A lasting deterrent

Madara and Hashirama's battle had drastically altered the surrounding terrain. Aside from creating the vast canyon later known as the Valley of the End, it had devastated vegetation elsewhere and left great swaths of land in ruins. Many villages and towns had been caught in the fighting, and by the time the battle ended, most were uninhabitable.

The ruler of the Land of Fire usually dealt with homeless Refugees by offering relief and sending them home, but in this case, their land had been destroyed in the battle and was unusable. Under ordinary circumstances, they would have only two options: place themselves under a lord within the country or remain homeless.

On Tobirama's advice, the Daimyo agreed to the request, allowing these Liu to settle in Konoha Ninja Village. Tobirama also had other matters to discuss with the Daimyo, and while he was still in the Capital, orders had already reached Konoha Ninja Village to begin preparations for receiving the Liu.

Naturally, those who had lost their homes held no affection for Konoha Ninja Village, which had destroyed them. They felt they had suffered a completely undeserved disaster. But Konoha Ninja Village readily admitted its fault and offered to allot them land, so they were willing to accept its goodwill.

One fortunate thing was that Hashirama and Madara's fight had drawn their attention before it grew in scale, giving them time to get out of the way. Though they had lost their homes, not a single person had died.

Even if someone had died, their family might have hated Konoha, but practical necessity would still have driven them to settle in Konoha Ninja Village. The fact that no one had died was the best possible outcome, at least ensuring that they would not hate the village because of it.

In Kazemori Masaki's eyes, these villagers were truly fortunate. They lived in the Land of Fire, where someone would be willing to take them in even after they lost their homes—after all, no one would turn away a source of labor. And living in Konoha Ninja Village meant they did not have to worry about exploitation. Because of its system, the ninja village was unlike other feudal lords: most of its income came from the Daimyo.

Among the villagers who arrived were people from the village where Kazemori Masaki and the others had carried out their mission. They also saw Ichiro and the girl again. Ichiro had never resented Konoha Ninja Village. What the village was doing was already very generous—or rather, deep down, he had hoped he could come and live there.

Ichiro had heard the girl describe how Kazemori Masaki and the others had handled the bandits. According to what he had heard, the people living here were all ninja like them. Whatever else settling in such a village might offer, at least he would no longer have to worry about bandits coming around.

Moreover, if they lived in this village, they would not have to pay a separate mission fee. The village would fend off outside enemies itself. With no bandits to worry about and land of their own, would they not be living even better than before?

Ichiro's thoughts were shared by most of the others. Though Madara and Hashirama's battle had disrupted their lives, they had also witnessed Konoha Ninja Village's strength. There was no question that it offered a sense of security, and after learning about their rights to the land, they all felt that Konoha Ninja Village was better than the places where they had lived before.

Though many villagers had moved in, the land provided by the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan was enough to support them. To lessen Madara's impact on the Uchiha Clan's reputation, Kagami Uchiha had offered even more land than the Senju Clan. While this pleased everyone else, it also stirred some discontent within the Uchiha Clan.

The faction led by Kagami Uchiha knew they needed to take responsibility, but some who were dissatisfied with Kagami felt there was no need to give up so much land. Though it was only a small portion of the Uchiha Clan's holdings, losing it still stung, especially since these people believed they should not have to answer for Madara's unauthorized actions.

Kagami Uchiha understood their selfish thinking. Every clan had people like that, and the Uchiha Clan had quite a few. But he was the Clan Head, and despite his youth, his outstanding strength had earned him considerable support. His supporters were also reasonable people, so the dissenters could do no more than grumble. They could not influence the clan's decisions.

After a period of rebuilding, Konoha Shinobi Village returned to its former state. The villagers settled down there and lived peacefully, much as they had before. Meanwhile, some of their children became curious about ninja and asked questions about them.

When Tobirama returned from the Capital and heard about this, he immediately saw an opportunity and spoke to Hashirama about reorganizing the Konoha Academy.

By then, the Konoha Academy had all but fallen into disuse. After Tobirama took on his students, the teachers who came to teach were unwilling to reveal their clans' secret techniques and covered only basic knowledge. Naturally, this held no appeal for the clan heirs. Only some students from branch families still came to listen.

Tobirama believed the Konoha Academy had served its purpose in its current form and should now try opening its doors to other commoners. Knowledge that the clans considered insignificant was extremely valuable to ordinary people.

After his battle with Madara, Hashirama could clearly feel something vital within his body gradually slipping away. He sensed that he might not have long to live and was already considering stepping down in favor of Tobirama. A matter this small hardly required his input, so he left it entirely in Tobirama's hands.

Originally, Hashirama had intended to step down immediately and focus on recovering from his injuries. But since his days were numbered, he decided to make what use he could of the time he had left. By then, the five countries had stabilized their internal affairs and begun testing other nations. Barely ten years had passed since the Warring States period ended, and each country still harbored ambitions of further conquest and territorial expansion.

Hashirama's original plan had been to convene a conference of the five countries and try to preserve peace without resorting to war. But things were different now. He was dying, and once he was gone, Konoha Ninja Village would no longer possess a deterrent against the other countries.

Now, however, Hashirama had thought of a new method. People died and could not remain a deterrent forever, but tailed beasts were different. They were immortal; even if they died, they would revive. Their power could serve as a lasting deterrent. After witnessing the Nine-Tails' strength, Hashirama firmly believed that tailed beasts could take his and Madara's place.

That was also why Hashirama had asked members of the other clans to gather information on the tailed beasts. He intended to spend what remained of his life capturing them all, then distributing them among the other countries as permanent military deterrents. By balancing each nation's strength, he hoped to prevent wars between them.

Tobirama knew about Hashirama's condition and agreed to his final plan. He would also do everything he could to help Hashirama arrange the distribution of the tailed beasts.

"This will be my final mission as the First Hokage," Hashirama told Tobirama. "After I die, you must protect the children of the village. Make sure they never have to take to the battlefield at such a young age, as we once did."

"I understand, Brother," Tobirama said solemnly. "Whatever methods it takes, I will keep the village safe and make your Dream a reality."

"Then I'll leave the village in your hands," Hashirama said.

Afterward, the Ninja Clan gave Hashirama the information they had gathered on the tailed beasts. Through analysis, they identified places where the beasts might appear or hide. Aside from the Nine-Tails within Mito and the One-Tail sealed in a temple in the Land of Wind, seven tailed beasts remained free. Hashirama then began preparing to capture them.

(End of chapter)