"What? War has been declared? Why didn't you tell me, Madara..." Hashirama held his head, looking incredulously at his friend in front of him and shouted.
It's quite a funny thing.
Everyone in the Senju and the Uchiha Clan knew the war was about to start...
Because Uchiha Madara issued a declaration of war against the entire Ninja World.
But Hashirama, who didn't pay attention to current affairs, was simply immersed in the harmonious atmosphere after the peace between the Senju and Uchiha and hadn't noticed at all.
After all, when it came to major or minor affairs of the Ninja World, it was Tobirama, the second-in-command, who would streamline the information before presenting it to him...
If Tobirama didn't inform him, then as the Clan Leader, he was virtually in the dark, akin to being sidelined.
Unspoken, Tobirama and Madara, and Izuna didn't tell Hashirama... And other Senju and Uchiha clan members didn't think that such a significant figure like Hashirama wouldn't know about such things?
So today, when Hashirama was playing shogi with an Uchiha elder, the elder kindly reminded Hashirama—
"Perform well in the upcoming war, you are Senju Hashirama..."
Hashirama subconsciously agreed before realizing that there was going to be a war?
Only then did he hurriedly say goodbye to the elder, escaping from a losing game, and anxiously found Tobirama and Madara to inquire...
"There is indeed a war, Hashirama... However, you don't need to participate. Izuna, Tobirama, and I are enough to handle it."
Uchiha Madara glanced at Hashirama, said amusingly, "At this point in time, you were playing shogi with that old man again, weren't you?"
"Heard you haven't won lately, how did you do today?"
Hashirama instantly became downcast, seamlessly switching to a heavy low-pressure mood, his entire forehead covered in dark lines like a genjutsu:
"Sigh… He is still too strong, if it weren't for today's incident making me leave, I might have been defeated again..."
Upon hearing Hashirama's reply, Madara, Izuna, and Tobirama all laughed together, the room filled with a cheerful atmosphere, nothing like it was about to go to war.
And in Hashirama's low mood, he suddenly sensed something was off!
The situation had changed... How come Tobirama and Madara seemed so close, isolating him together with Izuna?
Such a big thing, and they didn't tell him!
Hashirama gazed at Tobirama standing alongside Madara, his mind fuzzy... No, this position used to be his!
What kind of trick did his mischievous brother pull off? He even managed to persuade Madara...
The young Hashirama didn't know...
To Tobirama, young Uchiha Madara was easy to amuse... As the biggest covert hand behind driving Madara out of Konoha, a certain white hair deeply understood the principle of teaching back and forth.
What Madara cared about was nothing more than the understanding of his clan, the obsessive desire for peace, and the determination not to be betrayed...
And all these concerns of his, Tobirama could provide.
When Tobirama laid everything out, using the art of language to transform Madara's disadvantages as Hokage into advantages as the "insider at the surface," the problem was solved.
Madara didn't need to ponder other issues, he just had to focus on what he did best.
The best way to deal with the Uchiha Clan, especially those possessing the deep-thinking and obsessive Mangekyo, is to articulate clearly what one wants to achieve, then slightly embellish it in a way they like, always yielding a good result.
In interacting with Aomi, Tobirama deeply understood this truth.
As for how he understood it, of course, it was by watching how Aomi interacted with other Uchiha...
Even when Uchiha Obito was at his most insane, deep down he still thought of Aomi, unwilling to do anything that would harm Aomi...
This is the caliber of the new generation Uchiha king!
"What do you mean? Madara... Aren't we supposed to end the chaos and bring peace to the Ninja World, why start a war?"
Hashirama sank his thoughts, quite puzzled, and said, "I've learned some things recently... Since the Uchiha and Senju Clans united, wars in the Ninja World have nearly vanished, isn't this a good situation?"
"Why should we break it..."
Tobirama glanced at Hashirama, smiling inside.
Just like decades ago... During the first Five Kage Summit, if Hashirama could harden his resolve, integrate all ninjas at once, there wouldn't have been those intensely fierce wars later on.
In the short term, the unified Ninja World might face this, that problem.
But compared to becoming five different Ninja Villages with Tailed Beasts, even if certain degree of internal chaos erupted, the disturbances caused would be trivial compared to the Triple Ninja World Wars...
The Ninja World War was a brutal fight among various Hidden Villages on a large scale... In terms of unit time, the number and efficiency of ninjas dying in such a war far surpasses that of the Warring States Era!
This is the bitter fruit borne out of hesitation.
"No, Hashirama... The reason the Ninja World halted war is because you and I, Tobirama and Izuna are still alive, as long as we exist in the Ninja World for one day, I indeed believe those other ninja clans won't start a big war again..."
Uchiha Madara sneered, didn't go along with Hashirama, but sharply retorted, "So, what if we all die?"