Chapter 304: Susanoo Rock Carving

Early morning.

The warm sunlight awakened the sleeping people, and the villagers of the Hidden Leaf Village ushered in a brand-new day.

Today is a day worth commemorating; the villagers, having received the news in advance, set out one after another in their finest attire, taking to the streets to watch the grand occasion that belonged solely to the Hidden Leaf.

On the bustling main street, the villagers moving along slowly took advantage of this rare leisure time to start gossiping.

"Did you hear that strange noise last night?"

"I heard it. I wonder whose house it was, still doing renovations in the middle of the night."

"Hehe, I thought it was an earthquake and almost climbed over the wall to run away~"

"Where on earth did you go last night? Tell me in detail!"

Their conversation was filled with resentment toward the unknown commotion from the night before.

However, the person walking at the very front suddenly stopped, and the few people following closely behind immediately slammed on the brakes.

"Why did you stop?"

"Hurry up, or we won't make it in time to see the inauguration ceremony~"

"Look."

The villager at the front was seen with his head tilted back, eyes wide open, pointing a trembling finger toward the top of the Hidden Leaf Village.

The villagers behind were baffled by his behavior and subconsciously looked in the direction he was pointing.

"What is that?"

The next moment, everyone's expressions became uniform; in their wide-open mouths, only two words could fit.

"Holy shit!"

The temporary office of the Hidden Leaf Village.

Hashirama Senju, dressed in a red robe, was leaning against the window, gazing at the rock wall above the Hidden Leaf, his eyes filled with deep surprise.

After admiring it for a long time, Hashirama Senju suppressed the smile at the corners of his mouth, reluctantly withdrew his gaze, and showed off to Tobirama Senju, who was busy running around.

"Tobirama, did you see it? How handsome Madara carved me~"

"Can you lend a hand? Today is the day you take office as Hokage. Do you think it's appropriate to just slack off there?"

A white-haired man was seen poking his head out from behind a moving mountain of documents, gritting his teeth and saying hatefully, his eyes sporting heavy dark circles, clearly the result of not getting enough rest lately.

"Aiyo, isn't that what younger brothers are for?"

This was the advice Madara had taught him.

Hearing this, the increasingly angry Tobirama Senju threw the documents in his hand, then pulled out a large stack of envelopes, shoved them into his older brother's face, and cursed,

"It's all because of your indulgence! Look at the good work Uchiha Madara did last night; the complaint mailbox is completely stuffed!"

"Madara was also acting out of kindness~"

Hashirama Senju, being held accountable, did not lose the smile on his face. Looking at his brother who was in a fit of rage, he played a trump card.

"Tobirama, think about it, how expensive is it to carve a Hokage Rock? The money saved is enough to support several of your research projects~"

"Hmm."

Hearing this, Tobirama Senju, who had been a bit hot-headed, slowly came to his senses. He looked down at the complaint letters in his hand and backhanded them all into the trash can.

"Ahem, let's not talk about this for now. Older brother, are you ready?"

With an unreadable expression, Tobirama Senju coughed a few times, skipped over the matter of the complaints, and turned to look at his older brother with a solemn face, asking.

"Madara hasn't come yet..."

Having looked out the window for a long time, the person he was waiting for had not appeared after all. A trace of disappointment hung on Hashirama Senju's face, and his eyes flickered slightly, wondering what he was thinking.

"Time is almost up. Don't keep the villagers waiting too long. As Hokage, you must set an example for everyone."

Checking the time, Tobirama Senju patted his older brother's shoulder and urged him.

"Mm, let's go~"

Hashirama Senju straightened his expression, nodded slowly, picked up a conical hat symbolizing power from the desk, examined it for a moment, placed it on his head, and then turned to push open the door, walking toward his stage in the midst of brilliant light.

"He's out! Lord Hokage is out~"

Accompanied by Hashirama Senju's tall and straight figure, the residents of the Hidden Leaf Village, who had been waiting for a long time, let out cheers like a tidal wave, each of them raising their hands high with deep adoration in their eyes.

The long-cherished wish of many years was finally fulfilled. Hashirama Senju, feeling incredibly excited, opened his arms, and his deep voice, bolstered by chakra, reached the ears of everyone present.

"Thank you all..."

At the very front of the crowd, the major ninja clans were lined up. In a relatively conspicuous position, the elder who was the patriarch of the Hyuga clan, waiting quietly, admonished his son beside him without looking aside.

"Tianyao, you must remember, in the future, no matter what you encounter, as long as it hasn't reached the final step, you must never act rashly."

"Yes, Tianyao will keep it in mind."

The elder's pure white eyes were as still as an ancient well, and his tone was very calm, yet carried a full sense of oppression, making Hyuga Tianyao beside him break into a cold sweat instantly, the fear in his eyes visible to the naked eye.

"Father, what are you looking for?"

On the other side, Shimura Danzo, with his butt stuck out, curiously raised his head and looked at his father, who was looking left and right, unable to help but ask.

"Sasuke, look at the Uchiha clan, why did only their acting patriarch come?"

Ignoring his precious son, Shimura Kenichi, frowning, nudged the smiling Sarutobi Sasuke beside him, his eyes filled with deep doubt.

"Uh, perhaps it's because the Uchiha patriarch worked too late last night~"

Sarutobi Sasuke, being asked, turned his head and looked at Uchiha Kagami, who was standing at the very front of the Uchiha clan, and guessed.

"Damn it! That position should have been mine!"

Uchiha Izuna, with his arms crossed, gritted his teeth tightly, looking at the white-haired man behind Hashirama Senju on the stage, and cursed in his heart.

"Lord Izuna, where did Lord Madara go?"

Uchiha Hi no Ki, following behind Uchiha Izuna, asked with confusion.

For such a grand ceremony, how could the patriarch be absent? Could it be that he had a falling out with Hashirama Senju?

"Don't overthink it, older brother is in the best viewing seat."

Uchiha Izuna, with a slightly cold expression, moved his eyes upward, and then explained to the worried clansmen behind him.

Above the Hokage Rock.

The quiet environment here formed a sharp contrast with the lively scene not far away.

Right on top of Hashirama Senju's huge carved head, a lonely figure was sitting cross-legged.

Uchiha Madara was resting his face on one hand, his handsome face devoid of any expression, his eyes filled with emptiness.

His gaze was locked tightly on Hashirama Senju, who was smiling and waving, and his eyes radiated an indescribable meaning.

Jealousy? Disappointment? Unwillingness? Or perhaps gratification...

"Sure enough, he is more suitable than me..."

Looking at the bright-smiling Hashirama Senju, Uchiha Madara's mind couldn't help but recall scenes from the past.

On the street, that young girl who had been frightened by him immediately burst into laughter after seeing Hashirama Senju's smile.

Since then, he had also tried practicing a bright smile, but it was ultimately stillborn after his older cousin evaluated it as "too disgusting."

Thinking of this, Uchiha Madara tried to pull at the corners of his mouth, once again imitating Hashirama Senju's smile.

Smiling is, after all, one of the essential skills of a Hokage.

"Eww~ that's too disgusting!"

Suddenly, a teasing voice rang out above his head. Uchiha Madara's hand movement paused. After putting his hand down with an expressionless face, he looked up at the curly-haired head poking out from the cliff wall, his brows slightly furrowed.

"Why are you here?"

"I was afraid you'd die suddenly from staying up all night to rush the work, so I came to take a look."

Uchiha Gin on the cliff wall rolled his eyes, his tone filled with deep helplessness, then leaped down and jumped onto the top of Hashirama Senju's head.

"Wow~ the view is really not bad. No wonder Naruto likes to sneak up here to hang on the wall."

After looking around, Uchiha Gin realized that standing in this position, everything in the Hidden Leaf was in full view, and he suddenly realized.

"Naruto? What strange words are you saying again?"

Uchiha Madara, sitting to the side, didn't have much of a reaction to Uchiha Gin's appearance, merely raising his eyebrows and casually retorting.

"Just some unimportant things. Here, I brought you breakfast~"

Scratching his head, Uchiha Gin didn't pick up on that topic and casually fished a few steamed buns out of his bag and tossed them over.

"Uh, thanks."

Receiving the still-hot meat bun, Uchiha Madara's eyes flickered slightly, and a sense of warmth couldn't help but well up in his heart.

"We're brothers, why are you being so polite?"

Uchiha Gin waved his hand indifferently, signaling the other to eat while it was hot, then took out a folding stool and sat down beside Uchiha Madara.

As for why he wouldn't sit on the ground, it was because Uchiha Gin was afraid of becoming a young man with hemorrhoids.

"Tsk~ you really have a way with things. Carving the rock face with Susanoo in the middle of the night, it really opened my eyes~"

Ignoring Uchiha Madara, who was wolfing down the food, Uchiha Gin looked down to admire the brand-new Hokage Rock. Looking at the lifelike portraits, he couldn't help but click his tongue in wonder.

"Hmph~ I said before, how could I, Uchiha Madara, not want to become an artist!"

Swallowing the last bun, Uchiha Madara patted his slightly bloated lower abdomen, raised his head proudly, and replied.

He was a genius who once carved an apple into a little rabbit~

"That's perfect, now you can go pursue your dream of art~"

With his eyes falling on the joyful Hashirama Senju, Uchiha Gin said seemingly unintentionally.

"Uh, this is only the First, there will be a Second, Third, and so on in the future..."

Uchiha Madara's breath hitched, his eyes became a bit evasive, and after hesitating for a moment, he spoke slowly, exposing his little secret.

"Are you getting cocky just because I praised you?"

Uchiha Gin was left speechless. Previously, when he mentioned the Second Hokage, he was merely teasing his older cousin; he never expected the man to take it seriously.

"As for the position of the Second Hokage, who else but me?"

At the mention of the Hokage position, Uchiha Madara looked somewhat arrogant. He puffed out his chest, his face showing a look of seriousness, and he confidently patted his chest in front of Uchiha Gin.

"."

No, this is too absurd. It seems this kid Uchiha Madara still hasn't been beaten down by society, to actually be thinking about becoming Hokage.

"Fine, you go for it. If you need help, just say the word. Your older cousin will have your back~"

Uchiha Gin sighed inwardly, but looking at his high-spirited older cousin, he couldn't bring himself to say anything discouraging, so he could only nod and offer words of encouragement.

"No need. I've already agreed with Haxi-lama that I'll go to his office in a few days to help out, as a way to familiarize myself with the workflow in advance."

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Madara, feeling moved, shook his head slightly.

Previously, after losing the Tailed Beast battle to Hashirama Senju, the other party had specifically invited him to participate in the village's political affairs.

"Huh? You're going to be a little secretary?"

This is bad. That detestable Hashirama Senju is actually abusing his power, attempting to use unspoken rules.

"Ah? No, he said he's having me go do something called a Hokage Aide..."

Heh, I didn't expect that thick-browed, big-eyed Hashirama Senju to have learned how to play mind games; with just a few words, he has my older cousin completely wrapped around his finger.

"Then you must be careful. If Hashirama Senju hands you black tea, absolutely do not drink it!"

Seeing that he couldn't sway his older cousin who had made up his mind, Uchiha Gin had no choice but to give up. However, since it concerned Uchiha Madara's chastity, he remained persistent and offered a warning.

"Uh, okay."

Although he found it strange that his older cousin was so urgent, the other party's concern was genuine, so Uchiha Madara had to nod in agreement, indicating that he would never eat anything from Hashirama Senju in the future.

A few days later.

In the Hokage office.

Hashirama Senju, trembling, huddled between the two people who were at daggers drawn, not daring to speak. His black eyes were filled with conflict.

On his left was his own brother, born of the same mother.

On his right was the man he regarded as his lifelong best friend.

Both the palm and the back of the hand are flesh~

At this moment, these two people were staring fixedly at each other, and between their exchanging gazes, wisps of electric sparks faintly erupted, causing Hashirama Senju, who was caught in the middle, to subconsciously shrink his neck.

Finally, unable to endure this oppressive scene any longer, he gritted his teeth, summoned his courage, and spoke up.

"You two..."

"Shut up!" *2

However, before he could even finish his attempt to mediate, the two people currently clashing spoke in unison, with perfect tacit understanding.

"Hmph~ Big Brother, the Tailed Beasts must absolutely not be handed over to the Uchiha clan to manage!"

Tobirama Senju withdrew his gaze and assumed his usual posture of crossing his arms over his chest. His scarlet eyes were filled with vigilance as he looked at Uchiha Madara opposite him and spoke without any hesitation.

"Heh, do you think we Uchiha clan members really want to take on this mess? I'm only offering to help him shoulder some extra burdens because Haxi-lama is too exhausted."

Uchiha Madara sneered, staring with ill intent at Tobirama Senju, who looked even more like an Uchiha than he did, and retorted.

"Stop arguing~ Stop arguing~"

Hashirama Senju, caught in the middle, spoke up weakly to persuade them, but it didn't have much of an effect.

As it turned out, these few were discussing how to handle the Tailed Beasts.

Previously, in order to compete for the position of Hokage, Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara had each captured four Tailed Beasts, rounding up all the free Tailed Beasts in the entire ninja world.

Although the winner was eventually decided based on the Pokémon Master Tournament, how to handle the remaining Tailed Beasts had become a thorny problem.

Except for the Nine-Tails, which had a promise with Hashirama Senju, the other seven Tailed Beasts were still imprisoned in the forests outside Konoha.

However, relying on Hashirama Senju's Four-Pillar Prison to keep them detained wasn't a long-term solution. He could handle one or two easily, and three or four didn't put too much pressure on him, but suppressing seven at once was truly a bit strenuous.

In the original timeline, perhaps with the all-out help of Mito Uzumaki's maternal family, Hashirama Senju could have controlled the eight Tailed Beasts very smoothly until selling them to various countries.

But now, the relationship between the Uzumaki clan and Konoha could not be called intimate; it could only be described as having no contact whatsoever.

This resulted in the fact that throughout Konoha, besides Hashirama Senju, only the Uchiha clan had the ability to control the Tailed Beasts and prevent them from causing chaos.

However, as soon as this idea was proposed, it was met with strong opposition from someone.

"In short, the Tailed Beasts are the property of Konoha and must absolutely not be handed over to any specific family to manage, especially that kind of family with a twisted brain!"

Because his older brother had just taken office and political affairs were too busy, Tobirama Senju's research experiments on the Tailed Beasts had not yet had a chance to begin.

He had originally planned to properly dissect and study those Tailed Beasts once he was free.

Unexpectedly, this guy Uchiha Madara had to stick his oar in and attempt to take away the control of the Tailed Beasts.

Just now, his older brother had actually seemed tempted; how could he let Uchiha Madara get his way? He had to nip it in the bud!

"Who are you saying has a twisted brain! You detestable white-hair, if you have the guts, let's fight one-on-one!"

Except for Hashirama Senju, no outsider had ever dared to speak to him like that. Uchiha Madara, furious in his heart, immediately rolled up his sleeves, ready to risk his life against Tobirama Senju.

"Bang bang bang~"

Just as the situation was about to escalate into a brawl, a burst of urgent knocking on the door interrupted their dispute. Three pairs of eyes turned toward the door simultaneously.

"Who is it?"

"Lord Hokage, urgent documents!"

"Come in!"

Upon hearing it was an urgent document, Hashirama Senju immediately changed his posture. The previous weakness was swept away, and he became extremely serious. Uchiha Madara and Tobirama Senju also temporarily put aside their dispute and turned their heads away, refusing to look at each other.

"This is... Hahaha, I said it, my idea is correct!"

Taking the document, a solemn-faced Hashirama Senju read it carefully. However, after a while, a smile that made people take notice bloomed on his tense face. He laughed and held up the document in his hand, speaking to the two most important people in his life.

"What does the document say?"

This scene successfully piqued the curiosity of both. Looking at Hashirama Senju, who was smiling like a chrysanthemum, the two asked in unison.

"Ninja clans in other countries are following Konoha's example and establishing ninja villages!"

Excitedly standing up, Hashirama Senju walked to the window, looked at the residents living and working in peace and contentment in Konoha below, and turned to announce to the two.

"Nani?"

Tobirama Senju was startled upon hearing this. The people in other countries were moving really fast; it hadn't even been a year since Konoha was established, and there were already Shanzhai appearing.

"They must have seen the peaceful scene in the Land of Fire now, felt a yearning for it, and therefore imitated our system!"

Hashirama Senju, who had spent his whole life pursuing peace, did not blame them for this plagiarism; instead, he approved of it with great gratification.

"Hmph~ That's not necessarily true."

Uchiha Madara, equally astonished, crossed his arms, his eyes filled with contemplation. Then, looking at the excited Hashirama Senju, he coldly struck a blow.

"That's right! These countries must have discovered that the Land of Fire's strength grew by leaps and bounds after establishing the one-country-one-village system, and out of fear, they chose to imitate it, striving not to fall behind."

Unexpectedly, Tobirama Senju reached a consensus with Uchiha Madara for once. He nodded, his scarlet eyes carrying a hint of mockery, and then explained to his naive older brother.

"Once their strength develops to a certain level, it will lead to battles between countries."

Before Konoha was established, the internal situation of other countries was not much different from the Land of Fire, all in a state of chaotic warfare between ninja clans.

But now, the one-country-one-village system has taken shape, and the power of the ninja clans has been unified. Once there are no enemies within a country, their strategic goals naturally go without saying.

Recently, overtime has been a bit frequent, but I will try my best to maintain updates~

Here, I would like to thank everyone for their monthly tickets and recommendation tickets!!!

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(End of this chapter)