A crisis of trust

Kagami Uchiha hurried out of the Academy and headed straight for the Uchiha Clan's residential compound. As he passed through the streets, he clearly heard people discussing Madara Uchiha's defection. Though reason told him it could not be true, so many people were talking about it that he could hardly believe the rumors had come out of nowhere. Whatever the truth was, something serious must have happened within the clan.

Kagami Uchiha was frantic. He wished he could return to the compound in an instant. Fortunately, Konoha Ninja Village was not very large yet, and he soon reached the Uchiha Clan's residential compound.

Some Uchiha clansmen were talking among themselves. When they saw Kagami Uchiha stride in, they hurried over and began speaking one after another. Kagami could barely make sense of what they were saying, but he understood one thing—their Clan Head, Madara Uchiha, had indeed left the village.

Kagami Uchiha asked everyone to quiet down and assured them he would look into the matter shortly. As the Uchiha Clan's heir, he held a certain amount of authority within the clan. The clansmen calmed down and cleared a path so he could seek out the clan's senior members.

Before long, Kagami Uchiha learned the whole story. Their Clan Head, Madara Uchiha, had spent the past several days in the basement of the Naka Shrine. Hashirama, the First Hokage, had come to speak with him, only to leave the clan compound looking grave. Just as everyone was growing uneasy, Madara suddenly appeared before them and announced that he wanted the entire clan to leave Konoha Ninja Village.

After Konoha Ninja Village was founded, the Uchiha Clan gradually grew tired of their old life of endless fighting and killing. Here, they lived and worked in peace. Madara, however, continued to hold radical views. Not only the Senju Clan led by Hashirama, but even the Uchiha Clan itself struggled to agree with their Clan Head's ideas.

Back when Hashirama first proposed marriage alliances on a large scale, Madara had firmly rejected his offer. The clansmen could not understand it. This was an excellent opportunity to improve relations with the Senju Clan—why throw it away? The repeated conflicts between Madara and Hashirama afterward led them to believe that Madara still harbored hostility toward the Senju Clan. That must have been why he had rejected their goodwill, and as a result, relations between the two clans had grown tense again.

Under these circumstances, the Uchiha clansmen's respect for Madara gradually faded. And now he was actually calling on them to leave the village. Having long since tired of battle, they had no desire to face an uncertain life again. How could they agree?

When Madara saw that no one was willing to leave with him, he said nothing and simply turned away. Just as the others were worrying about what radical action he might take next, he left the village alone.

According to the clansmen, Madara had left wearing the Red Armor, with the Sage Tool—the Gunbai—on his back, as though he were heading into battle. His appearance seemed to declare that he would remain hostile toward the Senju Clan no matter what.

Kagami Uchiha's heart turned cold. He had never imagined Madara would do something like this. He could not understand Madara's thinking now. All he knew was that the Uchiha Clan was about to find itself in trouble.

In less than half a day, news of Madara Uchiha's departure spread throughout Konoha Shinobi Village. Every ninja clan was shocked, and all of them grew concerned about the village's future.

Back then, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha had shaken hands, made peace, and decided to establish Konoha Shinobi Village. That alone had demonstrated Hashirama Senju's sincerity—Look, even mortal enemies like us can forgive each other and hope to live in the same place. What do Ninja Clans without such deep blood feuds with us have to fear?

Apart from the Ninja Clans that agreed with Hashirama's ideals, many others had placed their trust in him and joined Konoha Shinobi Village precisely because the two clans had made peace.

Yet Madara Uchiha's departure had torn that bond of trust apart—The words sounded wonderful, but in the end, two sides bound by a blood feud still could not live together. Had Konoha Shinobi Village not been established for nearly nine years, with its ninja clans getting along well, this could have brought it to the brink of division in its early days.

Even so, the seed of division had already been planted. If Hashirama Senju, as the First Hokage, failed to properly handle the repercussions of Madara Uchiha's departure, that seed would sprout sooner or later and grow unchecked. All his hard work would be destroyed in an instant.

Every Ninja Clan was watching and waiting for Hashirama Senju to make his position clear. In truth, they genuinely liked Konoha Shinobi Village and did not want it to fall apart.

Although Tobirama had known Madara Uchiha would cause trouble, he had never expected something this serious, and he was furious. He regarded the Konoha Ninja Village his brother had built as something he must protect. Everything he did was meant to help the village prosper, yet Madara Uchiha wanted to destroy it all.

Before, Tobirama had merely been wary of Madara's ideas, which was why he had little fondness for him. Now, he felt nothing but disgust. Looking at Hashirama's somber face, his loathing for Madara Uchiha deepened. Even so, he still had to clean up the mess the man had left behind.

Because of their clans' past blood feud, Tobirama indeed had little affection for the Uchiha Clan. But out of consideration for Hashirama's wishes, he was still willing to regard them as part of the village. Madara Uchiha certainly had problems, but the other clansmen still had a chance to mend their ways.

Tobirama was very fond of children like Kagami Uchiha. If everyone in the Uchiha Clan were like Kagami, he would have nothing to worry about.

"Brother, if we want to handle this properly, we must separate Madara from the Uchiha Clan," Tobirama told Hashirama. "This betrayal was Madara's personal decision, not a conflict between the Uchiha Clan and the village. We must make that position absolutely clear."

"Madara didn't betray us," Hashirama said after a moment of silence. "He simply didn't want to stay here anymore."

"That isn't for us to decide. In everyone else's eyes, Madara violated the principles on which the village was founded. He is a traitor to the village," Tobirama said, shaking his head.

"Ah..." Hashirama sighed, unable to refute him.

"It isn't just us, brother. Even the Uchiha Clan must abandon Madara," Tobirama said. "The Uchiha Clan insists that Madara acted on his own and that they never intended to turn their backs on the village. Kagami Uchiha has also spoken to me several times, assuring me that they remain firmly on the village's side."

"In that case, let's do as you say." Hashirama had no other solution. He had already lost his dear friend; he could not lose everything he had worked for as well.

Tobirama nodded. His brother Hashirama was still sensible when it came to matters of principle. "Over the past six years, relations between the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan have grown increasingly strained because of Madara. This time, we absolutely cannot allow someone like him to ruin things. The Uchiha Clan's next Clan Head must be someone who supports the village."

Though hearing his younger brother refer to Madara as "someone like him" displeased Hashirama, Madara's actions had hurt him too, so he said nothing. Tobirama's next words, however, lifted his spirits somewhat. That was right—he still had to preserve the friendship between the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan.

"I remember Madara's heir is Kagami Uchiha," Hashirama recalled. "He's a good child. If it's him, he'll certainly be willing to foster friendship between the Uchiha and the Senju."

"However, there is some trouble within the Uchiha Clan," Tobirama said. "Since Kagami Uchiha was chosen as heir by Madara, some Uchiha clansmen feel that proving their innocence to the village means cutting every last tie with Madara. By that reasoning, Kagami Uchiha is unfit to become Clan Head."

"What nonsense!" Hashirama could not help snapping. He could see that the real motive behind those malicious accusations was resentment over Kagami Uchiha's claim to the clan leadership. Yet at a time like this, their argument sounded all too reasonable. It struck Kagami right where he was most vulnerable.

"According to the agreement between the village and the ninja clans, the Hokage has no right to interfere in a clan's internal affairs. If the Uchiha Clan strips Kagami of his status as heir, there is little we can say." Tobirama looked Hashirama in the eyes. "Brother, if you want to preserve the friendship between the Senju and the Uchiha, you need to make your position known."

Hashirama looked up at his younger brother and nodded. As both the Senju Clan's Clan Head and the First Hokage, he was the only one who could handle this. Only him.

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(End of chapter)