Mikota felt a bit uneasy in her heart; her husband had pleaded with her to steal intelligence, and Mr. Yoichi should be aware of this too.
But why did he still entrust her with so many tasks? Isn't this...actively letting her take away the intelligence?
"What's wrong? Are there too many things to do?"
"No, but I... am Fugaku's wife...."
The latter part of the sentence, Mikota's voice gradually softened.
"So what if you are the clan leader's wife? Although I don't quite get along with Uchiha Fugaku, I have no ill feelings towards Madam Mikota."
Uchiha Yoichi changed his demeanor completely from yesterday, and with such impressive looks, his words made Uchiha Mikota believe him quite a bit more.
"Doing such a task so well shows that Madam Mikota, you are highly capable, and even clansmen with volatile tempers, despite not liking the clan leader, have never spoken ill of you, which proves that your ability and character are impeccable."
Uchiha Yoichi kept showering praises upon Madam Mikota one after another.
"Alright then, Madam Mikota, if you can accomplish this, there's no need to say anything further; I trust you."
"Well...alright then."
Feeling somewhat guilty in her heart, Mikota agreed to the task. This time she chose the latter between principles and her husband.
Uchiha Yoichi noticed this, but Mikota, educated as she was, prioritized family and could humble her principles for it. Yet, the sense of shame within her hadn't completely vanished, and eventually, her long-held guilt would erupt.
"Then I'll leave this matter to you, if one day isn't enough, report back the day after tomorrow."
After speaking, Uchiha Yoichi signaled that Mikota could leave. He had arranged quite a few things, and if Mikota wanted to do well, she might not be able to attend to her family in the next two days.
Fugaku would likely persuade Mikota, as by taking these matters head-on, she would allow Uchiha Fugaku to understand Uchiha Yoichi's intelligence.
Currently, Uchiha Yoichi is aggressively pursuing the clan leader position, and when Uchiha Fugaku sees such a good opportunity, he certainly won't miss it.
Mikota returned home with a stack of documents, and coincidentally, Uchiha Fugaku hadn't gone to the Security Team, waiting for her at home.
"Mikota, you're back. How did it go?"
After asking, Uchiha Fugaku noticed the documents in Mikota's hands; he remembered she didn't have so many when she went out.
"This is...."
Mikota's heart skipped a beat; she had just received so much trust from Uchiha Yoichi, and now back home, she was going to betray this trust... This feeling made her feel very uncomfortable.
"Fugaku, these are all the businesses under Uchiha Yoichi. He asked me to act as a liaison, and I may have to travel to many places over the next couple of days... Fugaku, in this case, I might not have time to take care of Itachi. Should I refuse this task?"
Speaking the last sentence, Mikota even had a pleading tone. If her husband agreed, she wouldn't have to be a spy anymore; she preferred to be a housewife.
However, Uchiha Fugaku sighed and said, "Mikota, I know suddenly taking on so many tasks might be exhausting, but please hold on. As long as you understand his movements, that's enough; I'll find someone to take good care of Itachi, and I'll also come home early from the Security Team..."
"Fugaku...."
"I'm counting on you, Mikota!"
When Uchiha Fugaku said this, the gentle-natured Mikota did not know how to refuse, and in the end, she nodded in agreement.
"Thank you, Mikota, umm..."
Uchiha Fugaku just wanted to see the files Mikota brought back when there was a knock on the door.
When Uchiha Fugaku went to open the door, Mikota finally breathed a sigh of relief; moments ago, she didn't want Fugaku to see the documents in her hands. Clearly, Mr. Yoichi trusted her so much, yet she turned around and betrayed that trust, which violates ninja principles!
And when Uchiha Fugaku heard that the village was summoning the Jonin, he knew something major was happening.
Summoning all Jonin usually signifies an event between nations.
Thinking of this, Uchiha Fugaku turned back to speak to Mikota inside the house: "Mikota, I'm going out for a while, I'll be back soon."
Mikota nodded upon hearing this and said, "I understand, Fugaku, I'll get started too..."
Not only Uchiha Fugaku, but this time, the village summoned all the Jonin, even Uchiha Yoichi received notification.
Apart from those on external missions, the Jonin in the village all gathered at the Hokage Building.
The Uchiha Race's Jonin, who passed the Jonin assessment, numbered twelve, including Uchiha Yokokawa and Uchiha Masato.
When Uchiha Yoichi arrived at the Hokage Building and saw them, he approached and joined them, sitting in the middle of the room.
Once most people gathered, Sarutobi Hiruzen and the village's advisors entered the room, including Danzo.
After the last incident, Danzo had been suspended for half a year and was then restored. This information came from Elder Kenji due to a lack of concrete evidence against him.
"It seems everyone is here, so I'll keep it brief."
After casting his gaze around the room, Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke sternly: "According to intelligence, the Hidden Sand Village initiated an attack on Konoha three days ago and has now occupied the Land of Rivers, where all five teams stationed there have perished."
.....
Upon hearing this news, few in the room were shocked; those with better access to information already knew the Hidden Sand was preparing for war, while Konoha's true Ninja Corps were stationed at Kikyo Castle.
Someone asked, "Third Generation, how many Sand Ninja have been deployed?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen continued: "This time, the Hidden Sand seems to have sent their main force. Minato encountered the Hidden Sand Village's Ninja Corps while returning from a mission; the person leading the team was Rasa, the Third Generation Kazekage's disciple, likely the Fourth Generation Kazekage now."
"And the Sand's Jinchuriki?"
"Currently there's no information on the Jinchuriki, but considering Rasa's presence on the Land of Rivers battlefield, the One-tailed Jinchuriki likely came too."
Upon hearing this intelligence from Namikaze Minato, Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately dispatched the Anbu to gather information. However, without any news from them, he received reports from the front lines instead.
The Sand Ninja Corps had occupied the Land of Rivers, and could potentially attack the Land of Fire at any moment.
"According to reports from the front, the Sand might have deployed around fourteen hundred people, along with the Third Generation Kazekage's disciple Rasa, the Ninja Corps reserved at Kikyo Castle might not handle the Hidden Sand Village...."
Sarutobi Hiruzen paused, glanced at those sitting in the front, and decisively said, "Dispatch reinforcements to Kikyo Castle immediately, and ensure the Hidden Sand Village does not hold the Land of Rivers for long, lest its resources are seized, as it would make the Hidden Sand Village increasingly difficult to tackle..."
The Hidden Sand Village's specialty is puppet mastery, where a Sand Jonin can control three to four puppets simultaneously.
These puppets are troublesome to deal with, even if one is destroyed, the Puppet Master can simply pull out another. If they continuously obtain resources for puppet-making, Konoha would be in a passive position.
"Jiraiya, Namikaze Minato, lead ten Jonin squads and a Ninja Corps to support Kikyo Castle."
Upon saying this, Sarutobi Hiruzen surprised many, essentially announcing Jiraiya and Namikaze Minato as the commanders and deputy commanders of Kikyo Castle.
Jiraiya was unsurprising, being one of the Sannin, having fought in the Second Ninja World War, with strong skills, but Namikaze Minato serving as deputy commander was a first.
Before Sarutobi Hiruzen's announcement, many believed that Hatake Sakumo would lead the support.
Sarutobi Hiruzen continued: "Starting now, the village enters wartime, Mr. Fugaku, the Security Team's patrol must be more thorough than before to prevent spies from probing intelligence."
Upon hearing this, Uchiha Fugaku nodded and said, "Rest assured, Lord Hokage."
"Everyone, the Hidden Rock Village and Hidden Cloud Village's movements are unclear, but these two are militarized great nations, effective immediately, Jonin cancel all missions and remain on standby in the village."
Sarutobi Hiruzen declared gravely, a Hidden Sand Village deploying a tailed beast is already troublesome enough; if other villages join, Konoha would truly be in danger.
If only Kushina could control the Nine-tail's power as well.