Naruto: Sukuna Jinchuriki, I am Uchiha.

Page 20

According to Jiraiya, Kagami's heart was not bad, but he cared more about the Uchiha clan than the village.

This is... an inability to escape the narrow-mindedness of one's own kind.

In Hiruzen Sarutobi's view, based on this point alone, he would never give Kagami Uchiha the opportunity to access high-level power.

If Orochimaru's plan succeeds, it could indeed end the war and friction with the Land of Wind.

If we can quickly subdue the Land of Wind and form an alliance with it, we might be able to deter the other ninja villages.

It's even possible that the Third Shinobi World War could be postponed.

The word "peace" was too tempting for Hiruzen Sarutobi.

After pondering for a long time, he summoned a ninja.

"Have the ninjas I marked on the list prepare to head to the western front."

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not follow Orochimaru's list exactly; those guys were all staunch Uchiha radicals.

He selected half of them, and then added some moderate Uchiha, including Uchiha Fugaku.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Fugaku had in-depth exchanges.

He could tell that Fugaku did not want the rift between the village and the Uchiha to widen further, and was willing to make some compromises for that purpose.

At dusk, Hiruzen Sarutobi met with Fugaku Uchiha alone.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Hiruzen Sarutobi got straight to the point.

"Fugaku-kun, what kind of person do you think Kagami is?"

Fugaku paused for a moment, then lowered his head and replied, "He is an extremely talented ninja, and he is also very friendly to his family and friends. He is an amazing kid."

Although he had clashed with Uchiha Kagami before, he wouldn't talk about it in front of outsiders.

Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a puff of smoke and said in a deep voice, "It's just that he's friendly to his clansmen, right?"

"Lord Hokage..."

Raising his hand to signal him to listen, Hiruzen Sarutobi continued, "I specifically arranged for Jiraiya to take Kagami in, because I recognized his talent."

"But in the past year or so, it seems his mind hasn't changed; he's still not close enough to the other Konoha ninjas..."

Cold sweat beaded on Fugaku's forehead as he resorted to his universal formula: "Hokage-sama, he's just a child, he's not very good at expressing himself."

"You know, that's not what I want to hear."

From the time of Fugaku's Chronicles, Hiruzen Sarutobi was the Hokage.

This accumulated power over decades made Fugaku feel like he was walking on thin ice.

This seemingly innocuous sentence made him feel like a child being criticized by a teacher, completely at a loss.

"Lord Hokage, I will definitely change Kagami's mind and help him build a deep bond with his fellow villagers!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Mr. Fugaku."

Chapter 25 Kannabi Bridge

A few days later, Fugaku Uchiha arrived with fifty Uchiha ninjas.

The base has two tomoe, and including Fugaku, there are seven pairs of three tomoe.

This force is enough to handle a small battle.

"Fugaku, you've come!"

Minato greeted Fugaku with some surprise, and Fugaku's usually expressionless face broke into a rare smile.

The two had worked together on missions in their early years and developed a deep friendship.

It was precisely because of Minato Namikaze's existence that Fugaku felt it was feasible to integrate the Uchiha clan into the village.

However, several dozen members of the Uchiha clan who had come with Fugaku walked directly behind Uchiha Kagami, clearly separating themselves from Fugaku's group.

The atmosphere was slightly awkward.

Fugaku was also a little embarrassed. He was clearly the clan leader. If you wanted to express your stance, you should wait until after everyone had dispersed!

Uchiha Kagami glanced at the people behind him; they were all teenagers, and only one of them had three tomoe.

"Xuanhuo, how is Elder Shenhuo's health?" He looked at the only young man in the group with three tomoe.

"Thank you for your concern. My father's health is alright."

Xuanhuo is the son of Shenhuo and shares the same thoughts as Shenhuo.

He showed subordinate-like respect to Uchiha Kagami, the faction successor chosen by the divine fire.

Like his father, he firmly believed that Uchiha Kagami could lead the Uchiha clan to prosperity!

In recent years, the Uchiha clan has shown obvious signs of division. Fugaku advocates for integration into the village, and as the clan head, he was originally able to guide his clansmen.

However, Uchiha Kagami's talent is obvious to the naked eye, and it can even be said that he has already realized his potential. His strength is no weaker than that of the clan leader.

With a leader now in place, the Uchiha, who were dissatisfied with the village, naturally wouldn't follow the crowd and firmly stood on Kagami's side.

This is also what makes Hiruzen Sarutobi the most upset.

I've already arranged for my own disciples to be your teachers, so why can't you open up to the village?

What else could you possibly be dissatisfied with?

Fugaku couldn't understand it either. The Third Hokage had sent such a clear signal: as long as Kagami behaved, even if he was just pretending, he should at least act approachable.

Then becoming Hokage isn't impossible!

The mirror cannot be explained.

This is a matter of proportion.

No matter how much the Uchiha clan did, in the minds of the Third Hokage and others, they were still an inherently evil clan that needed to be guarded against.

How could the influence of the Uchiha clan compare to the teachings of the Second Hokage?

He didn't want to explain.

Fugaku's arrival indicates that he has chosen the Hokage's side, just as Uchiha Kagami originally envisioned.

Then there's no need to give this clan leader any face.

"According to Lord Orochimaru's orders, all Uchiha ninjas must obey my commands."

"Is everything alright, Fugaku... clan head?"

Fugaku's expression was somewhat unpleasant. He glanced at Minato, who was smiling bitterly, and nodded while suppressing his anger.

"Of course, on the battlefield, every ninja must obey orders!"

He emphasized the word "command".

Since Jing has given him a hard time, then don't blame him for turning hostile.

He took out a scroll from his robes and said in a deep voice, "Then, according to the Hokage's orders, Uchiha Kagami, you should obey my commands!"

Uchiha Kagami wasn't surprised and chuckled lightly.

"I apologize, but when a general is in the field, he may disobey the emperor's orders."

"I do not approve of Chief Fugaku's leadership abilities. In the face of some unexpected situations, I will rely on my own judgment."

You were just saying you were acting on Orochimaru's orders, and now that I've brought up the Hokage, you're denying it?

Seeing the two arguing back and forth, Minato was also troubled.

He knew about the Uchiha clan and the inclinations of the village's higher-ups; the complex relationships involved were beyond his current ability to unravel.

To prevent the conflict from escalating, the former Minato Namco Sports intervened and smoothed things over.

"We are all comrades in Konoha. Let's decide on specific actions based on the situation on the battlefield."

"Our main task is to hold the border, or at least that goal is the same."

Orochimaru, having learned that the Uchiha clan was approaching a day earlier, led his men to attack the Land of Wind.

Speed ​​is of the essence in war; he wanted to catch Chiyo off guard.

The current supreme commander on the front lines is actually Sarutobi Shinnosuke.

He simply looked at the group of Uchiha and wisely refrained from interrupting.

Most Uchiha people look down on ninjas from other clans, and it's a common understanding that they are difficult to get along with. His status as the son of the Hokage is of little use.

Few people could gain the approval of the Uchiha clan, but fortunately, Minato was one of them.

Both Uchiha Kagami and Fugaku were willing to give Minato face.

Inside the makeshift tents at the front lines.

Shuimen spread out a map and pointed to a spot.

“I’ve surveyed the terrain; this is a necessary route for any large-scale military movement by Iwagakure.”

The location he was pointing to was in the northwest of the Land of Grass.

There's a famous bridge there... and it will become even more famous in the coming years.

"As long as we are stationed here, we can block any possible surprise attack from the main force of Iwagakure."

"I will leave the Flying Thunder God mark on the border of the Land of Fire. If a few strong individuals take other routes, I can lead my men to intercept them in time."

With the Flying Thunder God Technique, many tactics become much easier to formulate.

Iwagakure hasn't made a move against Konoha yet; only a small number of ninjas from both sides are wandering around the Land of Grass.

Even Minato Namikaze never considered the thoughts of the Land of Grass.

The reason for the existence of small countries like theirs is to serve as strategic buffer zones for larger powers.

"Just blow up this bridge."

Uchiha Kagami said, "Anyway, according to the original course of history, this bridge would have been blown up anyway."

Minato smiled wryly: "This is an important transportation hub. We haven't even started a war with Iwagakure yet. How can we do something like this?"

The deliberate destruction of the Kannabi Bridge can be seen as Konoha declaring war on Iwagakure.

Since the First Shinobi World War, Konoha has never proactively declared war on any other ninja village.

Uchiha Kagami was just saying it casually, knowing that such behavior was unreasonable.

He suddenly thought of something else...

Madara Uchiha should have been in the Land of Grass when the Battle of Kannabi Bridge took place.

So, is he there now?

Probably……

After all, moving such a large piece of furniture as the Gedo Mazo is no easy task.

However, this is just speculation. The information that Uchiha Kagami had was too disorganized, and the timeline had many inconsistencies, so it can only be used as a reference.

Uchiha Kagami was not worried about encountering Uchiha Madara.

On one hand, Madara is old and his looks have faded, so he probably can't use much power anymore, and the Rinnegan is being nurtured in Nagato's body.

on the other hand……

Throughout the entire ordeal, Madara Uchiha never killed a single member of the Uchiha clan.

Even in the final battle, he gave Sasuke a chance to surrender.

Sasuke, oblivious to the danger, claimed it was a relic from the old era and lunged at it, smashing his chest against the sword, which nearly killed him.

Madara looked down on the Uchiha clan, but he wouldn't exterminate them; that wouldn't be in line with his character.

If it weren't for the existence of Black Zetsu, Uchiha Kagami would have wanted to explain the situation to Uchiha Madara and even ask the old patriarch to come out of seclusion.

After discussion, it was decided that Minato Namikaze, Kagami Uchiha, and Fugaku Uchiha would lead five Jonin-level fighters to guard the Kannabi Bridge.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke and the other ninjas were scattered along the border near the Land of Earth as a guard.

The operation began, and they encountered a small number of Iwagakure and Kusagakure ninjas along the way.