The four of them sat in the open space of the battlefield, which had been ravaged by Water Release and Fire Release, and divided the work between them with relative clarity.
As Clan Heads, Hashirama and Madara had to persuade the elders and members of their clans to agree to the alliance as sincerely as possible.
Madara was not especially good at that sort of thing, so Izuna would be helping him with most of it.
Hashirama was good at persuading people, but without Tobirama backing him up, it would still be difficult for him to pull it off.
The specific terms of the alliance between the two clans, the division of benefits, the mission system, and so on.
Every beginning was difficult, and those two tasks fell to Tobirama and Izuna.
Researching how to summon souls back from the Pure Land also fell to Tobirama.
As for restoring the Uchiha Mangekyō Sharingan, since that involved research, Tobirama Senju would take the lead as well.
In short...
Twelve volumes of military reports, and every volume had his younger brother's name on it.
In the end, Hashirama felt sorry that his younger brother had to shoulder so much, but those matters really were things only Tobirama could handle.
"I'm leaving everything to you, Tobirama!!"
He turned around, sat facing his younger brother, and gave him a full bow with his forehead pressed to the ground.
It made Tobirama Senju awkward, and even Madara and Izuna felt awkward watching it.
"I know, I know! Lift your head already!" If he hit it again, he would get even stupider!
Izuna curled his lips into a smile. "You could leave all the problems with Konoha's construction to us Uchiha. Wouldn't that free you up?"
"Impossible!" Tobirama Senju would never yield on this point.
"Hmph, then you deserve to work yourself to death!"
Tobirama Senju ignored Izuna's childish remark completely. Now that the tasks were assigned, he had far too much to do.
And once this world began heading toward a different outcome, the people inside Kamui's Dimension realized they had once again returned to the eras they had originally come from.
Obito was released from Kamui's Dimension by the ninjas of the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan.
When Madara Uchiha saw Young Obito come out on his own, he grabbed him by the head and said he was going to teach him how to behave. Young Obito was so frightened that he screamed and scrambled around, dodging the "loving education" from the legendary ninja.
Minato Namikaze said, "Since this is the reward for a C-rank mission, and time still continues to flow after Time Travel, it's already late at night now."
After several rounds of Time Travel, the members of the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan had repeatedly seen Black Zetsu fanning the flames as the two clans sank deeper and deeper into hatred. Much of their hatred for each other had shifted onto that "Black Zetsu."
Besides, the fact that their own young Clan Head and the other side's young Clan Head had become friends and worked together to build this place called Konoha had also begun with them seeing through the true nature of the Ninja World and growing tired of war and hatred.
Most of the ninjas here still could not let go of their hatred, but deep down, they did not truly like war.
After coming out of Young Obito Uchiha's Kamui's Dimension, the ninjas of the Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan still looked at each other with displeasure, but at least the hostility between them was no longer as fierce.
Sasuke looked at the full moon in the sky. After a moment of hesitation, he asked Minato Namikaze, "Will the next clan member to be revived appear in this world too? Or will they be revived back on our side, in the world of the mission scroll?"
Minato Namikaze said, "I calculated the timing of Izuna Uchiha's previous revival. Barring any accidents, he should have been revived inside Obito's Kamui's Dimension largely because, by sheer coincidence, you also happened to be there at the time..."
Obito and Sasuke thought about it. Back then, they had indeed stayed in Kamui's Dimension for a while to discuss strategy while heavy rain poured down over the Land of Rain.
"In other words, the person who is about to be revived should appear in this world as our journey continues." Minato patted Sasuke on the shoulder and winked at him, signaling for him to prepare himself. "After all, this is your wish, isn't it?"
Sasuke lowered his head and said nothing.
But in his heart, he had already guessed who might be revived soon.
Excitement, unease, even a little fear. None of it could hide the anticipation buried deep inside him.
"Butsuma Senju, it looks like there isn't much point in continuing this battle."
"Hmph, I was just thinking the same. After being disrupted by these outsiders, everyone has lost the will to fight. Let's call this battle a draw."
"Heh, bold of you to say that. Why not admit that the Senju were at a disadvantage?"
"Then shall we fight another round?"
"Forget it. Just this once, we'll call it a draw."
Butsuma Senju curled his lip and did not continue arguing with him.
After Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju fought a battle that shook every ninja clan in the Land of Fire, evening had already been approaching. Their Time Travel had delayed them for quite a while as well, and judging by the hour, dawn would probably break in a few more hours.
Where the people from the future would stay had clearly become a problem.
They could stay directly inside Young Obito's Kamui's Dimension, but since they had rarely gotten the chance to visit the Warring States Period, the children from Team Minato and Team Kakashi wanted to experience the customs and atmosphere of this era.
After going through so many rounds of Time Travel, they had already started treating it like a free vacation.
"The members of the Uchiha Clan should naturally stay with the Uchiha."
"The Uzumaki should stay within the Senju clan grounds."
Neither side would give in.
Minato Namikaze immediately felt awkward.
He carefully suggested that his son and his friends stay in a nearby town.
Butsuma Senju, who, like them, had come from the world of the mission scroll and had been revived by Sasuke's wish, said in a deep voice, "This is a time of war. Every ninja clan has planted many informants inside the larger cities. It is not suitable for you to stay outside so openly again and again."
Tajima Uchiha, who came from the same era, retorted, "Your thinking has been rigid for too long, Butsuma Senju. In any case, this isn't our parallel world. Wouldn't it be interesting to see what happens to this ninja world if things proceed in a different way?"
That made sense, so Butsuma Senju merely snorted twice and did not argue back.
Hashirama quietly whispered to Madara, "Madara, have you noticed that your dad and my dad are much more open-minded than the two stubborn old men in our memories?"
Madara Uchiha gave a small nod, not daring to say much.
Sure enough...
Hashirama Senju was met with a fierce glare from Butsuma Senju.
The God of Shinobi instantly backed down.
The weak little chicken stood dejectedly beside Madara.
The Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan returned to their respective clan grounds, while the ninjas from other future parallel worlds followed Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha's memories to the largest town in the Land of Fire.
Compared to the small villages they had passed along the way, this place was clearly more luxurious by more than just a little.
Madara Uchiha said, "The people in power are so rotten that they can't see what kind of lives the poor at the bottom are living."
Unexpectedly, the one who said that was actually Madara Uchiha.
The members of Team Kakashi and Team Minato all looked at this Shura-like ninja with that kind of expression.
"What are you staring at me for?! Do you not want your eyes anymore?!!"
Hashirama said, "Don't be like that, Madara. Honestly, you always roar like this whenever you're embarrassed, just like a child."
Holy shit.
Tobirama Senju and Izuna Uchiha walked behind them, each turning their head away.
The only person who dared to talk about his older brother, Madara Uchiha, like that was Hashirama, Big Brother himself.
Minato Namikaze found a guesthouse far away from the red-light district for them to stay in.
Hashirama Senju was already impatiently dragging Madara off for a little "harmless gambling."
And after they left, the thing Sasuke had been hoping for happened.
The 24-hour cycle had arrived, and another important Uchiha clan member was revived by the mission scroll!
Just as Sasuke had nervously hoped, the person revived this time was Fugaku Uchiha.
The father of Sasuke Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha!
The instant Fugaku Uchiha regained consciousness, he felt much the same as Izuna Uchiha had before him. He thought he had arrived in the Pure Land.
Whether as a Clan Head or as a father, Fugaku Uchiha considered himself the greatest failure of all.
His eldest son had chosen Konoha and slaughtered the entire Uchiha Clan. As his father, Fugaku no longer had the face to meet the Uchiha Clan members again.
He had never imagined what the place after death would be like.
But at the very least...
It should not have been a lavish city, nor a casino still bustling with noise late at night, right?!
The dazed Fugaku Uchiha looked around, but he could not see a single member of his clan. Even his wife, Mikoto Uchiha, who should have died alongside him, was nowhere to be seen.
Itachi and Sasuke.
Even after death, as their father, he still worried about his two sons.
Completely unfamiliar with the "Pure Land," Fugaku Uchiha somehow found himself stepping into the gambling den in front of him.
From behind the curtain marked with the character for "gambling" inside a circle came a young man's pleading voice.
"Madara! Please!"
"Let me gamble one more round! Just one!"
"I'll definitely win back all the money I lost before!"
"You disgrace! You even lost my money! If you keep gambling, are you going to pawn yourself here next?!"
Fugaku Uchiha lifted the curtain and saw a man with the same black, long, wild hair as him and the same fan crest on his back grabbing another man, who looked somewhat familiar, and shaking him back and forth.
"No way! I was just unlucky earlier. This time, I'll definitely win!"
"Sigh... Why haven't you changed after all these years? Last time."
"Thank you! Could you lend me the rest of the money you have first..."
"Shut up!!"
With a sigh, and despite the veins bulging on his forehead from anger, Madara Uchiha still threw his wallet to Hashirama Senju.
Then he turned his head and looked at the man who dared to stare at his back.
"What are you looking at?"
Hearing Madara's unhappy tone, Hashirama was afraid he would cause trouble here, so he turned back to look at the man staring straight at them.
"Sorry, sorry. Madara doesn't mean anything by it. He's just sensitive about his back and isn't used to people standing behind him."
Fugaku Uchiha nodded politely in greeting.
"Are you a ghost of the Uchiha Clan?"
Madara and Hashirama both froze.
"A ghost?"
Back when Madara Uchiha had existed in the gap between hell and the living world, he had once called himself that in front of the heavily injured Obito Uchiha, saying he was an Uchiha ghost who should have died but had not.
But now, when he was clearly alive and breathing, it was obviously inappropriate for someone to treat him like a ghost.
"Kid, who are you?"
Fugaku Uchiha froze. He had been Clan Head for more than ten years. As the captain of the Uchiha Police Force, respected by his clan, he truly had not expected that one day someone would call him "kid."
At that moment, Hashirama stepped to the side and saw the black-and-red fan emblem on Fugaku Uchiha's back.
"Madara, he seems to be one of your clan."