Hashirama Senju's Resolve

He spent nearly three days using the Flying Thunder God to travel back and forth between Uchiha Stone City and the Sarutobi Shimura clan grounds.

After the enemy forces had gone three days without attacking, Izuna finally breathed a sigh of relief. The first thing he did when he returned to his room was collapse into a deep sleep.

He needed to recover the vast amount of Chakra he had burned through by repeatedly using the Flying Thunder God.

He had left behind a Shadow Clone in case Masashige Hagoromo's forces suddenly launched an attack during those few days. If they discovered he was absent from the clan grounds, they might grow suspicious.

Though the chances were slim, Izuna's plan left no room for error.

Only after sleeping for nearly twenty hours did Izuna wake again. Even then, he hadn't woken naturally—someone had called him.

Fortunately, there was no battle. Madara had sent a message via Ninja Hawk.

The letter, as usual, asked about Izuna's condition on the battlefield and how much his Mangekyo had deteriorated. It also described the different strategies being proposed within the clan for dealing with the Senju.

Izuna hadn't told his clansmen that the Senju definitely wouldn't make a move.

Hashirama Senju would certainly keep his promise, but Senju Takeuma and Tobirama Senju weren't exactly good people.

There was a very real chance they'd pull something behind Hashirama's back.

He had to be on guard.

Meanwhile, far to the east of the Uchiha Clan Grounds, in the Senju Clan Grounds on the other side of Mount Kumogakure,

the Senju Clan was holding a heated family meeting.

All ninja ranked elite jonin or higher had been summoned.

The meeting had been proposed by Senju Takeuma, the clan leader, and its subject was naturally a declaration of war against the Uchiha.

"Now is the best time to attack the Uchiha."

An elite Senju jonin below spoke impatiently. "Izuna Uchiha is far away on the northwestern battlefield, and he took a considerable portion of their fighting force with him. If the intelligence is correct and the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi Clans have also joined the battle, the Uchiha will have to send even more forces to the northwest. Then we can strike directly at the Uchiha heartland!"

"We could have won last time. It was all that damned Izuna Uchiha's fault!"

"It's a shame he's far away in the northwest this time, so we can't get our revenge!"

The Senju jonin below all voiced their support for declaring war.

At the same time, they all tacitly avoided mentioning the Truce Agreement.

Although Senju Takeuma sat in the clan leader's seat, his eyes kept drifting toward Hashirama Senju in the vice clan leader's seat to his left.

Tobirama Senju felt uneasy, too.

At that moment, a peak Senju jonin asked for permission to speak. "Clan Leader, declare war on the Uchiha. We have to settle the score for the unfinished battle at Mount Kumogakure."

Hashirama Senju remained silent. Senju Takeuma pondered for a moment, then finally said, "Everyone, and the elders as well, since you all feel this way..."

"Hold it!"

The two low, terse words burst from between Hashirama Senju's clenched teeth. Once he spoke, he drew everyone's attention.

Quite a few people sighed inwardly.

If they could, they truly hoped Hashirama Senju would stay silent until the meeting ended.

"We... signed a three-year Truce Agreement with the Uchiha."

Hashirama Senju spoke each word slowly and firmly.

"But... Vice Clan Leader, that's just a piece of paper..."

"What did you say?!"

The peak jonin tried to object sheepishly, but Hashirama Senju's shout nearly scared him into wetting himself.

In all the years they'd known him, they could count on one hand the number of times Hashirama Senju had gotten this angry.

Tobirama Senju remembered the last time Hashirama Senju had been this furious: when their younger brother, Senju Waka, had died.

"That isn't just a piece of paper. It's our promise to the Uchiha!"

Hashirama Senju shouted, "If we break our word, the Uchiha will never trust us again!"

He had never given up on his dream of building a shinobi village together with the Uchiha, a place where all ninja could live in harmony.

That was why he valued the Truce Agreement with the Uchiha more than anyone.

If the Senju tore up the agreement unilaterally, forming an alliance with the Uchiha in the future would become far more difficult.

Why should they care whether the Uchiha trusted them...? Many Senju ninja below silently retorted to themselves.

Yet at the sight of Hashirama Senju's face, his neck red as he shouted, not one of them dared to speak up.

That included both Tobirama Senju and Senju Takeuma, the clan leader.

But Hashirama Senju had clearly underestimated the centuries of hatred between the two clans. Even under his pressure, someone still rose to his feet.

"I'm sorry, Vice Clan Leader. Even for you, I can't put up with this."

The speaker was an elite jonin, about thirty-five years old, with a deep scar on his right cheek.

He stood with eyes bloodshot, a tear trickling down along his scar. "My ten-year-old child was killed by the Uchiha. I swore I'd avenge him. I won't let this chance pass me by."

Once the first man stood up, the others found their courage, too. One by one, they rose from the tatami.

"Vice Clan Leader, my husband was crippled in the war with the Uchiha eight years ago. He still can't stand."

"My two younger brothers and my father were all killed by the Uchiha..."

"I never knew what my parents looked like. My uncle took me in and raised me, but he was killed in the Battle of Mount Kumogakure..."

In less than half a minute, seven out of every ten Senju jonin who had been sitting had risen to their feet.

Hashirama Senju's teeth trembled. Even he found it hard not to waver in the face of this.

Even Big Brother might...

Tobirama Senju thought to himself.

He, too, supported tearing up the agreement and going to war with the Uchiha.

Though the situation was cruel to Hashirama Senju, it was exactly what Tobirama Senju wanted to see.

However, Tobirama Senju had also underestimated Hashirama Senju's determination to form an alliance with the Uchiha and build a village together.

"It seems you've all been carrying a heavy burden of hatred..."

As he spoke, Hashirama Senju rose from his cushion. "Fine. Anyone who wants to tear up the agreement, come with me to the training ground."

"Hashirama, what are you going to do?"

Senju Takeuma asked in surprise.

"It doesn't matter how many of you there are. If you want to go to war with the Uchiha, defeat me. If you can do that, I won't stand in your way again."

Hashirama Senju raised his head and declared, "Tobirama, Uncle Takeuma, you can join them, too."

Was he crazy?!

For a moment, everyone couldn't help thinking the same thing.

At least eighty percent of the ninja in the Senju Clan now wanted to tear up the agreement and go to war with the Uchiha.

That meant more than a thousand ninja!

And Hashirama Senju had said, "You can all come at me." What else could that be but madness?

Even more astonishingly, as he said it, Senju Takeuma and the others felt that he might actually be able to do it!