After finishing lunch, the two sat idly in the living room, drinking tea and chatting.
"Kushina, where did the other members of the Senju clan go? Why are only a few of you living in the Senju clan grounds?"
Ryun took the initiative to ask this question. Since Kushina lived in the Senju clan grounds, she should know at least something about the reason.
"Where did they go? They didn't go anywhere. Aren't they still in Konoha Village?"
Kushina tilted her head, not quite understanding Ryun's question, but after a moment, she realized what he meant.
"You're asking why they changed their surnames, right?"
Ryun was slightly surprised but quickly nodded.
"I heard about this from Grandma Mito."
"Legend says the Senju clan originated during the era of the Sage of Six Paths. The surname 'Senju' was not originally meant to refer to the descendants of a single person. 'Senju' was not one person's Senju, but a union of many people, which led to the formation of the Senju clan..."
"A union of many people's Senju..." Ryun murmured softly.
In the original story, the Sage of Six Paths' younger son, Asura, ultimately became the successor of the ninja sect. He was always surrounded by followers, and perhaps from that time onward, the Senju clan had already been born.
After explaining the origins of the Senju, Kushina went on to talk about the specific reasons for the surname change.
"It's said that when Konoha was founded, because the Senju clan was the largest, many privileged factions emerged within the family."
"They believed that Konoha was created by the Senju clan, so the Senju should hold absolute leadership over all other clans. The Senju clan should also be superior to others..."
At that time, the Senju clan was too prominent, and the weight of their surname was too heavy—so heavy that no other clan dared to provoke them.
From then on, the villagers of Konoha began to shift from respect... to fear toward the Senju clan.
Hashirama Senju believed that when the power of a small group reached a certain level, it would affect or even destabilize Konoha. Moreover, the more united the Senju clan was, the greater this possibility became.
Even Tobirama Senju could not deny this!
"They grew increasingly arrogant, suppressing all the other clans in Konoha. Later, the First Hokage refused to let his clan stand above the village, so despite opposition, he personally erased the surname and disbanded all clan members."
"Except for the Second Hokage, who fiercely resisted and retained the surname, everyone else was stripped of it, including the descendants of the First Hokage himself. They were no longer allowed to keep the Senju name."
Hashirama feared that the village he had worked so hard to build would one day collapse, so he made the tough decision to disband the clan. The Senju clan was divided from then on.
Originally, the Senju clan grounds covered an extremely vast area, and their wealth was immeasurable. But after the division, all these assets were distributed among the clan members. Now, the so-called clan grounds consisted of only two estates.
One belonged to Hashirama Senju himself, where Mito Uzumaki and Kushina Uzumaki currently lived. The other belonged to the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, where Tsunade and her younger brother now resided.
"Actually, the Senju clan never disappeared. 'Once it was the Senju of many, now it is the Konoha of many.' That's what the First Hokage said, and it was because of these words that the surname change and division were accepted by the other clan members."
"!!!"
As soon as Kushina said this, Ryun's eyes widened in shock.
'Once it was the Senju of many, now it is the Konoha of many.' As someone who knew the future events of the original story, Ryun couldn't help but admire Hashirama's broad-mindedness and foresight.
The Senju clan integrated into Konoha. Though they lost their surname and certain privileges, they genuinely and completely preserved everyone's safety!
The Uchiha clan, the only ones who could barely compete with the Senju, replaced them as the new object of fear.
The empty title of 'Konoha's greatest clan' made the Uchiha suffer greatly.
The Uchiha were still gloating, thinking their old rivals, the Senju, had fallen... Unbeknownst to them, their clan had already become the new target of the villagers' fear and would soon become the enemy of everyone in Konoha.
Unable to see the truth, their fate was inevitable destruction.
If the Senju hadn't stepped back, they would have been the ones to perish. If the Uchiha didn't step back, no one would tolerate them, and their annihilation would become inevitable.
The more united they were, the faster they would die.
Did the Uchiha clan really want to rebel? Did Fugaku Uchiha really want to rebel?
No, they had no choice but to rebel because they had no way out.
A clan's excessive prosperity was not a good thing. Konoha's resources were limited. If one group took more, others would get less, leading to inevitable conflict. Without someone far-sighted enough to resolve these contradictions, mutual hatred would become inevitable.
In the five great ninja villages, there were only stories of clans being destroyed for threatening the village, but never of a clan successfully staging a coup and replacing the village.
The clan system of the Warring States period had already been replaced by the village system. Clans that failed to adapt or see the times clearly would inevitably decline and perish.
'No wonder in all 700-plus episodes of Naruto, Tsunade and her brother never truly revealed their surname...' Ryun thought to himself.
"How is Grandma Mito's health now?"
After roughly understanding the Senju clan's situation, Ryun asked his second question.
"Grandma Mito? She's doing fine!"
Kushina was a little surprised, not understanding why Ryun would ask about Mito Uzumaki.
"She's fine..."
"Yeah, her health is very good!" Kushina replied with a smile.
Ryun nodded. The reason he cared about Mito Uzumaki was primarily because of the Nine-Tails.
And more importantly, because of Kushina, the 'Nine-Tails' vessel.'
Becoming a jinchūriki was a great misfortune. Ryun sincerely hoped Mito could live longer, preferably another ten or twenty years... That would give him enough time to grow stronger and ultimately change Kushina's fate.
If she didn't want to become a jinchūriki, Ryun wouldn't allow anyone to force her.
Though he was still weak now, he firmly believed that with effort and his knowledge of the future, he could gain enough power before Kushina became the Nine-Tails jinchūriki.
He might not be able to stop Konoha, but he was confident he could take Kushina and leave the village.
Unconsciously, he had already begun to see this little girl as his own. Kushina's importance in Ryun's heart had grown along with their deepening bond.
Right now, they might seem like just classmates, but their relationship had quietly 'changed.'
Both of them already had a place for the other in their hearts. Spending every day together was proof that their relationship was anything but ordinary.
It might not be as exaggerated as 'a day apart feels like three years,' but they instinctively wanted to be with each other.
Unless Ryun cut ties with Kushina or chose a different 'project,' the issue of the Nine-Tails jinchūriki was unavoidable.
Giving up on this little cutie in front of him was clearly impossible!
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📖 Like the story? Read 120 chapters ahead!
🔗 patreon.com/atomelectron
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━