Prophecy!

"What? Are you telling the truth? Hashirama Senju is actually going to pass the position of Hokage to that despicable and shameless villain, Tobirama Senju!" The First Elder, Uchiha Mine, widened his eyes, his hair bristling with rage. The fury in his heart felt as if it were about to erupt; he found it impossible to imagine that even someone as seemingly honest and loyal as Hashirama Senju could be so treacherous, intentionally deceiving everyone.

Back then, it was clearly agreed that the position of Hokage would be handed to Madara Uchiha of the Uchiha clan, yet now, the seat of Hokage had become the private property of Hashirama Senju.

Now.

The Second Hokage should have belonged to the Uchiha clan, but it had been snatched away by Tobirama Senju of the Senju clan.

Is this the Konoha that the two clans built together?

"The First Hokage is Hashirama Senju, and the Second Hokage is Tobirama Senju. Could it be that when it comes to the Third Hokage, it will still be the Senju clan's world? Does our Uchiha clan not even have the qualifications to be Hokage?" Uchiha Yanagi roared, his face flushed red with uncontrollable anger.

"Damn it, are we just going to be cheated like this? This is bullying us too far!" Uchiha Tsuki gritted his teeth, the Mangekyō Sharingan in his eyes involuntarily manifesting. The three people beside him were not overly surprised.

After all, only the three people present knew that Uchiha Tsuki had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan while he was heavily wounded and dying during the final battle; no information had leaked out, making it a hidden trump card for the clan.

Because they were the only ones who had participated in that final decisive battle.

"Rest assured, they won't be smug for much longer!" Seeing the furious state of the others, Uchiha Raimon couldn't help but speak up.

Amidst the confusion of the three, Uchiha Raimon intentionally signaled for the First Elder to use a barrier to seal their upcoming conversation.

"Circle Barrier Technique! Activate..."

Under the rapid hand seals of the First Elder, a small, circular black barrier enveloped them.

It also sealed off all sound from leaking out.

Inside the barrier.

"Uchiha Tenshu once prophesied this situation to me. According to him, this series of actions by Tobirama Senju—first, in the name of the Land of Fire Daimyo and the village, buying up all large-scale mineral resources owned by the various clans, leaving only a small portion—is meant to strip our clans of the ability to forge our own weapons and armor, preventing us from rebelling. Since our Uchiha clan is the clan that forges the most weapons and armor in the entire Ninja World, we are the ones suffering the greatest losses."

"Secondly, in these years of peace, grain prices have collapsed. Our Uchiha clan's vast farmlands have suffered heavy losses. Under the manipulation of the traitor Uchiha Ming, our clan should have sold off our external farmlands to ensure we had a large amount of capital in the short term. But the cost is that the Uchiha clan can only maintain self-sufficiency for a short time and occasionally has to buy enough grain from the outside. Once a war or emergency occurs, grain, as a strategic resource, will be impossible to buy. Even if it can be bought, it will cost a much higher price. This will inevitably cause the clan to suffer heavy losses!"

"Therefore, once we choose to sell the land, if grain prices rise again in the future, the Uchiha clan will never be able to get back the farmlands we sold. After all, when Konoha was first built, all the ninja clans, the Daimyo, and the Hokage clearly stipulated that while existing properties could be retained, no one could ever encroach upon the land of the Land of Fire and Konoha in the future."

"This leads to one consequence: if our Uchiha clan wants to continue maintaining such a large household, we will have no choice but to rely on the missions issued by Konoha. At that point, our Uchiha clan will have to place our lifeline in the hands of Konoha. If Konoha chooses to sabotage us with missions, or simply gives us no missions at all, our Uchiha clan will basically be crippled, if not destroyed."

Uchiha Raimon's explanation left the other three elders cold, their hearts sinking. They thought to themselves, To think Tobirama Senju could have such calculations. Fortunately, our Uchiha clan has such a brilliant prodigy who can decipher the opponent's schemes.

The three elders were not fools; once Uchiha Raimon laid it out, they instantly understood the gravity of the situation.

"Without grain and weapons, the Uchiha clan is like a wolf that has had its fangs and claws broken, completely becoming a house dog for Konoha, to be controlled at their whim."

The First Elder, Uchiha Mine, felt his heart bleed with rage at the thought of his Uchiha clan living in such an environment, and he swore he would never let such a scenario come to pass.

"Indeed. I suspect the ambush and assassination attempt on the Seventh Elder, Raimon, happened because he accidentally disrupted their plans for us. Once the Seventh Elder died, we would either fail to elect a new elder in time, or the new elder would be unable to withstand the pressure and choose to let go of the external farmlands. No matter what we chose, we would have stepped into Tobirama Senju's trap. That son of a bitch! He is truly too insidious."

Uchiha Tsuki couldn't help but feel fear at Tobirama Senju's venomous schemes. Even though the hatred between the two sides had been resolved and they had chosen to build the village together, the other party was still plotting against his own companions, never having considered them as such.

"Exactly. From this, we can see that the other party never considered us companions in the village. The so-called battlefield has simply shifted from the outside to inside the village; it has merely changed from open conflict to secret struggle. We must remember this in the future, or we won't even know how we died."

Uchiha Yanagi said, rubbing his chin in thought.

This left the group sighing with emotion.

"But this is all the Senju clan's plotting against our Uchiha clan. You said earlier that the Senju clan's good days are over—what is the basis for that?"

Uchiha Yanagi couldn't help but ask in confusion.

"Heh heh!" Uchiha Raimon couldn't help but share the speculation he had received from Uchiha Tenshu today: "That is naturally because Hashirama Senju, that God of Shinobi, is dying!"

"It is precisely because he is dying that he is handing the position of Hokage to Tobirama Senju to serve as the Second Hokage."

"It is clear he does not trust our Uchiha clan."

As soon as these words were spoken, the three were instantly shocked.

"This, how is this possible? Hashirama Senju, Hashirama Senju is the God of Shinobi! Who could possibly kill him?"

Uchiha Mine clearly did not believe it. Having walked through the end of the Warring States period, they had seen Hashirama Senju's true power with their own eyes—that towering wooden giant and Wood Release were simply peerless and overbearing! Ordinary Uchiha clansmen didn't even have the courage to fight! Even for elders like them, if the opponent used high-level Wood Release, they would be no match at all.

"Exactly, Seventh, where did you get this news? This is too absurd; could it be false intelligence?"

Uchiha Tsuki also pressed him.

Clearly, Uchiha Mine and Uchiha Tsuki found it hard to believe.

Conversely, Uchiha Yanagi felt that Uchiha Raimon was not just spouting nonsense, saying, "Perhaps it is truly possible. That guy Hashirama Senju hasn't stepped out in a long time."

"That's right. I suspect that when he fought Madara, he forcibly extracted too much Chakra, leading to a mental imbalance!"

Uchiha Raimon said, pausing before adding, "Come to think of it, when I was ambushed this time, I also forcibly extracted a large amount of Chakra, leading to a physical imbalance. That's what made Tenshu think of this. Otherwise, it's hard to explain why Hashirama Senju isn't even managing the village and has handed everything over to that dog, Tobirama."

"I estimate it's to avoid mental exhaustion and to recuperate his body, ensuring he can hold on for as long as possible!"