--------------------------------------------------
"Gather the clan's best fighters. Bring the elders and their families. We leave now."
Butsuma's command echoed through the council hall.
One of the senior elders hesitated. "Clan Head, what about everyone else?"
Butsuma kept a cold expression. "If we take them with us, our retreat will slow down and we'll have to use our best shinobi to protect them."
"We leave them here. They'll slow down Konoha's pursuit—and Hashirama won't hurt his own clansmen."
The elder fell silent.
After a moment, he nodded.
No one argued on behalf of the people they were abandoning.
Before anyone else could find out, Butsuma gathered the elders, their families, and the last of the Senju elite. They left the clan grounds quietly in the dark and escaped to the east.
........
When Hashirama's forces reached the Senju compound, there was no army waiting for them.
Only the people Butsuma had left behind.
Children clung to their mothers. The elderly stood in small groups, leaning on canes or one another for support. Sick and wounded clansmen watched Konoha's soldiers enter with fear written across their faces.
The compound felt empty.
"..." Hashirama looked over the familiar streets where he had grown up and let out a long breath.
Memories rushed back to him: his brothers running between the houses, training by the river, and sharing meals under the same roofs. Despite the elders' cruelty, this place had once been his home.
Now the leaders had taken everything valuable and left behind everyone they saw as a burden.
Hashirama pushed the memories aside and formed a series of hand seals.
Wood Release chakra poured into the ground. Thick roots broke through the earth and twisted together, rising into a broad wooden platform at the center of the compound.
Hashirama leaped onto it and faced the frightened clansmen below.
"EVERYONE, LISTEN TO ME!"
His voice rang out across the compound.
"Konoha's forces did not come here to slaughter the Senju, and Konoha is not an Uchiha prison. Our people will not be punished for their leaders' crimes."
"IT CAN BECOME OUR HOME."
Hashirama looked from face to face, making no attempt to hide the pain in his eyes. "I swear on my life that anyone who joins Konoha will be protected. You will not be persecuted, stripped of your name, or treated as prisoners. Konoha will give every Senju family a place to live and the chance to rebuild."
"Butsuma abandoned you."
The crowd began to murmur restlessly.
"When the clan faced defeat, he took the elders, their families, and the strongest shinobi. He left everyone else behind to slow us down." Hashirama tightened his fists. "But I will not abandon you."
"I left this clan because its leaders cared more about their authority than the people they were supposed to protect. I never stopped caring about the Senju."
He looked around the compound.
"You are my family. I'm asking you to trust me."
The clansmen started whispering to each other.
Most of them knew what Hashirama was like. Even as a child, he was warm and patient with others. He spoke out against the elders' choices and tried to help families who didn't have enough food.
They also knew the truth behind his exile... Hashirama hadn't betrayed the clan. He challenged leaders who wouldn't change, and Butsuma punished him for it.
Finally, an old man with white hair stepped out from the crowd. He leaned on his cane as he walked toward the platform.
"Hashirama," he called, his voice rough with age. "Do you mean what you said?"
Hashirama met his eyes.
"Every word."
"And you swear Konoha won't turn on us once we surrender?"
"I swear before the Sage of Six Paths." Hashirama's voice rang across the compound. "I will never deceive my own people."
The old man looked at him for a moment.
Then he let his cane fall and lowered himself to his knees.
"Then we will follow you." He bowed his head. "WE, THE SENJU ABANDONED BY OUR CLAN HEAD, SUBMIT TO KONOHA AND PLACE OUR TRUST IN LORD HASHIRAMA."
The last of the crowd's hesitation disappeared.
One by one, the remaining Senju knelt. Hundreds of voices joined together, surrendering and asking to join Konoha under Hashirama's protection.
Hashirama felt a wave of relief. He jumped down from the platform and quickly went to the old man, helping him stand up.
"Please, none of you need to kneel." He turned to the rest of the clan, speaking more gently now. "Stand up. From this day forward, we're not enemies or prisoners..."
"...We're family."
Hashirama turned to the shinobi waiting beside the platform.
"Help everyone gather their belongings and prepare for the journey to Konoha. Assign escorts to the elderly, the wounded, and any families with young children."
He looked back at the clansmen gathered in the compound.
"And distribute Konoha forehead protectors. From this day forward, every one of them is part of the village."
........
On the eastern coast of the Land of Fire, a cold wind blew in from the sea and waves crashed against the rocky shore.
After defeating several enemy clans in the east, Tobirama moved his Third Division to the coast earlier than planned. By the time Butsuma arrived, Konoha had already set a trap.
Standing atop a reef, Tobirama surveyed the water and issued his orders.
"Plant explosive tags throughout the shallows. Butsuma will try to cross the sea and escape to the Land of Whirlpools. We stop him before he reaches a ship."
He pointed toward several positions along the coast. "Set up a second defensive line facing the water. Uzushiogakure may send forces to receive him, so keep watch for an attack from offshore."
Once the troops had scattered, Tobirama slipped between several hidden positions along the shoreline. At each one, he crouched and planted a Flying Raijin formula against the ground.
After securing every possible route, the Third Division withdrew into the coastal forest and waited.
They didn't have to wait long.
Butsuma came out of the trees with the Senju elders and the last of the clan's elite. They had fled without rest, their clothes torn, breathing hard, and their last bit of morale slipping away.
Seeing the open sea brought a little hope back to their faces.
Butsuma straightened up and spoke to the tired group.
"Once we cross this water, we'll be inside the Land of Whirlpools. I sent word to Uzushiogakure before we left—they'll have people waiting to receive us."
He pointed toward the horizon. "Reach the other shore, and Konoha's pursuit ends. Hold yourselves together a little longer!"
The Senju began preparing the boats.
Suddenly, the coastline exploded.
BOOOOOOOMM!!
BOOOOOOOMM!!
BOOOOOOOMM!!
Explosive tags went off in the shallow water, sending columns of seawater into the air. The ground shook as smoke, broken stones, and salt spray covered the beach.
"TAKE BUTSUMA ALIVE!" Tobirama's voice rose above the chaos.
He charged from the forest with chakra surging around him, and the Third Division followed close behind.
The fleeing Senju had spent days pushing themselves past their limits. Konoha's soldiers were rested, organized, and attacking from strong positions.
There wasn't really a battle.
The Senju formation fell apart in minutes. Weapons dropped into the sand as each fighter was disarmed and held down.
Butsuma kept fighting until several Konoha shinobi pulled him down. They pinned him to the wet sand and tied his wrists with strong restraints so he couldn't move.
Tobirama walked over slowly.
He looked down at his father in silence. For a moment, his composure slipped, revealing emotions he could not quite bury. Then his face went calm again.
"TOBIRAMA!" Butsuma thrashed beneath the shinobi holding him.
"YOU UNGRATEFUL TRAITOR! YOU BETRAYED YOUR CLAN—AND NOW YOU RAISE YOUR HAND AGAINST YOUR OWN FATHER?"
His face turned red as he struggled even more.
"If you're going to kill me, then do it! Stop standing there and finish it!"
Tobirama didn't react to the insults.
"Father, you lost. Nothing you say now will change that."
His voice stayed calm. "I won't execute you here. You will be taken back to Konoha and tried before a public court. Your crimes and your punishment will be decided under village law."
Butsuma stared at him, shaking with rage.
Then his last shred of restraint snapped.
"DAMN YOU, TOBIRAMA!"
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