Chapter 19

In the vast, desolate sands, a group of people leaned on one another, slowly moving toward the northwest. The dry wind whipped up sand and heat, stinging their faces with every gust.

Their party had originally numbered fifty-three. Four were lost to skirmishes along the way, one squad was split off to distract the main branch, and with Ryosuke having left to hold off the pursuers, only twenty-some people remained.

The woman at the very back was wounded and stumbling; her foot twisted, and she nearly collapsed. The man beside her hurriedly steadied her. "Lord Shin, Junko can't hold on much longer!"

Hyuga Shin, walking at the front, signaled for the water skin to be passed back. Junko pushed it away, shaking her head weakly. "No need, I can still keep going."

The man half-supported her with one arm and pulled the stopper with the other. "Don't be stubborn! Your lips are so dry they're bleeding!"

Junko insisted on shaking her head. "The others still need it..."

Hyuga Shin spoke calmly, "Don't force yourself; there is enough water. Conserve your strength. We must survive together."

Upon hearing this, Hyuga Junko took a reluctant sip but refused a second. The man sighed helplessly, carefully resealing the water skin and passing it back. "Lord Shin, how much longer until we reach the next supply point?"

"Everyone, bear with it a little longer. We are less than twenty miles from the nearest village." Hyuga Shin's expression also carried a hint of exhaustion. To avoid the main branch's pursuit, they had chosen the most remote paths, resting only in brief snatches. Everyone was both wounded and weary. The wounds on his face had scabbed over, but because they hadn't been properly treated, old injuries were compounded by new ones; that fair, handsome face would be hard to restore to its former state.

The Hyuga branch family had prepared for this departure for a long time. Considering the influence of various factions, they had finally selected a location in the northwest of the Land of Wind as their destination, setting up hidden supply points along the way. But plans could not keep up with changes; because their route was fluid, nearly half the supply points were unusable, making their journey incredibly difficult.

Fortunately, after pushing deep into the Land of Wind, the situation had improved slightly. The main branch had slowed its pursuit, allowing them a moment to catch their breath.

Someone was helping them in the shadows... Hyuga Shin keenly sensed this, but he didn't tell his companions, lest he add to their worries. No one bestowed favors without reason, yet as a "defector" branch family, they had nothing but their lives.

What was there to fear for those who had nothing? Regardless of the other party's motives, only by surviving was there hope for the future.

Ninja village...

Uchiha Madara gazed into Senju Hashirama's dark, bright eyes, trying his best to keep his expression serious. After all, the man had shared his ideals with such sincerity, hadn't he?

Senju Hashirama was truly a man who constantly shattered one's common sense! By Madara's estimation, a man who took world peace as his ideal and sought to defy the chaotic order of the ninja world single-handedly would at least aim to unify half the continent, bring various factions under his banner, and establish new rules. He hadn't expected the man's ideal to be merely transitioning from a clan head to a village head?!

No, perhaps he should reinterpret the term "ninja village." After all, this was the ideal of the man named Senju Hashirama... Madara understood.

"You mean to recruit ninja factions under the name of a single organization, weaken the current closed-off clan system, incorporate scattered rogue ninjas, protect the commoners within your sphere of influence, and place collective interests above those of individual ninjas and clans? You want them to submit to new ninja world rules and a code of conduct to prevent the abuse of power and the resulting mutual slaughter. Ultimately, you hope that because of the balance of power, countries will not dare to easily launch wars, and commoners will have greater recognition of ninjas, right?"

Hashirama carefully pondered this academic-sounding definition, his ink-black eyes shining with brilliance. "Exactly, Madara. Ninjas have conflicts for many reasons, and there are no shortage of those carrying blood feuds. Blind revenge only breeds more hatred. The ninja world needs a new beginning—for everyone's sake, I am willing to open that chapter with my own hands, no matter the cost!"

As expected, was he the only one with such grand ambition? Counting them off—the Hyuga, the Kamizuru, the Nara, and others—some were declining, others were surrendering. With Senju Hashirama making such a declaration, it seemed he had one less rival on the path to hegemony. Madara sighed silently, unsure if he felt happy or melancholy.

This was Senju Hashirama, the man standing at the pinnacle of the ninja world!

Madara's expression became truly solemn. No matter how many flaws there were in the idea, Madara would not mock it; he respected the virtuous more than the powerful. The powerful could survive, but only the virtuous could live meaningfully. There were many strong people in this world, but how many were truly virtuous?

"Madara, what do you think?" Hashirama asked. He deeply admired Uchiha Madara's meticulous thinking and invincible methods, and he hoped to hear his opinion. If he could form an alliance with him, he would surely succeed!

Madara lowered his eyes, lost in thought, his thumb unconsciously rubbing his index finger. After a long while, he said, "I think you have too high an opinion of the upper echelons of these countries." The so-called upper echelons were the group supported by the taxes of the populace; only they could afford to hire large numbers of ninjas.

Having experienced the fragile friendship of the Land of Fire's Daimyo, Senju Hashirama was deeply impressed by the mercenary nature of nobles and the wealthy. He nodded, then shook his head. "The result after taking the first step could never be worse than it is now."

"Then, in which country do you intend to establish this ninja village? How will you handle relations with that country's Daimyo—neutrality, or becoming a state-affiliated armed force? How will you maintain independent will under the state's political power? Will the industries of commoners taken into the village be taxed separately? If so, will it limit the village's scale of development? How will you distribute political power and treatment among large clans, small clans, and grassroots ninjas? How will you constrain organizations established by other countries to follow your rules?"

The aggressive questions did not cause offense; instead, Senju Hashirama smiled. This showed that Madara was taking his ideas seriously. "That is why I need you, Madara."

"..." Facing Senju Hashirama, Madara was speechless for the second time. Could it be that he had started this with nothing but a rough idea?!

"The path is walked one step at a time. No one has experience with this; sitting here thinking won't solve every problem. We need to try."

"The wise man is still thinking, while the brave man has already changed the world?" Madara raised an eyebrow, teasing.

Hashirama laughed in agreement. "I like that!"

"Don't be so happy yet." Madara pursed his lips, his smile cold. "There is a major problem with your idea."

Uchiha Madara saw that Senju Hashirama had no intention of unifying the ninja world; in his mind, he still viewed ninjas as tools. Once a so-called ninja village was built according to his philosophy, other countries would inevitably follow suit for the sake of their own security, turning these villages into their tools of war. Once ninja power was integrated and internally constrained, the impact of wars between countries on commoners would decrease, and with their tax revenue secured, the upper-class nobles would fight even more unscrupulously. At least seventy percent of the resulting casualties would be borne by the ninjas themselves.

Looking at the original history, this was indeed the case: the founding of Konoha brought only temporary peace. On the contrary, large-scale, world-wide wars broke out one after another. For a period, the death toll of ninjas was even higher than before the villages were founded. Furthermore, without conceptual guidance, the commoners' fear of ninjas only deepened due to close contact, even forcing out a large number of anti-social, anti-human elements like those in the "Akatsuki"...

He had come to pull the Senju onto his own ship, not to tie himself to Senju Hashirama's war chariot.

"—Commoners' lives are precious, but are the lives of ninjas worthless?"