Victims of the scheming Hashirama

Shingetsu had been plotting to kick Tobirama Senju out of the Ninja Academy for a long time, and she felt not the slightest guilt about it.

Never mind their previous feud or the power struggle between the Uchiha and the Senju. Those two reasons alone were enough to make Shingetsu do everything she could to undermine him.

But setting those personal grudges aside, Shingetsu needed to emphasize one thing: Tobirama Senju's teaching ability was itself highly questionable.

Just look at the students he had produced-Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzō, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura. To put it bluntly, every last one of them was a monster!

(Kagami Uchiha and Torifu Akimichi were only members of the Hokage Guard Platoon. They were Tobirama Senju's subordinates, not his students.)

All four were heavyweights, with countless black marks to their names and practically permanent villain roles in fanfiction. They were also ridiculous clowns without an ounce of charisma or mettle, affectionately dubbed the Konoha F4 by readers.

Under their control, Konoha's future could hardly be called dim. It was pitch-black.

Even if you excluded Hiruzen Sarutobi, who constantly hovered in that gray area where nobody could tell whether he was genuinely sinister or simply a naive idiot, then threw out Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, who barely had any screen time or presence, that still left Shimura Danzō. The deeds of Konoha's first Pot Kage alone were enough to leave Tobirama Senju's name stinking in the education world for all eternity!

To prevent another ultimate shit-stirrer like Danzo from emerging, the future Second Hokage had better focus on developing forbidden techniques and handling government affairs, rather than coming to the Ninja Academy to ruin Konoha's budding young talents.

Shingetsu could say with certainty that whoever managed the Ninja Academy in the future would be better than Tobirama Senju.

At least in present-day Konoha, anyone with Tobirama's ability lacked his prejudice, while anyone with his prejudice lacked his strength. Even if someone else wanted to target the Uchiha, they would never be as difficult to deal with as Tobirama.

Of course, it would be even better if the Uchiha Clan could take charge of that crucial position, though Shingetsu herself knew that was unrealistic.

Inside the Uchiha Clan Head's residence, the oppressive atmosphere was suffocating. As the three men remained locked in their stalemate, Hashirama, who had kept his head lowered in silence, finally seemed to make up his mind and raised his head with firm resolve.

His sleek black hair spilled like flowing water with the movement. His dark eyes shone with candid sincerity as he looked straight at Madara Uchiha, seated across from him.

"Madara, I accept your condition."

"Brother!"

Tobirama Senju's eyes widened in shock. His red, glasslike eyes held unmistakable disapproval and doubt, but Hashirama raised a hand to stop him and continued.

"But I also have a request I'd like you to agree to."

Under Madara Uchiha's and Tobirama Senju's bewildered gazes, Hashirama spoke each word of his request to his lifelong friend, brimming with anticipation:

"Madara, come teach at the academy with me!"

Bam-

This time, Tobirama Senju truly exploded. He slammed his hand onto the unfortunate, much-abused tea table before him. Disregarding Madara Uchiha's presence, he roared furiously at Hashirama:

"Brother, has your brain finally stopped working?!"

"Relax, Tobirama. We'll definitely do a good job teaching the children."

"That's not the problem, you idiot!"

Seething, Tobirama Senju grabbed Hashirama by the collar, his pale face flushed red with anger.

The Ninja Academy was the institution he valued most, and he had poured countless hours of effort into it. Tobirama had intended to keep it firmly in his grasp, yet now Hashirama wanted Madara Uchiha to take his place. How could he possibly accept that?

Damn it, why did his brother always side with outsiders? Why did he always favor Madara Uchiha?

Who was Hashirama's actual brother here?

"You really are persistent, Hashirama."

Ignoring the brothers' squabble before him, Madara Uchiha found that Hashirama's familiar-sounding request brought his thoughts back to their conversation on Hokage Rock a month earlier.

For a moment, Madara felt a little wistful. He had treated those words as a joke and casually forgotten them, yet Hashirama had kept them firmly in his heart all this time.

"I've been serious all along!"

Hashirama Senju stretched out one hand to shove Tobirama's head away and covered his mouth with the other. Then he looked expectantly at the thoughtful Madara Uchiha across from him, his eyes as innocent as a child's.

"So, will you come, Madara?"

"No."

Unexpectedly, Madara rejected Hashirama's proposal on the spot.

That brisk refusal stunned not only Hashirama, but Tobirama as well. Both brothers stared at him wide-eyed, never having dreamed that he would refuse.

Hashirama in particular looked at Madara's indifferent expression in astonishment. For a moment, he actually looked hurt, like a puppy rejected by its owner.

"Why, Madara?"

"I'm a busy man. I don't have time to babysit a bunch of brats."

Madara Uchiha raised an eyebrow at Hashirama, his expression hovering between a smile and a smirk.

"Besides, you know children don't like me."

"That's only because they don't know you yet."

Hashirama hurried to explain:

"Madara, if you just shared some of the affection you have for Shingetsu with the children at the academy, you'd definitely become the finest teacher!"

"Then it's even more impossible."

This familiar conversation gradually wore away Madara Uchiha's patience. He did not care who managed the academy in the future, as long as it was not Tobirama Senju.

"Madara!"

Seeing that Madara Uchiha was about to throw him out like hazardous waste, Hashirama took a deep breath and decided to deploy his final trump card.

"If you became a teacher, wouldn't you be able to keep an eye on Shingetsu all the time? I've heard that she's especially fond of zoning out and slacking off."

"..."

Madara Uchiha fell suspiciously silent. He also stopped moving to throw the Senju brothers out the door. A moment later, he sat back down on the tatami and beckoned to Hashirama.

"Sit."

He was tempted!

Faced with Madara's concession, Hashirama Senju revealed a sly smile of triumph, while Tobirama Senju clicked his tongue, once again confirming his earlier suspicion-

Uchiha Shingetsu really was Izuna's illegitimate daughter. Just look at how he spoiled her. He doted on her even more than he would on his own child.

"Then that settles it!"

Just as Tobirama thought everything was finally over and he could leave the Uchiha Clan Compound, he eagerly stood up, ready to drag his traitorous bastard of a brother away.

He could hardly wait to have a proper brotherly heart-to-heart with that bastard. The academy, Madara-every single one of these matters felt like a blow straight to Tobirama's heart!

But Hashirama's hand landed on Tobirama's shoulder first, pressing him firmly back into place.

"Don't rush off yet, Tobirama. We still have unfinished business."

"...What else could you possibly want?"

Tobirama Senju, who was practically steaming with rage, forced those words out through clenched teeth. Yet the oblivious Hashirama seemed entirely unaware of his anger. As if he thought Tobirama was not furious enough, he continued fanning the flames of his mounting rage:

"You still haven't apologized to Shingetsu!"

At some point, Madara Uchiha had positioned himself behind Tobirama, his vivid red Sharingan sealing off every escape route. Trapped between Hashirama and Madara, Tobirama Senju's anger reached its peak, and he actually laughed in fury.

Hashirama Senju, you traitorous bastard!

Shingetsu, who was having breakfast with Hōkaku, knew nothing of the calamity about to befall her. She was staring blankly at a small bowl of natto before her, with only one question in her mind-

Who ate natto first thing in the morning?

Silently pushing the natto aside, Shingetsu reached out with her chopsticks to pick up a piece of salmon. But out of the corner of her eye, she clearly saw a large hand bringing a heaping chopstickful of sticky natto toward her rice bowl.

"No!"

At that critical moment, Shingetsu snatched up her rice bowl with incredible speed, evading Hōkaku's natto attack. But Hōkaku refused to give up. With a mischievous smile, he brought the chopstickful of natto to Shingetsu's lips, trying his hardest to coax her into eating it.

"Shingetsu, try a little. Maybe you'll like the taste once you've tried it."

"No! I don't want natto!"

Shingetsu staunchly defended her rice bowl, looking utterly impervious to persuasion or threats and ready to resist to the death. Hōkaku narrowed his eyes slightly and decided to appeal to her conscience.

"Didn't you tell me just this morning that we should value our food? Have you forgotten already?"

"Th-that was... Anyway, natto doesn't count!"

Remembering that she had indeed said that this morning, Shingetsu blushed faintly. But she immediately stood her ground. Natto was absolutely not entering her diet.

"No, no! I really can't eat natto!"

Determined to correct his daughter's picky eating, Hōkaku would hear none of it. After a moment's thought, he took a small bag with an enticing aroma from his pocket, pulled out a round, dark piece of brown sugar candy, and placed it beside the natto.

"How about this, Shingetsu? If you're good and finish this bowl of natto, you can have the candy."

"Well..."

Looking at the adorable candy, which seemed to glow with a halo, Shingetsu was shamefully tempted.

In desperately poor Konoha, even brown sugar like this was a rare treasure.

The only sweets Shingetsu normally got to eat were dumplings. But the brown sugar sauce at Konoha's sole dumpling shop was so thin it was practically sugar water, with barely a hint of sweetness. It could never satisfy a sweet tooth like hers.

Now an entire piece of brown sugar candy sat before her. How could Shingetsu withstand that temptation? She knew perfectly well that this was a trick for coaxing children, but she was still shamefully tempted. She wanted candy so, so badly!

"Father, I want the candy now!"

Shingetsu promptly set her rice bowl aside, tilted her head up with a sweet, guileless smile, and clung to Hōkaku's leg. She wheedled pitifully, her bright eyes fixed on the candy in his hand.

Her soft, sugary voice seemed steeped in rose juice, so sweet it might drip honey at any moment.

"Shingetsu, that's cheating!"

Hōkaku was utterly helpless against this tactic. He quickly closed his eyes and tried to harden his heart, but how could a heart already melted into a puddle of honey water become hard again?

His daughter was too adorable. What was he supposed to do when he couldn't refuse her at all?

"Candy~"

Shingetsu's smile grew even sweeter. Every time she wheedled like this, Hōkaku was completely helpless against her. This time would surely be no different.

As for pride, dignity, or whether acting spoiled like this was embarrassing... Hmph! For the sake of candy, she had decided to throw every scrap of her worthless pride out the window!

Just then, a clatter came from the living room door. The Senju brothers and Madara Uchiha appeared outside, pushed the door open, and walked straight in, witnessing every bit of Shingetsu's cute, spoiled act.

At that moment, Shingetsu was utterly dumbfounded. Wh-what was going on? Why had these three shown up at her house together?

Wait, didn't that mean they'd seen everything she had just done?

At that thought, Shingetsu's face instantly turned crimson. Flustered and at a loss, she hid behind Hōkaku. This time, she had thoroughly humiliated herself.

Aaaah, help! I've died of embarrassment!

"Haha, Shingetsu is so adorable."

Hashirama Senju, who was in the lead, grinned foolishly until his eyes narrowed to slits. He strolled over, crouched down, and reached out with both hands, scooping Shingetsu out from behind Hōkaku as though catching a kitten.

The entire maneuver was fluid and lightning-fast. Neither Hōkaku nor Shingetsu managed to react. For Shingetsu especially, the world merely spun for an instant, and then she was in Hashirama's arms.

The child's soft body was like a light, white feather. Almost reflexively, Hashirama carefully adjusted his hold and reached up to support her neck and back.

After repeatedly making sure his hold would not make Shingetsu uncomfortable, Hashirama took a small glass jar filled with konpeito from his pocket and placed it in her hands.

This guy really knew how to win children over!

Shingetsu gently shook the jar of konpeito she had received from Hashirama, listening to the crisp rattle of the candy against the glass. Under Hashirama's encouraging gaze, she eagerly opened the jar, poured out a few colorful pieces, and tossed them into her mouth.

The crisp, sweet texture of the konpeito felt indescribably wonderful as she savored it. Shingetsu, who had not eaten sweets like these in ages, narrowed her eyes in delight. The sight of her eating candy with her eyes half-closed brought to mind a little squirrel nibbling pine nuts, her eyes and the corners of her mouth revealing a sweet, guileless innocence.

"So cute!"

Looking at Shingetsu, who was as adorable as a little animal, Hashirama could not resist planting a kiss on her fair, luminous cheek. Then he rubbed his cheek against the soft side of her face. Shingetsu froze mid-bite, her expression freezing along with her.

"Hashirama!"

Furious, Madara Uchiha snatched Shingetsu out of Hashirama's arms. Hashirama was not offended and simply murmured cheerfully:

"It would be wonderful if I could have a granddaughter this adorable someday."

"Clan Head, Lord Hokage, and... Lord Tobirama."

Uchiha Hōkaku's face cycled through a remarkable range of expressions as he glared at the three uninvited guests who had barged into his home. Through gritted teeth, he asked:

"What business do you have in my house?"

Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju both turned their gazes toward Tobirama Senju, who stood farthest away, looking ready to slip away at any moment. Under their predatory stares, Tobirama could only silently draw his foot back.

"You can do it, Tobirama!"

To Hashirama's encouraging cheers, Tobirama advanced toward Shingetsu one step at a time, with the grim resolve of a man walking to the execution block.