The head of the Shimura Clan spoke with great confidence, as if everything was under his control. Unfortunately, if it had been the previous county magistrate, things might indeed have turned out as he said.
After all, the previous county magistrate was indeed no good. The Uchiha kept him around simply because they hadn't had time to replace him yet, and they were really short-handed.
But the current county magistrate is different. He's been completely controlled by the Uchiha Clan Uchiha Clan using Genjutsu, his every word and action is manipulated, and he's even able to lie without batting an eye and not cry out in pain when stabbed in the neck.
The Shimura Clan's attempt to probe him through words was completely ineffective; in fact, it played right into the Uchiha's hands.
Uchiha was just wondering how to trust these people when, just as he was about to doze off, they handed him a pillow—it couldn't be better!
Yukimichi Uchiha manipulated the county magistrate to readily accept the Shimura Clan's invitation, while subtly expressing his fear that the Uchiha capital might send troops there, thus emphasizing the need to finalize the matter as soon as possible.
The county magistrate's eagerness reassured the Shimura Clan, who had come to deliver the message. This was more like it; the more urgent the urgency, the more it indicated a severe shortage of troops in the town, which was even better for the Shimura Clan and Sarutobi Clan.
Soon, the test by the remnants of the Shimura Clan ended. Thanks to Yukimichi Uchiha's flawless performance, everyone in Shimura, from top to bottom, believed the prefect's words.
It has been confirmed that there are hardly any ninjas left in the city; only a small number are maintaining the city's barrier to prevent any suspicious activity.
Thus, the Shimura Clan became bolder, dispatching many of their intelligence agents out again, disregarding the barrier and venturing out directly.
They openly and brazenly contacted the Sarutobi Clan outside the city, discussing when the Sarutobi Clan would attack the city, allowing them to coordinate an attack from within and without, thus taking control of the town, since there weren't many troops inside.
They're just a bunch of samurai armed with firearms that pose only a slight threat to them. Everything will be fine once the Sarutobi Clan outside the castle launches their attack.
Unbeknownst to them, everything they did was under the surveillance of the Uchiha Mitsudomoe.
Yukimichi Uchiha was to make everyone believe that there were no guards left in the city, only a small number of samurai, thus lowering their guard.
Then he lured the entire Sarutobi Clan from outside the city into the city, while his men lay in ambush in the streets and alleys, ready to launch a surprise attack as soon as the Sarutobi Clan entered.
Luring them into the city to kill them—this was the plan Yukimichi Uchiha devised after three years of training at the military academy. This way, he could solve the problem on the southwestern border once and for all.
For at least the next ten years, the Sarutobi Clan won't dare to invade the borders again, and the Uchiha Clan Sarutobi Clan can even take advantage of the situation to send them flying. Furthermore, the remnants of the Shimura Clan hiding within the country will be wiped out, and there's no need to worry about them causing trouble anymore.
Yukimichi Uchiha thought he was a genius for coming up with such a scheme.
Well, undeniably, compared to other Uchiha members, his ability to devise this plan is already genius-level. Incidentally, he's literate, surpassing 80% of the Uchiha.
It's definitely better than some Indra reincarnation who can't even read.
Ahem, I digress. Let's turn our attention back to the Sarutobi Clan outside the city.
At this time, with intelligence support from the Shimura Clan within the castle, the Sarutobi Clan finally assembled their army and prepared to launch an attack.
The Sarutobi Clan had a shrewd plan. With the two major powers to the northwest and southeast keeping the Uchiha's main force at bay, they only needed to harass them, seize the border regions, and annoy the Uchiha.
The main objective was actually to seize the various mines here, since their area, being a plain, didn't have as many mineral resources as the Land of Light.
So they sent troops to accept the Senju Clan's proposal to annex the border region in order to expand their mineral production.
Meanwhile, in the castle, after confirming that the Sarutobi Clan had already set out, Yukimichi Uchiha immediately ordered all his troops to be hidden, with 500 men ambushed inside the castle walls.
Those were specially dug tunnels, primarily to prevent the enemy from breaching from within. Therefore, some passages were created inside the city walls, capable of accommodating approximately 1000 people.
Now, Yukimichi Uchiha will use these tunnels to wait for the entire Sarutobi Clan to enter, and then completely annihilate the main force of the Sarutobi Clan within the city.
As for whether the Sarutobi Clan will discover something amiss along the way, thus causing the plan to fail?
Yukimichi Uchiha: Don't worry, with me, the Dragon King, here, the mere Sarutobi Clan clan is no more than two. How could such a scheme by those rats of the Sarutobi Clan possibly have any flaws?
Meanwhile, the Sarutobi Clan's army had already set out. Since the Sarutobi Clan was certain to capture the city, they sent all 800 of their men at once.
We plan to rest and recuperate properly once we get to the city; they've had a terrible time staying in the wilderness these past few days.
To avoid being discovered by the Uchiha within the city, they haven't even dared to set up camp these past few days, forced to stay in the wild, enduring insect bites and feeding on mosquitoes.
There aren't many people left in the city now, so they must seize it immediately and then enjoy themselves there!
This group of people were now completely relieved.
Upon arriving at the foot of the city wall, they found it almost deserted, with not even a few patrolling warriors.
The Sarutobi Clan members were immediately filled with excitement; this scene was so similar to that of the Senju Clan in the past!
"Charge in!" Sarutobi Clan commander roared as he charged in. At that moment, as if by prior arrangement, the gate suddenly opened.
The Sarutobi Clan was not surprised at all, as they already knew about the magistrate's surrender. Faced with the suddenly opened city gates, they rushed in without the slightest hesitation.
Eight hundred people filed in, forming a long queue. The moment the last person entered the city, the gates slammed shut with a loud bang.
"What?!" The last member of the Sarutobi Clan stared blankly at the tightly closed door behind him, completely bewildered. The commotion from the front had left those behind dumbfounded.
Huge explosions echoed continuously ahead, the booming sounds incessant, and every now and then, various Ninjutsu such as Fire Style and Water Release rained down from the sky.
"An ambush! It's a trap!" the Sarutobi Clan in front shouted hoarsely, but they were already completely trapped in the pit dug by Yukimichi Uchiha, with no way to escape.
Yukimichi Uchiha stood atop the city wall, continuously throwing Canned Kunai made from modified Chakra Gunpowder downwards.
The area directly below the city gate was turned into an artificial minefield. Moreover, because they were positioned on higher ground, the Sarutobi Clan who were hit by the bombs were unable to effectively organize Ninjutsu to retaliate.