to do was pin some baseless charge on him, and the Uchiha Clan Head's prestige would immediately fall to rock bottom.
Even Orochimaru, a genius with so much prestige, would later lose to Minato Namikaze in the race to become the Fourth Hokage.
A more recent example was the Senju Clan, the most glorious clan in Konoha's history. After the spy incident, everyone in Konoha Village had turned against it.
It was easy to imagine how many ways Hiruzen Sarutobi had to prevent the Uchiha Clan Head from becoming Hokage if he wanted to.
The Hidden Cloud Village had set up camp in the Land of Fire, twenty kilometers from the border.
"Lord Raikage, we've detected Hatake Sakumo, Orochimaru, and the other Konoha Ninja retreating along the entire front. There isn't a Konoha Ninja to be seen within ten kilometers. It looks like they've completely lost the will to fight. Should we press our advantage and pursue them now?"
C's father, a senior Hidden Cloud official in charge of gathering intelligence, promptly reported the news to the Third Raikage.
"Hahaha, those cowards from Konoha are completely terrified of the Hidden Cloud Village now. Pursue them! Why wouldn't we take such a good opportunity?"
"Sunagakure and Iwagakure still haven't made it into the Land of Fire, but Kumogakure has!"
"This is exactly when we should push the pursuit and seize as much land as possible. The Hidden Sand Village and that bastard Ōnoki can eat dirt!"
The Third Raikage laughed heartily, feeling rather as though he had reached the pinnacle of his life.
Hearing that, Ziyun sighed.
His Raikage uncle was being single-minded again.
The Hidden Cloud Village had already fought its way into the Land of Fire, yet Hatake Sakumo, Orochimaru, and the others had retreated at a time like this.
Who would believe that?
Something so abnormal was bound to be a trap, so if the Hidden Cloud Village continued the pursuit, it would surely be ambushed by Konoha.
"Uncle Raikage, I think we should let it go. We're not familiar with the Land of Fire's terrain at all. This is Konoha's home ground, and if we push deeper, there's a good chance we'll be ambushed."
"Since we've already taken such a large stretch of land, we might as well familiarize ourselves with its terrain and surroundings first. Even if Konoha drives us back later, we can use that knowledge to fight our way back easily."
The reason no one had ever occupied land in the Land of Fire before was its complex terrain.
There were forests, lakes, grasslands, hills, and bushes-every kind of terrain. So even when other ninja villages had temporarily defeated Konoha before, they had not dared to push recklessly deeper for fear of an ambush.
Now the Hidden Cloud Village had an excellent opportunity to study this land's terrain in meticulous detail.
This was a chance to truly turn Konoha's land into the Hidden Cloud Village's land. It would be a great shame to give it up.
After listening to Ziyun's suggestion and giving it careful consideration, the Third Raikage decided to follow it.
At the same time, the Third Raikage made a decision in his heart: Ziyun really was suited to being Raikage, even more so than he was!
After this war, it would be time for him to step aside for Ziyun. Only under Ziyun's leadership would the Hidden Cloud Village grow ever more prosperous.
Meanwhile, Ziyun also ordered the people of the Hidden Cloud Village to set traps around the camp.
Hatake Sakumo and Orochimaru's retreat did not mean Konoha had stopped fighting.
If they could retreat, there had to be new powerhouses coming to fill their places on this battlefield. Surely the Land of Fire wasn't just giving its land away to the Hidden Cloud Village for nothing?
Judging by Konoha's current situation, Ziyun guessed that the Uchiha Clan, which had been fighting Sunagakure, would most likely be sent to this battlefield.
After all, the Uchiha Clan was the only elite force in Konoha capable of surpassing Hatake Sakumo and Orochimaru.
At that thought, Ziyun's blood was already boiling.
The Uchiha Clan? Then there's bound to be a Mangekyo Sharingan among them, and very likely more than one pair!
Hehehe, how interesting. Ever since coming to this world, Ziyun had very much wanted to see just how powerful Susanoo, known as the power of a god, really was.
Most importantly, he wanted to see which was stronger: Susanoo or his own power.
The blood in Ziyun's veins had begun to boil.
Things turned out just as Ziyun had guessed. About a week later, the sensory unit led by C's father detected the presence of Konoha Ninja.
Among them were many of Konoha's major clans, such as the Nara Clan, Yamanaka Clan, Akimichi Clan, Aburame Clan, Inuzuka Clan, and Hyuga Clan.
But without a doubt, the Uchiha Clan gave off the deadliest presence.
"Everyone, get ready! This enemy is more troublesome than Hatake Sakumo and Orochimaru. Don't underestimate them!"
Upon learning that the Uchiha Clan had joined the battle, even the Third Raikage's face took on a rare look of gravity.
All of the Hidden Cloud's forces then prepared for battle, ready to receive the approaching Konoha troops at any moment.
The reason Kumogakure's ninja did not lie in ambush was that ambushes were useless against the Byakugan and Sharingan Kekkei Genkai.
The traps they had set beforehand were naturally useless as well.
So the Third Raikage simply had the Hidden Cloud Village's ninja arrange themselves openly in battle formation and wait for Konoha's forces to arrive.
Soon, the Konoha forces appeared before the Hidden Cloud ninja.
It had to be said that, upon seeing these Konoha forces, even the stalwart Hidden Cloud Village ninja showed a hint of fear.
The reason was simple: this force was completely different from the troops led by Hatake Sakumo and the Konoha Sannin.
Its supreme commander was the head of the Nara Clan, who possessed the sharpest mind in Konoha.
The ninja behind him all wore matching ninja uniforms, each embroidered with clan crests renowned throughout the Shinobi World.
The Uchiha Clan, Hyuga Clan, Nara Clan, Akimichi Clan, Yamanaka Clan, Inuzuka Clan, Aburame Clan, and more-nearly all of Konoha's major clans with secret techniques were represented in this force.
This was the true core of Konoha's forces, the foundation of its strength!
Compared with Konoha's uniform clan forces, the Hidden Cloud Village ninja looked more like a ragtag army.
"Hmph, no trap is of any use against our Hyuga Clan."