Talks (III)

After all their arguing, it came down to one thing: Konoha was too powerful, and they did not trust it. Of course, that did not mean they distrusted Hashirama Senju. His reputation spoke for itself, and the fact that the strongest man in the shinobi world had chosen this approach without hesitation when dealing with them had already moved them.

But while their feelings were genuine, so was their concern for their villages' futures. They did not want the villages they had worked so hard to build to suffer a devastating blow down the line.

The reason they could afford not to launch a war now was that, from the Warring States Period to the Shinobi Village era, the population was still small. However scarce resources were, there was enough for the villages to survive and develop. But once peace began, the population would grow rapidly. When a nation's own resources could no longer meet its needs, war would begin.

Uchiha Mu believed this applied to any world. That was why, from the outset, he had decided to gather talent while harvesting wealth during the Great Ninja Wars.

Seeing that everyone was still arguing, Hashirama spoke. "I will distribute the tailed beasts. That will ensure every Shinobi Village has enough strength to deter the others from going to war, even after I die."

The other four Kage exchanged looks, all moved by Hashirama's sincerity. Then they began discussing how to divide the tailed beasts. Sunagakure went first, believing the One-Tail suited them best.

But Konoha already had the Nine-Tails, and Uchiha Mu had taken the Two-Tails and Seven-Tails. That left only six tailed beasts for their four great nations, and none of them wanted just one.

"I'll divide them." Hashirama did not want any more arguing, so he assigned the One-Tail to Sunagakure. Although the One-Tail did not have much chakra, it had mastered ninjutsu and sealing jutsu, making it more troublesome than an average tailed beast and placing it among the stronger ones. Sunagakure also asked for some money; the village was desperately short of funds.

The Three-Tails and Six-Tails, both suited to water, went to the Land of Water. The Four-Tails and Five-Tails still went to the Land of Earth, while the Land of Lightning received the Eight-Tails. They were missing the Two-Tails, but since the Eight-Tails was theoretically the second strongest, Kumogakure said nothing.

The talks had more or less achieved their purpose. They had never expected to launch a war while Hashirama was alive anyway; that would have been fucking idiotic. They had gained power and new benefits from this meeting, making it a very profitable trip.

Tobirama Senju watched everything unfold without saying a word. He knew the risks, but he also understood his older brother. Once Hashirama had made up his mind, even a thousand donkeys could not drag him back.

What Hashirama had told Madara was true as well. Anyone who stood in the way of Konoha's peace, whether a friend or a brother, would never receive his forgiveness.

"Hashirama, I have a request." Only then did Uchiha Mu speak.

Tobirama Senju immediately had a bad feeling. This fellow's requests were never anything good. And since he had received neither a tailed beast nor anything else from Konoha, Hashirama would surely find it hard to refuse him.

"Go ahead, Mu." Hashirama had a fairly good impression of Uchiha Mu. He had volunteered to help teach the village's ninja and treated everyone equally. He had not made things difficult for Hashirama during the meeting, either. As far as Hashirama could see, that film had no particular significance; perhaps it was just a way to earn a little more money.

"I want to take any ordinary Uchiha who are willing to leave with me." Uchiha Mu had decided to take some of the Uchiha away. Truthfully, he did not want to bother taming those who had awakened their eyes. They were too much trouble.

The ordinary Uchiha, however, had quite decent temperaments. With the right education, they would surely produce normal people like Uchiha Sasuke in the future. He would have to think carefully about awakening their eyes, though. Not everyone could restrain themselves the way he could.

Perhaps leaving their eyes unawakened would be a good thing, too. Madara Uchiha's original goal had also been to take care of his clan. He had not cared how strong his clansmen were, because he could protect them himself.

With that thought, Uchiha Mu made up his mind. It would also give the Uchiha from the original story a chance to survive. If he took some clansmen away, the Konoha F4 would have to consider the consequences of slaughtering Uchiha outside the village. One wrong move could mean war.

Of course, given Itachi's mental state, it might ultimately come down to the Uchiha outside the village dealing with Uchiha Itachi on their own.

"Sorry, I cannot decide for them. But if they are willing to leave with you, I won't stop them," Hashirama said.

Tobirama Senju closed his eyes. He should never have come to this meeting today. Staying here too long felt like it would damage his sanity. Everything he had heard today had sent his blood pressure soaring. Better to put it out of sight and out of mind.

The Kage of the other Shinobi Villages exchanged glances, deciding that the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Nation was even more troublesome than they had thought. If it failed to produce a powerful Uchiha in the future, they would have to wipe it out and leave no survivors.

"Good." Uchiha Mu nodded.

The peace agreement was signed, and the details were largely settled. Hashirama took the other villages' Kage on a tour of Konoha, but none of them were in the mood. The four great nations wanted to take their tailed beasts home as soon as possible to study them. Since they had given Hashirama their word, they had no intention of starting a war over the next few years. They could all focus on bringing their tailed beasts under control without worry.

After all, Hashirama had already said that, now that they had signed the Peace Treaty, his Wood Release would come crashing down on whoever broke it. Just listen to that. It was terrifying. So they did not need to guard against one another; they only needed to focus on their research.

As for the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Nation, they ignored it. After gathering intelligence for so long, they had come to realize that Uchiha Mu had no intention of invading anyone. He just kept earning money and buying land. Naturally, the great nations would not sell, wanting to preserve the integrity of their territories.

The smaller nations were another matter. After all, if war truly broke out in the future, they would merely die a slow death. The Land of Rain in the original story was a perfect example: its daimyo had become little more than a figurehead.

That evening, they finally parted ways with Hashirama. Keiko Uzumaki pressed a hand to her forehead. "I can finally say it. Isn't Lady Mito's man far too naive?"

Because of her particular position, she frequently came into contact with all kinds of intelligence. She knew perfectly well that war would break out in the shinobi world. Yet what had Hashirama done? Instead of settling things by force while he had the power, he had strengthened the others by handing over the tailed beasts.

Having contact with tailed beasts every day, she knew that only a handful of people could defeat them. If they became jinchūriki, they would be extremely difficult to handle. Hyuga Lingnai was proof enough. She had gone from an ordinary special jonin to someone whom ninja who could not fly could barely do anything against, and she was not even a jinchūriki.

Keiko Uzumaki dared not imagine what would happen if she became one. Given Hyuga Lingnai's relationship with Chōmei, she would be a perfect jinchuriki from the moment she became a host.

"Perhaps someone is influencing him." Uchiha Mu was referring to Asura's chakra. He found it absurd, too, but given Hashirama's overwhelming strength, there was little he could say.

While Hashirama lived, it was difficult to do anything. He had no desire to waste time fighting Hashirama, so he might as well wait until the man died. Waiting would cost him nothing. By then, he would only be in his twenties at most, still very young.

"So, Mu, how do you plan to recruit them? Konoha is peaceful now, too. Won't it be difficult to get them to leave a place where they've been rooted for a thousand years?" Hyuga Lingnai changed the subject. She also thought Hashirama was absurd, but he had the strength to back it up, so there was little she could say. This was a world where the strong preyed on the weak, after all.