Touma: Mom Loves Me Most!

"Don't cry, don't cry!"

"Be good, Tsunade."

"."

Mito Uzumaki wiped the tears from Tsunade's face, patiently soothing her until her emotions gradually settled.

However, Senju Touma stood beside them as though struck by lightning, completely motionless and still unable to recover from the shock.

His second uncle was dead?

That couldn't be possible!

His second uncle possessed the Flying Thunder God Technique and was armed to the teeth with immensely powerful Forbidden Jutsu. If he wanted to leave, who in the Ninja World could stop him?

But reality stood before him. No matter how unwilling he was to believe it, he still had to accept it.

Tears shimmered in Senju Touma's eyes as memories of his time with Tobirama Senju surfaced. Ever since his father, Hashirama Senju, had died, Tobirama had taken on the role of a father and taught him as if he were his own son.

"Touma, now isn't the time to grieve."

"I know."

Senju Touma wiped away his tears, took a deep breath, and followed Mito Uzumaki into another room.

Senju Touma felt somewhat nervous, eagerly awaiting Mito Uzumaki's news.

She had summoned him back from the front lines so urgently. It had to be related to Konoha's Third Hokage.

Senju Touma had already prepared himself to succeed the Third Hokage.

"According to Tobirama's final wishes, the candidate to become the Third Hokage is Hiruzen Sarutobi."

"What?"

Senju Touma could hardly believe his ears. Hiruzen Sarutobi?

Who the hell was that guy?

Did the Sarutobi Family behind him qualify him to covet Konoha's Hokage position?

If Tobirama had passed the position to Kagami Uchiha, Senju Touma could have gritted his teeth and accepted it.

Wait, wasn't Hiruzen Sarutobi his second uncle's guard? His second uncle was dead, yet he had made it back?

A conspiracy!

This was a conspiracy!!

"That's impossible!!"

Senju Touma instantly lost his composure. He refused to believe Mito Uzumaki's words and questioned her over and over before finally accepting them.

"Mother, you summoned me back in such a hurry... You aren't planning to have me help Hiruzen Sarutobi take the position, are you?"

Senju Touma's face was cold. He could not understand his second uncle's decision. No matter who the Hokage position was passed to, it should never have gone to someone from a minor family like Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Even if the Senju Clan held its nose and accepted it, the Uchiha would never agree.

This was going to go badly!

Mito Uzumaki sighed. She had been born into a prominent ninja clan and was well read in history. She knew all too well the ugly affairs within great clans.

People could beat each other bloody over the position of Clan Head and bring disaster upon their own household, let alone fight over Konoha's Hokage seat.

If she supported Hiruzen Sarutobi...

Her own son might turn against her on the spot.

Senju Touma was the Young Clan Head of the Senju Clan, and he had now automatically become the Clan Head. If he raised the call, the Senju Clan could confine her at once.

Could she really fight her own son?

For Hiruzen Sarutobi?

Dream on!

"How could that be? Naturally, I support you."

Mito Uzumaki immediately stated her position, putting Senju Touma's mind at ease and making his expression look much better.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi is merely a minor character. Your true rival is the Uchiha."

Senju Touma nodded. He had not taken Hiruzen Sarutobi seriously either.

If he wanted to, relying on the Senju Clan's power, Hiruzen Sarutobi could end up with five Shuriken in his back today and ultimately be ruled a suicide.

The Uchiha were the real threat!

"An Uchiha who may one day rival Uchiha Madara has now appeared. He has awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan."

At the mention of Uchiha Madara, Senju Touma immediately pictured Madara riding Susanoo across the battlefield.

In this Ninja World, no ninja was worthy of being Uchiha Madara's opponent except his father, Hashirama Senju.

Now the Uchiha had produced someone like that, while he was nowhere near as strong as his father, Hashirama Senju.

Without question, the Uchiha had surely set their sights on the Third Hokage's seat this time.

Senju Touma grew anxious again. He hated that he had not inherited his father's Sage Body, Wood Style, or Sage Mode that could be activated in an instant.

Compared to his father, Hashirama Senju, he was just an ordinary person.

Compared to ordinary ninja, he merely had a little more talent for ninjutsu, a little more Chakra, and a little more recovery ability.

That gave him no competitive edge at all!

"Don't belittle yourself. He has only displayed a bit of potential. Someone like Uchiha Madara will not appear so easily."

"I'm only reminding you not to forget who your true opponent is."

Seeing Senju Touma's confidence shaken, Mito Uzumaki spoke slowly.

Over the Uchiha's thousand-year clan history, a genius capable of awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan would emerge every few generations. Correspondingly, the Senju Clan would also produce geniuses capable of rivaling the Uchiha, as though it were an established pattern.

Uchiha Madara was special. The Uchiha of the past who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan had been far weaker than Madara, and the Susanoo dwelling within their eyes had appeared only rarely.

The reason Mito Uzumaki thought so highly of Uchiha Nan was merely because he had displayed the power of Susanoo. But that did not mean he was unbeatable.

Mito Uzumaki recalled Tobirama Senju's research. Uchiha Madara's exceptional strength, far surpassing the Uchiha throughout history who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, had long made Tobirama's scientific fervor burn fiercely.

According to Tobirama's deductions, the Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan had a flaw. Continued use would eventually exhaust its Dojutsu and lead to blindness.

The only way to compensate for this flaw was to replace them with the Mangekyō Sharingan of a blood relative. Uchiha Madara had replaced his eyes with those of his younger brother, Uchiha Izuna, causing his strength to undergo a qualitative transformation.

Although it was only a deduction, if Tobirama said so, it could not be baseless. Perhaps Uchiha Madara's grave had already been dug up by Tobirama Senju, and his corpse had even ended up on Tobirama's experiment table.

Uchiha Nan's parents had died early, and he had no brothers or sisters. The possibility of him obtaining another pair of Mangekyō Sharingan was minuscule.

"Touma, don't you think Hiruzen Sarutobi is quite useful at a time like this?"

"Since Tobirama thought highly of him, we might as well push him out first. We won't need to lift a finger—the Uchiha will not spare him. He can conveniently be used to gauge that Uchiha's strength and obtain more intelligence."

What a good idea!

Senju Touma's eyes lit up. In a ninja war, the importance of intelligence went without saying. The Ninja World had far too many strange and unusual ninjutsu, and many jonin had suffered defeat due to insufficient intelligence.

"Then I'll listen to Mother."

A crafty smile appeared on Senju Touma's face. Mother truly was wise and resourceful, always thinking of him.

Mom really loved him most!

Seeing that her son agreed with her, Mito Uzumaki nodded with satisfaction.

Hiruzen, don't blame me.

At the very least, when it comes to dealing with the Uchiha, the Senju Clan and I support you. If you can resolve the Uchiha problem, then the Senju will not stand in your way.

As for Mito Uzumaki's earlier promise to Hiruzen Sarutobi that she would help him deal with the Uchiha, she had selectively forgotten it.

Times had changed. Back then, the Uchiha had not produced a ninja who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.