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The Shinobi World
The Senju, Uchiha, Uzumaki, Sarutobi, and Shimura Clans put aside their old grudges. Along with the Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka Clans from the Ino-Shika-Cho alliance, these eight clans joined forces as one army with a single goal:
Capture the tailed beasts.
Their temporary camp spread out over a barren plain, with tents lined up in neat rows. Shinobi moved between supply stations and command posts, while patrols watched the edges.
The whole camp felt tense, like an army waiting for battle.
Senju Shima stood on a ridge above the camp's western side, his hands behind his back. He looked over the organized forces below, but worry stayed on his face.
"Gen, are you certain this plan will work?" he asked, turning toward the tall man beside him. "The tailed beasts are living masses of chakra with enough power to reshape the land. One mistake, and all eight clans could bring disaster down on themselves."
Uchiha Gen wore his clan's traditional clothes, with one hand behind his back. He looked calm, but there was a clear confidence in his eyes.
"You worry too much. Between the two of us, we already stand among the strongest clan leaders in the Shinobi world." Gen said. "More importantly, the Uchiha brought a weapon capable of deciding this battle."
"A weapon?"
Shima looked confused. "Something stronger than the Uchiha gunbai? I've never heard of your clan having a ninja tool that powerful."
Gen gave a quiet laugh and shook his head. His gaze shifted toward the Uchiha section of the camp.
"You misunderstand. This weapon isn't a ninja tool."
He paused.
"It's a person."
Shima followed his gaze.
In the middle of the Uchiha camp stood a sturdy iron cage covered with special sealing tags. Inside sat a little girl, maybe five or six years old. Her clothes were thin, her face pale, and her empty eyes stared straight ahead without any emotion.
She looked more like an abandoned doll than a living child.
Shima turned to Gen, his face full of confusion. "A little girl? Gen, this isn't the time for jokes. How could someone so young be called a weapon, let alone help us catch a tailed beast?"
"Don't underestimate her."
Gen's voice grew firm. He looked at the girl with a cold pride, showing no sign of affection.
"The Uchiha chose her at birth and raised her for one reason. Every part of her life was meant to make her a weapon. To give her power like a tailed beast, we put some of the strongest dōjutsu into her."
(This is not an original addition. Canon establishes that the Uchiha possess the means to transplant ocular powers.)
"Implanted?" Shima's frown deepened. "What kind of dōjutsu could justify going that far?"
"We've known each other since we were kids. Our trust made this eight-clan alliance possible, so I have no reason to keep this from you."
Gen turned toward him and opened his right eye.
The three tomoe within his crimson Sharingan spun, merging into an intricate and unnatural pattern.
The Mangekyō Sharingan.
Gen let Shima see it for just a moment, then looked away.
"In the past few years, several Uchiha awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. Sadly, all of them died in the clan wars." He looked back at the cage. "With my own Mangekyō, I took the eye techniques they left behind and put them into that girl."
Shima's pupils contracted.
He knew better than most how powerful the Mangekyō Sharingan was. It was the Uchiha Clan's strongest dōjutsu, and each pair had abilities beyond normal understanding. Putting several of these techniques into one child seemed almost insane.
But it also made sense why Gen was so confident.
"With that much power, we have a much better chance of catching a tailed beast," Shima said. Still, he couldn't shake his worry. "I'm worried about what might happen. The tailed beasts are part of the world's beliefs and stories. If we attack them for no reason, everyone in the Shinobi world might turn against us."
Gen's eyes showed a flash of impatience. Even after all these years, Shima still hesitated in the same way.
"Shima, we've known each other most of our lives, and you're still this naive." His voice was firm. "In times like these, power decides what's right. 'Condemnation' is just a word used by people too weak to stop the winners."
Gen stepped closer to the edge of the ridge and looked out across the camp.
"When we capture all nine tailed beasts, we'll have a power no clan can match. With it, we can unite the Shinobi world and finally end centuries of war."
His voice got stronger with conviction.
"When that day comes, there won't be endless arguments or rival clans tearing the world apart. There will only be peace. History will remember this as the act that saved the Shinobi world."
Shima fell silent.
He looked at the smoke on the far horizon. He remembered clansmen lost in battle, villages burned to ash, and civilians who spent their lives running from one war to another.
Maybe these unusual times called for unusual actions. Both he and Gen had always wanted the same thing: to end the endless cycle of bloodshed.
Gen watched his face, then pushed his point further.
"Even if we fail, do you think our children will have the same resolve? You and I became friends despite our clans' past. Can you promise the next Senju and Uchiha leaders will do the same?"
Shima slowly shook his head.
He could not.
Their successors might rekindle old hatred and spark another war between the clans. Eight major clans working together like this might never happen again.
"You're right," Shima finally said. "This might be our only chance."
Before Gen could answer, two people hurried up the ridge. One was the Sarutobi Clan leader. The other spoke for the Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka forces.
Both men looked serious.
"Our scouts have returned," said the Ino-Shika-Cho representative. "They found the Two-Tails, Matatabi, in a forest thirty miles north of here. Its location is confirmed. Should we move now and make it our first target?"
Gen answered without hesitation.
"Yes. We can't let this chance slip by." He looked at Shima. "Tell the Uzumaki too. If we want to hold a tailed beast, we'll need their sealing skills."
Shima nodded, and the four leaders quickly agreed.
The eight-clan alliance only happened because its leaders all believed one thing: the age of endless war had to end.
The Nara leaders knew that if the fighting went on, the clans would destroy each other. That's why they pushed for the Ino-Shika-Cho clans to work with the rest of the Shinobi world. The current reincarnations of Indra and Asura also avoided becoming enemies, which helped bring peace between the Uchiha and Senju.
The Sarutobi and Shimura leaders, on the other hand, were careful and didn't want to conquer others. They valued stability over expansion and didn't want to use the alliance for their own gain.
Trust, timing, exhaustion, and a rare group of leaders willing to compromise all came together at once.
All these things made an alliance that once seemed impossible.
Now, that alliance was getting ready to hunt Matatabi.
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