Four Sworn Siblings at the Imperial Palace

"Big brother."

After letting his blood, Tobirama passed the porcelain bowl to Hashirama.

Naturally, Hashirama was not afraid of pain. The boldness and ferocity in his bones were roused as he gripped a kunai and slashed hard, as though cutting open an artery. Blood sprayed out in a torrent, making Mito's eyelids twitch.

"That's enough!"

Mito took the porcelain bowl and used medical ninjutsu to stop Hashirama's bleeding. Was this man an idiot? He only needed to make a token gesture for something like this.

"Sis, your turn," Shusen urged.

Mito felt that she had never done anything so absurd in her life. Letting blood to become sworn siblings with others was something she would never even have considered before.

She had no idea what had happened today. Somehow, the three of them had talked her into this. Was this the so-called romance of men?

Fine, fine. A little blood was just a little blood. She bled for two days every month anyway.

With that thought, Mito held her breath and made a small cut on her wrist.

She was proficient in medical ninjutsu, so an ordinary wound would not leave a scar.

"Heaven above and earth below bear witness: I, Uzumaki Shusen..." He looked at Tobirama.

"I, Senju Tobirama."

"I, Senju Hashirama."

"...I, Uzumaki... Mito."

"Today, the four of us become sworn siblings of different surnames. We shall share blessings and hardships alike!"

"Sis, take the first sip. Don't drink it all."

Pinching her nose, Mito took a tiny sip. The stench of blood rushed up at her.

Shusen gulped down three huge mouthfuls in a row.

Seeing that little remained in the bowl, Tobirama merely touched it to his lips.

Hashirama's heart pounded. Mito had taken the first sip, and then he drank after her—didn't that mean they had indirectly kissed?

With that strange yet excited feeling, Hashirama drained the remaining blood in one gulp.

"The oath is complete! From today onward, the four of us are not siblings by blood, but we are closer than blood siblings!" Shusen declared.

Tobirama found his little brother increasingly pleasing to the eye. Their temperaments suited each other well. Having a younger brother like this seemed quite nice.

"Well said. From now on, we live and die together, never abandoning one another!"

The speaker had meant nothing by it, but the listener took it to heart. Mito's heart trembled, and she felt something strange.

Clearly, the four of them had become sworn siblings, but when Tobirama put it that way, why did it sound like they had performed a wedding rite?

Thinking of the inexplicable, unspoken bond that now existed between herself and Hashirama, binding them together from this day forth, made that strange feeling in Mito's heart even stronger. For the first time, she felt that their oath just now had not been absurd at all.

Unable to resist, she looked up at Hashirama and found that he, too, was secretly looking at her. As if shocked by electricity, both of them looked away at the same time.

"Now let's sort out the seniority. Big Brother Hashirama, how old are you?" Shusen asked.

"Twenty."

"Big Brother Tobirama, what about you?"

Their seniority was quickly settled. Hashirama was the oldest and became the eldest brother of the four.

Mito came next and became their second sister.

Tobirama was older than Shusen, making him the third, while Shusen was the fourth.

"My sister and I have another younger brother named Ashina. I'll introduce you to him when there's a chance."

"I've heard of him. Ashina is quite famous—the favored son of fortune of your Uzumaki Clan. I heard he accidentally picked up several ninjutsu scrolls, such as the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, Rasengan, Chidori, and so on," Tobirama said.

"Hahaha, he's just a little luckier than most. It's not that exaggerated."

Shusen secretly broke into a cold sweat. He had not expected his younger brother to become so famous for taking the blame for him.

Time passed quickly. First Kaguya Wuzhan had come looking for trouble, then the four of them had sworn their oath, and the entire morning slipped away just like that.

A maid came to deliver lunch for Shusen and Mito. Tobirama asked her to bring two more portions, and he and Hashirama simply stayed to eat with them.

Before they had even finished lunch, Ryū returned. He was rather surprised to see Tobirama and Hashirama, while a faint scent of blood still lingered in the air.

"Greetings, Uncle Ryū," Hashirama said respectfully.

"Uncle Ryū, my elder brother and I just became blood-sworn siblings with Shusen and Mito," Tobirama informed him.

Ryū was even more surprised upon hearing this. After some thought, he gave the younger generation a rare, kindly smile.

"That's good. The younger generations of our two clans should indeed interact more. The future belongs to you young people."

Ryū strongly supported the four of them becoming sworn siblings and was even gratified by it.

His second son was exceptionally ordinary. Being able to swear brotherhood with unparalleled geniuses like Hashirama and Tobirama meant he had truly latched onto powerful connections.

All four of them were over sixteen and had come of age. If they said they were becoming sworn siblings, then they meant it. It was naturally not some childish joke.

"The clan heads have already finalized the details of the truce agreement. There will be a banquet tonight. Tobirama, Hashirama, would you like to tour the imperial capital with me this afternoon?" Ryū invited.

"Sure. We haven't toured the imperial capital yet," the two agreed gladly.

Ryū then led the four of them out.

The imperial capital could be called the most prosperous and lively place in the Fire Country. The war had affected it far less than other places. Peddlers and commoners filled the streets, and the cries of vendors lined every road.

During the years of war, many refugees had wanted to flee to the imperial capital to live, but its population had long since reached its limit. The Daimyō had sent troops to drive them away, an act that had once made him deeply unpopular.

After passing through several streets and alleys, everyone's expression grew somewhat complicated. In troubled times, human lives were cheaper than grass. Only in the imperial capital could one see such a scene of peace and prosperity.

In other words, if even the imperial capital was not peaceful, then the Fire Country was likely not far from destruction.

"Hashirama, I heard from Butsuma that you also want to build a village?" Ryū asked.

Hashirama hesitated briefly before answering, "Yes. I want to build a village formed by all the ninja clans. Every war since ancient times has been started by ninja clans. If every clan has a place to live, perhaps true peace can be achieved."

Ryū shook his head. "It's a good idea, but unrealistic."

"Even Uzushio Village has found it extremely difficult merely to take in commoners. Unless you become strong enough to sweep through the Fire Country on your own, those ninja clans will never listen to you, much less form a village together."

Hashirama did not argue. He knew how difficult it would be himself.

But this was his dream. What was a dream? It was something one might not do, but must certainly think about.

Shusen laughed it off from the side. "Big Brother Hashirama is so talented. Maybe one day, he really will become strong enough to suppress every ninja clan by himself, hahaha..."

Ryū glared at him, embarrassed by his second son's foolish remarks.

Setting aside whether it was possible, even if Hashirama united the ninja clans through absolute force, he would die one day.

Whomever ended the chaotic age would also be the one whose death brought down the prosperous age.

"Mito, Shusen, walk every street and every corner of the imperial capital. Measure it with your own feet, then return and build Uzushio Village according to the imperial capital's model."

Ryū spoke calmly.

He did not have Hashirama's wild flights of fancy. Managing Uzushio Village well was his greatest wish.