Newgate's Doubts

There are some inconsistencies in Natsu's words—according to what he just said, Hashirama Senju's strength was comparable to Rocks ', while Natsu's current strength has clearly surpassed that level.

Natsu did not answer directly, but simply placed the teacup back on the table, the porcelain making a very soft, crisp sound as it touched the wooden table.

"To everyone's surprise, Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju had known each other since they were young."

They met on a riverbank where no one knew each other, became friends, and didn't even know each other's surnames or which ninja clan they came from.

Two teenagers, facing the same river, made the same wish—that the Ninja World would be at peace, and that no more children would ever have to go to the battlefield.

"However, fate played a cruel trick. When they returned to their respective families and finally learned each other's surnames, they discovered that the other was their mortal enemy."

The Uchiha and Senju Clan, two arch-enemies who had fought for over a thousand years, and their most outstanding successors, unexpectedly became friends.

Forced by family pressure, the two had no choice but to fight each other on the battlefield.

Many years later, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha became the heads of their respective clans.

Faced with his former best friend, Hashirama Senju was unwilling to kill him.

He pleaded for Madara's forgiveness and hoped that the two clans could join forces to establish a completely new system—the ninja village.

In that system, children no longer had to go to the battlefield, and ninja clans no longer had to kill each other.

"Caught between his friend's pleas and the life or death of the Uchiha Clan, Madara Uchiha chose to compromise."

The two clans formed an alliance and, together with the Uzumaki Clan and other Shinobu clans, established an organization called ' Hidden Leaf Village '.

That organization was the first ninja village in the history of the Ninja World.

"After that, other countries followed suit and established their own ninja villages - Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning, Sunagakure in the Land of Wind, Iwagakure in the Land of Earth, and Kirigakure in the Land of Water."

More than a dozen small countries also established their own ninja villages.

Initially, Madara Uchiha before they became too powerful.

However, Hashirama Senju refused, citing his unwillingness to reignite the war.

"At first, there was nothing wrong with this. The Ninja World did indeed enjoy a rare period of peace, with countries living in harmony and ninja villages actively recruiting scattered ninja clans."

One by one, small and medium-sized ninja clans were absorbed into different ninja villages, eventually forming a pattern of Five Great Nations and several smaller ones.

A powerful ninja village can easily organize a massive ninja army consisting of tens of thousands of warrant officer-level ninjas and hundreds of colonel-level elites.

Faced with such military power, no matter how strong a single ninja clan is, it will be overwhelmed by the massive ninja army—except for Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju.

If everything goes smoothly, if everything is as Hashirama Senju predicted, then even if the Ninja World cannot achieve lasting peace, their terrifying strength alone would be enough to suppress it for decades."

Newgate didn't interrupt, but his fingers unconsciously tightened around the fabric on his knee.

He wasn't stupid; even with just these scattered pieces of information, he could already piece together a rough outline.

What is the true nature of a ninja village?

It involves bringing all the ninja clans together, using numerical superiority to replace the qualitative advantage of a single powerful clan.

This model worked perfectly when Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were alive—two monsters standing there, and no one dared to move. But what if those two were dead?

Just like the Four Emperors' pirate crews, even Red-Haired Shanks, would clash with the other Four Emperors over territory and profit. How much more so would a ninja village, pieced together from countless generations of ninja clans who have been enemies for generations?

The Uchiha Clan, as the defeated party in the war, were ultimately considered an outcast, even though they bore the title of "founding ninja clan."

Hatred isn't so easily resolved.

Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha could shake hands and make peace, but how could their clansmen—those Uchiha and Senju Clan who lost their fathers, brothers, and sons on the battlefield—truly let go?

The establishment of the ninja village, ironically, erased all the advantages that the Uchiha Clan once had as an independent and powerful family.

A massive elite force was enough to overwhelm any strong opponent with sheer numbers—and the Uchiha back then probably wasn't as strong as they are now.

At least Natsu and Fugaku and the others hadn't reached this point yet.

Otherwise, with just Natsu and Fugaku, they would be able to suppress all enemies who are hostile to the Uchiha.

Newgate suddenly remembered something.

Two years ago, the Uchiha Clan first entered the view of this sea, when they defeated more than 4,000 elite marines with only a few hundred men.

But looking back now, the Uchiha back then wasn't actually as strong as they are now.

At that time, Fugaku nearly lost to Gion, a candidate for Admiral, Uchiha Natsu couldn't even defeat Kizaru.

Later, the young man personally went to the Moby Dick and immediately asked about the Haki cultivation method.

As Newgate pieced these fragments together, he already had a vague idea in his mind.

Natsu's next words confirmed his guess.

"In the days that followed, Madara Uchiha gradually realized that something was wrong."

The Uchiha Clan has always been solitary and rarely interacts with other ninja clans. In addition, they were the defeated side in the war, so even with Hashirama Senju's recommendation, many ninja clans still chose Hashirama Senju as their first Hokage.

This wouldn't have been a problem originally.

Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju had no interest in power; what they wanted was peace, not titles.

Hashirama Senju even publicly promised that he would only serve for a maximum of four years, after which Madara Uchiha would succeed him as the Second Hokage, thus ensuring that Konoha would not fall into the hands of any single family.

"But all of this was shattered by one person."

Tobirama Senju, the Hashirama Senju.

As Hashirama Senju brother, Tobirama Senju's strength, though far inferior to his elder brother's, was still comparable to the vast majority of Yonko Commander Level powerhouses.

In addition, he was an extremely outstanding Ninjutsu master, as well as a qualified strategist and politician—the Space-Time Ninjutsu I once used, the ' Flying Thunder God Technique,' was created by Tobirama Senju.

As the second-in-command of the Senju Clan, Tobirama Senju's hostility towards the Uchiha Clan was ingrained in his very being, something that was perhaps unavoidable.

But what truly broke the balance was an incident— Tobirama Senju privately persuaded Hashirama Senju to abandon his previous promise and instead let the various ninja clans vote to elect the Second Hokage.

Hashirama Senju angrily rebuked his brother for his prejudice, but their conversation still reached Madara Uchiha's ears.