Peace was always a scarce commodity during the Warring States period; other families wouldn't give you the opportunity to develop peacefully.
Although the Senju Clan was deeply embroiled in the problem of their broken alliance with the Uzumaki Clan, this did not diminish his hatred for the Uchiha.
Even without the Uzumaki Clan, the Senju Clan would still have fought the Uchiha Clan.
The Uchiha Clan occupied the positions of the Three-Clan Allied Forces, simultaneously threatening the Senju Clan's heartland. The Senju Clan dared to prioritize resolving their alliance with the Uzumaki Clan because they knew the Uchiha needed time to develop.
However, the prolonged lack of information about the Uchiha has plunged the entire Senju Clan into panic.
Furthermore, the fact that all the teams sent out to search for Yuki Senju returned empty-handed or were discovered by the Uchiha, leading to conflict, further exacerbated the conflict between the Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan.
Within the Senju Clan, the probability of war with the Uchiha Clan had increased dramatically, casting a shadow of war over the entire clan.
"Tell me, what are the chances that the Uchiha Clan will launch a surprise attack on our base?" Fū Senju sat wearily in his chair, recent events leaving him physically and mentally exhausted.
Their plot to seize the Fujiwara Family's property was thwarted by the Uchiha. They then joined forces with the Sarutobi Clan to attack the Uchiha, but were also outmaneuvered by the Uchiha.
Then, the Uchiha joined forces with the Hyuga Clan to launch a counterattack against the Senju Clan, causing them to suddenly become somewhat passive from their initial advantage.
Although the Hyuga Clan did not directly fight the Senju Clan on the battlefield, Hyuga Clan effectively tied down the armies of Uzumaki and Sarutobi.
At the same time, the alliance with the Uzumaki Clan also expired, making a marriage alliance impossible, and the alliance between the two sides temporarily fell into an awkward situation.
This forced the Senju Clan to face the Uchiha alone on the front lines, a pressure that was immense.
Then came the news that the Shimura Clan had been absorbed by the Uchiha, which further deepened the Senju Clan's fear of the Uchiha Clan.
The Uchiha Shimura, having absorbed Uchiha, is even stronger. Based on Uchiha previous performance, the greatly enhanced Uchiha will undoubtedly launch an attack on the Senju Clan.
Even when at a disadvantage, the Uchiha might launch a counterattack against the Senju Clan, let alone now that the Uchiha have the upper hand.
The Fourth Elder, Kumo Senju, remained silent, so the Second Elder had to speak himself, "The probability of the Uchiha attacking us has now reached 90%."
They could be attacked by the Uchiha at any time, and according to intelligence, the Uchiha have amassed a large number of troops within the Three-Clan Allied Forces' territory.
That camp is only a few dozen kilometers away from our main base. With the speed of the Uchiha, they could launch a surprise attack on our main base in less than a day.
"If the Uchiha attack on our base, what do you all think Uchiha would do?"
All the elders present fell silent. After a long while, the Third Elder suddenly slammed his fist on the table and said, "We should have dealt with the Ryō Uchiha Uchiha when they were dead."
Otherwise, how could we have ended up in this situation? Uchiha was clearly at a disadvantage before! They were even in danger because of the Hagoromo Clan's sneak attack.
Fourth Elder Kumo Senju sneered, "Further words are useless. The deed is done, and the Uchiha now holds the upper hand on the battlefield. What we need to do now is figure out how to deal with the Uchiha's advantage on the battlefield!"
What's the point of arguing here? The Uchiha army is only tens of kilometers away. Do you think your words will make them retreat?
The Third Elder's expression darkened upon hearing the Fourth Elder's words. "You... you rascal..."
Seeing that the two elders were about to start arguing, Fū Senju shouted angrily, "Shut up, both of you! I'm already tired enough, don't cause me any more trouble!"
With a roar from Fū Senju, both elders fell silent, but both snorted coldly, neither willing to yield.
Senju Fū Senju wearily rubbed his temples. The Uchiha's strength now far surpassed that of the Senju Clan. How should they possibly deal with this?
He was unaware of the dispersal of the Uchiha's elite forces. If one were to truly consider it, the Senju Clan's elite forces had rapidly assembled into six...
On the Uchiha side, only Uchiha Takashi, Tatsu Uchiha, and Dai Uchiha were present; the rest had other matters to attend to and generally wouldn't gather together unless forced into an emergency.
"Tsk... troublesome." Fū Senju rubbed his hair and shook his head repeatedly. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't think of a way to break the deadlock.
Just then, a young clansman walked in, and all the elders in the room looked at him.
" Oto Senju, what are you doing here?" The Second Elder glanced at the young clansman, his tone full of doubt.
Oto Senju calmly gazed at the elders and said in a neither humble nor arrogant tone, "Elders, clan leader, the Senju Clan is currently facing a very critical situation."
I am the one who was introduced by them; I can represent the Senju Clan and Hyuga Clan in negotiations... to persuade the Hyuga to join us.
Fū Senju narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. "Do you know what you're talking about? The Hyuga Clan already reached an alliance agreement with the Uchiha at the end of last year."
What makes you think you can persuade them to betray their own allies?
Oto Senju's tone remained calm. "That's fine. The Hyuga Clan seeks a balance between the Uchiha and Senju Clan. Their main and Branch Family system limits their potential to far below the strength of our two clans."
Their power is severely limited. If they want to go further, they must ensure that the Uchiha and Senju check and balance each other, and absolutely prevent either from becoming dominant.
The alliance we formed with the Uchiha was because the Senju Clan, consisting of three other clans, exerted too much pressure on the Uchiha Clan.
The Uchiha Clan was overwhelmed and unable to withstand the attack alone, which is why they chose to step in and help the Uchiha restrain Uzumaki and Sarutobi.
However, our Senju Clan is currently mired in various problems, putting us at a disadvantage on the battlefield. Therefore, in order to maintain balance, the Hyuga Clan has no choice but to help the Senju!
Upon hearing his analysis, all the elders fell into deep thought. Unlike the Uchiha Clan, the Senju Clan mostly possessed excellent political acumen.
After Oto Senju's analysis, they naturally discovered the Hyuga Clan's balancing policy and basically understood that Oto Senju's analysis was correct.
"That makes sense, but... I still feel the probability is not high. The Senju Clan is far from being driven to the brink of destruction. The Uchiha's advantage on the battlefield is merely due to a tactical victory."
Strategically, the Uchiha still faces encirclement by the three allied clans. If we can recapture the Three-Clan Allied Forces camp, all crises will vanish instantly.
The battlefield will not only return to a 50/50 split, but it might even return to a situation where the Uchiha are at a significant disadvantage. So why should the Hyuga Clan help us?
Are you betting that no one in the Hyuga Clan can see such a macro-level strategic situation? Are you betting that there isn't a strategist like that among them?
Oto Senju lowered her eyes and after a long while spoke, " The Hyuga Clan is short-sighted, and the Main Family is even more of a bunch of useless people. Apart from their clan leader and a few elders, the rest are basically useless."
Of course, the Branch Family will have strategists like that, but what about the Main Family? As far as I know, it's the Main Family, not the Branch Family, that truly makes the decisions and finalizes matters. If we can persuade the Main Family, we can naturally gain the Hyuga's support!