While Konoha was bustling with activity, news came back one after another from the four great nations surrounding the Land of Fire—the Land of Lightning, the Land of Earth, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Water.
The Land of Lightning established Kumogakure, its leader taking the title of Raikage.
The Land of Earth established Iwagakure, its leader taking the title of Tsuchikage.
The Land of Wind established Sunagakure, its leader taking the title of Kazekage.
The Land of Water established Kirigakure, its leader taking the title of Mizukage.
Thus, the framework of the Five Great Shinobi Villages was set.
All of this was within Uchiha Hikaru’s expectations.
This was exactly how the original timeline went—once the Senju and Uchiha joined forces, the other great nations immediately followed suit, and the five major shinobi villages were established around the same period.
This was the inertia of history; it could not be stopped.
All he could do was ensure Konoha stayed ahead in this race.
As for the other villages—let them have their moment.
On this day, in the People’s Conference Room of the Hokage Office Building—Konoha’s White House—the Five Elders gathered once more.
A map of the shinobi world lay spread across the table, marked with the locations of the five great nations and their respective shinobi villages.
“Madara-sama, Hashirama-sama.” Hikaru spoke first.
“It has long been said throughout the shinobi world that there are nine Tailed Beasts, each possessing the power to destroy an entire nation.
The two of you should know this better than I do.”
Hikaru continued: “I believe that Konoha, as a village of love and peace, should shoulder the responsibility of maintaining peace in the shinobi world.
These nine Tailed Beasts roaming free is far too dangerous.
If they fall into the wrong hands, war could break out at any moment.”
“Imagine this—if the Land of Lightning captures the Eight-Tails and the Land of Wind captures the One-Tail, and then uses these Tailed Beasts as weapons of war against the Land of Fire, we would be in a very passive position.”
Hikaru had long coveted the Tailed Beasts.
The Nine-Tails in particular—the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, the perfect jinchuriki’s Kurama Mode, and even in the explosive Boruto series, the Nine-Tails manifested the Baryon Mode.
The Nine-Tails was constantly evolving.
And naive Hashirama had actually distributed such dangerous beasts for the sake of so-called peace.
History proved that even after distributing the Tailed Beasts, wars still came.
If not for Hashirama’s foolish actions, the First and Second Great Shinobi Wars would not have claimed so many lives.
Hashirama Senju looked hesitant.
“Hikaru, are you saying…
we capture all the Tailed Beasts?
And then what?”
“And then, Konoha manages them all.”
“Hashirama-sama, I know you are kind-hearted and do not wish to use the Tailed Beasts as weapons of war. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
But we must think carefully—if the Tailed Beasts are in Konoha’s hands, at least we will not start a war unprovoked.
But if they fall into other villages’ hands, that is another matter entirely.”
“Hikaru, you are right.” Hashirama’s gaze grew resolute.
“We must take control of these Tailed Beasts.
They are far too dangerous.”
“Yes.” Madara Uchiha spoke up.
“Uchiha records also mention that each of these nine Tailed Beasts possesses the power to destroy the shinobi world.
Moreover, these Tailed Beasts cannot truly die—even if you destroy them, they will eventually revive in the shinobi world.”
“For the sake of peace and stability in the shinobi world, Konoha has the responsibility and the duty to capture the Tailed Beasts.”
Capturing the Tailed Beasts.
These words carried an irrepressible fighting spirit when spoken by Madara.
Hikaru noticed that Madara’s fingers had begun unconsciously tapping on the table.
He knew this man too well—all this time as Hokage, stuck in the office reviewing documents, receiving guests, chairing meetings like some kind of figurehead, had been driving him mad.
The Battlefield Rose, the Ninja Shura—that spirit needed battle to thrive.
Now that he heard there were Tailed Beasts to capture, battles to be fought, Madara was ready to charge out of the village at a moment’s notice.
“Hikaru.” Madara spoke abruptly, his tone crisp and decisive.
“All village affairs will be handled by you and the Three Department Chancellors.
To avoid unnecessary casualties, I will handle this Tailed Beast capture personally, along with Hashirama.”
He rose to his feet, a long-dormant battle fervor flickering in his eyes.
“Madara, let us go and maintain peace in the shinobi world!” Hashirama was equally excited, clamoring to go capture Tailed Beasts.
Tobirama Senju watched his brother’s antics and felt only embarrassment.
“But Hashirama-sama, what about your engagement to Mito-sama?”
The Senju and Uzumaki clans were distant relatives and blood allies.
Hashirama had been betrothed to Mito Uzumaki since childhood.
This marriage was not just a union of two people, but a symbol of alliance between the Senju and Uzumaki clans.
With Konoha newly established, the Senju should have gone to the Uzumaki to formalize the engagement.
“I had forgotten about that.” Hashirama scratched his head sheepishly.
Aside from matters concerning Madara, Hashirama was rather oblivious to everything else.
Besides, we will need Mito-sama’s sealing techniques to contain the Tailed Beasts.”
“By the way, Madara-sama should also take a wife and produce heirs to continue the Uchiha bloodline.
Madara-sama, since Hashirama-sama is going to seek a bride, if there is a woman in the clan you favor, we can make arrangements as soon as possible.”
Madara Uchiha frowned.
Take a wife?
He had never considered it.
Seeing Madara’s refusal, Hikaru added, “If Madara-sama does not fancy any woman in the clan, we could also seek a bride from other clans—the Uzumaki clan, for example.
I think they would be an excellent match.”
The Uzumaki clan naturally possessed immense chakra and, like the Senju, shared distant blood ties and possessed the Sage Body.
The Uzumaki were a powerful clan.
If Hashirama-sama married Mito Uzumaki, and Madara-sama could also marry an Uzumaki woman, then the Senju, Uchiha, and Uzumaki would become true blood allies, unbreakable.
In the original story, the main reason for Madara’s fall was Izuna’s death.
Though Izuna was still alive now, there was still Black Zetsu lurking in the shadows, having schemed for over a thousand years.
To be safe, Hikaru wanted to add a few extra layers of protection.
“Madara-sama, you are not only the head of the Uchiha clan, but also the First Hokage of Konoha.
Your marriage is not just a personal matter—it is a matter of great importance to the Uchiha clan and to Konoha as a whole.”
In the end, Madara did not refuse.
“Have the clan make arrangements.”
Hikaru breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Madara’s willingness to marry was a good thing.
With heirs, the Uchiha clan’s future would have one more layer of security.
Hikaru’s gaze unconsciously drifted toward Tobirama Senju.
In the original story, Tobirama Senju had never married either—could it be…
that old fox Tobirama didn’t fancy women?
There were many eligible young women in the clan…
If a Senju and an Uchiha were to marry, what would be born from such a union?
The Senju possessed the Sage Body, and the Uchiha possessed the Sage Eyes.
The two combined would be the bloodline of the Sage of Six Paths.
A “wicked” plan slowly began to take shape in Uchiha Hikaru’s mind.