"Young Lord… this must be false…"
Among everyone present in the meeting room, Uchiha Setsuna was the one who found the news the hardest to accept.
His face looked pale as he spoke, his voice trembling slightly.
For Setsuna, Uchiha Madara was not merely a clan leader or a powerful shinobi.
Madara was a symbol.
He was the embodiment of the Uchiha Clan's pride and strength.
To hear that such a person had died so suddenly was almost impossible for him to believe.
Uchiha Su remained silent for a brief moment before speaking again.
"Regrettably, Assistant Setsuna…"
His tone was calm, but there was a faint heaviness within it.
"This information has already been confirmed."
"My uncle, Uchiha Madara, has indeed died in battle."
After a short pause, he added another sentence.
"His remains may already have been taken by the people of Konoha."
"How… how is that possible…"
Setsuna lowered his head.
He kept muttering to himself repeatedly, as if trying to deny reality.
Meanwhile, the other people in the meeting room exchanged subtle glances.
Their expressions changed slightly.
Although no one spoke aloud, the looks they exchanged conveyed a great deal.
Some people showed surprise.
Others revealed faint excitement.
And a few displayed expressions that were difficult to interpret.
Everyone clearly understood one thing.
The balance of power in the ninja world was about to change.
Uchiha Su continued speaking calmly.
"There is another piece of news that I believe will interest all of you."
His voice became slightly heavier.
"After the great battle with my uncle, the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, was also severely injured."
He paused briefly.
"Perhaps before long…"
"The two heroes who ended the chaos of the Sengoku era will both depart from this world."
The entire meeting room fell into deep silence.
No one spoke.
Everyone seemed shocked by this sudden revelation.
For decades, Madara and Hashirama had been like two towering mountains pressing down on the ninja world.
Their power was so overwhelming that few people even dared to challenge them.
And now—
Those two mountains were suddenly disappearing.
The suddenness of it all felt almost unreal.
Some people even felt as though they were dreaming.
Among the crowd, Hōzuki Gengetsu slowly revealed a faint smile.
His nose twitched slightly, almost as if he could smell something in the air.
The smell of war.
Since the end of the Sengoku era nearly twenty years ago, the ninja world had enjoyed a relatively peaceful period.
However, that peace had never truly been stable.
During those twenty years, every ninja village had been secretly preparing for conflict.
Villages expanded their military forces.
They built ninja academies, hospitals, and other infrastructure.
They continuously trained stronger and more capable generations of shinobi.
Over time, the number of ninjas in every village grew larger and larger.
Eventually, the villages reached the limits of what their economies could support.
Without the financial support provided by the Daimyo, many ninja villages would have already collapsed under the burden of maintaining such large forces.
At first glance, there seemed to be two possible solutions to this problem.
But in reality, there was only one.
The first method was to increase the village's income.
This could be achieved by attracting more clients to post missions at the village.
However, this required the village to gain greater fame and influence.
And for a ninja village, the fastest way to become famous was simple.
Start a war.
The second method was even more direct.
Start a war and allow the battlefield to reduce the excess population.
Once enough ninjas died in battle, the problem of overpopulation would naturally disappear.
Furthermore, if a village managed to capture large territories during the war, the Daimyo would likely increase their financial support.
In the end, both solutions led to the same conclusion.
War was inevitable.
At that moment, a calm voice broke the silence.
The speaker was Minazuki Mirei, the head of the Minazuki Clan.
She was a middle-aged woman with a composed expression.
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she asked a question.
"How did you obtain such confidential information?"
Her tone was steady but probing.
"Even someone with little intelligence would understand that Konoha would desperately attempt to hide the news of Hashirama's severe injuries."
"Even the most skilled spies would have difficulty accessing such top-secret information."
Uchiha Su smiled faintly.
"Have you forgotten where the Uchiha Clan originally came from?"
His answer was simple.
Mirei immediately understood.
"That's true."
"A branch of the Uchiha Clan still remains in Konoha."
"If that is the case, obtaining such information would not be impossible."
She nodded calmly.
"I have no further objections."
In truth, Uchiha Su had never contacted the Uchiha who remained in Konoha.
Even if he had attempted to reach them, there was a high chance they would have refused.
And even if they had been willing to cooperate, those Uchiha would not have had access to such critical information.
But in politics, truth was often less important than plausibility.
After a brief pause, Su continued speaking.
"The reason I invited everyone here today…"
"…is because I want to give a warning."
His gaze slowly swept across the room.
"I know that some people may wish to take advantage of my uncle's death to start a rebellion or seize power."
Before Su could finish his sentence—
Someone interrupted him.
"So you're asking us not to rebel?"
The speaker was Hoshigaki Hayato.
His tone was blunt and filled with mockery.
Hayato slowly stood up.
His tall body was covered with powerful muscles.
When he opened his mouth, rows of sharp, shark-like teeth were revealed.
"If you give our clan enough benefits…"
Hayato grinned widely.
"Perhaps we might reconsider rebelling."
After saying that, he deliberately glanced at Uchiha Su.
Then he exchanged meaningful looks with several other clan leaders.
However—
Su merely smiled.
"Mister Merman…"
His voice was calm and gentle.
"It seems you interrupted before I finished speaking."
"Interrupting someone prematurely is not considered polite."
Su leaned back slightly in his chair.
"The rest of my sentence was actually quite simple."
"If anyone here wishes to rebel…"
"Please do so as soon as possible."
The entire room froze.
Su continued calmly.
"Don't wait until the village is preparing to participate in the upcoming Ninja World War and then suddenly cause trouble."
"That would make things unpleasant for everyone."
Hoshigaki Hayato's expression stiffened instantly.
Before he could react, Su gave another order.
"Assistant Setsuna."
"Please escort this Mister Merman out."
He paused slightly before continuing.
"While you're at it, investigate the rest of the Hoshigaki Clan."
"If anyone shares the same intentions as him…"
"Handle them all together."
With a single sentence, Uchiha Su had decided the fate of an entire clan.
Neither Hōzuki Gengetsu nor Genryū objected.
As for the other clan leaders, many of them felt a strange sense of unease.
They suddenly realized something.
The young man standing before them was far more dangerous than they had imagined.
Hoshigaki Hayato's face turned red with anger.
"How dare you!"
Although he felt uneasy inside, he still tried to appear fearless.
At that moment, Uchiha Setsuna stood up.
His expression was cold and emotionless.
Setsuna was extremely angry.
Someone actually dared to challenge the authority of the Uchiha Clan immediately after Madara's death.
Hoshigaki Hayato quickly began forming hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
He intended to launch a rebellion right there in the meeting room.
But Setsuna moved faster.
"Seeking death."
The three tomoe in Setsuna's Sharingan spun rapidly.
In the blink of an eye, his genjutsu captured Hayato.
Although the Water Dragon Bullet Technique was powerful, it required forty-four hand seals.
The technique was extremely complicated.
In the entire ninja world, only a few shinobi—such as Senju Tobirama—could use a simplified version of the technique.
Because of this, Setsuna had already subdued Hayato before the technique could even be completed.
Su clapped his hands lightly.
"Alright."
"If anyone else wishes to rebel…"
"Please do so now."
He smiled faintly.
"I'm quite busy."
"If you act now, we might still maintain some basic courtesy."
"When the time comes to deliver punishment…"
"I may even show some leniency."
No one spoke.
The entire room remained silent.
Finally, Su stood up.
"The meeting is adjourned."
"Everyone should return and begin preparing for the upcoming great war."
His voice became slightly colder.
"If anyone delays the village's preparations…"
"I will make sure they regret it."
Just as everyone was preparing to leave, Minazuki Mirei spoke again.
"Will you personally participate in this war?"
Her tone was calm but direct.
"After all, words alone are not very convincing."
Su nodded slightly.
"Of course."
"I will personally participate in this war."
He continued calmly.
"In addition, if any ninja dies in battle…"
"The village will provide financial support for their families."
"Their widows and children will receive a pension sufficient for living expenses."
"And their children will be given priority admission to the Ninja Academy."
Many people in the room looked surprised.
These policies were extremely generous by ninja village standards.
In truth, Su had even more ambitious ideas.
He wanted the village to eventually provide salaries to all registered ninjas.
If that happened, the influence of individual ninja clans would weaken significantly.
All shinobi would become loyal directly to the village rather than to their clans.
However, the current financial resources of the Hidden Mist Village were far from sufficient.
For now, such ideas could only remain plans for the future.
Su looked around the room one final time.
"If anyone still has questions…"
"Now is the time to raise them."
"We can resolve them immediately."
At that moment, the only merchant present slowly raised his trembling hand.
He looked extremely nervous.
Like a student answering a question in class.
"Your Excellency…"
"I wonder… why was I invited to this meeting?"
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)