Waiting at the entrance of the Uchiha Clan grounds, Hyūga Hiashi was extremely anxious.
He had previously received the order from the Hokage's Anbu, telling his clan and the Uchiha Clan to join forces to deal with the attacking ninja from the Cloud Village.
Naturally, he also sensed the underlying meaning in the other's words. 'They're actually only sending our two clans out to fight, with no support from the village's ninja.'
'Isn't this a joke?'
'No matter how strong our two clans are, can we be strong enough to fight against the ninja of an entire village?'
'This is long past the Warring States Period. The current villages are villages formed by the union of various large ninja forces and civilian ninja.'
'The Third Hokage isn't trying to send our two clans into a fiery pit, is he?'
'It seems the previous incident really angered the Third Hokage. But for the sake of my younger brother.'
'It is absolutely impossible for me to handle this matter according to Lord Hokage's wishes.'
'The reason I rushed over now is to see if the Uchiha Clan has any good countermeasures. After all, our two clans are standing on the same side now.'
Just as he was getting anxious from the wait, he saw the Uchiha clansman from before approaching.
"Clan Head Fugaku requests your presence."
...
Inside the guest room, Uchiha Fugaku and Ryōsuke were both quietly savoring their tea. Beside them, there was another freshly brewed cup of tea, naturally left for the Hyūga Head.
One of these two was genuinely calm; the other was calm because he saw Ryōsuke was calm.
Before long, Hyūga Hiashi was led into the guest room by the Uchiha clansman.
Fugaku looked at the arriving Hyūga Head and said with a smile.
"Hyūga Head, let me pour you a cup of tea. Please, have a taste."
Hyūga Hiashi looked at the tea on the table, steaming with hot white vapor. It was indeed freshly brewed.
'It seems the Uchiha Clan still respects me as the Hyūga Head.' This made him feel respected, but he wasn't here to drink tea. He sat down and immediately spoke.
"I wonder if Clan Head Fugaku has received Lord Hokage's notification."
Uchiha Fugaku took a sip of tea, unhurried, and said with a calm expression.
"Naturally, I've received it. Is the Hyūga Head perhaps here because of this matter?"
Hyūga Hiashi was suddenly very surprised, but he tried his best to keep his expression steady.
'He already knows, so how can he still look so relaxed? The fire is already singing our eyebrows!'
'Is this how a truly great clan remains so calm?'
'Their Hyūga Clan is also a great clan, but in terms of foundation, they are indeed not as good as the Uchiha Clan.'
"Since Clan Head Fugaku already knows. You must also know that the Third Hokage wants our two great families to face the Cloud Village's attack."
"This is simply preposterous. Why don't the two of us join forces and demand support from the village?"
"Although my Hyūga Clan is a factor in this matter, in the final analysis, it's still the Cloud Village's conspiracy. If our two clans are defeated in this war, I'm afraid the village won't be well-off either."
Uchiha Fugaku, however, glanced at Ryōsuke, who was savoring the fine tea, and felt full of confidence.
"Hyūga Head, there's no need to be so pessimistic. Even if it's just our two clans joining forces, it doesn't necessarily mean we will be defeated."
Hyūga Hiashi's face was calm, but his heart was already stormy.
'As the head of a clan, it's impossible for him not to understand the gap between the power of two clans and the power of one village.'
'Although the Uchiha Clan was indeed the main force in the war against the Mist Village during the Third Great Ninja War, they also had the help of many Leaf Village ninja at that time.'
'Furthermore, there was Might Duy, who possessed heaven-defying strength by opening the Eight Gates, an expert whose power instantly surpassed the Kage-level. He directly killed four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and only then did the war begin to end. It wasn't entirely the Uchiha Clan's achievement.'
'What's more, the enemy we face now is the Cloud Village. In terms of strength, they are undoubtedly superior to the Mist Village.'
He couldn't help but ask again.
"Clan Head Fugaku, do you mean our two clans will go to war directly with the Cloud Village?"
Fugaku glanced at the calm Uchiha Ryōsuke.
'His meaning just now was to go directly to war.'
'Ryōsuke's decision definitely won't be wrong. Otherwise, how could the Uchiha Clan stand at the pinnacle of the ninja world in the future?'
He said with full confidence.
"Hyūga Head, that's right. Just our two clans will go to meet the enemy."
"Even if we go to Lord Hokage and ask for support, I'm afraid he won't give us any help."
'Even he hadn't expected Lord Hokage to be so shameless. But this time, as long as we can defeat the Cloud Village.'
'The Uchiha Clan's prestige will naturally grow greatly. The power of two clans defeating the power of one village—how formidable is that?'
'Perhaps this is also part of Ryōsuke's plan.'
'To shape the Uchiha Clan's determination to protect the village.'
'During the Nine-Tails Rampage, the Leaf's upper echelons and the villagers all falsely accused the Uchiha Clan of being responsible.'
'But he himself didn't do it. How could other clansmen have the ability to control the Nine-Tails?'
'Even if someone had the ability, it would probably be that Uchiha Shisui. But Shisui is an Anbu, one of the Third Hokage's men. How could he do such a thing?'
'Perhaps Ryōsuke just wants to use this battle to change the villagers' impression of the Uchiha Clan.'
'Thinking of it this way, Uchiha Ryōsuke's move is truly brilliant.'
'At the same time, this is a challenge and an opportunity.'
Hyūga Hiashi saw that Fugaku really intended to do this.
This truly left him a bit surprised and shocked.
If it were an ordinary person, he would probably think the man had lost his mind. But Uchiha Fugaku's attitude made him suspect: 'Does the Uchiha Clan have even stronger combat power or a secret weapon?'
'Just now, he also noticed that every time Fugaku made a decision, he would look at the other person in the guest room.'
'He remembered this person. He had opened the Eight Inner Gates before.'
This made him不由 'This made him wonder if this guy was the Uchiha Clan's top combat power.'
Suddenly, his mind flashed to Might Duy back then, who directly finished off four of the Mist Village's Seven Ninja Swordsmen. 'That's an existence far beyond normal Kage-level combat power. Could it be that this Uchiha clansman is also capable of doing the same thing?'
'If that's the case, it all makes sense why Uchiha Fugaku is so calm.'
"Alright, then let's do as Clan Head Fugaku says. Our two clans will join forces to face them."
Fugaku said with a smile.
"Then today, we will gather our manpower, and tomorrow we will assemble the troops and set out. What do you think?"
"Good. Then let it be as Clan Head Fugaku says."
After the Hyūga Head agreed, he left the Uchiha grounds and returned to his own clan grounds to gather his main combat forces.
In truth, this was a decision made out of necessity. The Leaf's upper echelons wouldn't provide support, so the two clans could only fight hard.
The Uchiha Clan's confidence also gave him confidence.
After the Hyūga Head had left, Fugaku turned to Ryōsuke and asked.
"Ryōsuke, do you think this arrangement is acceptable?"
"It's fine."
In truth, Ryōsuke had no other opinions. After all, when it came to ninja warfare, he didn't know how to arrange troops.
The principle he believed in was simple: as long as his strength was great enough to eliminate the enemy's leaders, that would be enough.
In a real great war, ordinary ninja were like cannon fodder, basically having no effect.
Especially in the eyes of a Super Kage-level expert.