Senju Tobirama hadn't expected the Nine-Tails to be so terrifying. He had underestimated the horrifying power of its Tailed Beast Bomb, while overestimating Uzumaki Changfeng's abilities.
Changfeng had confidently assured him earlier that the Nine-Tails was no problem, and he had believed him.
And what happened?
Uzumaki Changfeng had nearly been blown to pieces by the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb. Tobirama had been the one to save him.
Uchiha Yang was incredibly lucky to have earned the Nine-Tails' recognition. Damn him.
Senju Tobirama thought with envy.
Fortunately, at the critical moment, he had used the Flying Thunder God Technique to forcefully take Uzumaki Changfeng out of the Tailed Beast Bomb's blast radius. Otherwise, they might not have made it out alive.
The Flying Thunder God Technique had always been his trump card. He had never used it in front of an enemy, intending to save it for Uchiha Madara or Uchiha Izuna.
He could only hope the other man really didn't know about his abilities and thought he was dead.
His Flying Thunder God Technique couldn't normally transport other people. Forcing someone else along this time meant he wouldn't be able to use it again for a short while.
Otherwise, given his habit of keeping a way out, the Flying Thunder God marks he had left along the way would have been enough to take him far from this dangerous area.
Senju Tobirama breathed heavily as he looked at the unconscious Uzumaki Changfeng. All the elite jonin he had brought with him were gone. His clan had already lost several elite jonin in such a short time.
Even the Senju Clan couldn't bear losses like this. The elders would surely make him pay when he got back.
"Senju Tobirama, I know you're not dead. You're just hiding."
Uchiha Yang's voice suddenly rang out. Senju Tobirama hurriedly crouched down to avoid revealing his position.
Damn it, how does this guy know I'm not dead? Is he trying to draw me out?
Senju Tobirama cursed inwardly.
He couldn't tell whether the other man genuinely knew he was alive or was just trying to trick him into showing himself.
"Go back and tell Senju Hashirama that as long as I'm here, the Uchiha Clan will never join forces with the Senju Clan."
"And the reason for all this is his own younger brother, Senju Tobirama. You provoked me, and you made me miserable. I'll make sure neither of you brothers has a good time."
Senju Tobirama remained extremely calm. He was against his older brother joining forces with the Uchiha, too. Hmph. This was for the best.
Standing atop the Nine-Tails' head, Uchiha Yang surveyed the surroundings.
He knew Senju Tobirama was hiding somewhere nearby. To kill him, he would first have to deal with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
For now, he had no way to counter this Space-Time Ninjutsu, but he knew the other man must be in a bad way, too.
What he had just said was true. As long as he was alive, Senju Hashirama would never realize his dream of establishing Konoha.
Most transmigrators wanted to wait until Konoha was established, then wait for the story to begin and live in the village, spending their days under someone else's thumb.
But Uchiha Yang wasn't interested. Was establishing Konoha really such a good thing?
Living in a village controlled by others, working for them—how pathetic was that?
Hashirama's so-called peace was nothing more than expanding the battles between ninja clans into battles between villages.
Things would only grow more brutal. More people would die, and children would be sent to the battlefield more often.
The so-called peace hadn't arrived after Konoha was established. Even the darkness within Konoha itself was astonishing.
Uchiha Yang didn't want to live in a world like that. The constant scheming was exhausting, and he would have to worry every day about someone plotting against him.
It would be better to establish an order that suited his needs and kept him away from trouble.
Of course, that order would have to be in the hands of his own people, not someone else's.
As far as Uchiha Yang was concerned, Senju Tobirama's life didn't matter much, but he wasn't going to let this go so easily.
Next time, he would appear before Senju Tobirama openly and make him get down on his knees and apologize.
For someone as proud as Senju Tobirama, that would be far more painful than killing him.
Of course, once his body figured out how to counter the Flying Thunder God Technique, Senju Tobirama's life would be forfeit.
"Senju Tobirama, you useless fool! Couldn't you have waited until Uchiha Yang let his guard down before attacking?"
Black Zetsu watched everything from the shadows. He hadn't expected Senju Tobirama to be so useless, defeated by Uchiha Yang just like that. It was an outcome Black Zetsu had never imagined.
With Senju Tobirama and Uzumaki Changfeng's strength, the two of them could have attacked Uchiha Yang from the shadows.
Black Zetsu had even less expected Senju Tobirama to think Uchiha Yang was a nobody. Wasn't it obvious that no nobody could subdue the Nine-Tails?
If he'd known Senju Tobirama was this stupid, Black Zetsu thought he should have exposed the fact that Uchiha Yang possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan.
It was his own fault for worrying that he would make Senju Tobirama suspicious if he told him too much. That had only made the man distrust him instead.
"Useless!"
Black Zetsu cursed furiously from the shadows, wishing he could reveal Senju Tobirama's location to Uchiha Yang.
Then Senju Hashirama would lose his only younger brother. He might go mad and wage a decisive battle against the Uchiha Clan.
A sudden idea struck Black Zetsu. Perhaps he could switch his pawn from Uchiha Madara to Senju Hashirama.
If Uchiha Yang was so difficult to deal with, then a corrupted Senju Hashirama would surely be even stronger.
Using Senju Hashirama to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi—the man's body seemed better suited for reviving Mother.
As for the Rinnegan, it wasn't actually essential to the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan.
Once Senju Hashirama learned Senjutsu, he would have enough strength to gather all Nine Tailed Beasts.
And as for the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path on the moon—the Ten-Tails' husk—Black Zetsu still had a way to get there.
Releasing the Infinite Tsukuyomi on the moon to revive Mother seemed even safer.
At that moment, Black Zetsu was like a master who had suddenly unlocked his full potential. A new plan to revive Mother, with Senju Hashirama as its central figure, took shape in his mind.
As for the plan to use Uchiha Madara as a pawn, Uchiha Yang was proving too difficult to deal with, so Black Zetsu could only shelve it for now as a backup.
A glimmer passed through Black Zetsu's cold eyes—the light of someone who had found a direction and a goal.
"Kekekeke!"
Black Zetsu cast a deeply wary glance at Uchiha Yang, then let out a sinister chuckle and sank into the ground.
Uchiha Yang had no idea that his strength had frightened Black Zetsu so badly that he had switched his pawn from Uchiha Madara to Senju Hashirama.
With no intention of staying any longer, Uchiha Yang climbed back into the carriage and left with the Nine-Tails, Uchiha Sake, and the others.
After a long while, Senju Tobirama climbed out of the crater, battered and exhausted.
He had lost so much blood that his consciousness was beginning to fade. He had forced himself to hold on until Uchiha Yang left.
At last, Senju Tobirama used the Summoning Technique to notify his clan. The next moment, unable to hold on any longer, he passed out.
Uchiha Yang also made it back to his clan safely. Being home really was different from being out on the road. It was much more relaxing.
Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Izuna also came to Uchiha Yang's courtyard to spend some time together.
"Damn Senju Tobirama! Big brother, the Senju bastards lost so many elite jonin this time. I think we should start a war they can't withstand."
The moment Uchiha Izuna heard that Senju Tobirama had ambushed his cousin, his face filled with fury.
"Big brother, do you see now? If not for the Nine-Tails, Senju Tobirama would probably have succeeded. And you're still clinging to the ridiculous dream of joining forces with Senju Hashirama."
Uchiha Izuna immediately turned his anger toward his older brother, Uchiha Madara.
"The moment Senju Tobirama attacked Yang, Hashirama and I became enemies."
Uchiha Madara spoke with composure.
Senju Tobirama had attacked Yang. Whether or not Hashirama had ordered it, Uchiha Madara would never forgive him.
If Hashirama couldn't even control his own clan, there was no reason to believe he could achieve his dream.
Senju Hashirama had no idea that his younger brother had completely shattered any hope of an alliance between him and Uchiha Madara.
"I'm fine, aren't I? Don't argue."
Uchiha Yang could feel how much they cared about him, and laughed.
The strength he had gained through training had given him a powerful sense of security, as well as the confidence to live freely.
"By the way, I forgot to tell you something. Senju Tobirama has a Space-Time Ninjutsu. He uses space-time marks to attack and escape."
Uchiha Yang was also worried Izuna might be caught off guard because he didn't know enough about Senju Tobirama.
Without Uchiha Yang's interference, Izuna would eventually fall to Senju Tobirama's Flying Thunder God Technique.
"Space-Time Ninjutsu?"
Uchiha Izuna and Uchiha Madara were both surprised. It was the first time they had heard of Space-Time Ninjutsu.
"Speaking logically, someone with Senju Tobirama's talent shouldn't be able to create a Space-Time Ninjutsu."
Uchiha Madara was puzzled.
His younger brother, Izuna, was evenly matched with Senju Tobirama. Even Madara himself had never come across any knowledge about space-time, so he was certain of it.
And Yang's information couldn't be wrong. It seemed Senju Tobirama had gotten quite a few things from the Uzumaki Clan.
Uchiha Madara immediately thought of the Uzumaki Clan. This strange Ninjutsu must have been adapted from the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu.
"Calm down, Izuna."
Uchiha Madara saw that his younger brother was still angry and motioned for him to sit down.
Uchiha Yang took a sip of his cold drink and spoke slowly. "The Senju Clan has come after me again and again. I don't want to let this go."
"Even a clay figurine has a temper. I just want to live in peace, yet they keep provoking me."
"Yang, don't worry. I'll take care of this myself."
Uchiha Madara promised him with a serious expression. "I'll make the Senju Clan pay for every bit of injustice you've suffered."
Uchiha Yang shook his head, smiling without a word.
Seeing this, Uchiha Izuna clenched his fists, wishing he could appear in front of Senju Tobirama that very moment.
"You suffered this time. If you still feel it isn't enough, tell me. My big brother and I will help you get even."
Uchiha Yang knew they were determined to get justice for him, but the clan was still recuperating and focusing on family planning. It couldn't afford to make any rash moves.
"The clan can't afford to make a move right now. I've already come up with a plan."
With a prompt from his brain, Uchiha Yang already had a plan in mind.
"What plan? Let's hear it."
Uchiha Madara put down his bowl and chopsticks and looked at his resourceful cousin. He wanted to know how they could retaliate against the Senju without deploying the clan's forces.
"Set the wolves on the tigers and let the Senju Clan deal with its own troubles."
As Uchiha Yang spoke with an easy smile, the two of them seemed to see a mountain of Senju shinobi corpses before them.
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