Chapter 31

That uncomposed "Ha!" definitely hadn't come from Senju Hashirama. Hashirama's eyes widened slightly, and he turned to look toward the source of the sound along with Senju Yūri.

Senju Saki's feet moved involuntarily a little farther away. He had long since despaired of his boss's uncanny ability to pick up on things.

"I, uh, well—Elder Yūri, I'm here to deliver the monthly mission expense report..." Doing his best not to imagine what he'd just heard, Senju Saki placed the documents on the desk, kept his expression solemn, and left the scene of the crime.

The mission expense report?

The two men turned their eyes back to the desk. A glance showed more red than black. Great, another deficit! The black aura around Senju Yūri finally took physical form!

Hashirama suddenly wanted to leave the room.

Unexpectedly, Senju Yūri didn't blow up. He gazed at his clan head with a gloomy look and said, "My lord, even with our family's wealth, we can't afford to spend like this."

"Is the financial situation really that bad?" The Senju Clan had deep pockets, and a capable elder managed its finances, so Senju Hashirama hadn't paid much attention to that area.

Senju Yūri didn't answer directly. He took out a document and handed it to Hashirama. "Our clan's funds mainly come from three sources: mission fees, business profits, and subsidies drawn from the Land of Wind's tax revenue by its daimyo."

The document contained the Senju Clan's financial statements for the past ten years. Senju Yūri explained, "Our clan businesses are mainly spread across the Land of Wind, the Land of Fire, and the Land of Earth. Ever since Uchiha Madara took power over there, our profits have been hit hard and have declined year after year. Things improved somewhat after last year's alliance, but now the war has dragged them down again..." The Senju Clan wasn't in the military-industrial business, and commercial activities involving food were restricted in every country. When war broke out, its businesses in the Land of Fire took a major hit. The Land of Earth, with its blizzards, wasn't much better off than the Land of Fire was now. On top of that, mission volume had plummeted, cutting mission revenue in half, while the Land of Wind's tax subsidies were only the icing on the cake. For the past three months, the Senju had been living off their savings. "The Senju Clan is one of the top clans in the Ninja World. War is a stage for us to win benefits and honor. Why should we stay out of it?"

Why stay out of it? That was the question on every clan ninja's mind. Not every ninja had Senju Hashirama's broad-mindedness and foresight. As long as something was called a "mission," they stopped considering its wider meaning. To them, there was only success or failure, not right or wrong.

"Besides, victory is already clearly in sight. Our joining the fight would only bring the war to an early end. Isn't that what you want, my lord?"

"No." Hashirama shook his head. "This is only the beginning of the war."

Not knowing what Uchiha Madara wanted didn't mean he couldn't see the deeper intent behind Madara's actions. The balance of power among the five countries had been hard-won. If that balance tipped, the flames of war would quickly spread across the continent, dragging even more innocent people into the conflict.

"The Hyuga sent us a letter." Senju Yūri pulled out another sheet of paper. "They said that if the Senju are willing to get involved, they'll advance and retreat with us. Their condition is that we help them reclaim their runaway branch family after the war."

"The Hyuga..." Hashirama tapped the desk and thought for a moment. "Go on."

The Hyuga Branch Family, led by Hyuga Shin and Hyuga Yo, had crossed the Land of Wind and escaped to the northwest. Besides the supply points they'd set up in advance, some small factions that had been active in the Land of Wind for years had also helped them. The Senju looked into it afterward and found it was likely Uchiha operatives who had been planted there.

Senju Yūri wasn't especially angry. This was normal; each side used whatever means it could. The Senju had people in the Land of Lightning, too. What puzzled him was the Uchiha's motive. What would they gain by helping the Hyuga Branch Family? If the Hyuga Clan found out—even if they didn't do anything right away—they would have gained another hidden enemy.

Even as rivals, the Senju hadn't considered crippling the Hyuga Clan. Their limits were on completely different levels, so Senju Yūri couldn't begin to guess what Uchiha Madara was thinking.

"By the way, my lord, you've already sealed the Seven-Tails and Eight-Tails. Along with the One-Tails and Three-Tails, we have four Tailed Beasts here now. As for the Uchiha..." Senju Yūri looked thoroughly confused. "Uchiha Madara still hasn't made a move." That meant the Senju Clan, with four Tailed Beasts, was currently stronger than the Uchiha. But neither Senju Yūri nor Hashirama would judge that boss by appearances alone.

"And then there's the Nine-Tails... How do you plan to deal with it?"

"You have news of the Nine-Tails?" Hashirama asked.

Senju Yūri nodded. "We happened to catch wind of something. The Land of Fire has kept it tightly under wraps, and even the Uchiha intelligence network hasn't found out yet. My lord, we have the initiative this time. What do you plan to do?"

Hashirama considered the matter for a moment, then looked at the information about the Nine-Tails in his hand.

Rapid footsteps startled a flock of birds. With the wind whipping at his clothes, Uchiha Etsu hurried past one scenic view after another and went straight to the clan's administration hall. He looked around and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Where's Uchiha Zhi? Get out here!"

"Good day, Etsu."

He turned and came face-to-face with a familiar, expressionless face. Uchiha Etsu's excitement was doused as if someone had poured cold water over his head. "Uchiha... Masahiko?"

The other man nodded calmly, slowly shifted his gaze, and drifted away in silence, dark circles under his eyes... Uchiha Etsu's mouth twitched. Wasn't this research fanatic always cooped up in the underground lab, with no one but the clan head able to make him come out?

"How did he get out?" Uchiha Etsu turned and asked Uchiha Teng, who had hurried over at the sound of his voice.

"Lord Masahiko's research has made a new breakthrough." Uchiha Teng spoke with reverence. "All thanks to Lord Zhi's Mangekyō Sharingan!"

The Uchiha had never stopped studying the Sharingan, but very few people had ever reached the Mangekyō level—usually only one per generation. Fortunately, three people in this generation had awakened the Mangekyō. Madara was out of the question as a research subject... Izuna was protected by his doting older brother, so he was out, too. That left only Uchiha Zhi.

Madara had casually said, "Once you're back at the clan grounds, go see Masahiko. He'll tell you what you need to know about the Mangekyō," and sold the completely unsuspecting Uchiha Zhi out to Uchiha Masahiko. No one knew exactly what he'd been put through, but when Uchiha Zhi finally reappeared more than two months later, he looked haggard and listless... From then on, the Fourth Elder's title came with the label [Survived the Seventh Elder's Lab!]—earning him everyone's admiration.

Uchiha Etsu's eyebrow twitched. "He's still alive, right?"

Uchiha Teng was so awkward he didn't know how to answer. He really didn't want to get caught up in the elders' business. Uchiha Etsu gave a couple of huffs. "Forget it. I'll let him off this time!" Getting tossed into Masahiko's lab served him right! That was what happened when all you cared about was training and you paid attention to nothing else! That was what happened when you ruined my plans! That was what happened when you spent all day pretending to be clueless!

"Where is he now?"

"He went to see the clan head. Lord Etsu, you're supposed to go, too."

"...You could've told me sooner!"

The inner part of the clan grounds was, in a sense, a restricted area. It contained the Clan Head Residence, the Council Chamber, the sacrificial platform, the clan treasury, and the central intelligence station. Outsiders couldn't enter freely, and most Uchiha couldn't either. Uchiha Madara usually summoned the elders to the Clan Head Residence or the Council Chamber, but this time the meeting was in the clan treasury.

The elders had gathered together for once, sitting and watching... the Two-Tails Matatabi?

This was the scene Uchiha Etsu found when he arrived. Uchiha Masahiko's impassive face was practically glowing, and even the usually composed First Elder, Uchiha Cang, and Second Elder, Uchiha Tai, looked delighted. Apart from Uchiha Zhi, who brightened when he saw Etsu and called him over, no one else even had time to spare him a glance.

"Clan head, what's going on?"

Madara smiled. "Masahiko, you tell him."

"Yes, my lord." Uchiha Masahiko turned his head. The fervor in his eyes made Uchiha Etsu instinctively shuffle backward. "We've found a way to awaken the Sharingan!"

Uchiha Etsu's breath caught. He suddenly wondered if he'd misheard.

"That's right, Etsu," Uchiha Zhi said with a smile, then added regretfully, "But we can only awaken it up to the Three-Tomoe stage at most. We haven't made any progress on the Mangekyō."

Uchiha Etsu glared at him indignantly: Hey! Don't be so greedy! The Three-Tomoe stage is already incredible!

There were several hundred people in the Uchiha Clan, but fewer than fifty could reach the Three-Tomoe stage—even though this generation was generally more talented than most! How many people were stuck at Two-Tomoe, unable to advance? How many had only ever awakened One-Tomoe in their entire lives? The clan's elite had awakened their Tomoe seemingly by chance, after countless battles and trials. Many believed it required a stroke of fate. And now they'd actually found a way to awaken it!

"I conducted hundreds of experiments on Zhi and finally found a clue." Uchiha Masahiko, usually a man of few words, had launched into a lengthy explanation. "Negative emotions make awakening most likely! Hatred, obsession, murderous intent, or other extreme emotions. Perhaps the determination to protect someone could work, too, but that hasn't been confirmed. In short, when the mind is in a state of emotional outburst and the body's energy is constantly released, unlocking its potential, the Sharingan should awaken as expected!"

Uchiha Etsu calmed down. How many people had such strong willpower? Besides, everyone was devoted to different things. How many could find what they were devoted to and use it to awaken the Sharingan? Uchiha Masahiko's research sounded wonderful, but in practice it was pretty useless.

"Don't be so quick to dismiss it, Etsu," Uchiha Tai said with a chuckle. "Don't forget, we still have Matatabi... Ahem! Lord Matatabi."

Matatabi flicked its big tail, looking unbearably haughty.

Matatabi? Right, there was still Matatabi! Uchiha Etsu remembered. With Matatabi lazing around, eating and drinking for free while doing nothing and acting harmless, he'd nearly forgotten they had such a convenient cheat. It was skilled in genjutsu and probing people's hearts... My lord, had you been planning this from the start?

"Who cares what they're obsessed with!" Uchiha Masahiko clenched his fists and shouted. "Let Lord Matatabi use genjutsu on them, one after another!"