Inside Taiji Hall, Pangaea Castle.
Tetsuhiro listened to Hatake Shinha's report with a frown.
"According to our squad's investigation, the Land of Water and the Land of Earth have been moving ninja frequently of late. Their intentions are unclear."
"It's only been thirty days, and Black Zetsu already can't sit still."
Leaning against a pillar, Madara opened his eyes at those words. A faint purple light shone from them.
"Perfect. I'll test these eyes on him."
The pressure of his presence left everyone around him unnerved. Lord Hokage had already been powerful enough, but now he was even stronger...
"Those are the legendary eyes of the Sage."
Tobirama looked grim as he leafed through the latest experimental reports. Ever since Madara had awakened those eyes, his expression had never brightened.
Creak!
The Rosewood door swung open, and Senju Shumao entered with a stack of bamboo slips in his arms. "Fa... Your Majesty, I've drawn up the appointments for the empire's departments. Please review them."
An attendant passed them to Tetsuhiro, who looked them over.
"Well done. It's still a little rough around the edges, but keep working hard and seek more advice from Sasuke and the others."
"Report! Governor Shamon of the Wind District and Governor Ishikawa of the Earth District request an audience."
Tetsuhiro and Madara exchanged a glance.
Since Madara had killed the Daimyo and Tetsuhiro had pacified the Land of Wind last month, the Wind District had behaved reasonably well, but the Earth District had kept making little moves behind the scenes.
Now that the Lightning and Water Countries were stirring, it was the perfect opportunity to test where they stood.
"You've arrived at just the right time. The Lightning and Water Countries are gathering ninja with hostile intentions. What do you two governors make of this?"
After lavishing praise on Tetsuhiro, Shamon declared that everyone in the Sand District was willing to obey His Majesty's orders.
Ishikawa, however, replied coolly, "All matters under heaven rest with Your Majesty and the Hokage. You need only wipe them out. Why bother consulting ants like us?"
"I'm doing this to eliminate hatred and division and bring true peace to you all. In time, you will understand."
"This world belongs to everyone, now and always..."
Tobirama's expression darkened with displeasure. "If you have any grievances, say them. I can help you resolve them."
"..." Ishikawa fell silent.
Madara then directed the pressure of his presence at the two men.
"Wh... what?"
"Damn it, he's gotten even stronger?"
He stared coldly at them as though they were already dead. "Follow Hashirama's commands, or die..."
Ishikawa looked up as though he had discovered something astounding. He froze, then said in a trembling voice, "Could... could those be the legendary...?"
"Oh? At least you have a good eye." Madara declared arrogantly, "These are the legendary eyes of the Sage!"
At that, both men immediately bowed in submission. Shamon waved his hands frantically. "Lord Hokage, His Majesty has given the Wind District his promise. How could we not serve him with our lives? Heaven itself can bear witness to our loyalty!"
Though somewhat reluctant, Ishikawa also expressed his willingness to obey His Majesty's orders.
Madara cast a disdainful glance at them and slowly withdrew his pressure. Only then did the two men breathe inward sighs of relief, as though they had narrowly escaped death.
Tetsuhiro spoke solemnly. "Our analysis indicates that war will be unavoidable, and I have no need to avoid it! Hear my command-
"Deploy all nine tailed beasts. The Wind and Earth Districts will each send five thousand ninja to join Madara's force and fight the Land of Lightning.
"Tobirama and I will lead our own troops against the Land of Water!"
"Madara, remember what I told you about Black Zetsu's plan? Be careful he doesn't manipulate you."
"I know."
After court adjourned, Li Tetsuhiro and Madara went together to a secluded residence in the city.
The person who opened the door was an attendant he had assigned there.
As soon as they entered, they heard a child counting, "156, 157, 158..."
A seven-year-old boy with a bowl cut and thick eyebrows was doing push-ups with a pained expression. His sweat had soaked the ground.
There was no need to guess who he was.
Might Guy sat in a chair, watching the child sternly while holding a faded family photograph. His expression eased a little when he saw Tetsuhiro and Madara enter.
"Duy, keep going for another hundred. If you can't finish, you don't get to eat." As he spoke, he braced himself and tried to stand.
Tetsuhiro hurried over and pressed him back into his seat. "Guy, I heard what happened recently. Please accept my condolences."
"Ah... His mother died of illness before she could see this age of prosperity. Life really is... full of misfortune."
Tetsuhiro patted his shoulder and comforted him. "At least you're still here. If we hadn't saved you back then, Duy would probably have had a very hard life.
"So live well, for your wife as well as yourself. If you need anything, just ask me."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I can never repay you in this lifetime. I will raise Duy to become a pillar of the nation and have him serve the Shinobi Country well!"
"Good, good. By the way, where's that boy Chen? He's usually the most frequent visitor."
"He went to train with the Taijutsu Squad today. I have to say, his talent for taijutsu is remarkable. Even I was a little shocked by that special move of his."
"Oh? Then I'll go see how their training is coming along."
Might Duy hesitated, then said to Tetsuhiro, "Pass a message to Chen. If he can become squad captain, I'll consider teaching him the Eight Gates Formation he's been longing for."
"I'll be sure to tell him. Goodbye, Guy. Goodbye, little Duy."
"G... goodbye, Uncle. Aah-two hundred!" Might Duy shouted with all his strength.
"Youth, is it? Not bad." Madara offered a rare sigh of admiration, a nostalgic look on his face. There was no telling what he was thinking.
"Yes. The future belongs to them. Our duty is to create a bright future where the children can grow strong."
Leaving Might Guy's residence, the two headed toward the mountain behind the city.
After passing through a checkpoint, they entered the mountain. The Taijutsu Squad truly lived up to its status as a special squad. By focusing on a single type of training, they had made considerable progress.
In just one month, Chen Yifang had reached the peak of Chunin level and was approaching Jonin level.
And that was without using that move.
Bang! Fists and feet collided as Chen exchanged blows with another Jonin.
Even at a disadvantage, he still held his own.
Thud! In the end, he was outmaneuvered and knocked to the ground.
"Chen can no longer defend himself. Hatake Sakumo wins!" The speaker was Hatake Shinha, the head instructor here.
Another match ended nearby. "Maruboshi Kosuke wins!"
"Excellent. They're all promising talents for the future."
Everyone ended their matches and bowed toward them.
"Greetings, Your Majesty! Greetings, Lord Hokage!"
One person among them drew Madara's attention: the instructor, Kagami Uchiha.
He was completely unlike a traditional Uchiha. He was nothing short of a disgrace to the clan.
"Rise. We only came to see how your training was going, and from what we've seen, it's going very well. Keep it up. Build up your physical strength and endurance first, then work on ways to kill the enemy."
"You are the empire's blades!"
"Blades! Blades!"
"Chen, Might Guy just told me that if you become squad captain, he'll teach you the Eight Gates Formation. You'll have to work even harder."
"Hehe." Surprise immediately spread across his face. "Really? That's great! I'm doing extra training today. Hey, Hatake Sakumo, let's go again!"
"Heh, bring it on. You think I'm scared?"
Madara walked toward Kagami Uchiha with a stern expression.
Hatake Shinha hurried up to Tetsuhiro and said quietly, "I've never had the chance to thank you. Thank you so much for clearing my father's name and punishing the Senju—er, the villains." With that, he knelt before Tetsuhiro and struck his forehead hard against the ground three times.
Tetsuhiro quickly helped him up and said gently, "There's no need to avoid saying it. The Senju Clan had rotted from within. That's an indisputable fact. Rest assured, the grand elder and the others have already been imprisoned. They won't be causing any more trouble."
"The Hatake Clan will compete fairly with the other clans and receive fair treatment. By the way, that boy named Sakumo is your son, isn't he? That's an interesting name."
Hatake Shinha answered sheepishly, "I based it on His Highness's name back then. I never expected him to become a prince so soon."
"It's fine. I don't have so many taboos. If anything, it's an honor for Shu Mao. Our families can spend more time together in the future. The Hatake Clan has made excellent progress in both kenjutsu and Lightning Release."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Suddenly, Madara's furious shout rang out ahead. "You little brat! You've disgraced the Uchiha Clan's honor!"
Just as he swung his fist down, Madara caught sight of the stubborn look in Kagami's eyes. He paused for a long moment, but ultimately did not strike.
"What's wrong, Madara?" Tetsuhiro walked up beside him and tried to soothe him. "He's young. Having ideas of his own is a good thing. Would you rather he became as rigid and rotten as the clan elders?"
"He distanced himself from the Uchiha and gravitated toward those Sarutobi and Shimura people. That much I could let slide, but he even disparaged the Uchiha's clan rules and ancestral teachings!"
Kagami retorted, "The Uchiha Clan's thinking is far too extreme, and its rules are unreasonable. I'm doing this to save them!"
"You little bastard!"
"Enough. Didn't you defy the clan rules when you were young and spend all day hanging around with me?"
"That was different. I didn't know you were a Senju then."
"Really? Did you truly not know, or were you pretending not to know? We'd both guessed each other's clans by then. We simply had an unspoken agreement not to bring it out into the open."
Madara came to his senses then and warned Kagami in a low voice, "Hmph. Remember this! Don't let me catch you disparaging the Uchiha again, you useless fool."
With that, Madara ignored Tetsuhiro and stormed off alone.
"Being prickly again? All I did was expose your past in public and stop you. Honestly, this stubborn man leaves me speechless..."
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