You Fight in Front, I'll Pick Up Gear Behind

The Uchiha Compound was filled with song and dance; everything was moving in a positive direction.

Senju Hashirama, however, had his hands stained with blood. No one would listen to a hollow, empty dream—a dream that seemed to have no end in sight.

Sarutobi Sasuke and Shimura Takeo had long since cast the idea of surrender to the back of their minds. The towns and villages within the Senju Defense Line were simply too lucrative.

A light plundering was enough to grant them endless wealth; to surrender now would be to invite the resentment of their own clansmen upon themselves.

Moreover, Senju Hashirama's initial attitude toward them hadn't been firm at all, leading the two to believe they could still bargain with him.

If Senju Hashirama were willing to concede even a tiny bit of profit, they wouldn't mind pulling back their troops right now.

Before Senju Hashirama could even reply, the elders behind him, enraged, struck out on the spot.

Truly, they were being given respect but chose to spit on it.

The clan head had spoken to them politely, yet these two had the audacity to push their luck.

The great battle spiraled out of control, no longer something that could be stopped just by saying so; hatred had taken root the moment the first person died.

With no other choice, Senju Hashirama could only beat them until they were quiet enough to listen to him.

When all was said and done, power was what mattered; having ideas alone was useless.

After all, no one would listen to the words of the weak.

But when the strong spoke, even if they were wrong, there would be those who claimed it was the truth.

That was reality.

The dispute between Asura and Indra had actually been won by Indra long ago. It was a pity, however, that Indra stood alone, while Asura had the numbers—it was simply a case of many ants biting an elephant to death.

Ultimately, Indra's power had not yet reached the level where it could decide everything.

Black Zetsu silently observed the changes in Senju Hashirama. When the time came and Senju Tobirama died at a critical moment, Senju Hashirama would truly come to understand the realistic truth that only power could determine everything.

As for the new city, by the time Senju Tobirama arrived, it had already been burned to the ground; all equipment and buildings that could not be carried away had been destroyed.

"Damn the Southwest Alliance. I will wipe you all out."

The shocking scene caused the killing intent in Senju Tobirama's heart to spread through his entire body.

Thud!

Three Southwest Alliance chunin guarding the main gate of the new city were instantly killed by the enraged Senju Tobirama.

"Follow me and kill them all."

Senju Tobirama charged in first. Seeing the ninjas clutching gold and silver treasures, he didn't waste words, killing one with every strike of his blade.

"A bunch of nobodies daring to loot the property of my Senju Clan."

Senju Tobirama vented the resentment he felt toward Uchiha Yang and the Uchiha Clan directly onto these people.

The news that the Senju Clan was being invaded from two sides at once, spread by Uchiha Izuna, quickly reached every corner of the Land of Fire.

For a power like the Southwest Alliance to dare offend the Senju Clan—they truly had the guts of a bear.

Some of the bystander clans didn't dare move, merely waiting silently to see how things would develop.

But some ambitious families had already begun to kick the dog while it was down.

As long as the Senju Clan showed even the slightest sign of decline, these people would swarm in to tear a piece of meat off the giant that was the Senju Clan.

Uchiha Compound.

"Report! The Senju clan head has begun fighting with Sarutobi Sasuke and Shimura Takeo."

"Report! Latest news from the new city: Senju Tobirama is killing everyone he sees. Matsuda Masahiro, Yamada Miyashu, and Shinjo Rana have engaged him."

At the banquet hosted by Uchiha Yang, one clansman after another responsible for intelligence arrived to report the latest situation.

"It seems Senju Hashirama has also realized that empty words cannot convince anyone."

After hearing the intelligence, Uchiha Madara wore a look of mockery.

"Cousin, in this current situation, could there be unexpected developments? If Sarutobi Sasuke and Shimura Takeo cannot hold off Senju Hashirama, what should we do?"

Uchiha Izuna was speechless at his brother's expression, then turned to his cousin and asked with some concern.

Once these words were spoken, the drunkenness of everyone present faded quite a bit.

"Gentlemen, rest assured. Everything is under my control."

Uchiha Yang sat in the main seat with a calm expression, speaking unhurriedly as he faced the gazes of the crowd.

[Brain: You must know that the Land of Fire has the most resources in the entire Shinobi World, and it is home to the largest number of shinobi clans.]

[Brain: Don't forget, aside from the Hyuga clan, who usually don't fight or compete, there is another reckless family: the Kaguya Clan, who possess the Dead Bone Pulse.]

[Brain: This clan suffers from the Bloodline Disease, and the vital medicinal herb that can temporarily suppress it is located within the mountains inside the Senju Clan's defense line.]

[Brain: This grass is known by the Kaguya Clan as Bloodline Grass. The Senju Clan uses it to keep the reckless ones on the border of their defense line obedient, even selling it at exorbitant prices. And now, they have a chance to seize the Bloodline Grass for free.]

[Brain: Tell me, if it were you, would you have any ideas?]

[Sharingan: Not just ideas, I'd have plenty of them. I'd even want to seize the entire mountain range so that in the future, we'd never have to look at anyone else's face regarding the Bloodline Disease.]

[Hand: Even the Sharingan thinks so; it seems this is likely to become reality.]

[Sharingan: What do you mean by that? What do you mean even I think that way?]

[Brain: Those who know, know; explaining it would be pointless.]

As the owner of the Brain, Uchiha Yang could figure these things out with a little thought, but he usually couldn't be bothered to do so.

Whatever the Brain had thought about, Uchiha Yang could know without even having to think himself.

Seeing Uchiha Yang looking so confident, the others set aside their concerns and continued drinking and enjoying themselves.

After all, Uchiha Yang had never let them down before.

"Report! Senju Tobirama has single-handedly repelled Clan Leader Matsuda, Clan Leader Yamada, and Clan Leader New City."

A clansman holding an intelligence report ran in quickly from outside.

"That damn Senju Tobirama, he's gotten stronger again."

Hearing this bad news, Uchiha Izuna couldn't help but slam his fist hard onto the wine table.

"Lord Izuna, I haven't finished yet."

Seeing Lord Izuna so furious, the clansman spoke up quickly.

"Speak." Uchiha Izuna took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

"According to the intelligence sent back by the clansmen we dispatched, Senju Tobirama is doing the killing in the front, while our clansmen are picking up the loot in the back. We've almost run out of storage scrolls."

The clansman said loudly, his face full of joy.

"Hahaha, by the time Senju Tobirama realizes what's happening, New City will still be an empty shell. He will have only reclaimed a hollow city."

Uchiha Izuna was finally happy.

"Send word in the Clan Leader's name: tell them to quit while they're ahead. Do not clash with Senju Tobirama; being too greedy will only affect the big picture."

Uchiha Yang instructed the clansman.

The clansman had no objections, acknowledged the order, and left.

This was because Uchiha Madara had declared in front of the entire clan that Uchiha Yang's orders were his own.

This was a process of Uchiha Madara slowly transferring power, done quietly so that his cousin wouldn't realize it.

Uchiha Yang simply took it as a matter of convenience and didn't think too deeply about the details.