Three Years

After the eastern front received the news, it quickly sent people to reinforce them. Senju Rei summoned a large number of slugs, which finally stopped the wounded ninjas' conditions from worsening.

The severe losses caused by the Fujiwara Clan's betrayal immediately sparked a crisis of trust within the Eastern Alliance. Quite a few of the ten small clans were already preparing to move to other countries.

To them, they had to fight Uchiha ninjas while also guarding against betrayal from above. Who would risk their life for a life like that, when they might not even know how they would die in the end?

Senju Meima approved each request one by one and collected a reasonable "protection fee." It was already generous of a great clan not to bully these smaller ones. They had even saved their lives the day before, and the smaller clans naturally had to pay the burial expenses for the families of the Senju who had died.

After the battle ended, the Tekka Clan supplied a large quantity of melted ninja tools. There was nothing wrong with the material, but it would take time to forge them again.

Once they had done this, the Tekka Clan formed a merchant caravan and left the Land of Fire. Their clan leader and First Elder had both died, and many clan members had been sacrificed. They no longer had the strength to seek revenge, so they had no choice but to leave the area and build up their strength first.

The Hayate Clan and the Mizukumo Clan still had some strength left. Aside from their grief, their members mostly wanted revenge. After men, women, and children had all been inspected, the two clans became vassals of the Senju and moved to the wall of the Senju eastern front, where they stayed with the Baiye Clan.

After the Xiongli Clan's nearby neighbors left, they feared the Uchiha would attack and abandoned their clan lands as well, heading for the Land of Earth.

One Uchiha night raid had destroyed the foundations of the alliance of small and medium-sized clans.

After Hiugo finished dealing with the enemy corpses, he rested for a day. Thanks to his powerful recovery, he was soon back to normal.

In the days that followed, the eastern battlefield grew much quieter. After the Uchiha night raid, Senju Butsuma no longer insisted that Senju Meima attack the Uchiha. Instead, he ordered everyone to rest and recover.

Things were much the same on the Uchiha side. Their night raid had achieved decent results, but against their old enemy, the Senju, they had only managed to break even. Their losses were roughly one to one.

There was no need to mention the Kaguya; they had agreed to a year-long truce with the Senju.

The long-awaited peace was enough for some people to break through and grow stronger.

When Hiugo sensed that his Wood Style could not advance until his body matured, he recalled the difficulties he had faced when he lacked Chakra. He decisively began learning the other Five Basic Nature Transformations. With his Three-Tomoe, learning ninjutsu was hardly difficult at all.

Time flew by, and three years passed in the blink of an eye.

The Kaguya did not resume the war as expected once the year was up. Instead, they turned their attention to the Land of Water, helping other clans suppress the Hozuki.

When Senju Meima heard the news Hozuki Shingetsu had sent, he remained perfectly calm. He paid no attention to his former "teammate," who kept asking for money—and, wouldn't you know it, the amount was exactly the "sum" the two of them had agreed on before.

Hozuki Shingetsu was so furious he nearly boiled over, but in the end, there was nothing he could do. The Land of Water was nowhere near as prosperous as the Land of Fire. He barely had enough for himself, let alone money to hire help.

The Uchiha Clan had a few clashes during this period, but they only fought in the "former Eastern Alliance." They hardly ever crossed into other territory. After fighting the Fuma and Hatake over Chakra Metal, they had won and gained a decent haul of supplies.

In the second year, when Hiugo was seven, he advanced to jonin. To celebrate, Senju Meima put him in charge of the three clans they had previously subdued.

It was a test. If Hiugo proved capable of commanding them, he could later try leading part of the Senju forces in battle. If he wasn't up to it, this would be a good opportunity to train him. Either way, as long as no Senju died, there would be no so-called stain on the clan.

News also arrived from the clan lands: his younger brother, Senju Kawarama, had been hit by an Explosive Tag while on a mission. The blast had taken his left leg, leaving him disabled.

Although some things had still come to pass, it was better than the original outcome, where they had been unable to find an intact corpse. This only strengthened Hiugo's belief that the future could be changed.

When the three years were up, Hiugo was assigned to return to the clan lands and live there for a while. According to their earlier agreement, he could have stayed at the clan lands and quietly developed his strength, but he had built up a following in the east. He couldn't simply stay away.

He ran into Tobirama as soon as he returned. They had not seen each other in three years, and Tobirama had also advanced to jonin. The childishness in his eyes had faded, and a sharp aura now radiated from him.

But his expression was as cool as ever, and he still wore the white helmet that hid his good looks.

After so long apart, the two immediately found a place to sit and catch up.

"How are things with the Hyuga? You must have run into that kid, Hyuga Ruri, too, right?"

Hiugo asked as he sipped his tea.

"We clash from time to time, but battles aren't frequent. As for Hyuga Ruri, I've fought him every time I've seen him over the past few years."

Tobirama said calmly, as if he weren't talking about an opponent, but some brat.

"Fight, rest, then fight again. You've been in battles against both the Kaguya and the Uchiha, but you had a good foundation, so you haven't developed any lasting problems."

"Glad to hear it."

"What about Big Pillar? We're back, and he still hasn't come to see us."

"I don't know. Maybe Father's got him doing Taijutsu training."

That made sense. Hashirama was eleven now, old enough to properly train in Taijutsu. Hiugo wondered whether that legendary "Great Health and Wellness Sword" had been made yet. Big Pillar had used it to clash with the Uchiha Gunbai.

"I feel like I've forgotten something."

Hiugo furrowed his brow. After three years of fighting, he was starting to feel a little muddled.

"Master Tobirama, Master Hiugo, the clan leader has summoned you to the clan meeting."

A Senju Genin hurried over to tell them.

The two exchanged a glance and hurried off. The clan meeting was where decisions about the future were announced. Anyone who had reached jonin rank could attend, regardless of age.

When they arrived, there were two empty seats beside Hashirama. After the two of them sat down,

Senju Butsuma said grimly, "The Hagoromo Clan has openly torn up our treaty, causing our clan members to die for no reason. Then they begged our sworn enemy, the Uchiha Clan, for protection. We must settle this score, or they'll really think the Senju are easy to bully..."

Hearing this, the Senju unconsciously let their Chakra flare, anger showing on their faces.

Most of the Senju were usually mild-mannered, but that only applied when others treated them as friends, not fools.

The Hagoromo Clan was no great clan. They must have had a huge benefit in mind to dare break ties and oppose the Senju.

Hiugo's only impression of that clan came from the anime: a corpse floating in from the water during one of Madara and Hashirama's encounters...

"So, things have already reached this point?"

Hiugo had no intention of meeting Madara and becoming "brothers." For one thing, he had given Izuna a "piercing chill" years ago.

In the eyes of someone who doted on his little brother, giving him a piercing chill was as good as asking to die. And then becoming "brothers" with him? Ha. He wouldn't be surprised if Izuna awakened the Mangekyo in his rage.

As for whether they would recognize each other as enemies, that wasn't likely. Both the Uchiha and the Senju were proud to the core. They wouldn't hang a child's portrait in the clan compound and tell him that this or that person was going to kill him. Besides, ninjas disguised themselves, so remembering someone's appearance was of limited use. What mattered was recognizing the properties of their Chakra when they met.

Senju Butsuma arranged the battle plans, naturally excluding the clan members who had just returned from the battlefield.

Hashirama, Tobirama, and Hiugo did not speak during the meeting. When Senju Butsuma made a decision for the clan, there was usually no one who objected.

After the meeting, the three boys went together to visit Kawarama.

Kawarama's missing leg had been replaced with a wooden one of the same shape. When he saw Tobirama and Hiugo, he walked toward them step by step. The two hurried over to support him, and then the brothers took turns telling one another about everything they had been through over the years...