Hiruzen's lips twitched hearing this, and even Jiraiya became silent. It's not that he also believed in Hiruzen's nonsense, but he was speechless. He can't just destroy the decades of reputation his teacher built, can he? Even if that was fake.
" Ahem, Itachi, times have changed. Back then, all other ninja villages were busy building the foundation of their villages, and at that time Konoha was at its strongest while other ninja villages were at their weakest. Now, even if Konoha is the strongest ninja village, all other ninja villages will unite and attack Konoha, causing immense destruction.
The First Hokage himself declared that Konoha would only control the Nine-Tails and will not absorb any other tailed beast in the First Five Kage Summit. You can't go against the First Hokage, right? Return the Seven-Tails and Hero's Water, and Konoha would help the Uchiha clan pay half the compensation."
Hiruzen finally said softly, as if a kind elder advising a foolish descendant.
" Hokage-sama, other ninja villages have already broken the treaty of peace of the First Five Kage Summit, so there is no need for us to follow the old rules anymore. And I believe, however much time must have changed, with the prowess of the StrongestHokage, Konoha would once again secure victory and reign over justice."
" Then, will the Uchiha clan take the responsibility for all the deaths and damages in this war?" Seeing that soft methods won't work, Hiruzen proceeded with hard methods.
" Yes, by the name of Acting Patriarch of the Uchiha clan, I, Itachi Uchiha, swear that the Uchiha clan will be responsible for all the deaths and damages caused in this war."
Now everyone else was confused. How could the Uchiha clan bear the responsibilities of all the dead and also pay the compensation? If this war is as tragic as previous Great Wars, then the compensation will start in tens of billions of ryō and might even reach a staggering amount of more than a hundred billion a year. Within two to three years, the entire Uchiha clan, even if they sold themselves, would perish.
And how do we know that you would definitely pay the money and not betray Konoha?
Hiruzen was also annoyed hearing Itachi's nonsense, but he can't back down now.
Judging by Itachi's attitude, he will not give the Seven-Tails and is determined to harm Konoha, so he can only go through with it. First, he will now agree with Itachi's term and ask for a year or two of compensation in advance, and then after receiving the money, he can just spread the news all over Konoha that the Uchiha clan wants to create wars and end peace over the ninja world and is inherently evil. After all of Konoha is united against the Uchiha clan, he can finally destroy them and return the Seven-Tails.
" Okay, but first you have to pay for the total damages of the war for the next two years in advance before we give a reply to other ninja villages. In addition, at least 90% of the combat power of the Uchiha clan has to leave Konoha and guard the borders of the Hidden Cloud Village before the start of the war. If you accept these two terms, then Konoha is willing to protect the Uchiha clan even if so many of our companions die." Hiruzen said this with a look of pain, and other clan leaders were also conflicted.
They knew that if they forced the Uchiha clan now, then they would be 100% with the Hokage faction, but by then they would have to face multiple Mangekyo users and even Tailed Beasts. They haven't forgotten the Nine-Tails Tragedy years ago, but now the Uchiha were forcing them to choose a side. Either go to war and die or fight against the Uchiha and die.
" Okay, the Uchiha clan agrees to your two conditions. But before that, you have to settle our previous debt.
During the Third Great Ninja War, the village promised the Uchiha clan three times the normal compensation for holding Kirigakure even if we were at a disadvantage and lacked the support of the village.
During that war, we Uchiha lost dozens of our clansmen, with Uchiha Ryōichi, my uncle, taking the lead.
For years, whenever the Uchiha asked for money, the Hokage faction denied it with the excuse of lack of funds or for the village and other nonsense. The Uchiha clan still didn't betray the village, and when it was unbearable, you, Sarutobi Hiruzen, said that after the compensation from other ninja villages arrived after winning the war, the Uchiha clan would get the lion's share.
Sigh, we Uchiha were still too naive and believed in you and waited. We indeed won the war but, when it came to asking for compensation, you just signed the peace treaty and denied the compensation.
Till now, the Uchiha clan is paying all it's people with its own money. Pay the money first. After all calculations, the total compensation would be thirty-three billion ryō. It was at that time, and counting the inflation after these years.... Otibo, how much will it be?" While Itachi was saying this, he suddenly asked Obito.
" Ah ah, me? Right, my favourite number is 49—"
" Ahem, ahem." Just when Obito was continuing, Fugaku coughed loudly.
" Ahh, sorry, it would be 94 billion ryō." Hearing the answer, Fugaku finally smiled in satisfaction. But Hiruzen and the others weren't satisfied. Although the clan leaders and others felt sorry for the Uchiha clan, the same thing happened with them as well. They also didn't get the money they deserved. They also resented the coward Hiruzen who didn't ask for money, fearing outsiders and scheming against insiders. But the Uchiha clan is trying to take three times the money, and what about them?
" Absurd, do you want to rob the village? Just by opening your mouth, Konoha would give you around a hundred billion ryō, and that is before a new ninja war starts? Stop dreaming, all your previous agreement was for this, right? Do you want to pay the village with the village's own money?" Jiraiya roared with bloodshot eyes.
" Whatever, the final condition is that the village will pay for the Uchiha clan just like in previous wars. But since the Uchiha clan is going to stop a ninja village, you have to give money proportionately. You are deploying more than five Kage-level ninjas and tens of Jonin. The village will pay five hundred million ryō a day as payment, and the Uchiha clan will only fight the war until the money is paid to prevent betrayal like before. If all of these are acceptable to you, then we will sign an agreement the next minute."
" Heh, I was wondering why you Uchiha dared to take responsibility and even thought for a moment that you weren't completely evil, but you have once again proved how wrong I was. Five hundred million a day and over 180 billion ryō a year. What a good calculation. Even if this war is the most brutal, the total compensation wouldn't exceed more than a hundred billion, and you can give this money to them and take the rest of the money as profit for yourself.
I have been tolerating you Uchiha too much, and it seems you have forgotten that Konoha is bigger than Uchiha and is the only reason the Uchiha clan isn't exterminated like other ninja clans like Uzumaki and Hagoromo.
ATTACK !!!!!!"
Wild Lion's Mane Jutsu
Seeing Jiraiya attacking, all the other ninjas also became convinced. The Uchiha clan now just wants to destroy Konoha; they now have no other option than destroying the Uchiha.
Shadow Possession Jutsu
Partial Multi-Size Jutsu
Mind Transfer Jutsu
Mind Body Disturbance Jutsu
Insect Sphere Jutsu
All the ninja clan patriarchs and Jonin with special jutsu instantly attacked the Uchiha. As for the others with normal chakra natures, they haven't attacked because of the closed space, but they also became alert, ready to deal with anything.
Just when all the jutsu were about to collide with the only seated Uchiha, Fugaku opened his Mangekyo Sharingan, and with him as the centre, a black chakra entity started to form, and within a few seconds, the five of them were enveloped in a series of rib cages.
" Susanoo."
Hiruzen said with difficulty. Although the current Susanoo isn't even 1% of Madara's, it is still a power of a god. Finally, all the attacks collided with it, but it didn't even budge a single centimetre.
Itachi, on the other hand, quietly got up and bit his thumb. After that, forming a few seals, he slapped the ground, and with the palm as the centre, a massive circle formed entirely of black seals.
" You dare!!!" Hiruzen, seeing Itachi's action, shouted with rage, but it was already too late.
SUMMONING JUTSU: SEVEN-TAILS NANABI
The next moment, a cloud of smoke rose and then the entire building collapsed. But no one paid attention to the fall of the most important building in Konoha, because above Konoha, a sixty to seventy meter long giant rhinoceros beetle was flying.
ROARRRRR !!!!!
---
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Hello everyone, I hope you are all doing well.
The purpose of writing this note is simply to clear up any confusion and explain the current situation in the story.
Before this meeting, most of the ninja clans were disappointed with both the Hokage faction and the Uchiha clan. Because of this, they initially decided not to support either side and instead planned to remain neutral, letting the two factions resolve the conflict themselves.
However, after the events of the latest meeting, the situation has changed.
From the perspective of the other ninja clans, the Uchiha clan appears to be trying to pressure and exploit Konoha while pushing the situation closer to war. At the same time, they seem unwilling to compromise with the Hokage faction even though the world is already on the brink of the Fourth Great Ninja War.
Because of this, the other ninja clans have finally decided to support the Hokage faction.
Their reasoning is simple: even if they supported the Uchiha clan and helped them gain control of Konoha, they believe that little would truly change. In their eyes, the Uchiha clan no longer prioritizes Konoha as a whole and would likely focus mainly on strengthening their own clan.
Hiruzen, despite all his flaws, still represents the will and spirit of Konoha to them. They believe that, regardless of his mistakes, he would still be willing to sacrifice himself for the village. Because of this belief, and after repeated pressure from the Uchiha faction, the ninja clans have now chosen to stand against the Uchiha clan.
This is the current situation in the story.
I would also like to clarify something important. From the very beginning, Itachi never wanted these ninja clans to side with him. In fact, in this story, it is very unlikely that most of the clans would support the Uchiha. Maybe that could happen in another fanfiction, but in this one, their decision makes more sense for the world and the politics of Konoha.
And honestly, if they refuse to stand with the Uchiha… then they will simply face the consequences of that decision.
Finally, one more clarification: there will not be a full-scale war between the two sides yet. The major conflict will come after the next arc, which is the Demon Country Arc. After that arc ends, the Uchiha clan will finally break away from Konoha completely.
You can consider that a small spoiler.
Thank you very much for reading and supporting the story until now.