Senju Tobirama

The residence where Senju Hashirama lives is located in the southern part of the village.

To the north of Konoha lies a steep cliff, and the village has expanded outward using this cliff as its foundation. The dense forest to the west of Konoha is the territory of clans like the Hyuga, Sarutobi, and Inuzuka, while the southeast is home to the Ninja Academy founded by Senju Tobirama.

To the east lies the territory of the Uchiha, extending all the way to the Naka River—(yes, the very place where little Sasuke practices his Fire Style and hopes for Fugaku's praise; indeed, that area is also Uchiha territory). Of course, calling it "territory" feels a bit exclusionary; after all, everyone is in the same village now, and theoretically, everyone is a comrade, part of a single whole.

Well, that's what is said, but who really knows how things are?

It is no secret that the Uchiha are ostracized by the village; everyone in Konoha is well aware of it.

At dusk, Yuya returned to the Senju Estate with his backpack on.

"I'm home." Yuya took off his shoes while slipping the backpack off his shoulders.

"..."

Today was different from the past. Usually, Uzumaki Mito would respond with a "Welcome back" or something similar, followed by instructions to wash up and prepare for dinner.

But today, it was very quiet.

Yuya tilted his head in confusion. What was going on?

After changing into his indoor slippers, he ran "tap-tap-tap" through the entryway and into the main hall.

"Mistress? Are you not here?!"

Yuya slid open the wooden door, and his body instantly froze in place.

His mistress was kneeling on a cushion before a low table, drinking tea. Of course, that wasn't the main point; Uzumaki Mito was quite kind to Yuya, so he wasn't particularly afraid of her.

—Well, he wasn't afraid when she wasn't angry.

Ahem, in short, what made Yuya stiffen was the presence of someone else.

A head of white hair stood up in spikes, and blood-red eyes might lead one to mistake this person for an Uchiha, though there were no tomoe patterns in his eyes.

Senju Tobirama, the younger brother of Senju Hashirama.

The current Second Hokage.

In the eighth year since the founding of Konoha, Senju Hashirama passed his position to Tobirama to set an example for future Hokage. Of course, on the surface, Tobirama's succession was the result of a public vote due to the love the people of Konoha held for him.

However, in reality, if you cared to look into it, who else was fit to be the Second Hokage at that time besides Senju Tobirama?

Madara Uchiha?

He was gloomy every day, and in terms of strength, he couldn't surpass Senju Hashirama, while in terms of developing ninjutsu, he couldn't beat Senju Tobirama. Why would anyone choose him?

To put it bluntly, choosing Senju Tobirama meant he could develop more and stronger ninjutsu. What could choosing anyone else bring?

Therefore, under the circumstances at the time, only Senju Tobirama was fit to sit in that position.

Of course, Yuya only dared to grumble these things in his heart; he wouldn't dare say them out loud.

"Where did you go today?" Tobirama asked calmly, looking at Yuya.

Yuya forced a smile: "Master... the Master told me to rest today, so I went to play in the forest on the west side of the village."

Tobirama's crimson eyes stared at Yuya without a flicker of emotion: "Just to play?"

Yuya shrank his neck: "It really was just to play..."

Tobirama narrowed his eyes: "You should know the consequences of lying to me."

Yuya: "..."

One minute later, Yuya was covering his eyes and wailing: "Waaaaah... leave some for me! That's mine! That's my gold! He's robbing a child of his gold! Robbing a child of his gold!"

Senju Tobirama rolled his eyes at Yuya: "Be quiet."

Yuya pouted, looking at Senju Tobirama with tear-streaked eyes.

Senju Tobirama coughed once, then ignored Yuya's fiery glare and weighed the gold he had taken from Yuya's backpack.

"About a dozen kilograms or so. Thirty catties... Heh, you brat, walking around Konoha with a backpack full of gold, aren't you afraid someone will rob you?" Senju Tobirama tried hard to keep his serious expression, but he really couldn't help it.

Let's put it this way: the gold in Yuya's backpack weighed over ten kilograms, which meant that if converted into money...

Ten-plus kilograms is over ten thousand grams. At five thousand ryo per gram, that's at least fifty million ryo.

Hiss, fifty million... that's enough to pay the monthly salaries and bonuses for over two hundred jonin!

The key is...

Konoha doesn't even have that many jonin!

This money could even build a bridge!

With the remainder, they could buy some cement to pave a few roads...

There is no need to mention how much a bridge benefits traffic.

However...

Looking at the tears welling up in Yuya's eyes, Senju Tobirama coughed awkwardly. He certainly wouldn't stoop to robbing a child.

But truthfully speaking...

He couldn't possibly let a child like Yuya keep over ten kilograms of gold.

Setting aside the question of safety... if this gold isn't put to use, it's nothing more than a pile of pretty but useless ore.

So, Senju Tobirama thought for a moment, looked at Yuya, and said, "How about this: I can teach you a ninjutsu. That should be worth these ten-plus pounds of gold."

Yuya instantly retracted his tears, leaving Senju Tobirama suspicious. This brat was just bawling a moment ago; how did he return to normal so quickly?

Did I just get scammed?

Senju Tobirama gripped the gold in his hand, his heart settling. Forget it, the gold is already in my hands; no matter what, I won't be at a loss.

Senju Tobirama had tested this gold with water; it was real.

It wasn't some fake item conjured up by this brat Yuya using his "Kekkei Genkai."

Since that was the case, he wouldn't be losing out regardless.

"What ninjutsu?! Is it an S-rank one?!" Yuya's eyes widened as he looked at Tobirama with excitement.

Tobirama rubbed his chin. It seemed the brat was just excited about learning ninjutsu; he had been overthinking things.

"Don't even think about S-rank; it's impossible for me to teach you that." Looking at Yuya, Tobirama ruffled the boy's hair and chuckled softly, "Wait for me at the academy tomorrow. I'll take you to the training ground behind the mountain then."

Yuya nodded excitedly, then scurried off to wash his face and hands in preparation for dinner.

During this time, Uzumaki Mito didn't show it on her face, but she was happy in her heart.

She was pleased that Yuya wasn't just playing around, but had a clear goal.

Yet, deep down, she still hoped this child could be as carefree as Tsunade...

Sighing, Uzumaki Mito stood up to prepare the meal.

On the other side, Tobirama touched the gold in his hand and sighed deeply once more.

If only Yuya had been born fifteen years earlier...

Konoha...

With a bitter smile, Tobirama greeted Mito and left the residence.

The next day, Hokage Office:

"Bang!"

At the loud crash, Senju Tobirama looked up to see Senju Hashirama charging at him with his mouth wide open, roaring at the top of his lungs: "You bastard! You actually took all the gold yesterday! You didn't leave a single bit for me! Not a single bit! How can you still call yourself a brother after doing this?!"

Senju Tobirama's expression changed instantly: "Idiot! Don't say things like that here!"

Hashirama blinked: "Huh? Why?"

Senju Tobirama's already pale face turned even whiter.

Ten minutes later:

"Tap-tap-tap-tap," countless footsteps echoed as a crowd rushed to the front of the office:

"Lord Hokage! I heard you found a gold mine?! Does that mean we have money now?! Our Akimichi Clan would like to apply for funding to eat... ah, no! To practice the Multi-Size Technique!"

"Lord Hokage! Can we finally get the compensation for the small courtyard that was demolished when the Sarutobi Clan's ancestral home was cleared for the village's planning? You have a gold mine now!"

"Lord Hokage! The Hyuga Clan would like to ask when this year's ninja subsidies will be issued."

"Lord Hokage! Please approve funds so we can select superior ninja dog breeds to improve the genetics of Konoha's patrol dogs!"

"Lord Hokage!"

"Lord Hokage!"

Senju Tobirama sat in his chair, his face ashen, while Senju Hashirama had already snuck away, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Phew, I haven't been Hokage for a few years, so I really forgot...

These guys are like starving ninja cats seeing a mouse the moment they smell money.

Forget it, there's still some money left from the fake gold Yuya gave me last time; I'll just use that for today.

Hashirama whistled as he walked toward the commercial district of Konoha. As for his dear brother...

Well, work hard, after all, you are the Second Hokage.

Compared to the original plot, I made a change: Madara Uchiha believes that once Senju Tobirama takes office, he will target the Uchiha Clan. Madara Uchiha foresaw this and wanted the clan members to be wary of the Second Hokage, but no one in the clan listened to him; they only wanted to integrate into the Konoha collective. In the end, he was isolated and ostracized by his own clansmen. Furthermore, the vote for the Second Hokage between him and Senju Tobirama resulted in a unanimous victory for Senju Tobirama. With these factors combined, his mentality shattered, leading him to leave Konoha and eventually return with Kurama to start a fight. He was later defeated and killed by Hashirama. This version shifts the conflict from being against his own family to being against the entire village. Primarily, Madara Uchiha believed he was doing what was best for Konoha, because Senju Tobirama targeting the Uchiha Clan was a certainty, and the Uchiha Clan would definitely not want to be targeted and would resist, which would destroy the stability of the village. That was Madara Uchiha's line of thinking, but unfortunately, no one stood by his side, which caused his mental collapse.