Tobirama: He slandered me, he slandered me!

While Konoha was bustling with activity.

One after another, reports arrived from the four great nations surrounding the Land of Fire—the Land of Lightning, the Land of Earth, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Water.

The Land of Lightning had established Hidden Cloud Village, led by the Raikage.

The Land of Earth had established Hidden Stone Village, led by the Tsuchikage.

The Land of Wind had established Hidden Sand Village, led by the Kazekage.

The Land of Water had established Hidden Mist Village, led by the Mizukage.

Thus, the basic structure of the ninja world's Five Great Villages was established.

All of this had been within Uchiha Yan's expectations.

This was how the original timeline had unfolded. The moment the Senju and Uchiha joined forces, the other great nations immediately followed suit, and the Five Great Ninja Villages were founded at almost the same time. It was the inertia of history—impossible to stop. All he could do was ensure that Konoha stayed ahead in this round of competition.

As for the other villages—let them strut around for a few days first.

On this day, the Five Elders gathered once more in the People's Conference Room of the Hokage Office Building—the Konoha White Palace.

A map of the ninja world lay spread across the table, marked with the locations of the Five Great Nations and their major ninja villages.

"Lord Madara, Lord Hashirama," Uchiha Yan said first, "there has always been a rumor in the ninja world that there are nine tailed beasts, each possessing the power to destroy a nation. You two should know that better than I do."

Uchiha Yan continued, "I believe that, as a ninja village of love and peace, Konoha should shoulder the responsibility of maintaining peace in the ninja world. These nine tailed beasts are roaming free out there, and that is far too dangerous. If they are exploited by those with ill intent, war could easily break out across the ninja world."

"Just imagine it: if the Land of Lightning captured the Eight-Tails and the Land of Wind captured the One-Tail, then used those tailed beasts as weapons of war to attack the Land of Fire, we would be in far too passive a position."

Uchiha Yan had coveted the tailed beasts for a long time, especially the Nine-Tails. From Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and the perfect jinchuriki's Kurama Mode to the Baryon Mode it had pulled off even in the over-the-top Boruto series, the Nine-Tails had always been redefining the meta.

Yet naïve Hashirama had actually distributed such dangerous tailed beasts for the sake of so-called peace. The facts proved that even after the tailed beasts were handed out, those who were going to fight still fought. If not for Hashirama's ridiculous stunt, the First and Second Ninja World Wars would never have suffered so many casualties.

Senju Hashirama was somewhat hesitant. "Yan, you mean... we capture all the tailed beasts, and then what?"

"Then Konoha will manage them all under one authority."

"Lord Hashirama, I know you are kind-hearted and unwilling to use tailed beasts as weapons of war. But we must think this through. If the tailed beasts are in Konoha's hands, at least we will not take the initiative to start a war. But if they fall into other villages' hands, that may not be the case."

"Yan, you're right." Senju Hashirama's gaze turned resolute. "We must bring these tailed beasts under control. They are too dangerous."

"Mm." Uchiha Madara spoke up. "There are records in the Uchiha clan as well. Each of the nine tailed beasts possesses the power to destroy the ninja world. Moreover, tailed beasts are immortal—even if you destroy them, they will revive somewhere in the ninja world after a while."

"To safeguard peace and stability in the ninja world, Konoha has the responsibility and obligation to capture the tailed beasts."

Capture the tailed beasts. When those four words came from Uchiha Madara's mouth, they carried an unconcealable fighting spirit.

Uchiha Yan noticed that Madara's fingers had begun tapping the tabletop unconsciously. He understood this man too well—after serving as Hokage for so long, sitting in an office every day reviewing documents, receiving guests, and chairing meetings like some ceremonial figurehead, Madara had been stifled badly.

The Rose of the Battlefield, the Ninja Demigod—those titles needed battle to nourish them.

Now that he had heard there were tailed beasts to capture and fights to be had, Uchiha Madara practically wanted to rush out of the village that very instant.

"Yan." Uchiha Madara suddenly spoke, his tone crisp and decisive. "You and the secretaries of the Three Ministries will take full responsibility for all Konoha affairs. To avoid unnecessary casualties, Hashirama and I will handle this tailed beast capture operation."

He rose to his feet, long-lost battle intent flashing in his eyes.

"Madara, let's go preserve peace in the ninja world!" Senju Hashirama also shouted excitedly, eager to capture the tailed beasts.

Seeing his elder brother like this, Senju Tobirama could only feel embarrassed.

"But Lord Hashirama, your wedding with Lady Mito..."

The Senju Clan and the Uzumaki Clan were distant relatives as well as blood allies. Hashirama had been betrothed to Uzumaki Mito since childhood. This marriage was not merely the union of two people, but a symbol of the alliance between the Senju and Uzumaki clans. Now that Konoha had just been established, the Senju Clan should have gone to the Uzumaki Clan to formally propose marriage.

"I'd actually forgotten about that." Senju Hashirama scratched his head sheepishly.

Aside from matters concerning Madara, Hashirama was rather slow when it came to everything else.

"The matter of capturing tailed beasts should wait until after Lord Hashirama's wedding. Besides, we will need Lady Mito's sealing techniques to seal the tailed beasts."

"While we're at it, Lord Madara should marry and have children as well, to continue the Uchiha Clan bloodline. Lord Madara, now that Lord Hashirama is about to propose marriage, if there is a woman in the clan you favor, the clan should arrange it as soon as possible."

Uchiha Madara frowned.

Marriage?

He had never considered such a thing.

Seeing Uchiha Madara's reluctance, Uchiha Yan added, "If you do not like the women of the clan, we can also seek a marriage alliance with another clan. For example, I think the Uzumaki Clan would be highly suitable."

The Uzumaki Clan was born with immense chakra reserves, and as distant relatives of the Senju Clan, they also possessed the Sage Body. The Uzumaki were a major clan as well. Lord Hashirama had married Uzumaki Mito; if Lord Madara could also marry a woman from the Uzumaki Clan, then the Senju, Uchiha, and Uzumaki clans would become a true alliance of blood relatives—unbreakable.

In the original story, Izuna's death had been the main reason Madara went dark. Although Izuna was still alive now, Black Zetsu, that old schemer, was still lurking in the shadows, plotting a conspiracy that had spanned a thousand years. To be safe, Uchiha Yan wanted to add a few more safeguards.

"Lord Madara, you are the Uchiha Clan's leader and Konoha's First Hokage. Your marriage is not merely a personal matter—it is a matter of great importance to both the Uchiha Clan and Konoha."

In the end, Uchiha Madara did not refuse. "Have the clan make arrangements when we return."

Uchiha Yan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Madara being willing to marry was a good thing. With descendants, the Uchiha Clan's future would have another layer of security.

Uchiha Yan's gaze involuntarily drifted toward Senju Tobirama.

Senju Tobirama had not married in the original story either—could it be... that old Tobirama did not like women?

There were quite a few young women of marriageable age in the clan...

What would result from a union between the Senju and Uchiha?

The Senju possessed the Sage Body, while the Uchiha possessed the Sage Eyes. Combined, that would be the bloodline of the Sage of Six Paths.

An "evil" plan slowly took shape in Uchiha Yan's mind.