Chapter 271: I Am Your Wife, You Know!
After a long while, Hashirama finally let out a slow sigh, his voice heavy with exhaustion and the confusion of a difficult decision:
"Let's wait until Naruto's report on the Grass Ninja Village campaign arrives."
It felt like both a delay and a buffer.
Or perhaps, he wanted to see exactly how Naruto would execute his plan, what results it would bring, before forming his own judgment.
Tobirama looked at his elder brother's state and understood completely.
He knew his brother needed time, needed facts, and most of all, needed a reason that could convince himself.
Of course, his stubborn, single-minded brother might still cling to his own views.
He didn't press further, only letting out a soft sigh.
That sigh held both helplessness towards his brother's stubbornness and regret over not being able to immediately implement the most efficient plan.
"I understand."
Tobirama nodded, carefully rolling up the map, tidying it away in its original place as if the strategic discussion had never happened.
He gathered the unfinished documents on the desk, turned, and left the Hokage Office, leaving the space and the weighty decision to Senju Hashirama alone.
Silence settled over the office once more, broken only by the occasional soft snore of Da Huang.
Hashirama leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling with empty eyes.
Could it be that his judgment was truly wrong?
This thought, like a curse, hammered repeatedly at his mind.
His closest friend, his brother, the younger generation he valued—all had chosen the path of a Unification War.
A Unification War...
Forcing the entire Ninja World together through sheer force...
Was this truly the only path to peace,
or at least the least bad choice?
Just as Hashirama's thoughts were in turmoil, almost dragged into the abyss of self-doubt, the door to the Hokage Office was pushed open without a sound.
No knock, no announcement, but that unique Chakra signature instantly told Hashirama who the visitor was.
Uzumaki Mito, his wife.
Mito walked in slowly.
Her steps were light, her posture graceful, her face wearing the same serene smile that could soothe anything.
She glanced around the office, which was unfamiliar to her.
Unfamiliar because, whether during Hashirama's tenure as Hokage, or later during Tobirama's and Hiruzen Sarutobi's eras, she had almost never voluntarily set foot here.
This was a rule she had set for herself.
She was acutely aware of the sensitivity of her identity: the wife of the First Hokage, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Either of these identities alone was enough to make the Hokage value her opinion when facing her.
She did not want her presence to influence, even by the slightest possibility, any judgment the Hokage made based on the Village's interests.
She chose to support from behind the scenes, protecting Hashirama and Hidden Leaf Village in her own way.
But today, Tobirama had come to her and told her of his elder brother's inner struggle.
And so, she had come.
Mito walked to Hashirama's side, first reaching out to gently pick up Da Huang, who was lying on Hashirama's lap.
Da Huang had been comfortably dozing off. Suddenly picked up, he let out a dissatisfied "Murr~" sound, but upon seeing it was Mito, he immediately wagged his tail in a fawning manner, letting her place him on the large desk, where he found a comfortable position to continue lying down.
Then, Mito walked behind Hashirama, leaned down, and wrapped her arms around her husband's neck from behind.
She gently pressed her cheek against his temple, silently conveying her support.
"Wandering thoughts again?"
Hashirama's body stiffened slightly, then relaxed, leaning back to feel the familiar scent of his wife.
He gave a bitter laugh and mumbled, "What wandering thoughts? I'm thinking about important matters."
"Alright, alright."
Mito's voice was as gentle as a spring breeze. She raised a finger and lightly pressed it against Hashirama's lips, cutting off his excuse.
"Tobirama told me everything."
Hashirama was taken aback.
Still holding him, Mito continued speaking softly by his ear: "Listen, Hashirama.
No matter what you think, whether you support or oppose forcibly unifying the Ninja World, I will always support you!"
"Huh?"
Hashirama turned his head in surprise, looking at his wife's face so close to his.
"You... you're not here to persuade me?"
He had thought Tobirama had enlisted Mito to convince him.
Mito smiled gently and shook her head: "Tobirama did want me to persuade you, hoping I could convince you to support their plan.
But, I Am Your Wife, You Know!"
She straightened up a little, her hands still resting on Hashirama's shoulders, her gaze turning towards Hidden Leaf Village outside the window.
"What I want to tell you, Hashirama, is that your decision back then was fitting for that era.
And their decision now is fitting for this era."
Hashirama's body trembled.
"History rarely gives a force a second chance."
Mito said slowly, as if stating an eternal truth.
"Whether it was the founding of Hidden Leaf Village, or the great unification of the Ninja World you are debating now.
Their realization," her gaze grew profound, "all stands upon the foundation of absolute force.
"Without your absolute force that swept through the Sengoku era, unmatched by any, you could not have subdued the generations-old blood feud between the Senju and Uchiha clans.
Nor could you have deterred the other covetous families, ultimately leading to Hidden Leaf Village's birth."
"Similarly, now, without the absolute force that child Naruto has displayed, enough to make the entire Ninja World tremble, and the power gathered around him, this so-called 'great unification' would only be a castle in the air, a distant, unreachable dream."
Mito looked back at Hashirama, her eyes gentle yet firm: "So, Hashirama, how to choose, whether to participate, is always in your hands.
"You don't need to blame yourself for another path that might have existed in the past, nor torment yourself excessively over whether to follow the current trend.
You have already accomplished the leap from zero to one. That is already remarkable!"
Her final words struck Hashirama's heart like a tolling bell:
"Your participation or non-participation now is not decisive for the entire Ninja World.
The ultimate goal, in their eyes, has already become a reality that can be reached by force."
Having said this, Mito fell silent, simply holding her husband quietly, offering him silent comfort and strength.
Hashirama closed his eyes.
His wife's words had unlocked the most tangled knot in his heart.
The era was different, the balance of power was different, the possibilities were different.
His choice back then was not wrong; it was the best solution based on the conditions at the time.
And now, what lay before him was a new choice based on new conditions.
He still disliked war, disliked forcing things through sheer might.
But perhaps, as Mito said, at certain historical turning points, "absolute force" was indeed the most direct tool to pry open stubborn structures.
And how to use this force, how to minimize the suffering it brings... perhaps that was where he could now think and participate.
Senju Hashirama and Uzumaki Mito
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