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Early the next morning, Kyosuke received a summons from the clan leader.
When he arrived, he saw the expressionless Madara and an angry Izuna.
Kyosuke immediately had a rough idea of what was happening.
"Sigh, so they found out after all."
Honestly, it wasn't surprising. If Uchiha Tajima couldn't even figure this much out, he would've been ousted from his position long ago.
"Kyosuke!"
Izuna immediately confronted him. "Big Brother may be reckless, but why are you messing around with him?"
Hearing this, Kyosuke lazily picked at his ear with his little finger, ignoring the accusations of the "little brat."
"Hey, you—"
"Enough!"
Tajima stopped his youngest son. He understood that Kyosuke was now confident in his position and wouldn't take this trivial matter seriously.
Accuse him of colluding with the enemy?
Ridiculous.
Kyosuke had only been on the front lines for a few days. How could he have any secret connections with the Senju?
The clan members weren't fools; no one would believe such accusations.
Even if evidence of their meeting was presented, Kyosuke could easily claim he was following Madara.
That would create more trouble than it was worth.
Tajima knew all this. His scolding the previous night was merely to frighten his son.
Tajima knew his children well. Madara was excellent in many aspects, but he often let his emotions cloud his judgment.
Izuna was the same, and now it seemed Kyosuke was also involved.
However, upon reflection, perhaps this wasn't a bad thing.
If his sons could subdue Kyosuke, Tajima might no longer need to deal with the problem himself.
"Kyosuke," Tajima said directly, not even addressing Kyosuke's involvement.
"I've discovered a young member of the Senju clan, about Madara's age. Do you want to come along?"
"Such an obvious test," Kyosuke thought, but he nodded indifferently under their gazes.
"Sure. If we can capture him, we might be able to force Senju Butsuma to withdraw."
Such a straightforward response. At that moment, Tajima wished Kyosuke were his own son.
If he had known the boy had such talent, he would have adopted him long ago. That would have solved many problems.
"Well said."
Tajima clapped approvingly. "No wonder you're a leader on the battlefield. Your reasoning is spot on, Kyosuke."
"Let's do it. We'll capture him and use him as a bargaining chip to negotiate with the Senju."
With that, the group set out for the river where they had met before—the area near what would become the Hokage Rock in Konoha.
To protect his sons' reputations, Tajima didn't bring any subordinates.
He thought it would be foolproof, but he soon regretted it.
By the river, Madara and Hashirama stood facing each other, silently communicating through their gazes.
"Madara, do you remember the first time we met?" Hashirama asked.
Madara smiled, picking up a stone from the ground.
As he channeled chakra into his fingers to carve it, he replied, "Of course. You lost to me in a stone-skipping contest."
"Excuse me? You were the one who lost!"
Another moment of silence passed before the two simultaneously tossed their stones.
Both caught the stones that had flown across the river.
"Run!"
"It's a trap!"
In the nearby forest, Kyosuke watched the scene and sighed. "What a touching moment."
As he turned his head, Tajima and his sons leapt out of the bushes, only to find two figures appearing on the other side of the river as well.
On one side were the Uchiha: Tajima, Izuna, and Madara. On the other side were the Senju: Butsuma, Tobirama, and Hashirama.
As the only outsider, Kyosuke felt distinctly left out.
As he walked out leisurely, the two clan leaders were already trading harsh words from across the river.
Ignoring their verbal sparring, Kyosuke focused on the gray-haired figure.
"Senju Tobirama," Kyosuke thought, "the most brilliant theoretical ninja in the Naruto world, the creator of countless famous jutsu."
At the same time, Tobirama was someone Kyosuke strongly disliked.
In Kyosuke's opinion, even without Black Zetsu manipulating events behind the scenes, Tobirama would have eventually targeted the Uchiha.
Tobirama was a true hardliner. Even after founding the village, he never let go of his hatred for the Uchiha.
He was clever, though, using the narrative of "threats" to justify his actions.
By ordering the Senju to scatter and integrate into the general population of Konoha, Tobirama avoided future targeting of his clan while shifting attention to the Uchiha, who refused to bow down.
One could argue that Obito and Danzo were merely executors; Tobirama was the true architect of the Uchiha's downfall.
On the other side, Tobirama frowned slightly, sensing the hostility directed at him from Kyosuke.
People often say that when you suspect someone dislikes you, you're probably right—they likely hate you to their core.
What puzzled Tobirama was why someone he was meeting for the first time would harbor such baseless resentment.
"Maybe that's just how Uchiha are," he thought.
Finally, the two clan leaders simultaneously decided to end their argument.
Senju Butsuma, noticing the Uchiha's numerical advantage, was ready to retreat. He feared his children might get hurt despite his own confidence.
Tajima, however, opted to strike first.
"Madara, Kyosuke, Izuna, capture those two brats for me!"
Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!
Several spiraling fire dragons roared across the battlefield, their terrifying power causing the entire river to boil.
"Attack!"
Under his father's pressure, Madara gritted his teeth, drew his short sword, and charged forward.
On the other side, Hashirama shouted, "Madara, don't abandon our promise!"
"This idiot," Kyosuke muttered, rolling his eyes as he hurled a specially crafted kunai toward Tobirama.
"Kyosuke!"
Hashirama called out, aware of the danger. He knew Tobirama's current skills couldn't match Kyosuke's.
What he didn't expect was how quickly Tobirama would fall.
Dodging the peculiar kunai, Tobirama smirked as he weaved hand seals, summoning a massive wall of water.
Water Style: Water Formation Wall!
With the river giving him a natural advantage, Tobirama seemed invincible—until a heavy blow struck him from behind, nearly knocking him unconscious.
The water wall shattered as Kyosuke grabbed Tobirama by the throat, his demeanor exuding wild arrogance.
"Tobirama!"
Hashirama's chakra surged in panic. Using his monstrous strength, he kicked Madara away and rushed toward Kyosuke.
"Let him go, Kyosuke!"
Hashirama used the Body Flicker Technique, appearing in front of Kyosuke to throw a punch.
In truth, Kyosuke could have escaped with Tobirama using the Flying Thunder God Technique, which he had recently mastered for carrying others.
However, he hesitated and abandoned the tempting idea.
To deal with future threats, the existence of Hashirama Senju was necessary.
[Chapter End's]
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