Who I'm Doing This For?!
Uchiha Makoto listened quietly as the Fire Daimyō voiced his worries.
"If Your Highness permits it," Makoto said calmly,
"I would actually be quite happy to share your burdens."
As the saying went, the outcome of a game of Go was sometimes decided not on the board—but beyond it.
Problems like these were best solved with the principles of classical mechanics.
Damn it!
These vermin don't do a single thing right!
Kill, kill, kill!!
Just wipe them all out and replace them with a new batch!
The Fire Country had no shortage of young people eager to "make progress."
Faced with Makoto's suggestion, the Daimyō merely smiled.
"A jest, nothing more."
You shinobi just needed to kill people.
As for me, as the Daimyō—I had far more to consider.
Those nobles were hardly poor themselves.
If the Daimyō stopped playing by the rules, then fine—
everyone would tear off their masks and hurt each other openly.
Seeing the Daimyō's reaction, Makoto half-lidded his eyes, giving him a subtle, dead-fish stare.
So you don't trust me after all, huh…
Then he lowered his head again and continued eating in silence.
The moon set.
The sun rose once more.
This was the place where the dream of Konoha first began.
On an open plain, shinobi of the Senju clan and the Uchiha clan gathered together. Two massive banners—each emblazoned with a clan crest—fluttered in the wind.
Amid an atmosphere of celebration, Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama stepped forward and clasped hands.
This single gesture symbolized the end of a thousand years of blood feud and the formal alliance between the two clans.
The shinobi of both sides witnessed this historic moment.
It felt unreal—like a dream.
Cheers erupted.
Of course—
A hatred forged over a thousand years was not so easily erased.
Some people were far from pleased.
For example—
Senju Tobirama.
From beginning to end, Tobirama had opposed the reconciliation and alliance between the Senju and the Uchiha. Deep down, he never wanted the two clans tangled together.
Because of this, he and his elder brother had even gotten into a fierce argument.
"Big brother, about allying with the Uchiha—don't you think you should reconsider?"
"Even if you're the clan head, you should still listen to the opinions of our people!"
"Listen to the voices of the clan!"
Tobirama spoke urgently, trying to overturn Hashirama's resolve.
The Senju clan's situation was overwhelmingly favorable—
dragon-riding-face-level favorable.
Sure, a few days ago, Big Brother had shown mercy and let Madara escape.
And then there was that whole thing with threatening suicide using a kunai—
Big brother, have you lost your mind playing dice or something?!
But regardless—
Hashirama had defeated Madara fair and square.
The outcome of the war was already decided.
If Hashirama could just find another opportunity to kill Madara, then the remaining Uchiha would be nothing to fear.
Hashirama would lead the charge, slaughtering them head-on.
Tobirama would provide support from the side.
The Uchiha clan would be wiped out with casual ease.
In fact—
The day of the alliance itself was the perfect opportunity.
During the window before the ceremony, Hashirama could have summoned the Uzumaki clan under the banner of the Senju—
bringing in Uzumaki shinobi skilled in fūinjutsu.
They could have set up a massive sealing barrier at the meeting site.
The Uchiha would be able to enter—but never leave.
Meanwhile, the Senju would prepare ambushes in secret.
If arranged properly, the entire Uchiha clan could be annihilated in one stroke—
Tobirama admitted the plan was… a bit underhanded.
Attacking during peace talks?
Yeah, that was dirty.
But—
The Senju clan would understand.
After all, every single Uchiha had Senju blood on their hands.
And if Big Brother worried about his reputation?
Tobirama was more than willing to shoulder the infamy himself.
As the deputy leader of the Senju, he had prepared for that role since childhood.
Big Brother could remain the pure, naïve, lotus-white Senju clan head.
Such an easy, decisive victory—
How could anyone give it up?
Just imagining a future where the naturally evil Uchiha clan vanished from the shinobi world made Tobirama giddy with excitement.
If total extermination was possible—
Why bother forming an alliance at all?
Tobirama truly couldn't understand it.
Upon hearing Tobirama's "casual" proposal,
Hashirama involuntarily sucked in a sharp breath.
His little brother's thinking was simply too extreme.
This idea could never be allowed to spread within the Senju clan.
The consequences would be disastrous.
"That's enough, Tobirama. I've already given my word to Madara."
"Your thinking is far too extreme."
"I will not allow such a thing to happen. What you just said must never reach the ears of the clan!"
Hashirama's face hardened into an expression colder than death itself as he issued the sternest warning possible.
"Big brother, everything I've done is for the sake of the Senju clan!"
"That's enough, Tobirama. I am the head of the Senju clan!"
"Mutual hatred and endless slaughter will never lead to a good outcome."
In the end, Tobirama fell silent.
He had been convinced—
Or rather, intimidated.
After all, Big Brother's fists hurt like hell.
The deed was done.
The Senju and the Uchiha were allied.
But this was only the beginning.
To build the village everyone dreamed of would require staggering resources, enormous amounts of time, and the handling of countless headaches.
Problems tangled together like threads in a massive knot.
But even among all these issues, there were priorities.
Everything above was secondary.
The primary contradiction—
The most important issue in Tobirama's eyes—
Was this:
Who would be the one in charge of the village?
Hashirama, however, felt there was no rush.
Now that the Senju and Uchiha were allied, the village's future could be discussed calmly.
At worst—
They could vote.
Rather than worrying about empty titles, it would be better to think about how to actually build the village.
Using Wood Release to produce more timber as soon as possible—
That was real work.
"Tobirama, why are you so unfocused on your duties?"
"The important thing right now is for me to hurry up and use Wood Release to prepare the lumber needed to build houses over the next few days."
Hashirama knew his brother too well.
Instinctively, he felt Tobirama was up to something—
trying to undermine the hard-won peace between the Senju and the Uchiha.
"Big brother… you—"
"Damn it!"
Tobirama's blood pressure instantly spiked.
Forming an alliance with the Uchiha was one thing—
But letting them sit on the Senju's heads was another.
The village leader had to be a Senju.
The Senju were the victors of this war!
And you, Big Brother—
Do you even know who I'm doing all this for?!
If you weren't my brother—
Believe it or not, I would've—
Damn it!
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