Chapter 33

"I found a record in an old clan book-the Uchiha, Senju, and Uzumaki Clans most likely shared a common ancestor a thousand years ago."

"That ancestor was the Sage of Six Paths."

Both Uzumaki Mito and Tsunade froze at those words. "What? Are you sure?"

The Senju and Uchiha had fought for over a thousand years, and now she was telling them the two clans had the same ancestor?

And the Sage of Six Paths, at that?

Wasn't that the stuff of myth?

"More or less." Uchiha Chisato nodded, turning her gaze toward Tsunade. "Have you studied the blood cells of the Uchiha and Senju?"

Tsunade waved her off. "I'm not interested in that stuff. You've got the wrong person."

"That's Orochimaru's field."

"But I think I understand what you mean-there are a lot of similarities between the two clans' bloodlines, and they complement each other, right?"

"That really could establish whether they shared an ancestor."

"I'm starting to believe you."

"But if they came from the same bloodline, how did they end up mortal enemies for a thousand years?"

It made no sense. What on earth had happened along the way?

"Who knows?" Uchiha Chisato had heard plenty from Xunjing and knew exactly what had happened-it was nothing more than the grudges between the Sage of Six Paths' two sons, Asura and Indra.

When it came down to it, it hardly merited mentioning.

"Even today, brothers can turn against each other."

"Anything could happen over a thousand years."

Uchiha Chisato brushed the question aside with a vague answer.

"True." Tsunade nodded in agreement.

Uzumaki Mito steered the conversation back. "Then what does that have to do with your proposal for intermarriage between our three clans?"

Uchiha Chisato continued, "According to the legend I read, the Senju and Uzumaki inherited the Sage of Six Paths' Sage Body, while the Uchiha inherited his Sage Eye."

"Of course, after a thousand years, our bloodlines have thinned and our abilities have declined."

"But if our three clans intermarried, and our descendants inherited all our talents, how powerful would they be?"

"We might really produce a monster."

"It would benefit all three clans. Why wouldn't we do it?"

Uchiha Chisato made it sound wonderful, but inwardly, she had a different plan.

With Xunjing's Space-Time Gate contracts binding them together, they could begin with intermarriage. Eventually, everyone in the three clans would become contracted to Xunjing.

That would be much easier than becoming Hokage and slowly infiltrating them afterward.

Even if the three clans retained their names, their substance would have changed completely.

"Do you have any evidence that combining the three clans would produce stronger children?"

Uzumaki Mito watched her with a piercing gaze.

She could sense that Uchiha Chisato was concealing deeper intentions.

But she had no intention of digging into them.

Even if she asked, the other woman wouldn't tell her.

As long as the reasons she offered held up, though, Uzumaki Mito was willing to try.

After all, it really would benefit all three sides.

"Of course."

Uchiha Chisato nodded and pointed at herself.

"I came to this conclusion by considering my recent recovery alongside that legend."

"I didn't believe it before, either, and never gave it much thought."

"But this time, Xunjing healed my body, raising both my life origin and Life Force to a new level."

"Nourished by that stronger Life Force, my damaged left eye has begun to recover."

"It would have improved even without the Eye Medicine Xunjing prepared."

"Even more astonishingly, my blind right eye has shown signs of recovering, too."

"That shows just how much a stronger physique can benefit the Sharingan."

"If someone possessed both the Sharingan and a Sage Body..."

"Awakening their eyes would be easy, and even the Mangekyo Sharingan wouldn't be difficult."

"And with a sufficiently strong body and abundant Life Force, even an overused Mangekyo Sharingan could recover on its own."

"That's why I want to try intermarriage between our three clans. What do you think?"

Uchiha Chisato's words weren't entirely false.

But there was another intention she hadn't revealed.

She wanted to use intermarriage to test a possibility-awakening the Eternal Eye without consuming a relative's eyes.

If it worked, the Uchiha's future would no longer have to be paved with blood.

It could also stop people from targeting their own relatives for the Eternal Eye.

The Uchiha Clan's ugly tradition of killing their own should end here.

If merging their bloodlines allowed a descendant to awaken the Rinnegan, that would be the true prize.

Still, Uchiha Chisato knew it wouldn't be that simple.

Madara Uchiha had awakened his Rinnegan through a combination of being Indra's reincarnation and possessing Hashirama Senju's cells. Both had been essential.

An ordinary Eternal Eye paired with a Sage Body might not replicate that process.

Even Xunjing wasn't sure whether awakening the Rinnegan required those two ancestors' chakra.

"When you put it that way..."

Uzumaki Mito considered it for a moment, then nodded. "It could work."

"But we need to settle one issue first-if a Senju or Uzumaki woman marries into another clan and her child awakens the Sharingan, what happens then?"

"We can't just send the child back to the Uchiha and change their surname to Uchiha, can we?"

"The same goes the other way. If an Uchiha descendant awakens a Sage Body or Adamantine Sealing Chains, we can't send them back to the Senju or Uzumaki."

"If we don't establish rules for this, we'll have serious trouble later."

Once their bloodlines mixed, the Sharingan would no longer belong exclusively to the Uchiha. Abilities such as the Sage Body, Adamantine Sealing Chains, and Mind's Eye of the Kagura would also spread beyond the Senju and Uzumaki.

Where clan legacies were concerned, no one could afford to be careless.

"Children will belong to whichever clan they're born into."

Uchiha Chisato's tone was decisive. "I believe this will bring our three clans closer and closer together. Sooner or later, our old grudges and divisions will fade. Don't you agree?"

By then, all these people would be workers for her son anyway.

"All right. It's settled, then."

Uzumaki Mito knew Uchiha Chisato surely had other plans, but whatever they were, neither the Senju nor the Uzumaki would lose out.

Besides, saving the Uzumaki Clan really did require the Uchiha's strength.

In the end, she nodded her agreement.

"We can't force these marriages."

Uzumaki Mito added, "Our three clans can hold regular matchmaking events and let the young people find someone they like."

"As long as roughly as many people marry into each clan as marry out, it'll be fine. What do you think?"

"No problem."

Naturally, Uchiha Chisato had no objections.

Her only concern was that too many Uchiha women might marry out of the clan.

Everyone knew the Uchiha Clan was famous for its handsome men and beautiful women.

"Once you've decided on a time for the rescue, just let me know in advance. I'll send people to join your operation."

Uchiha Chisato gave her promise.

"Good."

Uzumaki Mito finally breathed a sigh of relief.

With the matter settled, the weight on her heart finally lifted.

With the Uchiha Clan's support, combined with the Senju and Uzumaki's own strength, they could hold off even a joint surprise attack by the Four Great Shinobi Villages and escort the Uzumaki Clan safely to settle in Konoha.

After all, those four villages couldn't send large armies into the Land of Whirlpools. At most, they could assemble some elite shinobi for a small raid.

Afterward, Uzumaki Mito and Uchiha Chisato continued chatting.

Meanwhile, Tsunade pulled Xunjing aside to exchange more medical insights.

At noon, Uzumaki Mito kept them for lunch before they said their goodbyes.

As soon as Uchiha Chisato and the others left, word reached the Third Generation. Hiruzen Sarutobi hurried over to Uzumaki Mito's home.

As for Danzo and the others?

They didn't dare show their faces.

They were afraid of getting beaten up.

The moment he entered, Hiruzen Sarutobi noticed that Uzumaki Mito's presence, which had been steadily weakening, had actually grown more than twice as strong.

From the look of it, she could live at least several more years.

Though he felt somewhat displeased and sensed that something was amiss, the Third Generation maintained a respectful, curious expression as he asked:

"Lady Mito, how did the talks go? The Uchiha won't cause any trouble, will they?"

"Also, your Life Force seems to have recovered quite a bit. Was that Uchiha Chisato's doing?"

"That's right."