Chapter 13 The Troublemaker

Yan Sheng's eyes were half-closed, and his porcelain-white face showed no expression whatsoever.

He perfectly inherited his parents' outstanding looks—his father's sharp features and his mother's delicate features blended perfectly on his face, even surpassing them. His soft, black baby hair made him look like a finely sculpted doll, and even the shadows cast by his eyelashes seemed meticulously designed.

Izuna's incessant nagging grew increasingly impatient with Yan Sheng. If it weren't for the fact that he was an infant, he would have loved to tell his second brother to shut up. What was he even complaining about? It was nothing more than his eldest brother, Madara, having made friends with "malicious" people outside.

Although Yan Sheng had no way of knowing whether his friend was truly harboring ulterior motives as Izuna had suggested, he knew very well that Madara was no fool; how could he not sense the malice of others?

Therefore, his second brother is probably overthinking things.

However, when the surname Senju came out of Izuna's mouth, Kokushibo opened his eyes wide. His enormous black eyes stared unblinkingly at Izuna, looking extremely eerie.

A person's eyes are fixed at birth and do not change size as they grow. Therefore, people with large, beautiful eyes can look somewhat frightening when they are young, especially in infancy—Yan Sheng's eyes, which take up "half his face," paired with his expressionless face, are quite terrifying. However, they will look better as they grow up.

"Yan Sheng, you're worried about Ban-ge too, aren't you?" Izuna, however, showed no alarm at all. Instead, he smiled with relief at his younger brother's "response." He reached out and gently stroked Yan Sheng's head, his tone softening: "That watermelon-headed guy must have given Ban-ge some kind of spell... I'm too naive, I fell for it."

Yan Sheng: "..."

After speaking her mind, Izuna felt much better, but the heavy worry hadn't disappeared. After all, the matter wasn't resolved yet.

***

Sitting by the corridor, his fingertips lightly tapping the wooden floor, Izuna's dark eyes flashed with a calm calculation. He knew that directly stopping Madara would only provoke resentment, and might even make Madara more determined in his mind. Therefore, he needed a more indirect approach.

First, he had to figure out how that thousand-handed watermelon-headed guy had gained Ban's trust.

...The next time Ban goes to meet that guy, he will secretly follow him.

If Watermelon Head really harbors ill intentions, then all he needs to do is create a small "accident" to let Brother Ban see the other party's true colors, and he can completely sever this ill-fated relationship.

Finally, if all the above methods fail, he has one last card to play—himself. What Brother Ban cares about most is his family; to put it extremely, if he has to risk his own safety, Brother Ban will absolutely not remain indifferent.

On the other side.

Tobirama Senju stood coldly at the edge of the clan's territory, his red eyes fixed on the distance. His elder brother's stubbornness infuriated him, but he knew very well that a direct confrontation was pointless.

Since words cannot persuade him, let's use facts to make him face reality.

Therefore, he wouldn't argue with his older brother now, but would wait until the next time his brother met with Madara, and then personally go along. Only by seeing it with his own eyes could he judge the other party's true intentions. Anyway, that's what his older brother said; of course, his older brother meant that Madara was a good person, and he would know once he saw him.

—The older brother still thought he would change his mind and fall for the evil Uchiha's tricks like he did.

hehe.

In short, if Madara Uchiha truly had ulterior motives, their conversation would inevitably reveal flaws. At that time, he would record every word, first try to reason with his elder brother, and if that failed, he would tell their father and let him make the decision.

***

Since their conversation at Namikawa, Madara and Hashirama have realized that the conflict between the two clans was not accidental, but rather that someone was secretly instigating it. However, they don't know exactly who it is, and they need more clues.

So, before parting, Hashirama suggested, "How about we meet again next week during the day?"

Ban hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

Hashirama grinned and held out his hand: "It's a deal!"

Ban stared at the outstretched hand and clapped his hands lightly: "Hmm."

The appointed day arrived quickly.

Madara changed into an inconspicuous dark outfit and quietly left the clan's territory. He moved with light steps, deliberately avoiding the patrolling clansmen, but Izuna had been waiting in the shadows for a long time.

It wasn't for nothing that he'd been keeping an eye on Brother Ban these past few days.

Maintaining a safe distance, Izuna concealed himself using the shadows of the trees and rocks. He dared not get too close; Madara's senses were extremely sharp, and he would be discovered if he wasn't careful.

"Where is Madara going?" Izuna stared intently at the figure ahead, thinking to himself, "Judging from his disheveled appearance, he's definitely going to see that Senju watermelon-headed guy!"

His fingers unconsciously touched his ninja tool pouch, the cold touch of the kunai calming him down slightly.

Meanwhile, in the territory of the Thousand Hands Clan.

Hashirama looked around to make sure no one was there, and was about to make his move when a familiar voice suddenly came from beside him: "Big brother, where are you going?"

Hashirama froze, then scratched his head and turned to his younger brother, who had appeared with his arms crossed at some point, saying, "Ah, I... I'm going to the training ground for extra practice!"

Tobirama said expressionlessly, "Is that so? Then I'll go with you."

Hashirama: "...Isn't that unnecessary?"

Tobirama lowered his hand, sighed, and looked resigned: "You're going to see Madara, right? Perfect, didn't you say before that I'd know if he was a bad person after meeting him?"

Hashirama's eyes lit up. "Yes! That's great, Tobirama! You really are my good brother! You believed me, sob sob! I'm so touched!"

Tobirama's lips twitched, and he said sternly, "Let's go, don't waste time."

***

Madara was the first to reach the riverbank, leaning against a tree and closing his eyes to rest. A short while later, Hashirama's voice came: "Madara!"

Madara opened his eyes and saw Hashirama... and the white-haired boy behind him, and frowned.

"who is he?"

Hashirama chuckled dryly, his gaze shifting guiltily. He hadn't told Madara about this beforehand, and given the relationship between the two families, it wasn't a good idea to do so.

"Uh, his name is Tobirama, he's my younger brother, you should have met him before... um... (on the battlefield)."

Tobirama coldly interjected, "I'm only here to ensure my brother's safety."

Ban snorted coldly.

The smell of gunpowder was strong.

Hiding behind the tree, Izuna's fingers were already gripping the kunai.

"As expected, Watermelon Head had no good intentions! He even brought people with him! Luckily I came along, otherwise, if it were one against two, Brother Ban would likely be at a disadvantage."

Ban suddenly felt a chill for no reason. He looked back suspiciously but found nothing.

Seeing this, Hashirama glanced in the direction Madara was looking, but saw nothing there either. He asked in confusion, "Madara? What's wrong?"

"......nothing."

***

Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were talking in hushed tones about the mastermind behind everything. Tobirama stood to the side, his red eyes slightly lowered, seemingly quiet, but in reality, he was etching every word into his mind.

His mind worked incredibly fast, piecing together the general outline of the incident from just a few words: According to Madara Uchiha and his elder brother, someone was stirring up trouble between the Senju and Uchiha clans last time, and might even have fabricated evidence of attacks on both sides.

However, even if it makes logical sense, Tobirama still harbored deep suspicion towards Madara Uchiha and the entire Uchiha clan.

What a coincidence!

Tobirama sneered inwardly: Who knows if this is another layer of calculation?

He just doesn't believe it.

No matter how powerful Tobirama becomes in the future, he is still just a child now. Even if he is precocious, there is still a moment when he cannot hide the emotions on his face.

Madara Uchiha was already sensitive, and with the awakening of his Sharingan, he immediately understood Tobirama's thoughts by glancing at the corner of his eye at the tight corner of his mouth and the unconsciously clenched fist.

Madara suddenly sneered, interrupting Hashirama.

Hashirama was taken aback: "Huh?"

Madara's gaze swept over Hashirama like a blade, his voice icy: "You didn't tell me you would bring your brother."

Hashirama blinked, his gaze shifting back and forth between his younger brother and Madara before finally realizing the problem.

"Uh..." He scratched his head, giving a slightly apologetic smile. "It's my fault for not telling you beforehand. But Tobirama is different; he would never leak it!"

Then he turned to Tobirama, his tone serious: "Tobirama, I've told you before, Madara is a very good person. You can't treat him like that just because he's an Uchiha—"

“Brother,” Tobirama said coldly, his red eyes staring directly at Madara, “Trust isn’t something you talk about, it’s something you do.”

Madara stood with his arms crossed, the tomoe in his Sharingan slowly rotating: "Well said, brat."

Caught in the middle, Hashirama inwardly groaned, regretting bringing Tobirama along: "Um..."

Madara & Tobirama: "Shut up!"

Hashirama: "......"

For Hashirama Senju, this meeting was absolutely terrible.

He had been hoping that Madara and Tobirama could get to know each other, and even fantasized that the two might become friends. But Madara remained expressionless the whole time, while Tobirama stared at Madara with the look of someone scrutinizing an enemy. The tension in the air was so palpable it could practically set the entire forest along the Naka River ablaze.

The two parted on bad terms and went their separate ways, leaving him alone feeling depressed.

Hashirama squatted by the river, throwing pebbles into the water in frustration.

“At least they didn’t fight…” he tried to comfort himself, but then sighed.

"But they didn't say more than a few kind words!"

His dejected face was reflected in the water. Pebbles created ripples in the water, just like his chaotic mood.

The only saving grace is that they have finally made progress in investigating who is behind this.

After returning and reviewing the information, Madara and Hashirama both pointed their suspicions at the same target: the Hagoromo clan.

The Hagoromo clan was once an important ally of the Uchiha clan.

—In the era when the Senju clan was powerful, the Uchiha needed Hagoromo's puppetry and poison techniques as support, while Hagoromo relied on the Uchiha's genjutsu and combat strength; both sides got what they needed. However, this fragile alliance was completely shattered during a raid targeting the Senju.

The battle should have been a sure thing. The Uchiha were responsible for the frontal assault, while Hagoromo was positioned to ambush the Senju on the flanks, using poison mist to block their retreat. However, at the crucial moment when the Uchiha launched their all-out attack, Hagoromo's poison array failed to activate. By the time the Uchiha realized something was wrong, Senju reinforcements had already flanked them from the rear.

In that battle, the Uchiha clan suffered heavy losses.

Enraged, the Uchiha immediately severed all cooperation with Hagoromo and expelled them from the alliance. Hagoromo harbored resentment and soon accepted a job from a daimyo to ambush an Uchiha caravan during a secret mission.

Allies became mortal enemies.

The Hagoromo clan knew that provoking both the Senju and Uchiha clans simultaneously was suicidal. But they also understood one crucial principle: when two ferocious beasts are tearing each other apart, no one will pay attention to the venomous snake lurking in the shadows.

The Senju and Uchiha clans have been sworn enemies for centuries, with both sides having the blood of the other stained their hands. In comparison, Hagoromo's personal grudge is merely an insignificant episode in the long history of hatred.

—Until now.

If the mastermind behind this is indeed Hagoromo, then the Senju and Uchiha might as well temporarily put aside their grudges and kill this troublemaker first.

A note from the author:

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