Chapter 32: The Four Nations: Heaven, Judge the Loyal from the Treacherous!
The news spread like wildfire, blazing through the entire shinobi world. It was only a matter of time before it reached Konoha.
Inside the Hokage Building, Stelle received the report and immediately understood the source of the intermittent mood values he'd been collecting from Black Zetsu lately. He even recalled a massive spike one day; it seemed his alias, Mie, was stirring up quite the storm. As expected, planting an alias by Black Zetsu's side was proving to be a highly profitable venture.
Mie's plan was brutally simple: spread rumors that Konoha was preparing to attack the other Four Great Shinobi Countries to unify the world under its banner. Given Konoha's current, overwhelming strength, it didn't matter if the news was true or false. The other great nations would inevitably band together for mutual protection.
And would Konoha actually attack? Of course, they would. Uchiha Madara practically recited his plan for unifying the ninja world in his sleep. All he lacked was a suitable justification, and this was a golden opportunity delivered right to his doorstep.
also, it was painfully obvious to any observer that someone was pulling the strings from behind the curtain. In the current shinobi world, the figure who most loved to sow chaos was none other than the "Descendant of Soujin," whose stated goal was the world's destruction.
Instead of trying to quell the rumors, Madara would ride the wave. He would actually attack the Four Nations, using the chaos to drag the mastermind out from the shadows. It was a perfect two-pronged strategy: on one hand, he would realize his grand vision of a unified world; on the other, he would finally catch the black-robed man and kill him to avenge his younger brother.
Sure enough, during a meeting between Konoha's three titans, Uchiha Madara issued his declaration.
"Then let's go to war," he stated, his voice leaving no room for argument. "The news is already out. It would be a shame not to follow through."
Senju Hashirama was the first to object. "Madara! We achieved this peace with such difficulty. Why must we be the ones to initiate a war? I cannot agree to this."
Hashirama was an extreme idealist. Deep in his heart, he held an unshakable faith that people could, and would, eventually understand one another. He believed that powerful individuals like himself and Madara were guides, meant to lead everyone toward an era of peace. Once others awakened to this possibility, they would surely come to understand their intentions.
Although the Village Construction Guide Stelle had provided earlier pointed out the inherent flaws of the "one village, one country" system, who could be certain it was wrong before it had even been truly tested? As a leader of immense power, Hashirama was not one to readily admit he was mistaken.
This was a natural phenomenon. When any new system is conceived, no one can know at the outset if it is truly correct. Only through the slow, grinding passage of history—learning lessons bit by bit and adapting to the ever-changing tides of society—can the most appropriate policies be forged. Some ideas might seem wrong at first, only to be praised as visionary many years later. Conversely, a system that is perfect at its inception can develop fatal flaws as time passes and conditions change. If the timing, location, or harmony of the people is misaligned, even the best policy will crumble.
Hashirama might appear gentle on the surface, but the pride and persistence forged into his very bones had never waned. While the village had now completely severed ties with the nobles and daimyō to develop freely, that didn't mean he could accept invading other countries.
Starting a war of aggression was a line Senju Hashirama could never bring himself to cross.
Uchiha Madara had long known he would refuse. Without bothering to explain himself, he simply glanced toward the third man in the room. "Tobirama has already agreed."
"What?" Hashirama's head snapped toward his brother. "Tobirama, you agree as well?" A flicker of unpleasant memories surfaced. Was his younger brother, who had only just returned to a semblance of normalcy after Izuna's death, about to become unstable again?
Senju Tobirama gave a calm, measured nod. "Yes, Brother. I agree to deploy the troops."
"You two…" Seeing his closest friend and his own brother seemingly led astray, Hashirama's expression hardened. He began rolling up his sleeves, a familiar glint in his eye, as if preparing to use his strongest ninjutsu to beat some sense back into them.
Sensing the shift, Senju Tobirama sighed, interrupting his brother's motion just as he was about to clap his hands together for a jutsu. "The masterminds behind this want to plunge the ninja world into chaos. They will never stand by and watch us unify it peacefully."
He let the words sink in before continuing. "That person is most likely the Descendant of Soujin. Madara's intention is to beat them at their own game—to use this as a pretext to drag the true culprit out, rid the world of this evil, and avenge Izuna."
"So that's how it is?" Senju Hashirama blinked. His brother had never once lied to him since they were children.
He believed him.
The moment he reframed the war as a ruse to lure out the Descendant of Soujin, the stern resolve on his face melted away. "In that case, I can cooperate with you. However, that black-robed man seems incredibly powerful. To be safe, Madara and I should strike together. Although I prefer a fair one-on-one fight, for the sake of the ninja world, joining forces with Madara to eliminate him is the best path."
Senju Tobirama, who was actively deceiving his own flesh and blood, didn't even blink. In fact, a part of him felt a faint disgust. Ever since Izuna died, the first name his brother shouted upon waking was 'Madara.' He dreamed of Madara. No matter what he did, the first person he thought of was Madara. If Madara hadn't refused, Hashirama would have moved into the Uchiha clan head's house long ago.
'Does he even remember his surname is Senju?'Tobirama thought dryly.'Or that he has a younger brother?'
And "cooperate with you"? What a joke. Once the army set out and reached the battlefield, this wouldn't be a game of house. Did he think they would simply greet the enemy shinobi, then have a picnic and barbecue together on the border, exchanging local delicacies? Once the fighting truly began, who could possibly control the consequences?
His brother was, at times, truly and excessively naive.
In this round, he was firmly on Madara's side.
And just like that, in a conversation between the three most powerful men in Konoha, the decision to go to war was made.
Konoha was developing at an exceptional rate; its soldiers were strong, its resources abundant. With the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, conducting a general mobilization, and the retired First Hokage in full agreement, everyone was immediately fired up. The shinobi army marched directly toward the borders of the Four Nations.
The command was divided among the three leaders. Senju Hashirama was responsible for the Land of Earth battlefield. Uchiha Madara would handle the Land of Lightning. Senju Tobirama would take the Land of Water. As for Sunagakure in the Land of Wind, its front was to be commanded by two elders, one from the Senju clan and one from the Uchiha.
Uchiha Kou, leading the most outstanding members of his generation like Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura, was also assigned to the Sunagakure battlefield.
The departure of the Konoha army was a grand and imposing spectacle. At a time when the village's cohesion was at its absolute peak, a single word from the Hokage was enough to fill every shinobi with unshakeable momentum. Stelle felt that in this climate, if they were told to fight the Sage of Six Paths himself, the entire village would charge forward behind Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama without a second thought.
Soon, spies from the other nations noticed something was terribly wrong.
Although the spies within Konoha's walls had been purged once before, there were still informants lingering in the surrounding towns. While the Kage of the other great nations were still discussing how to develop their own villages to compete with Konoha, their spies began reporting anomalies.
"Raikage-sama! Our spies have discovered a small contingent of Konoha ninja in the Land of Rain—two full teams, all elites!"
"What? The Land of Rain?"
The Land of Rain was a small, strategically vital country situated between the Land of Earth, the Land of Fire, and the Land of Wind. At such a tense time, the appearance of elite Konoha shinobi there was anything but an ordinary occurrence.
Could it be? Was Konoha truly about to start its first war since its founding?
That bastard Uchiha Madara must suspect them—suspect that they were the ones pulling strings, trying to lure him out so they could raid his home base. But they really hadn't done anything!
The Kage of the Four Great Nations wished they could climb to the highest mountains and shout at the top of their lungs for all to hear: "Heaven, please judge the loyal from the treacherous!"
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