Konoha.
The Uchiha Clan.
Inside a meeting room at the center of the clan compound, Uchiha Fugaku looked at the document in his hand and could not help smiling.
"The Hyūga Clan actually abolished its main and branch family system."
He shook his head with a quiet laugh.
"Lord Fifth Hokage is truly impressive. Without even exerting much effort, he subdued the Hyūga Clan completely."
"That's right."
Uchiha Inabi's eyes filled with undisguised admiration.
"For the Uchiha Clan to produce someone like Lord Fifth Hokage Uchiha Ren… that is a blessing earned over several lifetimes."
"The Fifth Hokage is the pillar of our Uchiha clan."
"When has the Uchiha Clan ever been as proud as we are now?"
"The Hyūga Clan submitting beneath Lord Ren's authority sounds unbelievable at first, but when you think about it, it makes perfect sense."
"Lord Fifth Hokage has far greater vision than the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Hokage."
With Inabi taking the lead, the other Uchiha higher-ups in the room began speaking one after another, their voices filled with reverence.
To them, after Ren saved the Uchiha Clan on the night of the massacre, he had already become the clan's undisputed king.
To put it bluntly, if Ren had not appeared, the Uchiha Clan would have been wiped out by Konoha's old leadership—Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzō Shimura, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane.
But now?
The wheel of fortune had turned.
Hiruzen, Danzō, Homura, and Koharu had all been killed.
The Sarutobi and Shimura clans had fallen in return.
They had tried to slaughter the Uchiha, only to bring ruin upon themselves.
"Mm."
Fugaku nodded with a faint smile before his expression turned serious.
"This time, in the Fourth Great Ninja War, the Uchiha Clan must show its power."
"We must fight with the dignity of our name."
"Agreed."
"We should."
"The Uchiha shinobi have been waiting for this for far too long."
Uchiha Inabi, Uchiha Tekka, and the other higher-ups immediately nodded, their expressions firm.
After Ren became Hokage, the Uchiha Clan had become the undisputed number-one clan in Konoha—and perhaps the entire shinobi world.
Now that war was about to begin, and the shinobi alliance was marching toward Konoha, the Uchiha Clan naturally had to reveal some of its true strength.
At the same time, it was not only the Uchiha Clan.
The Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka, and other Konoha clans had also learned that the Hyūga Clan had abolished its main and branch family system.
After the initial shock, each clan quickly began making preparations.
Everyone seemed to have the same idea.
They would use the incoming shinobi alliance to display the strength and prestige of their own clans.
There was no helping it.
Ever since Uchiha Ren became Hokage, Konoha's restrictions on clans had been fully loosened.
Unlike during Hiruzen Sarutobi's rule, where every major clan had been suppressed out of fear that they might rebel, the new policy was simple:
the stronger your clan became, the more resources you could earn.
Because of that, every clan head had been working desperately to grow their clan and raise its overall strength.
Of course, it was not only Konoha's internal clans.
The Hidden Rain Village, Takigakure, Kirigakure, Sunagakure, and the other powers that had submitted to Konoha had also entered combat readiness.
At that moment—
inside a large compound in Konoha—
the elite forces of the Hidden Rain Village, Takigakure, Kirigakure, Sunagakure, Loulan, and other allied powers had gathered together.
"The main forces of Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Otogakure are already advancing toward Konoha."
The Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi, looked unusually serious.
"This time, we must perform well."
"We cannot disappoint Lord Fifth Hokage Uchiha Ren."
Her eyes sharpened.
"We must display our strength and make Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Otogakure pay in blood."
A rare eagerness flickered in Mei's gaze as she spoke.
"That's right."
The Queen of Loulan was the first to agree.
"Whether it is Iwagakure, Kumogakure, Otogakure, Black Zetsu, White Zetsu, or the masked Uchiha Obito—none of them can stop Lord Fifth Hokage from unifying the shinobi world."
Because Ren had already explained many hidden truths in advance, the situation was no longer like the original course of events.
Madara, Obito, Black Zetsu, White Zetsu, and even the Eye of the Moon Plan had all been made public.
Everyone now knew that the alliance between Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Otogakure was being manipulated from the shadows by Madara and his group.
Perhaps Madara, Obito, and Black Zetsu were powerful.
But so what?
With Lord Fifth Hokage standing behind them, there was nothing to fear.
They only needed to fight.
If possible, they would beat the Fourth Raikage, A, and the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, until they knelt and admitted defeat.
"Takigakure's elite shinobi are ready."
"Amegakure's forces have completed all preparations."
"Sunagakure's shinobi are also in position. We just need to fight."
After Mei and the Queen of Loulan spoke, Konan of Amegakure, Chiyo of Sunagakure, and the leader of Takigakure all voiced their support.
Their confidence was clear.
This war was coming.
And this time, they would stand on Konoha's side and fight to the end.
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