A New Foothold

"The Uchiha Clan will leave the Land of Fire!"

Madara's voice was low yet unquestionable, carrying clearly to everyone's ears. His words stirred up a storm!

"What?!"

Hashirama cried out in disbelief. The surrounding Uchiha Clan members also wore shocked expressions, while Tobirama remained unfazed, as though he had expected this all along.

Hashirama hurriedly asked, "Leave the Land of Fire? Then where will you go?"

"Where we go is none of your concern." Madara swept his gaze across the battlefield, his authoritative voice ringing beside everyone's ears. "Those who do not wish to leave may choose to stay."

"Wait, Madara! I never meant to drive you away!" Hashirama hurriedly explained. "The grudges between our two clans should not continue any longer. We can build a home together and welcome every clan in the Land of Fire. Wasn't that our childhood dream?"

"That is why, Hashirama, you are still so naive. You are immersed only in your own fantasies, but reality will not develop according to them." Madara cut him off in a deep voice. "Could the blood spilled over the past century truly be wiped away by a single sentence from you? Our existence may indeed forcibly suppress these conflicts, but one day, once hatred and prejudice erupt, all that will await us is destruction!"

The Uchiha Clan members exchanged glances. The Uchiha Clan had lived in the Land of Fire for far more than a century, leaving behind too much blood and too many tears. Leaving the Land of Fire meant abandoning their homeland. The road ahead was filled with the unknown and danger. Staying would inevitably bring exclusion, but at least they would not have to leave the home where they had survived until now.

However, the Uchiha Clan was still relatively united, and they still supported Uchiha Madara. After a brief moment of thought, without exception, they stood behind Madara and chose to continue following their leader.

Madara gave Hashirama one final look, then turned and prepared to lead his people away.

"Big Brother, we can't let them go!"

At that moment, Tobirama, who had been standing nearby, suddenly spoke. "Big Brother, letting them go now is like releasing a tiger back into the mountains. Sooner or later, they will harm us. We might as well eliminate them completely right here!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the air around them grew heavy once more. The ninjas on both sides instinctively placed their hands back on their weapons, warily watching each other's every movement.

"Tobirama Senju, you are welcome to try. At worst, we all perish together!"

A sudden voice rang out beside them. Turning around, they saw Yan Hong striding steadily over from the left, followed by the vast ranks of the Blood Pool Clan.

"I admit that if the Senju Clan goes all out, you have the ability to destroy our Uchiha Clan. But how much fighting strength would you have left afterward? At the very least, whether you, Tobirama Senju, can survive would be a question mark."

Yan Hong stopped beside his two brothers and fearlessly looked toward the Senju brothers. "Furthermore, I have already stationed people along the borders of the Land of Wind and Lightning Country. If they do not receive an additional message from me, then in three days, they will spread word within both countries that the Senju Clan has suffered severe losses. I would like to see whether you will still have the strength to resist an attack from those two countries then!"

"Heh, what a clever method." Tobirama's expression shifted slightly, though his tone remained icy. "Destroying the Uchiha Clan may be difficult, but killing a few of its leaders is not impossible!"

Madara frowned as chakra surged throughout his body. "You can try."

"Hmph, Madara, do you think I fear you? How much of your strength can you even use now?"

"Enough, Tobirama!"

Just as both sides stood on the verge of battle, Hashirama raised a hand and pressed it onto Tobirama's shoulder. His entire face was hidden in the shadow cast by his long hair, making his expression impossible to see, but his voice carried a trace of desolation. "Let them go."

"Big Brother... you! Sigh..."

Tobirama let out a sigh, knowing that today's matter would likely end here.

Madara looked at Hashirama with complicated eyes, silently turned away, and said, "Let's go!"

Yan Hong also quietly breathed a sigh of relief and added, "In three days, our Uchiha Clan will leave the Land of Fire!"

And so, Madara walked at the very front with his war fan on his back. Izuna and Yan Hong walked at his sides, while behind them followed every ninja of the Uchiha Clan and the Blood Pool Clan!

This time, Madara's back was no longer alone!

Hashirama silently watched them depart. In the end, he sighed and led everyone remaining in the opposite direction.

The evening sun dyed half the sky red. The two sides gradually moved farther and farther apart until they vanished beyond the horizon, leaving only a hazy shadow stretching across the center of the earth...

One day later, Uchiha Clan Grounds.

Inside the central tent, Uchiha Madara sat at the head of the room. Before him stood a massive round conference table, around which several high-ranking members of the Uchiha Clan and Blood Pool Clan sat in turn. The atmosphere was somewhat heavy, and everyone's face inevitably bore a trace of uncertainty about the future.

After a long while, someone finally asked, "Clan Head, what should we do next...?"

Madara turned to Yan Hong. "Yan Hong, you explain it."

Yan Hong nodded. After sweeping his eyes over everyone's expressions, he slowly said, "Everyone, the war has ended. We did indeed lose to the Senju Clan, but this is only a temporary defeat. One day, we will return to this country and reclaim everything that belongs to us."

"But Lord Yan Hong, when we lost before, we still had a chance to win it back. This time, we do not even have a home anymore, and we do not even know where to go. Are we supposed to seize territory in another great country?"

As soon as those words fell, the others all looked over as well. In truth, no one feared defeat. What they feared was helplessness and uncertainty about the future.

Yan Hong did not keep anything hidden any longer. He directly took out a map of the Shinobi World and spread it across the table. "Apart from the Land of Fire, the other four great countries have also begun to stabilize internally and are moving toward unification. If we enter now, we will instead face fierce resistance. That would not be wise."

"Therefore, our future objective will be divided into several stages. First, we seize a small country as our foundation. Once we are stable, we expand outward and forge a sixth power no weaker than the great countries. When that time comes, it will be the moment of our revenge."

Everyone's eyes lit up as they turned their attention to the map. Izuna urged, "Where exactly is it?"

"In fact, I have already sent a team there to muddy the waters. Now, it is the perfect time for us to harvest the fruits." As Yan Hong spoke, he extended a finger and pointed to a location on the map.

"And this will be where we begin our struggle for supremacy. Though its territory is not as vast as that of a great country, its resources are enough for our initial development. In three days, we will leave the Land of Fire and begin our new journey!"