Household odds and ends lay scattered through the village streets, and every door and window was shut tight.
All the Konoha ninja were scattered among their respective clan compounds, while the police force had quietly gone into hiding.
Their overall military organization was a complete mess.
When Tobirama and his companion emerged, the clone Tiezhu finally relaxed. So the tailed beasts had been "invited" over according to plan.
Five days earlier, Tiezhu's Wood Clones had traveled to eight different locations for "friendly" discussions with the tailed beasts. As the conversations heated up, the beasts had danced with excitement and joyfully fired off Tailed Beast Bombs. In short, their original habitats were no longer habitable.
How could Tiezhu, an ambassador of goodwill, simply leave them to their fate? So he had invited them to the Land of Fire.
"Why are there only eight?" The clone was puzzled. "Did the original fail? That's impossible."
"Big brother! Let's stay behind and hold them off! Have Little Monkey evacuate the villagers!" Tobirama shouted urgently.
"Ahem, no need." He had overlooked Tobirama's feelings earlier, so he patiently explained everything.
"You mean big brother and that Madara fellow gathered them all here?"
"That's right. Judging by the time, they should be arriving soon too, shouldn't they?"
"Inform everyone else-there's no need to panic. Just go about your lives as usual. These are all guardian beasts Lord Madara worked hard to find for the village!"
"Hmph! More publicity for Madara Uchiha. Fine, I get it."
Just then, the earth shook again as something approached from afar. An even larger orange-red fox demon was slowly making its way toward them!
It deliberately held all nine tails upright to avoid causing any more damage than necessary.
Two tiny figures could just be seen standing on top of it. Once it drew close enough, they jumped down.
Tap! Tap! Two soft sounds rang out.
The two landed almost simultaneously and stood waiting at the village entrance.
Tiezhu sighed appreciatively. "Thanks to you, I've finally recovered all my close-combat experience."
Perhaps because of the system rewards, he had put in extraordinary effort and finally managed to earn the other man's grudging approval. He had not equipped the title, though, lest he spend all day asking people to dance like some lunatic.
"Being back in the village really puts me at ease," Tiezhu said with a sigh.
"Their vigilance is pathetic. The ninja all act independently, with no unified command. They're a heap of loose sand!
"Where are the Uchiha? Where's the Senju Clan?" Madara, however, pointed out several fatal problems.
Tiezhu nodded in agreement. "You're right. Things certainly need straightening out, especially those clans. I look forward to your sweeping reforms."
"Naturally."
Tap! The Wood Clone Tiezhu flashed over from afar and landed steadily.
"Thanks for all your hard work."
"You too. Get some rest." Tiezhu immediately dispelled the Wood Clone.
All the clone's memories from the past ten-odd days flooded into his mind.
It was as though he were personally reliving everything.
A moment later, Tiezhu rubbed his aching temples, opened his eyes, and nodded at Madara. "Everything is under control."
"Big brother!" Tobirama came out through the village gate and eagerly approached. His gaze stayed fixed on Tiezhu, his body leaning slightly forward as he habitually raised a finger and gave a small tap. Tiezhu understood: the plan had gone smoothly.
But when Tobirama glanced at Madara, contempt showed in his eyes. He snorted disdainfully, curled his lip, and turned away.
Madara's expression turned cold, and he stopped looking at him too.
"Big brother, you should know everything now, right? Let's talk inside."
"No rush. Don't forget our main objective!" Tiezhu pushed the man beside him forward a few steps. "Madara, the stage ahead is yours. Dance to your heart's content."
"Hashirama... Then let's go."
Dragging Tobirama along, Tiezhu followed Madara as they slowly entered the village.
The entire village stood at the entrance to welcome them. Some wore mixed expressions, but far more greeted them with heartfelt smiles.
At that moment, something healed in Madara's long-dormant heart, bringing a faint smile to his face.
His fingertips brushed the Uchiha Clan Crest, and the hatred in his younger brother's dying eyes suddenly flashed before him. He murmured:
"Izuna, can you see this? There's more to life than hatred."
Shrieks of excitement and cries of welcome kept coming...
Tobirama really was reliable. Despite his deep displeasure with Madara Uchiha, he had still carried out Hashirama's instructions perfectly.
The village's opinion of Madara had soared. By the time they returned, his reputation had almost caught up with Hashirama's!
When Madara spotted the Uchiha Clan, his expression grew noticeably sterner.
Their reactions were somewhat awkward. Clearly, their lives were going to become very eventful.
Eventually, he reached the square...
He declared with commanding confidence that he and Hashirama had summoned the tailed beasts. They would serve as Konoha's guardian beasts and settle throughout the Land of Fire.
Under his leadership, Konoha would become the greatest village in the world!
He would achieve true peace and silence every voice of dissent!
Any outside enemy seeking to invade would have to step over his corpse first!
He then announced that during their time away, they had secured summoning creatures from three sage regions, along with three opportunities to learn to harness natural energy. Any villager with the talent who contributed to the village would be allowed to learn!
At Tiezhu's prompting, Madara awkwardly gave everyone a demonstration.
He pressed his palms together! The flame markings on his chest glowed, and black patterns spread around his eyes.
Sage Mode! Activate!
Sage Art: Storm Release: Light Fang!!!
A violet beam shot from his mouth at incredible speed, streaking into the distance...
It instantly pierced a mountain five kilometers away. Then he tilted his head, sweeping the beam sideways and effortlessly slicing off its peak!
Everyone marveled at the sight. The great clans, in particular, wore greedy expressions-the Uchiha elder clenched his fists and thought, It's in the bag.
Senju Toka, an adviser to the Senju Clan, unconsciously rubbed her index finger as she considered the future.
The common villagers, meanwhile, erupted into thunderous cheers!
They shouted in unison, "Lord Madara is mighty! Lord Madara is the strongest!"
Finally, Tiezhu briefly addressed the Senju Clan's future arrangements. After Tobirama announced several policies and plans, they brought the welcoming ceremony to a close.
The ninja immediately handed out ballots to everyone and urged them to vote quickly.
"That felt good, didn't it?" Tiezhu teased.
"Not bad." Madara was deliberately suppressing the upward twitch of his lips.
"We'll divide the work as agreed. No problems?"
"I never go back on my word. So long as that Tobirama fellow doesn't mess anything up."
"You!" Tobirama was about to retort when Tiezhu interrupted him.
"Don't worry about that. Speaking of Tobirama, his research into Impure World Reincarnation is almost complete. You'll be able to see Izuna then. Once we find White Zetsu, he'll be able to regain his full strength."
Madara's eyes lit up. "Excellent!" He made up his mind: if Izuna could return, he would do whatever it took, even if it meant relying on Tobirama's forbidden technique.
He glanced back at the flourishing Konoha and the people behind him.
He could not help murmuring, "Hokage, huh? Perhaps that wouldn't be such a bad choice."
Instinctively, he looked at "Hashirama," only to find him staring blankly with a foolish grin.
"Tch. That ridiculous look again."
The three then entered the newly built conference room, followed closely by the village's key personnel, the clan heads, and the tailed beasts' small clones.
As Kurama's little tails brushed the ground, natural energy unconsciously seeped from them, causing tiny green shoots to sprout from the withered weeds.
No one noticed.
Meanwhile, in that distant, severed mountain...
A certain black being was having an extraordinarily unlucky day.
He was pulling himself back together. Fortunately, he had split apart in time and avoided a vital hit. Though he had suffered a minor injury, escaping instant annihilation was already a blessing from heaven.
At last, he coalesced into a humanoid shape. It was none other than Black Zetsu.
He had intended to visit Konoha to check on Asura's and Indra's reincarnations and once again drive a wedge between them.
But when he discovered that all the tailed beasts were converging on Konoha at once, he sped up his Mayfly Technique and headed toward the village.
Suddenly, a violet beam had hurtled toward him at a speed rarely seen in a thousand years! Although he had split apart in time, it had still grazed his left shoulder.
His "Yin-Yang Release body" had actually felt a burning pain-an agony unlike anything he had experienced since his mother brought him into existence!
"Aah!" he roared.
"Who was it?!" A peculiar madness shone in Black Zetsu's eyes. "Who dared damage the body Mother gave me?! Whoever you are, I'll make you wish you were dead!"
Recalling the direction of the attack, Black Zetsu estimated that it had come from somewhere near Konoha. His instincts told him it had definitely originated there.
He immediately sped up his recovery, determined to investigate Konoha thoroughly.
But with this unknown presence involved, he would have to be even more cautious. He had lived for a thousand years; caution and patience were the keys to his survival!
A short while later, he finally reached the Konoha Gate.
As he slipped past the guards, he faintly heard the two talking about Lord Madara... the Three Great Sage Regions... voting... and similar things.
Black Zetsu frowned deeply. What was going on? Madara and sage arts? Those two things being connected was hardly good news.
He stopped and listened carefully...
"So Madara Uchiha was the one who unleashed that sage art! I'll remember this, you brat!"
"They're voting? They're choosing the First Hokage today?"
Using the information relayed by his chakra, he pinpointed his destination and traveled underground...
Along the way, he pieced together the scattered information he had gathered and reached an unfavorable conclusion.
"Madara Uchiha not only visited the Three Great Sage Regions to learn how to control sage arts, but he also has a strong chance of becoming Hokage?!
"Wasn't he supposed to have absolutely no chance? Tobirama Senju, what are you doing? How could things reverse so completely in just one month? I have to stop this as soon as possible!"
Filled with questions, Black Zetsu prepared to intervene first...
Before you continue