A Community of Interest, Make Many Friends.

After sending Kazuma away, Senju Nawaki felt a bit dazed, the intelligence regarding Kazuma surfacing in his mind.

This man, currently the most loyal guard of the Daimyo, would meet a miserable end.

He would become a traitor to the Land of Fire for attempting to assassinate the Daimyo.

During the night of the Nine-Tails' attack, he would collect Tailed Beast chakra and raise his own son to be a pseudo-Nine-Tails jinchuriki, all to destroy Konoha, only to be stopped by the Child of Prophecy, Uzumaki Naruto.

Behind all of this, Sarutobi Hiruzen must have played a crucial role.

Recalling the shattered necklace from earlier and the appearance of Senju Hashirama's chakra phantom, he felt a sense of caution.

If not for Senju Tojian's quick reaction and immense strength, Senju Hashirama's personality would have surely led him to reintegrate the Senju Clan into Konoha to bridge the divide, a move that would have ultimately resulted in the extinction of the Senju Clan.

There were still many secrets hidden behind the scenes of this world, and he needed to be careful.

Senju Nawaki warned himself inwardly; he had been too arrogant before, and there were too many unstable factors in this world.

Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama, two dead Hokage, were still protecting Konoha through their lingering influence.

Even if Sarutobi Hiruzen was only nominally the strongest Hokage, he certainly had his own methods and was currently his greatest enemy.

Namikaze Minato had just graduated, and the future Uzumaki Naruto was like an anchor, seemingly destined to ensure Konoha's glory.

For a moment, Senju Nawaki's thoughts scattered; knowing too much was not necessarily a good thing.

He exhaled a breath of stale air, cleared his mind of distractions, and his eyes regained their clarity.

As long as his power was sufficient and he had enough allies, he would surely be able to reclaim what belonged to him, and Konoha would receive the punishment it deserved.

Sarutobi Hiruzen would inevitably pay the price.

Having grasped the future trajectory of the world, he already held the advantage, and with the Bloodline Completion System he brought with him, he only needed to plan carefully to seize control of Konoha.

The most important thing now was to complete his own body and increase his strength; he locked his target onto the Uzumaki Clan.

Next was the representative from Kumogakure.

A ninja with an extremely burly build, dark skin, and blue patterns tattooed on his arms.

Senju Nawaki stroked his forehead, feeling as though he had seen this person somewhere before.

"Fourth Raikage—A?"

This is sixteen years old? This height? This physique?

This envoy was none other than the future Fourth Raikage.

An unnatural expression appeared on Senju Nawaki's face.

"Do you know me?" A's eyes also revealed a hint of suspicion.

He rarely appeared in the outside world, having been constantly training in the A-B combination; he was A, and the Eight-Tails jinchuriki, Killer Bee, was B.

It was only because his training had hit a bottleneck that he had come out to find a way to break through.

He had to make Killer Bee a perfect jinchuriki.

This required the sealing techniques of the Uzumaki Clan to break the seal on Turtle Island; only then could Killer Bee proceed to the next stage of training, otherwise, it would be a life-or-death gamble.

Senju Nawaki's words from yesterday had given him hope.

"The son of the Third Raikage, the future Fourth Raikage—I've heard of you," Senju Nawaki said, finding an excuse to brush him off.

"Is that so?" A stared into Senju Nawaki's eyes, harboring many doubts. He keenly sensed that things were not as Senju Nawaki claimed.

"Of course. I envy your Kumogakure; the position of Raikage is passed down through the lineage. The son of a Raikage remains a Raikage."

Senju Nawaki nodded earnestly.

It was unclear whether this statement was meant as sarcasm or genuine envy.

Senju Tobirama had allowed Sarutobi Hiruzen to inherit the position of Hokage, which had nearly led to the extinction of their Senju Clan.

Senju Nawaki smiled bitterly to himself; the reason he was dissatisfied with certain things was simply because he was not the one reaping the benefits.

"I don't like you. Your words aren't direct enough. I won't beat around the bush with you either. You said yesterday that we would get what we want. I need the complete sealing techniques of the Uzumaki Clan—do you have them? You name the terms!"

A frowned, directly expressing his distaste.

He was a brute by nature, lacking much guile, and he sensed a certain calculation in Senju Nawaki.

The thing Senju Nawaki remembered most about him was when his arm was burned by Amaterasu; the idiot had actually cut his own arm off, calling it some sort of "great will."

It was also the only battle record that truly showcased the power of Amaterasu.

"The sealing techniques of the Uzumaki Clan? I have them right here," Senju Nawaki smiled. At least when dealing with someone like this, he didn't have to worry about being tricked—only about tricking him.

He had just been thinking about sleeping, and someone had already brought him a pillow.

Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina were also thorns in his side.

Namikaze Minato was considered a collateral branch of the Senju, yet he had become a direct line for the Hokage, influencing the choices of some Senju clansmen.

Uzumaki Kushina was a total romantic, holding the important channels between the Uzumaki and Senju clans, and she was gradually integrating into Konoha.

He intended to use the destruction of the Uzumaki Clan to weaken Konoha's power.

"And the conditions?" A asked, somewhat surprised.

To have what he wanted handed to him so readily felt absurd.

"I have a few questions I'm curious about. Was the destruction of the Uzumaki Clan related to Kumogakure? Did Konoha participate in it?"

Senju Nawaki confirmed once more; this was crucial to reclaiming the Uzumaki Clan and undermining Konoha.

"You're trying to bait me, but I can tell you directly: Kumogakure participated in the attack on the Uzumaki Clan, but we only obtained a portion of the spoils. Konoha was the true mastermind behind it all, and you should have known the answer long ago."

A spoke with an indifferent expression.

The people of Kumogakure, especially the Raikage, dared to act and dared to own their actions.

In the matter of attacking the Uzumaki Clan, they had done nothing wrong; each village simply fought for its own interests. It was Konoha's conduct that was shameful.

Kumogakure and Kirigakure had attacked the Uzumaki Clan, yet a large portion of the final spoils had been intercepted by Konoha.

They were clearly the ones who had betrayed their allies, yet they sacrificed the Senju Clan while plundering the resources of the Uzumaki Clan.

"So it is as I thought." Senju Nawaki felt a bitter taste in his heart.

It appeared now that this "open secret" had been kept hidden only from the Senju Clan.

Most of the ninja clans in Konoha were well aware of the truth behind this matter.

They had long since prepared to carve up the Senju Clan.

Recalling a kidnapping incident that occurred in Konoha this year, where Kumogakure ninjas abducted Uzumaki Kushina only to be thwarted by Namikaze Minato, he realized something.

It might not have been for the Nine-Tails inside Uzumaki Kushina, but rather for the Uzumaki Clan's sealing techniques that she possessed.