The uproar surrounding Uchiha Madara once again shook Konoha.
Though it was only a rumor, it spread faster than a gale.
Uchiha Madara was leaving the village again, this time to search for extraterrestrial life.
The public welcomed the news. He had brought back an alien from the moon not long ago, and no one knew what unexpected surprise he might bring back this time.
Before Madara had even left the village, quite a few people had secretly started betting pools.
This time, there were no material stakes.
They were betting for real.
Last time, when they bet on how he would leave the Shinobi World, all the pooled wagers had been confiscated.
The newly introduced laws served as an invisible deterrent. No one wanted to experience being searched by the Anbu again.
Each person wrote a drinking voucher on a slip of paper. Whoever guessed correctly would receive a free round of drinks from everyone else.
Tobirama knew all about this.
He now stared at his clansmen beside him with a headache. On the surface, they were holding a meeting over Madara's affairs, but in truth, they had come to eavesdrop on gossip about him.
Especially the conversation between Mito and Toka not far away—they made no attempt to hide it, and every word reached everyone's ears clearly.
He helplessly glanced at the engrossed clansmen and headed toward the courtyard.
After only pacing a few rounds, he saw his elder brother hurrying over and quickly went to meet him.
"There's been new progress."
Standing in the courtyard, Hashirama glanced at the clansmen chatting merrily in the hall, then spoke to Tobirama in a grave, low voice.
"Wipe them out completely?"
Tobirama slowly nodded. A piercing killing intent instantly emerged in his eyes, and his chilling tone seemed to lower