"The next stage of the war, Konoha will go all out!"
These words were spoken by the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. And after six months of war, the Fourth Raikage, A, had no choice but to start taking things more seriously.
When he first made that bold declaration, it had sounded both shameless and brash. But beneath it, the deeper meaning was to test Konoha's resolve.
Over six months of conflict, Konoha had benefited from its short supply lines, while Kumogakure relied on the Heavenly Transmission Technique for logistics, both sides ended up evenly matched in terms of supply pressure.
But by now, whether in Kumo or Konoha, there were very few shinobi left in the villages to take on missions.
With fewer missions completed and fewer shinobi available, merchants, both from neighboring nations and from within, naturally started hiring ninja from other villages.
After all, in the entire shinobi world, the great villages were not limited to just Konoha and Kumo.
Moreover, the Land of Wind had always suffered from scarce resources due to its endless deserts. But separated only by the Land of Rain, Konoha was situated in the most fertile land of all.
Sunagakure's restlessness over the past six months had already made Minato uneasy.
As for Iwagakure of the Land of Earth, Kumo's long-time enemy, their movements had grown increasingly frequent in recent times, as if ready to swoop in and carve up both Kumo and Konoha once they had exhausted each other.
"Hokage, you should understand, Kumo's people cannot die in vain!"
Minato raised a kunai marked with the Flying Thunder God seal, pointing it toward Kumo's rear lines.
"This time, out of twelve Konoha shinobi, only two survived. That's war, Raikage. The moment you started this conflict, you should have been ready for this."
The Fourth Raikage clenched his iron fists, lightning crackling across his entire body.
By now, Samui had been burned alive, and Darui was gravely injured…
And to think, this war had started over a single Byakugan.
At first, Kumo had believed Konoha would never start a war over a single Hyūga. Later, they thought the long-oppressed Uchiha would make some move.
But in the end…
Raikage's gaze shifted to Shisui beside Minato, and to the girl carrying an Uchiha on her back.
'Black flames that could not be extinguished, was this yet another special Sharingan?'
"Raikage-sama, Kumogakure never fears war!" Yugito placed her hand on the Raikage's shoulder, breaking Shisui's chakra link in an instant.
The Raikage snapped out of it and turned toward Shisui. "You… do you have a death wish?"
This time, Shisui had no choice but to speak. "That was only the truest thought in your heart. My eyes merely amplified it. Raikage-sama, you should know very well what will happen if this war continues."
He deactivated his Mangekyō and turned to Yugito. "Konoha, like Kumo, will never fear war. But we also long for peace. You know exactly how this war began."
"The Hyūga are Konoha's Hyūga. And the Uchiha are likewise Konoha's Uchiha. As the current head of the Uchiha clan, I can say with absolute certainty, the Uchiha will always stand with Konoha!"
His words were followed by a long, heavy silence.
After a while, the Raikage turned to Minato. "Gather your dead. Kumo's fallen will be avenged, but we mustn't give the opportunists a chance."
With that, Killer B hoisted Darui onto his back, Yugito collected the bodies of Kumo's fallen, and the four of them vanished from the field.
On Konoha's side, Shisui and the others also gathered their dead before heading back toward the camp.
Just before they arrived, Minato spoke to Shisui: "There's a lot to deal with in the village. I'll leave the rest to you."
Shisui nodded. "The Police Force matters, I'll entrust those to you, Hokage-sama."
Minato smiled. "With the Hyūga already in agreement, and with every clan involved in this war benefiting from the Uchiha's strength, there shouldn't be a problem."
At that moment, Shinako spoke up. "Hokage-sama, does the Raikage's statement just now mean the war is over?"
Over?
Minato shook his head. "As a leader, when Kumo's goals haven't been met and they've suffered losses, he can't explain that away to himself or his village."
Shisui added: "The Raikage is hesitating. He doesn't want to end up in a mutual-destruction scenario with Konoha and let Iwa reap the rewards. But his unwillingness still lingers."
"My genjutsu just now only amplified that hesitation. If not for the Two-Tails' jinchūriki disrupting me, we might have ended up fighting right there."
"My apologies."
Minato shook his head. "He was only bluffing. In that situation, it would have been mutual destruction."
Konoha Border Camp
Yun looked toward the stretcher carried by Itachi and Shisui, followed by ten corpses.
'Had the raid on the supply convoy failed?'
Still…
His eyes went to the corner of Itachi's eyes; this guy had awakened the Mangekyō. In just over three months, the next deal would begin.
That night, inside Yun's tent…
He looked at the dejected Itachi. "Have you read the book I left for the Police Force?"
Uchiha Itachi nodded.
Yun continued, "An Uchiha with a deep bond will generate a special energy when that bond is lost. This energy triggers the evolution of the Sharingan."
"And this energy appears because the Uchiha wants to protect what they are about to lose."
"If your eyes hadn't evolved into the Mangekyō this time, that little girlfriend of yours would already be a corpse."
Itachi looked up at him. "So this cold, oppressive chakra… It's born for the sake of protection?"
Yun nodded slightly, "The Uchiha, often called madmen, actually understand love better than most people. And when they lose that love, the regret and desire to protect what remains give birth to new power."
"Shinako is your bond. Your teacher and teammates are your bonds. The whole village, Shisui, I, your mother, and your younger brother, they're all your deeper bonds."
He stood and patted Itachi's shoulder. "The dead are gone. Use the power you've gained to protect the love that remains. I believe that whether Instructor Minazuki or your teammate Tenma, they sacrificed themselves for the village, for their comrades."
Itachi stayed silent for a moment, then nodded firmly.
Thanks to the efforts of Yun and Shisui, the Uchiha had reintegrated into Konoha, and he was one of Konoha's Uchiha.
As one of only three Mangekyō Sharingan holders and the son of the former clan head, he would bear the responsibility of making the Uchiha great once again.
The power of the Mangekyō… was the power to protect.
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