Chapter 43

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Konoha Village,

In the courtyard where Sarutobi Hiruzen resided, the Konoha F4 (the village's top four elders) gathered, silently watching as Sarutobi meticulously prepared tea.

A small toad-shaped tea pet on the table was almost overflowing with tea, but Sarutobi didn't seem to notice and continued pouring. When the tea finally ran out, he snapped out of his thoughts, frowned, and turned to Danzo.

"Still no word on the Uchiha clan's whereabouts?"

Danzo's face was equally grim. He shook his head and responded seriously:

"Their old clan grounds are easy to access now, but the new Uchiha compound is heavily guarded. With the Uchiha clan's observation abilities, even our ANBU can't get close."

"I've sent ninja who are familiar with their habits to investigate. Aside from some ninja training on the grounds, the others are focused on building new structures. However, it seems they are mainly constructing public facilities—no residential houses have been seen yet."

Mitokado Homura raised an eyebrow. "Are they planning to keep their homes in the old compound and use the new land solely for public functions?"

Hiruzen considered this, speaking slowly, "It was agreed they would move eventually. They can't stay in the old district forever. But their pace of construction is slow. Danzo, why don't you send some people to help with the building? You should have some experience in that area."

Danzo's eyes narrowed as he looked at Sarutobi, noticing how his old friend continued to pour tea over the toad figurine, as if the conversation was casual.

But Danzo's face changed slightly.

Does he already know about A's existence? he thought. He hadn't exposed the identity of this unique Mokuton user, but Sarutobi's words hinted that he might have known for some time.

Koharu Utatane gave Danzo a curious glance and asked, "Since when did you become skilled in construction work?"

Danzo snorted, "The villagers' resentment toward the Uchiha is growing. They're more frustrated with the patrols. If things continue like this, it'll only backfire on us."

Hiruzen chuckled confidently, "This is a war between nations. Even if the Uchiha clan's ninjas are powerful, numbers still matter. If a few elite ninjas could solve everything, we wouldn't have needed to recruit thousands of ninja over the years."

During the First Ninja World War, only a few hundred ninja were involved, with casualties in the low thousands. But in the 20 years since, the five great nations realized that wars were no longer fought like clan skirmishes, where small groups of elite ninja could make a difference. Village-wide battles demanded numbers, and even lower-ranked ninja could impact the battlefield by working together.

That's why, over the past 20 years, the major villages had massively expanded their ninja forces, leading to the outbreak of the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars. Now, each village had over 10,000 ninja, many of whom were fresh academy graduates pulled directly into combat—people like Nawaki, Might Guy, and Genma Shiranui.

So when Sarutobi heard that Kumogakure had sent 3,000 ninja to the front lines, he initially thought they would wear down the Uchiha clan through sheer numbers. Sure, Uchiha's smaller elite forces might destroy a 50-person squad, but they wouldn't stand a chance on the open battlefield. Yet Sarutobi's mood darkened as he recalled that those 50 ninja had been elite, with strength comparable to ANBU, and had been wiped out by the Uchiha with Shisui's help.

Now, Sarutobi regretted letting Shisui return to his clan. How had that boy's Sharingan become so strong?

Just as Sarutobi was mulling over how to bring Shisui back under his control, a member of the ANBU suddenly appeared before them.

"Lord Third!"

Sarutobi narrowed his eyes. "What's the matter? Isn't the war situation already bad?"

However, the ANBU operative had an excited expression as he said, "Patriarch Toki has discovered a new summon and successfully formed a contract with it!"

"The new summon is like the Western dragons seen in bookstores—it can fly, breathe fire, and has the strength of an elite Jounin. Patriarch Toki sent just one to battle, and it completely burned down the enemy's camp!"

Sarutobi's mouth dropped open in disbelief. A Western dragon? A new summon? Elite Jounin strength?

You've got to be kidding me!

It had taken him years to locate the Ape clan and sign a contract with them, and now Uchiha Toki had discovered a powerful new summon just like that?!

Sarutobi's face grew darker, though he forced a smile. "Has this been verified? If not…"

Before he could finish, the ANBU blurted out, "The Uchiha clan burned down Kumogakure's camp and broke through their station in the Land of Hot Water!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen: (╯‵□)╯(┻━┻!).

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