Inside Tobirama's tent, Fūmori Masaki, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Satomi, and Danzo stood before a table, upon which the Six Paths treasure, the basho fan, was laid out.
Tobirama was observing the fan, and after a while, he picked it up and channeled Chakra into it, seemingly sensing something.
"Monkey, are you sure you didn't mishear? Kinkaku said that only the descendants of the Six Paths Sage can use this treasure?" Tobirama placed the basho fan back on the table and asked Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Yes, there can be no mistake," Hiruzen Sarutobi replied.
Tobirama pondered for a moment; in truth, he had already believed Hiruzen Sarutobi's claim.
As a Sensing Ninja, he was more sensitive to the subtle transformations of Chakra, and when he channeled Chakra into the basho fan, he clearly felt a strong sense of compatibility, as if it were a part of his own body.
If the claim that Kinkaku and Ginkaku were descendants of the Six Paths Sage was true, then the Senju Clan, which could also use the treasure, must also be descendants of the Six Paths Sage.
Although the Senju Clan was a Ninja Clan with a long history and great strength, Tobirama had never considered any connection to the Six Paths Sage.
Some scrolls within the Senju Clan contained fragmented information about the Shinobi Sect, but because he had never thought in that direction, he had never paid it any mind.
Now, upon careful reflection, Tobirama realized that the fragmented information in those scrolls was highly unusual, not something that could be possessed by mere followers of the Shinobi Sect as the Senju had previously believed.
And this basho fan made Tobirama unable to help but think of the flame fan used by Uchiha Madara; that fan could absorb all Ninjutsu and then convert it into a Wind Release counterattack.
In terms of power, the basho fan was very similar to the flame fan.
In that case, could the Uchiha Clan also be descendants of the Six Paths Sage?
The Six Paths Sage, who existed only in the mythical era, had always been revered by people.
Ninjas believed that they originated from the Shinobi Sect he established, but as time passed, few people believed that the Six Paths Sage was a real person; at the very least, Tobirama himself did not believe it.
However, Kinkaku and Ginkaku, who devoured Nine-Tailed Chakra and survived; the basho fan, which could unleash all five nature transformations regardless of the user; the flame fan, which absorbed Ninjutsu and converted it into a Wind Release counterattack; and the sense of compatibility from holding the basho fan—all of these things were telling Tobirama that the Six Paths Sage was a truly existing figure, and his bloodline had continued to this day.
"It's truly unbelievable; the myth is actually real," Tobirama muttered to himself.
Except for Fūmori Masaki, the other three were also very surprised.
In the gazes that Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo directed toward Tobirama, the sense of respect deepened.
Although not many people previously felt that the Six Paths Sage truly existed, as a mythical figure, he was revered by Ninja Clans.
The fact that the Senju Clan was the bloodline of the Six Paths Sage would undoubtedly grant them tremendous influence among Ninja Clans!
In Kumogakure, Kinkaku and Ginkaku had gained public recognition by relying on the mythical halo of being descendants of the Six Paths Sage.
In a strictly hierarchical Ninja organization, the fact that they could force even the Raikage to yield, despite their status as subordinates, showed the extent of this influence.
Tobirama sensed their gazes; in this era, such a mythical bloodline could allow the Senju Clan's status to surpass any other Ninja Clan, unless the other party was also a descendant of the Six Paths Sage.
He did not know if this was a good thing or a bad thing, nor did he know if this special bloodline would affect the long-term plans he and his elder brother had.
"Do not let this matter spread," Tobirama said. "For now, treat it as a secret known only to us, understand?"
Regarding Tobirama's decision, everyone present had some level of understanding, so they did not raise any objections and promised Tobirama not to spread the word.
Afterward, having reported the details of the mission, Tobirama let them go back to rest, believing they must be exhausted from the battle with Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
In fact, this was true; Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that this might have been the most arduous battle he had ever fought, and the others felt the same.
After saying goodbye to each other, Fūmori Masaki and Satomi returned to their tent, immediately laid down, and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Masaki, with this, the war should end very soon, right?" Satomi asked, closing her eyes to rest for a moment.
"It is very likely, but not certain. The Raikage should be hoping for peace. If he makes good use of the results of this battle, I believe he will send people to negotiate for peace before long," Fūmori Masaki said.
"That's great." Satomi smiled happily, but then said with some dissatisfaction, "But even if the war with the Land of Lightning ends, there is still the Land of Water and the Land of Wind."
"At least we solved one first. We weren't afraid when there were three countries; what is there to be afraid of when only two are left?" Fūmori Masaki said. "Besides, Iwagakure will take on the pressure of the Kirigakure for us."
"I heard that it's because the Second Tsuchikage of Iwagakure and the Second Mizukage have an old grudge, so it seems they are fighting tooth and nail in this war," Satomi said.
"Yeah." Fūmori Masaki nodded. This news was true.
In the intelligence reports, the Second Mizukage was clearly chasing the Second Tsuchikage to fight; with that kind of momentum, it was no wonder they would end up destroying each other in the end.
"Iwagakure is very good at dealing with Water Release, so we basically don't need to worry. The only one we need to seriously face should be Sunagakure," Fūmori Masaki said. "I wonder how the war situation is for Kagami right now."
"There shouldn't be any problems, right?" Satomi thought for a moment and said.
"In a Ninja battle, no one knows what will happen," Fūmori Masaki said.
Although in history, Uchiha Kagami died at the age of twenty-five, history had changed after all; Uchiha Kagami might live longer, or he might live shorter.
Although he was a bit worried, Fūmori Masaki had no way to interfere.
After negotiating peace with Kumogakure, Kinkaku and Ginkaku would inevitably incite a rebellion.
To maximize the benefits, he still needed to handle many things; thinking about what was to come gave Fūmori Masaki a headache.
However, this time there was an unexpected joy; inadvertently, the identity of the Senju Clan as descendants of the Six Paths was revealed.
Although Tobirama forbade it from spreading, a plan Fūmori Masaki intended to implement in the future would require people to know of the existence of the Six Paths descendants; while not strictly necessary, it would be best if they were known.
The spiritual source of the Ninja World is the Six Paths Sage; the influence of the Six Paths Sage has long permeated every aspect of this continent.
Fūmori Masaki felt that to allow his new ideas to spread, it would be better to borrow the name of the Six Paths Sage.
The Raikage's request for peace negotiations came very quickly.
After that battle, the Raikage proposed peace negotiations at the meeting.
Because Kinkaku and Ginkaku's reputation in Kumogakure had plummeted, the voices of the pro-war faction were gradually suppressed, and the Raikage's proposal was passed by the majority.
Subsequently, the Raikage sent an envoy to convey the request to Tobirama and proposed the conditions for peace.
The other costs of the war would be left for the Daimyo to discuss; their Ninja Village only needed to withdraw troops and return prisoners.
Tobirama agreed to these conditions and ordered people to go and bring back the Kumogakure Ninja prisoners.
They agreed on the location to sign the peace treaty, and after the treaty was signed, the prisoners would be returned.