Make Tobirama Senju Kneel Before the Tsuchigumo Clan Crest

Tobirama Senju did not refuse, provided that none of the Senju clansmen known to the Uchiha were dispatched.

In any case, ever since the founding of Konoha, the reputation of Hashirama Senju as the God of Shinobi had spread far and wide. He had already recruited many outside ninja, and they were perfect for sending out to monitor and temper through these missions.

Thereafter, to ensure the plan was foolproof, the Tsuchigumo Clan began requesting information on the Uchiha, especially intelligence regarding Uchiha Raimon. Once they confirmed he possessed no summoning beasts, they began waiting for Tobirama Senju's layout to unfold.

They say the Senju family is the Clan of Love, but it seems that is nothing more than a rumor. They claim on the surface to have resolved the hatred left over from the Warring States period and that joining the village is a sign of unity, yet it is nothing but backstabbing and infighting. It is fortunate that our Tsuchigumo Clan did not join the village and only maintains an alliance; otherwise, if we encountered such teammates, we would be cheated until we vomited blood. Now, it is better this way—not being part of this village means we don't have to participate in their distribution of interests, let alone go out on missions!

In this situation, we won't compete for their interests, and we can serve as their external support. Plus, since we are helping them eliminate an Uchiha rival, Tobirama Senju should have no reason to betray our Tsuchigumo Clan!

Qingzhu could not help but think.

Soon, a few days later, Tobirama Senju notified them that the operation was to begin.

On this side, having obtained all the basic intelligence on the Uchiha Clan and the specific ninjutsu information regarding Uchiha Raimon from Tobirama Senju, the Tsuchigumo Clan began their operation. First, they hired wandering ninja to set up the first wave of an ambush along the target's inevitable route, and then, along the second route of the target's retreat, the trusted subordinates dispatched by Tobirama Senju would strike.

Finally, the Tsuchigumo family would handle the cleanup.

Tobirama Senju had agreed to the plan; he also wanted to see if the Tsuchigumo Clan had the strength to take down Uchiha Raimon.

If they could, it would prove they had the strength to serve as allies to Konoha. After all, Uchiha Raimon, when combined with the various secret techniques of the Uchiha Clan, was considered a clan-head-level existence.

If the Tsuchigumo could take him down, they naturally possessed power at that same level. With his elder brother not taking action, having an ally of this caliber would be beneficial to the village. Not to mention, if they killed Uchiha Raimon, they would become the mortal enemies of the Uchiha Clan.

And he, having grasped this secret, could use this information to hold them in check at any time.

It was truly killing three birds with one stone.

Tobirama Senju had thought this quite gleefully at the time.

He had not expected the facts to take such a turn.

The mission had actually failed!

Is this the "guaranteed success" your Tsuchigumo Clan spoke of?

I paid such a high price, nearly exposing the pawns I had placed within the Uchiha Clan, and even the intelligence spies I had embedded were compromised, and this is the result you Tsuchigumo leave me with?

This is the great reputation your Tsuchigumo Clan has passed down for hundreds of years? With this level of strength, you still want to form an alliance with our Konoha? I think you must have lost your minds!

For this reason, Tobirama Senju looked at the Tsuchigumo Elder before him, feeling in his heart that there was no need to form an alliance with them.

Moreover, rather than letting them become allies of Konoha, it would be better for them to become "allies" of the Senju clan, working honestly for the Senju, free and independent, outside of Konoha.

It would also conveniently allow them to bypass Konoha's rules and regulations.

Behind his expressionless face, Tobirama Senju had already begun weaving various schemes. Of course, he still spoke aloud, "Regardless of the circumstances, your mission has failed, and you must restart it. In the world of ninja, there is no need for ninja who fail their missions to survive!"

"However, I can give you one chance."

"Eliminate Uchiha Raimon. As long as Uchiha Raimon is dead, the previous conditions remain! Or, eliminate an Uchiha elder of the same level. If you cannot do it, I am afraid I cannot guarantee the confidentiality of your mission this time!" Tobirama Senju said expressionlessly, his body leaning back slightly as if he were completely unconcerned by the Tsuchigumo Clan's threats.

In his view, although the Tsuchigumo Clan talked a big game, they did not actually possess the strength to truly threaten Konoha. After all, their previous performance had been far too disappointing.

Qingzhu felt his anger flare up upon hearing Tobirama Senju's words. He clenched his fists tightly, his body trembling slightly with rage.

"Tobirama Senju, you go too far!" Qingzhu shouted, his voice echoing in the air, carrying irrepressible fury.

"Perhaps I can let my elder brother come to speak with you!"

Tobirama Senju remained calm, seemingly not taking the Tsuchigumo Clan to heart at all. His gaze no longer rested on Qingzhu, and he began to handle the Konoha affairs on his desk.

"Hmph, we shall see!"

Having been humiliated to this extent, Qingzhu turned and left directly.

When he reached the door, Qingzhu suddenly stopped. With his back to Tobirama Senju, he spoke, "Perhaps you should send someone to look at the battlefield where our Tsuchigumo Clan struck; then you will know if it was your own intelligence that was the problem! However, it seems now that our Tsuchigumo Clan does not necessarily have to form an alliance with Konoha. Your Konoha Shinobi Village clearly stated that you could put aside the hatred of the Warring States period, yet you still strike at ninja you call fellow villagers. How could we dare to be your allies?"

Walking down to the Hokage Office Building, the attendant beside him, Shiromoku Tsuchigumo, who had also heard Tobirama Senju's insults outside the door, asked with an unconvinced and vicious look, "Elder, are we just going to let it go like this? This damn guy, to dare to insult our Tsuchigumo Clan like this!"

"Heh. Don't take it to heart; sooner or later, he will regret it! It is a pity that we underestimated the Uchiha Clan."

Qingzhu first shook his head and said, then could not help but sigh. Even though they had made full preparations and completely avoided direct combat with the Uchiha ninja, they had still underestimated the Uchiha Clan's strength. How exactly had the target dodged it?

Because of the Tsuchigumo Clan's forbidden technique, Dohatsu-ten, which constantly accumulated natural energy, every direct descendant of the Tsuchigumo Clan had it implanted in their body from birth.

Therefore, the accumulation of natural energy varied depending on an individual's physical constitution and talent. Some people could only store one unit of natural energy a day, while others could store a hundred. With such accumulation of natural energy, the damage caused by activating the Dohatsu-ten technique also varied, but the minimum was a destruction radius of several kilometers. Even the members of the Tsuchigumo Clan had no way to predict the accumulation and storage of natural energy.

Naturally, whenever a clansman prepared to activate the Dohatsu-ten technique, the other clansmen would hide as far away as possible.

Otherwise, if they were caught in the blast, it would be a purely wasted sacrifice.

Do not think that this attack range is too terrifying. After all, with the technique implanted from birth, over a decade of natural energy affinity modification, and the accumulation of natural energy that one cannot use oneself, combined with resonating with the natural energy between heaven and earth to explode all that energy at once—having such an attack range can only be described as perfectly normal.

Unfortunately, this method of combat was not suitable for all members of the family to use against an enemy together, as it amounted to an ineffective waste.

Therefore, the Tsuchigumo Clan's combat method was either to value harmony and not fight the enemy—avoiding battle whenever possible, preferring to carve out a piece of territory and play at being a Daimyo rather than taking on missions between ninja.

If they truly could not avoid it, they would make preparations in advance and have one clansman go to the opponent's family to carry out a suicide attack. Once the Dohatsu-ten attack method was activated, the opponent's family was basically finished. Without prior preparation, even a powerhouse at the clan-head level could not dodge this instantaneous attack. Such an attack could appear at any time—while eating, while sleeping—completely bypassing the defense mechanisms of ninja without any warning.

Furthermore, every time the Tsuchigumo Clan finished a battle, they would destroy the site of the conflict and use Earth Style to cover their tracks.

Therefore.

Until now.

This forbidden technique had still not been exposed to the Ninja World.

It was not that the Tsuchigumo Clan did not want to earn a reputation for themselves to deter enemies from the outside.

In truth, while the Dohatsu-ten forbidden technique of natural energy possessed immense power, not everyone was suited for the accumulation of natural energy; once the technique failed, death was inevitable.

Every year, countless members of the clan died because of it.

The Tsuchigumo Clan relied on constant reproduction, using a massive population to continuously screen for suitable candidates.

Even so, there were only a few dozen ninjas who possessed this technique, and each one was a foundational asset of the clan that absolutely could not be squandered lightly. This time, there was simply no other choice; they had to deter this newborn ninja village, Konoha.

Only then did they select a young clan member with mediocre talent to make the contribution.

In the final process, the Tsuchigumo Clan also rarely refrained from cleaning up the traces left by the attack.

After all, to contend with a ninja village force composed of dozens or hundreds of ninja clans, they had to display strength sufficiently powerful and fierce to let them know that the Tsuchigumo Clan was not to be trifled with. Only in this way could they resist the endless greedy desires of these people.

"In this way, even a figure like Tobirama Senju will likely have to look at our Tsuchigumo Clan in a new light! This is an attack range with a full seven-kilometer diameter! Konoha is going to have a hard time now!" Qingzhu pondered to himself, a smug smile appearing on his face.

He turned his head to look at Shiromoku Tsuchigumo beside him and continued, "Alright, let's return to the Tsuchigumo Clan's territory first. I estimate that it won't be long before that guy Tobirama Senju will surely be unable to restrain himself and take the initiative to come and win us over. By that time, our Tsuchigumo Clan will hold the absolute initiative!"

Hearing this, an excited expression also appeared on Shiromoku Tsuchigumo's face. He nodded vigorously and replied, "That's right! When that time comes, we must make that guy Tobirama Senju kneel before our Tsuchigumo Clan's family crest and beg us for mercy!"

Having said that.

The two left Konoha.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Tobirama Senju was still arrogantly waiting for the Tsuchigumo Clan to submit, seemingly feeling that the other side was nothing more than that!

Unfortunately, even for a calm and wise man like Tobirama Senju, with the God of Shinobi holding down the fort, he still underestimated the various foundations nurtured by this Ninja World.

Soon, he would come to regret this act of carelessness.