Seeing that Tobirama Senju was still thinking, Uchiha Mu hurriedly said, "I'll buy what you're selling at market price. How about thirty million ryo to test the waters?"
"Market price? Are you sure?" The corners of Tobirama Senju's mouth lifted. He had no idea what this evil Uchiha brat was planning, but anything that squeezed money out of the Uchiha had his wholehearted approval.
"Of course. Keiko, give him the contract." Uchiha Mu looked at Keiko Uzumaki, and she handed the contract to Tobirama Senju.
Tobirama Senju read it, then asked, "What do you intend to do if I breach the contract?"
"Thirty million ryo is a fair price to find out what kind of man you are. I'd just have to say, 'As expected of the evil Senju.'" Uchiha Mu spread his hands.
"Heh. That's my line, you evil Uchiha brat." Tobirama Senju only tended to get emotional when dealing with the Uchiha.
"So, are you signing?"
"Yes. When do I get the money?" Tobirama Senju quickly signed his name.
"Keiko, give it to him."
Keiko Uzumaki rolled her pretty eyes and tossed Tobirama Senju a scroll containing exactly thirty million ryo.
"Did you plan this from the start?" Tobirama Senju looked at Uchiha Mu.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not running a charity. You're welcome to track this shipment. You'll understand then." Uchiha Mu stepped closer and patted Tobirama Senju on the shoulder.
Tobirama Senju's brow furrowed. He had tried to dodge just now, but failed. Uchiha Mu really was powerful. Perhaps only his elder brother could keep him in check.
"Come with me."
"I'm going to stop by the Uchiha Clan," Uchiha Mu replied.
"Hmm? What are you planning?" Tobirama Senju instinctively assumed that he wanted to persuade the Uchiha to leave.
"Relax. Of everyone outside our clan, you understand us best. Do you think a normal Uchiha like me could see eye to eye with them?" Uchiha Mu had no intention of taking the Uchiha Clan away at this point. He feared that if he did, they would use their connection to him as an excuse to run wild.
"Heh. You're the most unusual one of all. You two, come with me. Oh, and Hyuga Tenka wants to see you." Tobirama Senju looked at Hyuga Lingnai.
"All right. It's been a long time since I went back to the clan anyway." Hyuga Lingnai nodded. She did not care what the clan wanted to do, mainly because they now operated on entirely different levels. She dealt with villages and nations, while they dealt with the main and branch families. They could not see eye to eye either.
"I'd like to see Lady Mito," Keiko Uzumaki voiced her request.
"..." Tobirama Senju felt a headache coming on. Had they all come to visit relatives? If the other great nations saw this, wouldn't they assume the two sides had allied? Yet he could hardly refuse.
"I have a new business venture. Want to join in? It's very profitable," Uchiha Mu whispered like a devil tempting him.
"What business?"
"Canned fish."
"What's the split?"
"As expected of the Uchiha's old rival. You catch on fast. This much." Uchiha Mu gestured a number.
"Deal." Tobirama Senju finally understood what it meant to have no eternal enemies, only eternal interests.
After parting ways with Tobirama Senju, Uchiha Mu knew someone was following him, but he did not care. This was someone else's territory, after all. Once he reached the familiar clan grounds, he headed straight to his former home without disturbing any of the clansmen.
A light was on inside, meaning his house had already been reassigned. But Uchiha Mu did not linger over old memories. Instead, he went to the house next door, where an elderly Uchiha lived.
The old man had once been a warrior who fought against the Senju Clan, and he had saved Uchiha Mu before. After all, before awakening his Mangekyō Sharingan and transplanting Hashirama cells, Uchiha Mu had been utterly unremarkable. Now that he was back, he wanted to repay someone who had once looked after him.
"Uchiha Mu?" As if sensing something, the old man opened the door and asked.
"It's been a long time, old man." Uchiha Mu greeted him with a smile.
"You've become a powerful man, someone like the clan leader." The old man could not help marveling, then asked, "What brings you to Konoha this time?"
"Lord Hashirama invited us for talks. I wanted to hear what he had to say." Uchiha Mu took out a sum of money and handed it to the old man.
The old man did not refuse. Although the clan provided for its elders, he did not feel entirely comfortable relying on that. This money would make his remaining years a little better.
"Are you here to take the Uchiha away?" the old man asked after putting away the money.
"I'd like to, but..."
"Uchiha Mu!" Several Uchiha approached him. Despite their shouting, their activated Sharingan picked up on Uchiha Mu's powerful aura. Even though he was merely standing there lazily, their Sharingan told them that he was strong-and showed no openings whatsoever.
"How is this possible!" One of them swallowed, wanting to slap his trembling legs to make them stop.
"What do you want with me? To test my strength?" Uchiha Mu looked at them.
Silence fell. Some clansmen refused to believe that their once-inconspicuous fellow clansman had reached Madara's level, unable to escape the world of their own delusions.
"You're mistaken about one thing. The Uchiha's glory doesn't come from your surname. It comes from people like Madara and me, who make others recognize the Uchiha's strength through our own power." Uchiha Mu sighed helplessly. This was also why he-
"You think you're Lord Madara?" one of the Uchiha demanded angrily. How had this happened? He had trained with Uchiha Mu before, and they had both won and lost against each other.
Yet after leaving Konoha, Uchiha Mu's strength had skyrocketed to Madara's level. How could he possibly believe that?
"Is it because you've seen Lord Madara's strength, but not mine?" Uchiha Mu shook his head. He knew all of them. They were clansmen he had once trained with, hiding his strength to fight them on equal terms. Now, somehow, that had become the source of their anger.
The next moment, they froze in place. As Uchiha, they knew they had fallen under genjutsu and hurriedly tried to break free, only to discover that they could not dispel it at all. They remained trapped until Uchiha Mu released them himself.
When they saw that Uchiha Mu had used only his Three-Tomoe Sharingan the entire time, their expressions grew even uglier.
"Don't mistake me going easy on you back then for proof that your strength matched mine." Uchiha Mu slowly walked past them.
"Why did you betray the clan?" one of them turned to ask him.
"Betrayal? What did I betray? Did founding a village elsewhere count? Or marrying someone from another clan?" Uchiha Mu turned to look at them. This was another reason he disliked the clan. They had little strength to speak of, yet were always spouting off about the clan's glory.
Seeing that Uchiha Mu understood perfectly well yet showed no remorse, they still did not dare provoke him again. Even with their three-tomoe eyes, they had been unable to put up a proper fight against that genjutsu. The gap was so vast that they had been forced to face reality.
"What did you come back for?"
"To collect a few things," Uchiha Mu said. He had left in a hurry last time and taken only Izuna Uchiha's Sword. This time, he intended to take all of Izuna's belongings. Of course, he would also straighten the clan out while he was at it. With attitudes like theirs, they would not be welcome even if he took them to the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Nation.
Before you continue