Within the Senju Clan Grounds.
After listening to Senju Hashirama's explanation, Uzumaki Mito could not help but sigh with emotion.
"I never expected the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan to have such origins. Who knew what the Sage of Six Paths was thinking? Just because he favored his younger son, he passed the position of the Ninja Creed to Ashura. No wonder Indra refused to accept it."
"If it hadn't been for the Sage of Six Paths' unfairness, the hatred between the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan would not have continued for a thousand years."
As a traditional woman, Uzumaki Mito supported the eldest son, Indra. Not only in Konoha, but among all the major families in the ninja world, the legitimate eldest son inherited by default. So long as the eldest son was not utterly incompetent, heirs were not changed lightly. At best, it would cause turmoil within the family; at worst, it could bring disaster upon the entire clan.
If the worthy were chosen over the eldest, you might call one person worthy while someone else called another worthy. There was no universal standard for worthiness; it was all about where one stood, and different positions meant different standards. But inheritance by the legitimate eldest son was different. Whoever was born first was obvious at a glance. The legitimate eldest son's inheritance was the cornerstone of stability for the great families.
Although the Hyuga Clan's branch family system had drawn much criticism for being too harsh on branch families, it had indeed stabilized the Hyuga Clan. There could only be one main family in each generation, while everyone else belonged to branch families. Even twins like Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga were separated by it. Because Hizashi had been born just a few minutes later, he became part of the branch family. This main family system completely cut off any improper ambitions from the rest of the clan.
The Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan should have lived in harmony, yet things had deteriorated into brothers turning against each other. The Sage of Six Paths was far too distant from them, and no one knew what the circumstances had been back then. But judging solely by the outcome, Indra, as the eldest son, should have inherited the Ninja Creed. Senju Hashirama also rather supported inheritance by the legitimate eldest son.
Though Senju Hashirama possessed great love, his thinking still could not escape the limitations of his era. Or perhaps this was something anyone in power had to learn: making choices and sacrifices. In the original story, when Uchiha Madara left, Senju Hashirama could have acted, yet he did not. There was no reason Uchiha Madara could see something that Senju Hashirama could not. Yet for the stability of the greater whole, he still chose to sacrifice the Uchiha Clan and exiled them to the Military Police Force.
There was also the Hyuga Clan. It was not until Naruto became Hokage that the Hyuga Clan's main family and branch family system was abolished. This also showed from another angle that neither Senju Hashirama nor Senju Tobirama had ever interfered with the Hyuga Clan's branch family system.
Konoha White Palace.
Ever since Senju Tobirama learned of the origins of the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan, he had begun deliberately avoiding Uchiha Yui. He did not want Uchiha Izuna to laugh at him. If he became the Uchiha Clan's son-in-law, how could he continue calling them "evil Uchiha"?
Senju Tobirama's deliberate avoidance over this period left Uchiha Yui deeply saddened. Although she had initially approached Lord Tobirama on Lord Yan's orders, their time together had shown her Lord Tobirama's hardships and exhaustion. Lord Tobirama carried the entire Senju Clan on his shoulders, exhausting himself for the Senju Clan and working day and night for Konoha. Though Lord Tobirama's words could be sharp, he had never truly made things difficult for her.
That day, Uchiha Yui brought Senju Tobirama a new dish Uchiha Yan had taught her to make.
"Lord Tobirama, this is a new dish I made: braised carp with noodles, prepared the Uchiha way. Please give it a try."
Senju Tobirama could not stand hearing the word "Uchiha" now. The moment he heard it, Izuna's annoying face came to mind. Without even looking up, Tobirama said, "Leave it there."
Senju Tobirama had always judged people, not matters. His hostility toward the Uchiha Clan was limited to a few irritating people like Uchiha Madara, Izuna, and Yan. As for the other Uchiha, he was fairly open-minded.
"All right, Lord Tobirama. Please eat it while it's hot. Fish gets fishy once it cools." Uchiha Yui placed the plate on the table. Seeing that Tobirama ignored her, she walked away in disappointment.
After Uchiha Yui's footsteps gradually faded away.
Only then did Senju Tobirama raise his head, then lower it again and continue writing. In the end, Tobirama still finished the entire plate of fish.
Within the Senju Clan Grounds.
Senju Tobirama had not neglected his human experiments during this time. But after learning of the connection between the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan, he felt that he had found a new direction for his research. "When two opposing powers interact, All Things in Nature can be attained." It referred to the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan. Although Izuna was unreliable, he had said one thing right: the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan needed to combine. Not as man and woman, but through fusion at the cellular level.
Senju Tobirama had already begun imagining the day he developed controllable versions of his elder brother's cells and mass-produced Wood Release. Then every member of the Senju Clan would wield Wood Release. He wanted to see how the Uchiha Clan could remain so arrogant then. Senju Tobirama was not trying to prove how remarkable he was; he wanted to tell the Uchiha Clan that whatever the Senju Clan had lost, they would take it back.
Once Senju Tobirama left the underground laboratory, the space within it suddenly twisted.
Uchiha Yan stepped out from the Kamui space.
Poor Senju Tobirama had always believed that no one knew of his secret experiments. Little did he know that beneath Kamui, Konoha held no secrets in Uchiha Yan's eyes.
Uchiha Yan walked over to the table and flipped through Senju Tobirama's experimental notes. Sure enough, human research was still Orochimaru's specialty. At present, Senju Tobirama had made no progress in researching Hashirama Cells, which remained uncontrollable. He had tried every possible culture-medium ratio, but without exception, every one had been eroded.
Yan would not dare put something so dangerous into his own body. He did not have Indra's chakra. If he really copied Uchiha Madara and stitched a piece of Senju Hashirama's flesh onto a wound, forget awakening the Rinnegan—even his Mangekyo would be ruined.
It was a pity Orochimaru had not been born yet. Otherwise, it would have been perfect to drag him here. If Senju Tobirama was a research genius, then Orochimaru was a genius and a madman. Orochimaru not only dared to experiment on others, but was also ruthless enough to experiment on himself. In the original story, Orochimaru could no longer even be considered human; his true body had become the White Phosphorus Great Snake. Moreover, Orochimaru's research into Hashirama Cells had genuinely succeeded, even if only Yamato survived. Konoha's prosthetic limbs in the later period were upgraded from Orochimaru's research.
There was another way to make Senju Hashirama's cells perfectly compatible with himself. He could use White Zetsu to neutralize Senju Hashirama's cells, perfectly resolving their erosion and assimilation. In the original story, half of Obito's body had been destroyed, and Uchiha Madara used White Zetsu infused with Hashirama Cells to restore the missing half. The disaster turned into a blessing. Not only could Obito use his Mangekyo freely, but with Kamui, he directly stepped into Kage Level. Beyond that, Obito could even use a simplified version of Wood Release.
Unlike the original story, where White Zetsu had spread everywhere, not a single White Zetsu existed in the entire ninja world at present.
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