The aftermath

When Madara's body had vanished completely into the flames, Kazemori Masaki thought, Farewell, Lord Madara. The age to come has no need for a God such as you.

Madara was dead, and his Mangekyō Sharingan had vanished with him. Black Zetsu could only wait for someone else with the Mangekyō Sharingan to appear. Although Madara's death would prompt Black Zetsu to take actions Kazemori Masaki could not predict, potentially affecting the future of the shinobi world, the benefits would outweigh the risks.

Rather than face an experienced Madara, Kazemori Masaki would much prefer to face a younger member of the Uchiha Clan. Even with the same Mangekyō Sharingan, the difference in experience would make that person far less dangerous than Madara.

Moreover, the Uchiha Clan was already part of the Shinobi Village. Kazemori Masaki could directly observe its members for a possible reincarnation of Indra, making it much harder for Black Zetsu to act in secret. The requirements for a Mangekyō that would never lose its sight were stringent and would be quite obvious to anyone watching closely.

The only drawback was that Black Zetsu would go into hiding again rather than operate openly as Zetsu. As long as Black Zetsu lived, his schemes against the reincarnations of Asura and Indra would never stop. The best solution was to eliminate Black Zetsu as well, but how could he do that?

At that moment, Kagami Uchiha finished gathering Madara's ashes. Hashirama then placed them inside his Sealing Scroll and told the others, "This will remain a secret between us. Tell everyone else that nothing remained of Madara's body after the battle. Once we return to the village, we'll find somewhere to bury his ashes."

Everyone understood that he did not want anyone disturbing Madara's rest, so they nodded in agreement. Tobirama had no intention of doing anything with Madara, either. Ashes alone had no research value, and even Impure World Reincarnation could not summon him from them. Even if he could be summoned, a clay body would be useless, nothing more than an echo of his soul. Tobirama let Hashirama have his way.

The group set off on their return journey. Hashirama had focused entirely on the battle until now. Looking at the devastation around him, he drew a deep breath and said, "I never imagined we would cause this much destruction."

Kazemori Masaki had already seen it on his way there. Now, something suddenly occurred to him, and he said to Kagami Uchiha, "Come to think of it, I wonder whether that village was caught up in this."

"Ah!" Kagami Uchiha remembered as well. "You're right. I wonder how things are over there."

Hearing this, Hashirama recalled that it was the site of their earlier mission and frowned slightly. He had done his best to divert Madara's attacks elsewhere. Though he had ensured that village would be safe, the other places...

Kazemori Masaki's reminder led Tobirama to another concern. His expression grew grave as he said, "This is bad. If villages and towns elsewhere were caught up in the destruction, our village will be in trouble."

Once people lost their homes, they would inevitably direct their resentment toward Konoha Shinobi Village. The capital of the Land of Fire would also be angered by such a major disturbance. They might even reprimand the ninja village and impose punishments, which would be extremely detrimental to its future.

Damn you, Madara, Tobirama cursed inwardly once more. If you wanted to leave, you should have just left quietly instead of always causing trouble for the village. Madara was dead now, free of every burden, while he and Hashirama were left to clean up the mess.

"This is all my fault." Hashirama sighed. "If anyone does come to us, the village will take responsibility. We'll give them some of the Senju Clan's land as compensation and allow them to live in the village."

"In that case, the Uchiha Clan will contribute some land as well," Kagami Uchiha said quickly. "This all began because of Lord Madara. The Uchiha Clan will certainly take responsibility."

"Haha, that's thoughtful of you." Hashirama smiled and did not refuse. If the Uchiha Clan contributed land, it would ease the burden on the Senju Clan. Even though the Senju Clan had great faith in Hashirama, there would still be objections if he gave away too much land at once.

Kazemori Masaki wanted to contribute some land, too. Hashirama and Tobirama would remember that contribution, but he simply did not own much. With so few people in his clan, he even needed the Senju Clan to manage it for him. If he gave it away, he would have to work himself to the bone on missions to support his family, just like the civilian ninja. Konoha did not yet have nearly enough sources of missions for that.

For now, Kazemori Masaki still needed his land to support his family. Once the village had more sources of missions and he could support his household on his own, he could consider contributing the land to the village.

What particularly interested Kazemori Masaki, however, was the village's plan to take in those displaced people. If his guess was right, the first group of civilian ninja might well emerge from among them.

When they returned to Konoha Ninja Village, they found that the village had already lifted its state of alert and begun restoring order. Seeing Hashirama return, Sasuke Sarutobi and the others hurried forward to ask whether he was all right and what had happened to Madara Uchiha.

Just as the five of them had agreed, they all said that nothing remained of Madara's body and that they had not even been able to recover his remains. Seeing Hashirama's profound sorrow, no one doubted them. After all, Hashirama truly grieved for Madara's death. His emotions were so genuine that they could not help believing him.

Once Hashirama and Tobirama returned, control of the village passed back into their hands. They immediately ordered an assessment of the losses and the reconstruction of the destroyed houses. Hashirama could ordinarily have built them with his own power, but he no longer had the strength and needed time to recuperate. Fortunately, his Wood Release Secret Technique had left behind plenty of wood, which could readily serve as building material.

As reconstruction began, Hashirama and Tobirama convened a High-Level Meeting. It focused on three main issues: first, how the neighboring villages and the Daimyo would react to such a major disturbance; second, the matter of the Nine-Tails, which Mito had sealed inside herself; and third, the Uchiha Clan.

In truth, this incident had badly frightened the Uchiha Clan. Madara's actions had all but put them over the fire. In this era, a leader's failings were usually held against the entire clan. Even though everyone knew Madara's attack had nothing to do with the Uchiha Clan, that did not stop them from resenting it.

Rather than truly hating the Uchiha Clan, they were afraid of its Mangekyō Sharingan. Madara's power had shaken everyone, and the Uchiha Clan had the potential to produce someone else like him. Its temperament was also notorious. No one could guarantee that another member would not go to the same extremes as Madara.

If the village truly chose to pursue the matter and hold the Uchiha Clan responsible for Madara's actions, the clan would have little to say in its defense. Its members also feared that their standing in the village would steadily decline.

Unexpectedly, Hashirama brushed past the matter of the Uchiha Clan with only a few words, focusing instead on the Daimyo and the Nine-Tails. The Uchiha Clan's members breathed a sigh of relief and felt deeply grateful to him. Compared with their leader Madara, Hashirama truly was a world apart.

During the meeting, however, one of Hashirama's requests puzzled the ninja clans. He wanted them to search their clan chronicles for traces of the other tailed beasts. He did not explain his reasons, but since the Hokage had requested it and it was no great undertaking, all the ninja clans agreed.

Hashirama's decision to aid people who might have suffered in the disaster met with some resistance from the ninja clans. However, once he explained that the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan would provide most of the land, the other clans had nothing more to say. To demonstrate their loyalty, they also offered token contributions of land.

Though their contributions were small, they had still provided land. Hashirama did not blame them. As the leader of the Senju Clan, he understood how important land was to a clan, and he would not force the ninja clans to contribute their own.

Soon afterward, the ruler of the Land of Fire sent someone to inquire about the incident. There were also quite a few people who had lost their homes because of it. Tobirama traveled to the capital of the Land of Fire, doing his utmost in talks with the Daimyo to minimize the incident's repercussions and persuade him to take in those who had been left homeless.

(End of chapter)