Uchiha Clan Territory
"Hmm?" Uchiha Takashi asked in confusion. Just now, he had gone to see the Communication Ninja Cat as usual.
The so-called "communication Ninja Cat" refers to a designated cat that is summoned once every three hours within the clan's territory. Any clan member outside the clan can use this cat to transmit messages.
The time difference between the beginning and end of the communication would absolutely not exceed three hours, which was the fastest way the Uchiha could think of to transmit information.
Of course, this system is one-way; it only allows those outside to transmit information back to the family headquarters, but the family headquarters has no way to transmit information to those operating outside.
However, this approach has a drawback: after doing this kind of thing too often, the Ninja Cat would quit, so the Uchiha had to frequently rotate them, having Hakimi do it on a rotating basis.
Furthermore, non-urgent messages cannot be transmitted, otherwise it could easily trigger a strike by Hakimi.
Just now, Ninja Cat brought back some new information: at the southern front, Yukimichi Uchiha and his men have been ordered to capture the Shimura Clan's front lines.
All of this was within his expectations. After all, Shimura's strength was simply insufficient to hold the position against the Uchiha's assault, not to mention the annihilation of so many ninjas.
But why did news arrive again so soon, only a few hours later? And why did this news make Uchiha Takashi's eyes widen in disbelief?
What does it mean to launch a surprise attack under cover of darkness and annihilate the Shimura Clan? What does it mean that the Shimura split apart, with most of them surrendering, and the Uchiha who did not surrender, except for a very small number who escaped to the Shinobi World, were all killed?
When Uchiha Takashi heard this news, his brain almost shut down. There was just too much information at once. One second they were saying they had captured the front lines, and the next second it was revealed that they had smashed the enemy's headquarters.
The leap in events was too great; Uchiha Takashi didn't quite grasp it at first. It wasn't until he came to his senses that he finally understood what had happened.
He wasn't wrong; it was Yukimichi Uchiha. Seeing the huge gains at the front lines, the kid had a different idea, and Dai Uchiha happened to have the same thought. The two battle maniacs hit it off and launched a night attack on Shimura.
Then, by combining this with the internal strife within the Shimura Clan, we can deduce the subsequent results.
Uchiha Takashi smirked. Although Yukimichi Uchiha had indeed disobeyed his orders, the final result was good. Moreover, if he had known about this victory on the battlefield, he would have ordered a pursuit as well.
Yukimichi Uchiha can only be described as seizing the victory, demonstrating the strategic vision of a frontline commander.
While it's true that merits shouldn't outweigh demerits, the merits were far too great, completely covering up the fault. Uchiha Takashi didn't intend to punish him.
However, Yukimichi Uchiha also sent back not only the battle results, but also the plan for dealing with Shimura, which required the decision of Uchiha Takashi, the clan head.
Uchiha Takashi stroked his chin. Shimura... because he hadn't considered the possibility of their surrender or submission, he hadn't made any prior plans.
The sudden vassalage of Shimura really caught him off guard.
However, he made a decision after only two or three seconds of thought.
According to the intelligence sent back by the Shimura Clan, at most a few dozen ninjas had escaped, while the rest had either been killed or remained at the main camp.
The remaining ninjas were scattered across the four camps, and none of them were particularly difficult to deal with.
A message could be easily sent from Shimura's headquarters, and the matter could be settled directly with a proclamation. After all, their loyalty was only to the headquarters and their clan territory; fleeing forces were not a consideration.
As for those civilians from Shimura who surrendered, Uchiha Takashi would absolutely not allow them to accumulate the power to betray him.
People like them, according to Uchiha Takashi, are characterized by fearing power but not virtue, flattering the strong and bullying the weak—a typical lifestyle where they fawn over you and act like your lackeys when you are powerful.
When you are weak, they will bare their fangs and bite you without hesitation.
Uchiha Takashi had countless ways to punish such a person.
The commoners of the Shimura Clan could never be completely united, not only because it would be easier to accumulate strength if they were united, but more importantly, because they were feared to rebel.
Therefore, to disperse them, Uchiha Takashi decided to relocate some Uchiha civilians to the Shimura Clan's territory to ensure they maintained a dominant position.
In this way, the Uchiha can ensure sufficient control over Shimura's headquarters.
The ninjas of the Shimura Clan were all assigned to the Uchiha Clan's headquarters and the front lines. As for the Shimura's territory, he would entrust it to a dedicated Uchiha unit.
This would also prevent the Shimura ninjas from betraying them.
Shimura's headquarters is now their vassal state, there's no need for four camps to protect it; simply withdraw the ninjas from those four locations.
Uchiha Takashi roughly estimated that there were currently between 100 and 200 Uchiha ninjas who had submitted to them.
To be honest, Uchiha Takashi wouldn't even consider such a small number of people worth his time; after all, they wouldn't even be enough to fill a gap in his teeth as cannon fodder on the front lines.
The quality wasn't great, and the quantity wasn't much either, but no matter what, this group could still withstand a few Ninjutsu. The front lines were always short of Teletubbies, and Uchiha Takashi was reluctant to use his Uchiha clansmen to fill the gaps, these guys were a good alternative.
After finalizing some details, Uchiha Takashi conveyed the plan for dealing with the Shimura Clan to Yukimichi Uchiha at Shimura's headquarters via crow messenger.
Watching the crow fly away, Uchiha Takashi slowly turned around. Now it would have to consider matters concerning the Senju front lines.
The news of Shimura's surrender and allegiance would soon reach Senju and his Uzumaki; it couldn't be kept secret for long, Senju would definitely do something upon learning of it.
After all, with Shimura's surrender, the Uchiha's southern region was no longer threatened, allowing the Uchiha to redeploy most of their southern forces back to the northeast to defend against the Senju.
The Senju Clan will most likely take advantage of the Uchiha's lack of manpower while they are away attacking Shimura, and launch a probing attack on the front lines. Therefore, Uchiha Takashi must prepare in advance.
At this point, the drawbacks of expanding territory also became apparent, specifically the drawback of having too few people and too much land.
The total number of Uchiha ninjas is limited. Even after absorbing the Chinoike, the number remains the same, not to mention that the Chinoike hasn't completely taken over yet.
At this point, it wasn't easy to move towards the Chinoike. Although one of the four front lines was missing, the Shimura territory needed to be defended, so they couldn't actually recover many troops.
Adding to the garrison troops secretly dispersed from the Uchiha Village, there were practically no mobile forces left to mobilize within the clan's headquarters.
Furthermore, there aren't many high-end combatants left. Homura Uchiha and Fū Uchiha are guarding the Uchiha Village, while Dai Uchiha and Yukimichi Uchiha are currently in the south. At most, we can call Yukimichi Uchiha back.
Therefore, the only high-level combatants remaining within the clan's territory are Uchiha Takashi, the former First Elder Tatsu Uchiha, and the Third Elder Kyō Uchiha.
This is also one of the disadvantages of having a large territory; high-end combat power will be dispersed, making it easy for enemies to break through from the high-end combat power level when facing a mortal foe.
However, Uchiha Takashi wasn't worried about that. He possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan and was confident he could hold his own on the high-level battlefield.