Chapter 52

"Swish, swish," a few sounds.

They immediately knelt on one knee.

"Generation after generation, we vow to brave fire and water for Lord Hashirama!!!!"

And the guests from the Daimyo's mansion standing outside,

he too had heard that deafening sound from outside.

His expression changed at once,

but soon returned to normal!!!

This time, the Land of Fire may be on the verge of upheaval!!!

But what does that have to do with him??

He was merely an ordinary man,

whether the Daimyo won this victory or Hashirama Senju won this victory,

it would affect him little.

It was merely a matter of who ruled above him!!!!

……

"Hehe, my lord, rest assured…"

"If Hashirama Senju dares to show his face this time, we'll make sure he never leaves alive!!!"

"I've long wished to test his strength…"

……

"Yes, my lord, rest easy— with the two of us here, Hashirama Senju won't be able to pull off any tricks!!"

"I'd like to see if he's truly as terrifying as the rumors claim!!!"

Hearing the two men say this,

the Daimyo's expression finally eased slightly!!!

Although ninja power was extremely strong,

surely,

Their mutual gap should not be too great!!

"You two clan leaders may also rest easy…"

"Once we successfully eliminate Hashirama Senju, I will immediately grant you the Senju clan's lands and resources!!!"

"Moreover, all spoils from this extermination of the Senju clan shall be yours as war prizes!!!"

Upon hearing this,

the two men's faces lit up with excitement!!!

Wasn't this exactly why they came here?!

"Thank you, my lord!!!!"

"Our Sarutobi (Tsunemura) clan will serve you with all our strength, even unto death!!!!"

……

The viewers in the live stream,

their faces all wore strange expressions!!!

And the faces of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tsunemura Danzo,

At this moment it was pitch-black, like the bottom of a wok!!!!

【Fourth Raikage: Hahaha!! This is fascinating—I'm already looking forward to what comes next!!!】

【Rosha: The Sarutobi and Tsunemura clans teaming up against the First Hokage? Now that's interesting…】

【Orochimaru: How to put it… shouldn't we expect nothing less from the teacher's family and Danzo's family? Their methods are just as familiar!!!】

【Tobirama Senju: It seems… these two clans' people aren't very bright… actually planning to move against Brother?!】

【Kushina Uzumaki: Hmph… they've done this before! If Hashirama hadn't held back, they'd have been dead on the battlefield long ago!!!】

【Hashirama Senju: Hmm… Kushina, don't say that… Konoha was just founded; I don't think they're truly evil… maybe they just acted on impulse, which is why I spared them back then…】

Ordinary punch!! Destroy heaven and earth!!

As for the division of power among ninja in the ninja world,

the Daimyo did not understand clearly.

But the Tsunemura and Sarutobi clans, also ninja,

should know very well.

Since they've said this much,

surely they truly have a way to deal with Hashirama Senju and his Senju clan.

"Hmm… since both clan leaders say so, I'm reassured."

"Hashirama Senju is left to you two."

"If you succeed, my promises to you will be fulfilled as agreed."

"If you fail…"

The Daimyo did not finish his sentence.

But the two understood—the consequence of failure would not be good.

Even if Hashirama Senju spared them both,

the Daimyo would not.

"Rest assured, my lord!!"

"Senju Hashirama, so long as you dare to come, the two of us will make sure you go and never return!!!"

The two exchanged a glance,

and both revealed smiles of absolute confidence.

The two of them were very confident in this trump card of theirs.

In order to capture that terrifying creature,

their two clans had paid the price of no small number of clan members' lives in the Land of Wind.

Although this technique was still somewhat immature at present.

But they considered this not to be a major problem.

Thinking of the world-shattering scene that would be created by that terrifying creature,

they felt even more certain of success in this operation!!!

……

【Hiruzen Sarutobi: Danzo… does your Shimura clan have any hidden trump-card techniques I don't know about? Or has your clan ever produced any particularly powerful Kekkei Genkai?】

【Shimura Danzo: No… I've never discovered any particularly powerful ninja in the clan's history… what about you all?】

【Hiruzen Sarutobi: I haven't either…】

【Fourth Raikage: Third Hokage, sir, I cannot help but admire your predecessors—they truly had far too much courage!!!】

【Ōnoki: Heh heh… the Sarutobi clan and the Sarutobi clan being able to survive from the Warring States period until now, one has to say they do have a bit of luck.】

【Orochimaru: I seem to have already guessed what the source of these two clan heads' confidence and boldness is…】

【Naruto Uzumaki: What's going on? At first I thought the Hokage was the person with the highest status in the Land of Fire. So it turns out the Hokage isn't the person with the highest status in the Land of Fire after all…】

【Madara Uchiha: Hmph!! Juniors, once upon a time the Hokage did have the chance to become the person with the highest status in this country—it's just that your Hokage gave it up, that's all!!!】

【Senju Hashirama: ……】

……

"Heh heh… years have passed and Lord Hashirama's风采 is still as before."

"Worthy of being the foremost person in today's world."

The Daimyō slowly sipped the tea in his cup,

and said with a smile.

Although his face was doing its utmost to put on a composed expression,

Senju Hashirama still noticed from his slightly trembling hands the nervousness in the Daimyō's heart.

Calm down!!!