Meanwhile, the Uchiha Clan basked in the glory of the Uchiha. Although Uchiha Mu had made a decision that went against their ancestors, he had also spirited away women from both the Hyuga and Uzumaki clans. That was exciting news-though only the Uchiha men found it exciting.
The women scoffed at Uchiha Mu, but they did acknowledge his strength.
Yet the Uchiha Clan merely reveled in the power of Uchiha Mu and Madara Uchiha, making no effort to improve themselves. All they thought about was awakening their eyes and doubling their strength. Granted, awakening their eyes did bring a substantial increase in power.
But they lacked Uchiha Mu's and Madara Uchiha's advantages. One had the cheat of reincarnated chakra, while the other had a system. How could they possibly catch up? Yet these Uchiha were hopelessly caught up in the glory the two brought them. As for their own strength, even with three-tomoe eyes, a single squad of jonin sent against them would pretty much suffice.
The only one who saw through this was the acting clan leader, Uchiha Setsuna. His strength, however, was not enough to convince his clansmen. He wanted to break this state of affairs, but he could not.
Tobirama Senju harbored the greatest hostility toward Uchiha Mu. If the other Uchiha were the standard version, then Uchiha Mu was the Pro Max version. For now, though, he focused on gathering intelligence and copying the other man's developments. They were both developing their villages, after all, so there was nothing wrong with copying.
He thought the Shadow Clone and Rasengan that Uchiha Mu had created were excellent, and spent some time reproducing them. A master who invented all sorts of forbidden jutsu was not to be underestimated.
Of course, what angered Tobirama Senju most was that Uchiha Mu had actually stolen his Flying Thunder God technique, too. That left him with absolutely no qualms about stealing the other man's techniques.
Ever since Uchiha Mu had acquired his talent for space, he had mastered Flying Thunder God. This Space-Time Ninjutsu really was powerful. Only after gaining it had he dared to travel elsewhere without restraint.
Hashirama Senju did not feel much about any of this. He was naturally obtuse in such matters, and with his strength, he had little need to worry about them anyway. Ever since Madara attacked Konoha, however, he often went alone to the place where they had skipped stones together and stared blankly at the stream.
No matter what, Madara was his companion, the friend who had built the village alongside him. Yet Madara had brought a tailed beast to attack Konoha-the village they had finally managed to build, ending the years of fighting between the Senju and Uchiha.
"Peace. The Two-Tails and Seven-Tails are with Uchiha Mu, and I've captured all the other tailed beasts. It's time to hold another Five Kage Summit. This time, I'll definitely be able to advance peace." Hashirama Senju clenched his fists. For Konoha's peace, he would do anything, even kneel before them.
In Iwagakure, the Tsuchikage constantly followed news of Uchiha Mu. After receiving this intelligence, they likewise held a meeting to analyze it and assess the possibility of an alliance between the three parties.
This was also Ōnoki's first time attending such a meeting. He had already mastered Dust Release and flight, making him a clear candidate to become Tsuchikage.
"I don't think so. Someone that proud wouldn't ally with Konoha," Mū said, offering his opinion first.
"What about the Land of Whirlpools, then?" the Tsuchikage asked.
"I'm afraid he intends to annex it," Mū continued his analysis. Having been put through his paces by the Uchiha twice, he paid close attention to Uchiha Mu. Information about his trips to the Land of Whirlpools was generally easy to find if they looked, unless Uchiha Mu went there directly using Flying Thunder God.
"Annex it! Do you know what that means?" the First Tsuchikage asked gravely.
"If Uchiha Mu gains the Uzumaki Clan's power, his village will no longer have the strength of a minor shinobi nation." Mū remained expressionless. They had no way to stop it and could only watch. But if Uchiha Mu lived for a long time, they would be in trouble. By then, his village would likely have raised a large number of powerful shinobi as well.
"Could we join forces with the other villages to stop him?" The Tsuchikage took a deep breath. As far as he was concerned, one Konoha was enough. He really could not stomach another.
"I'm afraid not. First, there's Sunagakure. Since their Daimyo provides no funding, they survive by selling sand to Uchiha Mu. If Uchiha Mu stops buying their sand, they'll probably..." Mū did not continue. That alone made things clear enough.
"Could we buy that sand instead?"
"No. We already have enough of our own." Mū shook his head.
"Fine, forget Sunagakure. What about the other villages?" The Tsuchikage looked at Mū again. In his eyes, Mū was the future Second Tsuchikage.
"We can rule out Konoha. The Hyuga and Uchiha have too many tangled connections with him. If they participate, they might leak our intelligence. Kumogakure probably won't work either. Their shinobi avoid him whenever they carry out missions. Even if we brought them in, they'd only watch while we took the lead."
The Tsuchikage had a terrible headache. He had never expected this matter to be so difficult to handle. Could they only watch as Uchiha Mu absorbed the Uzumaki Clan?
"Lord Tsuchikage, Lord Mū, perhaps Kirigakure would agree. The Uzumaki Clan is relatively close to them. As for Kumogakure, we could promise them Sealing Jutsu," Ōnoki offered.
"Sealing Jutsu is used against tailed beasts. But aside from the two under Uchiha Mu's control, Hashirama Senju has already taken all the others back with him. That offer won't persuade them now." The Tsuchikage shook his head. It would not work with just them and Kirigakure. They would end up bearing the brunt of the storm.
Kirigakure was far away, while they were Uchiha Mu's immediate neighbors. If he retaliated, they would have no way to withstand it.
For a while, silence fell over the meeting. No one had a good way to stop any of this, and they could not bear the consequences.
"We'll leave it at that for now. Keep gathering intelligence on them." The Tsuchikage sighed. He could only hope later generations would change all this. Their generation was unfortunate, living in the same era as Hashirama, Madara, and Mu.
Kumogakure continued following its earlier policy: ignore everything connected to Uchiha Mu and keep a record of their grievances, then settle them all after he died. As for his annexation of the Uzumaki Clan, honestly, they could not stop it. Since that was the case, they would avoid confronting him for now. Even brutes knew to pick their opponents.
Kirigakure, meanwhile, was beginning to panic. The Land of Whirlpools was not far from them. What would they do if Uchiha Mu extended his reach here? They knew Kakuzu was buying orphans with all kinds of kekkei genkai on the black market, and he only wanted young ones.
Kirigakure, too, was a shinobi village made up of clans with kekkei genkai, as were many shinobi villages. They had heard that quite a few children from the Kaguya and Yuki clans had already been taken away. Yet they were helpless as well. Those bounty-hunting shinobi were flocking here like madmen.
They had the clearest firsthand understanding of just how wealthy Uchiha Mu was. Now that he was about to expand right to their doorstep, who would not panic?
"Lord Mizukage, why don't we wipe out the Uzumaki Clan before Uchiha Mu absorbs them?" one of them suggested.
"We'd best not. I've witnessed Madara Uchiha's strength, and Uchiha Mu is second only to him. A reputation that great isn't built on nothing," Hozuki Gengetsu countered. He had accompanied Lord Mizukage to Konoha, and it had been an unpleasant trip. Madara had used force to intimidate practically every village except Konoha.
"Then what do you suggest? If we don't wipe them out, once he absorbs them, he'll come straight to Kirigakure and take away our people with kekkei genkai!" the man roared. He belonged to the Yuki Clan. His daughter was only four when bounty-hunting shinobi took her away. If they met again in the future, she might not even recognize him as her father.
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