Great Fame

The five great nations had not yet formed, and each city and territory was controlled by ninja clans or lords.

The Hagoromo Clan's territory was located in the western part of the future Land of Fire, close to the future Land of Rivers.

After concluding their battle with the Five Allied Clans Army, Izuna personally led four hundred Uchiha ninja to attack the Hagoromo Clan's territory.

It was a relentless pursuit, showing no signs of fatigue.

This annihilation battle required speed, speed, and more speed!

Fortunately, this battle was fraught with peril but ultimately ended without major incident.

Masashige Hagoromo had already dispatched the vast majority of his clan's elite forces to the front lines.

A significant portion of the Jonin, while ambushing Shimura Sarutobi, were then half-killed by Izuna acting as "Kite."

In less than ten days, Izuna had completely annihilated the Hagoromo Clan, one of the powerful clans of the Sengoku period.

The only survivors were the civilians and outsiders within the Hagoromo Clan responsible for menial tasks.

Izuna decided to bring them back to Northwest Stone City, to provide more labor for that city, the most important in Uchiha's northwest, though now it was in ruins.

Extermination.

This was undoubtedly the most direct, yet riskiest, method of acquiring resources during the Sengoku period.

In the devastated Hagoromo Clan territory, Izuna ordered a thorough looting. Anything that could be taken was taken; anything that couldn't be left behind was to be burned.

Food, money, vessels, weapons, and, of course, the most crucial Ninjutsu scrolls.

Furthermore, the clansmen Izuna brought with him, if they had any empty hands, didn't even spare some decorative items and daily necessities.

What moved these people even more was that after the looting, Izuna issued a second order.

Rewards based on merit.

Using the number of enemies killed as the standard, they could choose whatever they liked from the spoils of war.

This was less a reward for merit and more an excessive bonus.

Everyone was overjoyed, and while receiving their rewards, they were deeply grateful to Izuna.

News and intelligence in the Sengoku period traveled extremely slowly compared to later eras.

After the conclusion of the battle in Northwest Stone City, along with negotiations with the four northwestern clans and Madara dispatching reinforcements, Izuna completely wiped out the Hagoromo Clan. In total, it took nearly a month.

This series of news only gradually spread throughout the Sengoku period.

Of course, the veteran major clans received this intelligence much faster.

The ninja clans were all greatly shocked that Uchiha Izuna, leading no more than five hundred men, had defeated the Five Allied Clans Army, which numbered over two thousand.

Among them, the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans, part of the Ino-Shika-Cho, breathed a sigh of relief.

It was fortunate that they had rejected Masashige Hagoromo's invitation back then; otherwise, they feared they would have met the same fate as the Hagoromo.

Of course, if the Ino-Shika-Cho had joined, the outcome would have been even more unpredictable.

Their sworn rivals, the Senju, were among the first to learn of this news.

Upon receiving the information, they immediately convened a clan meeting to discuss the matter.

"Uchiha Izuna has truly created a miracle. Have we investigated how he accomplished this?" Hashirama Senju asked from the head seat.

Although he still occupied the position of clan head, the title of "Strongest Senju" was no longer his. This was since a year ago, when Hashirama Senju alone resolved over half of the clan's Jonin with a single move, the "Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence."

Tobirama Senju, responsible for this area, replied, "According to my subordinates' investigation, it seems that after the Five Clans captured Uchiha's Northwest Stone City, internal strife broke out amongst them. Uchiha Izuna seized the opportunity when they were both weakened."

"Was it a dispute over the division of spoils?"

Hashirama Senju stroked his chin. Such incidents were common in the Sengoku period.

They fought as one family, but after victory, this family would turn on each other over the spoils.

It was like children fighting over inheritance after their parents' death.

"So, Uchiha Izuna just got lucky? Tsk, what a fortunate kid!" Hashirama Senju said unhappily.

Tobirama Senju raised an eyebrow. At first glance, it did seem like Uchiha Izuna was lucky to have seized the moment of enemy infighting and struck at their vital point.

But was everything before and after that truly such a coincidence?

At this moment, one of the highest-ranking members of the Senju Clan, the quasi-Kage level expert Takema Senju, spoke, "Now that the Uchiha have absorbed the Hagoromo's power, their overall clan strength is likely no less than ours. What should we do?"

The atmosphere instantly became tense.

If a year ago, there was still a certain gap in the overall strength between the Senju and the Uchiha.

Then, by absorbing the Hagoromo, the Uchiha had, in one fell swoop, closed the gap with the Senju, perhaps even drawing level.

This was not something the Senju were willing to see.

But everyone tacitly avoided mentioning the idea of ambushing the Uchiha during the Truce Agreement, all in awe of Hashirama Senju, who sat in the Vice Clan Leader's position.

Last year, the sight of Hashirama Senju unleashing Wood Release and leaving dozens of Jonin from the Senju clan powerless was something they still couldn't forget.

Tobirama Senju was the most skilled at this sort of thing. He rubbed his temples, pondered for a moment, then stood up and said, "What we need to do now is strengthen ourselves."

"Lord Tobirama, what's the specific plan?"

Someone below immediately asked.

"Isn't Older Brother about the age where he should be getting married?"

As soon as Tobirama Senju said this, he immediately drew a confused look from Hashirama Senju.

What did strengthening have to do with his lifelong commitment?

Ignoring Hashirama Senju's blockheadedness, Senju Takeuma and Senju Takema, among others, immediately understood.

"Tobirama, you mean... an alliance with the Uzumaki?"

The Uzumaki clan, with a history as long as the Senju and Uchiha, were masters of Fūinjutsu and resided on an island nation in the southeast, across the sea from the mainland ninja continent, the Land of Whirlpools.

But the Uzumaki clan was special. Because they lived on an island, they also disliked war.

In terms of geography, the Senju served as a barrier, standing in front of the Land of Whirlpools.

Whether it was the Uchiha, Hyuga, Sarutobi, or Shimura, any clan that dared to have designs on the Uzumaki would have to get past the Senju first.

Therefore, to avoid conflict, the Uzumaki clan had begun cooperating with the Senju a long time ago.

The Uzumaki provided the Senju with grain, food, and weapons needed for war from behind the lines, and the two sides even exchanged Ninjutsu for mutual learning.

But don't mistake their dislike of war for weakness; their formidable Fūinjutsu and naturally vast Chakra reserves, comparable to the Senju's, were not to be underestimated.

If a ranking were to be made, they would undoubtedly be among the top-tier ninja clans.

Tobirama Senju stood tall and declared, "Have Older Brother form a marriage alliance with someone from the Uzumaki, and request their direct participation in the war. If successful, our Senju clan's strength will skyrocket, surpassing the Uchiha in one go."

Hashirama Senju scratched his face. For him, political marriages were nothing strange.

Unable to think of any objections, he had no intention of opposing it.