Tobirama: My Nephew, Hashirama, Has the Bearing of an Elder Brother.

After Mu and Onoki left Konoha, Senju Tobirama stormed into Uchiha Yan's office.

"Uchiha Yan, you're too weak."

"Hidden Stone Village was the one that came to us for an alliance. Konoha is strong enough that we don't need to ally with them at all. We should have taken the opportunity to demand more benefits."

"Tobirama, Konoha was founded to protect peace, not to rob people when they're down. Besides, even if Lord Hokage were here, I believe he would have done the same."

Uchiha Yan drove the knife in with a smile. "And besides, I'm the Acting Hokage, not you."

"Uchiha Yan, you'll regret this."

Bang—

Senju Tobirama slammed the door behind him and left in a rage.

Although Konoha had not gained any enormous advantage from its alliance with Hidden Stone Village, it had still secured plenty of tangible benefits.

Economically, Konoha's goods could now be sold in the Land of Earth, while raw materials could be purchased from the Land of Earth at lower prices. The Land of Earth was rich in mineral resources—iron ore and all kinds of rare ores—and Konoha could procure them more cheaply, reducing costs.

Culturally, Konoha's books, films, and television productions could be distributed to Hidden Stone Village. If the children of Hidden Stone Village grew up under the influence of Konoha's culture, their values would gradually become Konoha-oriented. Once they grew up and gained influence in Hidden Stone Village, they would naturally feel closer to Konoha and steer policies in Konoha's direction.

This was cultural infiltration, cultural export, cultural influence. This kind of soft power could sometimes be more effective than a battlefield.

Unfortunately, that old ghost Senju Tobirama was narrow-minded and could only see the immediate gains before him. He was practically a leftover relic from the Warring States Era. This great ship of Konoha's new era was destined to have no place for him.

However, the greatest beneficiary of this alliance was Uchiha Yan himself. Although he had used Kotoamatsukami, meaning his left eye might not be usable again for more than a decade, his right eye's Kamui remained. As long as he did not roam recklessly across the ninja world, it was enough to keep him safe.

Before Mu left Konoha, he handed over Dust Release and the Earth Release: Light-Weight Rock Technique to him.

Dust Release had been developed by Mu and later passed down to his disciple Onoki. Yet Onoki and Mu were not related by blood, while Onoki's granddaughter—Leg Shadow Black Earth—had failed to learn Dust Release.

That proved Dust Release was not inherited through bloodlines, but rather a Bloodline Selection that could be learned through training.

Dust Release required precise control over chakra of the fire, wind, and earth attributes. The three types of chakra had to be proportioned accurately and fused in perfect synchronization.

The Uchiha Clan were born experts at playing with fire. Aside from the Sharingan, the Uchiha's signature specialty was Fire Release ninjutsu.

Uchiha Yan was also highly skilled in Wind Release. Fire borrowed the force of wind, while wind lent fire its might. Wind Release and Fire Release could be used together to increase the power of Fire Release, and quite a few Uchiha clan members were proficient in Wind Release as well.

In the original work, Uchiha Obito's Fire Release: Blast Wave Wild Dance was an original technique combining Kamui and Fire Release—he first used his Mangekyo to distort space and create a spiraling gale, then breathed flames into it to form a rotating vortex of fire. It had a wide range and incredible speed. At its core, it also relied on Wind Release to increase its power.

As for Earth Release... he truly was not very proficient in it.

Still, he could train it slowly. Once he could skillfully master fire, wind, and earth chakra, he could begin learning Dust Release.

Land of Earth, Hidden Stone Village.

Mu and Onoki returned to the village without incident.

"How did it go? What was the result of this alliance?"

Onoki spoke first. "Grandfather, Konoha and Hidden Stone Village successfully formed an alliance this time. The Hokage was absent, so Acting Hokage Uchiha Yan handled the matter. People say the Uchiha Clan are arrogant and conceited, but this Uchiha Yan was modest, courteous, and approachable."

Mu said, "Lord Tsuchikage, this alliance between Konoha and Hidden Stone Village went so smoothly thanks to Uchiha Yan. He is known in Konoha as the 'Konoha Kirin.' He is resourceful and wise, serving not only as Konoha's Minister of Revenue but also as one of Konoha's strategists. The Uchiha Clan would never have attained its current status without his contributions."

"What was hateful was Senju Tobirama. At first, he actually demanded that Hidden Stone Village pay tribute, then later changed it to demanding that Konoha station troops in Hidden Stone Village. He is petty and lacks the bearing of a gentleman. However, he is at odds with Uchiha Yan because Senju Tobirama was defeated by Uchiha Yan during the decisive battle between the Senju and Uchiha. That caused the Senju Clan's defeat, and the position of Hokage fell into Uchiha hands as well."

"Discord within Konoha is not a bad thing for us." He waved a hand. "The fact that this alliance succeeded is already an unexpected delight. You've worked hard, so go rest first."

As Mito and Uori's deliveries drew near, Konoha's two pillars, who had been capturing tailed beasts throughout the ninja world, also returned to Konoha.

"Lord Madara, Lord Hashirama, you've worked hard."

"Lady Mito and Miss Uori are due within the next few days."

"During this period, Lord Hashirama should spend more time with Lady Mito. And Lord Madara, Lord Izuna has been waiting for you to give the child a name."

This time, Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara had captured the Five-Tails Reverent King, Seven-Tails Double Brightness, and Eight-Tails Ox Demon.

Of the nine tailed beasts in the ninja world, aside from the One-Tail Guard Crane, Three-Tails Reef Caress, and Nine-Tails Nine Lamas, the other six were now all in Konoha.

Other than the Nine-Tails, Uchiha Yan had no interest in any of the other tailed beasts.

In the original work, the Nine-Tails possessed an immense amount of chakra. Even half of the Nine-Tails had more chakra than the complete Eight-Tails. During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Naruto had relied on just half of the Nine-Tails to forcibly withstand a combined Tailed Beast Bomb from five tailed beasts—and still held the advantage.

Even the Eight-Tails, known as the strongest tailed beast besides the Nine-Tails, was less useful in Uchiha Yan's eyes than the Seven-Tails.

Leaving aside the Nine-Tails' various modes—the One-Tail Guard Crane could use Magnet Release and Wind Release; the Two-Tails Matatabi could use Fire Release; the Three-Tails Reef Caress could use Water Release; the Four-Tails Son Goku could use Lava Release; the Five-Tails Reverent King could use Boil Release; the Six-Tails Saiken could use Corrosion Release; and although the Seven-Tails Double Brightness could not use ninjutsu, it could fly. There were countless ninja in the ninja world, but only a handful could fly.

In the original work, after Uchiha Madara was brought back through Impure World Reincarnation, he saw a flying ninja in the sky and immediately guessed it was Onoki. That also showed just how few ninja could fly.

Early summer, Konoha Year Two.

Konoha welcomed the greatest event since the village's founding—Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Izuna had both become fathers.

Uzumaki Mito and Uzumaki Uori had the same due date.

News first came from the Senju clan grounds: Lady Mito had given birth to a boy named Senju Shuzong. Senju Tobirama had chosen the name, hoping that the child would inherit his elder brother's Wood Release.

Soon afterward, news also arrived from the Uchiha clan grounds. Miss Uori had given birth as well—a girl named Uchiha Quanzhi. Uchiha Madara had chosen the name. It represented a lasting remembrance of the bond formed by the union of the Uchiha and Uzumaki clans, a testament to the two's love and bloodline.

Originally, Uchiha Madara had prepared two names. If it was a boy, he would be called Uchiha True Flame; if it was a girl, Uchiha Fireworks. In the end, however, Uchiha Madara accepted Uchiha Yan's suggestion and changed it to Uchiha Quanzhi.

According to their prior agreement, Uchiha Yan became Quanzhi's godfather.