The Anbu ninja quickly found Senju Hashirama, who was wandering outside, and brought him to the door of the Hokage's office. He made a gesture, inviting Hashirama to enter. Hashirama nodded and stepped into the office.
Then, with lightning speed, the Anbu ninja shut the door. He stood guard dutifully outside, minding his own business, pretending to be deaf and blind, silently repeating to himself: "I see nothing, I hear nothing..."
He wanted no part in the affairs between the two brothers, Lord Hokage and Lord Tobirama!
Bang!
The sound of a door shutting echoed.
Senju Hashirama was startled by the sudden noise. Just as he was about to turn around, he looked up and saw Senju Tobirama sitting in the chair.
Tobirama had his fingers interlaced, striking a classic commander's pose, his expression grim as he looked at Hashirama.
Hashirama instinctively sensed trouble. Under normal circumstances, he was about to be berated into a depressive state by his younger brother Tobirama for something. So, he said with an awkward smile:
"Tobirama, why did you send someone to find me... Why the long face as soon as you get back... If work isn't going well, you can rest for a couple of days. Tobirama, you don't need to start working the moment you return..."
"Your health is the most important thing!"
"Brother, don't beat around the bush. While I was away from Konoha, did something happen that you're hiding from me? Do you have any idea what kind of harm your actions could bring to Konoha's future!"
"No, not at all... I haven't even been to the gambling dens lately..."
Senju Hashirama guessed what this was about but still tried to deflect Tobirama's attention. Some things, if he didn't make a fuss about them, Konoha could just turn a blind eye and let them pass.
You can't investigate everything...
What if you find something you don't want to find?
"Enough, brother. You're still trying to hide it from me. Did you or did you not release the assassin sent by Takigakure?"
"You are the Hokage of Konoha, representing the face and dignity of this village. Takigakure committed such a depraved and treasonous act, and you still wanted to hide this from me!"
"What if something had happened to you... What would Konoha do?"
Senju Tobirama couldn't be bothered to beat around the bush any longer and directly exposed the matter of Hashirama secretly releasing the Takigakure assassin.
Konoha had to see this matter through to the end!
Who planned it, who executed it—Konoha had to uproot all of them, investigate them thoroughly, and all of them had to die!
Konoha's dignity would not be provoked!
"Tobirama, I'm fine, aren't I..."
"Don't be angry. I didn't mean to hide it from you."
"Besides, you know my strength. And at the time, the Akatsuki Ninja Village and the Hidden Cloud Village were at a critical point in their negotiations. If news of me being assassinated by a Takigakure ninja got out then, who knows what kind of chaos it would have caused... That's why I had no choice but to conceal this matter."
Senju Hashirama scratched his head in embarrassment, explaining his reasons.
The Hidden Cloud Village and the Akatsuki Ninja Village were at a crucial point in their negotiations. If news spread that Konoha's Hokage had been assassinated, it would complicate things.
Senju Hashirama wasn't a complete idiot. He was just naive and kind, willing to make concessions and sacrifices for peace. From any perspective, an assassination attempt on someone of his status was a heinous act. Even during the Warring States period, when he was the leader of the Senju clan, if another clan sent an assassin after him and the Senju found out, they would definitely retaliate in kind.
If that happened, who knew what kind of trouble it would stir up in the ninja world. So... he hid the matter.
After speaking, Hashirama let out a hearty laugh while performatively flexing his biceps to show he was completely unharmed, trying to ease the tense atmosphere!
"Alright, brother, I don't want to hear your explanations. You're always like this..."
"I don't want to argue with you about this anymore either."
"Let me state my position first."
"This matter must be handled seriously, and I will take full responsibility for it. Brother, you just stand aside and watch."
Senju Tobirama looked at Hashirama, who was still joking around and trying to gloss over the situation, and felt a sense of helplessness.
His brother was too soft-hearted, always showing kindness and trusting others too easily... like that innately evil Uchiha Madara. He had only survived this long because of his own terrifying strength.
Now that he knew about this, it had to be handed over to him completely. His brother just needed to stand aside and watch.
"Tobirama... what do you plan to do..."
Senju Hashirama sighed heavily. He had clearly anticipated this outcome.
Once his younger brother, Senju Tobirama, found out about this, given his personality, there was no way he would turn a blind eye and pretend it never happened, as he had.
"Brother, according to the rules of the ninja clans during the Warring States period, assassinating a clan leader is considered a declaration of war... Even though the times have changed and clans have become villages, some things can never change."
"Konoha must declare war on Takigakure!" Senju Tobirama said with ironclad determination.
The Akatsuki Ninja Village had already established its prestige throughout the ninja world through its war with the Hidden Cloud. For the next few years, or even decades, no ninja village would dare to provoke them, nor would any ninja dare to attack an Akatsuki ninja on a mission. The Hidden Cloud Village was a precedent. If you dared to make a move, that innately evil Uchiha brat, Makoto, would really lead an army to wage a full-scale war against you.
But Konoha had been hiding its strength and being amicable for years. Now, even a small, unknown village like Takigakure dared to send an assassin after the Hokage and challenge Konoha's dignity. They were simply courting death!
This time, Konoha had to make a show of force.
Although the target was just a small village, not a major one like the Hidden Cloud, as long as Konoha's retaliation was swift and decisive, flattening Takigakure within three days would be enough to make the ninja world recognize Konoha's strength. Most importantly, the scale of the war could be completely controlled.
"Declare war?"
"Tobirama, isn't that too severe?"
"I wasn't even injured. There's no need to make such a big deal out of it. The Akatsuki Ninja Village and the Hidden Cloud Village have just reached a ceasefire, and the ninja world has only just returned to peace. If Konoha starts a war with Takigakure now... this peace was hard-won. Why don't we de-escalate the situation? We can negotiate with Takigakure first, see if there's some misunderstanding..."
Upon hearing that Konoha would go to war with Takigakure, Senju Hashirama immediately shook his head like a rattle.
The Akatsuki Ninja Village and the Hidden Cloud Village had just stopped fighting, and the ninja world had just regained its peace... The peace he had longed for had just returned. How could he let Konoha shatter it with its own hands?
It was best to de-escalate, to negotiate with Takigakure first, and talk things out with open hearts... Maybe there was a misunderstanding!
"Brother, when will you finally wake up?"
"This is a life-or-death struggle!"
"Takigakure has slapped Konoha's face and dignity. If we don't handle this seriously... how can our Konoha ninja hold their heads high in this world in the future!"
"Besides war, there is no second option. And brother, you don't need to worry about disrupting the peace of the ninja world. With Konoha's strength, we can completely crush Takigakure. The war will be over in a few days."
Senju Tobirama showed an expression of utter disappointment. Negotiate, negotiate, all you know is negotiation. A Takigakure ninja came to kill you!
What is there to negotiate at this point? Just charge in and kill them!
Where did the brother from the Warring States period, the one who slaughtered the Uchiha clan without mercy, go?
Come back!!
"No, I firmly disagree with this!"
"Anything but war. We absolutely cannot go to war."
"Even if Konoha can end the battle in a few days, it's still not acceptable. The other ninja in Takigakure have done nothing wrong; they are innocent. Once a war starts, it will only lead to an endless cycle of hatred. Just punish the mastermind... that will be enough."
Senju Hashirama's attitude was firm. No matter how much Tobirama tried to persuade him, he was unwilling to bring the flames of war to Takigakure.
The evil of the Warring States period was just that: powerful clans using their strength to bully weaker ones.
The weaker clans would fight back in anger. Even if they couldn't win, they would endure and find allies... Weaker clans always had close families, and powerful clans always had enemies.
Eventually, this would lead to wars between clans, sparking round after round of hatred and battle that lasted for thousands of years.
He had finally put an end to such evil and hatred, and now, Senju Hashirama was unwilling to be tainted by it again, no matter what.
Konoha's great power was not for bullying others.
It was for protection—to protect one's family, friends, and this hard-won peace.
Of course, he understood the severity of the matter. If Konoha didn't retaliate, it would be a significant blow to its reputation and status. So, he also made a concession to Tobirama.
Since Konoha needed an explanation, let Takigakure execute the mastermind of this incident.
That way, Takigakure could be spared the ravages of war, and Konoha would have an excuse to let the matter go.
Hearing Hashirama's words, Tobirama fell silent.
Punish only the mastermind? Who was the mastermind?
For that Takigakure assassin to dare assassinate Konoha's leader, he must have been acting on the orders of Takigakure's high-ranking officials. Otherwise, where would he get the audacity to come to Konoha and assassinate the Hokage?
Tobirama could figure it out with his toes.
The Takigakure leadership would definitely sacrifice a pawn to save the king, pushing this assassin forward as a scapegoat.
But was this assassin the true mastermind?
Obviously not.
He was just a pitiful wretch who, due to the stupidity of Takigakure's leaders, carried out an impossible assassination mission, only to be thrown out as a scapegoat in the end.
The real masterminds, the leaders of Takigakure, would remain at large. They would never truly surrender themselves to justice... not until the very last Takigakure ninja was dead!
Most importantly, what Senju Tobirama wanted was not a scapegoat. He wanted to use a war to establish Konoha's authority in the ninja world, just like the Akatsuki Ninja Village!
He wanted to use war to establish authority!
How could he possibly agree to the bullshit solution his brother proposed?
But even though he had many things to say, many arguments to make to his brother, Tobirama decided not to say any more.
His brother was stubbornly obsessed.
The ninja clans had abandoned their past hatred to form villages, and the ninja world did indeed experience a few years of brief peace.
And his brother had become addicted to this false peace from the early years of Konoha's founding.
But conflicts would also arise between villages, and they would repeat the old history of the clans... Uchiha Madara had once mentioned this at a meeting, but it was clear his brother hadn't truly listened.
Uchiha Madara's idea of unifying the ninja world to end wars between villages was shocking and extremely difficult to achieve... After conquering by force, a host of subsequent problems would be troublesome.
But...
His brother's fantasy of using so-called negotiations, dialogue, and mutual understanding.
To think that by doing so, peace in the ninja world would truly arrive... How could such a thing be possible?
Who could be as naive as his brother?
If a powerful village didn't bully other villages to gain more benefits for its own ninja, then what was the point of being powerful?
Such a simple truth.
It wasn't as if I hadn't told my brother, but how could he not understand?
Brother, you are not fit to be Hokage!
With great sorrow, Senju Tobirama came to this tragic conclusion.
With an "insect" like his brother at the top, how could he possibly govern Konoha well?
"Tobirama... why aren't you speaking?"
"What do you think of this solution?"
Seeing Tobirama's silence, Senju Hashirama waited for a moment before eagerly asking for his opinion.
"What do I think? Of course, I think it's terrible!"
That's what Senju Tobirama thought to himself.
Of course, he couldn't possibly say his true thoughts to his brother, Senju Hashirama... His brother was already stubbornly beyond saving.
"I'll think about it..."
Senju Tobirama said, placating Hashirama with his words.
Senju Tobirama, this innately evil old demon of the Senju, full of wicked schemes, had already thought of a solution—that innately evil Uchiha brat, Makoto, was indeed a master at manipulating public opinion... It wasn't as if he didn't know how to use such tactics.
His brother was stubbornly determined to appease the situation.
But as long as he found a way to spread the news of the Hokage's assassination and stirred up public opinion within Konoha...
It was a no-brainer.
What would the villagers and ninja of Konoha do?
They would undoubtedly be filled with righteous indignation, clamoring for war against Takigakure.
And as the Hokage, brother...
What will you do then?
Alas... brother.
As your dearest younger brother, I originally didn't want to use these tactics, which are meant for the Uchiha, on you.
However...
It's all for Konoha's sake
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