The Senju Clan compound, much like that of the Nara Clan, was composed entirely of wooden structures.
The main difference lay in the Senju Clan crest, which could be seen everywhere, and the vermilion torii gates scattered throughout the grounds — including a grand "Myojin Gate" that stood at the entrance, serving as the compound's main gate.
Of course, these were not special creations left behind by Senju Hashirama's Wood Release, but rather decorative structures built later by craftsmen.
Still, their presence spoke volumes about the clan's deep reverence and nostalgia for Hashirama — the "God of Shinobi."
In contrast, Second Hokage Senju Tobirama had left behind far fewer traces within the clan.
Even so, Tobirama's death meant the clan had lost a sitting Hokage — a blow that left many Senju members grieving and uncertain about the future.
Of course, not everyone in the Senju Clan was overcome by grief.
At that very moment, twelve young clansmen gathered in Senju Mori's home were practically bursting with excitement.
Mori's house was quite spacious. In its main hall stood a large round table, around which Uha and the others naturally sat.
"Brother Mori, I can't believe things turned out exactly as you said…"
"Hahaha! You should've seen Sarutobi Hiruzen's face when you came back — it was priceless!"
"Mori, what's our next move…?"
After Mori had accurately predicted the events to come, personally traveled to the Land of Lightning, and returned with both Tobirama's body and the Six Paths Treasured Tools, these young Senju had begun to idolize him fanatically.
In fact, Tobirama's death itself barely stirred any emotion among them.
To these young Senju, ever since Tobirama had proposed "dissolving the Senju Clan" and "integrating into Konoha," even continuing to call him "Clan Head Tobirama" was already a show of restraint and respect.
"We can't underestimate the jōnin confidence vote," Mori said, seated high at the head of the table, his composure unbroken despite his recent string of victories.
"I may have brought back Clan Head Tobirama's body, but everyone knows that Sarutobi Hiruzen and his group of six were his true chosen successors."
Though his dramatic return had made him the center of attention throughout Konoha, and his carefully orchestrated propaganda campaign had given him some advantage, Mori knew the outcome was far from decided.
With the previous Hokage — the only one who could have single-handedly appointed a successor — now dead, the question of who would become the next Hokage no longer depended on the villagers easily swayed by rumor, nor on the vast ranks of chūnin and genin who formed the bulk of Konoha's ninja.
It rested instead with the jōnin, who, though few in number, held nearly all political power within the village.
The jōnin were the true core strength and foundation of any hidden village.
Even Konoha — recognized as the most powerful of all — had only a little over one hundred jōnin.
At this time, most of Konoha's jōnin came from the great ninja clans.
The Uchiha and Senju, as the two founding clans, each contributed around thirty jōnin.
The Hyūga Clan, second only to the Senju and Uchiha in influence, had more than ten.
The Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans, though small individually, always acted as one. Combined, they formed a powerful bloc with nearly twenty jōnin in total.
Following them were the smaller clans — the Sarutobi, Shimura, Inuzuka, and Aburame, each with only a handful of jōnin to their name.
Aside from these, there were also a number of minor ninja clans, each with only one or two jōnin and barely any members to speak of.
Calling them "clans" was almost an exaggeration, since most of them were really just one or two extended families.
Examples included the Hatake, Shiranui, Kurama, and Kazematsuri clans…
As for jōnin of commoner origin, there were almost none — after all, Konoha had originally been founded as a union of ninja clans, not a village of ordinary citizens.
For a long time, it was these clans that truly formed the core of Konoha.
It wasn't until the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, established the Ninja Academy that ordinary civilians gained the precious opportunity to learn ninjutsu and become shinobi themselves.
But it would still take time for them to grow strong enough to make an impact.
All things considered, Senju Mori and Sarutobi Hiruzen had roughly equal power bases.
Mori's primary support came from the Senju Clan itself, while the smaller, lesser clans that admired and relied on the Senju would likely side with them as well, hoping to see another Senju rise to the Hokage's seat.
The Sarutobi Clan, on the other hand, could not compare in scale to the Senju, but Hiruzen had something else — a small political alliance formed for him by Tobirama through bonds of master and student.
Together, the Sarutobi, Shimura, Mitokado, and Koharu clans accounted for a little over ten jōnin.
If Akimichi Torifu could persuade the Nara and Yamanaka clans to join the Akimichi in backing Sarutobi Hiruzen, then Hiruzen could command nearly forty votes.
As for which of the remaining jōnin would ultimately support whom — that would depend entirely on each candidate's skill in persuasion.
Among the undecided jōnin, the Uchiha Clan stood out as the largest single faction by far.
Whichever side — Mori or Hiruzen — managed to win them over would gain an enormous advantage.
However, for Senju Mori, courting the Uchiha was no easy task.
He carried the Senju bloodline, burdened with a thousand-year feud against the Uchiha — a conflict as deeply rooted as the ancient Senju–Uzumaki alliance.
What's more, since Tobirama's time, the suppression of the Uchiha Clan had only become more and more evident.
Most Uchiha of this era were still born during the Warring States Period.
And though their political acumen was as poor as that of their descendants, they had at least learned a few lessons from repeated failures — enough not to be easily fooled anymore.
In other words, "Once you've fallen into a pit enough times, you learn to walk around it."
Fortunately for Mori, Sarutobi Hiruzen also found it difficult to win the Uchiha over.
After all, his greatest political credential — "Tobirama's chosen successor and disciple" — was precisely the identity the Uchiha hated most.
And of course, Hiruzen couldn't possibly curry favor with them by publicly criticizing Tobirama.
That would've been suicidal.
To make matters worse, Uchiha Kagami, the one man Tobirama had specifically left behind to serve as a bridge between Hiruzen and the Uchiha, had died inexplicably during the pursuit of the Cloud ninja.
All five of Hiruzen's team survived, yet the only casualty among the Hokage Guard Platoon was an Uchiha — utterly severing any hope of reconciliation between Hiruzen and the Uchiha Clan.
In fact, not long ago, the Uchiha had even confronted Hiruzen in public, sparking a serious political scandal.
Thinking of this, Senju Mori couldn't help but laugh.
Despite being at odds with both of the only Hokage candidates, the Uchiha Clan seemed completely unaware of the danger — and took no action whatsoever.
Instead, they held frequent clan meetings within their sealed-off compound, issuing statements every now and then just to remind others of their existence…
Could it be that they actually intended to run for Hokage themselves?
Did they not realize that after losing both Madara and Kagami, the Uchiha no longer had a single qualified candidate — in either strength or seniority — who could realistically contend for the title?
But then again, the Uchiha's logic had never been normal.
Even in the face of overwhelming odds, they were still capable of the most baffling decisions —
like wasting their entire block of thirty votes to back their own clan leader, just to end up with a "third place finish" in the Hokage election.
Was that their way of proving the Uchiha were "never inferior to anyone"?
Ironically, that kind of move would only allow the Hyūga Clan, despite having half as many jōnin, to seize the political benefits that would have otherwise gone to the Uchiha.
And in the end, the mighty Uchiha would gain nothing at all — only to find themselves distrusted and suppressed by the new Hokage.