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moshi moshi
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Arai spoke at last. "I agree. The situation is fluid. The clans are wary but not aligned. A push could fracture them. If we target the Kurama or Shimura first—subtly—it may cause the others to hesitate."
Tajima's eyes flicked to Arai. "You speak of provocation."
"Subordination, Father. The Kurama's Genjutsu could be useful. The Inuzuka and Kaguya are more suited to feral, rapid-response squads. Together, we build a force of shock and awe. And fear."
Izuna chuckled. "He's almost 5, and already strategizing like you."
Tajima didn't smile. "He understands what's needed." He turned back to the flames. "Prepare envoys. Quiet ones. We will offer protection, territory, or arms. But not as equals."
Madara furrowed his brow. "And if they resist?"
Tajima's tone was iron. "Then they will understand that rejecting Uchiha favor invites Uchiha fire."
Meanwhile, across the valley, Butsuma Senju sat with arms crossed in his pavilion. The mood was grim. Bunta, broad and scarred from old battles, finished detailing the minor clan summit. Hashirama, Tobirama, and Hiroshi sat nearby.
"They met, as expected," Bunta concluded. "But there was no mention of allying with Uchiha. Still, the undercurrent was clear. They do not trust us. The Uzumaki alliance made them fearful."
Butsuma narrowed his eyes. "The Uzumaki… that alliance was my call, yet it has made the others skittish. They think we've grown too strong, too fast."
Hashirama looked up. "But it's not wrong to seek peace through strength."
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Tobirama scoffed. "It's not wrong, but it's naïve. They see the Uzumaki's sealing arts and vitality as a threat. As if we've already chosen our kingdom's first allies while ignoring the rest."
Butsuma tapped a scroll. "Perhaps we did move too fast. Perhaps I allowed sentiment to cloud military foresight."
Hiroshi winced slightly. "I suggested the alliance…"
Hashirama turned to him. "Hiroshi, no—"
But Hiroshi interrupted, eyes lowered. "I thought it would help. That it would stabilize us. The Uchiha had been relentless. We lost three supply convoys. I thought if Uzumaki's clan joined us early, we could… turn the tide."
Butsuma looked at him for a long moment. "You're just a boy. A gifted one, but still a child. Your instincts were good. But you now see what comes of misreading the ripples of power."
"I do," Hiroshi said quietly. "And I'm beginning to wonder… if the dream we both have—about peace, about uniting the clans into a village—if it's even possible now."
Hashirama flinched. "Hiroshi…"
But Hiroshi went on, voice trembling but resolute. "The minor clans are panicked. The Uchiha are adapting. Everyone is arming themselves. And now we've drawn attention too early."
Butsuma's gaze softened slightly, just for a moment. "The path to peace has never been straight. The summit is a sign that the others fear being left behind. Fear can be guided… or manipulated."
High in the mountain terraces of the Hyuga estate, a man knelt before the clan head, bowing low.
"The summit went as predicted, Lord Hyuga. No Senju. No Uchiha. But tension was clear. The Sarutobi spoke in riddles. The Nara asked more than they said. They fear entanglement."
The Hyuga elder, stern-eyed with veins bulging from the Byakugan's strain, nodded slowly. "Good. It was wise not to attend."
A younger Hyuga beside him spoke up. "But we lost an opportunity. The Sarutobi sent us a message. And we remained distant."
The elder did not look at him. "Our strength lies in distance. Let the others squabble and bleed. Our eyes see further when we are not trapped in their dust."
"Do we ally with no one?"
"We watch. We wait. And we strike only when the battlefield is bare."
The report was sealed. The Hyuga would not yet step into the great conflict, but they would not be blind to its unfolding.
Elsewhere, under vastly different skies, two reincarnated souls pondered the future.
Arai sat on a stone perch overlooking the Uchiha barracks. Madara had returned to training. Izuna was boasting about his latest Genjutsu feint.
But Arai's mind lingered on the summit. On the Kaguya's wild strength. On the Inuzuka's animalistic combat. A team of vanguard berserkers… terrifying, effective.
His eyes glowed faintly with the one-tomoe Sharingan. "Subordination is a word no one wants. But if guided carefully, it can become symbiosis. Not peace… but cohesion."
Behind him, Yagami approached. "Lord Tajima said your mind moves quicker than your chakra flow."
Arai didn't turn. "He wants me to craft new tactics. I just want to avoid another graveyard."
Meanwhile, Hiroshi was by the stream behind the Senju compound, the water glowing blue from his gentle chakra pulses. Tobirama had just finished a grueling elemental training. Hashirama was tending to a tree he accidentally made grow ten feet too high.
Mito sat beside Hiroshi, her fingers weaving a complex sealing scroll.
"You're quiet," she said.
"I made things worse."
"You're trying to make things better."
"I thought I could shortcut the path to peace. But every shortcut cuts deeper into someone else."
Mito looked at him gently. "You have the power to bind things together, Hiroshi. Seals, yes—but hearts too."
"I think we're just building a bigger battleground." said his eyes distant.
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That night, both clan leaders, separated by forests and fate, stared into their own maps, their fingers tracing the rivers and borders of a land yet untamed.
Tajima whispered to himself, "The child sees things I do not. Arai… if we build this force with the Kaguya and Inuzuka, it must be swift. Precise. Before the others galvanize."
He glanced at a small sketch of his three sons. "Madara will lead. Izuna will bleed. But Arai will… change things."
Far to the east, Butsuma whispered, "The boy regrets. That's good. Regret is how leaders are born. Not from perfection. From pain. Hiroshi sees the strings. And maybe… he'll learn to pull them without snapping them."
Hashirama stepped in, silent.
Butsuma didn't look up. "Do you think the dream still breathes?"
Hashirama placed a leaf on the map. "I think the roots are buried. But they're growing."
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