171 Chapter 171: Lesser Abilities, Lesser Responsibilities

What had the Daimyō heard that caused him to suddenly pale in shock?

"What's happened, Lord Daimyō?" Jiraiya sensed the danger and immediately asked.

Thud.

The Daimyō sank back into his chair, his voice trembling as he responded to Jiraiya:

"The Wind, Earth, Water, and Rain countries...all following the Lightning Country...have declared war...on the Land of Fire."

What?!

Upon hearing this news, the faces of the villagers of Konoha mirrored the Daimyō's shock.

If their enemy was just the Hidden Cloud, perhaps Konoha could handle it. But if all the shinobi nations attacked together...

Why?

Why would all of the shinobi nations suddenly declare war on the Land of Fire and Konoha?

Was it because of the internal strife that had occurred in Konoha?

Speaking of the Nine-Tails disturbance, a similar event happened six years ago in Konoha, which resulted in the death of both the Fourth Hokage and the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.

In such a situation, Konoha was able to deter the other great shinobi villages with its powerful forces and reserves, preventing them from invading.

This time's internal strife.

What was different this time was that it led to the departure of the Uchiha clan from Konoha.

But, was the departure of the Uchiha clan enough for the major shinobi villages to deem Konoha incapable and launch a concerted attack on it?

Was the Uchiha clan that important?

As everyone was too shocked to speak, the meeting room fell silent.

"It seems that the neighboring nations of the Land of Fire are quite in sync," Uchiha Dan remarked.

The Land of Fire not only had vast territories, but it also had superior geographical advantages. It occupied the most fertile plains in the shinobi world, along with expansive forests and numerous rivers.

In contrast, the surrounding countries had deserts and plateaus, mountains and islands. They fell short in comparison to the Land of Fire.

Every nation understood that there was little to gain from fighting over their territories. It was better to attack the Land of Fire together.

The immense Land of Fire was large enough for everyone to divide and satisfy their hunger.

Therefore.

This time, Konoha was once again being besieged by the major shinobi villages, oh, and this time, even the Hidden Rain joined.

After a while.

The Daimyō finally regained some of his composure. He looked into the TV screen and asked Jiraiya:

"Can Konoha win this war? Konoha has won every major shinobi war in the past, right? Konoha is the strongest shinobi village, isn't it?"

As the Daimyō said.

Each time a shinobi war broke out, Konoha was almost always in a situation of being outnumbered.

Especially during the Third Great Ninja War, Konoha was fighting on four fronts, waging war with four major shinobi villages at the same time, and still emerged victorious.

The title of the strongest shinobi village was undeniably theirs.

But now, faced with the Daimyō's expectation, Jiraiya showed a troubled expression.

The once powerful Konoha may have had the confidence to speak bravely about fighting four enemies at once.

But the Konoha of today, on what basis?

Even if we put aside the four major shinobi villages.

Even the Hidden Rain, which had just signed a peace agreement not long ago, had declared war on Konoha. In Jiraiya's view, the strength of Nagato and Akatsuki was not inferior to any major shinobi village.

In other words.

This time, Konoha was actually facing a siege from the five major shinobi villages. The situation was unprecedentedly severe.

Under such circumstances, Jiraiya, who was expected to lead Konoha to victory in this war, simply couldn't muster the confidence.

Therefore, as the acting Fifth Hokage, Jiraiya had no choice but to tell the Daimyō:

"Konoha will do everything possible to fight this war. I will also fight until the last moment with the resolution to give my life."

However.

The Daimyō was clearly unsatisfied with Jiraiya's response.

"What do you mean by doing your best? As the Hokage, is this your answer to me?"

He was somewhat agitated, raising his voice to roar at Jiraiya.

If Konoha lost this war, the Land of Fire would also lose. At that time, ceding territory and paying indemnities would be the least of their concerns. The complete destruction of their nation was not out of the question.

So how could the Daimyō not panic?

Just then.

The Daimyō suddenly noticed Uchiha Dan's calm demeanor and immediately asked him:

"Uchiha Dan, as the Hokage's aide, do you have any solutions? I heard your abilities are no less than that of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. Can you defeat the Allied Shinobi Forces as he did?"

The reason why Konoha won the Third Great Ninja War was largely due to Minato, who rose to prominence as a civilian shinobi.

Back then.

Minato used the Flying Thunder God Jutsu and Rasengan to dominate the battlefield, defeating the Abi combination of the Hidden Cloud, instantly killing dozens of Hidden Rock shinobi, destroying the Kannabi Bridge... he achieved countless merits.

His name, the Yellow Flash, echoed across the battlefield, intimidating the four major shinobi villages, causing countless enemies to flee in fear upon hearing his name.

One could say that Minato single-handedly turned the tide and became a hero of that era.

Returning to the present.

The Daimyō also hoped that Uchiha Dan could be like Minato, using his powerful abilities to defeat the various enemies invading the Land of Fire.

"Well..."

Hearing this, Dan stroked his chin, seeming to seriously consider it.

For a moment, not just the Daimyō, but all the Konoha shinobi in the meeting room turned their gazes to Dan.

Although they didn't want to admit it, Dan's power was unfathomable. That was an indisputable fact.

If it was him, perhaps he could indeed become the second Minato Namikaze.

"Dan, we're counting on you."

Hiruzen's eyes flashed, following the Daimyō in trying to put Dan on the spot.

Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado followed suit.

Seeing Dan still hesitating, the Daimyō's eyes flashed as he directly said:

"As long as you can do what Minato did back then, I'll have Jiraiya step down and let you be the Hokage."

This remark shocked everyone.

But no one refuted it.

On the one hand, it was the Daimyō's opinion.

On the other hand, everyone realized that at a time like this, repelling the enemy was the most important thing.

Otherwise, if Konoha was finished, what would it matter who the Hokage was?

After hearing the Daimyō's words, Jiraiya took a deep breath and took the initiative to express his stance to Dan, sincerely saying:

"Dan, if you're willing to fight for Konoha and the Land of Fire, I'll be the first to support you as Hokage."

After he finished, everyone waited for Dan's response.

Faced with the expectations of everyone in the room.

"Ah."

Dan sighed, shook his head, and said, "I'm sorry. I think we should surrender as soon as possible."

Surrender?

These two words from his mouth were undoubtedly like pouring a bucket of cold water over everyone's heads.

"What, surrender again?"

Hiruzen blurted out.

Why did he say again?

Because during the last war between Konoha and the Hidden Rain, Dan advocated for surrender in the high-level meeting. He was terrified of Nagato, the leader of Akatsuki, and didn't dare to step onto the battlefield to fight.

Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado came back to their senses, their brows furrowed as they reprimanded Dan:

"Uchiha Dan, many villagers say you only bully those within our village. It seems they're not wrong."

"Brutal to those within, tolerant to those outside. Is this the ability of the Hokage's aide?"

The Daimyō was furious, bellowing again:

"I've spent so much funding you, and for what? For you Konoha shinobi to surrender to our enemies? Uchiha Dan, I'll give you another chance, take back what you just said!"

However.

Dan remained stubborn, continuing to cast doubt on their own side:

"Everyone, have you not... seen the reality of the situation yet?

We could barely handle the Hidden Rain Village alone. Have you so quickly forgotten the incident where the 3,000-strong army sent by the Third Hokage was slaughtered overnight?

Let alone, apart from the Hidden Rain, there's also the allied forces of the four major shinobi villages, their combined numbers are several times that of Konoha.

They'll attack from all directions simultaneously, and Konoha simply can't hold them off.

That's why I think we should surrender sooner, seek peace through ceding territories and paying reparations to avoid pointless casualties. Otherwise, we might as well dissolve Konoha and everyone run for their lives."

"Silence!"

The Daimyō shouted in anger, determining that Dan was sowing discord and disrupting military morale, and ordered angrily, "Uchiha Dan, I'm going to dismiss you from your post as the Hokage's aide, get out immediately!"

Unexpectedly.

"Alright."

Dan agreed immediately, even saying, "I indeed lack the ability to serve as the Hokage's aide.

As the saying goes, the smaller the ability, the smaller the responsibility. Now that I'm a civilian, I'm free of responsibilities, the duty to protect Konoha falls onto everyone here.

Hahaha!"

With a hearty laughter, Dan turned around and walked straight out of the meeting room.

Leaving the Konoha villagers to look at each other again.

"Mobilize all of Konoha's shinobi for war immediately! Everyone, regardless of gender, age, or condition, is to be sent to the frontline. We must hold off the Allied Shinobi Forces until the very last person falls!"

The Daimyō roared, issuing a death order to Konoha.

As soon as his words fell, without waiting for Jiraiya and the others to respond, the TV screen filled with static, and the video feed was cut off.

Inside the meeting room, there was silence for a long time, with no one speaking.

The air pressure had dropped to an extreme low, making it hard for people to breathe.

Finally.

It was Jiraiya, the prospective Fifth Hokage, who spoke with a grave expression:

"Everyone heard the Daimyō's words. This will be a life-or-death battle for Konoha, we have no choice but to fight our enemies to the end. Please prepare yourselves."

Following that, the Third Hokage also spoke to raise morale:

"Don't forget, in every previous shinobi war, no matter how dire the situation, Konoha always had the last laugh.

The major shinobi villages actually thought that Konoha would become vulnerable after losing the Uchiha clan, we need to show them how wrong they are!"

Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado also spoke:

"The battlefield is dangerous, but it's also a great opportunity to make a name for oneself. Think about the Sannin of Konoha during the Second Ninja War, and Minato Namikaze during the Third Ninja War. As long as you fight hard for the village, the next hero of Konoha is among you!"

The awkward thing was.

This time, the reaction to the Konoha high-level mobilization was far from enthusiastic, only glances and whispers.

Put nicely, weren't they just being asked to become cannon fodder?

Everyone wasn't a fool.

A moment later.

The clan leaders of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio looked at each other and were the first to turn and leave.

"Let's go."

Hyuga Hiashi also said in a deep voice, the people of the Hyuga clan left the meeting room expressionlessly.

Other small and medium-sized ninja clans also left with their own thoughts.

Leaving behind the Third Hokage and other top-level officials, their faces filled with astonishment.

A Konoha, from top to bottom, that was disunited.

The outcome was already predetermined.

When Dan left the Hokage building, he found that there were thousands of Konoha ninjas and civilians who hadn't dispersed yet.

These people originally came to witness Jiraiya becoming the Fifth Hokage, but after waiting for a long time, there was no movement.

At this time, there were already murmurs among the crowd.

"Uchiha Dan is out."

As soon as someone yelled, countless eyes immediately focused on Dan.

"Cough, cough."

Dan cleared his throat, looked at the people of Konoha in front of him, and said with a smile, "I have some good news to tell you, I've been dismissed by the Daimyō, and I am no longer serving as the Hokage's aide."

Really?

Hearing this, everyone was stunned at first, then faces lit up with joy.

"Uchiha Dan has always been arrogant, he must have offended the Daimyō and got dismissed, it serves him right."

"The Daimyō is wise!"

"But, why is Uchiha Dan still smiling, saying this is good news, wasn't he just dismissed?"

Various voices spread in the crowd.

"Oh, there's also some bad news."

Dan made a gesture, indicating everyone to be quiet, and then said, "The four major shinobi villages, along with the Hidden Rain, have declared war on Konoha, and their armies are already on their way. Everyone should prepare early and go to the frontline to die."

After speaking.

He left amidst the silence, striding away.

A few seconds later, the crowd in front of the Hokage building was in an uproar.

Then, with panic and fear on their faces, they quickly spread the news throughout the entire village of Konoha.

At the Uchiha clan's place.

Dan returned to the Medical Ninjutsu Department and found that Tsunade had finished her nap and was practicing Yin Release: Illusion Body Technique in the dojo.

"What's all the commotion outside, what happened?"

When she saw Dan, she stopped her practice and came over, asking with a look of surprise.

Dan informed her honestly.

"How could this happen..."

Tsunade murmured to herself, also looking shocked.

She had considered that the internal strife in Konoha might attract the covetousness of other villages.

But she hadn't expected that the four major shinobi villages and the Hidden Rain would declare war on Konoha together, with a great tendency to divide Konoha.

This time, Konoha was truly in danger.

"Are you planning to participate in the war?" Dan suddenly asked.

Tsunade was startled, not knowing how to answer.

Although she wanted to stay away from conflicts, when the allied forces reached Konoha's doorstep, she probably wouldn't be able to stand by and would be forced to fight.

"What about you?"

She looked at Dan and asked back, immediately realizing that her question was redundant.

After all, knowing Dan as she did, for him to shed blood and sacrifice for Konoha would only happen if hell froze over.

Not to mention, he was now dismissed by

the Daimyō from his post as the Hokage's aide, he didn't even have the obligation to fight for Konoha.

Sure enough.

"Me? Of course, I will enjoy my life and protect this building. As for the future of Konoha, let's leave it to the Third Hokage and Jiraiya, we must trust in the wisdom of those in power."

Dan said with a chuckle.

Then.

Under Tsunade's surprised gaze, Dan suddenly took out a glass container filled with organ preservation fluid, in which floated an eyeball.

It was Obito's left eye.

"Let's put the other matters aside for now, I want to ask you a favor, transplant this eye into me."

As he said this, Dan handed the container to Tsunade, and raised his own left hand.

Exposing his palm.