Butsuma shook his head. He intended to rescue the Kurohabaki Clan, but Hashirama had to go to the Land of Whirlpools with Tobirama right now. That was Uzumaki Soza's wish as well. The Uzumaki Clan's special constitution let its members sense when their time was near. Now, the old man wanted to see his granddaughter find happiness before he died. He had to choose her future husband himself. Besides, Butsuma was confident he could save the Kurohabaki Clan. Even if he couldn't beat Madara Uchiha, he wouldn't be far behind in strength.
"Father!"
"Enough. Aihara, I'm leaving these two boys in your hands. Take them to meet the princess. That should be a satisfactory way to answer Old Man Soza, at least."
Butsuma had never witnessed the full extent of his son's abilities or the true power of Madara's Mangekyō Sharingan. To him, Madara's strength was merely something Hashirama had exaggerated. And the proud Butsuma didn't believe he could lose to his own son. So when Hashirama anxiously tried to speak again, Butsuma cut him off and turned to Uzumaki Aihara.
"Mm! The two young masters certainly have outstanding talent. But have you really made up your mind? Personally, I think that..."
Uzumaki Aihara had his own special way of judging people. Hashirama seemed rash and had spoken rudely to him, but Aihara didn't dislike him in the least. On the contrary, he felt Hashirama would grow into a great hero who could hold up the heavens.
But when he looked at Tobirama, he couldn't help sighing over the boy's ill fate. With a brother as bright as the sun, Tobirama would spend his entire life in his shadow. Aihara could only guess at how that might affect him. Fortunately, Tobirama's stern, unsmiling expression showed that he was extremely disciplined. He would never become the tragic, wicked sort of person Aihara feared.
Aihara let out a long sigh. Then it struck him that heroes didn't belong to their families, much less bring anything good to the people they loved. So, on instinct, he felt Tobirama was actually a better match than Hashirama.
"Hashirama is the future first heir of our clan. Tobirama, do you have any objections?"
Butsuma hadn't given the matter much thought. Once he'd chosen an heir, no one was allowed to question him. Hashirama's place in the clan had been decided from the moment he was born; that had never changed. He dismissed the unspoken meaning behind Aihara's words and turned his gaze to Tobirama.
"None! I don't need anyone keeping an eye on me! I'm very disciplined, unlike him!"
Tobirama was perceptive and had already guessed what their conversation meant. He met his father's scrutinizing gaze with disdain. He didn't want what was never his, even if someone beat him half to death. What belonged to his brother belonged to his brother. It would never be his, and it never could be. Tobirama knew his place perfectly: to support his brother and help him fulfill the promise they had made with their younger brothers atop the enormous boulder—to bring true peace to the world. How could anyone call this a home when the world was still in turmoil?
"I have important business to attend to, so I must leave at once. Aihara, we'll take our leave here. Please give my regards to Old Man Soza!"
"Of course!"
Butsuma looked at Tobirama's eternally unchanged expression and nodded in satisfaction. He tightened the long sword at his waist, spoke to Aihara, then hurried off toward the clan's outskirts.
Below a mountain range, Madara, Mingye, and Izuna stood on a cliff, surveying the path below. After studying the surroundings for a long while, Izuna nodded.
"Mingye was right. This place really is a shortcut into the Kurohabaki Clan's settlement. Dense woods surround it and block the view. Ordinary people would never find it!"
After Izuna finished, Mingye added, "I've planted three hundred thousand venomous snakes here. We also have tens of thousands of Explosive Tags, which our clan members spent a whole day making. When the Senju arrive, they'll suffer heavy casualties. Big Brother, Second Brother, you just need to finish them off!"
"Hashirama Senju won't be hurt by any of that."
Madara looked into the distance with contempt. Mingye's words hadn't pleased him at all.
"That's why I left the old, weak, women, and children of the Togakushi and Haguro clans behind! I only need Hashirama Senju to do one thing: cripple his own chakra. If he refuses, I'll make him watch them all die right in front of him!"
Mingye's lips curved into a smile. Whether he was mocking Madara or smiling because he'd anticipated this response was unclear. He continued, "Second Brother..."
"Mingye!"
Madara furrowed his brow after hearing Mingye's answer, but Izuna spoke before he could.
"Second Brother, great men don't sweat the small stuff. I know what I'm doing. But have you ever thought about how we're living now? I don't want another clan to lose its brothers—another scene like ours, where three of five brothers survived."
Mingye shook his head coldly. From the day he wiped out the Wind-Thunder Clan, he had cast his conscience into an abyss. People in a time of chaos couldn't afford a conscience. At least in this era, Mingye wouldn't let himself grieve until his humanity was extinguished.
"..."
Madara and Izuna fell silent at Mingye's reply. His words pierced their hearts like a knife. Three years earlier, when they were still children, they hadn't understood how long grief could last, or whether remembering their family would bring comfort and happiness or unbearable pain. But now, Madara and Izuna knew the answer.
The ones left behind were the ones who suffered most. They had to struggle through each day just to keep living, then tear themselves apart at night trying to escape the grief of losing their loved ones.
After watching their father hurry away with over a hundred ninja, Hashirama and Tobirama packed their things and set off in the opposite direction with Uzumaki Aihara, toward the Land of Whirlpools.
On the way, Tobirama saw the worry on Hashirama's face and smiled as he spoke.
"Big Brother, you know what Father can do. He might not be able to beat Madara, but Madara would have to pay a heavy price to kill him. The Uchiha Clan doesn't want a fight where both sides lose, so you can rest easy!"
Uzumaki Aihara glanced at Hashirama too. "Tobirama is right. You're worrying too much, Hashirama. As far as I know, the Uchiha Clan isn't doing so well either. They have only a little over fifty ninja in the whole clan. Compared with the rest of the Land of Fire, they don't have many. If their Sharingan didn't let each of them fight like ten, their population wouldn't qualify them as a major clan!"
Hashirama walked with a grave expression, shaking his head as he shared his concerns and suspicions.
"That's not what I'm worried about. I feel like there's something strange about all of this. Why would the Uchiha Clan wipe out ninja clans that are on friendly terms with us? Even if our clan joined forces with them, we wouldn't pose much of a threat to the Uchiha!"
Tobirama smiled. Hashirama was oversimplifying things. A single clan might seem insignificant, but many small clans together could become a formidable force. Mingye and Madara would never let their plans come together under those circumstances. It was obvious they wanted to stop it.
"Big Brother, I'm not trying to criticize you, but you're looking at this too narrowly. Three small clans agreeing to follow the Senju might seem like a minor thing today. But once we absorb them, countless other small clans will notice. When they face outside threats, they'll join us too. Many small groups add up to a force beyond measure. The Land of Fire has a population of over a million. It must have at least eight thousand ninja, if not fifteen thousand. Can you imagine how powerful we'd be if we united them all?"
Hashirama shook his head, his brows knitted. His heart began to race, as if some instinct were warning him that something terrible was about to happen.
"Then Madara has even less reason to wipe out those two small clans! That'll only make more people fear them!"
Tobirama laughed again and explained to Hashirama, "Maybe that's exactly what they want! Some clans won't listen to reason! There are selfish, self-serving clans everywhere! They won't learn to behave until they get hurt!"
Hashirama abruptly stopped and looked at Tobirama gravely.
"No! Tobirama, who gave Father the information?"
"What information?"
Tobirama frowned, unsure what Hashirama was asking. Hashirama quickly clarified.
"The news that the Haguro Clan and the Togakushi Clan were wiped out!"
Tobirama thought back to the man who had arrived before their father, gasping for breath and looking terrified. He hadn't noticed anything threatening or suspicious about him, so he answered Hashirama.
"It was a ninja from the Kurohabaki Clan who came to ask us for help. What's wrong?!"
"Something's wrong! Father's walked into a trap!"
The strange unease Hashirama had felt finally made sense after Tobirama answered. A frightening thought flashed through his mind, filling him with dread.
"Big Brother, what do you mean?!"
Tobirama saw Hashirama trembling and couldn't understand what he was so worried about.
"The Togakushi and Haguro clans were both wiped out in a single night. How did the news get to us so quickly? Even if the Kurohabaki Clan learned about it almost immediately, by the time their ninja came to ask for help, the Kurohabaki ninja could have been killed a hundred times over. Why would the enemy leave their clan alive, and let one of their ninja lead us there?!"
Hashirama quickly turned and looked Tobirama in the eye. "Big Brother, we already checked. Don't forget how well hidden the Kurohabaki ninja are. The Uchiha Clan has only about fifty people at most, and I haven't heard of any clan joining them so far. They had to split their forces to wipe out the Haguro and Togakushi clans, then send more ninja to search the woods for the Kurohabaki Clan's hiding place. They should have had enough time!"
Before you continue