When those rumors reached Hiruzen's ears, he flew into a furious rage inside his office.
"What do they understand?!"
"Our clans were founding heroes who established Konoha together back then!"
"How can we possibly be the same as them?"
But anger could not solve the problem.
In the end, Hiruzen ordered all missions suspended and recalled every registered ninja, nearly ten thousand of them.
Together with the Anbu, the direct-line ninja, and the forces formed by the few smaller ninja clans that reluctantly answered the call, all the ninja divided into three forces to face the enemy.
Thus, the Fourth Great Shinobi War began in an absurd fashion.
Unlike the Third Great Shinobi War, which had been a full-scale war of life and death, this war appeared exceptionally "restrained."
Hidden Cloud, Hidden Stone, and Hidden Sand showed no strong desire to launch aggressive offensives.
Their main forces were focused more on looting.
Konoha, meanwhile, responded even more passively.
Hiruzen's orders were executed terribly on the battlefield.
The commanders on every front tacitly chose a strategy of "avoiding battle to preserve lives."
Occasionally, small-scale skirmishes broke out in localized areas, with casualties on both sides, but the intensity was far lower than during the previous war.
After all, for the three great shinobi villages, the wealth they looted was already more than sufficient. There was no need to throw away ninja lives.
And for Konoha's various commanders, retreating and preserving lives was the wisest course.
As a result, the war entered a stalemate.
Yet just as the entire shinobi world fell into the flames of war, Hidden Gento Village entered another period of explosive growth.
Every major shinobi village had committed massive numbers of ninja to the war, causing the number of ninja available for regular missions to plummet.
Mission requests throughout the shinobi world began piling up rapidly.
Escort missions, transport missions, extermination missions...
Every kind of mission stacked up like mountains, yet there were not enough people available to complete them.
Meanwhile, Hidden Gento Village had not joined the war and possessed the capability to complete those missions.
The Uchiha Mission Hall became overcrowded in no time.
Before dawn each day, long lines formed outside the Mission Hall.
Merchants from every nation, noble attendants, and messengers from feudal lords crowded outside the entrance carrying all sorts of commissions, hoping only to secure a spot for an Uchiha ninja.
The mission volume surged dramatically, but the number of Uchiha ninja was beginning to feel insufficient.
Gento made a decisive decision and uniformly raised mission compensation.
The prices for all commissions doubled, while S-rank missions increased fivefold.
Even so, they still could not finish accepting all the missions.
Some long-time clients even voluntarily increased their payments just to ensure the Uchiha would prioritize their commissions.
In an era of war and chaos, human lives were thinner than paper.
Those wealthy merchants and nobles traveled in constant fear. Only Uchiha escorts could make them feel safe.
What delighted Gento even more was that the Uchiha's reputation had spread throughout the entire shinobi world.
Hidden Cloud had been repelled, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki had been captured, and the Raikage had been forced to pay an enormous ransom...
These achievements were no longer secrets.
A saying had now begun spreading across the battlefield:
If you encounter an Uchiha ninja carrying out a mission, the best choice is to take a detour.
Bandits, rogue ninja, and even the ninja of regular military forces would proactively retreat the moment they saw the Uchiha clan crest.
No one was willing to provoke the Uchiha just to rob a merchant caravan.
After all, if they encountered a powerful Uchiha, losing their lives was a common outcome!
The Uchiha ninja would never show anyone mercy.
A mission was a mission. After defeating you, they would never spare your life.
And now, wealth was everywhere throughout the Land of Fire, so why would anyone bother provoking a monster like the Uchiha?
As a result, the Uchiha's mission completion rate became absurdly high, nearly reaching one hundred percent.
Client satisfaction rates exploded, and their reputation snowballed larger and larger.
And so, Hidden Gento Village's prestige kept rising steadily amidst the flames of war.
...
Three years passed fast amidst smoke and endless activity.
In the blink of an eye, the time arrived at Year 60 of Konoha.
The Fourth Great Shinobi War was still ongoing.
The Land of Fire had become an "ATM" for the major shinobi villages.
Konoha's defensive lines retreated again and again, and its territory had shrunk severely.
The whole Land of Fire had sunk into the quagmire of war.
Konoha's ninja and the forces of the major shinobi villages remained locked in a drawn-out stalemate.
Every nation suffered casualties; however, due to the lack of Kage-level experts, naturally, Konoha's casualties were the greatest.
Unlike the various shinobi villages trapped within the mire of war, Hidden Gento Village achieved a qualitative leap during these three years.
The number of Uchiha ninja surpassed the three-thousand mark.
Graduates from the Ninja Academy entered active duty batch after batch.
At the same time, because both mission quantity and compensation had increased, the ninja of Hidden Gento Village now possessed large amounts of disposable income.
Raising several children simultaneously placed absolutely no pressure on them.
As a result, the Uchiha birth rate also rose year after year.
Under the dual influence of Indulgence Apartments and Desire Hot Springs, the Uchiha ninja's "private lives" after returning to the village became exceptionally colorful.
Whenever they had free time, they responded to Gento's call and focused on making children.
Nowadays, nearly every Uchiha household had two or three children.
Some families even had four or five.
At the same time, the casualty rate during mission execution remained extremely low.
Over the course of three years, fewer than thirty Uchiha ninja died in battle.
That number would have been unbelievable in any shinobi village.
Population growth, growth in ninja numbers, growth in wealth...
The Uchiha had entered a totally positive cycle of development.
The Uchiha clan panel had now become:
[Clan: Uchiha]
⟩ Prosperity: A-rank (Thriving)
⟩ Members: 6569
⟩ Shinobi: 3491
⟩ Buildings: Clan Ancestral Hall, Indulgence Apartments, Desire Hot Springs, Awakening Chamber, Mission Hall, Ninja Academy, Training Ground
On this day, Hidden Gento Village's Mission Hall remained packed with people as always.
Clients coming to issue missions arrived in an endless stream.
Within the crowd, two figures who had deliberately concealed their appearances arrived at the Mission Hall.
Walking in front was a tall woman.
She wore a dark gray travel cloak, with the hood pulled low enough to conceal most of her face.
Yet the blue dress faintly visible beneath the cloak, along with her graceful figure, made people unable to resist glancing at her a few more times.
Her steps were calm and elegant. Amid the crowded masses, she moved through them like a swimming fish with agile grace.
Following behind her was a thin young man carrying a massive wrapped weapon on his back.
He kept his head lowered and followed closely behind the woman.
The two passed through the Mission Hall and headed directly toward the Clan Head's Office.
"Stop right there!"
An Anbu at the entrance raised his hand to block them.
"The Clan Head's Office is off-limits to unauthorized personnel."
The woman raised her hand and handed over a specially made kunai.
"I have important business with your clan head."
The Anbu paused for a moment, but still took the Flying Thunder God kunai inside to report the matter.
A short while later, the door opened, and the two were invited inside.
Inside the office, Gento leaned back in his chair while casually playing with the Lust Gourd in his hand.
By now, he had already figured out that every time the Lust Gourd accumulated five hundred Lust Points, it could complete one conversion.
After three years of relentless effort without release, he had eventually accumulated two Lust Pills.
Upon seeing Mei enter, he put down the gourd, and a faint smile rose on his lips.
"Miss Mei Terumi, long time no see."
Mei removed her hood, revealing a face of breathtaking beauty.
Her reddish-brown hair draped over her shoulders, while her pale green eyes shimmered with flowing light. A faint smile lingered at the corners of her lips.
After three years apart, she appeared even more mature than before.
There was now an added steadiness between her brows, and her gaze had become even sharper.
Her blue dress outlined her voluptuous curves, while her slender waist was especially alluring.
"Clan Head Gento, please forgive my sudden visit."
She gave a slight bow, while Chojuro behind her also bowed.
Gento waved his hand.
"If you have something to say, say it directly."
Mei sat down while Chojuro remained standing behind her.
"I've come this time because I hope to receive the Uchiha's assistance."
Mei got straight to the point, her tone solemn.
"Over these years, I have secretly gathered a considerable force within Hidden Mist. Preparations to overthrow the Fourth Mizukage's reign of terror are complete."
"However, the forces backing Yagura Karatachi cannot be underestimated. We require powerful external support."
She looked directly into Gento's eyes.
"I hope the Uchiha will lend us their aid."
Right then, the system's notification sounded inside Gento's mind.
[Ding! Host has triggered Main Quest: Hidden Mist Revolution]
⟩ Under the rule of the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, Hidden Mist implemented the "Bloody Mist Village" policy, carrying out large-scale massacres against Kekkei Genkai clans, leaving the village filled with fear while its national strength declined. The root cause of all this lies in Yagura Karatachi being controlled by Obito Uchiha's Sharingan. The Host must assist Hidden Mist's revolutionary forces in overthrowing the puppet Mizukage's rule and support Mei's ascension to the position of Fifth Mizukage.
⟩ Reward: Mastery of Yang-Attribute Chakra Essence!
Gento's eyes gleamed.
Yang-Attribute Chakra Essence!
This was precisely the thing he had always wanted.
With Yang-Attribute Chakra, he would be able to balance the overly vigorous Yin-Attribute Chakra within his body and solve his own fertility problem.
He withdrew his thoughts and looked toward Mei, the corners of his lips curling into a mischievous smile.
"Helping you is possible."
"I can support you in becoming the Fifth Mizukage."
"But what price are you prepared to pay for it?"
---
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