Chapter 44 Planting Trees During the Ninja Village Period (24) The Establishment of Diplomatic Relations with the Land of Iron...

Before the sports meet, the delegation from the Land of Iron visited.

The Land of Iron has no ninjas; their armed groups are composed of samurai. Each samurai carries two swords, infusing chakra into them and fighting with their own swordsmanship. It can be said that presenting a sword is the highest form of etiquette for a samurai.

After meeting with the Third Hokage, Kurokawa, the representative of the Land of Iron, immediately led his delegation to the Uchiha clan's territory. As the representative of the Land of Iron on this mission to Konoha, the samurai Kurokawa breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Uchiha clansmen waiting at the entrance of the Uchiha clan's territory. This trip to Konoha was a gamble. The Land of Iron had always maintained a policy of self-preservation as a neutral country in the ninja world, but the politically astute leader of the Land of Iron had noticed some of the movements and actions of Uchiha Ogima.

If they want the Land of Iron to remain stable, they must make a choice.

Therefore, before this visit, they specially entrusted the postal service under the Xinyi Trading Company to send visiting cards to Senju Takeya and Uchiha Ogima.

According to intelligence, Senju Takeshi is also a person with almost no emotional fluctuations. Apart from Uchiha Osaka's invitation, he usually stays at home in the Senju clan's territory. Apart from the elders of the Senju clan and Tsunade, this Wood Release user has only established a stable relationship with Uchiha Osaka, and he has not responded to the invitation from the Land of Iron.

On the contrary, Uchiha Osaka, who gave people a sense of dictatorship and was not to be trifled with, quickly responded with affirmation and welcome to their arrival, which made the Land of Iron decide to send an envoy.

It can be said that their true purpose for this trip was to meet Uchiha Osaka and Senju Takeya—two dominant figures in the ninja world.

"Mr. Kurokawa, please come with me." The curly-haired Uchiha boy, who had been waiting at the entrance of the clan's territory, smiled at Kurokawa with his eyes crinkled. The straight-haired Uchiha boy next to him, with a serious expression, gestured for Kurokawa to leave.

Led by two adorable young Uchiha, the delegation from the Land of Iron arrived at the Uchiha clan's residence, which was used for clan meetings. On their way there, the delegation encountered Nara Shikaku, the head of the Nara clan, who seemed to be in a good mood and was quite relaxed.

Kurokawa thus became even more aware of the changing winds in Konoha, and his heart tightened. He hoped they hadn't arrived too late. If possible, the Land of Iron hoped that it wouldn't be the one who arrived late to add to the glory, but rather the one who invested in advance, as the latter would carry more weight.

Walking along the winding path paved with bluestone slabs through the exquisite garden courtyard, they entered the spacious room in the center of the residence.

"Oh dear, my distinguished guest has arrived." The blue-eyed boy sitting in the middle of the large room was none other than Uchiha Ogima. Uchiha Ogima, who was already showing signs of becoming a teenager, sat casually with one leg bent and his arm on the same side supporting his face. "Then let's do as we agreed, Minato. I won't see you off."

Although not as overwhelmingly powerful as Uchiha Osaka or Senju Takeya, the blond youth, who still earned the title of 'Yellow Flash' during the brief Third Shinobi World War, smiled slightly. "Then I should go back too, since I've already made plans to go to the movies with Kushina."

"Get lost, get lost, get lost." Uchiha Senjian waved his hand impatiently, then beckoned the delegation from the Land of Iron to come over, "Sit wherever you like, don't take off your swords, relax however you like."

Kurokawa was startled to see Senju Takeya sitting in the upper middle position with Uchiha Senma. The two were clearly seated on equal footing. Uchiha Senma's relationship with the Wood Release user was even closer than they had imagined. In fact, the fact that they saw a Senju Wood Release user in the Uchiha clan's residence was surprising enough.

The warriors of the Land of Iron sat down respectfully on either side of the main seat, while the two young Uchiha who had led them in served them hot tea and snacks.

Kurokawa took a deep breath, knelt down in front of Uchiha Ogima and the other two, and opened the two wooden boxes he was carrying. Inside the soft cushions of the wooden boxes were two katanas with white and black hilts. Judging from their shapes and ornaments, these two katanas could be considered 'twins' except for their colors. They were made of the purest chakra metal, and the hilts were of the highest standard, extremely luxurious and crafted.

"This is the greatest masterpiece forged for you two by all the top swordsmiths in our country. It is a work of the entire nation," Kurokawa said.

"Isn't the Land of Iron a neutral country? Is it okay for them to send us something like this?" Uchiha Osaka asked in surprise.

The symbolism of the katana to a samurai is self-evident; this can be seen as a blatant act of surrender.

"With two leaders in the ninja world, the differences between nations will likely become insignificant in the near future. Following this trend, we are merely following the natural order and doing our best. The Land of Iron's stance will not actually change as a result." Kurokawa's heart pounded like a drum, yet he remained calm and resolute.

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Osaka was startled and his eyes widened slightly. Understanding the implication, he immediately burst into laughter, "You guys are even more perceptive than I thought! You've really thought things through—no wonder you're capable of supporting a nation as a samurai in the ninja world!"

Kurokawa lowered his head, not daring to make the slightest unnecessary movement. He couldn't understand Uchiha Ogima at all, but he was aware of the man's unpredictable moods.

Having finished laughing, Uchiha Senma squinted and said, "What if I told you that what ultimately determines your fate is not the ninjas but the common people who toil in the fields?"

"That was your choice." Kurokawa lowered his head even further.

“Then let’s start with your Land of Iron.” Uchiha Senma picked up the white-and-silver-threaded katana and tossed it to Senju Takeya. “White suits you, and you don’t have a weapon anyway.”

Although this knife is certainly not as hard as his best friend's fist.

However, for them who were still young, the katana was undoubtedly too long. But carrying it diagonally across their backs would be a nice decoration, since the two katanas were really beautiful. Senju Take, upon hearing Uchiha Osama's words, tilted his head while holding the Shirahira katana: "Do you want to carry it out?"

“Yes, now that it’s my sword, of course I’ll use it. Although it’s definitely not as easy to use as the Flame Fan you gave me, I can already feel its sharpness. It truly deserves to be called a masterpiece of the nation.” Uchiha Senma picked up another katana with black scabbard and scabbard and swung it in the air. “It feels alright. Samurai, does this sword have a name?”

"No, these are swords forged for you two, so naturally you two should name them." Kurokawa breathed a sigh of relief, straightened his back, and looked up at the two young ninjas who already showed signs of becoming rulers of the ninja world.

"Takeya, you should get up first," said Uchiha Senji.

Senju Take also drew his white sword, its blade as clear as water, with smooth and beautiful lines. When laid flat, it even gave the illusion that it was transparent. And on this extremely serene and beautiful blade, there were fiery cloud patterns that had been formed by the swordsmith hammering it millions of times.

As Senju Takeya poured in his chakra, the katana gradually turned completely black, while its edges shimmered with a pure white glow, like the black hole itself and its event horizon.

Without a doubt, this is a top-tier chakra blade whose miracles cannot be replicated. The Land of Iron's sincerity is evident. Such a fine blade is extremely time-consuming to forge; the work began at least on the very first day after the Third Shinobi World War ended.

"So cool! I want to try it too!" Uchiha Senjian's chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) was about to erupt. Shonen manga should have these cool and stylish elements!

Seeing Uchiha Osama reveal his childlike side, Kurokawa felt a little relieved. Sure enough, no matter how powerful and intelligent they were, Uchiha Osama and Senju Take were only 9 years old. The fact that the gift from the Land of Iron was so well received meant that their goal had been achieved.

Uchiha Senma drew his black katana, infused it with his chakra, and the blade turned into a slightly transparent rainbow white, just like his Susanoo. A beautiful and ethereal rainbow appeared around the blade near the hilt.

Uchiha Osaka couldn't wait to use such a cool sword to cut something down!

Any Otsutsuki will do! Just send some random boss to chop him down! Wait, isn't there an Otsutsuki named Toneri on the moon? And it seems there's also an Otsutsuki named Isshiki lurking in the ninja world!

Hmph... Hmph hmph hmph—

Seeing Uchiha Ogima lost in his own little world, emitting a villainous, sinister chuckle, the samurai of the Land of Iron involuntarily held their breath, afraid that they would be noticed and used as test subjects for their swords.

Senju Takeya preferred the color of his best friend's chakra to his own. This gentle and beautiful color was something only the sensitive and gentle Uchiha Osama possessed.

"White Rainbow," Senju Takeshi said. "How about calling the sword between the fan 'White Rainbow'?"

“I see…” Uchiha Senma snapped out of his own little world, swallowed the name he was about to blurt out for his best friend, ‘Ultimate Endless Devouring Black Demon King Blade,’ put away his chakra, and sheathed the white rainbow. “Then, how about calling Takeya Black World? That’ll be his official name. And if he cuts something interesting in the future, his nickname will be something like ‘Cut Something Maru.’”

"Isn't it called 'Ultimate Endless Devouring Black Demon King Blade'?" Thousand Hand Bamboo was somewhat surprised, but still readily agreed and put the blade away.

Since he didn't have a sword to carry, Senju Takeya used the link between the Tree of Life Ring and Indra to send the Black World directly into his holy land for storage. In other people's eyes, it looked like Senju Takeya was stuffing a 90cm long katana directly into his sleeve.

No one was surprised by this, after all, the ninja world had sealing scrolls and ninja diagrams that made it quick and easy to draw the sealing runes of weapons directly on one's body.

"Since you are willing to give away such a fine sword, then if the Land of Iron needs it in the future, we can help you once within our capabilities." Uchiha Osaka was in a good mood. After the Third Shinobi World War, everything was going well. Everything was going smoothly and developing in the direction he hoped for.

Kurokawa was overjoyed and immediately kowtowed deeply, saying, "I am extremely grateful!"

"No need to thank me, it's just a transaction." Uchiha Senjian remembered something, pulled Kurokawa up, and handed him a stack of tickets. "My sports meet is about to start. You can watch it before you leave. Here, these are the tickets. Takeya will arrange accommodation for you."

“There are many empty houses in the Thousand Hands Clan’s territory.” Thousand Hands Bamboo nodded in agreement.

The warriors of the Land of Iron quickly concluded their meeting and diplomatic relations with the legendary Uchiha demon, and followed the Wood Release user to the Senju clan's territory, where they moved into a beautiful and comfortable detached house.

Looking at the beautiful detached house that resembled a small garden, the young samurai Sato was overwhelmed and apprehensive by the generous treatment.

"Since Lord Senju is willing to give it, what can we do but accept it with gratitude?" Ono, a samurai who was assigned to live in the same detached house as Sato, sighed. The seasoned veteran said unhurriedly, "Just pay more attention to personal hygiene and cleaning. We have to leave in the same way we came in."

"It's really strange, though. The Uchiha and Senju fought for an entire Warring States period." Sato couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Even when they co-founded the ninja village, the First Hokage eventually fell out with the Uchiha clan leader who had allied with him to establish Konoha, and they fought to the death."

The famous Konoha site, Valley of the End, was created by the two who had a falling out.

Such a momentous event that would directly impact and change the landscape of the ninja world would naturally be known to the Land of Iron. It was not something the Land of Fire could hide from them. Other countries had witnessed a great commotion, but they were unclear about the causes and consequences of the conflict and hadn't gotten the full picture.

"So—times have changed." Ono put his hands behind his head. "This overseas assignment was unexpectedly easy, and we even got a paid vacation. I'll buy some things in Konoha to take home as gifts. I really hope this peace can last forever! By the way, do you think those two treasured swords we gave them were a testament to the friendship between these two?"

Sato paused, recalling the atmosphere between Uchiha Osaka and Senju Takeya, that inseparable, unbreakable bond... He couldn't even imagine what kind of conflict and stimulation would be needed to break up such a pair.

After a long pause, the young warrior from the Land of Iron smiled and said, "I hope those two can be friends forever, for the sake of world peace."

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Author's Note: [Mini-Theater]

When Ogima and Minato were talking—

Senju Takeya: (Brain blank) (Didn't hear a single word)

When Ogima and Kurokawa were exchanging ideas—

Senju Takeya: (Mind blank) (Not hearing a single word) (Senma suddenly laughs) (What is Senma laughing at?) (Mind blank again) (Senma suddenly throws a knife at me) (Catches it) (So this is mine?) (Oh, it's mine)