Unify the ninja world?
The thought flashed through Uchiha Madara's mind, and even he was shocked by the boldness of it.
The last time the ninja world was unified goes back a thousand years.
That was the era of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya!
She used power beyond her time to forcibly unite the entire ninja world and became its queen, but it didn't last; Kaguya was betrayed by her two sons, Ōtsutsuki Hamura and Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo.
After that,
Hagoromo became a monk, known as the Sage of Six Paths, and did not restore the former order of the ninja world.
The world fell into division and conflict that has continued to this day; now it holds dozens, even hundreds, of countries great and small.
The concept of a grand unification has long since vanished into history.
But the Uchiha have always possessed staggering insight.
And Madara is their outstanding exemplar.
However outrageous the idea, the more Madara pondered it the more feasible it seemed; if Hashirama supported him, then despite the obstacles ahead, he believed the two of them could accomplish it—at the cost of more deaths, that's all.
Yet for a longer future,
it would all be worth it.
"Compared to this minor issue, I've thought of something more important that must be solved."
When Madara's thoughts returned, feeling countless eyes on him, he arranged his words and wanted to use this chance to state the method he had just conceived—a way to settle the future war crisis once and for all.
Not good!
With his keen sense for Uchiha "energy," Senju Tobirama instantly sensed trouble.
That innately evil Uchiha Madara is about to stir things up!
"As for the conflict among Konoha, Akatsuki Village, and Kumogakure—thanks to Uchiha Sei's reckless moves in Akatsuki—this could very well escalate into war. That is no small matter, and this emergency meeting today is to discuss exactly this!"
"Uchiha Madara, don't bring up topics that have nothing to do with today's agenda!"
Tobirama didn't hesitate; he slammed the brakes. Whatever Madara was about to say, he must not be allowed to say it.
It could not be anything good!
"Hmph, flaunting your name for profit!"
Madara gave Tobirama not a shred of face.
Konoha's business is between me and Hashirama.
And you, a mediocre man, dare prattle here?
"You…"
"Garlic heads, garlic heads, everyone has it hard!"
"Today's meeting is for everyone to speak and share opinions. Since Madara has something to say, let him say it."
Tobirama's face went dark, and Hashirama, seated at the head, hurried to smooth things over—elbow clearly pointing outward—appearing impartial while actually speaking for Madara.
"Hmph…"
Looking at Tobirama, listening to Hashirama's words by his ear, Madara's lips curled; he couldn't help the smug smile and soft snort.
Madara's blatant arrogance made Tobirama clench his fists beneath the table; his perpetually stiff face twisted. Hashirama's bright, outward-leaning favoritism, plus the earlier blows, pushed Tobirama over the edge.
You don't listen to me on this, you don't listen to me on that. You're always absent, never seen working in the office—everything in Konoha is being propped up by me.
And at a crucial moment you still won't back me.
What kind of big brother is that?
Rarely, he erupted in the council room, roaring, "Big brother, go on then, stir it up! Stir Konoha into unrest, let Uchiha Sei's plot succeed, drag Konoha into a quagmire of war—fine, I'll just gamble my life alongside you!"
The gathered clan heads fell silent at Tobirama's outburst, each turning timid as a mouse. They'd come for a meeting, but this trip wasn't wasted—they were seeing a spectacular scene!
Now, anyone with eyes could tell.
The Hokage's stance still leaned toward Lord Madara.
"Lord Tobirama is pitiful!"
"What does he usually do at times like this?"
"Nothing but handle office paperwork, tally expenses—working himself to the bone with caution every day—yet when it matters, the Hokage still plays favorites."
"Keep watching."
After a few sighs, the clan heads still kept their mouths shut, leaving the stage to the three before them. They would remain the audience!
The dispute between the Uchiha and Senju was not something they could step into; to rush in would mean getting ground to paste.
Even the Hyūga, among Konoha's strongest clans, thought the same.
The Hyūga clan head wore an aloof air of detachment; he didn't care who was Hokage. So long as the Hyūga held the seat of Konoha's third great clan, no matter whether the next Hokage came from Uchiha or Senju, both sides would court and value the Hyūga.
The Hyūga never openly pick sides and never walk one road to the end; who becomes Hokage is unimportant—who wins, they follow. That is how the Hyūga endure in Konoha.
...
"Tobirama, don't be angry, don't be hasty. I mean nothing else; I just don't want you and Madara turning the meeting into a duel. As the saying goes, 'A house with a frank son will not fall, a nation with a candid minister will not perish.' The same applies to a shinobi village."
Seeing his brother losing control, Hashirama hurried to soothe him; his wits flickered on for a moment as he quoted a famous daimyo's son from decades past.
"Oh? Big brother, so you mean if we don't let Uchiha Madara speak today, Konoha could fall?"
Tobirama's anger didn't drop an inch; he shot back at his habitually biased brother.
"Hard to say!"
Hashirama said it just like that. His intellect was only temporarily online; his nature remained as straightforward as ever—and just as partial.
"Then I'll let Uchiha Madara speak!"
"Big brother, you'll regret this!"
For a moment Tobirama felt as if every means of resistance had slipped away. He had to sit and steady himself—
Otherwise he felt he might be angered to death by his own brother.
Thus…
Tobirama returned to his seat and simply yielded the floor to Uchiha Madara. He wanted to hear what nonsense this naïvely "evil" Madara would spout.
This "big matter" in his mouth—what could it be!
"Hmph!"
Madara snorted, caring nothing for Tobirama's impotent rage. He rose and strode to the lectern, intending to declare his ambition for Konoha to unify the ninja world.
If so… the chance of war erupting again in the village era could be strangled in the cradle… Hashirama, you'll back me, won't you?
Standing at the lectern before the assembled clan heads, Madara thought so. He believed Hashirama would support the idea—this was for Konoha, for a longer peace in the ninja world!
"The topic today—the clash among Konoha, Akatsuki Village, and Kumogakure—is, in my view, a small matter. Compared to that, what I'm about to say concerns Konoha's future and the future of the ninja world!"
"In the old Warring States era, clans fell into misunderstanding and conflict because of missions, leading to chaos among them. Now the clans have founded and joined villages, but after scarcely two years, frictions among villages over missions have already appeared. At this rate, the villages will erupt into war just like the Warring States."
"..."
Madara laid out the root causes of clan wars in the Warring States, then mapped them onto the village era. War had only been delayed, not erased.
The current dispute among Konoha, Akatsuki, and Kumogakure was the best proof.
Tobirama's brows were knit tight.
He couldn't read Madara's intent. Even if what Madara said was all true… just what was he building toward?
Faces grew heavy among the representatives. Even they had to admit Madara spoke a truth: war would come sooner or later, and future wars would be fiercer and vaster than those of the Warring States.
"Madara, you make sense. Have you thought of a solution?"
Hashirama was a master straight man.
He followed Madara's thread and saw no flaw.
"Hashirama and I built Konoha for peace in the ninja world. But what we have now is only temporary peace; larger wars will come. So, to settle this once and for all—"
"I've thought of a good way: unify the ninja world!"
"The current clash among Konoha, Akatsuki, and Kumogakure is a perfect opportunity. We can first join with Akatsuki to eliminate Kumogakure, then the other great villages. Once the great villages are gone, only the minor ones remain—hardly any effort needed… By my estimate, this unification would take only a few years."
"..."
Seeing the groundwork laid, Madara spoke from the heart, dropping a thunderbolt: his method.
Since villages will keep generating wars, then erase the villages—wipe them out—leaving only those willing to submit to Konoha. The process wouldn't take long; in a few years the whole ninja world could be cleared.
And that was just his most conservative estimate. If he and Hashirama acted together, it could be even faster.
Before Madara finished,
the assembled clan heads were already dumbstruck, faces aghast. "Unify the ninja world"—what an arrogant, domineering plan.
In a thousand years the world had seen countless powerful shinobi who dominated for a time—but unification… not only had none done it, most wouldn't even dare think it.
Mad—truly mad!
Trust the Uchiha—they can imagine anything.
......
"Just as I thought…"
"Uchiha Madara means to make it big!"
"Madara is truly deranged."
"Unify the ninja world in a few years—how is that possible?"
Listening to Madara's speech, Tobirama thought thus. He was indeed shocked by the audacity of the plan, and his stereotype of the Uchiha deepened again.
Even now, he himself had never entertained "unification," because it isn't something you do on a whim.
Busy as he was with Konoha's internal affairs, Tobirama knew how hard it was even to run one unified village—task integration, expenditures, training talent… Just what Konoha alone had to handle already left him swamped.
And that was the least of the problems.
He admitted Madara's power was great, but this concerned the entire ninja world. Relying solely on force would only spark endless resistance and rebellion, ending in boundless chaos and disorder—and uncountable killings.
In the process…
How many shinobi would die? How many civilians?
Tobirama doubted Madara had even considered it.
Besides…
Unifying the ninja world wasn't only about villages.
Behind every village stood a nation's daimyo!
If Konoha wanted unification, it could not dodge that. They would have to negotiate with each daimyo, persuade them one by one; without their assent, who knew how much trouble would arise.
That's not something you accomplish in a few years!
Does Madara mean to eliminate not only the villages, but the daimyos as well?
That would overturn the entire order of the ninja world. Tobirama didn't dare follow that line; the thought alone made his scalp prickle.
"How can shinobi lay hands on the daimyos?"
That iron thought is stamped into shinobi minds across the world; except for madmen and the utterly depraved, no one would do such a thing.
Tobirama and Hashirama would deem it treasonous—overturning the shinobi world's rules. The clan heads present, and shinobi of other villages, would never allow it… Even Madara likely hadn't gone that far—he had not yet become the "avenger."
...
"Utter nonsense!"
"Uchiha Madara hasn't thought through how complex this truly is! And yet he talks on at the podium that in a few years the ninja world could be unified?"
"No brains, absolutely no brains!"
Tobirama castigated Madara inwardly, then turned his attention to his brother.
Big brother, I said don't let him speak.
You insisted!
How do we wrap this up now?!
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