Disclaimer: Naruto and all of its character belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I make.
Chapter 43: Jealous
"We will keep this corpse," declared Raiken.
"Huh?" Everyone looked at him in shock. Only Mito remained calm, her expression unreadable.
Since Raiken had already confided in her about the Uzumaki suspicions, she was less shaken by his words. But hearing such a demand from her own clan made her chest tighten.
"Raiken, I hate to inform you, but this intruder needs to be handed over to the authorities," said Ren firmly.
"This intruder tried to spy on the Uzumaki Clan. That makes it our enemy, not Konoha," Raiken shot back.
At this point in history, the Senju clan had not yet been manipulated by Danzo. Ren remained a staunch follower of the First Hokage. He had no quarrel with Hiruzen either, since both the First and Second Hokage were from the Senju. When Tobirama entrusted his last words to his students, Ren accepted that Hiruzen was more suited to the position than the Uchiha.
But hearing Raiken words now, Ren immediately understood that the Uzumaki wanted to keep the corpse for their own research.
"Do you intend to rebel?" Ren asked sharply, his tone heavy with accusation.
The room froze. No one could believe what they had just heard.
"Ren, what are you implying? That my clan is planning a rebellion?" Mito voice rang out like steel, her glare pinning him in place.
The others swallowed their saliva nervously. Gulp!
No one understood why Ren seemed so dissatisfied. What they did not know was that his frustration had been festering for years. Ren was the most loyal of the Senju to both Hashirama and Tobirama. Yet when members of the clan began abandoning the Senju name, they did not choose a new leader, since both Hokage had belonged to their clan. After Tobirama death, Uzumaki Mito became the unofficial head of the Senju simply because everyone naturally turned to her.
Mito had never asked for this role, but Ren found himself sidelined. His loyalty to Hashirama did not extend to Mito, and though he never voiced it, his resentment slowly grew poisonous. It even twisted into a faint dislike of the Uzumaki. That was why he now accused them of plotting rebellion.
But Ren is just delusional, the clan is no more so how can they choose new leader. The only reason he and several of his friends got to keep the Senju name is because of their position a bit higher to remove it. Even their son and grandchildren had removed their clan name, they didn't inherit the name eventhough the grandpa still keep the clan name.
"Lady Mito, this is no trivial matter. This is Konoha. The Hokage must be informed," Ren insisted. "As the Senju, we must set an example for others."
The other two elders hesitated, ready to nod in agreement until Raiken cut them off.
"We never said we would not inform the Hokage," Raiken snapped. "But this corpse belongs to us. Our clan was attacked, and no reinforcements from Konoha came to our aid."
"Are you accusing us?" Ren's voice rose, his face flushed with anger.
"Who said anything about accusing you?" Raiken roared back, louder than him. "We trust in our fuinjutsu more than anyone else. It was our clan that sensed the enemy. We caught him. Not you."
A heavy silence fell across the chamber.
What Raiken said was difficult to refute. For many years, no enemy had ever managed to sneak into Konoha unnoticed, until now when the Uzumaki Clan had reside here.
---Madara POV---
"Madara-sama, I bring good news," said White Zetsu suddenly as he emerged from the ground.
Thanks to their hive mind, the main body could instantly receive the memories of every clone, no matter how far apart they were. It was as if information traveled faster than light, flowing freely between them.
Madara, who had spent the entire day listening to nothing but troublesome reports, raised his head in curiosity. His mood had been heavy, filled with irritation, but the mention of "good news" piqued his interest. His lips curved into a small, cold smile.
"Oh? Good news, you say?" His voice was calm yet carried the weight of suppressed impatience. "Then speak."
"The Uzumaki Clan," White Zetsu reported."They have decided to hoard my clone body. They refused to share it with the Hokage."
For a brief moment, silence hung in the cave. Then Madara threw his head back and laughed, the sound of laughter is echoing against the stone walls.
"Hahahahahaha! Just as I thought! It seems the Uzumaki suspect that their their village being attacked, might be connected to Konoha itself." His laughter held both amusement and satisfaction.
"Yes, Madara-sama," White Zetsu added, "they also realized my body is not the same as Hashirama. They know it is… different."
Madara eyes become wide. "Different, you say? Tell me everything that happened. Do not leave out a single detail."
White Zetsu nodded eagerly and continued. "Raiken brought his grandfather-in-law, Uchiha Hikaku, to see the place where my clone had been sealed. They examined the body carefully. Then I overheard their plan, they wanted to share my cells with the Uchiha Clan. To strengthen them. Later, they attempted to use their Sharingan on me, to draw out information. They tried Genjutsu, but it had no effect on my clone. In the end, they killed it."
"Uchiha Hikaku…" Madara muttered, repeating the name. He remembered the young man, an ambitious Uchiha with potential, he then leaned back before opening his mouth. "Do not interfere with them. Leave the Uzumaki and Uchiha be, for now. I want to see how far they can become strong. If they attempt implantation, I want to know whether their bodies can endure it. Perhaps… perhaps one of them will become capable of holding the Rinegan."
"As you command, Madara-sama," White Zetsu replied, before sinking back into the earth and vanishing from sight.
The cave grew quiet once more, Madara then closed his eyes continue to sleep.
Meanwhile hidden within the shadows, Black Zetsu had listened to every word. His eyes glimmered faintly in the dark.
Zetsu cells with Uchiha won't awaken Rinegan, no matter how much the Uchiha gained from these cells, it would never awaken the Rinegan. At most, the Yang chakra within them would bolster their strength, reinforcing their power. Infact the marriage between Uzumaki and Uchiha is more dangerous than injecting zetsu cells.
With Uzumaki fuinjutsu, strong vitality of chakra, Uchiha eyes, and the addition of Wood Style, their combined power could become something monstrous, something even he might not be able to manipulate easily.
A low hiss escaped him, almost inaudible. This is troublesome… far too troublesome.
He sank deeper into the darkness, plotting anew. The plans he had nurtured for centuries could not be allowed to fail. He needed another strategy, another opportunity to help his mother escape from Prison.
Yes… he thought. I must bide my time. No matter how powerful the Uzumaki and Uchiha become, my mother need to be rescued. One day, she will be freed from her prison.
A/N: You might feel weird why this Hiruzen is so stupid, he is freaking Hokage. To be honest, he is not stupid but he chose not do or not believing his friend are very evil. Before shippuden, I have a huge respect for Hiruzen and after shippuden they are so many plot holes. I try to use google and AI and reasoning with them what type of character Hiruzen when he was young. So I can only conclude he choose not to investigate or choose to believe Danzo.
Author Notes - To read advanced chapter you can go to my patreon.
Chapter 71: Madara Surprised
Chapter 72: Behind The Scene
Chapter 73: The Entertainment
-patreon.com/zorojurown