It would be best if Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama fought until the heavens and earth were overturned, until they both perished together!
If you two don’t die, how am I supposed to sleep at night?!
“But…
Your Highness…
that may be true…”
“Lord Madara has already placed his trust in Senju Hashirama and accepted the Senju clan’s proposal for peace…
and the Uchiha clan members have accepted it as well.”
Uchiha Makoto had said quite a lot.
In short…
The Uchiha clan and Senju clan had stopped fighting and made peace.
That outcome was already set in stone.
The more the Fire Daimyō listened, the more uncomfortable he became, and the uglier his expression grew.
Uchiha Makoto carefully observed the daimyō’s expression.
The moment was right!
He had finally managed to heat up the daimyō’s cold stove!
“But I absolutely refuse to sit around and wait for my fate!
I cannot simply watch the Uchiha clan walk into a pit of fire!”
“Your Highness…
since Senju Hashirama wants to recruit the shinobi clans and establish a shinobi village, then I can certainly do the same…
To tell you the truth, this is precisely why I left the Uchiha clan.”
“But recruiting shinobi clans and establishing a shinobi village…
sigh…
if only I had enough financial resources!”
Uchiha Makoto tilted his head back forty-five degrees, his eyes glistening with tears, while secretly glancing at the daimyō from the corner of his eye.
His meaning was already obvious.
Damn it!
Daimyō, hurry up and pay me!
I know you’ve got plenty of money!
Seeing Uchiha Makoto’s “genuine emotion,” his masterful performance of someone willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of his clan, the sort of performance that could bring tears to one’s eyes…
A smile finally returned to the Fire Daimyō’s face.
He wasn’t afraid of Uchiha Makoto making demands.
What he feared was Makoto simply accepting his fate.
Because of the Senju Hashirama Threat Theory, the daimyō had already begun making unavoidable connections in his mind.
The Uchiha clan had now made peace with the Senju clan because of Senju Hashirama.
What if, in the future, all the other shinobi clans also united because of Hashirama?
What if the shinobi world produced a super-sized great hidden village composed entirely of shinobi?
Senju Hashirama, if you want to unify the shinobi world today, what will you want tomorrow?
Even the wisest rulers understood that ‘balance is essential.
How could the Fire Daimyō not understand the same principle?
“Hahahaha, how difficult could that be?”
“I already understand the predicament facing the Uchiha clan.
If you, Makoto, also want to establish a shinobi village, I can represent the Land of Fire and provide you with a certain amount of funding.”
Upon hearing the daimyō’s words, Uchiha Makoto immediately straightened his clothes and smiled as he firmly clasped the daimyō’s hand.
Finally…
Finally, he had secured the Fire Daimyō as his financial backer.
No…
His financial backer!
“Your Highness, the Uchiha clan will never forget the assistance you have given us today!”
“I will steadfastly, firmly, and unwaveringly support Your Highness!”
Uchiha Makoto’s words struck directly at the Fire Daimyō’s heart.
The daimyō felt greatly relieved.
This young man really knew how to play the game!
The Fire Daimyō likewise clasped Makoto’s hand.
Everything was understood without needing to be said.
The alliance between the two was officially established.
Uchiha Makoto needed the daimyō’s financial support.
The daimyō needed Uchiha Makoto to serve as his spearhead, doing everything possible to keep the shinobi clans divided and preserve the state of the Warring States Period.
After their conversation ended, the daimyō specifically invited Uchiha Makoto to stay for a meal.
Well, not “a meal.”
A formal banquet.
Uchiha Makoto readily accepted the invitation.
He hadn’t eaten much that day.
He’d spent the entire meeting room drinking tea.
The tea really was excellent—richly fragrant with a pleasant sweetness lingering in the mouth.
But tea alone did nothing to stave off hunger.
Moreover, during this period, Makoto had been rushing toward the Land of Fire’s capital to meet the daimyō as quickly as possible.
Along the way, he’d survived almost entirely on Soldier Pills.
And everyone knew how terrible Soldier Pills tasted.
…
Inside the palace.
At the daimyō’s command, one delicious dish after another was placed before Uchiha Makoto.
At the same time, music and dancing began.
A line of young women dressed in revealing clothing entered the room and began dancing gracefully.
Uchiha Makoto was a carefree man.
Faced with such a scene, he chose to stare openly.
Not because he was lecherous…
It was simply that the flowers were blooming so beautifully.
Failing to appreciate them would have been downright boorish.
But there was no denying it…
The Fire Daimyō’s life was incredibly comfortable.
And the food was genuinely excellent.
The Fire Daimyō sat leisurely in the seat of honor and took a small sip of wine.
Wine could dispel one’s worries…
Especially on a rainy day.
Holding a cup of fine wine while quietly gazing at the beauty of nature could bring an unparalleled sense of relaxation to both body and mind.
“Makoto, if only everyone could be as easy to deal with as you.”
The Fire Daimyō suddenly sighed.
Ordinary people couldn’t understand the Fire Daimyō’s feelings at that moment.
Being a daimyō in the Naruto world wasn’t an easy job.
Although the daimyō was nominally the head of the country and possessed the highest political authority in the Land of Fire, centuries of entrenched class structures had caused the aristocratic families of the shinobi world to band together for mutual protection and freely carve up the authority in his hands.
By his generation, bureaucratic politics had already become deeply entrenched.
In fact, the situation had become almost impossible to control.
These days, aside from handling a small number of major affairs of state, most of his time was spent playing games and hunting.
The day-to-day affairs of the Land of Fire were basically handled by his ministers.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to expand his authority.
It was that…
He couldn’t.
When he was young, he had once been ambitious.
He wanted to break through the restraints of the tightly bound bureaucratic system.
He wanted to open the windows and let in some fresh air, eliminate all the unnecessary formalities, and breathe new life into the creaking old bureaucratic machine of the Land of Fire.
The daimyō had had enough of a shadow government.
He wanted a transparent government of his own!
Then…
That very afternoon, his ministers presented him with a white paper.
Its title was:
“Transparent Government.”
What followed were execution documents and files piled into four or five small mountains, all requiring his attention.
They were filled with obscure and incomprehensible clauses.
“…With regard to the implementation of legal provisions, irregular and abnormal circumstances among the various responsible departments shall fall under the jurisdiction of the administrative department…”
And that wasn’t even the end of it.
There were countless memorials accumulated over the years…
Interspersed among them were all kinds of meetings…
Even if the Fire Daimyō worked himself to death, there was no way he could handle all of this.
And when, exhausted from his endless official duties, the daimyō asked about implementing the policy to reduce the civil-service establishment—
“Can this policy actually be implemented?”
His ministers could only helplessly spread their hands.
“Your Highness, if you insist that I explain it plainly, then I can only say that, considering the current circumstances, taking the overall situation into account, reviewing the lessons of history, considering the average standards of all departments, and analyzing and summarizing everything, perhaps we may conclude that, all things considered, in broad terms, you will probably discover that although it may not be pleasant to hear, regardless of how we look at it, the prospects remain somewhat uncertain.
“At this stage, this is the only expectation we can reasonably have.”
“Just tell me whether it’s possible or not!”
“It is possible, but also impossible!”
A small display of bureaucratic politics had completely stunned the daimyō.
In the end…
The daimyō chose to simply lie flat.
Fortunately…
After so many years of doing absolutely nothing, nothing particularly serious had happened to threaten his position.
In this still largely agrarian Land of Fire, setting aside the issue of shinobi, the ministers only needed to accomplish one thing:
Keep the common people barely alive.
Unfortunately…
The times had changed.
The shinobi clans, who had previously concerned themselves only with missions and generations-old blood feuds, seemed to have begun…
Uchiha Makoto listened to the Fire Daimyō’s worries.
“If Your Highness permits, I would actually be more than happy to help shoulder your burdens.”
As the saying went, the key to winning a game of Go sometimes wasn’t on the board itself, but beyond the board.
This kind of problem was best solved using classical mechanics. The source of this chapter is g.com.
Damn it!
These vermin did nothing useful all day!
Kill, kill, kill!!
Just kill them all and replace them with a new batch.
There were plenty of ambitious young people in the Land of Fire!
Faced with Uchiha Makoto’s suggestion, the daimyō merely smiled.
“That’s merely a joke!”
You shinobi only needed to cut people down.
As for me, the daimyō, there were far more things I had to consider.
Those nobles had considerable resources and influence of their own.
If the daimyō stopped following the rules, everyone would simply fall out with each other.
Then we’d all suffer together!
Uchiha Makoto stared at the daimyō with a flat expression.
His eyes seemed to say:
You don’t trust me, do you…?
Then he silently lowered his head and continued eating.
…..
The moon set.
The sun rose once again.
This was where the dream of Konoha began.
A large group of shinobi from the Senju and Uchiha clans gathered in an open area.
Two enormous banners bearing the clan crests of the Uchiha and Senju clans fluttered in the wind.
Amid an atmosphere of celebration, Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama clasped hands.
This represented the Senju and Uchiha clans putting aside their thousand-year hatred and formally entering into an alliance.
The members of both clans witnessed this historic moment.
It felt almost like a dream.
The crowd couldn’t help but erupt into cheers.
Of course…
A thousand-year blood feud wasn’t something that could be resolved so easily.
Some people weren’t particularly happy about it.
For example—
Senju Tobirama.
Senju Tobirama had always opposed the Senju and Uchiha clans negotiating peace and forming an alliance.
Deep down, he simply didn’t want the Senju and Uchiha clans getting mixed up with each other.
Because of this…
Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama had even engaged in a fierce argument.
“Big Brother, shouldn’t you reconsider this alliance with the Uchiha clan?”
“Even though you’re the clan leader, you should still listen to the opinions of the clan members!”
“Listen to what the clan members are saying!”
Senju Tobirama spoke these words, attempting to overturn Senju Hashirama’s decision to ally with the Uchiha clan.
The Senju clan’s situation was currently excellent.
One could even describe it as having the enemy pinned down completely.
Sure, Big Brother had shown mercy and allowed Uchiha Madara to escape a few days ago…
He had even tried to commit suicide with a kunai.
Big Brother, did playing dice with your brain leave you stupid?!
But…
No matter how one looked at it, Senju Hashirama had defeated Uchiha Madara fair and square in direct combat.
The war between the two clans had essentially already been decided!
As long as Senju Hashirama found another opportunity to kill Uchiha Madara, the remaining Uchiha clan members would no longer be a serious threat.
Senju Hashirama could lead the charge and slaughter them, while Senju Tobirama handled all the shouting from the sidelines.
The Uchiha clan could be completely wiped out with ease.
In fact, the very day of the alliance was the perfect opportunity.
During the brief window before the alliance ceremony, Senju Hashirama could completely use his authority as clan leader to urgently contact the Uzumaki clan.
He could bring in Uzumaki shinobi skilled in fūinjutsu and have them establish a sealing barrier around the alliance site.
The Uchiha clan members could enter…
But they wouldn’t be able to leave.
Meanwhile, the Senju clan could secretly arrange an ambush.
If everything were prepared properly, they could catch every member of the Uchiha clan in one sweep and completely wipe out the inherently troublesome Uchiha!
Senju Tobirama felt that, although his idea was admittedly a little despicable…
Launching a surprise attack during negotiations was certainly ruthless!
But!
The members of the Senju clan would definitely understand.
After all, every member of the Uchiha clan had blood belonging to Senju clansmen on their hands!
And if Big Brother Hashirama felt that taking such a step would damage his reputation…
Senju Tobirama could thoughtfully bear the blame for him.
As Hashirama’s right-hand man and deputy clan leader, he had been prepared to shoulder such infamy since childhood.