(Subhead: You think I'm William the Conqueror—actually I'm Shinobi-World Qaddafi!)
Uchiha Yorin, of course, sensed the displeasure from the three great intel clans. He'd factored it in.
Before opening the war, he'd already laid plans to handle internal friction.
…
Even after he'd sweet-talked, horse-traded, and maneuvered the Norman Conquest preconditions into place—and even after the Uchiha clan secured operational lead—that didn't mean the Uchiha would go it alone.
They couldn't.
At an all-hands muster, the Uchiha could scrape together five hundred shinobi.
Yes, Uchiha say "open the eyes, you're chūnin; three-tomoe, you're jōnin," and at equal rank an Uchiha can beat three regular shinobi.
Even counting that multiplier, at most you're looking at the effect of three thousand—no more.
Kiri, however bedraggled and chaotic, could still gather eight thousand shinobi.
Back them into a corner, turn on the "squeeze them dry" policy, press even academy kids into trench duty—that number climbs further.
…
That's the strength of a village, and the constraint of a clan.
No matter how strong a clan is, faced with even a weak village, they lose on scale.
Forget the great nations—even a small village in a small country can, if it tries, pull together a thousand or two.
Never mind that one or two thousand might still be wiped in an instant by the entire Uchiha clan—the headcount is still larger.
More people means more possibilities—more chances for a genius to appear.
Last generation had Orochimaru and Jiraiya; this generation had Namikaze Minato.
If not for alignment issues—or gene-mod hacks—Uchiha Yorin would admit villages had a brighter future than clans—
No—not "village." Too small. If you're doing it, do it big. Shinobi cities, shire-counties, nations, an empire.
One day, Yorin would teach the whole world to refine chakra. Then he'd inject Hashirama cells and transplant Sharingan into every shinobi who could refine it.
…
Alright—back to the Norman Conquest.
The Uchiha took the spearhead mission. The whole clan—men and women, old and young, eyes open or not—mustered five hundred and stepped forward.
Shisui stopped "running the delivery route." Fugaku stopped calligraphy. Even Mikoto stopped nursing—handed newborn Sasuke to the wet-nurse, grabbed a naginata, and marched. If you could throw a shuriken, you were in.
Everyone knew—the opportunity Yorin-nii had brought was too damned precious.
If they didn't seize it and swallow Kiri, everyone—from Fugaku down to the genin who hadn't awakened—would regret it for life.
Let yourself live to eighty with senility, and you'd still grab your grandson's hand and croak:
"Back then, if the Uchiha had just pushed a little harder—a little harder—maybe we could've taken Kirigakure…"
…
But five hundred wasn't enough. And even if it were, taking outside capital was smart.
Get everyone in on the tangyuan—make the cake bigger—everyone eats, everyone profits—and fewer jealous snipers tugging at Uchiha ankles.
There was grumbling in the clan—but Yorin crushed it before it grew.
After the Three-Tails Night and his beyond-Kage performance—plus the decisive push on the Norman plan—Yorin's word carried more weight than Fugaku's.
"Why did we lose to the Senju? Because the Senju made allies!
"What is politics? Making enemies few, allies many!
"We can't stand apart anymore—we must go on the offensive! Like the Senju in the Warring States courting Sarutobi and Kurama, we build Uchiha's alliance!
"And this Kiri conquest is the perfect chance! I will not allow anyone to wreck it—no one!"
At the high point he flashed his gold-and-silver three-tomoe; a swath of Uchiha flinched. "Whoa—scary! Your eyes win—you're right."
So other clans got slots—and everyone got one.
From Hyūga (Konoha's second clan), through Ino–Shika–Chō, down to Aburame and Inuzuka—Yorin turned none away.
He even took the ever-feuding Sarutobi—they, too, put men in the field—another five hundred for the action.
Notably, the newborn Senju also "joined" in name.
They could contribute exactly one big-busted gambler—but everyone pinched their noses for the optics—mostly to give Uchiha Yorin that face.
Meanwhile, at the Hokage's office, Minato waved big—jōnin squads went full throttle, civilian shinobi volunteered, talent sifted—five hundred more in a snap.
Yorin had only one stipulation: Konoha Youth Officers got priority slots.
Minato shrugged—granted.
Patching, stitching—Uchiha Yorin, William the Conqueror—Shinobi Edition, now had one thousand five hundred for Kiri.
Against Kiri's eight thousand.
Even knowing Konoha–Uchiha were more elite—even knowing they had two, maybe three Kage-levels—many still sweated for Yorin. It felt tight.
Uchiha Yorin: "Relax."
Uchiha Yorin: "Everything is according to plan."
He said it, then looked, full of confidence, to Mangetsu, Jūzō, and Raiga. Konoha shinobi turned the same curious, probing, skeptical looks on the three.
In principle, rogue-nin don't get accepted so easily. To join Konoha, there should be a strict vetting period—plus a pledge.
But in a world where genjutsu brainwashing exists, trust can be "acquired" quickly.
Open your mind to inspection—and accept sharingan supervision. That'll do.
"We've already begun reaching out," Mangetsu—de facto leader of the New Three Swordsmen—answered the room's doubts.
"But we don't have a lot of people we truly trust. We can open a few doors—but don't expect us to sway the war."
That stance actually reassured the room. If Mangetsu had promised Kiri's army would fold at his word, everyone would assume he was lying.
Uchiha Yorin: "It's fine. A few cheerleaders are enough."
"We aren't invaders—we're coming at the invitation of Kiri's just men to set things right and end Yagura's tyranny. A righteous royal host.
"No need for a massed battle—no head-on against Kiri.
"We go straight into the village—seize the critical nodes:
"Water Shadow Tower, Broadcast, Television—then announce the Fourth's abdication, Kiri's dissolution, and the foundation of New Kiri. Done!
"If Qaddafi can do it, there's no reason we can't!"
…
Leaving aside the last line—no one knew who "Qaddafi" was—they chalked it up to Yorin's usual nonsense. Everything else seemed fine.
This wasn't a war—it was a coup.
With 1,500 well-drilled elites at your back—striking the unready—the odds were very good.
As Yorin said—Nasser, Qaddafi, Sankara had all pulled it off. There's no reason an Uchiha can't.
In the original timeline, the coup failed—not only due to the dutiful son's betrayal, but also because both sides declared themselves. If it turned into a slugfest, the Hokage faction could mobilize everything.
With Hiruzen at the core, Ino–Shika–Chō would side against Uchiha. The Hokage's forces far outmatched the Uchiha's.
This time, if all went well, Kiri wouldn't have time to mobilize—before they could, the coup would be done.
There'd be risks, yes—Kiri would need a Cheka-style purge afterward. But this was a small stake for a big prize.
One question remained:
How to slip 1,500 shinobi into Kiri without alerting a soul?
Even with insiders to bypass traps, exchange countersigns, and guide routes—
What about Kiri's outer patrols? How to silently neutralize them before they raise an alarm?
Who could do it?
At that point, Clan Head Hyūga Hiashi felt it was time to speak.
But before he could, Black Zetsu stood up.
"Indeed—that would be me."
Hyūga Hiashi: "?"
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 70 Chapters Ahead of Others!
Also, get 50% off your first month on every membership tier this December! Take advantage of this offer and join. Thank you!