Uchiha Ippū endured his physical discomfort and brought Uchiha Ryun to the meeting room. Since the relationship between the Uchiha clan and the village was currently in a honeymoon phase, they did not hold the meeting at the Naka Shrine.
"We're here, Sixth Elder." After saying this, Uchiha Ippū pointed to the meeting room and then left. Right now, he just wanted to lie down and sleep.
Uchiha Ryun sighed as he watched Uchiha Ippū leave. "Kid, you still need more training!"
Then, he turned his gaze to the large meeting room.
Hmm. Not bad. Quite impressive—almost as big as one floor of an office building. He knocked on the door, and a voice from inside called out, "Who is it?"
"It's me, Clan Leader Hirotomo." As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened. Uchiha Ryun was taken aback when he saw who had opened it—it was actually Uchiha Fugaku.
Uchiha Fugaku bowed respectfully. "Elder Ryun, please follow me."
Uchiha Ryun nodded. Uchiha Fugaku was still young but always wore a stern expression. Tsk.
He wasn't very approachable. However, since the meeting was already in progress, he still needed Fugaku to guide him.
Soon, under young Fugaku's lead, Uchiha Ryun entered the meeting room. Uchiha Hirotomo immediately stood up with a warm smile.
"Ah, the Sixth Elder is here! Come, come!"
Seeing this, a group of red-eyed individuals turned their gazes toward him, their eyes filled with fervor and joy. They had heard that Sunagakure had declared war, and Konoha would be sending shinobi to respond tomorrow.
The Uchiha clan members were all battle enthusiasts. They were not good with words—well, except for Uchiha Ryun.
They might not be eloquent, but that didn't mean they didn't love the village. Compared to talking, they preferred to prove their devotion to the village through action, no less than anyone else!
And Uchiha Ryun, their Sixth Elder, was one of the top figures in Konoha in terms of both strength and military strategy. The outcome of the battle in the Land of Rain was an unspoken truth among them, but everyone knew Uchiha Ryun's capabilities.
"Uh, everyone's staring at me. I'm a little nervous!" Uchiha Ryun scratched his head. Damn, so many red-eyed people staring at me—must be over two hundred pairs!
Wait, no—aren't I a red-eyed person too? And I even have the Three-Tomoe Sharingan! Who should I be afraid of? Aside from Clan Leader Hirotomo, who could overpower me?
Thinking this, Uchiha Ryun's eyes turned red, and the oppressive aura of his Three-Tomoe Sharingan radiated outward. He followed Uchiha Hirotomo to the front, then swept his gaze over everyone present.
Uchiha Hirotomo smiled approvingly at this scene. He thought to himself, As expected of the God of War. It only took him a moment to adapt to the gaze of over two hundred Sharingan users—much faster than I did back then. His mental fortitude is truly exceptional.
After adjusting to the pressure of the Sharingan stares, Uchiha Ryun took the seat Uchiha Hirotomo had prepared for him.
It was the third seat to the right of the main seat. After all, he was the sixth elder, and his seniority was still relatively young. In the Uchiha clan, seniority mattered greatly.
Among the other five elders, the hawk faction showed goodwill toward Uchiha Ryun, while the dove faction's Fourth Elder snorted coldly. This youngster has no respect, bullying an old man like me with a sneak attack!
Uchiha Ryun returned the hawk faction elders' smiles. As for the Fourth Elder? Sorry, didn't see him.
The Fourth Elder's face turned livid at being ignored, while the other elders secretly gloated. The Second Elder, however, remained neutral. He was still observing Uchiha Ryun. He had a feeling that following Uchiha Ryun would be the right choice.
Admittedly, the Second Elder was a shrewd old fox who had a keen eye for people, but he still needed more observation.
Uchiha Hirotomo coughed twice and sat in the clan leader's seat. His expression turned serious, completely different from his earlier warmth. "Everyone, I'm sure you already know the purpose of this meeting!"
"Sunagakure has invaded our Konoha Village. The Hokage has appointed Elder Shimura Danzō as the chief commander to oversee the overall strategy. Our Uchiha clan must actively cooperate!"
"Therefore, I have decided that the Uchiha clan will dispatch 200 jonin, 300 chunin, and 500 genin, all to be commanded by our Sixth Elder, the God of War of Konoha, Uchiha Ryun!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the 200 jonin below all paled. They wanted to make contributions, protect the village, and defend their nation—but 1,000 Uchiha shinobi? That was practically the entire clan's fighting force!
If something went wrong in this battle, they would lose almost all of their clan's combat strength. For the clan, this was absolutely unacceptable.
The hawk faction elders all turned pale, looking at Hirotomo with disbelief, as if to say, Have you lost your mind?! Mobilizing the entire clan's strength for the sake of the village!
Uchiha Hirotomo, however, remained expressionless. He believed that since they had sided with Sarutobi Hiruzen, as Konoha's largest clan, they should contribute their full strength to protect the village and nation. Once this war ended, Konoha would forever remember the Uchiha clan's sacrifice.
Uchiha Ryun looked at Uchiha Hirotomo, his eyes filled with shock. He had expected Hirotomo to send a large force, but he never imagined he would go all-in like this—betting everything!
Uchiha Hirotomo turned to Uchiha Ryun. "Sixth Elder, do you have any objections?"
His trust in Uchiha Ryun was immense. He believed that a man of his reputation would not be undeserving of it.
Uchiha Ryun snapped out of his daze. He felt an overwhelming sense of trust—this unconditional faith. He looked at Uchiha Hirotomo and opened his mouth.
Finally, he clenched his fist. "Uchiha Ryun accepts the clan leader's orders. This time, we will make the Uchiha clan's might known to all! I will also do everything in my power to minimize casualties among our clansmen!"
At this moment, Uchiha Ryun's heart burned with passion. This was the first time he had been trusted so completely, and with such a large-scale shinobi force—honestly, you could almost say it was enough to wipe out the Land of Wind!
Uchiha Ryun would definitely give his all to lead this army well!
Uchiha Hirotomo nodded, then continued, "I know some of you may doubt Ryun, but do you know that in the previous battle in the Land of Rain, under his command, the Senju forces suffered fewer than 30 deaths?"
"No jonin were seriously injured, almost no chunin died, and only a few genin were killed due to failed reactions against sneak attacks. Have you ever heard of such a casualty rate? In the history of the Warring States Period, who else has achieved this?"
As Uchiha Hirotomo's words fell, the 200 jonin below were all stunned. They had only heard of the title "God of War of Konoha, Uchiha Ryun," but they had never heard the actual statistics.
Now that they had, all traces of worry and fear vanished from their eyes, replaced by excitement—their eyes practically blazing with fire!
Uchiha Ryun knew he couldn't stay silent any longer. "I swear upon the name of Uchiha, I will do everything in my power to ensure everyone's safety!"
The 200 Uchiha jonin shouted in unison, "The shinobi of Uchiha obey the clan leader's orders and follow the Sixth Elder's command! Protect the village and nation, annihilate the enemy!"
The elders looked at each other. No one dared to speak up now, because at this moment, the hearts of the Uchiha clan lay with the clan leader and the Sixth Elder. Moreover, this expedition represented both the clan and the village.
Anyone who tried to stop it now would be undermining morale. So, they all turned their gazes to Uchiha Ryun, praying that he would command well in this great battle and minimize the clan's casualties.
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I'm quite excited. Mobilizing the entire clan's strength—this is something worthy of being written into textbooks and recorded in history. No matter the outcome, the Uchiha clan has earned itself an unshakable safeguard.