"Jie Uchiha intervened?"
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi took a drag from his pipe and looked toward the Anbu ninja kneeling before him.
"Yes, Lord Hokage. Furthermore, the Uchiha heir injured a member of the Kumogakure delegation to save someone," the Anbu ninja reported respectfully.
"Alright, I understand. You may return to your duties," Hiruzen said, nodding with a placid expression.
After the Anbu departed, Danzo's figure slowly emerged from the shadows.
"Hiruzen, the first step of the plan has succeeded. You know what to do in the upcoming negotiations."
Hiruzen gave a slight nod. "But are you certain the Uchiha clan will actually deploy their forces?"
After deliberating for some time, Hiruzen had ultimately decided to adopt Danzo's suggestion. Since it was inconvenient to make a move against them within the village, they would incite another war and force the Uchiha to act as the vanguard.
If they won, the village would receive substantial war reparations, further consolidating Konoha's prestige as the number one ninja village.
If they lost, the worst-case scenario was paying off a settlement. Everyone in the village would just have to tighten their belts for the next few years.
Moreover, as the primary fighting force, Hiruzen could easily shift the blame onto the Uchiha, forcing them to cough up the lion's share of the reparations. Regardless of victory or defeat, the Uchiha clan would inevitably suffer heavy casualties on the front lines.
Faced with a scheme that killed so many birds with one stone, Hiruzen was thoroughly tempted. Now that the plan was officially underway, the only remaining variable was whether the Uchiha clan would actually agree to fight.
"Hiruzen, you just need to do your part. I will handle the rest," Danzo said coldly, leaning heavily on his cane.
Hiruzen remained silent for a moment before nodding. "Then I leave it to you, Danzo. This plan can only succeed; failure is not an option. If the Uchiha refuse to deploy, it will be incredibly difficult for the village to sustain a war on its own."
Smack!
Inside the inn hosting the Kumogakure delegation, Arui, the Kumogakure team leader, slammed his hand hard onto the table, seething with indignation. "These Konoha ninja are pushing us too far!"
"Arui, do not forget that we are here bearing Lord Raikage's orders," the deputy leader, Assam, said flatly.
On the surface, Arui was the leader of this diplomatic mission, but in reality, Assam was the core of the negotiations.
"Lord Assam, you saw what happened today! The Uchiha clan is acting wildly out of line. Karui nearly died at the hands of that Uchiha heir," Arui shot back, his face twisted in anger.
Assam fell silent for a moment before nodding. "It is true that this deviates slightly from our intelligence. The Uchiha clan's standing in Konoha differs significantly from what we understood."
"The negotiations will proceed as originally planned," Assam continued firmly. "As for Lord Raikage's instructions, activate our sleeper agents within Konoha. Have them thoroughly investigate the Hyuga clan's deployments. This time, we must secure the most up-to-date intelligence to ensure nothing goes wrong."
"Lord Assam, I have a proposal," Arui interjected hurriedly. "The Uchiha clan's Sharingan is not the slightest bit inferior to the Hyuga's Byakugan. If we can find an opportunity to kidnap someone from the Uchiha and bring them back to the village, Lord Raikage would undoubtedly be thrilled."
Recalling Jie Uchiha's detestable face, a flash of anger crossed Arui's eyes.
"The Uchiha..." Assam frowned; his first instinct was to reject the idea.
After all, the Uchiha were simply too strong. Today, a mere ten-year-old boy had suppressed their entire delegation, leaving them unable to even lift their heads. Even now, Assam hadn't figured out exactly how Jie Uchiha had managed to attack Karui. Provoking such a formidable enemy outside of their planned operation was exceedingly unwise.
However, on second thought, Assam realized that the Uchiha clan's protection over the Sharingan was practically non-existent. Unlike the Hyuga, they didn't have a cursed seal like the Caged Bird to prevent their Dojutsu from being stolen by other ninja clans.
They wouldn't even need a ninja. If they abducted just one or two Uchiha civilians and forced them to propagate their bloodline in Kumogakure, all of their descendants would have the potential to awaken the Sharingan. If the plan succeeded, Kumogakure would gain another powerful Kekkei Genkai. In future Shinobi World Wars, their military strength would see a massive boost.
After deliberating for a long while, a ruthless glint flashed in Assam's eyes. "Activate the sleeper agents. They are to investigate all of the Hyuga clan's deployments, and gather whatever intelligence they can on the Uchiha. This plan can only succeed; failure is not an option!"
"Understood!" Arui replied firmly, a flicker of joy passing through his eyes.
'Uchiha civilians?' Arui thought. 'What's the point of grabbing civilians?'
After poking around that afternoon, he had learned that Jie Uchiha had a four-year-old younger brother. Since Jie Uchiha dared to provoke Kumogakure, Arui was going to show him exactly what a Kumogakure retaliation looked like.
Following Assam's decision, top-secret orders were dispatched in rapid succession, eventually reaching Kumogakure's deep-cover spies within Konoha.
Under the cover of darkness, several seemingly ordinary Konoha civilians began to make their moves.
"If you wish to deal with the Uchiha clan, then allow me to lend you a helping hand," Danzo's cold, sinister voice echoed leisurely through his dark underground base.
At his feet lay one of those seemingly ordinary Konoha civilians, their eyes rolled back in their head, clearly on the verge of death.
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