"You… you…"
Uchiha Setsuna's face immediately darkened, because what Tobirama Senju was saying now was all true.
That left him unable to refute it.
Back when Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju fought that battle, Uchiha Setsuna had watched from the edge of the field. The earthshaking, terrifying scene of that fight was something he still could not forget.
Such overwhelming power was something only a god could possess.
Unfortunately.
In that battle.
Lord Madara narrowly lost to Hashirama Senju, and the morale of the Uchiha fighting nearby collapsed with him. In the end many Uchiha were defeated by the Senju and captured alive.
Only because Hashirama Senju wished for the Senju and Uchiha to set aside their old hatred and finally shake hands for peace were Lord Madara and the captured Uchiha all released together.
In the thousand-year war between the Senju and Uchiha, the final victory still belonged to the Senju.
Words from the defeated are pale and powerless; forcing a rebuttal only makes you look like a clown.
Uchiha Setsuna was scolded into speechlessness.
His look made Tobirama Senju feel delighted inside; a carefree smile spread across his face, and his expression grew even more arrogant.
"The Senju won the two clans' war and should enjoy the greatest fruits of victory. If my elder brother weren't soft-hearted, Konoha might not even have a place for you Uchiha!"
"Uchiha Setsuna, you're taking advantage and still acting coy. You can never repay the Senju clan's kindness, yet you dare pull these underhanded tricks right under my brother's nose—shameless!"
"I have never seen someone so brazen!"
Seizing the chance to press the attack, Tobirama Senju questioned the Uchiha before him with surging momentum.
These words had been pent up in his heart for a long time.
Only
Because of his elder brother Hashirama Senju, he was always inclined to bend outward, and these words were somewhat politically incorrect. To maintain unity in the village, anything unhelpful to unity, Tobirama would avoid saying in front of the Uchiha.
At most he would just complain to his brother in private.
Today, with Uchiha Setsuna—this born-evil Uchiha—landing in his hands, he could finally vent to his heart's content.
"Alas… what a pity…"
"If only I could spray these words right in Uchiha Madara's face."
Tobirama felt incomparably refreshed by the scolding, clearing the gloom from his heart, though he still had a trace of regret.
If only the one he was tearing into today were Uchiha Madara… Uchiha Madara, you were knocked to the ground by my brother and survived by pity, a fallen householder. How dare you swagger before me!
"You…"
"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—don't bully a clan when it's poor!"
Uchiha Setsuna, cowed into silence by Tobirama's tongue-lashing, could only mutter inwardly and endure the verbal blows, until he could take no more and hurried to change the subject.
"Enough, Tobirama Senju. First, let me tell you this! Everything on this pile of papers has nothing to do with my Uchiha clan!"
"And! Since these words are spreading in the villagers' mouths, why don't you look at your own problems? Speak! Look into my eyes!"
"Why have you dragged your feet and still not dispatched shinobi troops to aid Akatsuki Village? What you're doing is perverse, and the villagers' eyes are bright—they will stand on the side of justice. Do you not understand the three ninja virtues of benevolence, righteousness, and courage? Now even the villagers can no longer stand it and have stepped forth to support my Uchiha clan!"
"No matter what! Konoha is ultimately half ours, the Uchiha's! Do you really take yourself for Lord Hashirama? No matter how you trade on your connection to Lord Hashirama to act as a jackal in Konoha, no one will see you as the true Hokage! I'll see whether you have the ability to keep that seat under your backside to the end!"
Uchiha Setsuna knew that when it came to founding Konoha, the Uchiha had no advantage before Tobirama Senju.
So he hurried to switch topics.
He took the war between Akatsuki Village and Kumogakure before him as a pretext and began to castigate Tobirama Senju.
Without rightful name, words lack authority.
The Hokage is Lord Hashirama!
Not you, Tobirama Senju!
The villagers' eyes are bright; they can tell right from wrong.
And the Hokage rules by nonaction, so he cannot be wrong. Clearly it is you, Tobirama Senju, who have upended black and white behind the scenes, to the point the villagers can't bear it!
Tobirama Senju was rebutted into silence for a moment, but alas, the habitual thinking of shinobi still bound Uchiha Setsuna.
Uchiha Setsuna had no intention of pushing matters further; he only sparred with Tobirama Senju in a war of words and had no thought of making a move.
He did not know the cruelty of political struggle.
This is a fight to the death.
If Uchiha Makoto were here, he would absolutely shout "Stand by the Clear Shadow, execute Tobirama!" then immediately brawl with Tobirama Senju, and finally blow things up beyond repair.
Let it blow up—good!
Hashirama Senju is a nice guy who will smooth things over for the sake of peace between the two clans.
And while Uchiha Madara may have little interest in the Hokage's seat, if you give him an excuse to teach Tobirama Senju a lesson, he will surely rush in to lend a hand.
By then Tobirama Senju would be forced to step back for a time.
The Uchiha could take the chance to enter the core power structure and share the power in Tobirama's hands.
"Hmph, sophistry!"
"As for Akatsuki Village, everything I've done is for Konoha. Every action plan has my elder brother's nod. I see your Uchiha mean to deliberately sabotage and wreck the village's peace!"
Politically keen to the extreme, Tobirama reacted swiftly and tried to pin the black pot on the Uchiha.
Though his words were righteous, there was still a trace of guilty bravado. While his intentions were for Konoha, the little abacus in his heart must not be known to outsiders—not even his brother Hashirama.
But who could know his inner plans?
So Tobirama's attitude remained hard.
The village's public opinion had to be calmed; dangerous statements against the Senju must disappear completely. He had summoned Uchiha Setsuna to the Hokage's office today to make this culprit help him settle the matter.
Reduce the impact as much as possible.
For the sake of Uchiha Madara's "face"—his fists.
He would turn a blind eye and let it pass. After all, if things truly spiraled out of control, someone would have to take responsibility.
The Hokage's sacred virtue remained as at first, governing with hands folded.
So his elder brother could certainly not shoulder it.
He alone would bear the blame.
But why should the Uchiha stir trouble
And make him take the blame?
"Uchiha Setsuna, I don't want to waste more words with you. Whether you admit it or not, the source of these statements appeared within your Uchiha clan's patrol zones. You cannot wash your hands of it, so you must deal with this immediately, at once!"
"I do not want this to affect my brother!"
Knowing he was in the wrong on this point, Tobirama had planned to frighten Uchiha Setsuna into bowing his head, but now he saw he could not.
And with Uchiha Madara in Konoha and his brother here as well, he had no real way to take coercive measures against Setsuna.
So Tobirama did not wish to tangle further and invoked the Hokage's name, demanding the culprit Uchiha Setsuna suppress public opinion as soon as possible.
"Sorry, I can't."
"I already said these rumors didn't originate with the Uchiha. At most I fanned the flames a bit from behind. Rather than trying to stifle the villagers' voices, you'd better dispatch the shinobi army…"
"Otherwise, you alone will face the villagers' public denunciation!"
Uchiha Setsuna sneered.
The winds of opinion favored the Uchiha. Even if investigated, the Uchiha were clean; these statements truly had nothing to do with them, even if he didn't know which righteous villager first stood up to speak.
At most he helped spread it.
What great crime is that?
As for helping Tobirama Senju suppress village opinion.
How could that be?
Uchiha Setsuna wished for the matter to grow bigger. For now the words only circulated in the streets and alleys; dangerous and subversive, yes, but not a great threat. Yet the longer it drags on, the more variables appear… all he needed to do was sit back and watch the show.
"Bastard!!"
"You Uchiha truly harbor ill intent!"
Tobirama's face turned colder.
He had already invoked his brother, and Uchiha Setsuna still dared fold his arms?
Truly malicious!
"Must I really mobilize the shinobi army to quell this wave of public opinion?"
"But that is much too early."
Tobirama weighed swiftly.
He felt the time was not ripe. According to intelligence, Kumogakure and Akatsuki Village were already locked in a white-hot battle. The longer he stalled, the more it favored his next plan. Yielding to pressure now and quitting halfway would be unwise.
Just as Tobirama fell into quandary.
An ANBU shinobi hurried in from outside, glanced at Uchiha Setsuna, and hesitated as if to withdraw from the Hokage's office.
"Since you're here, why leave?"
"Did Tobirama Senju order you to do something shady?"
Uchiha Setsuna looked at the ANBU who had just entered, then mocked Tobirama Senju seated before him.
"Speak. ANBU exist to protect Konoha—there's nothing shady."
Tobirama snorted. The ANBU he founded were no cesspool.
Each was his staunch supporter, striving daily for Konoha's future on dangerous posts!
The ANBU finally spoke: "Lord Tobirama, a group of villagers have started a ruckus in a teahouse. Some villager suddenly led a discussion of the village's major affairs; as they talked their emotions ran out of control and more people gathered"
"Some in the crowd are even saying they should go to the Hokage building to protest together!"
As soon as the ANBU finished.
A look of alarm flashed across Tobirama's face.
He had wanted to drag things out and solve it by negotiating with Uchiha Setsuna. Now it was clear he couldn't!
He hadn't expected those loose-tongued, meddling villagers of Konoha to be so arrogant. If such dangerous, reactionary talk had stayed in the marketplace, Tobirama could have treated it as private grumbling about village policy—turning a blind eye.
But those boors, emboldened by who knows what, now wanted to gather and make trouble openly at the Hokage building—they did not know the meaning of death!
Looks like they want to taste the ANBU's iron fist!
Tobirama was flustered, but the corners of Uchiha Setsuna's mouth curled, his face breaking into a brilliant smile, even humming softly.
It looked like things would blow up!
Tobirama Senju, let's see how you end this time.
"Uchiha Setsuna, I'm telling you, I'll remember this. We'll see!"
"It must be your scheming behind this!"
"If trouble breaks out in Konoha today, you won't escape!"
Seeing the gloating Uchiha Setsuna, Tobirama's anger surged.
He had only just summoned Setsuna, and now the village was gathering to make trouble. Clearly Setsuna was the hand behind the scenes!
"The clean are clean, the foul are foul."
"This has nothing to do with me. It's the villagers acting of their own accord. They can't stand what you, Tobirama Senju, have done, so they want to gather and seek justice together!"
Uchiha Setsuna hurried to distance himself. Though the timing was too coincidental, it had nothing to do with him.
However
He wasn't stupid.
Now he realized that what had happened in Konoha these days was almost certainly organized behind the scenes.
A group with both motive and means to do this could only be Akatsuki Village.
Akatsuki waged war on Kumogakure not just to seek justice for its two chunin, but also for the Konoha chunin who died—yet Konoha, as an ally, ignored Akatsuki.
Even a clay man has some fire.
How could Uchiha Makoto let the one who constantly hindered him, Tobirama Senju, live comfortably?
Having understood everything, Uchiha Setsuna took a slow sip of tea, calm and unhurried as he looked at Tobirama before him
Let's see how you end this today!
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