Reto: Don't message me anymore, I'm afraid Konoha will misunderstand

Konoha.

The battle between Uchiha Yan and Senju Hashirama drew even more attention than the previous battle between Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama.

After all, Uchiha Madara had been immensely powerful to begin with. Before Konoha was founded, the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan had fought for years. Hashirama led the Senju Clan, while Uchiha Madara led the Uchiha Clan. If Madara had not been able to go toe-to-toe with Hashirama, the Uchiha Clan could never have endured for so long, much less defeated the Senju Clan afterward.

Yet before the decisive battle, Uchiha Yan had only been at the level of an elite jonin. Then, during that battle, he had suddenly revealed the Mangekyo Sharingan and helped the Uchiha secure that decisive victory. At most, people had estimated him to be somewhat stronger than Senju Tobirama. No one believed he could contend with Senju Hashirama.

When they first heard that Uchiha Yan and Senju Hashirama were sparring, everyone assumed Uchiha Yan simply wanted to test his new ninjutsu.

But this battle left all of Konoha—no, the entire ninja world—stunned speechless.

Everyone had thought Senju Hashirama's True Several Thousand Hands was already invincible in the current age. After all, Uchiha Madara had previously been defeated by that technique. Yet Uchiha Yan, who had risen like a comet, performed even more brilliantly than Madara. His strength was not inferior to Hashirama's in the slightest; if anything, he seemed faintly stronger by a thread.

Many people found that impossible to accept. Had the Uchiha Clan raided the Sage of Six Paths' nest or something? Every one of them was more outrageous than the last.

The Uchiha Clan had already been strong enough before. With Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Izuna, and Uchiha Yan joining forces, the Uchiha's overall strength had already surpassed that of the Senju Clan. Yet the very strongest fighters had still belonged to the Senju. Now, the strongest fighters belonged to the Uchiha.

The result of this battle kept many people in Konoha awake at night. Some were too delighted to sleep, while others were too worried.

Those too delighted to sleep included Uzumaki Ashina and the families of Uchiha Yan's disciples. When Uchiha Yan had represented the Uchiha Clan in seeking a marriage alliance with the Uzumaki, Ashina had considered that Konoha's Hokage was an Uchiha, and that Uchiha Yan was likely to become the next Hokage. The Uzumaki needed such a powerful ally. But he had never expected that ally to be this absurdly strong.

The families of Uchiha Yan's disciples were even more jubilant, celebrating all night just like the Uchiha Clan. Back when they had tried to cling to the Uchiha Clan's thick thigh, they had only hoped that becoming Uchiha Yan's disciples would help their families gain a firmer foothold in Konoha. They had never imagined that the thick thigh they thought they had latched onto was merely a leg hair—the thigh was so thick that even now, they could scarcely believe it.

Sarutobi Sasuke, Shimura Yuno, Utatane Fuma, Mitokado Ren, Aburame Shibi, the heads of the three Boar-Deer-Butterfly clans, Hyuga Tennin, and the heads of the other major clans all drank themselves senseless with the Uchiha Clan.

In contrast to the Uchiha Clan's revelry, the Senju Clan's morale was somewhat low.

Before Konoha was founded, the Senju had been the strongest clan in the ninja world. Later, they had been defeated by the Uchiha, though even in a head-on clash, the Uchiha had only won a costly victory. Yet now the Uchiha had produced another monster like Uchiha Yan. The Senju Clan had been completely suppressed by the Uchiha.

Senju Tobirama sat alone in his room for the entire night.

He had never imagined that his elder brother, whom he regarded as a god, would fall into a disadvantage for the first time. The Uchiha Three Heroes. He had lost to Uchiha Madara, then lost to Uchiha Yan, and then lost to Uchiha Izuna. Would he next lose to Uchiha Tekka and Uchiha Yui as well?

Even if Shuzong inherited his elder brother's Wood Release, it would not be enough. That bastard Izuna was already busy having a second child—who knew, he might awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Would the Senju be suppressed by the Uchiha in his generation, only to be suppressed by them again in the next?

Tobirama felt nothing but a headache. His elder brother had been bullied by the Uchiha without Shuzong, and he was still being bullied by the Uchiha even with Shuzong. Had Shuzong been born for nothing?

Thus, Tobirama plunged headfirst back into the human experimentation laboratory.

The other four nations all reacted differently to this battle.

Hidden Stone Village.

The First Tsuchikage, Ishikawa, remained silent for a long time. Though they were allied with Konoha, an ally that was too powerful was not necessarily a good thing.

"Mu, what do you think of Uchiha Yan?"

The First Tsuchikage, Ishikawa, asked. He had risen during the Warring States era, unified the Land of Earth, and founded the Hidden Stone Village. He knew all too well that alliances existed to be torn apart. Konoha had originally been the strongest, and he had thought that following Konoha would spare them attacks from the other hidden villages. But Konoha was becoming far too strong. He feared Konoha might develop other ambitions.

Mu thought for a moment. "Lord Tsuchikage, according to our intelligence, Uchiha Yan is rather fond of peace. After Konoha was founded, he personally established the Three Departments and Six Ministries system to restrict the Hokage's authority. He also promulgated the Konoha Constitution, stipulating that the Kage stood beneath the law. Judging by his actions, he should not be a warmonger. He was also the one who single-handedly brought about the alliance between Konoha and the Hidden Stone Village."

"Uchiha Yan is Konoha's good fortune. More than that, he is the good fortune of our other four great ninja villages."

The First Tsuchikage, Ishikawa, nodded. "You are right. Fortunately, Uchiha Yan does not enjoy conquest. Otherwise, the entire ninja world would descend into chaos."

Meanwhile, somewhere along the border of the Land of Wind, the First Kazekage, Reto, and the First Raikage, A, were seated together. A few days earlier, they had held extensive talks with White Lotus, the First Mizukage of the Hidden Mist Village. The three great ninja villages had agreed to advance and retreat together in opposition to Konoha. They had originally planned to sign the pact today and formally form an alliance.

But after news of the battle between Uchiha Yan and Senju Hashirama arrived, White Lotus directly claimed that something had come up in the village and that he could not attend. The matter of the alliance, he said, could be discussed later.

"Coward! Such a brat is not worth plotting with!" The First Raikage, A, smashed the table in fury. He had not expected the Hidden Mist Village to be so timid.

"Alas, how unfair the heavens are, how much they favor Konoha. Was producing two monsters like Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara not enough? They had to produce another Uchiha Yan as well. Could the Uchiha be the Sage of Six Paths' own sons? Why do they keep producing such freaks?" The First Kazekage, Reto, cursed furiously as well.

A fell silent for a moment before sighing. "Hashirama of the Buddha, the Ninja Shura, and now Konoha's Kirin. Fortunately, Konoha has not shown any hostility for the time being. According to intelligence from every side, Uchiha Madara, Senju Hashirama, and Uchiha Yan all value peace. Put the matter of the three-village alliance on hold for now. So long as they live, the other four great ninja villages will never have a chance to rise."

The First Kazekage, Reto, stood and glanced at the First Raikage, A. "I was never here tonight. Do not contact me again in the future. I am afraid Konoha might misunderstand."

After saying that, he turned and left without looking back. The Hidden Sand Village wanted to play both sides, but Konoha's strength was clearly far beyond what it should have been. Continuing to oppose Konoha like this would be unwise. In this generation, the Hidden Sand Village could only bow its head and submit.