The intelligence ninja then stood up. "Great Elder, the Vice-Clan Head said you would understand once you saw the letter. This subordinate will take his leave."
After speaking, he vanished from the room using the Body Flicker Technique.
The Second Elder behind him, Uchiha Tianzang, leaned in and asked, "What is written on it?"
The Great Elder opened the envelope. The handwriting inside was Izuna's own. After reading the contents, the Great Elder spoke in a tone full of disbelief, "How is this possible?"
"What is impossible?" the Second Elder asked again.
The Great Elder handed him the letter. After the Second Elder read it, he uttered the same exclamation as the Great Elder: "How is this possible?"
The letter stated that soon, the Sarutobi and Shimura clans would declare war on the Hyuga.
When that time came, he hoped the Great Elder would immediately dispatch troops to reinforce the north.
Izuna had found a beautiful justification. Didn't you, Great Elder, say you wouldn't give reinforcements because you had to guard the south?
Well, now that the Hyuga in the south are busy fighting a war, there naturally can't be any threat. Now you surely cannot refuse to send reinforcements, right?
But the idea of Sarutobi and Shimura going to war with Hyuga seemed impossible no matter how one thought about it.
After all, the locations of these two groups were too far apart.
Straight lines were blocked by the two great mountains of Uchiha and Senju. If they wanted to fight, they had to take a detour, which was costly in both money and effort.
And even if they conquered territory, the distance was so great that the benefits gained after victory would be minimized.
Over several hundred years, these two sides had never even had friction, let alone a large-scale war.
At this moment, Izuna suddenly sent a letter saying they were going to fight.
This seemed impossible no matter how you looked at it!
But these words came from Izuna, the primary strategist of the Uchiha.
They had no choice but to believe it.
Thinking back, Izuna had asserted that the Sarutobi and Shimura would fight the four Northwestern clans, allowing the Uchiha to profit as the third party.
Back then, no one believed it either, yet the result was exactly within Izuna's expectations.
Would it be the same this time?
On the other side, relying on his formidable Near-Kage level strength, Sarutobi Furuyuki evaded the pursuit of the Gekko clan ninjas all the way back to the Sarutobi and Shimura clan grounds.
Upon receiving the news, the two clan heads, Sarutobi Furukawa and Shimura Keizo, immediately set aside all other matters to summon Sarutobi Furuyuki.
Sarutobi Furuyuki recounted word for word the conversation between Yuan and Gekko Fūha that he had heard on the roof.
He also mentioned that he was discovered by Yuan at the very end and almost failed to escape.
The members of both clans were shocked to learn that Yuan was actually a member of the Hyuga clan.
But Shimura Keizo immediately analyzed, "Thinking carefully, this is indeed possible. As a Hyuga, Yuan seems unrelated to the whole affair. In reality, if his plan succeeded, not only our Shimura and Sarutobi clans, but other major clans—including the Uchiha and Senju—would have been affected."
"It's just that the Uchiha and Senju had good luck and didn't listen to that guy's slander. Hmph! That bastard Hyuga Tenso is bent on surpassing the Uchiha and Senju to become the number one clan in the Warring States. I didn't expect him to pull such a move."
Suddenly, an elite Jonin of the Shimura could not help but stand up, his fighting spirit soaring. "Clan Head, these Hyuga people are simply malicious at heart. They caused my two clans to suffer such great losses. We cannot let this grudge go unavenged!"
"Of course we must take revenge. However, we need to consider this carefully."
Shimura Keizo pointed to the large map hanging on the wall behind him. "Look, separated from the Hyuga by the Uchiha and Senju. If we have to detour, transporting provisions will take at least half a month. There are too many problems."
The more level-headed Sarutobi Furukawa did not stop Shimura Keizo's idea of war this time. Instead, he also began to analyze the tactical situation. "If we can use the official roads controlled by the Uchiha or the Senju, grain transport can be completed within five days."
Another Sarutobi Jonin realized with a start, "Clan Head, do you mean... borrow a path?!"
Shimura Keizo rubbed his chin. "Borrow a path? That is indeed a good solution. But Furukawa, which side do you intend to ask?"
Uchiha and Senju both held key transportation routes. Which clan should they ask?
Regardless of which clan they asked, they would have to offer a certain amount of remuneration and show goodwill, which was tantamount to offending the other clan.
And neither the Uchiha nor the Senju were people one wanted to offend.
Sarutobi Furukawa's gaze swept over the high-ranking personnel present one by one. He spoke plainly, "Everyone should have an idea in their hearts, right?"
The crowd nodded involuntarily and spoke up one after another:
"Senju."
"We should choose Senju."
"Senju is better."
"The Uchiha personality is too erratic; it's not suitable."
...
Everyone spoke in turn, all believing they should choose the Senju.
Moreover, in the current war between the two sides, although the victor was hard to predict, the Senju held the upper hand after all.
People who bet on sports knew that one should place their wager on the side with the higher chance of winning.
If one had to choose between offending the Senju and offending the Uchiha, it was better to offend the Uchiha.
Shimura Keizo slammed the table and decided, "Bring a brush. I will personally write a request to borrow the road to the Senju!"
Uchiha Northern Territory, Shirotani Pass Military Camp.
Led by Uchiha Shin and Uchiha Akichi, the high-ranking Jonin were divided into two vertical rows, left and right. Gathered in Izuna's command tent, after listening to the news sent back by the intelligence ninja, their faces were filled with fanatical adoration. They bowed to Izuna with cupped fists, their voices resonant and powerful: "The Vice-Clan Head predicts things like a god! We are in awe!"
The reason Uchiha Akichi and the others said this was because they had received firsthand news brought by the Shadow Investigation Department—the Sarutobi and Shimura clans were indeed assembling troops and beginning preparations to declare war on the Hyuga.
And half a month ago, Izuna had predicted that the Sarutobi and Shimura would declare war on the Hyuga.
To everyone else, this had seemed absolutely impossible.
Yet, it had happened just like that.
Under such circumstances, how could Uchiha Akichi and the others not feel admiration for Izuna?
"Vice-Clan Head, what should we do next?" Uchiha Akichi asked impatiently.
"Defend with all our might," Izuna said without hesitation. "Wait until the two sides truly start fighting. That will be the time for our total counterattack."
"Also, send this handwritten letter of mine back to the clan grounds and give it to the Great Elder."
On the other side of Shirotani Pass, in the Senju camp.
Senju Yuma gathered the main high-ranking personnel of the allied forces at the Shirotani Pass battlefield, including Senju Unkan and Uzumaki Hiro'umi, to discuss how to breach the Uchiha's Shirotani Pass.
At this moment, thick bandages wrapped around Senju Yuma's right shoulder, and a small patch of his left cheek bore an extremely obvious, twisted burn scar. These were all left by Izuna.
Senju Unkan also had many injuries on his body, the most obvious being a burn on the back of his hand.
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