Chapter 31

This "Ha" of disbelief certainly did not come from Senju Hashirama. Hashirama widened his eyes slightly, then turned his head along with Senju Yūri to look at the source of the sound.

Senju Saki's feet couldn't help but shuffle outward; he had already despaired of his boss's talent for detecting attributes.

"I, ah, well—Elder Yūri, I came to deliver the monthly mission budget report..." Struggling to keep himself from imagining the implications of what he had just heard, Senju Saki placed the documents on the table and left the crime scene with a face full of forced solemnity.

Mission budget report?

The two men turned their gazes back to the desktop. A single glance was enough: more red than black. Very good, another deficit! Senju Yūri's dark aura finally manifested into reality.

Hashirama suddenly felt a strong urge to leave the room.

Unexpectedly, Senju Yūri did not explode. He looked at his clan head gloomily and said, "My Lord, even with our vast family fortune, we cannot withstand such reckless spending."

"Is the financial situation that dire?" The Senju family had deep pockets and a capable elder managing the finances, so Senju Hashirama had paid little attention to such matters.

Senju Yūri did not answer directly. He pulled out a document and handed it to Hashirama. "The Senju family's funding comes primarily from three sources: mission rewards, industrial profits, and subsidies drawn from the tax revenue of the Land of Wind's Daimyo."

Flipping through the document, it was a financial statement for the Senju over the last decade. Senju Yūri explained, "Our family industries are mainly distributed across the Land of Wind, the Land of Fire, and the Land of Earth. Ever since Uchiha Madara took power over there, our industrial profits have been hit hard, declining year after year. Things improved slightly due to last year's alliance, but now we are being dragged down by the war..." The Senju were not in the business of military manufacturing, and commercial activities related to food were restricted in every nation. Once war broke out, the industries in the Land of Fire were hit hard, and the Land of Earth was no better off than the Land of Fire due to a blizzard. Coupled with a sharp decline in mission volume, mission revenue had plummeted by half, and the tax subsidies from the Land of Wind were merely the icing on the cake—for the past three months, the Senju had been living off their savings. "The Senju are the top clan in the ninja world; for us, war is a stage to fight for interests and honor. Why should we avoid it?"

Why avoid it?—This was a question shared by the ninjas in the clan. Not every ninja possessed the heart and vision of Senju Hashirama. As long as it was labeled a "mission," they no longer considered the other implications of the matter. To them, there was only success or failure; right and wrong were irrelevant.

"Furthermore, the momentum of victory is already clear. Our participation will only bring the war to an early end. Isn't that exactly what you hope for, My Lord?"

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

Not knowing what Uchiha Madara wanted did not mean he couldn't see the deeper meaning behind Madara's actions. The situation where the five nations kept each other in check was hard-won; once the balance of power was lost, the flames of war would quickly spread across the continent, dragging more innocent people into the chaos.

"We received a letter from the Hyuga," Senju Yūri pulled out another sheet of paper. "They said that if the Senju intend to participate, they will advance and retreat with us. The condition is—after the war, we must assist them in retrieving their defecting branch family members."

"The Hyuga..." Hashirama tapped the table, lost in thought for a moment. "Continue."

"Led by Hyuga Shin and Hyuga Yo respectively, the Hyuga branch members crossed through the Land of Wind and successfully escaped to the northwest. In addition to the supply points they had pre-arranged, they were helped by some minor factions that had been operating in the Land of Wind for years. We investigated afterward, and it is highly likely they were planted there by the Uchiha."

Senju Yūri wasn't particularly angry; this was normal—everyone used their own methods—there were Senju agents in the Land of Lightning as well. What puzzled him was the Uchiha's objective. What benefit was there in helping the Hyuga branch? If the Hyuga main family found out—even if they couldn't do anything for the moment—they would undoubtedly have gained another invisible enemy.

Even as competitors, the Senju had never thought about crippling the Hyuga clan. Their bottom lines were not on the same level, so Senju Yūri naturally couldn't grasp Uchiha Madara's intentions.

"By the way, My Lord, you have already sealed the Seven-Tails and Eight-Tails. Added to the One-Tails and Three-Tails, we have four Tailed Beasts here. As for the Uchiha..." Senju Yūri looked completely bewildered. "Uchiha Madara hasn't made a move yet." This meant that the Senju, with four Tailed Beasts, were currently stronger than the Uchiha. But regarding that boss, neither Senju Yūri nor Hashirama would ever look at a problem only on the surface.

"Also, about the Nine-Tails... how do you intend to resolve that?"

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

Senju Yūri nodded. "We caught a whisper of it by chance. The Land of Fire has kept it very quiet; the Uchiha's intelligence network still hasn't discovered it. My Lord, this time we have the upper hand. What do you plan to do?"

Hashirama pondered for a moment, his gaze shifting to the file on the Nine-Tails in his hand.

Tap, tap, tap! The hurried footsteps startled a circle of birds. With his robes fluttering in the wind, Uchiha Etsu strode past the scenery and went straight to the clan administration hall. He looked around and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Where is Uchiha Zhi? Get out here!"

"Good day, Etsu-kun."

Turning his head, he met the expressionless face of the person who had arrived. Uchiha Etsu's excitement was doused as if by a bucket of cold water: "Uchiha—Masahiko?"

The other party nodded calmly, slowly shifted his gaze away, and drifted off silently while sporting dark circles under his eyes... Uchiha Etsu's mouth twitched. Wasn't this research fanatic supposed to stay in the underground research facility day and night, unable to be coaxed out by anyone except the clan head?

"Why did he come out?" Uchiha Etsu turned back to ask Uchiha Teng, who had arrived at the sound of the commotion.

"Masahiko-sama's research has made a new breakthrough," Uchiha Teng said with reverence. "Thanks to Zhi-sama's Mangekyo Sharingan!"

The Uchiha's research into the Sharingan had never stopped, but those who reached the Mangekyo level were few and far between, usually only one per generation. Fortunately, this generation of the clan had three people who had awakened the Mangekyo in succession. As for research material, Madara... don't even think about it. Izuna... with his brother-complex protector, don't even think about it either. The only one left was Uchiha Zhi.

A casual remark from Madara—"After returning to the clan grounds, go to Masahiko's. He will tell you the precautions regarding the Mangekyo"—had sold out the unsuspecting Uchiha Zhi to Uchiha Masahiko. No one knew exactly what kind of treatment he had endured, but when Uchiha Zhi finally saw the light of day more than two months later, he was haggard and listless... From then on, a label was added before his title of Fourth Elder: [Survived the Seventh Elder's laboratory!]—everyone looked up to him.

Uchiha Etsu's eyebrows jumped: "He's not dead, is he?"

Uchiha Teng was too embarrassed to answer. He really didn't want to get involved in the elders' affairs. Uchiha Etsu huffed twice: "Forget it, I'll let him off this time!" Being thrown into Masahiko's lab—he deserved it! Who told you to only care about training and nothing else! Who told you to ruin my plans! Who told you to play dumb all day long!

"Where is he now?"

"He went to the clan head's place. Etsu-sama, you need to go too."

"...Why didn't you say so earlier!"

The inner circle of the clan grounds was, in a sense, a restricted area. It housed the clan head's main residence, the Council Hall, the sacrificial altar, the clan's secret archives, and the main intelligence station. Let alone outsiders, even most Uchiha clansmen could not enter or leave at will. Uchiha Madara usually summoned the elders in the main residence or the Council Hall, but this time, the location was the secret archives.

It was rare for the elders to gather together, sitting and watching... the Two-Tails Matatabi?

This was the scene Uchiha Etsu saw when he rushed over. Uchiha Masahiko's poker face was glowing, and even the usually steady First Elder Uchiha Cang and Second Elder Uchiha Tai were full of joy. Except for Uchiha Zhi, whose eyes lit up as he signaled him to come over, the others didn't even have the spare attention to look at him.

"Clan Head, what is going on?"

Madara smiled. "Masahiko-kun, you explain."

"Yes, My Lord." Uchiha Masahiko turned his head, the fanaticism in his eyes making Uchiha Etsu instinctively shuffle backward. "The method to awaken the Sharingan has been found!"

Uchiha Etsu's breath hitched; he suddenly suspected he was hallucinating.

"That's right, Etsu-kun," Uchiha Zhi laughed, then added with a hint of regret, "However, it can only awaken up to the Three-Tomoe; there has been no progress on the Mangekyo."

Uchiha Etsu cast an indignant look: Hey! Don't be too greedy! Three-Tomoe is already heaven-defying, isn't it!

Out of the hundreds of people in the Uchiha clan, fewer than fifty could awaken the Three-Tomoe—and that was with this generation having generally better aptitude! Three-Tomoe; how many people were stuck at the Two-Tomoe and couldn't break through? And how many people only awakened a single Tomoe in their entire lives?! The clan's elites had all awakened their Tomoe inexplicably through countless life-and-death battles, and many believed it was a matter of destiny. Now, to actually find a method to awaken them!

"I conducted hundreds of experiments on Zhi-kun and finally found a path," Uchiha Masahiko changed his habit of being sparing with words and began to speak incessantly. "The probability of awakening is highest under negative emotions! Hatred, obsession, killing intent, or other extreme emotions; perhaps the belief in protection could also work, though that hasn't been verified. In short, when the spirit is in a state of emotional eruption and the body's energy is constantly being released to tap into its potential, one can awaken the eyes as expected!"

Uchiha Etsu calmed down. How many people had a firm will? Besides, everyone's obsessions were different; how many people could find the opportunity to identify their own obsession and use it to awaken the Sharingan? Uchiha Masahiko's research results sounded wonderful, but in reality, they were quite impractical.

"Don't be so quick to dismiss it, Etsu-kun," Uchiha Tai laughed. "Don't forget, there is also Matatabi... cough, cough!—Matatabi-sama."

Matatabi flicked its large tail, acting incredibly haughty.

Matatabi? Right, there was that too! Uchiha Etsu remembered. Matatabi had been eating and drinking for free, doing no work, and acting harmless for so long that he had almost forgotten there was such a cheat code. Skilled in genjutsu and digging into the human heart... Clan Head, you didn't plan this from the very beginning, did you!

"To hell with what their obsession is!" Uchiha Masahiko clenched his fists and shouted, "Let Matatabi-sama's genjutsu be applied one by one!"