Chapter 16

Be wary, but get along with them. Uchiha Madara's stance toward his clansmen was clear.

That stance applied not only to the Senju, but to their subordinate clans as well. It wasn't that he held the belief that "those who aren't of our kind must have different intentions." The whole world simply thought that way at present. Those who shouted slogans like "all under heaven are one, and love makes us family" were the real oddballs. Besides, too much of a good thing was bad. If they truly acted as though they had no reservations, the Uchiha might not be able to keep up the act, and the Senju would suspect some kind of plot instead!

Proud people were usually blunt. Teaching them to be two-faced, sweet-tongued, and treacherous was practically harder than climbing to heaven. Just look at the original Madara: when he was unhappy with the Senju, he went straight to challenge the First to a duel. Fugaku's generation was unhappy with Konoha, so they plotted a rebellion. Itachi was unhappy with his clan, so he wiped it out... All right, there were other factors involved, but it was obvious that their methods were direct and the results disastrous. In short, the Uchiha had always been resolute: if you make the first move, don't blame us for returning the favor!

If that wonderfully exceptional personality belonged to an opponent, Uchiha Madara would be laughing in his sleep. But the tragedy was that they were his own people, so he had to put some thought into planning around it.

Rumors were a marvelous thing. In an age when communication was underdeveloped and ordinary people had little access to information, the saying that three people could make a tiger out of nothing wasn't an exaggeration. Survival in troubled times was difficult. Many ninja and nobles treated human life like weeds. Against that backdrop, the Uchiha had the funds to build towns, intimidate rogue ninja, curb the nobles' authority, maintain public order, and protect some innocent civilians along the way. To the ordinary people who made up eighty percent of the country, they were no less than saviors. Word of their deeds spread from mouth to mouth, growing ever more exaggerated, and for a time the Uchiha's good reputation even surpassed the Senju's. People from other countries had already begun settling here, little by little. Under the growing tide of public support, power in the Land of Lightning gradually shifted toward the Uchiha, while the daimyo seemed to have become nothing more than a symbol of the country.

First impressions were another marvelous thing. When you liked someone, their arrogance became pride, their impulsiveness became courage, their simple-mindedness became frankness and innocence, and their sharp tongue became eloquence. The reverse was true as well: they were conceited, stupid, and repulsive. Though they still bore the title of ninja, the Uchiha no longer received fearful, wary looks when they went out. Just having a face with Uchiha features earned them a twenty-percent discount at every establishment in the Land of Lightning. The people also dug up all kinds of unsavory deeds committed by the targets the Uchiha had killed. Who hadn't done a few bad things in their life? Especially the powerful figures worth hiring someone to assassinate. These stories served as proof that the Uchiha were doing good deeds and ridding the people of evil.

The changes within the clan showed themselves more in their education. The younger generation of Uchiha had studied introductory political theory and had their tempers tempered by music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Few hotheaded idiots remained who charged at every problem with their Sharingan activated. Even when dealing with their mortal enemies, the Senju, they could hold their patience and keep their composure. For now, Madara had no higher expectations of them.

Without all this groundwork, Senju Hashirama could never have easily persuaded the Senju Clan elders to agree to an alliance.

Strength was indeed the foundation, but many goals couldn't be achieved through strength alone.

From the very first day he decided to rule the world, Madara had set his sights on the Senju, a military force that could rival the Uchiha. To see what kind of person Senju Hashirama was, he had let information about himself slip, some true and some false, to test Hashirama's attitude. He had offered benefits or acted hostile to feel out his limits. Finally, he had met with him in person and used the Three-Tails to test his abilities. The results proved that Hashirama was someone worth working with.

Madara had a vague sense that Senju Hashirama had a great ambition. He could carry out a mission cleanly and efficiently without losing his compassion and pity for the weak. He led the Senju Clan's development, but also considered his own will. He hoped for peace and wanted to achieve it by placing restrictions on the ninja.

So when Uchiha Tai had said Hashirama was "a little young," Madara's assessment had been: "He's surpassed the ninja, but in the end, he's still a ninja."

His ideals were certainly admirable, but his thinking still lacked maturity... Well, wasn't maturity something forged through experience?

In Madara's view, Hashirama wanted peace, while he wanted to rule the world. Those goals didn't conflict. To some extent, they even aligned! Think about it: if all the countries were unified into one, there would be no more wars between nations. Even if conflicts arose, they would be internal matters. Everyone could just sit down and work them out! As long as they built a stable, workable national order, lasting peace wouldn't be a fantasy!

As for whether the Senju would buy into this idea, did Uchiha Madara need to care? Just look at how he had played Hyuga Akisetsu! As long as they were negotiating, he could make the clans present follow his arrangements!

Night deepened, while Senju Hashirama was still busy on the other side.

This negotiation wasn't simply a meeting between the Uchiha and Senju Clans. Other ninja clans that were friendly with or subordinate to the two families had come as well. Nearly all the top powers of the Ninja World had gathered in one place.

As the leader of one side, Hashirama had to take every aspect into account. During the day, he met and spoke with the clan elders and the leaders of other minor clans. At night, he sat beneath the lamplight and carefully reviewed the negotiation outline for the Uchiha and their subordinate clans. From their brief meeting in the Land of Snow, Uchiha Madara seemed powerful, proud, perceptive, meticulous, inscrutable, and extremely composed. He was a formidable opponent.

At the same time, Hashirama felt a faint joy in his heart. He and Uchiha Madara both knew that the Uchiha needed to develop northward, while the Senju needed to expand their influence and lessen the Uchiha's pressure on them. No matter how things unfolded, an alliance between the two clans was already an unspoken fact. From then on, the scattered Ninja World would gradually unite, and he would be one step closer to his ideal!

"Clan Head, a message from the Fifth Elder..."

After reading the letter, Senju Hashirama furrowed his brow despite himself. The Hyuga had brought two "clan heads"?

The Senju had some vague understanding of the Hyuga Clan's affairs. The formal meeting was the day after tomorrow. They weren't planning to use such an important negotiation as a stepping stone in their power struggle, were they? Then again, they were almost at their destination, and there wasn't much he could do. Senju Hashirama made a mental note of the Hyuga and could only hope they knew where to draw the line.

The Hyuga Clan Compound was utterly silent at that moment. With more than half of the Main Family and some members of the Branch Family gone, the clan grounds felt much emptier than usual at night.

The clan's rules forbade the slightest noise from the middle of the night until dawn. It was partly to let the clan members rest and partly to make intruders easier to detect. Even the guards on night watch kept their breathing quiet.

Shadows from the trees outside the sliding doors fell faintly across the white walls. Hyuga Keisuke lay on the tatami, tossing and turning. This time, he hadn't gone with Hyuga Akisetsu. He had stayed behind to guard the clan grounds.

He was one of the few geniuses in the Branch Family. He had progressed rapidly and performed well on every mission, earning the Main Family's favor. He was no less talented than his uncle, Hyuga Ryosuke, who had also been known as a genius in his day. Otherwise, Hyuga Akisetsu wouldn't have gone to the trouble of winning him over.

People who often brushed shoulders with death developed a kind of intuition, mysterious and hard to grasp. It was impossible to say whether it was good or bad.

The wind tonight was dry and hot, as if it were brewing some kind of restless unease.

He stared blankly at the silent shadows of the trees for a while. Remembering that he had a mission tomorrow, he forced himself to close his eyes. His thoughts drifted up and down, and many memories that seemed long past came to the surface. One moment, he saw his father dying, drenched in blood, while protecting a young lord of the Main Family. The next, he saw his uncle's tired, melancholy gaze fixed on him. Then he saw Hyuga Shin, another Branch Family genius, with his ever-calm expression. Yes, just like that, that infuriating calm! His parents had died too, and he was a genius of the Branch Family too, so why could Hyuga Shin be so—so... He couldn't put the feeling into words. In any case, it annoyed him!

Hyuga Shin's composure, his intelligence, his manners, his strength—all of it was constantly compared with Keisuke's. Even his usually taciturn uncle had nothing but praise for him! Keisuke truly couldn't understand what was so great about that guy who always spoke softly and slowly, and was so detached that he seemed like a puppet!

At the thought, Hyuga Keisuke's temples throbbed painfully. He had no choice but to turn over again and force himself to sleep.

In a daze, he seemed to be back on the battlefield. The chill of a blade grazing his neck, the sharp pain of flesh splitting open, the sticky warmth of blood soaking his clothes, the cold numbness in his hands from fighting without pause... Who was shouting? Who was calling out? Who was still crying? Gentle tears fell beside his cheek. Someone seemed to be murmuring... saying... saying what...?

"My... child..."

Hyuga Keisuke jolted awake!

He touched his cheek. The tears were cold; he must have shed them in his sleep without realizing it. His breathing was so hurried that it echoed through the silent room. His yukata was soaked with sweat. In a daze, he climbed off the tatami and felt his way to the tea set in the dim moonlight. His hands trembled so badly he could barely hold it. He gulped down two cups of cold water in quick succession.

He roughly wiped the tears from his face with his yukata. The cold water spilled on his sleeve and brushed his slightly flushed cheek, bringing him back to his senses. Once he had calmed down a little, he got up to change into fresh clothes. Suddenly, hurried, jumbled footsteps sounded in the corridor outside.

"Keisuke! Keisuke!"

"What is it?" Hyuga Keisuke asked, forcing down the irritation and gloom in his heart.

"Some members of the Branch Family have rebelled and fled! Please hurry and provide support!"