Chapter 25: Gratitude and Loyalty, Arrogance and Prejudice
After returning home, Senju Morin sat quietly in his study, mentally reviewing everything he had seen and heard that day.
Just then, a rhythmic knock sounded from outside.
He opened the door to find Senju Tao waiting there.
"Brother Morin," Tao said, "Jōnin from the Hatake, Tsuki, Gekkō, Kurama, and Katō clans have come to pay you a visit."
Morin couldn't help but smile.
"Tao, please receive the jōnin on my behalf and have them wait in the tea room. I'll be there shortly."
After Tao departed to relay the message, Morin glanced into the mirror and straightened his clothes. He casually took a haori from the rack and draped it over his shoulders, then picked up a hair ribbon and neatly tied back his slightly disheveled hair.
Only then did he step out, calm and unhurried.
Before long, Morin arrived at the tea room and saw the jōnin Tao had mentioned.
"Oboro, Shūichi, Genpō, Shugaku, Kan…"
He walked in with an easy stride. "It's been a long time."
Everyone present belonged to minor clans that had once received aid from Senju Hashirama or maintained deep ties with the Senju. After securing the support of the Senju main clan, these were votes Morin no longer needed to personally court—they were already stable and reliable.
"Lord Morin."
Hatake Shūichi, dressed in a style reminiscent of a wandering swordsman, spoke first. His voice was steady and firm.
"We've heard that you're currently striving for the position of Hokage."
"The First Hokage once rescued the Tsuki clan from exile," said the middle-aged Tsuki Oboro with unwavering conviction. "That debt of gratitude—we have never forgotten it."
Kurama Shugaku stepped forward next, his expression solemn.
"The Kurama clan will always remember who reached out to us in our time of need."
"Though our strength is limited, we are willing to offer what little we can," Gekkō Genpō followed.
Having found everything meaningful already said, Katō Kan simply stepped forward and added loudly and plainly:
"The Katō clan feels the same."
Looking at the men before him—each kneeling on one knee without hesitation, openly pledging their loyalty—Morin's smile grew bright and genuine.
The seeds Lord Hashirama had scattered so casually back then had, over time, grown into towering trees.
---
The following day—
The final day before Konoha's Third Hokage election and the jōnin confidence vote.
With nothing to lose by trying, Senju Morin finally arrived at the gates of the Uchiha clan compound.
The Uchiha, of course, had prepared no special welcome for him.
Still, having accepted Morin's name card, and out of adherence to great-clan etiquette, they dispatched two clan members to serve as guides.
Only when Morin reached the very entrance of the compound did the two Uchiha appear—like specters materializing out of thin air.
"Senju-dono."
Only one of them spoke, offering a neutral address devoid of emotion. The other silently gestured inward.
Much like their way of thinking and political acumen, the Uchiha clan's layout was stark and utilitarian.
A single straight road ran through the entire compound. On either side stood rows of houses belonging to Uchiha clansmen, interspersed with evenly spaced utility poles. The clan head's residence sat at the very end of the road.
If the Nara clan's attitude could be described as merely cool, then the Uchiha's treatment of Morin bordered on outright vigilance, even hostility.
As Morin proceeded deeper into the compound, Uchiha clansmen along the road gradually stopped whatever they were doing.
Those walking home or leaving the compound halted in unison. Conversations cut off mid-sentence as heads turned one after another—
All eyes fixed on him.
A Senju.
Walking openly into the heart of Uchiha territory.
And the silence that followed was far louder than words.
Here is a clean, sharp, and politically charged English refinement of the passage, preserving the irony, subtext, and escalating tension between Senju Morin and the Uchiha:
---
Cold, hostile gazes fixed themselves on Senju Morin—on him, and especially on the conspicuously prominent Senju clan crest emblazoned on his chest.
One after another, pairs of eyes darkened, scarlet irises blooming into view as the Sharingan activated openly. Black tomoe spun within crimson pupils, their intent unmistakable.
By the time Morin was finally brought before the Uchiha clan head, Uchiha Isshin, the man's very first sentence nearly broke Morin's composure—he came perilously close to laughing on the spot.
"So, Morin-kun, have you come here today to persuade me to withdraw from competing with you for the position of Hokage?"
The form of address was… interesting.
Unlike Hyūga Sōgo's impeccably formal '-dono', or Nara Shikatsuneu's initially businesslike 'Morin-jōnin', Isshin had chosen 'kun'.
Outside of intimate friendships, the term was more often used by elders addressing juniors, or seniors speaking down to those beneath them.
Coming from Isshin, it was obviously not affectionate familiarity—it carried the unmistakable undertone of "that Senju brat."
A thin veneer of civility, nothing more.
Morin wasn't surprised by the provocation. Expecting the Uchiha to converse with the restraint and decorum of the Hyūga would have been sheer wishful thinking.
But still—
You people actually think you're competing for the Hokage seat?
Morin genuinely couldn't fathom where such confidence came from.
Yet when he looked at Isshin's stern, faintly arrogant expression, he realized—this wasn't bluster. Isshin truly believed it.
Suppressing his amusement, Morin replied calmly:
"Oh? Then I must beg your pardon for my ignorance. So Clan Head Isshin intends to run for Hokage as well?"
"There's no need to feign surprise," Isshin answered coolly.
Seeing that his bait hadn't provoked even a flicker of irritation, Isshin seemed to realize the pettiness of his tactic and subtly corrected course—his form of address quietly reverting, his tone outwardly composed.
"Now that the Second Hokage has fallen in battle, and the barbaric Cloud Village still eyes Konoha with hostility, this village requires a true strongman to lead it."
"You may have assisted the Second Hokage in slaying Kinkaku and Ginkaku, and that does speak to your strength. But do not mistake that for a reason the Uchiha would ever back down."
"Rather than coming here today to lobby me with empty words, hoping to talk me out of this contest, you would be better served preparing yourself."
"Tomorrow, at the jōnin assembly, face me openly and honorably."
Morin shook his head, a soft chuckle escaping him. The last shred of interest he'd had in this conversation evaporated.
"Clan Head Isshin truly does possess… a unique perspective," he said lightly. "A refreshing one, in its own way."
"It seems my visit today was indeed presumptuous."
He turned to leave—but then paused, as though recalling something amusing, and glanced back over his shoulder.
"Still, allow me one small reminder. Tomorrow, I won't be your only opponent."
"Jōnin Sarutobi Hiruzen is no less determined to claim the Hokage seat."
"Sarutobi Hiruzen?"
Isshin stared at him as though he'd just heard the most absurd joke imaginable. Shock flashed across his face before hardening into irritation.
"Do not joke so casually, Senju."
"A coward who fled the battlefield and abandoned the Hokage—does he truly believe himself worthy to stand beside us and compete for the Third?"
This time, Morin made no attempt to hide it.
Clear, unrestrained laughter rang through the empty hall.
"Hahahaha—speaking with Clan Head Isshin truly is a delight."
Before the echoes of his laughter had even faded, Morin had already turned and begun walking away.
"That is all I had to say."
"Farewell."