Everyone calmed down. Right now, the ones who should be most anxious are the Konoha higher-ups.
With over 200 Uchiha Ninjas, Konoha would suffer heavy losses if a conflict broke out, not to mention having to deal with Madara afterward.
Konoha's top priority now is to stabilize the Uchiha.
Hearing this, many members of the Uchiha Clan laughed.
Yashiro proposed, "We'll go to the Hokage Building now to confront the Third Hokage. He must agree that the Fourth Hokage will be one of our Uchiha, or else—"
Yashiro didn't continue, merely activating his crimson Sharingan.
The Uchiha hawks all stood up, their eyes glowing crimson.
Shisui showed a look of concern. At a time like this, the best solution was to share the pressure of Madara with Konoha.
Working together to overcome the crisis.
Instead of taking the opportunity to bargain with the higher-ups.
Hokage Building, Jonin Council meeting.
Except for the Uchiha, all the Village's Jonin were present.
The Third Hokage hadn't publicized the matter regarding Madara; the fewer people who knew about such things, the better.
Utatane Koharu said to the Third Hokage, "Hiruzen, the inquiry from the Daimyo's Office has arrived. The Daimyo is questioning why we withdrew the Konoha army and abandoned the Land of Fire's coastline?"
The Third Hokage took a puff of his pipe and waved his hand. "Reply to the Daimyo and tell him about Uchiha Madara! I believe that faced with Kirigakure and Uchiha Madara, the Daimyo will make his choice."
Utatane Koharu nodded.
Homura Mitokado said, "Hiruzen, how should we solve the Uchiha Madara issue? Jiraiya and Orochimaru are no match for him."
"It's impossible to defeat Uchiha Madara relying on our Village alone!"
The Third Hokage said, "The only plan now is to unite with the other four great nations, form a Shinobi Allied Force, and gather the strength of the entire Ninja World to collectively suppress Uchiha Madara."
Shikaku analyzed, "I'm afraid that won't work. With the Third Great Ninja War reaching this point, the Five Great Nations have developed deep-seated hatred for each other. They won't be easy to talk to."
Why was it possible to form a Shinobi Allied Force during the Fourth Great Ninja War?
Because over a decade had passed since the Third Great Ninja War, and everyone's mutual hatred had faded.
But the Third Great Ninja War isn't even over yet. You just cut off my old man's head yesterday, and today you come to shake hands, make peace, and drink together? Does that make sense?
Furthermore, Obito arrogantly exposed the Eye of the Moon Plan to everyone.
The Eye of the Moon Plan involves dragging everyone into a dream world of genjutsu.
For the rent-seeking classes of the Five Great Nations, this is impossible to agree to.
Why would I go into a daydream when I'm already exploiting the commoners in reality?
The Third Hokage continued calmly, "Tell them the intel about Uchiha Madara's resurrection. I believe they should know the danger he poses."
It's been 50 years since the Warring States Period, and every Village still has elders who lived through it.
No one fears Madara's power more than they do.
For instance, Iwagakure's Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki; he'd shrink even shorter just hearing Madara's name.
Then there are Sunagakure's Chiyo and Ebizo; they all know exactly what Madara represents.
Shikaku nodded, but even with the threat of Madara, a Shinobi Allied Force wouldn't be formed so quickly.
Ninja Villages like Iwagakure, Kumogakure, Kirigakure, and Sunagakure would definitely need to verify the truth of the intel first; they wouldn't just blindly believe Konoha's information.
Moreover, Madara's goal is to rule the Five Great Nations. Many resource-poor Ninja Villages wouldn't mind having such a Retired Emperor over them.
For example, Sunagakure and Iwagakure—if you become the boss, wouldn't you have to allocate a share of the Land of Fire's resources to us?
Madara isn't trying to destroy the Ninja World. If he wants to rule, let him. How can one person rule a whole world? He'd still need them to rule alongside him.
At the moment, Madara hasn't been as foolish as Obito, telling the whole world he wants everyone to live in a daydream.
The Eye of the Moon Plan hasn't been exposed yet, so the interests of the ruling class haven't been fully affected; the threat isn't big enough yet!
Next is the most critical issue, the Uchiha issue!
A Senju Clan elder brought it up, and the entire conference room suddenly fell silent, to the point where they could hear each other's breathing.
How should they handle the Uchiha?
The Village's exclusion of the Uchiha is obvious. Although it's not as severe as it was after the Nine-Tails attack, the rift between the Village and the Uchiha, or rather, between the Senju lineage and the Uchiha, still flows in their blood.
Kill them all?
No. With so many Uchiha Ninjas, it's not like practicing Tongbeiquan; they won't just obediently put their faces on the table for you to slap!
Konoha has the ability to wipe out the Uchiha, but doing so would leave the Village severely weakened.
Besides, what about an excuse? You need an excuse to slaughter an entire clan.
The Uchiha haven't rebelled yet; they just want one of their own to be elected as the next leader of Konoha.
Konoha is a Village that promotes the Will of Fire; they can't just slaughter a major Ninja Clan on a whim. What would the Hyuga Clan think?
What would the other Ninja Clans think?
The Third Hokage took a puff of his pipe and asked a masked Ninja from the Root, "Where's Danzo? The main army from Kirigakure front has withdrawn, so why haven't Danzo and his Root returned yet?"
The Root Ninja said, "Apologies, Hokage-sama. Elder Danzo is on an important mission in the Land of Rain and has lost contact with us."
"What? What is that old geezer doing? Why lose contact at such a critical moment?"
The Third Hokage was somewhat indignant.
The best weapon against the Uchiha was Danzo's Root. Now that Danzo and the Root were absent, the Third Hokage had to deal with the Uchiha trouble himself.
He even missed that old fellow who usually couldn't wait to wipe out the Uchiha.
"This is bad! Hokage-sama, the Uchiha Clan is here to force a confrontation!"
A Ninja guarding the door burst in.
"What?!"
The Third Hokage stood up in shock.
Over a thousand members of the Uchiha Clan came in a grand procession; even the elderly and children followed along after hearing there would be eggs and snacks distributed for causing a scene at the Hokage's Office.
The Uchiha were all clad in black robes, their expressions solemn, each radiating a chill as if they had just lost their parents.
Many merchants on the street thought the Uchiha were rebelling and closed their shops.
Mikoto pulled Itachi along in the procession.
Itachi said with some worry, "Does it really have to come to this?"
Mikoto shook her head. "At this point, we can only see what the Third Hokage's arrangements will be."
Itachi clenched his fists. He felt that the Village and the clan had reached this point because his uncle had resurrected Madara.
Uncle, how could someone as kind as you do such a thing?
The meeting in the Hokage Building could no longer continue. Everyone filed out of the building to confront the Uchiha Clan.
As soon as they came out, Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado questioned Fugaku.
"Uchiha Fugaku, what is your Uchiha Clan doing? Are you planning a rebellion?"
To dare to rebel... this is no ordinary Uchiha anymore; we must strike back hard!
Yashiro shouted at Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado, "Elder Koharu, Elder Mitokado, there's no need to deceive us. We already know the news of Madara-sama's resurrection."
"Who? Who told you that?"