May 27th
After Tobirama's brutal clash with Iwa and the Edo Tensei ultimatum that forced Mu to retreat, the Iwa army pulled back toward the Land of Earth border. But they did not leave the Land of Grass.
Tobirama wanted to pursue and finish them. But with Suna's front suffering defeat and Kirigakure's invasion imminent, he made the only choice he could; return to Konoha and reorganize the reserves for a four-front war.
He used Hiraishin, a long‑distance jump he could only perform twice a day, and arrived in the Hokage's office in a flash
Upon his return, he was immediately greeted by his nephew, Kenichi(Hashirama's first born and Tsunade and Nawaki's father) and more distant nephew Uzumaki Koshina.
"Uncle Tobirama! I mean... Hokage-sama! Our scouts confirmed Kirigakure is mobilizing to invade Uzushio. I came to ask you to honor the alliance and help us repel them!"
"Of course. Konoha will send reinforcement. Do not worry, Koshina." Tobirama placed a steadying hand on her shoulder as he replied. "Do you have any intel on how many troops Kiri is deploying?"
Koshina swallowed.
"Our intelligence reports... over nine thousand shinobi. Including five hundred jonin. And… the Second Mizukage, Hōzuki Gengetsu."
Kenichi's eyes widened.
"What! The Mizukage himself?!!"
Tobirama frowned, but his voice remained calm.
"Do not fear. As long as Konoha stands, Uzushio will not fall."
Koshina exhaled in relief.
"Thank you! Tobirama-sama!"
"Alright, rest in Senju compound. We will deploy our reinforcement tomorrow."
Uzumaki envoys bowed and left.
Kenichi waited until the door closed.
"Uncle... what are we going to do? We already sent most of our shinobi to the three fronts. The ones left in the village are academy graduates, young chunin, and old jonin. We can't send many troops… can we?"
Tobirama shook his head as he took of his armor.
"Kenichii, do not worry. There is no need to send our young leaves to battlefield…... we will deploy our remaining clansmen... and the Uchiha."
Kenichi frowned and spoke in incredulous tone.
"... The Uchiha?!!"
He stroke his chin as he pondered the consequence of deploying Uchiha to Uzushio.
"I don't think they will accept this…"
"They have no choice." Tobirama said, "I have not used their clan designated mission quota yet. And the Police Force is still a subsidiary unit under Hokage's command."
Kenichi swallowed.
'That is only possible because the Hokage is you, uncle….'
Tobirama massaged his eyes as he ordered.
"Alright Kenichi, pass this order to Uchiha Sosuke. I must rest."
Kenichi nodded and left.
***
"You want us to support Uzushio and fight off Kiri...."
Uchiha Sosuke repeated the words slowly, calmly — too calmly.
'Did he expect this from the beginning...'
Kenichi carefully analyzed Sosuke's reaction as he nodded.
"Yes. Kiri is deploying over nine thousand shinobi including five hundred jonin and the Mizukage."
Sosuke closed his eyes momentarily and took a deep breath.
When he opened them again, the Sharingan was not active — but the fury behind them was unmistakable.
"So be it," he said quietly, "The Uchiha shall accepts this order."
Sosuke turned and walked out without greeting.
"You insolent!—"
"Kenjiro, Stop!"
Kenichi raised a hand.
"But Kenichi-sama!"
"We have wronged the Uchiha this time. Do not speak further."
"…. Yes, Kenichi-sama."
Kenichi watched Sosuke's silhouette disappear down the corridor.
'Uncle... Is this truly the best path for Konoha? You said the Uchiha are too powerful — that their growth must be halted or Konoha will become theirs. But must we contnue to antagonize them... like this?'
Kenichi shook his head and returned to Senju compound, troubled.
***
Sosuke stood before the assembled Uchiha jonin.
"Tobirama gave our clan mobilization order."
A murmur rippled through the hall.
"""!!!""", "Finally!", "Where are we deployed? Suna? Iwa?"
Sosuke's voice cut through the noise.
"We are going to Uzushio to confront Kiri's invasion."
"""???!!!!!"""
Silence follwed. Then...
"WHAT?!"
"Uzushio?!"
"Against Kiri?!"
All Uchiha clansmen tilted their heads in confusion. The clansmen gathered here were all jonins. They knew what this meant. Kiri specialized in Water Release. Uchiha specialized in Fire Release. Even genins understood that water release hold advantage over fire release, especially more so in water rich environment like Land of Whirlpool. This was no mere deployment, it was execution.
A young elite jonin, Uchiha Setsuna, commander of the Fifth Division, stepped forward, trembling with anger.
"Clan head! This is ridiculous! Are we really deploying to Uzushio? This is suicide!"
Sosuke met his gaze calmly and replied.
"I know that this is unreasonable."
"THEN WHY ACCEPT IT!"
Sosuke's voice sharpened
"So, what do you want to do, Setsuna? Should we rebel? Start a coup? Fight the Senju and Tobirama?"
Setsuna froze as Sosuke's cold voice continued.
"A portion of Anbu is still stationed within Konoha. Though Senju deployed over 6,000 ninjas to the fronts, they still have nearly a thousand in reserve. And that number does not include retired kunoichi and veterans of the Warring States Era."
He swept his gaze across the room.
"If we include every potential Senju above genin rank, they have at least five thousand chunin and five hundred jonin. Why do you think I and the elders have compromised for so long?"
The once active hall room turned silent.
"Suna, Iwa, and Kumo are all restless to show their accumulated strength. Do you think Kiri is any different? Do you think Tobirama does not see this?"
He continued.
"Senju officially has over four hundred fifty jonins and only four hundred or so were deployed. to the battlefield. The remaining jonins will join us in reinforcing Uzushio. Us facing Kiri was a planned."
*(Uchiha refers to all of Senju and ex-Senju members when they are speaking here.)*
Setsuna, still defiant, clenched his fists.
"Then we—"
"Coup is not an option," Sosuke cut him off. "Even if we miraculously kill Tobirama and the Senju, Konoha will be crippled. And most of our clansmen will die. At that time do you think other villages and nations will stand still? They will descend upon us like vultures."
The room turned cold as people gasped.
"Uchiha and Konoha will be no more at that point."
Setsuna lowered his head as shame and frustration twisted his expression. As a jonin, he was also aware of this fact. But the frustration, pride, and anger within him did not allow him to reason calmly.
Sosuke looked over rest of the clansmen who were equally frustrated with downcast expression.
"We have no choice… The Seventh and Sixth divisions are already deployed to Suna front. Except for the First Division, the rest of the clansmen will deploy to Uzushio. No genin below the age of 18 will join this war either."
"Sosuke-sama!"
"The First Division and the clan will remain under Sixth Elder's command. The rest of the clan will be left under Elder Ken's command."
"??!!!"
"This is the turning point in for the Uchiha. If Konoha wants us to spill our blood to prove our loyalty, then so be it. But if the Hokage and the village still reject us after this war..."
He puased as every jonin held their breath.
"...then there is nothing more to discuss. You you all know what must be done."
Gulp
A collective shiver ran through the clan. They understood. This was the last time the Uchiha would bend. If Konoha betrayed them again then there would be no more compromises.
…
In the end, Uchiha clan mobilized total of 112 Jonins, 1672 Chunins, and 92 Genins. They pulled old jonin and chunin from retirement. Even housewives who had once served in the Warring States Era returned to active duty.
Senju clan deployed 121 jonins and 1200 chunins and 150 genins.
Together with few Anbu and other ninja clans, Konoha deployed total of 251 Jonins, 3505 Chunins and 374 Genins. A total of 4,130 shinobi were amassed to aid Uzushio.