With the Baiye Clan leading the way and surrendering, the other vassal families that could no longer keep fighting also wanted to follow suit. But Kaguya Taketori returned to the battlefield once more and killed a minor clan head who wanted to surrender, steadying everyone's resolve.
After this brief incident, Kaguya Taketori fought Senju Meima again, though the clash was much quieter this time. When the two finished, both sides withdrew.
Not long after, the war came to an end when the Kaguya Clan pledged not to harass the Senju for a year and provided a substantial amount of supplies.
War was merely a means of securing benefits. The same would be true of village-versus-village battles in the future.
Hiugo settled down after that and was assigned to deal with the Baiye Clan.
The Baiye Clan's territory lay near the Kaguya Clan's, with numerous minor families surrounding them in between.
They couldn't be settled in their former territory, but they also couldn't be allowed inside the city walls right after surrendering. No one trusted them yet.
So Hiugo found a plot of land near the walls and settled them there, building several large wooden houses for them to live in for now. They could figure out the rest later.
Hiugo had just returned to his room when Senju Xiangyang came hurrying over and said in a low voice:
"Master Hiugo, this is a token of gratitude from the Baiye Clan Head."
As he spoke, he opened a storage scroll, revealing a box of coins. Hiugo raised an eyebrow. Coins in the Warring States period were made of copper. Although a system similar to banknotes existed, it usually circulated only within a clan.
For instance, if you exchanged a box of copper coins for banknotes within the Senju Clan, those notes wouldn't work in the Sarutobi Clan. You'd have to exchange them back first.
Here's where things got interesting: exchanging a box of coins for notes was free, but if you wanted to exchange notes for coins, you'd usually have part of the amount withheld as a "handling fee" unless you had your own clan's crest.
Hiugo studied the box for a moment, then closed it and said:
"You've got the wrong person. Hurry and take it to Elder Meima..."
"Master, this was sent to you by the Baiye Clan Head. Why should I give it to Elder Meima?"
Senju Xiangyang asked calmly.
Hiugo glanced at him and said gravely:
"The battle was won because of Elder Meima. In truth, I had little to do with our victory. The Baiye Clan didn't give this to me, a child; they gave it to the Senju Clan. I can't accept it..."
He sighed. Who didn't like money? He was sure Senju Meima wouldn't say a thing even if he kept it.
But it clearly wasn't appropriate for a kid who'd just arrived at the battlefield, won a battle, and gained a little prestige to accept this reward. If he was already this "greedy" at five, who knew what he'd be like later? So accepting it would make him uncomfortable. Better not to take it.
Senju Xiangyang smiled and nodded. As an old shinobi who'd spent years on the battlefield, he understood this well. He'd only been testing Hiugo's character.
If he fell short, they could find a way to correct him. If he passed, all the better. After all, he was someone they might have to give their lives for, so it was best to know him a little.
Senju Xiangyang was about to put the box away in a storage scroll and take it to Meima, but Hiugo stopped him.
"What is it, Master Hiugo?"
"Go back to the Baiye Clan. Don't use a storage scroll. Get four of our people to carry the box all the way to Elder Meima. There's no need to hurry."
"Yes."
This time, Senju Xiangyang said nothing more and simply did as he was told.
Hiugo tapped the wooden table. Why hide while accepting a gift? It wasn't as if it were something shameful. And sending four people to carry the box would help save the young clan's face. Perfect.
He'd originally planned to head over to Senju Rei after leaving the battlefield, take a little "humbling," and see if he could earn Slug's approval to learn Senjutsu. Sage Mode would be useful both now and in the future.
But after that "slug" crawled all over him, it had simply declared that his temperament was unsuitable and that he couldn't train in it.
Hmph... If he couldn't learn it, then so be it. As if he cared. He refused to believe all Three Great Sage Regions would reject him.
Coming back to himself, he pulled out the information Genma had given him and began comparing it with the reports from the eastern battlefield. Now that the Kaguya Clan had temporarily ceased hostilities, he could look into the nearby clans and, while he was at it, search for the Three Great Sage Regions.
The Senju followed a policy of "love," so they didn't make things too difficult for the minor clans. As long as they didn't do anything to harm the Senju, the Senju wouldn't do anything to them either.
"This is quite a jumble. Some are good at farming, some at gathering intelligence, and some at painting. Huh, the painters went to another country..."
Genma's intelligence was mostly accurate and much more detailed than the eastern battlefield reports, but some parts still didn't quite match up.
"Fine, let's go take a look."
Hiugo organized the information and headed out. Once he was outside the battlefield, he used the Transformation Technique and went to check out these neutral clans in the surrounding area.
The first clan he visited was the Yekage Clan. They mainly worked as information brokers, collecting intelligence from all over. They were a small clan, so their information tended to be delayed, but the prices were cheap, allowing them to make up for it in volume.
Hiugo glanced around. He'd seen most of the headlines at the Senju compound, and the rest were trivial matters. After browsing for a while, he lost interest in the information and bought a Fuma Shuriken instead.
It was much larger than an ordinary shuriken, with four blades that spread out like a pinwheel.
He'd seen them at the clan compound before, but back then he'd preferred lighter weapons. Now that his Sage Body had grown stronger, throwing one felt no different from throwing an ordinary shuriken.
Hiugo was about to leave when he sensed someone watching him. So he changed direction and went somewhere else. After he left the Yekage Clan's territory, two shinobi appeared from a tree in front of him.
"Hey, buddy, we're a little short on cash. Could you do us a favor and 'lend' us some?"
Hoshizhuo Guang said with a faint smile. Behind him, purple Chakra suddenly appeared, taking the shape of a wavering figure.
"Oh? If I'm not mistaken, that technique belongs to the Hoshi Clan of the Land of Bears."
Hiugo suddenly grew interested, a glint passing through his eyes.
Konoha hadn't been founded yet, so some of the shinobi villages didn't have names. But some clans already existed.
The Hoshi Clan was named after a star that had fallen from the sky into their territory. They had developed a set of ninjutsu around it called the Mysterious Peacock Method. Its defining feature was the purple Chakra that poured out of the body and transformed into different shapes.
"Since you know how strong we are, hand over your money and we won't make things difficult for you..."
Xing Chenguang shouted, only to discover that black trees had appeared beneath their feet. The trees continuously absorbed their Chakra.
"Mysterious Peacock Method: Beast!"
Hoshizhuo Guang tried to use the technique, but the beast shape he'd just formed immediately fell apart.
"Black wood? You're the Senju's White-Haired Demon!"
Xing Chenguang looked down at the trees and cried out in shock.
"I doubt the Kaguya gave me that name. This is a rare opportunity, you two. I really want to study your jutsu."
"Don't be nervous. Don't be afraid. Take a deep breath. Feeling dizzy is normal. The pain will only last a moment..."
Hiugo gave them a faint smile and rubbed his hands together.
For some reason, the two felt a chill run down their backs as fear welled up inside them.
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