Hashirama: If Tobirama is not good enough, Makoto, why don't you become the Hokage

Chapter 504 Hashirama Senju: If Tobirama is not talented enough, Makoto, why don't you become the Hokage of Konoha?

A brief, deathly silence fell over the room.

After a long silence, Tobirama Senju took a deep breath, suppressing his inner rage, before speaking with a calm expression.

"Brother, don't be naive. Cancel the mission? Do you think this is child's play?"

"These escort missions were basically all personally approved by the Daimyo of the Land of Fire and assigned to Konoha by officials in the capital. Now that we in Konoha have accepted these commissions and signed the mission scrolls, there's no reason for us to abandon them halfway!"

"Have you forgotten Konoha's rules? Missions come first!"

"Once a mission is accepted, even if it means facing mortal danger, it must be completed! If I, the current Hokage, were to openly break the contract and unilaterally rescind the mission assigned by the Daimyo simply because of some so-called reputation among the common people... then the reputation that Konoha has built up to this day would be completely ruined!"

Tobirama Senju snorted coldly and began to use Konoha's rules to refuse Hashirama Senju's unreasonable request.

In fact, in this distorted ninja world, what Tobirama Senju said was indeed an undeniably politically correct statement.

In the original storyline, even the legendary Sannin treated Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang of Konoha, with utmost respect. During a mission, he was forced to abandon it to protect his comrades. When the news leaked, this former Konoha hero was immediately attacked by the entire village, and even the comrade he had risked his life to save turned against him.

They used their moral high ground to psychologically bully him.

Ultimately, this drove Sakumo Hatake to a mental breakdown, leading him to commit suicide in despair to atone for his sins.

The fact that a highly decorated Kage-level ninja could be driven to his death simply because of abandoning a mission demonstrates just how morbid and harsh the ninja world's current emphasis on the contractual spirit of "accepting a mission means completing it."

If Tobirama Senju were to actually appear as Hokage today and forcibly halt the mission he accepted on behalf of Konoha, then Konoha's reputation would be completely ruined.

Upon hearing Tobirama Senju's words, Hashirama Senju, who had originally intended to offer further advice, suddenly deflated like a punctured balloon and fell silent.

This involves the very foundation of Konoha's existence. Although he sympathizes with ordinary people, he cannot sacrifice his own village's livelihood for the sake of outsiders.

In the end, Hashirama Senju could only give an apologetic, bitter smile, turn to look at Makoto Uchiha opposite him, and awkwardly indicate that he was powerless to help.

Uchiha Makoto had, of course, anticipated this situation. He hadn't expected to persuade Senju Tobirama to abandon the mission with just a few words. He simply wanted to use this excuse to make Senju Hashirama feel guilty about Konoha's actions, and incidentally, to annoy Senju Tobirama as well.

Seeing that the time was almost right, Uchiha Makoto changed to an extremely self-reproachful and disappointed expression.

"I apologize, Lord Hashirama... I was being presumptuous. I completely forgot that there were such important matters to attend to in Konoha."

consider."

Uchiha Makoto lowered his head slightly, sighed softly, and spoke with a tone full of helpless compassion.

"I just... when I think of those ordinary people shivering with hunger, and the funds that could have been used to build houses to shelter them from the wind and rain, and to reclaim wasteland, are just taken away... I really feel terrible."

"Alas, moreover, Konoha's reputation among the people of the Land of Fire will likely suffer great damage as a result."

"I naively thought that as the Hokage of Konoha, and since Konoha and Akatsuki were allies, Tobirama Senju would understand my good intentions and stand with Akatsuki... But alas, I didn't think things through..."

"Fine, I don't blame Konoha. After all, it's all for the greater good of the Land of Fire..."

As he spoke, a bitter smile appeared on Uchiha Makoto's lips.

These words were so precise that they struck right at Hashirama Senju's weak spot.

Uchiha Seina's tone was not only full of "tea flavor," but also perfectly portrayed the image of a "great benefactor of the ninja world" who suffered all kinds of grievances for the sake of the common people, but still had to understand the difficulties of Konoha.

Hearing this manipulative and scheming statement, Hashirama Senju felt a strong sense of guilt.

Uchiha Makoto is truly benevolent!

Despite facing immense pressure and countless criticisms, he is still thinking about Konoha's reputation and reflecting on his own shortcomings!

It can be said that the more reasonable and remorseful Makoto Uchiha appeared, the more Hashirama Senju felt that Tobirama Senju had acted extremely unfairly this time!

Meanwhile, Tobirama Senju, sitting to the side, watched all of this with a cold eye.

Looking at Uchiha Makoto's extremely hypocritical and pretentious face, frantically trying to elevate his own worth, and then at his older brother's foolish way of being moved by Uchiha Makoto's few green tea words and completely manipulated... he originally didn't want to waste his breath on this meaningless verbal dispute.

But now, seeing this disgusting scene, Tobirama Senju simply couldn't hold back anymore!

"Uchiha Makoto, you really know how to pat yourself on the back!"

"Don't play the victim here. I doubt your intentions are as pure as you claim!"

"Since you keep saying everything is for the Land of Fire, why didn't you report to the Daimyo in the capital beforehand that you arbitrarily sent ninjas to confiscate the property of the Land of Fire's nobles and interfered in local affairs?!"

"Now that the Daimyo is furious and demanding Konoha's intervention, will you still wear this innocent face when facing the Fire Country Daimyo's questioning afterwards?!"

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Tobirama Senju's questioning was extremely sharp, directly tearing away Makoto Uchiha's disguise.

These are issues that cannot be explored in depth.

Because if he were to actually weigh himself, Uchiha Makoto would have to purge the court of corrupt officials even if he didn't want to now.

Therefore, in the face of Tobirama Senju's aggressive questioning, Makoto Uchiha did not defend himself, but continued to make scheming remarks, repeatedly admitting that it was all his fault, that he was young and impetuous and did not think things through, which caused Konoha to be implicated as well.

"It's all my fault."

"It was my youthful impetuosity; I was only thinking about saving people and didn't consider things carefully enough, failing to complete the proper procedures... which caused Konoha to be implicated as well, and led the Daimyo to misunderstand everyone. All the blame lies with me..."

Uchiha Makoto lowered his head slightly, his tone becoming increasingly sincere and aggrieved, as he continued his top-tier "green tea" offensive.

Hashirama Senju was a kind-hearted man. Seeing Makoto Uchiha being interrogated by his younger brother until he repeatedly admitted his mistakes, he felt extremely distressed.

He couldn't stand this, so he stepped forward to defend Uchiha Makoto.

"Tobirama, what are you doing?!"

"Isn't Makoto doing all this for the Land of Fire! Even if the Daimyo doesn't understand the situation, don't you?"

"How could you do this... As the Hokage, why didn't you consult with Makoto Uchiha beforehand?"

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In that instant, Tobirama Senju felt a surge of blood rushing to his throat!

He already harbored a lot of resentment towards Hashirama Senju for insisting on attending Madara Uchiha's funeral despite all the obstacles.

If it weren't for my eldest brother's stubbornness, how could the situation have become so bad?!

Now, his elder brother has sided with Uchiha Makoto without even distinguishing right from wrong, and is even blaming him instead. This is simply going against the natural order!

"Big brother... that's enough!!"

"You don't understand anything at all! Do you really think what you're seeing is true?!"

"That born evil brat Uchiha Makoto is up to no good! Not a single word he utters is true; it's all a scheme to annex Konoha!"

"And you...you've been like this since the village was founded! You've never stood in my shoes, nor have you ever considered anything from a realistic perspective!"

Tobirama Senju's eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was filled with a suppressed and frenzied energy.

Hashirama Senju was stunned by his younger brother Tobirama's sudden outburst.

He looked at his younger brother, who seemed somewhat unfamiliar to him, a flicker of surprise in his eyes, and instinctively retorted, "Tobirama... how could you say that?"

"Everything I've done is for everyone's sake... for the peace of Konoha..."

"For Konoha's sake? Ha..." Tobirama Senju sneered as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world. "All these years... what have you actually considered for Konoha?!"

"Is it spreading your ridiculous sympathy everywhere? Or is it spending your days eating, drinking, gambling, and doing absolutely nothing productive in Konoha Village?!"

"It was me! It was Tobirama Senju who worked day and night on the documents! It was me who secretly handled those dirty, shady tasks! It was me who silently cleaned up your messes, single-handedly holding Konoha together as it is today!"

Tobirama Senju became more and more excited as he spoke.

"In my opinion, the only truly correct and valuable thing you've done for Konoha over the years was personally killing that scourge, Uchiha Madara!"

"I still don't understand what's going on in your head!!"

"With Konoha in such a difficult situation right now, you still risk exposing your physical condition by forcibly going to Akatsuki to attend the funeral of Madara Uchiha, that old Uchiha who betrayed Konoha..."

After enduring so much, Tobirama Senju finally took this opportunity to speak out some of the truths he had kept bottled up inside, and vented his resentment.

Although from the perspective of Makoto Uchiha, an outsider, Tobirama Senju's remarks make sense.

The reason why Akatsuki Village has been able to develop rapidly in the Land of Fire over the years, and even expand to its current state, is not only due to Makoto Uchiha's own methods, but also inseparable from the various "foolish" assists provided by Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, from time to time.

And Madara Uchiha was indeed a liability to Konoha.

Uchiha Makoto did a lot of things by using Uchiha Madara's name to stir up trouble within Konoha.

The mere hype surrounding Madara Uchiha's bid for the Second Hokage position pushed Tobirama Senju, who already had few options left, to the brink of disaster, forcibly dragging him into the fray.

In order to vie for the Hokage position, Tobirama Senju was forced to make those shady deals with Makoto Uchiha, sending ANBU ninjas to assassinate nobles of the Land of Fire.

This stab left Tobirama Senju with an extremely fatal weakness, creating an irreconcilable blood feud and rift between him and the noble forces of the Land of Fire.

These things alone have brought Akatsuki Village a great deal of benefit.

Even now, Akatsuki is still living off the legacy of Madara Uchiha, a "liability," and continues to benefit from it.

Significant.

However, for Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju's words were extremely hurtful.

Madara Uchiha was Hashirama Senju's lifelong bond, his best friend who skipped stones with him on the Naka River and helped establish Konoha!

It was also the lifelong pain of having to suppress his heartbreak and stab someone to death with his own hands in order to protect the village!

This deep and complex emotion has now been brutally trampled and denied by Tobirama Senju with such cold and disdainful words.

Uchiha Makoto watched the two arguing from the side, secretly pleased with himself.

However, he felt the fire wasn't burning hot enough and needed to be fueled further.

Immediately, Uchiha Makoto suppressed the amused look in his eyes and put on an extremely anxious expression. He leaned forward and continued his masterful "tea talk".

"Oh dear, Tobirama Senju, Lord Hashirama! Please stop arguing..."

"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have brought up those unpleasant things at this time... Lord Hashirama."

And please don't blame Tobirama Senju.

"After all, as the Second Hokage of Konoha, Tobirama Senju had to handle so many complicated administrative affairs every day, and faced such immense pressure. He was actually very tired... Under extreme fatigue and pressure, he couldn't help but... (The sentence is incomplete and ends abruptly.)"

There's no other way but to say what's truly in your heart.

"As the older brother, you should be more understanding of him."

Makoto Uchiha's words, seemingly meant to mediate and exonerate Tobirama Senju, were actually fueling the fire.

What does "words from the heart" mean?

That's exactly what Tobirama Senju truly thought; that's what you call speaking from the heart!

Hashirama Senju naturally understood the implied meaning in those words.

"Cheng...don't speak up for him."

"Tobirama, what he said today... was absolutely outrageous!"

"Lord Hashirama, please don't be angry. It's not worth ruining your health if you get angry."

"Tobirama Senju carries a heavy burden, and it's understandable that he harbors resentment. Even as an outsider, I can understand. Why do you have to..."

In a state of frenzy, Tobirama Senju finally lost his temper and interrupted Makoto Uchiha's performance.

"Stop your crocodile tears! Uchiha Makoto, don't think I don't know what your true intentions are in stirring up trouble here!"

"This is a family matter between my older brother and me, an internal affair of Konoha. It's none of your business, you inherently evil Uchiha brat, interfering here!"

Tobirama Senju wasn't stupid; how could he not see that Makoto Uchiha's teasing words were deliberately meant to sow discord?

He just couldn't hold back and spoke recklessly out of anger.

Faced with Tobirama Senju's rude and even arrogant attitude, Makoto Uchiha cowered in perfect compliance, immediately shut his mouth, and revealed a forlorn expression of "good intentions being wasted" and "having suffered a great injustice but only being able to silently endure it."

Seeing his younger brother's rude and ungrateful remarks, Hashirama Senju felt even more disappointed and heartbroken.

He even began to doubt whether entrusting Konoha to him and making him the Second Hokage was the right choice.