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Several days later, Madara and Izuna returned to Konoha covered in cuts and bruises.
Both brothers had awakened the Sharingan.
Manji stared at their red eyes in surprise. They had only gone to fight some bandits. Was that really enough to awaken the Sharingan?
Were the Uchiha really so sensitive?
"Great-Grandfather, the mission is complete." Madara knelt before the desk and presented the mission scroll. "The ANBU operative saved us. Without his help, Izuna and I might not have made it back."
Manji frowned.
It didn't add up... Madara and Izuna were still young, but regular bandits shouldn't have been able to push them so far.
"Were the bandits that strong?"
Anger twisted Izuna's battered face. "They weren't bandits, Great-Grandfather. THEY WERE SENJU SHINOBI!"
Manji understood at once.
"You both did well."
He moved forward, green chakra forming around his hands. As he used the Mystical Palm Technique, the brothers' wounds healed right before their eyes.
Madara stared at his hands in astonishment. "Great-Grandfather, what technique is this?"
"Something I developed," Manji answered. "I intend to teach it throughout the village later."
He looked between the brothers. "You completed the assignment despite an unexpected encounter with enemy shinobi. The mission is being reclassified from B-rank to A-rank."
Madara and Izuna's faces brightened. Trying not to show their pride, the brothers bowed and left the office.
When Manji was alone, he leaned back in his chair.
"So the Senju are already falling apart…" Some of their shinobi were so desperate that they pretended to be bandits and robbed civilians just to get food.
The development was hardly surprising. Konoha had taken control of nearly every mission in the Land of Fire. Even clients from neighboring nations and smaller ones had begun bringing their contracts to the village.
As a result, the independent clans got fewer and fewer assignments every year.
Without missions, how were they supposed to survive?
The Senju seemed to have found their answer: disguise themselves as outlaws and take whatever they needed.
"The Senju and the other clans can't hold out forever. I only hope they choose to join Konoha instead of trying to tear it down." Manji smiled and gave a careless wave.
"But if they band together and come after us, they'll have no one to blame but themselves for what happens next."
..............
The Senju compound no longer showed any sign of its old grandeur. The mood was bleak, the streets were quiet—and many families in the clan could hardly afford to eat.
Hashirama stood under the veranda, clenching his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white.
"The Senju have fallen this far—yet Father still refuses to join Konoha. WHY?" Hashirama voice shook with anger. "Nine years have passed. Everything Konoha has done proves the village was never a trap. What is Father still clinging to?"
Everywhere Hashirama looked, his clansmen struggled just to get through the day. For some families, even a full meal had become a luxury.
Still, Butsuma kept making the whole clan suffer just to protect his pride.
The elders were even worse. No argument, no proof, and no amount of hardship could change their minds.
"Father and the elders know joining Konoha would save the clan," Tobirama said. He spoke with a composure far beyond his years. "They refuse because they don't want to give up their power."
"If the Senju entered Konoha, they could no longer rule the clan however they pleased. They would answer to the village—and above all, to First Elder Manji."
By now, Konoha's intentions were common knowledge.
The Uchiha had not built the village as bait for an ambush. They were creating a stable home where shinobi and civilians could live without endless clan warfare.
But the obvious benefits didn't matter to men who cared more about power than their own people.
"DAMN THEM!"
Hashirama looked up, anger and grief burning in his eyes. "They would rather let our clansmen starve than give up their positions?"
His relationship with Butsuma had gotten worse over the years. Their beliefs stood at opposite ends, and every conversation became an argument.
Butsuma didn't treat him like a son anymore. He treated Hashirama like a stubborn subordinate instead.
"Calm down, Brother." Tobirama placed a hand on his shoulder. "You know Father's temper. The last time you mentioned joining Konoha—he nearly tore the hall apart... In his eyes, we were never a family. He is the clan head, and we are members of the Senju. That is all."
Hashirama took a deep breath. The tension left his shoulders, and he relaxed his fists.
"I know, Tobirama. I know!"
Before he could say more, two boys came running from the nearby street.
Kawarama and Itama were both alive in this timeline, spared from the deaths they had suffered in the original course of history because of Manji's influence.
They stopped in front of their brothers, out of breath and looking worried.
"Big Brother! Father wants to see you. He says it's urgent!"
Hashirama pushed down his frustration and nodded. "All right. I'm coming."
..............
The atmosphere inside the Senju council hall was even more strained.
A clansman burst through the doors, hurried to the center of the room, and bowed before Butsuma and the elders.
"CLAN HEAD! ELDERS! THE SHINOBI WE SENT OUT DISGUISED AS BANDITS WERE KILLED BY KONOHA!!"
BAAAANG! Senju Butsuma slammed his fist into the table, splitting the hardwood down the middle.
"DAMN KONOHA!" he yelled. "First they steal every mission in the nation, and now they won't even leave us a way to feed ourselves!"
For years, Konoha's mission system had taken almost every contract in the Land of Fire. The Senju barely got any paid work, and the clan's income had collapsed.
Butsuma had even approached the Daimyō and asked him to intervene.
The answer still rang in his ears. "Do you have any idea how much tax Konoha pays the Land of Fire every year? Konoha is the strongest military power in my territory. Why would I help you undermine it?"
The meaning had been clear.
Konoha was the Daimyō's greatest source of revenue, his most dependable military force, and the power that held his reign together.
The Senju contributed nothing!!
They were lucky he even let them stay in the nation!
"Clan Head, our stores are almost empty," one clansman reported with his head bowed. "We've already reduced everyone's rations. The families can't endure much more."
"Endure?"
One of the elders slammed his fist against the table. "Then let them suffer! We are not joining Konoha. That village lures clans in with comfort and promises, then strips them of everything that made them strong."
"The moment we join, the Senju will be forced to obey the Uchiha. What becomes of the honor our clan has upheld for centuries?"
"EXACTLY!" another elder declared. "I would rather die than bow to the Uchiha."
"Konoha talks about safety, but what it really wants is to absorb the Senju. The common clansmen might end up better off, but where would that leave us?"
"We have fought the Uchiha our entire lives. Are we expected to lower our heads and accept their commands now?"
The elders agreed at once.
They knew joining Konoha would protect the clan and give its people better lives. That had never been their priority. What mattered to them were their seats on the council, the privileges that came with them, and the freedom to rule the Senju without answering to anyone.
Konoha would keep their people safe, but it would cost the elders the power they refused to surrender.
Butsuma forced down his anger and considered their remaining options.
"My eldest son awakened a Kekkei Genkai last year. He can control Wood Release." He looked across the council. "We can use his Wood Release commercially and earn enough money to support the clan—"
The elders nodded, pleased with the proposal.
"Excellent. Hashirama's ability should be worth a fortune."
"We can have him produce lumber, raise buildings, and restore farmland. That should keep the clan afloat."
The discussion had barely ended when Butsuma leaned back and rubbed his stomach.
"All this arguing has worked up my appetite. Tell the kitchen to prepare venison for dinner. Have them bring out the tuna as well, and open a bottle of wine from the capital."
The elders approved of that proposal even faster.
"Yes, venison sounds excellent."
"I can almost smell the wine already."
"The clan may be struggling, but there's no reason we should suffer with everyone else."
BAANG!
The doors burst open under Hashirama's kick.
He stood in the doorway with his clothes in disarray, all the anger he had swallowed for years finally written across his face.
His gaze swept over his father and the elders around him.
"ENOUGH!!"
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