Obsessed Hashirama, The Senju Clan Must Disband

Konohagakure, north of the Hokage Rock.

Qingguang followed behind Tsunade, strolling through this forest where hardly any buildings were visible, only greenery and shade everywhere.

Only a few narrow paths wound along the streams.

After walking for over ten kilometers, they finally saw a cluster of dark brown wooden houses surrounded by a bamboo fence in the distance.

"Senior Momoka lives in a place like this?"

"Old folks like peace and quiet. Come on, let's go in."

Tsunade went ahead and pushed open the bamboo gate.

As soon as they entered, they saw an old woman lying on a wooden chair, leisurely basking in the sun.

The wooden chair swayed gently back and forth, disturbing her ink-black hair.

Senju Momoka opened her eyes, her sharp gaze falling on Qingguang.

In that instant, Qingguang felt as if this old woman had seen right through him.

"You're... Kagami's child, Qingguang?"

"Yes, Senior Momoka."

Momoka stood up and raised a hand to smooth the hem of her simple blue robe. "Let's go inside. It's getting cold, and if we stay out here too long, my old bones won't be able to take it."

After taking off their shoes, Qingguang and Tsunade sat on the tatami mats, with Momoka taking a seat opposite them.

"It seems it's this child who made you decide you want to compete for the Fourth Hokage position," Momoka said, smiling at Tsunade.

"What? Can't I want to become Hokage myself?"

"My grandfather was Hokage, my great-uncle was Hokage, my teacher was Hokage. I want to become Hokage too, to protect this village. Is there a problem with that?" Tsunade argued earnestly.

Qingguang remained silent beside them, quietly observing.

"Tch, who are you kidding?"

"You, a girl who lazes around all day, only knows how to drink, and like your grandfather, you've picked up the bad habit of gambling. Can you really harden your heart and run for Hokage?"

Senju Momoka knew Tsunade all too well. Although she didn't interact with Tsunade much in recent years, she had secretly protected her when she was a child.

She had no idea how many assassination attempts by ninjas from other countries she had intercepted for her.

Tsunade leaned forward, cupping her hand to Momoka's ear, and whispered, "Ahem, Great-Aunt, give me some face. Don't say these things in front of my little brother."

Momoka chuckled and shook her head. "I know. It's only at times like this that you'll call me Great-Aunt."

"If you've truly decided to become the Fourth Hokage, the Senju Clan will naturally give you their full support."

"I've already instructed Itsuki on this matter. He's someone you can trust."

There was nothing wrong with these words, but Tsunade felt a pang of discomfort upon hearing them, her brow furrowing slightly.

"Great-Aunt, the reason Grandpa disbanded the Senju Clan was to prevent someone like Great-Uncle from becoming Hokage in the future."

"Konoha belongs to everyone, not just the Senju."

"Otherwise, civilian ninjas will never have a chance to rise."

As the granddaughter of Hashirama Senju, Tsunade's inheritance of the Will of Fire was deeply rooted.

This Will of Fire was not the one written in textbooks by Hiruzen Sarutobi at the Ninja Academy.

Momoka listened without scolding Tsunade. Instead, her eyes became distant, and she seemed lost in thought for a moment.

"Indeed, as one gets older, one tends to reminisce. You're just like your grandfather back then."

"But do you really think your grandfather's actions were right?"

If it were before, Tsunade would have believed without a doubt that it was the right thing to do. But now, just yesterday, she had personally witnessed the faces of the village elders at the Jonin meeting.

The disbandment of the Senju Clan was intended to lead other ninja clans to integrate with civilians. But the result was the current situation.

After the Senju Clan was gone, these ninja clans not only failed to get along better with civilians but, after the deaths of Hokages Hashirama and Tobirama, they became even more brazen in carving up everything in the village.

This was simply because there was no longer a colossus named Senju above them.

As for the Uchiha, they had been in a precarious situation until recently and could barely protect themselves. It was only in recent times that their relationship with the village had eased considerably.

Seeing Tsunade fall silent, her fists clenched, Momoka also lowered her gaze.

"The decision to disband the Senju Clan was initiated by your grandfather. Your grandfather was good in every way, except he was too kind and thought too highly of people's hearts."

"Even though your Great-Uncle and I strongly objected, most of the clan members at the time had already accepted Grandpa's ideology, even becoming obsessed with it. This was also the foundation of Konoha's establishment. If the Senju hadn't disbanded, they would have faced internal strife, even fratricide."

"Just like... how your grandfather killed Madara back then, he would have killed those clan members."

She recounted these memories, hidden deep within her heart, sealed away.

Momoka remembered clearly how Hashirama looked when he returned from the Valley of the End, covered in wounds.

His crimson armor was broken and falling off, his inner tunic riddled with holes. Standing in the rain, he tightly gripped his long blade, bloodstains along the edge dripping onto the ground, mixed with rainwater.

His eyes were red with grief, tears of blood streaming down his face, yet his expression was like that of a demon god as he repeatedly uttered a single sentence.

[If the village is threatened, I will show no mercy, not even to my brothers, friends, or even my own children.]

In that moment, Tobirama and Touka understood that disbanding the Senju Clan was Hashirama's will, the unyielding will of the "God of Shinobi."

It was precisely for this reason that Touka remained silent within the village, interfering in none of its decisions. She was even incredibly strict with her own son, Senju Itsuki.

His position as the leader of a Jonin squad was entirely due to his own efforts; Touka had even placed numerous obstacles in his path.

Everything was a contingency plan she and Tobirama had left behind, a safeguard to prevent Konoha from spiraling further into madness.

Medical ninjas, Jonin squads, and ninjas, whether they inherited the Senju surname or not, would all be connected through Senju Itsuki as the core.

As long as the interests of those ninja clans were not infringed upon, the now-disbanded Senju Clan would not be feared by the ninja clans or Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Senju Itsuki's performance in the Jonin squad, upright and impartial, devoid of personal feelings, was precisely the situation Hiruzen Sarutobi and those ninja clans most wished to see.

Only with a "civilian ninja" in this position would there be no favoritism towards individual ninja clans, even from the Hokage.

At first, upon hearing the initial statement, Tsunade felt Touka was slandering her grandfather. But after hearing all of this, she finally understood that if it were her grandfather Hashirama, he might truly do something like that...

"So, all of this was a contingency plan left by you and Second Grandfather?"

"What would happen to this plan if I hadn't been convinced by Qingguang and hadn't intended to become Hokage?"