It had been ten days since Madara attacked Konoha.
Time had marched into early December, nearing the end of the year.
The weather grew increasingly cold; yet beneath the surface of the Ninja World, turbulence continued to intensify...
During this period,
Thanks to Hashirama Senju's powerful [Wood Release] and the endless chakra (energy force) drawn from his Impure World body,
Konoha's post-war reconstruction had progressed very smoothly.
Within just a few short days, over eighty percent of damaged buildings had been repaired one by one using [Wood Release].
[Heavenly Obstacle Quaking Star]'s meteorite fragments were also collected and turned into rock blocks through [Earth Release], which were used to fill countless post-war trenches across the village.
Overall,
Konoha had already recovered quite well.
Unlike Iwagakure Village, where not even half the buildings had yet been restored...
Of course, many difficulties emerged during the rebuilding phase.
The most critical issue—was money...
Even though Hashirama was strong, he couldn't produce money out of thin air!
Fortunately,
Taking advantage of his elder brother's legendary reputation, Tobirama Senju showed no hesitation.
He took full advantage, squeezing huge sums of money from sources such as the Land of Fire, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure,
barely keeping the village operational,
and gradually settling major matters like war reparations and honorable burials for fallen heroes.
Admittedly, when it came to handling politics,
Tobirama truly excelled.
If left to Hashirama Senju alone, Konoha might have already collapsed...
In short, without precisely leveraging Hashirama's prestige and Tobirama's ability together, Konoha would likely have perished in this great calamity.
...
"Big Brother, could you at least calm down a little!"
"You're the core support of our entire village now! How could you spend all day long stuck inside that evil Uchiha Clan's territory every day?"
"Do you even care what the rest of the village thinks about this?"
Inside the Hokage's office, Tobirama Senju frowned, clearly annoyed.
Over these past few days,
other than studying the [Eight Gates],
Hashirama spent all his free time within the former Uchiha Clan's territory,
going through their various scrolls, letters, and documents...
desperately seeking any clues or evidence that might reveal wrongdoing in Madara's actions,
hoping to prove Madara's ideals were wrong—that he had been misled...
After all, the Uchiha Clan had fled in a desperate hurry previously.
Thus, most of their clan records, letters, notes, etc.,
had been left behind at their compound,
untouched and unreadable by anyone else...
Perfect material for Hashirama to analyze thoroughly.
Anyway, to everyone else, Hashirama's odd behavior looked even more ridiculous.
Those unaware of the truth were beginning to suspect whether he had developed some unusual obsession with the Uchiha Clan...
Hashirama lazily waved his hand and said soothingly,
"Tobirama, don't worry! I know my limits."
"You have limits? Please! I've never seen them!"
Tobirama bellowed in rage.
"Don't get so worked up. Think about it—what if I really find evidence proving Madara was wrongly accused? If we reconcile, removing one of our biggest enemies, wouldn't that be great for the village?"
"Pah!"
"No matter how you try to justify it, there's no erasing what that bastard Madara has done!"
"Brother, don't forget—just ten days ago when he attacked the village, he didn't show the slightest mercy!"
Tobirama shouted loudly.
"I know, I know. But we make our own fate, right? I just can't stand by and let him keep going down the wrong path. After all, this entire village was built together by our two families..."
Tobirama: "Then what do you think the other villagers will think of you? Not to mention the village's reconstruction hasn't even been completed yet!"
"The village is under your control already! I feel completely at ease about it. Hahaha..."
Hashirama slapped Tobirama on the back, laughing heartily.
Still the same reckless fool as always.
Hearing that, Tobirama just groaned and rubbed his forehead, giving up on arguing.
Clearly, for his stubborn older brother Hashirama—he had already given up...
"Any other business? If not, I'll be heading off first!"
Hashirama said happily, preparing once again to rush toward the Uchiha Clan's territory.
"Wait a moment!"
"Brother, there's still one important matter."
"What is it?"
"According to information collected by Anbu: including the Hidden Grass Village, Hidden Waterfall Village, Frost Shinobi Village, Snow Shinobi Village, and others..."
"More than ten small hidden villages are secretly plotting an alliance. Based on our calculations, their secret meeting point for negotiations has been set within the Land of Grass."
As he spoke, Tobirama flipped through various reports.
"Alliance? These smaller hidden villages are planning to ally too?"
"That's right. Most likely due to the recent frequent battles among the Five Great Hidden Villages, plus the shocking news of us old guys coming back to life. This has finally made these smaller villages realize the danger they're in, forcing them to start seeking alliances for protection."
Tobirama's analysis was spot-on.
Indeed, turbulent undercurrents within the ninja world were pushing these smaller shinobi villages to seek methods of self-preservation.
Of course, some small villages had also considered becoming vassals of the Five Great Hidden Villages.
However, previous Great Ninja World Wars proved clearly how selfish and arrogant the larger hidden villages could be.
Once a war broke out,
the great hidden villages simply wouldn't care whether the smaller ones lived or died.
The Rain and Grass Hidden Villages—who had previously become battlegrounds for three warring nations—were perfect examples...
Therefore, those smaller villages had no choice but to seek equal partnerships, hoping to strengthen their ability to protect themselves.
"That's actually good news!"
"If everyone can form alliances, there will be fewer battles, and the ninja world might achieve more peace. What's the problem with that?"
Hashirama, who advocated balance, indeed leaned strongly toward supporting alliances.
Back during the last years of the Warring States era—the Five Kage Summit; the division and sealing of the Tailed Beasts—had both been key policies he personally pushed forward.
Even now, Konoha's willingness to sign peace treaties and bury old grudges with Sunagakure and Homuragakure came partially from his personal wishes.
Thus, he didn't oppose these small hidden villages forming mutual alliances.
After all, no matter how many times they allied, they couldn't possibly summon anything like the Wood Release Daibutsu...
Tobirama agreed with that much.
He also didn't believe that gathering a few small hidden villages together could overturn anything significant.
But others might not see it the same way...
"These are diplomatic letters received from the Land of Earth and Land of Wind."
"And this one here is the current Daimyo of our Land of Fire's royal decree."
"The Five Great Nations all expressed concern over these small Hidden Villages forming an alliance."
"Since the negotiation site is likely to be within Grass Country, close to us..."
"Therefore, they're demanding we send as many people as possible to sabotage this alliance!"
Though the Five Great Nations and their corresponding Hidden Villages have always been tightly bound together,
there are still significant differences in opinion on certain matters.
From the perspective of these major nations,
these small Hidden Villages actually dared to defy the ninja world standards established by the great nations, attempting to secretly form an alliance.
This itself was a serious provocation against the authority of powerful countries!
Moreover, if this alliance actually succeeds,
so many small nations united together would pose a considerable threat to any great nation.
If by any chance these small nations gain power and shake the foundations of great nations,
the entire structure of the ninja world might collapse instantly!
Therefore, the nobles who control the powers of great nations would absolutely not allow such things to happen!
Even if there's only a one-in-ten-thousand possibility!
"These great nations seem far more demanding than during my time as Hokage!" Hashirama muttered with a frown.
Back when he was Hokage, the Daimyo wouldn't dare issue him direct imperial orders.
Any commands were delivered as requests first, seeking his opinion...
How times have changed. People's memory of fear continues to grow dimmer with time.
"Tobirama, what do you think?"
"While I also dislike hearing such foolish orders, for now, we still need to put on a show..."
"After all, the reconstruction of the village still requires substantial aid from Fire Country."
Tobirama said helplessly.
If he and his older brother were still alive, they wouldn't mind personally visiting the Daimyo's court for some 'negotiations.'
But now both of them were bodies resurrected through the Impure World Reincarnation—a forbidden jutsu that summons the dead into a puppet-like state.
Actually going on a killing spree in Fire Country would only disrupt the social order of the entire great nation, making the cost outweigh the benefits.
Instead, we should simply accept the task formally and send a few people to make a symbolic effort—
which would appease those nobles at the Daimyo's court and keep them funding the village continuously...
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