"The current head of the Uchiha Clan has been confirmed killed in action!"
"Before his death, he issued an order appointing Uchiha Fugaku as acting clan head."
"His remains are currently being transported back to Konoha."
The faces of Konoha's high-ranking officials were shaken.
Following the death of Hyuga Hizashi, a member of the Hyuga Clan's main family, another important figure from a major Ninja Clan had fallen in battle.
And the one who died was none other than the head of the Uchiha Clan.
It seemed the intensity of the war was about to escalate further.
For the first time, Uchiha Sō-en's perpetually stern face betrayed an expression of barely concealed grief.
Unlike the shock of the others, Nero, who had originally planned to just coast through the meeting, felt his eyes light up upon hearing this news.
The Uchiha Clan Head is dead?
This is great news!
The position of Clan Head is now vacant.
Doesn't that mean... he also has a chance?
He absolutely must compete for this clan head position!
According to the original plot, Fugaku would formally succeed as the Uchiha Clan Head after the war.
But Fugaku's political acumen was truly nothing to write home about.
Despite holding the Mangekyo Sharingan and having geniuses like Shisui and Itachi within the clan, he ultimately led them to complete annihilation.
Even a direct rebellion would have been better than ending in the clan's destruction.
One could only say that even a Ninja hound tied to the clan head's seat would have done a better job than Fugaku!
Now that he was bound to the clan system, rather than letting Fugaku lead the Uchiha to ruin, he might as well fight for the position himself!
...
At this moment, the meeting was still ongoing.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag of his cigarette, slowly exhaling a thick cloud of smoke before speaking in a grave tone:
"Given the current situation, you are all pillars of Konoha. Do any of you have thoughts?"
Homura Mitokado adjusted his glasses, his tone solemn:
"The death of the Uchiha Clan Head likely signifies a further escalation of the war..."
"Exactly!"
Danzo immediately seized the conversation.
"We should immediately draw manpower from the various Ninja Clans within the Village and dispatch them to the front lines! We absolutely cannot allow the enemy Villages to seize the initiative!"
Hyuga Hiashi immediately retorted coldly:
"Our various Ninja Clans have almost exhausted their combat strength. What remains is barely enough to maintain the Village's basic operations. Where would we find anyone to draw?"
Utatane Koharu spoke slowly:
"I'm not so sure. Isn't there a batch of children about to graduate from the Ninja Academy? Graduating them early could fill the gaps on the front lines."
"Well said! I completely agree!"
Homura Mitokado immediately chimed in.
"What does being young matter? In this war, both Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Shisui made names for themselves at a young age."
Hiruzen did not voice his opinion. Instead, he looked toward Uchiha Sō-en, who had remained silent since the meeting began.
"What is the Uchiha Clan's view?"
Faced with the Hokage's sudden inquiry, Sō-en seemed still immersed in the grief of his clan head's death.
This caused him to freeze for a moment upon hearing Hiruzen's question.
Nero, sitting beside him, knew: his opportunity had arrived!
To compete for the position of Uchiha Clan Head, the first step was to demonstrate his own political capabilities.
He possessed memories from the Blue Star and had a thorough understanding of the plot developments in the Ninja world.
Therefore, he was completely confident in using this informational advantage to awe everyone present.
So he immediately leaned over and whispered to Sō-en:
"Elder, may I speak on behalf of the Uchiha?"
Uchiha Sō-en, sitting beside him, was already mentally scattered due to the clan head's death and unsure how to respond.
Considering that Nero was now a Jonin possessing the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, he was indeed qualified to represent the Uchiha Clan.
After a moment's hesitation, he nodded.
Nero stood up.
All eyes in the conference room converged on him—some curious, some scrutinizing, some indifferent.
Meeting those gazes, he spoke steadily:
"The Uchiha's assessment differs completely from the views expressed earlier. The Uchiha believe the war will not only not expand but will end this year!"
Of course, Nero wasn't just talking nonsense.
It was currently Konoha Year 50.
According to the original plot's development, the end of the Third Great Ninja War was precisely Konoha Year 50!
As soon as Nero finished speaking, a few faint snickers could be heard in the conference room.
Hiruzen's aged face remained unchanged as he directly countered:
"What is the basis for the Uchiha's assessment?"
Faced with the Hokage's retort, Nero didn't falter and continued his analysis:
"Firstly, Senior Minato, in the Kannabi Bridge mission, successfully destroyed the Kannabi Bridge. The lifeline of Iwagakure's supply line has been severed, which essentially signals the end of the war between Konoha and Iwagakure."
Upon hearing this, the expressions of Konoha's high-ranking officials flickered.
Nero was right.
Since the end of the Kannabi Bridge mission, Iwagakure and Konoha had been gradually withdrawing Ninja deployed at the border between the two countries.
A ceasefire between the two nations had almost become a foregone conclusion.
Seeing the look in the officials' eyes, Nero knew he had hit the mark. He pressed his advantage, adding fuel to the fire:
"Secondly, Iwagakure is fighting a two-front war against both Konoha and Kumogakure. Once we cease hostilities with Iwagakure, they can redeploy a large number of Ninja into the Land of Lightning. I predict the Third Raikage will suffer a major setback, possibly even meeting his end directly!"
"After losing their Raikage, it will be even harder for Kumogakure to continue the war."
The death of the Third Raikage was also one of the landmark events of the Third Great Ninja War, something Nero remembered quite clearly.
However, several of the Konoha officials beside him burst out laughing upon hearing Nero's statement.
A few high-ranking officials even began whispering to each other.
"Did I hear that right? He just said the Third Raikage died in battle?"
"That's the strongest Raikage in history. How could he possibly die so easily?"
Danzo, sitting nearby, directly reprimanded him:
"Hmph, ignorant junior, what do you know!"
"The current Third Raikage holds the titles of both the'Strongest Spear' and the'Strongest Shield.' How many people in Iwagakure could pose a threat to him?"
"He absolutely cannot die so easily!"
Following this, several mocking gazes turned toward Sō-en, as if saying:
Is this the youth of your Uchiha Clan?
The Uchiha Clan's political insight remains as poor as ever.
Elder Sō-en felt his cheeks flush slightly under these stares.
He felt a pang of regret. Letting Nero speak was indeed too rash.
Such an exaggerated prediction sounded absurd even to his own ears.
He tugged at Nero's sleeve beneath the table, signaling him to sit down quickly and not embarrass them further.
At that moment, a Root Ninja suddenly appeared behind Danzo.
The Ninja leaned in and whispered something into Danzo's ear.
Danzo's expression shifted from its initial calmness to one of shock.
The knuckles of his hand gripping the cane had turned slightly white.
Hiruzen, noticing something was amiss, immediately spoke up:
"Danzo, what happened?"
Danzo remained silent for a moment, his gaze complex as he glanced at Nero before speaking stiffly:
"Urgent report from the front lines... Iwagakure dispatched ten thousand Ninja in a surprise attack on Kumogakure. The Third Raikage fought alone against the enemy, battling fiercely for three days and three nights... before dying from exhaustion."
Dead silence.
Danzo's words froze the expressions on the faces of Konoha's high-ranking officials.
The previously mocking gazes slowly transformed into astonishment, disbelief, and finally settled into a mixture of shock and suspicion.
All eyes once again focused on Nero.
This... did he actually get it right?
Was this still the politically inept Uchiha of old?
In previous Konoha high-level meetings, Uchiha Clan Members would only sit there pretending to be aloof.
Even when they did speak, they never said anything of substance.
Since when had the Uchiha become so sharp on political and current affairs?
And what he said was validated almost immediately!
No wonder Danzo looked so displeased after receiving the intel; he had just been publicly contradicted by a Uchiha brat.
Danzo's face alternated between pale and flushed, but he still managed to force out a cold snort:
"Hmph! The Uchiha must have obtained the intelligence in advance!"
Many people suddenly understood upon hearing this: Of course, that must be it!
The Uchiha must have gotten the intelligence early and deliberately came to the high-level meeting to show off.
They all looked toward Sō-en, only to be surprised to find that this Uchiha elder also wore a completely bewildered expression, even more confused than they were.
Sō-en was genuinely baffled.
The Uchiha got the intelligence in advance?
But why didn't he, the elder in charge of clan affairs, know about it?
Hiruzen took in Sō-en's expression.
He gave Nero a deep look before arriving at a conclusion:
Could he truly be a genius?
After taking another deep drag of his cigarette, he addressed Nero:
"Please continue your analysis."