Early the next morning, Kyosuke received a summons from the Clan Head.
When he hurried over and saw Madara's expressionless face and Izuna's furious one, he had a pretty good idea what was going on.
"Ah, so they found out after all."
It wasn't surprising. If Uchiha Tajima couldn't even discover something like this, he'd probably have been forced out of his position long ago.
"Kyosuke!" Izuna immediately demanded, "Big Brother's being foolish, but why are you joining in on this nonsense?"
Hearing that, Kyosuke picked at his ear with his little finger, too lazy to answer a brat's questions.
"Hey, you—"
"That's enough!" The Clan Head stopped his youngest son. He understood that Kyosuke had nothing to fear now and wouldn't take this little matter seriously.
Accuse him of colluding with the enemy?
What a joke. He'd only been at the front for a few days. How could he possibly have secret ties to the Senju?
His clansmen weren't fools. They wouldn't believe such an excuse.
Even if they produced evidence that the two sides had met, Kyosuke could casually claim he'd been following Madara. Then things would truly become troublesome.
Tajima understood all this perfectly. He'd only been trying to scare his son last night.
A man understood his own children best. Madara was good in every way, but sometimes his concern for others clouded his judgment.
In the past, that had been Izuna. Now, unexpectedly, Kyosuke had joined their ranks as well.
But thinking it over, perhaps this wasn't a bad thing. If his son could bring the other man to heel, he might not have to keep opposing him.
"Kyosuke." Tajima didn't mention that he'd been involved too. Instead, he asked bluntly, "I found a member of the Senju Clan—a boy about Madara's age. Would you like to come along?"
"What a pointless test." Under everyone's gaze, Kyosuke nodded indifferently. "Of course. If we can capture him, we can force Senju Butsuma to withdraw."
At that moment, Tajima couldn't have wished more that Kyosuke were his own son.
If he'd known the boy had such talent, he should have adopted him right then. That way, all his problems would have been solved.
"Exactly right." Tajima clapped in approval, pleased. "As expected of a commander who dominates the battlefield. Your reasoning makes sense, Kyosuke."
"Then that's what we'll do. We'll capture him and use him as leverage in negotiations with the Senju."
With that, the group set off at once for the river where they'd met last time.
It was near Konoha's Kage Rock.
To protect his son's reputation, Tajima brought none of his subordinates. He'd thought there was no chance of anything going wrong, but soon regretted it.
By the river, Madara and Hashirama gazed at each other from opposite banks, exchanging their thoughts through their eyes.
"Madara, do you remember when we first met?"
Madara's expression softened. He picked up a pebble and slowly carved into it with chakra-coated fingers. "Of course. You lost to me at skipping stones."
"Come on, you were the one who lost."
Another silence fell. Suddenly, they both tossed their pebbles and caught the stones flying toward them from across the river.
"Run!"
"It's an ambush!"
In the woods behind them, Kyosuke sighed with feeling. "What a deeply moving scene."
Tajima and his sons glared at him before leaping out of the grass. To their surprise, two figures appeared on the opposite side as well.
On one side stood the three Uchiha: Tajima, Izuna, and Madara.
On the other stood the three Senju: Butsuma, Tobirama, and Hashirama.
As the only outsider, Kyosuke couldn't help feeling left out.
By the time he strolled out, the two Clan Heads had already started trading insults about each other's families from across the river.
Ignoring the two Clan Leader Level loudmouths, Kyosuke looked toward the gray-haired figure.
"Tobirama Senju, the most gifted theoretician in the world of Naruto. He created countless famous jutsu."
He was also someone Kyosuke rather disliked.
In his view, even without Black Zetsu scheming behind the scenes, Tobirama would eventually have targeted the Uchiha.
He was the real hardliner. Even after the village was founded, he never let go of his hatred for the Uchiha.
Of course, he was clever enough to use the threat they posed as an excuse.
He ordered the Senju Clan to disperse and fully integrate into Konoha, successfully avoiding the possibility of being targeted in the future.
It was a bold plan. It preserved the few clansmen they had left while directing the blame squarely at the Uchiha, who refused to bow their heads.
Obito and Danzo were merely the ones who carried it out. Tobirama was the true culprit behind the Uchiha's destruction.
Across the river, Tobirama frowned slightly. He had the distinct feeling that the man harbored deep hostility toward him.
People often said that when you had a vague feeling someone didn't like you, there was no need to doubt it: they probably couldn't stand you at all.
But Tobirama couldn't understand it. This was clearly the first time they'd met. Where did this baseless resentment come from?
"Maybe this is just how the Uchiha are."
Soon, the two Clan Heads simultaneously decided to end their verbal battle.
Senju Butsuma was inclined to retreat. The other side had more people. He wasn't worried about himself, but feared his two sons might get hurt.
As for Tajima, he chose to attack without hesitation.
"Madara, Kyosuke, Izuna—take down those two brats!"
Fire Style: Great Fire Vortex!
Several fiery whirlwinds roared toward them, their terrifying power making the entire river boil.
"Move!"
Under his father's pressure, Madara gritted his teeth, drew his short blade, and charged forward.
Across from him, Hashirama couldn't help shouting, "Madara, don't abandon our promise!"
"What an idiot." Kyosuke's mouth twitched. He flicked his hand and sent a specially made Kunai flying.
Its target was Tobirama Senju.
"Kyosuke!" Hashirama still had time to yell. He knew how strong Kyosuke was. Honestly, Tobirama probably wasn't his match right now.
But he hadn't expected Tobirama to lose so suddenly.
Dodging the oddly shaped Kunai, Tobirama sneered and formed Hand Seals. A massive flow of water surged into being around him.
Water Style: Water Wall!
In his hands, the defensive Water Formation Wall could also be used offensively.
Standing on the far bank, he had the natural advantage of terrain.
But before he could strike, a heavy blow from behind nearly knocked him unconscious on the spot.
The wall of water shattered. Kyosuke gripped Tobirama by the throat with one hand, his stance brimming with wild confidence.
"Tobirama!" Hashirama's heart jolted. His chakra surged, and he concentrated his monstrous strength into one kick, sending Uchiha Madara flying.
"Let him go, Kyosuke." Hashirama used the Body Flicker Technique to appear in front of him and throw a punch.
In truth, Kyosuke could have taken Tobirama Senju and escaped the battlefield.
After a period of hard training, he could now use the Flying Thunder God to teleport other people along with him.
But after a brief hesitation, he gave up on the tempting idea.
To deal with the threat that might emerge in the future, Senju Hashirama had to live.
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