Fortunately, it wasn't for a battle. Madara had sent a message via a ninja hawk.
Besides the usual inquiries about Izuna's situation on the battlefield and the strain on his Mangekyo, the letter also detailed the clan's internal strategies for dealing with the Senju.
Izuna had not told his clansmen that the Senju definitely wouldn't attack.
Although Senju Hashirama would surely keep his promise, Senju Yuma and Senju Tobirama were not good people.
It was entirely possible they would pull some tricks behind Hashirama's back.
He had to be vigilant.
***
Meanwhile, far to the east of the Uchiha lands, on the other side of Mount Congyun, in the Senju clan's territory.
The Senju clan was in the midst of a heated family council meeting.
All ninja of elite Jonin rank and above had been summoned.
The meeting had been called by the clan head, Senju Yuma, and the topic, naturally, was declaring war on the Uchiha.
"Now is the best time to strike the Uchiha," an elite Senju Jonin below said eagerly. "Uchiha Izuna is far away on the northwestern front and took a considerable portion of their forces with him. If our intelligence is correct and the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans also make a move, they'll have to send even more forces to the northwest. That's when we'll strike the Uchiha main clan directly!"
"We could have won last time, if it weren't for that damned Uchiha Izuna!"
"It's a shame he's in the northwest this time. We can't get our revenge!"
The Senju Jonin below all voiced their support for war.
At the same time, they all tacitly avoided mentioning the truce.
Although Senju Yuma sat in the clan head's seat, his eyes kept darting to Senju Hashirama, who sat in the Vice-Clan Head's position to his left.
Senju Tobirama also felt a knot of anxiety in his stomach.
Just then, a peak Senju Jonin requested, "Clan Head, let us declare war on the Uchiha. It's time to settle the score from the unfinished battle at Mount Congyun."
Seeing Senju Hashirama remain silent, Senju Yuma pondered for a moment before finally speaking. "Everyone, and all the elders, since you all believe so..."
"Wait!"
The two low words escaped through gritted teeth. Senju Hashirama, who had been quiet, spoke with a force that immediately drew everyone's attention.
Many sighed inwardly.
If they could have, they would have preferred he stay silent until the meeting was over.
"We... signed a three-year truce with the Uchiha," Senju Hashirama said, emphasizing each word.
"That... Vice-Clan Head, that's just a piece of paper..."
"What did you say?!"
The peak Jonin tried to meekly retort but was so startled by Hashirama's shout that he nearly wet himself.
Growing up, the number of times Senju Hashirama had gotten this angry could be counted on one hand.
Tobirama remembered the last time Hashirama had been this furious was when their brother, Senju Kawarama, died.
"That is not a piece of paper! It is our promise to the Uchiha!" Hashirama roared. "If we break our word, the Uchiha will never trust us again!"
He had never given up on his dream of building a ninja village with the Uchiha where all ninja could live in harmony.
For that reason, he valued the truce with the Uchiha more than anyone.
If the Senju unilaterally tore up the agreement, forming an alliance with the Uchiha in the future would become exponentially more difficult.
*Why would we want the Uchiha to trust us...* many of the Senju ninja silently retorted in their minds.
But seeing Hashirama's face flushed red with anger, not a single one dared to speak up.
That included Senju Tobirama and even the clan head, Senju Yuma.
But Hashirama had clearly underestimated the hatred that had festered between the two clans for centuries. Despite the pressure he exerted, someone still rose to their feet.
"I'm sorry, Vice-Clan Head. Even coming from you, I cannot tolerate this."
The speaker was an elite Jonin, about thirty-five years old, with a vicious scar on his right cheek.
As he stood, his eyes were bloodshot, and a tear traced a path down the scar. "My ten-year-old son died at the hands of the Uchiha. I swore I would avenge him. I will not let this chance slip away."
After the first person stood, a second and then a third found their courage and rose from their tatami mats.
"Vice-Clan Head, my husband was paralyzed in a battle with the Uchiha eight years ago. To this day, he cannot stand."
"My two younger brothers and my father all died at the hands of the Uchiha..."
"I never knew my parents. My uncle raised me, but he was killed in the battle at Mount Congyun..."
Within thirty seconds, seventy percent of the seated Senju Jonin were on their feet.
Hashirama's jaw trembled. Even he found it hard not to be swayed in the face of such a scene.
*This way, even big brother will have to...* Senju Tobirama thought to himself.
He, too, advocated for breaking the treaty and going to war.
This situation, though cruel to Hashirama, was what he had hoped to see.
However, Tobirama had also underestimated Hashirama's determination to build an alliance and a village with the Uchiha.
"It seems you have all accumulated a great deal of hatred..."
With that, Hashirama stood up from his cushion. "Fine. All who wish to tear up the treaty, follow me to the training grounds."
"Hashirama, what are you planning to do?" Senju Yuma asked, surprised.
"It doesn't matter how many. Anyone who wants to go to war with the Uchiha, come and defeat me. If you can do that, I will no longer stand in your way," Hashirama declared, his head held high. "Tobirama, Uncle Yuma, you can join them too. I don't mind."
*Is he insane?!*
For a moment, that thought crossed everyone's mind.
Right now, at least eighty percent of the clan wanted to break the treaty and go to war with the Uchiha.
That was over a thousand ninja!
And Hashirama had said, "join them too." If that wasn't insane, what was?
What was even more unbelievable was that when he said it, Senju Yuma and the others had the distinct feeling that he could actually do it.
At the Senju clan's training grounds.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
With a low shout, the entire Senju compound trembled. A torrent of Hashirama's chakra surged forth like a tsunami, continuing unabated for more than half a minute before gradually subsiding.
A thousand Senju ninja stared, dumbfounded, at the scene in the center of the training grounds.
The entire area had been transformed into a super-jungle of giant vines, each dozens of times larger than an ordinary tree.
Senju Hashirama stood on one of the central vines, his hands clasped together, looking like a god.
And all around, if one looked closely, one could see Senju ninja trapped within the vines.
Although Hashirama had said anyone who wanted to break the treaty could challenge him, the opposition wasn't so disrespectful as to take him literally.
In the end, a team of about fifty elite Jonin stepped forward to fight him.
With such a lineup, they felt victory was all but certain.
But to the entire Senju clan's astonishment, Hashirama had been holding back.
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