Uchiha's personal opinion

Furthermore, Tsunade was a direct disciple of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, so...

"It's a pity Danzo is no longer here..."

Mitokado also sighed.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, remained silent.

Actually, it's not that there are no ways to stop it, but those shady activities have always been Danzo's exclusive domain.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and his two advisors, like tree trunks in the sunlight, still needed to maintain a righteous and upright image.

"That's fine..."

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, once again issued an order to leave and wearily closed his eyes.

The good mood that Daimyo had initially felt after giving in was completely gone.

"Hiruzen..."

Xiaochun, who was switching dorm rooms, tried to continue persuading him.

"All three of my students live in the village..."

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, said quietly, "But none of them came here..."

At this time, Orochimaru was probably holed up in some laboratory exploring the mysteries of ninjutsu and chakra, while Jiraiya was still helping out at the Senju clan's territory.

Even Hiruzen Sarutobi's eldest son is stationed far away on the northern border. The main force of the Sarutobi clan's ninja army has all gone north with them and has not returned. The Shimura clan has long since chosen to stay at home to avoid the Uchiha clan's retaliation. The strength of the Utatane and Mitokado clans is also far from satisfactory and they are simply not good enough...

Even within the Anbu directly under the Hokage, there are veteran captains like "Ushi," "Baku," and "Tora," who were all Anbu veterans from the Second Hokage's era. Although they have largely retired and were under the leadership of the Third Hokage in the past, they were, after all, trained by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. In this special moment, expecting them to instruct the Anbu to do anything underhanded would not escape their notice...

The two advisors remained silent.

After sitting there for a while, he decided to say goodbye and leave.

After they left, the Hokage's office fell into a deathly silence once again.

"Ugh……"

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, couldn't understand why he had suddenly found himself in such a difficult situation where no one was available to help him.

After Danzo was gone, they couldn't find a single person capable of doing the dirty work...

How tragic...

……

After discussion among several surviving elders of the Senju clan, it was decided that the reconstruction ceremony of the Senju clan would be held in the form of a shrine ritual.

In response, Tsunade expressed her complete trust in her elders, entrusting them with all specific tasks.

The elderly people with a thousand hands were naturally pleased to see this.

Although Tsunade's younger brother, Nawaki, the grandson of Hashirama Senju, was young, he took the initiative to greet the collateral branch clan members who came to return to the clan.

Among his peers in Konoha, Uchiha Tokumitsu was the most powerful.

Having heard so much about Uchiha Tokumitsu's exploits, Nawaki also harbored a burning desire within him.

As the grandson of the God of Ninjas, he would not allow himself to lose to anyone!

Therefore, the revival of the Senju clan must begin with small things! It must begin with how we treat others!

Rope Tree silently cheered himself on.

……

On the other side, Uchiha Tokumitsu also welcomed the arrival of Uzumaki clan leader Uzumaki Ashina.

"Lord Deguang, even if the Senju return, I hope the blood pact between the Uzumaki and Uchiha clans will remain unchanged!"

After settling into the room, Ashina Uzumaki eagerly said, "The current Uzumaki clan cannot function without the assistance of the Uchiha clan. Please don't take offense, Lord Tokumitsu!"

"But... I wonder what the Uzumaki clan will think?"

Uchiha Tokumitsu naturally had no reason to mind; he was overjoyed at the Ashina clan chief's offer of loyalty!

"If there are still those who are unreasonable, the Uzumaki clan has its own clan rules and methods to punish them!"

Ashina gritted his teeth and said fiercely.

It's clear that the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools dealt a huge blow to Ashina Uzumaki.

Although he usually keeps a low profile, his inner resentment is no less than that of any member of the Whirlpool Clan.

Especially after learning that the three kingdoms' siege of Uzumaki Village was orchestrated by the daimyo of various major powers, Ashina Uzumaki's boundless rage was already burning fiercely.

Uchiha Tokumitsu led his troops to directly capture the Fire Temple and Kinki City, which made Uzumaki Ashina feel a sense of relief and strengthened his resolve to cling to the Uchiha clan.

Moreover, Ashina Uzumaki knew that the Uchiha clan was never one to be tolerant or forgiving. If the Uzumaki clan were to betray their alliance, that would be a truly devastating blow.

"Under Lady Mito's guidance, the Uchiha and Senju clans have completely reconciled."

With the Uzumaki clan clearly taking sides, Uchiha Tokumitsu naturally reciprocated, saying, "I hope Chief Ashina won't dwell too much on the past. We should still maintain normal relations with the Senju clan. After all, although they are not the Senju of the past, it's not like we can't sit down and have a proper talk with them. We are all Konoha ninja clans, so there's no need to be overly distant..."

We're just having normal conversation; it's not like the old Senju group anymore. There's no need to be overly distant...

Some things and words are better understood in reverse at certain special times.

Ashina Uzumaki quickly picked up on the key words in Uchiha Tokumitsu's hypocritical words.

"Lord Deguang is indeed magnanimous; his tolerance is beyond the reach of ordinary people!"

Uzumaki Ashina naturally showered him with a barrage of flattery, making Uchiha Tokumitsu laugh heartily.

"The clan and Kirigakure have arranged to meet in the Land of Waves in April. Would you please invite the Ashina clan head to attend as well...?"

Uchiha Tokumitsu also offered some incentives to the Uzumaki clan, saying, "At that time, the clan leaders Hozuki and Minazuki will hand over the evidence of the daimyo's crimes. Please have Ashina clan leader examine it."

"I obey your command!"

Ashina Uzumaki's expression turned solemn, and he bowed deeply to Tokumitsu Uchiha in a dogeza posture.

……

The ritual to bring back the Senju Shrine to the forest is held at the Senju Shrine.

However, Uchiha Tokumitsu had no interest in joining in the fun, so the clan leader, Uchiha Yoshimune, led his men to personally attend the ceremony and witness the event.

Unlike the Uchiha clan's Nakagawa Shrine, the Senju Shrine uses traditional giant timber as its main building material.

Layer upon layer of vermilion torii gates form the path to the shrine, and hundreds of statues of powerful members of the Senju clan throughout history are scattered among them.

At the entrance of the shrine, Senju Nawaki, whose face still bore a hint of childishness, was dressed in a white hunting robe and receiving the ninja guests who had come to observe the ceremony.

"He's still far from being as good as Deguang-kun..."

Although he often felt dissatisfied with the autocratic and domineering Uchiha Tokumitsu, Uchiha Yomo, as the clan head, still favored his own juniors.

At a glance, it appears that the leaders or representatives of almost all the ninja clans in Konoha have arrived.

Hinata, Sarutobi, Inozukacho, Inuzuka, Aburame, Shimura...

Everyone was dressed in their finest attire.

Uchiha Yomo looked down at his police department Jonin uniform and felt it was a bit inappropriate.

"Chief Ashina...shouldn't we go back and change into formal attire now?"

"That's not necessary... I believe the Senju clan wouldn't be bound by such formalities..."

Wearing an unmarked Jonin uniform, Ashina Uzumaki spoke calmly.

Uchiha Yomo was taken aback upon hearing this, then grinned.

Without saying anything more, he strode forward.

……

The Thousand Hands of the Forest, after decades of silence, will rise again to prominence!

But the world has changed! Times have changed!

Chapter 171 An Iron Curtain Has Fallen

The news of the Senju clan's reorganization not only shocked Konoha, but also greatly shocked all the countries in the ninja world.

In a short period of time, the four major ninja villages were completely unable to figure out what the Senju clan and Konoha were up to; as a result, their military operations, such as probing and confrontations in various border areas, all retreated.

This is especially true for rock-dwelling and sand-dwelling types.

The Iwagakure ninja army, which was originally confronting the border defense forces north and northwest of the Stone City on the border of the Grass Country, immediately broke camp and retreated fifty kilometers overnight after learning of the Senju clan's reorganization, completely avoiding the northwest border defense forces in front of them.

Sunagakure acted swiftly, immediately withdrawing its elite squad that had infiltrated the Land of Rivers.

Both of these major ninja villages were once defeated by the ninja army under Uchiha Tokumitsu. They had originally planned to use the conflict between the Fire Country Daimyo and the Uchiha clan to test the waters and see if they could get their revenge. However, the Senju clan, which had long since retired, suddenly reappeared. In the traditional stereotype, the Senju clan was even more powerful than the Uchiha clan...

Even on the northern border, where the atmosphere was tense and a major battle seemed imminent, the Cloud Village's small-scale activities ceased.

As a result, within a few days, the border, which had been plagued by small-scale conflicts, became peaceful and tranquil.

However, Uchiha Tokumitsu's troubles continued.

Uchiha Himon wrote to the Dao that after learning that the Senju clan had re-established its name, the Uchiha conservatives, who had been exiled to the northwestern border defense forces, began to demand a rotation to return to the village.

Uchiha Tokumitsu had only one attitude towards this: it was not allowed.

Even if troops were to be transferred, they could only be transferred from the Northwest Border Army to the Eastern Border Army, which he personally oversaw.

As for what the conservative clansmen thought, Uchiha Tokumitsu didn't want to care.

In this strange and turbulent atmosphere, what the Uchiha clan needs most is stability.

For the sake of stability, we absolutely must not let the conservative troublemakers come back and cause trouble.

Meanwhile, the issue of the Senju clan's status and power distribution began to become a hot topic in the village.

Sakumo Hatake was also somewhat overwhelmed.

As the leader of the Jonin team, the most direct reflection of the changes in power within Konoha is the voting on various resolutions of the Jonin team.

With the resurgence of the Senju clan, the various factions within the Jonin ranks also began to split again. Some Jonin who originally came from smaller ninja clans under Sakumo Hatake began to openly or secretly defect to the Senju clan.

Although Sakumo Hatake's supporters, along with the Uchiha clan, still constitute the largest force in the Jonin team voting, their share has dropped from nearly 50% to around 40%, making it impossible for them to maintain a simple majority.

As time went on, his forces even showed signs of further disintegration.