Dual Effort, Inside and Out

The war in the Land of Grass has reached a ceasefire.

Konoha and Iwagakure did not reach a decisive victory; they simply fought until both sides concluded that the losses were too great, opting for a temporary truce.

It was like shaking off the last few drops after urinating—not because it was truly clean, but because there wasn't another drop left to squeeze out for the time being.

Although the war in the Land of Grass has been temporarily suspended, neither side has any intention of dismantling their frontline headquarters.

The camp is permeated with an atmosphere of agony.

Kawadera Uchiha finds Seigetsu Senju, who is carefully tying up Kanzuki Senju's hair with a silk ribbon.

This lock of hair will serve as a substitute for Kanzuki Senju, to be buried behind the Konoha Memorial Stone.

Only after Seigetsu Senju carefully puts the hair away does Kawadera Uchiha signal for her to follow him.

Seeing the grave expression on Kawadera Uchiha's face, Seigetsu Senju knows that something terrible must have happened.

The two arrive at a vacant corner of the camp.

So many people have died that there are vacant corners everywhere in the camp.

"Seigetsu, there are only 193 ninjas left in the Senju Clan, aren't there?"

"That's right."

Kawadera Uchiha says, "My special intelligence channels have received terrible news: there is a force pushing for the total annihilation of the Senju Clan!"

Seigetsu Senju's eyes widen abruptly, and she looks at Kawadera Uchiha in terror.

She remembers a few months ago, when Kawadera said his intelligence channels had learned that someone was planning to assassinate the young clan head, Nawaki.

Now that the same terrifying thing is happening, could it be that someone actually wants to wipe out the entire Senju Clan?

"Who would dare do such a thing? I'm going to find Princess Tsunade right now!"

Kawadera Uchiha shakes his head and says, "I am not certain about this matter, and I have no direct evidence."

"But the fact that only 193 ninjas remain in the Senju Clan—that is the evidence!"

"Calm down! We are fighting against a force powerful enough to destroy the Senju Clan; any mistake will lead to both of us being crushed to pieces!"

Seigetsu Senju suppresses her impulse and swallows hard.

Kawadera Uchiha says, "Seigetsu, regarding the protection of the Senju Clan, I have the following deployment plan. Listen closely."

Seigetsu Senju feels a surge of joy; Kawadera has a mature plan. She immediately takes out a scroll, but then feels that it might leave behind evidence, so she puts the scroll away and commits it to memory instead.

Kawadera Uchiha says:

"Your brother tried to get the Senju Clan to set aside the glory of having founded the village, but he was overruled by Lady Mito."

"I don't think Lady Mito lacks flexibility; it's just that Konoha is too important to the older generation of the Senju Clan—more important than their own lives."

"We will not oppose the older generation of the Senju; we don't need to, and it's impossible to convince them anyway."

"In their minds, Konoha is everything. Even if it costs the very last member of the Senju Clan, they believe they must protect the village."

"What we must do is take action and find a way to force a change."

Seigetsu Senju nods. She knows as well as anyone that she cannot convince Lady Mito, Elder Toma, or the other high-ranking members of the family.

"What should we do?"

Without realizing it, Seigetsu Senju has come to regard Kawadera Uchiha as the most important person in her life.

Kawadera Uchiha says:

"I believe the first thing we can do is form an alliance, and then exert pressure from both the inside and the outside."

"The first step is to establish an alliance."

"Seigetsu, you must come forward to find allies."

"The Inuzuka Clan, the Aburame Clan, and the Kurama Clan have all suffered heavy casualties alongside the Senju; they certainly hope for a breather."

"This is also why your brother, Seiei Senju, was able to convince them to join him in persuading Lady Mito, though unfortunately, that attempt failed."

"Beyond these three clans, identify the attitudes of the young people within the Senju Clan. Whoever worries about the future of the Senju can become our ally."

"Once we have an alliance, the influence, and the manpower, everything else becomes possible."

Seigetsu Senju nods repeatedly. She immediately thinks of several suitable candidates.

Her brother is the most important among them; he has long believed that the family should abandon the glory of having founded the village.

Kawadera Uchiha continues:

"The second step: once we have the manpower, we exert pressure from both inside and outside."

"Externally, we must deliberately promote the merits of the Senju Clan in this war."

"The spokesperson for the Senju Clan at this moment is, without a doubt, Princess Tsunade."

"Promote the reputation of the Sannin; highlight how Princess Tsunade and her teammates stood their ground against the Demigod Hanzo. We must create the impression that the Senju Clan remains the backbone of the battlefield."

"We cannot allow the Senju Clan to be placed in a disadvantageous position in terms of public opinion, or the rumors in the village will tear the Senju Clan to shreds."

Seigetsu Senju understood what Kawadera meant; as long as they kept promoting the battle achievements of Princess Tsunade, they could create the impression that the Senju Clan was still actively fighting.

Kawadera Uchiha said:

"The most critical step is internal reform within the Senju Clan.

Seigetsu, you must find a way to recruit the current teenage ninjas of the Senju Clan, as well as the genin who are about to graduate, into Konoha Hospital to become medical ninjas.

Combat ninjas and medical ninjas should be separated.

Princess Tsunade now, and Nawaki after he grows stronger in the future, can serve as representatives of combat ninjas to maintain influence and prevent others from finding fault.

Everyone else must learn to stay out of the spotlight.

The training cycle for medical ninjas is very long: three years of learning medical ninjutsu, three years of standardized training at Konoha Hospital or frontline medical stations, and three years as a medical assistant before finally becoming a qualified medical ninja.

By leveraging the Senju Clan's accumulation of medical ninjutsu, we can create a strong bond between the Senju Clan and Konoha Hospital.

In this way, many Senju ninjas will have a safe environment in which to grow.

Even on the battlefield, medical ninjas receive tighter protection.

If we achieve these points first—finding allies and implementing both internal and external changes—we can temporarily halt the increasingly brutal mortality rate of the Senju Clan."

Seigetsu Senju strongly agreed with Kawadera's proposal.

These suggestions were very pragmatic, unlike her brother, who had gone directly to Lady Mito to talk about changing the Senju Clan's path—something Lady Mito would naturally never agree to.

This kind of fine-tuning was more covert and far more efficient.

Seigetsu Senju said, "I will return to the medical department now and speak with Jonin Mei Senju, asking him to recruit more disciples."

"Shingu Senju!" Seigetsu Senju said excitedly:

"I will recommend Shingu Senju to become a disciple of Senior Mei right now! Every one we save counts."

Kawadera Uchiha said, "Very good, Seigetsu. Let's start changing the tragic state of the Senju Clan by starting with Shingu Senju."

Seigetsu Senju turned and ran a few steps, then turned back.

She looked up at Kawadera Uchiha, her eyes filled with gratitude and admiration:

"Kawadera, I don't even know how to thank you..."

Kawadera Uchiha spoke a code that only they understood:

"Didn't you say that muscle repair after controlled muscle fatigue can make things perkier?

My gluteus maximus is already perky enough, but there are other places I want to be perky too.

Once this period of busyness is over..."

Seigetsu Senju blushed, then said, "Wait until some time has passed; I'll help you strengthen a man's final weakness."

She hurried away to find Shingu Senju and take him to see Mei Senju.