He was afraid that if he concentrated all his strength and failed to overwhelm them in one go, he would be ambushed by Kumogakure and Iwagakure, becoming vulnerable to attacks from both front and back.
Fighting three countries at once was something Konoha couldn't endure.
What he considered was that the Land of Fire and Konoha had large populations and abundant resources, making a war of attrition advantageous for Konoha, as war was ultimately just a competition of national power.
Therefore, whether Second Body wanted a lightning war or a war of attrition, both were viable; they were just two different tactics, with no inherent superiority or inferiority.
If the Third Shinobi World War was counted from the start of the war between Konoha and Hidden Sand Village, then the duration of the Third Shinobi World War would need to be extended by two years.
If it was counted from when Konoha simultaneously faced attacks from the Four Great Shinobi Villages, then it was only about three years, but the Third Shinobi World War did not seem to end with a peace treaty.
Only Hidden Sand Village was crushed earliest, so they signed a treaty, acknowledging Konoha as their leader, while Iwagakure and Hidden Cloud Village merely temporarily abandoned their attacks.
Finally, only the stubborn Hidden Mist Village, under Obito's meddling, was simultaneously carrying out a purge of Bloodline Limit families and engaging in small-scale skirmishes with Konoha.
These were all events from the original story; now, with Uchiha Ling as a variable in Konoha, the situation was naturally much better than in the original story.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had received intelligence that Hidden Sand Village was already beginning war mobilization, specifically by manipulating public opinion to make all Sunagakure aware that Konoha had killed their Genin who participated in the Chunin Exams.
In reality, any Jonin in the Village knew the true situation; everyone had an unspoken understanding.
Some didn't want to fight but dared not openly expose these matters, some wanted to fight believing they could gain military merits, and the last group consisted of Ninja who harbored deep hatred for Konoha.
As Hidden Sand Village was about to launch the war, Rasa finally managed to win over people's hearts by selling gold dust and using the money, and now he finally began to announce his official ascension as the Fourth Kazekage.
All the Kazekage, starting from the Third Kazekage, died young.
The Third Kazekage looked young and died at the hands of Sasori of the Red Sand.
The Fourth Kazekage was even younger, around the same age as Minato, and died at Orochimaru's hands during the Konoha Crush Plan.
If the Fifth Kazekage hadn't been saved by Chiyo using the One's Own Life Reincarnation, he would have died before reaching adulthood.
The Hokage were safer; except for Minato, who died young, they all lived to be quite old, and the Fifth Generation and Sixth Generation are still alive among the new generation.
Konoha had long been preparing for war, but had not yet begun war mobilization.
Konoha was accustomed to reacting, only mobilizing after other Ninja Villages declared war.
This delay in seizing military opportunities, aside from earning a good reputation, was useless.
Facing Hidden Sand Village's false accusations, Konoha naturally issued an official letter stating that the matter was purely fabricated.
Second Body felt that this war against Hidden Sand Village was very suitable for the Uchiha Clan, as Fire Release countered Wind Release, which was much better than participating in the Hidden Mist Village war later on.
So Second Body immediately convened a family meeting, and after clarifying her intentions, Second Body specifically glanced at Uchiha Setsuna, who was no longer as fierce as before.
"Why are you looking at this old man? Do you think this old man will object? This old man doesn't object for the sake of objecting.
As long as your choice is correct and can lead the Uchiha forward, this old man doesn't want to worry about Uchiha matters."
Uchiha Setsuna now resembled Shoya more than a Hawk Faction elder, even the scar on his face had softened.
"What benefits does the Uchiha fighting first bring to the Uchiha?"
Uchiha Fugaku raised his doubt; he knew that he was only the nominal clan head now, and most of the Uchiha's lower and middle ranks were basically Second Body's followers.
Mainly, some of Second Body's policies had also begun to show initial results.
Without Danzo specifically targeting them, the Police Force had other, more deplorable Shinobi clan police and civilian police for comparison.
Furthermore, the handsome men and beautiful women of the Uchiha had gained many fans in Konoha, and with Uchiha Chunin and Jonin joining task forces, many people realized that while Uchiha were proud, they possessed an unyielding spirit, and each of them was somewhat tsundere.
Having an Uchiha as a teammate not only significantly boosted team strength, but Uchiha truly stepped up when needed.
"Sharp tongue, soft heart" was now Konoha's label for the Uchiha.
In reality, these were all personas Second Body specifically crafted, combined with the ideological construction she carried out within the clan: not for them to be proud of the Uchiha, but for the Uchiha to be proud of them.
Of course, there were still Uchiha who didn't fit Second Body's crafted persona, but she arranged for them to complete bounty missions or produce Exploding Tags.
Now, with Exploding Tags as a source of income, the Uchiha were unprecedentedly wealthy, and many Uchiha with average talent could also obtain sufficient cultivation resources.
Under deliberate promotion, Second Body's prestige now could rival Uchiha Madara during the Sengoku period; if she said she wanted a coup, she would probably have many followers.
"There are three benefits to the Uchiha applying to fight first.
First, this is a war with Hidden Sand Village, and Fire Release has an advantage over Wind Release."
"Second, the Uchiha being the first to request to fight will help enhance the Uchiha's reputation within the Village, and our support for the Hokage's policies will earn us a certain amount of goodwill."
"Third, I will participate in this war and hold an important position.
With me there, the Uchiha will not be targeted.
As long as you don't die on the spot, I can save you with my Medical Ninjutsu."
Second Body calmly drank the barley tea in her hand, and a discerning Uchiha maid immediately refilled her cup, looking at Second Body with adoration.
"Now that I've finished speaking, who is in favor? Who is against? Those in favor, please raise your hands to vote, as I am not a dictator."
Second Body's words made all the elders twitch at the corners of their eyes.
From top to bottom, everyone in the Uchiha, except Uchiha Chiri, had been disciplined by her for various reasons.
Whether it was fighting together or one-on-one, no one could defeat her.
Everyone also knew Second Body's strength; the Uchiha ultimately spoke through strength.
In terms of strength, no Uchiha was stronger than her, not even Uchiha Chiri.
Although Chiri had Mangekyo, apart from her Mangekyo ocular Ninjutsu, she had no other Ninjutsu that could counter Uchiha Ling.
After all, Second Body's Wind King Barrier could distort light-based and sound-based genjutsu; only Izanami was something that could give her trouble.
Although Chiri's Izanami would blind one eye after each use, the ocular Ninjutsu of her other eye, Mokkai Hanahime, could extract plant life force for recovery.
However, it also required three years to fully recover, and it had been less than three years since her last use, so Chiri's Izanami could only be used once more.
However, Chiri was very kind to Second Body, and Second Body also liked her Great-Grandmother, this scoundrel among scoundrels.
Second Body also often repaired some of her cells under the guise of checking Chiri's body.
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