Under Konoha’s Shadow

Chapter 26: The Path to Peace

Seeing this scene, Yamamoto Ryusei instantly understood. No wonder Madara Uchiha wanted to defect. In a village that feared him like this, being ostracized by everyone, who wouldn't want to leave?

However, Ryusei tilted his head and glanced at Madara's face as he warily looked at the villagers. 'Yep... I'm sure Teacher Madara's expression is also a big part of the reason.'

A leather ball rolled from somewhere and stopped at Madara's feet. A little girl came looking for it from a short distance away. Madara picked up the ball, walked over to the girl, and handed it to her without saying a word, without a hint of a smile.

The little girl looked at Madara's grim face, was immediately frightened into tears, and ran away, abandoning her ball.

Madara's face darkened several more shades. He tossed the ball in his hand to Ryusei and continued walking towards the Uchiha compound without another word.

Arriving at the Uchiha compound, Madara, perhaps still affected by the earlier incident, sat in silence. After half an hour, he finally spoke. "Ryusei, do you think Hashirama's methods can truly bring peace?"

Ryusei thought of the three great ninja wars. "No. Teacher Hashirama's peace can only last as long as he is alive."

Madara's interest was immediately piqued. He said excitedly, "As I thought, you have good judgment! Then my method will bring peace to the ninja world, right?"

Ryusei poured a basin of cold water on him. "No, Teacher. It's not possible right now."

"Not possible?" Madara stood up excitedly. "Hashirama and I... no, I alone can sweep through all the other ninja villages!"

Ryusei nodded. "And after you sweep through them, Teacher?"

"After sweeping through them, I'll..." Madara's expression froze instantly. He then sat back down, lost in thought.

Ryusei said slowly, "Teacher, after you sweep through the other ninja villages, does Konoha have enough people to govern their territories? If we conquer them, there will be daily rebellions. And our village right now is just a collection of clans living in one place; we haven't truly integrated. Rushing into a war will only cause the village to fall apart and return to the Warring States Period."

As if drained of all his spirit, Madara sat there and asked, "Then how can the ninja world be brought to peace?"

Ryusei replied, "We still have to unify the ninja world. But only after we are ready. After we annex the other four great nations and unify the ninja world, we can have several hundred years of peace."

Madara was somewhat dissatisfied. "Several hundred years? Is there no way to achieve permanent peace?"

Ryusei gave a wry smile. "Teacher, there is no such thing as permanent peace in this world. Human desires are never satisfied. People will always want more, but resources are limited. When there isn't enough to go around, conflict will arise. In truth, having several hundred years of peace is already a remarkable achievement."

Madara fell silent upon hearing this. "Then how long will it take to prepare?"

"There are many things to prepare. For example, enough ninjas, enough excellent officials, faster means of transportation, and ninjas like you and Teacher Hashirama who can sweep through the ninja world. At the fastest, it would take twenty years."

"That long?"

"Teacher, that's assuming we start cooperating with the Daimyo right now, the entire Land of Fire works together without anyone holding us back, and all the clans let go of their old grudges, remove their restrictions, and truly integrate with each other. Given the current situation, it's impossible without at least fifty years."

Madara thought for a long time. "But Hashirama hasn't done any of these things."

"He can't," Ryusei explained. "Although we have the Ninja Academy now, it's limited by teachers, jutsu, the Daimyo, and the bloodline clans. We can't recruit on a large scale to expand our number of ninjas. Cultivating excellent officials and inventing faster transportation will surely require a huge amount of funds, and Teacher Hashirama has no control over whether the Daimyo is willing to provide them. Most importantly, the country and the hidden village rely on each other, but they also restrict each other. Neither side wants to see the other become too powerful. Without solving this problem, we can never dream of unifying the ninja world."

Madara said with a hint of killing intent, "Then what if we become the Daimyo ourselves?"

Ryusei rejected the idea. "That won't work, Teacher. Firstly, we don't know how to govern a country. The Land of Fire would fall into chaos. Then, if we can't collect taxes, the ninjas won't have funds and won't be able to develop. We would just return to the Warring States Period. Konoha's foundation is too weak right now. No matter what we try, the consequences will be unacceptable. We can only develop first and wait until we are strong enough to carry out reforms."

As Madara sat there, quietly thinking, Ryusei created shadow clones to practice Yin and Yang Release chakra nature transformations.

The Next Day

Ryusei picked up the finished clothes from Yamashita Eeko and went directly to the Senju training grounds. Hashirama and Madara were both waiting there.

Hashirama looked at Ryusei, who was carrying a large bundle. "Ryusei, you're late today."

"Sorry, sorry. I went to pick something up, so I was a little late."

Hashirama was curious. "Oh? What did you go to get?"

"It's a gift for all of you." Ryusei opened the bundle and took out a small package, handing it to Madara. "This is for you, Teacher Madara."

He took out another small package for Hashirama. "This is for you, Teacher Hashirama. The others are for Teacher Tobirama, Lady Mito, and Big Sister Miyuki."

Hashirama opened his package, saw the clothes inside, and said to Madara, "Madara, want to go to my house and try them on?"

Madara picked up his package and started walking out. "Let's go."

Hashirama and Ryusei followed close behind.

Arriving at the Senju compound, they found Mito Uzumaki drinking tea at the table in the main hall. Hashirama and Madara walked in as if they hadn't seen her, passed right by, and each found a room to change clothes.

Mito was a bit stunned. She turned to see Ryusei entering from outside and asked with some annoyance, "What are those two doing? Are they ignoring me?"

Ryusei poured a cup of tea and drank it in one gulp. "No, they're just in a hurry to change clothes." He took out Mito's outfit from the bundle. "Lady Mito, this is a gift for you. By the way, where is Big Sister Miyuki? I have one for her too."

Mito's eyes lit up, and her mouth fell slightly open as she looked at the dress in her hands. "This is so beautiful! Is it for me?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes." Ryusei held up a black hat. "Lady Mito, when you wear this dress, remember to put your hair up and wear this hat. It will look even better."

Mito snatched the hat and immediately turned to go inside. "I'll go try it on. As for Miyuki, have a handmaiden go find her."

Ryusei asked a handmaiden to find Miyuki. After waiting for half an hour, Hashirama and Madara emerged together.

Hashirama was wearing a white Confucian-style robe with a black outer robe. Although his hair was still wild, his handsome features made him look particularly dashing.

Madara's outfit, both the inner and outer robes, was pure black, making him look mysterious and powerful. However, because his long hair still covered one eye, he appeared somewhat gloomy.

Ryusei held up two wooden hairpins. "Teacher Madara, let me comb your hair. It will look better with these."

Madara nodded and sat down, letting Ryusea do as he wished.

Ryusei used a comb to sweep Madara's hair back, revealing both of his eyes, and then used the hairpins to secure it in place. The current Madara looked even more domineering, mysterious, and powerful than before.

Madara looked at his reflection in a mirror and was quite pleased with his new image.

A short while later, Mito came out wearing a red outfit. The red dress was embroidered with plum blossoms, and the cuffs and standing collar of the robe were made of a patterned golden fabric. Her red hair was piled high and contained within the black hat, giving her a beautiful and domineering look.

Mito's outfit was modeled after a certain female martial arts overlord. If she were holding a golden needle and doing embroidery, the resemblance would be even more striking.

"Wow..." Senju Miyuki said as she walked in from outside. "Lady Mito, you look so beautiful! So domineering! Where did you buy these clothes?"

Hearing the praise, Mito's satisfaction was practically overflowing from her eyes. She pointed at Ryusei. "Ryusei gave it to me. There's one for you, too."