The next day.
The entire Ninja World learned of Hiruzen's death.
Konoha was in decline, and Iwagakure and Kumogakure launched a war.
This was not the first time. It was the same after the Nine-Tails incident. It was just that last time, Kumogakure was alone against Konoha, while Iwagakure was looking for opportunities from behind. This time, Kumogakure and Iwagakure launched the war together.
Some said this was the Fourth Great Ninja War but many did not agree.
Until the ships of Kirigakure appeared, heading straight for Konoha.
At this moment, no one said it wasn't the Fourth Great Ninja War anymore.
While Sunagakure was tempted, due to the chaos in the village, many ninjas coveted the vacant Kazekage position, so they were unable to act and hid, afraid of being targeted by others.
At this time, Konoha needed to deal with Iwagakure from the northwest, Kumogakure from the northeast, and Kirigakure from the east.
A war on three fronts!
Kirigakure's entry into the war made the faces of the once confident Konoha ninjas look very grim.
Shikaku also needed to re-layout the strategy. He needed to squeeze out a team from the two battle lines to counter Kirigakure.
The Uchiha clan remained silent.
Koharu and Homura, however, sent people to pass a message, saying that since the Uchiha clan wanted the position of Hokage, they should be the ones to take responsibility.
This move of drawing aggro left not only the Jonin dumbfounded, but even Shikaku was stunned.
Were they in such a hurry to die?
However, the Jonin did not speak, just watching the Uchiha clan and Shikaku.
Shisui and Fugaku first looked at Itachi, as if asking, "Should we take action now?"
After all, the crimes of Hiruzen were to be pinned on Koharu and Homura. They had originally planned to deal with them after the war ended, to avoid the Uchiha being labeled as "disregarding the big picture" if they acted now, which would prevent them from successfully wiping out both of their clans completely.
But now, with these two guys jumping around like this, the Uchiha clan could stop holding back. They were standing on the side of justice.
But Itachi was somewhat hesitant. Dealing with them now would destabilize the morale of the army.
Therefore, the three of them looked at Hiromi, seeking his opinion.
"Up to you." Hiromi said.
He was already planning to wipe out the other clans that were staying out of the conflict, so why would he care whether Konoha perished or not?
Anyway, with his current abilities, it was enough to protect the Uchiha clan safely.
"It can be done or not done…" Shisui weighed it, then said, "Then let's endure them one more time."
Hearing this, the Jonin's lips twitched, and they felt some trepidation and unease. They thought of the clans that had been hostile to the Uchiha—Shimura and Sarutobi.
Both of these clans had been wiped out, while the Uchiha were doing better and better.
Could it be… the Uchiha did it?
Otherwise, it was too much of a coincidence.
This shocked them as if they had discovered the truth. Their bodies and minds were cold, and their eyes trembled as they looked at the Uchiha clan.
Shikaku breathed a sigh of relief. He ignored the message brought by the people of Koharu and Homura, and said, "For Kirigakure, we will scrape together a team from the village and the battle line against Iwagakure."
"The Iwagakure and Kirigakure battle lines should focus on delaying, while we try to achieve victory on the Kumogakure line, then support the Iwagakure and Kirigakure lines, is that okay?" Shikaku looked at Hiromi.
"Okay."
The promise from Hiromi surprised the Jonin.
They believed the Uchiha clan could suppress Kumogakure, but achieving victory... they felt that was a bit arrogant.
Although the Uchiha clansmen were very powerful, they were few in number. If Kumogakure adopted a rapid, decentralized tactic, it was debatable whether the Uchiha clan could suppress them.
Especially given A's terrifying speed. If he rushed into the Uchiha clan, only Hiromi, Shisui, Fugaku, and Itachi could stop him, right?
And now he claimed they could achieve a quick victory? Did the Uchiha clan have some hidden trump card?
They looked at the Uchiha clansmen, but the Uchiha revealed nothing, so they turned to look at Shikaku.
Shikaku didn't say anything either, because he truly didn't know. But he knew that Hiromi was very strong.
Before the war had even begun, Hiromi's moniker had already spread—The Tyrant of Konoha.
A had merely leaped into Konoha before he was chased down by him, lost an arm, and fled to the border of the Land of Fire, only escaping with the help of thousands of Kumo ninjas.
At the border of the Land of Fire, Hiromi intimidated an army of thousands alone. Thousands of Kumo ninjas dared not move, forced to let him leave slowly.
Would such a powerful person speak empty words? Of course not!
The Jonin didn't know about this latest news yet. If they had known, they probably wouldn't have doubted him.
...
Kirigakure's entry into the war meant that, apart from the Kumogakure front, all other fronts needed to be re-planned.
However, some things were fixed. For instance, to counter the flight ability of Iwagakure's Earth Release: Light-Weight Rock Technique, the Nara Clan headed to the Iwagakure front. In addition, the Akimichi and Yamanaka clans, who worked well with the Nara Clan, also went along.
To supplement intelligence gathering capabilities, the Inuzuka Clan also went along.
Meanwhile, the Aburame and Hyuga clans were specifically reassigned to the Kirigakure front to counter Kirigakure Water Release: Hiding in Mist Technique.
Other ninjas were distributed evenly.
Besides this, two clans remained in Konoha—the Mitokado Clan and the Utatane Clan.