Konoha: Rebuild the glory of the Uchiha

To unify the entire ninja world?

I want it! I dream about it!

Tobirama Senju longed to unify the entire ninja world, but he could only dream about it; he simply didn't have the ability to achieve it.

The ninja world is vast, with numerous ninja clans and factions, and thousands of years of endless fighting have made the hatred difficult to resolve. Resource allocation, conflict reconciliation, and all sorts of messy and troublesome matters are involved. The creation of Konoha alone has already consumed most of Tobirama Senju's energy, and even his most beloved scientific research experiments had to be suspended.

Furthermore, the daimyo of various countries have interfered with the alliance of ninja clans through coercion and enticement. Many of the ninja clans that have joined Konoha today have been subjected to coercion and enticement by the daimyo—well, mostly enticement.

Not only that, there were also various difficulties such as communication, transportation, and food. It was simply impossible for Konoha at that time to swallow the entire ninja world whole.

But none of these are the main reasons. The most important reason is that his older brother, Hashirama Senju, disagrees.

Even if Konoha's resources aren't enough to manage and cover the entire ninja world, it can still cripple all the other ninja villages with its elder brother's unparalleled martial prowess, allowing Konoha to maintain an absolute dominant position.

"I'm so tired." Tobirama Senju sighed softly. Faced with Uchiha Nan's question, in his current state, he had no qualms about hiding his thoughts from Uchiha Nan. Hiding things would only invite ridicule, so he might as well tell the truth.

"I do want to unify the ninja world, but you've already become Hokage. You should know Konoha's personnel reserves perfectly well. Even if all the other ninja villages in the world were to merge into Konoha right now, the best Konoha would get is a nice-sounding title. They would still live their own lives, after all, the ninja world is just too big."

Tobirama Senju wanted to cover for his older brother.

Although his older brother is a bit of a jerk, he's still his own brother. Uchiha Nan is already subtly trying to exonerate Uchiha Madara, and who knows, in a few years, he might even dare to hold a meeting to criticize his older brother. It would be truly shameful if someone died without leaving a lasting legacy.

Therefore, Tobirama Senju presented objective conditions that even Uchiha Nan couldn't refute, to prove that Konoha simply couldn't swallow the entire ninja world whole.

"I know, I know, I'm fully aware of all these things. Otherwise, I wouldn't be so focused on developing productivity and pouring money into training students at the ninja academy."

"I've been having you research railways and trains; the long-distance communication equipment is preparation for Konoha's future conquest of the ninja world."

"But the fundamental problem isn't there; the original goal, the underlying ideology, has encountered a major flaw."

"The First Hokage pursued a temporary, illusory peace. Even if Konoha couldn't conquer the entire ninja world in a short time, it could have devoured it little by little. It could have used its unparalleled strength to kill all the dangerous ninjas in the ninja world, or imprison them all (the Nine-Tails was really too pitiful, it was too dangerous, lol). There were simply too many better options to avoid the First Shinobi World War."

"But how did the first one do it?"

"Distribute the Tailed Beasts we painstakingly captured, and then hold some so-called Five Kage Summit to perform a show of kowtowing to them."

Uchiha Nan said a lot in one breath, and every word hit Senju Tobirama's heart. His older brother was such a liar!

I had advised my older brother before, telling him not to be so naive. The ninja world is complex, and people's hearts are treacherous. Blindly placing your trust in others will only hurt your family and friends in the end.

But my older brother wouldn't listen. He got angry and even got impatient when I tried to persuade him!

Hashirama was staring at him with a dark expression. That look was terrifying. Tobirama felt that if he said another word, Hashirama would knock him unconscious.

Even if Hashirama Senju was naive and stupid, he was still his older brother. Tobirama Senju couldn't follow the same line of thought as Uchiha Nan, who criticized his older brother.

"Alright, stop rambling on!"

"No matter what, my brother was the First Hokage who founded Konoha. Even if he was naive and made stupid mistakes, he's dead. We should respect the dead. Even if he made some mistakes, you are the Third Hokage of Konoha, and you have an obligation to clean up his messes. I've spent my whole life cleaning up my brother's messes, and I've even died cleaning them up!"

"You've only been polishing it for a few years, and you're already getting impatient."

Tobirama Senju retorted unhappily, then covered his face, signaling to Uchiha Nan not to dwell on his older brother Hashirama Senju's situation any longer. He admitted his brother was a stupid and incompetent fool, and didn't want to be further embarrassed by his death.

"We're here to discuss Madara Uchiha. Back then, Madara Uchiha left Konoha without a word, returned with the Nine-Tails to attack Konoha, had a life-or-death duel with his older brother, then faked his death to escape, and has been hiding ever since. This strange thought process... you're saying Madara Uchiha wanted to achieve peace in the ninja world? Hmph, do you think I'd believe that?"

Tobirama Senju promptly changed the subject, bringing the conversation back to Madara Uchiha.

Madara Uchiha's actions seem to have nothing to do with peace in the ninja world.

"Tobirama, of course you don't understand. Without the Mangekyou Sharingan, how could you possibly comprehend Madara Uchiha's actions?"

Uchiha Nan switched his eyes to Sharingan mode, his expression arrogant, as if to say, "You old man, your vision is too narrow; it's normal that you can't understand the Uchiha's behavior."

"Alright, stop showing off those Sharingan eyes. Just say what you want to say!"

Tobirama Senju had lost count of how many times Uchiha Nan had flaunted his Sharingan tonight. It was truly infuriating!

"The Uchiha clan has a family heirloom stone tablet that records a story: when the Sage of Six Paths awakened the Rinnegan, he could summon the legendary Gedo Mazo and absorb the chakra of the nine tailed beasts, allowing the Gedo Mazo to evolve into the complete Ten-Tails."

"By absorbing the Ten-Tails into his body, Madara Uchiha can become the second Sage of Six Paths, activate a technique called Infinite Tsukuyomi, drag all the ninjas in the ninja world into an eternal and beautiful dream, and achieve eternal peace. He—the second Sage of Six Paths—Madara Uchiha will forever guard the ninja world, protect the Divine Tree, and ensure that Infinite Tsukuyomi continues."

Uchiha Nan recounted Uchiha Madara's plan in detail, leaving Senju Tobirama completely stunned. This story was simply outrageous beyond belief, utterly absurd.

"Uchiha Nan, are you sure you're not joking with me? How could you tell such an outrageous story?"

For a moment, Tobirama Senju was stunned before he could fully digest Uchiha Nan's story. Uchiha Madara was willing to betray Konoha and break with his elder brother Hashirama Senju for a lousy story on a broken stone, risking his entire life for it.

This is not the brain circuitry of a normal person. An Uchiha who has awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan certainly cannot be viewed through the eyes of a normal person. It's not surprising, then.

"Do you think I have time to joke with a dead man like you?"

"Then I might as well go home and have a chat with my two beautiful wives in bed about life, our ideals, and have a deeper conversation."

Tobirama Senju glanced at Uchiha Nan with disdain, then selectively skipped those two sentences. He had been alone all his life and didn't want to be mocked by Uchiha Nan again on this matter.

"If that's the case, then Madara Uchiha needs to awaken the Rinnegan to summon the Gedo Mazo. The Rinnegan is the legendary eye of the Sage of Six Paths. Does he have the means to awaken it?"

Tobirama Senju brought up the part of the story that Uchiha Nan had omitted: for a thousand years, only the legendary Sage of Six Paths had possessed these eyes, and no one else in the ninja world had ever been said to have possessed them.

"This involves the ultimate secrets of the ninja world, which a ninja of your level is not normally qualified to know."

Uchiha Nan glanced at Senju Tobirama with a mocking look, and sure enough, Senju Tobirama's skin was visibly red.

A ninja of my level?

I'm definitely the pinnacle of the ninja world!

Just as Tobirama Senju was about to erupt, Uchiha Nan wisely revealed the answer. The atmosphere was too tense, and he was under a lot of pressure. Only by teasing Tobirama Senju could he relieve some of that pressure.

"Generally speaking, only those who are reincarnations of Indra's chakra, have awakened the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, and obtained Ashura's chakra have the opportunity to awaken the legendary Rinnegan."

Uchiha Nan gave a relatively safe answer: various forums in his previous life had been saying that as long as one could awaken the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan and add Hashirama cells, there was a chance to awaken the Rinnegan.

However, in the original anime, only Madara Uchiha awakened the Rinnegan on his own. He was the reincarnation of Indra, and none of the other Uchiha had ever tried this path.

Naruto, no matter how you look at it, is a family tragedy. Bloodline is paramount. If you can't get involved with the Otsutsuki family, you're just a nobody. Even if an ordinary Uchiha awakens the Mangekyou Sharingan, he would still need to collect the chakra of Indra and Ashura to have a chance to awaken the Rinnegan.

Or the conditions are even more stringent: only the reincarnations of Indra and Ashura who obtain each other's chakra have a chance to awaken the Rinnegan.

In this world where bloodline is paramount, only by being a loser can one have a chance to rise above others.

Indra, Asura?

Tobirama Senju was completely bewildered; the amount of information tonight was simply overwhelming. How did two more names suddenly appear?

"Who are Indra and Asura?"

"Tobirama, you're lucky. The following story involves the Uchiha and Senju clans. Even Madara Uchiha didn't know about it."

"When the Sage of Six Paths first traveled the ninja world, he spread chakra, founded the Ninjutsu sect, and advocated love, understanding, and tolerance, hoping to end the conflicts in the ninja world. He was indeed very popular, and many people joined the Ninjutsu sect. Later, the Sage of Six Paths had two sons, the elder named Indra and the younger named Ashura. Indra was exceptionally gifted and inherited the Sage of Six Paths' powerful eye power from birth. He later invented hand seals, opening the door to using chakra to release ninjutsu."

"The youngest son, Ashura, paled in comparison to his elder brother, Indra, and appeared quite ordinary. Therefore, almost everyone in the Ninja Clan at the time believed that the elder brother, Indra, would inherit the mantle of the Sage of Six Paths. However, the Sage of Six Paths had a different idea about inheriting the Ninja Clan."

"The Sage of Six Paths almost instinctively sensed the dangers of using chakra to perform ninjutsu, which would overshadow his original intention of spreading chakra—chakra was originally a bridge for communication between people's minds, but under Indra's leadership, the atmosphere of the Ninja Clan changed, and the Ninja Clan disciples became obsessed with training ninjutsu to strengthen themselves, which greatly displeased the Sage of Six Paths."

"To select a successor for the Ninja Clan, the Sage of Six Paths assigned the same task to both Indra and Ashura. Indra completed the task through his immense personal strength, while Ashura relied on the strength of the masses. The Sage of Six Paths disliked Indra's pursuit of power, believing he would lead the Ninja Clan astray, and instead chose Ashura to inherit the clan. The rest is history; you probably already know the rest. Indra was dissatisfied with this decision and attempted to forcibly seize the inheritance. The Sage of Six Paths then transferred his power to Ashura, helping Ashura defeat Indra."

"The two brothers completely broke apart, each establishing their own clan. Even after death, they continued to fight, choosing children from their respective clans and attaching their chakra to the children to continue the struggle that has lasted for a thousand years."

Uchiha Nan spoke until his throat was dry. The story was incredibly melodramatic, no different from the struggle for inheritance among the sons of powerful families.

After listening for a long while, Tobirama Senju slowly said:

"These two families wouldn't be it."

"That's right, it's the Uchiha clan and the Senju clan."

Uchiha Nan confirmed Senju Tobirama's idea, which made Senju Tobirama's head feel like it had been hit by a hammer. This...this...could there be such a strange thing in this world?

The Uchiha and Senju clans, who have been fighting each other for thousands of years, are actually one family?

For a moment, Tobirama Senju felt that the world was too absurd. The hatred between the two families originated from the unfair division of the family!

How ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous!

Suddenly, Tobirama Senju recalled the first time he met Uchiha Nan.

"Maybe a thousand years ago we were one family, with the Uchiha as the older brother and the Senju as the younger. We ended up with an unfair father, which led to an unfair division of the family, and the two brothers might have fallen out because of it."

So that's what Uchiha Nan meant when he said that. It seems he knew the truth all along.

"The reincarnations of Indra and Ashura in this generation are Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju. It is destined that the two of them will be entangled in this life. Although they are like brothers, they will eventually break apart and fight each other."

Uchiha Nan gave Senju Tobirama time to process the information before revealing the hidden identities of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama. This caused Tobirama to sigh. The relationship between his elder brother and Uchiha Madara was indeed extraordinary. Their friendship, forged in their youth, had grown into an unusual and tragic bond, which was all preordained long ago.

In an instant, Tobirama Senju's gaze towards Uchiha Nan changed.

I'm actually related to that bunch of lunatics from the Uchiha clan?

The Uchiha are inherently evil... I'd better not say that again.

Tonight is truly exciting. Tobirama Senju felt a mix of emotions, and even the atmosphere in the room suddenly became strange.

(End of this chapter)