Chapter 23: The War is Coming!

While Seimei went into his room for some much-needed rest, his father, Senju Tobirama, was in a less-than-pleasant mood.

Why?

Because the Land of Lightning and the Land of Wind were stirring the pot again.

However, it wasn't anything surprising.

The other four major elemental nations had always coveted the fertile lands of the Fire country.

Even during the Warring States Era, the Daimyo of the other major nations often hired troops of thousands of warriors from the Samurai and Shinobi clans to launch attacks on the borders of the Land of Fire.

As a result, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire had no choice but to hire various Shinobi and Samurai clans within the country, including the Senju and Uchiha clans, to counterattack.

Do you think that the hatred and wars between different major nations started only after the founding of the hidden villages?

Of course, not!

This enmity started way back in the past.

The Shinobi clans of the Land of Fire had been fighting the ninjas from other nations for thousands of years.

The fight between different nations truly never stopped.

Why would they wage such a meaningless war?

That's because it wasn't meaningless at all. At least not to those who had been trying to occupy the Land of Fire.

The Fire Country was blessed with fertile soils, expansive greenery, and a beautiful climate.

The citizens of this prosperous nation had enough excess food and resources to export them to different lands every year for outrageous prices.

They were literally rolling in money and resources.

What about the other nations?

Let's forget about the minor nations for a while and focus on the major elemental nations.

The Land of Wind was covered with a vast desert. Except for a few rare places and oases, you would hardly find a place with fertile soil, leading the country to suffer from severe food shortages.

As if that wasn't enough, they had to face sandstorms on a regular basis.

Land of Earth? It was filled with rocky terrain, unfit for agriculture.

The Land of Lightning had countless hills and mountains. Such a high altitude made its climate cold and dry, making it hard for normal people to traverse the lands.

As for the Land of Water? It was a country consisting of thousands of scattered islands, surrounded by the sea.

The perpetual humid weather made life uncomfortable, and their primary food source was nothing but fish.

Fish, fish, and more fish all year round.

Even a fish-lover would vomit at the sight of fish if they had to eat them all year long.

Truly nauseous!

Not to mention the horde of Sea Chakra Beasts they had to face and defend their land against every year.

It was no wonder these countries coveted the lands of Fire Country, a place with fertile soil, countless resources, and a mild climate.

It had been more than two decades since they last tried to invade the Land of Fire.

Now, they were getting restless once again.

And the formation of hidden villages didn't help it either.

If anything, it only made the military power of the major and minor villages more united and impactful.

The peace Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara envisioned never came.

But they couldn't do anything about it now.

Senju Hashirama was injured. He would need at least a few more decades to be fully healed, if a miracle didn't happen.

Otherwise, if he went to the battlefield in his current condition, his old wounds would flare up.

In that case, he would really die without even the slightest hope of recovery. 

Not unless the legendary life-attribute Dojutsu of the Senju clan, the peak of Yang Release, Seigan, appears again.

Plus, Uchiha Madara was dead.

Tobirama was sure that as soon as his brother stepped down from the Hokage position, the other hidden villages would surely launch an attack on Konoha.

After a moment of silence, Hashirama shared his thoughts with a grave expression.

"It doesn't matter whether I step down from the Hokage position or not."

"The spies from other villages surely informed their respective leaders about my health condition by now."

"Although they may not be aware of the specifics, they may have already guessed that I can't get involved in direct combat anytime soon."

"If they are truly restless, the Kumogakure and Sunagakure might launch an attack on us after four or five years."

Tobirama and Uzumaki Mito's expressions darkened. They couldn't help but curse the other hidden villages and elemental nations in their minds.

Uzumaki Mito turned to his brother-in-law and said, "In that case, Tobirama, you need to take the position of Hokage within the next year."

"This way, Hashi can fully focus on his treatment without any distraction."

"And you will also need some time to establish your prestige as the Second Hokage among the citizens and the Shinobi of Konoha."

"This way, even if we need to go to war after a few years, your control over the Konoha forces will be tight."

"I understand, sister-in-law," Tobirama replied.

As the atmosphere was getting more and more somber, Senju Hashirama chuckled and joked.

"If the worst comes to the worst, I will just head to the battlefield and flatten it with my Sage Art: True Several Thousand Hands."

Tobirama and Mito both turned their necks to Hashirama and spoke with a cold, sharp voice, ""Absolutely NOT!!""

Tobirama continued to speak in a sharp voice, "Brother, can you not make such foolish decisions all the time?"

"Konoha still has me. I may not be as powerful as you, but I still possess the combat prowess of a Super Kage."

"You just need to stay still and get treated."

Hashirama tried to protest, "But…"

However, Uzumaki Mito was no longer having it.

She quipped back with a little disdain, "But? But what?"

"Do you want me to bind you and spank your ass with Adamantine Sealing Chains?"

"You didn't forget the lessons, did you?"

Hashirama quickly shrank his neck and didn't dare to argue back.

Just thinking about the beatings he received from Mito sent chills down his spine.

Sure, he was goofy and straightforward. But he wasn't an idiot.

He wouldn't dare to stir the hornet's nest.

This woman, his dear wife, was terrifying. 

Whenever she was angry, she would immediately turn into a ruthless monster who would smack everything in her sight with those terrifying golden Uzumaki clan sealing chains.

"Are you badmouthing me in your mind, my dear Hashi?"

The shrill voice of Mito ended Hashirama's inner monologue.

He quickly shook his head and coaxed his wife, "Of course, not."

"How can I badmouth my lovely wife?"

"I would never do that."

Even if I do, I won't admit it. I still want to live and enjoy my life for a few more centuries. Hashirama thought.

Uzumaki Mito narrowed her eyes at Hashirama for a while and then let the matter go.

"Very well."

"I will believe in you this time."

Hearing this, Hashirama sighed in relief.

Crisis successfully averted.

Mito turned his head back to Tobirama.

"Anyways, we need to monitor the movements of the hidden villages of the other countries."

"And we also need to prepare our troops."

"This way, we can avoid nasty surprises and intercept their attacks immediately."

Tobirama nodded and said, "Yes, I agree."

"I won't let those greedy bastards step into the Land of Fire."

Hashirama added, "Focus especially on the movements of Sunagakure and Kumogakure."

"They are most likely to attack first if things escalate beyond control."

"The Land of Earth had always been a bunch of fence-sitters. They wouldn't attack first."

"They will wait for others to attack us first so we can exhaust each other's forces."

"Bunch of cowards."

Hashirama said disdainfully and then continued, "As for Kirigakure from the Land of Water…"

"Hmm…how do I put it?"

"Their situation in the sea won't allow them to muster enough force to initiate any attacks on the Land of Fire."

"The ocean is filled with Chakra Beasts after all. They need their forces to take them down first."

Tobirama's eyes sharpened, and he replied, "I understand, brother."

With this, they continued to discuss their plans to deal with the imminent war for a couple of hours before they heard someone knocking on the door.

All three of them turned their heads to the door.

All of them were powerful sensors, so they had already confirmed that two Senju clansmen had come here to report something.

"Come in," Tobirama said with a calm and deep voice.

The door was opened. Two Senju Jonins came in and immediately kneeled before addressing the other three in the room.

""Greetings, Lord Hashirama, Lady Mito, and Master Tobirama.""

These two Jonins were, of course, Senju Toshiro and Senju Ryosuke.

Tobirama nodded and commanded, "Get up and report."

Hearing the command, the two Jonins got up.

Meanwhile, Senju Ryosuke took out two scrolls and placed them on the table in front of them.

He said, "The Chakra Beast extermination mission given to young master Seimei for experiencing real combat has been completed."

"Young master completed the mission wonderfully. We didn't have to step in at all."

"The small scroll here contains the mission report, including every detail of what transpired during the combat."

"The bigger scroll is the storage scroll. It has the carcass of the slain beasts."

Tobirama nodded and walked to his table. He opened a drawer, picked another scroll, stamped it, and handed it over to Senju Ryosuke.

"Good job. Take this scroll to the Missions department and withdraw your reward."

Ryosuke caught the scroll. Then both Jonins bowed slightly towards Tobirama and expressed their gratitude.

""Thank you, Master Tobirama.""

After that, they immediately walked out of the room.

Hashirama stared at the scrolls with mild curiosity and asked, "Did Seimei go out to hunt Chakra Beasts today?"

Tobirama smiled and said proudly, "Yes!"

"He said he needed to experience real life-and-death combat to hone his battle instincts and become a true Shinobi."

"So, I agreed and assigned him a suitable extermination mission."

Hashirama's curiosity piqued.

He couldn't wait any longer and demanded, "Come on, Tobirama. Give me the scroll. Quick, quick."

"I want to see how my dear nephew handled the battle."

"The last time I saw him in action was two years ago during the Senju Clan Joint Training Evaluation."

Tobirama, amused, handed the scroll to his brother.

Hashirama quickly caught it.

He opened the scroll while humming a mild tune.

In the next moment, his humming stopped, and his pupils contracted.

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