Unless the Fourth Raikage possessed the speed to instantly kill him before he could react, the outcome was already set. Once his Universal Domain expanded, any close-quarters assault from the Raikage would reduce the man to meat on a chopping block, completely at Jie Uchiha's mercy.
After defeating the Fourth Raikage and capturing their two Tailed Beasts, Kumogakure would have no choice but to surrender.
Despite his absolute confidence, Jie sat back and allowed Fugaku Uchiha to take the reins of the meeting. War—especially a guaranteed victory—was the perfect avenue to build prestige. As long as Fugaku displayed his competence to the crowd and earned the acknowledgment of the other shinobi clans, the resulting postwar fame would force Hiruzen Sarutobi to abdicate. Then, Fugaku Uchiha would be crowned the next Hokage of the Hidden Leaf.
Once Fugaku became Hokage, Jie would no longer have to worry about waking up one day to find the Uchiha clan annihilated.
Furthermore, by helping Fugaku ascend to the Hokage's seat and completely altering the clan's destiny, who knew what kind of rewards the System would calculate? Would it directly unlock the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan for him?
'That would be something,' Jie thought, a spark of anticipation igniting within him.
Under Fugaku's leadership, the meeting soon drew to a close. Excluding the three clans absent from the roster, the deployment quotas for every family were finalized. The Uchiha clan pledged twenty Jonin—each possessing a fully matured Three-Tomoe Sharingan—and one hundred Chunin. The Hyuga clan committed ten Jonin and one hundred Chunin.
After careful deliberation, the remaining shinobi clans also dispatched the maximum number of troops their families could reasonably spare.
As for the clans tied to the Elder Council, Fugaku naturally showed them no leniency. He handed down a mandatory quota: each of their families was required to deploy fifteen Jonin and two hundred Chunin to the front lines. Whether Hiruzen Sarutobi and the two elders would agree to this was no longer Fugaku's concern. Who could blame him? Hiruzen was unconscious in the hospital, and the two elders were absent.
Since they weren't present, Fugaku had the final say. If the Sarutobi, Utatane, and Mitokado clans failed to muster enough ninja, they would be charged with delaying military operations—and they would face severe consequences after the war.
As for the Genin—the foundational troops who essentially served as cannon fodder—they would be drafted from the registered civilian ninja within the village. Civilian shinobi lacked resources and had limited potential; in any hidden village, they were always the expendable choice for the meat grinder.
It was cruel, but that was the reality of war.
Without Hiruzen Sarutobi's interference, the meeting proceeded flawlessly. All matters were quickly settled, leaving only the mobilization of troops to the border the following day.
Meanwhile, shortly after arriving at the Konoha Hospital, Hiruzen Sarutobi groggily regained consciousness. Seeing the sickly, pale expressions on the faces of Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, a bitter smile crept into his heart.
Swindling the money had felt incredibly satisfying at the time, but now that the matter was exposed, Hiruzen truly felt like dying. It had taken an immense amount of talking and the concession of numerous political conditions to placate his old teammates. Not only did he have to pay back the extorted one billion Ryo, but he also had to cough up an additional five hundred million out of pocket before Koharu and Homura finally let the matter drop.
Having barely pacified them, Hiruzen began contemplating how to handle the pressure from the other shinobi clans. After all, Kumogakure's forces were less than a hundred miles from the Land of Fire's border, poised to strike at any moment.
No matter what, Konoha's shinobi forces had to march out tomorrow to counter any sudden offensive from Kumo. Furthermore, he needed to elevate Shinnosuke to the position of supreme commander. This way, when the war concluded, Shinnosuke would carry the prestige of bringing peace. With Hiruzen's backing, his son could ascend to the Hokage's seat, ensuring the continued glory of the Sarutobi clan.
Therefore, it was imperative that Hiruzen not miss tonight's pre-war council.
However, before he could formulate a concrete plan, Unkaku Gekko stepped into the hospital ward carrying an intelligence scroll. Since the meeting had concluded, it was only proper to inform the Hokage of the decisions made. Additionally, it afforded Hiruzen, Koharu, and Homura a brief window to mobilize the ninja within their own clans. Jie Uchiha figured a single night was more than enough time for them to prepare for a war.
"Lord Hokage, the pre-war council, presided over by Clan Head Fugaku Uchiha, has concluded," Unkaku said flatly, handing the scroll over to Hiruzen.
"What?" Hiruzen's eyes widened in sheer disbelief. Fugaku Uchiha had hosted the meeting in his stead, and the other shinobi clans had actually agreed to it?
He hurriedly unrolled the parchment. A single glance caused his blood pressure to spike, his vision swimming with vertigo. Yet, Hiruzen gritted his teeth and forced himself to read the intelligence report to the end.
As he finished, a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, and he slumped limply against his pillows.
He had succeeded by a billion, and he was ruined by a billion.
He had gone to great lengths to extort one billion Ryo just to secure the Uchiha clan's deployment. The Uchiha, in turn, had effortlessly used a few choice words to turn him into the public enemy of every clan—using the very billion he had bled from them to buy their loyalty. In essence, the Uchiha clan hadn't spent a single cent to completely screw him over, all while winning the approval of Konoha's factions.
Now, due to his absence, Shinnosuke had lost the commander's position, and the Sarutobi clan was forced to deploy a massive number of troops to the vanguard. Given the deep-seated grudge between him and the Uchiha, Hiruzen didn't even dare to imagine how many of his clansmen sent to the front lines would make it back alive.
But it was too late for him to change anything. He stood entirely on the opposing side of the village. Even his staunchest supporters in the Hokage faction—the Ino-Shika-Cho trio—had abandoned him. If he issued an order now, who would even listen?
"The Sarutobi clan... is finished," Hiruzen rasped, his lips trembling. A miserable, ghastly smile formed on his face as he squeezed the words out of his throat. The next second, his eyes rolled back, and he fell unconscious once more.
Seeing Hiruzen's reaction, Koharu and Homura felt a heavy sense of foreboding. They snatched the intelligence scroll from the bed and skimmed it at a frantic pace. The blood instantly drained from their faces.
"How can the Uchiha treat the Utatane and Mitokado clans like this?!"
"We are the Elder Council of Konoha! Fugaku Uchiha has no right to order our families!"
"I refuse to acknowledge this decree! I demand a new meeting be convened!" Koharu and Homura roared in outrage.
"This is a joint decree signed by Clan Head Fugaku and the leaders of every shinobi clan. It goes into effect immediately and cannot be altered," Unkaku said, standing to the side with an emotionless expression. "If the two elders stubbornly refuse to execute the order, I fear the ANBU and the Military Police Force will pay a visit to your respective compounds tomorrow morning. The outcome would likely not be something either of you wishes to see."
Hiruzen Sarutobi had been isolated, and the ANBU was largely under Jie's thumb. Outside of his own Sarutobi clan, the Third Hokage had no usable forces left. Because of this, Unkaku didn't feel the need to feign politeness with Koharu and Homura anymore.
Hearing these cold, threatening words, Koharu and Homura froze in their tracks. The situation had completely spiraled out of their control.
"I hope the two elders will cooperate fully with Konoha's operations," Unkaku said as he turned to leave the ward. Reaching the doorway, he paused slightly, glancing back over his shoulder. "After all, killing people is quite exhausting."
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