Chapter 282: We Shall Never Retreat
"Teacher, do I really have to appear on camera in a moment?" Before the live broadcast began, Minamoto Miyuki was still a bit nervous. After all, ever since he ascended the throne, besides showing his face as a mascot at the grand court assemblies, he had basically been studying crickets in the palace.
And now, to suddenly be told that he had to appear before all the citizens of the nation, Minamoto Miyuki was very nervous.
"It's better for some things to be handled by you. But don't worry," Uchiha Douhuan patted his head and said patiently. "You only need to show the citizens that our Land of Fire will definitely win this war. As for the rest, leave it to me."
"Then I understand," Minamoto Miyuki nodded. "I believe that Teacher can definitely win this war."
"Your Highness the Daimyō, Lord Hokage, the live broadcast is ready," at this time, a staff member from Konoha's television station reported to Uchiha Douhuan.
"Let's begin," Uchiha Douhuan nodded.
Soon, the figures of Uchiha Douhuan and Minamoto Miyuki appeared on the television screens of every household in the Land of Fire. At the same time, the radio broadcasts within the Land of Fire also began a simultaneous broadcast.
"Compatriots of the Land of Fire, I am the Grand Minister of the Land of Fire, and also the Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Douhuan," Uchiha Douhuan's gentle voice was transmitted to every corner of the Land of Fire along with the television and radio signals.
"Three days ago, Iwagakure suddenly launched a war against the Land of Grass, its blade pointed directly at the northwestern border of the Land of Fire. And the Land of Lightning, which had been eyeing us covetously, also colluded with the rogue ninjas of the pseudo-Mist Village, attacking our closest ally and our base in the Land of Water."
"Time and history will prove that this was a despicable sneak attack!"
"At this moment, I stand before you all, with not a shred of luck in my heart, only a heavy warning concerning life and death: war has already descended upon us!"
"Ninjas of Konoha, my brothers and my backbone! Have you seen this naked truth clearly?"
"The great army of Iwagakure, like a silent torrent of rock, is eyeing our borders covetously. The sharp lightning blade of the Cloud, wrapped in greed, is trying to tear apart the barrier on which we depend for survival."
"They arrogantly think that beneath Konoha's prosperity, we are nothing but lambs to the slaughter. They vainly attempt to use this despicable sneak attack and pincer movement to grind the seeds of peace sown by Lord First Hokage, along with this beloved land under our feet, into dust! How can we tolerate this humiliation, this trampling of life and dignity? How can the spine of Konoha be bent by coercion?"
"Ninjas of Konoha, now, step outside and look at the Hokage Rock that stands tall in the village! Look at the silent and solemn faces of the successive generations on that Hokage Rock!"
"It was Lord First Hokage who won a piece of pure land in this chaotic world with his unparalleled Wood Release! It was Lord Second Hokage who laid the foundation of Konoha with an iron fist and wise systems; it was Lord Third Hokage who protected the inheritance of this Will of Fire with a benevolent heart and unyielding will; it was Lord Fourth Hokage who protected our home with his body as a shield!"
"What terrifying storms did they once stand in? The beacon fires of the Great Ninja Wars, the purgatory of the Nine-Tails' rampage—which one was not a matter of life and death hanging by a thread? However, when has Konoha ever fallen? The city walls built by our predecessors with their flesh and blood, the flames ignited with their unyielding faith, have pierced through the fog like a beacon in every dark moment, guiding us through desperation! This inheritance, this will, has long been integrated into our bloodline, branded deep into the soul of every Konoha ninja!"
Uchiha Douhuan's voice became more and more passionate and resonant. At this moment, in a secret room in the Hokage Tower, the two brothers, Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama, were watching the passionate Uchiha Douhuan on the screen with rapt attention.
"The words this child Douhuan is saying, I'm a little embarrassed," Senju Hashirama laughed, scratching his head.
"I have to admit, in the matter of uniting people's hearts, what Douhuan has done is better than any of the previous Hokage, including us," Senju Tobirama sighed.
At this moment, Uchiha Douhuan's speech was still continuing.
"Today, the ambition of Iwagakure and the Cloud is but a continuation of the greedy gazes of countless past challengers. They vainly attempt to extinguish the flame that Konoha has guarded for generations with the coldness of their weapons, to strangle our precious peace with a despicable sneak attack!"
"However, they do not understand why the name of Konoha resounds throughout the ninja world! It is not because of the sharpness of our weapons, but because of that soul that has been passed down from generation to generation and never yields!"
"Look around you—that is the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan, seeing all with clarity, guarding every inch of the village's secrets; that is the silent swarm of the Aburame clan and the loyal hounds of the Inuzuka clan, seemingly weak, yet capable of devouring all invading enemies!; that is the 'Ino-Shika-Cho' of the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans, who have guarded each other for generations, their bonds strong enough to turn the tide of battle; and there are the Sarutobi, the Kurama, the Uzumaki! And even more so, the Sharingan of us Uchiha, seeing through all illusion, perceiving truth and darkness! Every drop of flowing blood, every unique power, is an unshakeable root of this towering tree that is Konoha! If the enemy wishes to destroy our Konoha, they must first step over the corpse of every one of us!"
"Today's battle is by no means just to protect this roof and this land! We are protecting a possibility, a possibility symbolized by the Will of Fire, where children can play under the sun instead of crying in the smoke of gunpowder! We are protecting a dignity, a dignity for Konoha ninjas to win the right to survive with their own hands and beliefs, refusing to live meekly under the edge of a blade! We are protecting a future, a future where the seeds of peace can sprout again, instead of being completely annihilated in the mire of power and betrayal!"
"If we retreat today, if we tolerate this atrocity to succeed, then the soul of Konoha will die with it, and the ninja world will once again fall into the eternal dark abyss of the law of the jungle. This battle is not for a vain name, but for survival! For the survival of the Will of Fire! For the survival of hope itself!"
More and more people walked out of their homes and came onto the streets of Konoha. Uchiha Douhuan's voice echoed in their ears. Every single person, even the most stubborn troublemakers of Konoha, had a solemn expression at this moment.
They knew that this war that had already come was related to every one of them.
At this time, Uchiha Douhuan let out a light sigh and continued:
"I know very well that the road ahead in this war is perilous. The number of enemies is like a black cloud pressing down, their tactics are despicable and insidious. We will experience an unprecedentedly bitter battle. Every inch of land contested may come at the cost of unimaginable blood. I also know very well that fear is human nature."
"But, ninjas of Konoha, I, in the name of the Fifth Hokage, implore you, at this moment, to transform this fear into a more resilient will, a more precise kunai, a more fiery fighting spirit! And stop our enemies at the nation's gate!"
"We will meet them head-on at the first line of defense on our border!"
"We will fight for every inch of land in the burning flames of war and the ruins of battle!"
"We will, on the sacred land our ancestors defended, build the final and most solid bulwark with our lives!"
"We will, on the scorched earth, in every place where the enemy thinks we have no footing, fight to the end!"
"Even if our chakra is exhausted and we fall from fatigue, we shall support our broken bodies with our will, and tear at the coming enemy with our teeth!"
"Even if we are heavily surrounded, ambushed from ten sides, we shall stand back to back, shoulder to shoulder, and let the forehead protectors of Konoha reflect their final light in blood and fire!"
"Even if the raging fire burns down the forest and scorched earth covers our homeland, as long as one Konoha ninja is still standing, as long as one finger can still form a seal, as long as the heart is still beating in the chest, the fire of Konoha will never be extinguished! The Will of Fire will never surrender!"
After speaking, Uchiha Douhuan flung his divine robe, and Swift Thunder was unsheathed.
"I, Uchiha Douhuan, swear in the name of the Fifth Hokage, my Sharingan will watch over the darkest corners of the battlefield, my figure will stand at the very front of the battle line! My Swift Thunder will be stained with blood alongside you, my fate will be tied to Konoha's, to live or die together!"
"Now, pick up your kunai, grip your ninja tools!"
"Let the enemy see what is the true mettle of a Konoha ninja!"
"Let the conspiracy of Iwagakure and the Cloud pale before our unyielding will!"
"In the name of the Hokage, in the name of Konoha—"
"Let our roars resound through the clouds! Let our will shake the earth!"
"For survival, for dignity, for that unquenchable Will of Fire, advance! Fight! Konoha—will be victorious!"
"Victory!" An uplifting shout rose from every corner of Konoha. At this moment, every villager of Konoha, whether a ninja or not, had the same belief in their hearts: that in this war, they would surely achieve the final victory!
Uchiha Douhuan, listening to the cheers that penetrated through several walls and reached his ears, nodded slightly. After sheathing his sword, he looked at Minamoto Miyuki with an encouraging expression.
Minamoto Miyuki nodded towards Uchiha Douhuan, slightly adjusted the magnificent robes that represented his status as Daimyō, and came before the camera and microphone.
After the shouts outside had quieted down a little, Minamoto Miyuki then slowly began to speak.
"I am the Daimyō of the Land of Fire, Minamoto Miyuki."
Minamoto Miyuki's slightly immature voice was transmitted to all parts of the Land of Fire through television and radio. The people who heard this voice were first stunned. After all, for most people in the Land of Fire, this was the first time they had heard the voice of their Lord Daimyō.
"What needs to be said has already been said by my teacher, so I will not elaborate further. I firmly believe that our Land of Fire will be the final victor of this war. There may be sacrifices in this war, but please believe that I will always be with you! I look forward to the day of everyone's triumphant return. At that time, I will personally award medals to the returning soldiers!"
After Minamoto Miyuki finished speaking, deafening cheers once again erupted within Konoha. For the Daimyō to personally conduct a pre-war mobilization was an unprecedented event in the entire ninja world.
Minamoto Miyuki waited until the cheers had subsided a little, then continued to speak, "Today, I! The 13th Daimyō of the Land of Fire, Minamoto Miyuki! Bet my entire Land of Fire on this!"
Minamoto Miyuki paused slightly, then, word by word, said with incomparable firmness:
"To the Land of Earth! I declare war!"
"To the Land of Lightning! I declare war!"
"To the rebel army of the Land of Water! I declare war!"
At the same time, the envoys of the Land of Fire, with the declaration of war, also headed to the other countries under the protection of ninjas. The faces of these envoys were all filled with the expression of readiness to die. After all, the ninja world had no rule of "not killing the envoy in a battle between two armies." These civil officials knew very well that this trip might be their last, but their steps were still firm.
Before they set off, Uchiha Douhuan, in his capacity as the Grand Minister, had made a promise: whether they could return or not, as long as they did not tarnish the prestige of the Land of Fire, their names would be recorded in the annals of the Land of Fire. And this, for a civil official, was the greatest glory in this world!
After finishing the speech, Uchiha Douhuan also returned to the command center of the Hokage Tower. The entire high-level command of Konoha, except for the garrison commanders stationed outside and Shisui who was leading the advance force to support Fugaku, were all present. And among them, Hyuga Neji and Uchiha Sasuke, the outstanding talents of the younger generation, stood at the very front of the team.
"Shikaku, send a letter to the Fifth Kazekage of the Sand Village. Have them move their troops to the northwestern border to form a pincer movement with us against Iwagakure," Uchiha Douhuan instructed, staring at the map.
"Yes!" Nara Shikaku nodded.
"Kakashi, you take Konoha's First Army Corps and land in the southern Land of Water to support the advance force that Shisui took earlier. You must block the allied forces of the Cloud and the northern pseudo-Mist outside the capital of Water."
"Yes!" Kakashi nodded and accepted the order.
"Choza, you Ino-Shika-Cho together, lead the Second Army Corps to rendezvous with Commander Shibi and Commander Tsume, and then advance directly towards the border of the Land of Lightning, pushing the battlefield beyond our national gate!"
"Yes!" Akimichi Choza, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Nara Shikaku, who had returned to the war council after issuing the notice, nodded in unison.
"Asuma, you take the Third Army Corps and rendezvous with Commander Hiashi, who arrived at the border some time ago. Then, cross the border directly and attack from the direction of the Land of Grass. The troops of the Land of Rain and the Land of Wind will support you."
"Yes!" Asuma nodded and accepted the order.
"Sasuke, Neji," Uchiha Douhuan turned his head to look at his two disciples. "You two each lead an elite unit to infiltrate the territories of the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning, destroy their defensive works, and inflict as much damage as possible on their logistical transport lines."
"Yes!" Sasuke and Neji exchanged a look, then nodded and accepted this mission.
"And I..." Uchiha Douhuan scanned the crowd. "I will rely on the help of the Flying Thunder God squad to provide you with support at any time."
"Remember, when facing the enemy, fight boldly and with confidence. I will always be behind you!" Uchiha Douhuan said.
"Yes!" The people in the command center nodded forcefully in unison, and then saluted at the same time.
"Loyalty! Sincerity!"
(End of chapter)
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