The Yotsuki Clan had piqued Mingye's curiosity because its members weren't actually related by blood. Anyone who was accepted could be absorbed into the clan. Its structure wasn't based on bloodline inheritance; instead, it selected the most talented Lightning Release ninjas, passed down the Lightning Release, and accepted those who became members. Ninjas without a lightning affinity couldn't join the Yotsuki Clan, and neither could their descendants. However, the relatives of those who weren't accepted still received the clan's protection. Over time, nearly half the ninjas in the Land of Lightning had ties to the clan. It was no wonder the Cloud Ninja had been so bold right under Konoha's nose ever since its founding, while the Third Hokage was unwilling to wage an all-out war against them.
Just as Mingye's thoughts drifted a thousand miles away again, Madara spoke.
"The Wind-Thunder Clan's ninjas have received far too many favors from our Uchiha Clan. After three years of ignoring us, it's time they repaid us. Mingye, you'll handle this."
"Understood. I'll go there myself."
"Izuna, tell Uncle Shimizu that, since things are urgent, he'll have to cover for us in Okayama for a while. The Fuma Clan is already gone anyway."
Mingye nodded to show he understood. Madara turned to Izuna and issued his order, and Izuna nodded as well. Madara rose proudly from his desk and walked over to the folding screen, where he studied the map of the Land of Fire that Izuna had just drawn.
"We'll begin our advance with the Land of Fire!"
"Right! Right! I feel the same way! Don't you all? Hahahahaha!"
A young man with flowing long hair sat by the fire, holding a large wooden cup of wine in one hand. He slapped his knee with the other and laughed heartily at the motley group of ninjas seated around him.
"I can't believe you only eat the blood from such a huge boar! Blood is so gamey. Who'd have thought that once it's frozen, it turns into a delicacy? It's completely different from tofu. You really are a master of food! We'd never paid attention to things like this!"
A burly man with a thick beard laughed and praised the long-haired man. A bald ninja beside him chimed in.
"Exactly! That blood stew is the best part, even better than the boar meat!"
"Of course! I've been catching boars in this forest ever since I learned about it three years ago. I've nearly driven them to extinction! Hahahaha!"
The long-haired man laughed heartily, full of confidence. As the group drank and joked, a pale-faced boy emerged from the nearby woods. With the shadows around him, he looked especially grim and eerie.
"Big brother, I need you for something."
"Sorry, everyone. It seems my little brother has another scheme for me to judge!"
"Hahahahaha!"
The boy's words made Senju Hashirama pause. He excused himself to the others, then followed Senju Tobirama into the forest.
"Is it fun to keep making fun of me like that?"
Once they were among the trees, Tobirama glared at Hashirama and demanded an answer. Hashirama casually patted him on the shoulder.
"But what I said was true, wasn't it? Hahahaha! So, what do you want?"
"The entire Fuma Clan was wiped out in their village."
Tobirama replied grimly. Hashirama stopped in his tracks. After a few seconds of silence, he asked, "Who did it?"
Tobirama watched Hashirama quietly, knowing he was grieving. He gave him a few minutes to collect himself before speaking again.
"It was probably the Uchiha Clan. Someone saw Fuma Kotaro's head in General Sato's storeroom. They say the whole clan was wiped out in a single night, on the occasion of Fuma Kotaro's birthday."
"Who else knows we had dealings with the Fuma Clan?"
Hashirama looked up at Tobirama. He hadn't wanted to do certain things, but that didn't mean no one else would do them. While their father was still alive, he had ordered Tobirama to carry out something Hashirama had strongly opposed: recruiting the powerful Fuma Clan, renowned for its assassination skills, to kill General Sato, the Uchiha Clan's ruler. But two years had passed, General Sato was still alive, and the Fuma Clan was no longer as powerful as before. Now, the entire clan had been wiped out. It seemed impossible. Hashirama kept thinking it over, unable to understand what kind of powerful force could have destroyed the entire Fuma Clan so silently and without leaving a trace.
When he looked back at Tobirama, Hashirama didn't know how to treat his brother. Now that it had happened, all he could do was try to make amends. He asked, "Did you handle this yourself?"
Tobirama shook his head. Hashirama was relieved. At least there was no immediate danger: no one else knew the Fuma Clan had once been connected to the Senju Clan, and General Sato wouldn't link the assassination attempt to anything else.
With that in mind, Hashirama stopped dwelling on it. Taking revenge for the Fuma Clan had never crossed his mind. He didn't even know who their enemy was, and, more importantly, he didn't want to avenge them. Now that the entire clan was gone, the past should stay in the past. It wasn't in his nature to drag innocent people into this. Putting his anxious thoughts aside, he turned to Tobirama with genuine curiosity.
"Why did Father insist on moving the entire clan? I still don't understand. You and Father were clearly hiding something from me!"
Tobirama pursed his lips. This was what he disliked about his big brother: he could remember good things for a lifetime, but forget bad things in an instant. He never held a grudge or wanted revenge. With a long sigh, he tossed aside all his plans for dealing with the Uchiha Clan and mocked him scornfully.
"You're hopeless as the heir to the clan, but I have to admit that being the eldest brother makes you better suited for the job than I am. Father wanted to see something joyful before he died."
"I knew you'd say that about me. Sigh, sorry. But what joyful thing did Father want to see?"
"Stop asking. You'll find out when we get there."
Hashirama lowered his head in dejection, looking like a vengeful spirit. Tobirama was used to it by now. He impatiently knocked Hashirama's hand off his shoulder and turned to leave. Hashirama called after him, trying to preserve his so-called dignity as the big brother, but Tobirama simply vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.
"I'm still your big brother, you know! You can't treat me like this every time!"
"Why?! Why is this happening?! Why?!"
Beside the ruins of the Fuma Clan's village, two ninjas knelt helplessly on the ground, their eyes bloodshot as they screamed in anguish. Suddenly, a figure sprang from the ruins and, with lightning speed, plunged a long blade into one of their chests.
The other ninja reacted, grabbing the blade he'd dropped on the ground and swinging it at the attacker. But the attacker turned his head, his Three Tomoe spinning rapidly. The ninja froze. When he came to, a blade had already slashed across his throat.
"That makes seventeen."
After killing the two men in quick succession, the attacker stood up. A gray cloth was lifted from the ruins beside him, revealing another ninja. The Gunbai pattern on his back was dazzling, as if announcing to all the world just how powerful the one responsible for wiping out the Fuma Clan was.
"According to the reports, there aren't many Fuma Clan ninjas left out there. I think we should head back."
"I've been sick of this godforsaken place after more than ten days here. Lord Shimizu told us to stay for a month, so we should follow orders and see it through."
"Forget that. Lord Shimizu doesn't have time to keep an eye on us right now. Going out for a while beats staying in this miserable place."
"Yeah! The ones who deserved to die are all dead. Even if there's a genius among the survivors, he won't be a match for Lord Mingye—not to mention Lord Madara. Come on, I don't want to stay here anymore either."
The two Uchiha Clan ninjas disappeared in a flash. A few minutes after they left, Hashirama and Tobirama appeared in the branches of a nearby tree.
"Wiping them all out... Typical of that old Uchiha fox. I heard Shimizu's been helping Sato with all kinds of shady business. I'll find a chance to kill him!"
Hashirama shook his head, cutting Tobirama off. He walked over to the two dead ninjas and sighed as he hoisted one of them over his shoulder. Then, as if struck by a thought, he turned to Tobirama and asked, "Stop talking nonsense. Didn't you hear them mention a name we don't know?"
"Mingye?"
Tobirama hoisted the other body over his shoulder and answered. Hashirama nodded, his expression wistful, as if recalling a wonderful moment from his childhood.
"Since we last parted three years ago, we've fought the Uchiha Clan plenty of times. But I've never once heard of or seen Mingye on the battlefield."
"He's blind. Of course he wouldn't appear on the battlefield. What's strange about that? Still, from the way they spoke, they seemed to be praising him. Could Mingye have become powerful too?"
Tobirama chuckled, then carefully recalled what the Uchiha Clan ninjas had said. It did sound as if Mingye had become a powerful ninja.
Hashirama shook his head with a bitter smile, banishing all those happy memories from his mind. He led Tobirama to a grassy clearing in the woods. After setting down the body, he said, "Things are bad now. The Uchiha Clan wiped out the Hagoromo Clan completely, and the Fuma Clan suffered the same fate. I truly have no idea what they'll do next."
Before you continue