The Tsuchigumo Clan's Thoughts

"What did you say? The mission target actually escaped! Is this the result the Tsuchigumo Clan guaranteed me?"

Inside the Hokage's office.

Tobirama Senju, who was busy handling Konoha's affairs, paused his note-taking on the mission report.

Tobirama paused for a moment, his face turning icy. He narrowed his eyes, his crimson pupils emitting a soul-chilling gaze as he looked down at the person before him.

The man wore a conical hat and a long green robe, with the spider crest of the Tsuchigumo Clan embroidered on his back.

It was the First Elder of the Tsuchigumo Clan.

Qingzhu of the Tsuchigumo.

"Lord Tobirama, we have fulfilled the mission you entrusted to us. As for Uchiha Raimon being able to escape our methods, that is a failure of your own intelligence. You must have missed some critical information; this has nothing to do with the Tsuchigumo Clan," Qingzhu said bluntly, completely unfazed by Tobirama's cold glare.

Even though the man before him was a powerful ninja renowned in the late Warring States period, possessing the strength of a peak clan head.

He himself was no weakling, being a clan leader-level existence as well, not to mention the forbidden techniques he possessed.

If the other party truly intended to strike.

Then he was not afraid to sacrifice himself for the sake of the clan.

As a reclusive clan, they would never have emerged into the world if it weren't for that bastard Hashirama Senju establishing a shinobi village, which led to the integration of ninja clans across the country and the collective oppression of those who had not joined.

The Tsuchigumo Clan had no desire to reveal themselves.

After all, for the past several hundred years, relying on their clan's ultimate forbidden technique, they had occupied a small territory all to themselves, living a life of luxury like a Daimyo. They had no need to take on missions, being entirely self-sufficient through the produce of their own land, needing only to study their forbidden techniques and wipe out any entire clan that dared to cross them.

Such was the cycle.

It had long signaled to the outside world that the Tsuchigumo Clan was not to be trifled with, allowing them to live in safety. Over hundreds of years of development, the clan had grown into a massive power of tens of thousands, and while not all were ninjas, they had no need to ally with others, appearing to the outside world as a Daimyo.

They usually had no need to participate in ninja wars.

It was a pity.

The winds in the ninja world had changed in recent years.

A God of Shinobi and an Asura of the Ninja World had emerged.

The head of the Tsuchigumo Clan had once watched their battles from afar and knew they were no match. Although they possessed a powerful ultimate forbidden technique, it required the lives of clan members as a sacrifice to be unleashed, necessitated a long charging time, and was hindered by the constraints of ninja combat—sometimes, they wouldn't even have the time to cast it.

Under these circumstances.

Existing within the Land of Fire and watching a large number of clans gather in Konoha Shinobi Village, the Elder Spider, head of the Tsuchigumo, had to make changes, hoping to establish an alliance with Konoha. As for why they wouldn't join the village?

That was a story for another time.

Compared to remaining independent and living a life of self-governance like a Daimyo, joining Konoha to become a dog for the Daimyo, working oneself to the bone on missions for mere scraps—the people of the Tsuchigumo Clan simply looked down on it.

Even the so-called alliance was merely an attempt to curry favor with the Senju Clan to prevent them from becoming enemies.

As for Konoha.

It meant nothing to the Tsuchigumo Clan.

With the Tsuchigumo's forbidden technique, Dohatsu-ten, their so-called numerical advantage was nothing but a joke.

One only needed to sacrifice a single clan member to unleash a super-destructive energy wave spanning several to dozens of kilometers.

What use was it to have so many people in Konoha?

The only things the Tsuchigumo feared were the God of Shinobi and the Asura of the Ninja World. Of course, now that the Asura was dead, only the God of Shinobi remained. While he was rumored to be very kind, the Tsuchigumo Clan could not gamble on his benevolence.

Therefore, they still needed to maintain good relations with him.

Even though the Tsuchigumo Clan wished for Hashirama Senju to drop dead immediately, for the sake of the clan's prosperity, they had to bury their hatred and initiate an alliance.

But in the current Konoha, Hashirama Senju was nowhere to be seen, leaving only Tobirama Senju to manage the village's affairs.

Because of this, the Tsuchigumo Clan had to communicate with Tobirama, the power-holder of the Senju Clan. However, he cared nothing for the Tsuchigumo's reputation, insisting that they either fully join Konoha as part of the village or be driven out of the Land of Fire. He declared that the Land of Fire would not allow any clan to remain independent of Konoha, and if the Tsuchigumo refused, he threatened to force them to submit to the Senju Clan.

This immediately infuriated Qingzhu, the First Elder of the Tsuchigumo, who was forced to take a hardline stance, hinting that if things truly came to that, it would inevitably lead to war. The Tsuchigumo Clan had never feared war, and he secretly revealed that the clan possessed a massive-scale forbidden technique; if push came to shove, Konoha would be destroyed along with them.

Tobirama was no fool. He had intended to probe them, but he hadn't expected to actually bait something out.

However, if they truly possess a massive-scale forbidden technique, then the disappearance of those clans in history might indeed be their doing. After all, those vanished clans did have significant grievances with the Tsuchigumo! And since they exist as a clan of Daimyo status, they have no major interest in the mission system Konoha relies on...

They are both ninjas and members of the Daimyo class; if we truly become enemies, I fear that!

With this thought in mind.

Tobirama had to consider the reality of the situation to avoid the possibility that they truly possessed such a terrifying forbidden technique and could destroy Konoha.

For a moment, Tobirama was in a dilemma. Facing a threat to the entire village, he dared not gamble on their capabilities.

Even though his older brother's strength was peerless in the world.

The problem was, even if they managed to wipe the other party out.

Their forbidden technique could still wipe out Konoha!

No matter how he calculated it, he would be the one losing.

Moreover, they had originally wanted to establish an alliance with Konoha. If they really did have a powerful forbidden technique, and his actions pushed them into the position of an enemy, wouldn't he be bringing trouble upon himself?

But soon.

Tobirama Senju had conceived a brilliant plan. Over the past two years, he had secretly manipulated the various clans, pressuring them to sell off all their farmland in the Land of Fire. In the shadows, members of his own clan—whom his elder brother had previously disbanded—stepped in to take over these holdings. This allowed the Senju clan to conceal a portion of their strength while ensuring these dispersed members had a secure livelihood. Furthermore, the cheap grain would be bought back by the clan at a high price, serving as a strategic reserve for whenever war might break out.

Moreover, since the founding of Konoha, he had effectively crippled the weapon manufacturing capabilities of every clan, large and small. While they could still manage their daily needs, they could no longer sustain the consumption required for war reserves. Without the ability to threaten Konoha and lacking any grain stores, these clans had essentially been half-assimilated into the village. With a few more subtle maneuvers, he would soon be able to command the majority of the clans in Konoha.

However, there was one fish that had slipped through the net.

That was the Uchiha clan!

Tobirama Senju thought viciously of his ancestral enemy. Somehow, through a stroke of blind luck, their Seventh Elder, Uchiha Raimon, had managed to thwart his schemes by utilizing grain storage warehouses and alcohol. This had left the Uchiha clan with vast estates outside the village, ensuring that their integration into Konoha remained at a complete standstill.

This was an existence that should not be allowed!

As long as that man lived, this relic from the end of the Warring States period would undoubtedly continue to prevent the Uchiha from integrating into the village.

Not to mention, the prospect of domesticating him into a guard dog for Konoha was impossible.

Regrettably, even though he wished for the man to drop dead, Tobirama was unable to take action due to the village's regulations and the interference of his elder brother, Hashirama Senju.

But now, the opportunity had arrived.

If the Tsuchigumo Clan truly possessed such formidable strength, he would simply lure Uchiha Raimon out and leave him for them to eliminate. If they succeeded, they would have successfully provoked a powerful enemy in the Uchiha, forcing them to rely solely on the Senju clan.

If they failed, it would simply prove that the Tsuchigumo were nothing special.

In that case, he could slowly begin to encroach upon them.

Either way, he stood to lose nothing.

As Tobirama Senju imagined the naturally evil Uchiha Raimon on the verge of death, he found he no longer cared about the Tsuchigumo Clan's demand for independence from Konoha.

In any case, as long as they were enemies with the Uchiha clan, they were good friends of his Senju clan.

And so, after a period of mutual probing, both sides reached an agreement.

Tobirama Senju delegated the task of ambushing Uchiha Raimon to the Tsuchigumo Clan, leaving them to carry it out.

If the mission was completed, Konoha would enter into a de facto alliance with the Tsuchigumo Clan and announce it to the Land of Fire.

Furthermore, the Tsuchigumo Clan would retain their original land governance rights and would not be required to join Konoha Shinobi Village.

Since it was a secret mission, as long as the Tsuchigumo Clan did not expose themselves, there would be no issues.

In this way, Konoha would have no grounds to take action against the Tsuchigumo Clan under any circumstances.

Tsuchigumo Seishu hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

Although the Uchiha were a clan as renowned as the Senju, the Asura of the Ninja World was dead, yet the God of Shinobi of the Senju clan was still alive. If he had to choose one to offend, it was better to offend the Uchiha clan.

If he didn't want to offend the Uchiha clan either, then the Senju clan would likely drag the Uchiha along to crush the Tsuchigumo Clan together.

Even though the other side claimed they were blood enemies, Seishu dared not trust them completely.

After all, they were both part of the same village now.

If the Senju clan were to stir up trouble, every clan in Konoha, large or small, would become an enemy of the Tsuchigumo.

The Tsuchigumo had no other choice.

For the sake of their clan's survival, they naturally had to make some compromises.

Of course, to avoid being completely manipulated by Tobirama Senju and ending up in a death match with the Uchiha, the Tsuchigumo Clan also invited Tobirama to send his own subordinates to participate in the mission. This was to ensure that Tobirama wouldn't deliberately leak the plan to the Uchiha halfway through to sabotage them.

This way, if the man truly dared to do such a thing, both sides would have to face the Uchiha clan's retaliation together.