CHAPTER 37-38-39-40 FREE ONLY FOR FREE MEMBERS ON MY PATREON
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"What?!"
The gathered Uchiha clansmen were stunned by their Clan Head's words. Even during their most brutal clashes with the Senju clan, those two specific shinobi had never been recalled from the borders. To bring them back now... was the Clan Head planning a war of absolute annihilation?
Uchiha Sen hurriedly spoke up. "We can't, Clan Head! The moment those two move, the northern and southern borders will inevitably fall into chaos. We absolutely cannot risk it."
Uchiha Tajima replied coldly, "Do not panic. I have already devised a deployment strategy. Recall Uchiha Yutaka, who just departed for the Land of Rain. Send him to the southern border along with two elite Jōnin. That show of force will be enough to deter the Chiba, Aburame, and Fūma clans, or at least keep them from causing trouble."
Yutaka, the former Third Elder of the clan, was a formidable force. While his strength had not quite reached the Kage level, he stood among the absolute strongest of the elite Jōnin—a true quasi-Kage combatant.
"As for the north, it's merely a dozen mid-tier clans," Tajima continued methodically. "Sen, you will take two elite Jōnin and swap out Tō. Keeping an eye on a few mid-tier clans shouldn't be a problem for you. I will not personally take the field against the Hyūga this time. Instead, I will remain here to oversee the clan. Whichever front requires support, I will rush there immediately."
Down in the crowd, Xuan nodded slightly. Observing Tajima's deployment, he had to admit the Clan Head was highly capable. Stripping the clan's defenses to assemble a massive strike force while seamlessly maintaining a deterrent against opportunistic neighbors was a tactical skill forged through years of hard experience.
"That settles the personnel transfers," Tajima announced, his sharp gaze sweeping the room. "Now, let us discuss our offensive against the Hyūga."
"Tajima-sama, what scale of warfare are you aiming for?" an elite Jōnin asked.
Tajima pondered for a moment before answering. "Truthfully, given the Hyūga's current strength, if no one interferes, launching a war of annihilation is entirely possible. However, that would require committing the full might of our clan, and even then, the campaign would not go smoothly.
"The reality is that we cannot ignore our northern and southern borders. They tie down a significant portion of our forces. Furthermore, if we overextend ourselves against the Hyūga, the Senju would be more than happy to march straight into our undefended heartland. We cannot allow that. Yet, if the scale of the war is too small, we won't strike at the root of the Hyūga. A superficial war is meaningless."
He fell into deep thought. Below, the clansmen broke into hushed discussions. The loss of Kazama Valley had been a devastating strategic blow, allowing the Senju to reinforce the Hyūga without hesitation. The tactical landscape was severely stacked against the Uchiha.
As the crowd debated, Xuan leaned over and whispered to Uchiha Madara. "Madara, I remember you mentioning something last time. The Hyūga territory encompasses the most mountainous terrain in the Land of Fire, meaning their agricultural output is terrible. They rely mostly on purchasing grain from the Senju and other clans, right?"
Madara nodded. "That's right. But why are you asking?"
A cold smirk curled onto Xuan's lips. "If that's the case, I actually have a plan," he murmured. "I'll tell you the details now, and in a moment, I want you to present it to the assembly. But don't say it's my plan. Tell them it was your own idea."
Madara shot him a bewildered look. "If you have a plan, just speak up. Why go through such a convoluted process?"
Xuan glared at him, a flash of irritation in his voice. "Where do you get all this nonsense from? Given my standing, it isn't appropriate for me to be the one speaking up. Do you understand?"
Madara shook his head with unapologetic bluntness.
Xuan ignored his stubbornness, leaning close to whisper the intricacies of the plan into his ear. As Madara listened, his eyes lit up, and he nodded with a growing smile.
The assembly was still fiercely debating how to assault the Hyūga when a sharp voice suddenly cut through the noise.
"I have an idea."
The voice clearly belonged to a child, yet it carried an unnatural, unshakable confidence that rang out crystal clear across the chaotic hall.
All eyes turned toward the source of the voice. Madara had already risen to his feet. Completely unfazed by the heavy gazes of the gathered Uchiha elites, he strode confidently to the front of the hall.
Though he was only eight years old, Madara possessed an innate, commanding aura. Stage fright was a concept entirely alien to him.
Naturally, every clansman present knew exactly who he was. Under normal circumstances, neither Madara nor Xuan possessed the qualifications to attend a clan summit. However, the sheer, heaven-defying talent they had recently displayed was virtually unprecedented in Uchiha history. Furthermore, the two boys had successfully teamed up to assassinate a Hyūga Jōnin. Their presence here today was an unprecedented exception.
"Haha! Let's hear what Young Master Madara has in mind," Sen said with a chuckle. "It never hurts to have another perspective." Despite his polite words, the elder clearly doubted that an eight-year-old boy could offer any real strategic insight.
Madara ignored the underlying condescension entirely. He turned to the head of the hall. "Father, do we have a topographical map of the Hyūga territory?"
Intrigued by what his son was plotting, Tajima sifted through the documents on his desk. He withdrew a specific scroll from the pile and gestured for an attendant to bring over a display stand. Once unfurled and hung, it revealed a detailed map of the Hyūga clan's holdings.
Madara stepped up to the map and tapped a specific region. "The Land of Fire consists largely of rolling plains. However, as you can see here, the Hyūga territory encompasses the densest mountain ranges in the entire country. This is our greatest advantage."
Sen and the other elders squinted at the map, frowning in confusion. "Mountainous terrain means their strongholds are easily defensible and incredibly difficult to assault. How does that give us an advantage?"
Madara released a long, theatrical sigh of disappointment. "Grain. You cannot farm on jagged peaks. Their internal agricultural output is severely limited, which forces them to rely almost entirely on importing food. Do you understand now? We don't need to launch a frontal assault at all."
Realization began to dawn on several faces across the hall. It wasn't that the Uchiha elders lacked intelligence; rather, they were products of a world dominated by absolute personal power. In this Warring States Era, shinobi warfare almost exclusively revolved around brutal, head-on collisions of force and Ninjutsu. The subtler arts of military logistics and grand strategy were heavily underdeveloped—a natural consequence of individual combat strength being so devastating.
Sen's eyes widened as the tactical implications clicked into place. "If that is true, then..."
"Then we merely need to blockade their supply routes," Madara finished, a ruthless smirk spreading across his childish features. "Cut off their roads. Stop the grain shipments. Once we bleed their food reserves dry, starvation will set in. When they're weakened from hunger, we march in and slaughter them. Though, honestly, having them starve to death entirely would save us the effort."
He didn't need to elaborate further. The men in this room were hardened battlefield veterans. Now that they had the core strategic framework, they could easily flesh out the logistical details of the blockade themselves.
Watching from his seat, Tajima nodded in profound satisfaction. Because of the treacherous geography surrounding the Hyūga compound, there were only a handful of viable supply routes. The Uchiha could easily choke those chokepoints with a fraction of their forces. That would free up a massive portion of their military strength to garrison the borders against the Senju.
An elite Jōnin stood up, his face flushed with excitement. "Tajima-sama, the Young Master isn't just a prodigy in Ninjutsu—he's a tactical genius! With the Young Master leading our next generation, the Uchiha will undoubtedly crush the Senju and stand at the absolute pinnacle of the Warring States!"
A chorus of fervent praise erupted across the hall. Madara felt his cheeks heat up with a slight blush. He coughed softly into his fist to mask his awkwardness. Claiming credit for a brilliant strategy he hadn't even conceived felt surprisingly uncomfortable.
Watching the scene unfold from the back of the crowd, Xuan smiled coldly to himself.
This is only the first step, he thought. I need to keep funneling him victories like this to farm his prestige within the clan. Only when his reputation reaches its absolute zenith will he be able to seamlessly take control of the Uchiha in the event of Tajima's... sudden death. I truly hope that day comes sooner rather than later!
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