Under Senju Tobirama's series of ingenious maneuvers, Uchiha Kagami's heart was completely ignited by the fire will.
He now firmly believed that everything he did was for the peaceful coexistence of the Clan and the Village. Seeing what his teacher Tobirama had done, the excitement in his heart surged like a tide, difficult to suppress.
Suddenly, Uchiha Kagami remembered his father, the man who once bore the same mission.
His father's entire life was dedicated to silently working for the harmony of the Clan and the Village, and now, he was following in his father's footsteps, inheriting his legacy.
"So, Father, actually had such a great wish!" Uchiha Kagami couldn't help but exclaim, "For the harmonious coexistence of the Clan and the Village, he always silently contributed in the shadows, never showing the slightest slack. This is the so-called fire will, it's truly too moving!"
Recalling his father's teachings, Uchiha Kagami gained a deeper understanding of Teacher Tobirama's actions. Teacher Tobirama broke down the barriers between Clans, disregarding Uchiha Clan's identity, and resolutely took him as a disciple. This made Uchiha Kagami suddenly realize: "No wonder Father always said that for the Village to have a future, it must break down the barriers between Clans and not view other Clans with narrow-mindedness. Only then can everyone truly coexist harmoniously! And peace can come."
"And now, I must also inherit the will left by Father and achieve this goal!"
Thinking of this.
Uchiha Kagami's face was filled with self-move, as if he had already grasped the true meaning of the fire will.
Although Senju Tobirama on the opposite side showed approval and even gave various encouraging glances from time to time, in reality, he was secretly sneering in his heart: "This Uchiha Clan truly lives up to its reputation! Someone can actually believe such foolish words, they are a bunch of out-and-out lunatics! The fire will is good, and the harmonious coexistence of the various Clans in the Village is also good, but the premise of all this is that the Uchiha Clan is excluded, because the Uchiha Clan is inherently evil!"
"How can the inherently evil Uchiha Clan coexist harmoniously with us in a Village of the fire will?"
However, fortunately, Uchiha Kagami was an enemy. His belief in such absurd statements made it easier for him to implement his plans against the Uchiha Clan.
Senju Tobirama looked at Uchiha Kagami with an encouraging expression, letting this emotionally rich disciple play freely.
Uchiha Kagami said confidently: "Teacher Tobirama, don't worry! I will definitely complete this mission perfectly. With such an excellent teacher like you guiding me, plus my talent, I will definitely be able to contact all the geniuses within the Clan. I will treat them as my companions, unite them around me, and together uphold the inheritance of the fire will!"
Under Senju Tobirama's clever guidance, Uchiha Kagami completely misunderstood the true purpose of his contact with the Uchiha Clan geniuses. He naively believed that doing so was to break down the barriers between the Clan and the Village and achieve harmonious coexistence between them.
However, Senju Tobirama's true intention was to deeply understand the inner thoughts of these Uchiha genius Ninja, in order to obtain more information about them, including their personality traits, Ninjutsu, emotional bonds, etc., and to make specific targeted arrangements based on the key points in this information.
However, in Uchiha Kagami's eyes, collecting intelligence was crucial for the Hokage who controlled the Village.
After all, the Hokage bore the safety of the entire Village, and any factor that might affect the Village's stability needed to be taken into consideration.
Even if the collected intelligence came from the Clan, it was merely a goal that the Hokage was destined to pursue.
Uchiha Kagami couldn't help but wonder: Was it really necessary for the Clan to guard against Teacher Tobirama so strictly?
In his view, as Hokage, one should uphold the principle of impartiality, eliminate all potential threats to the Village, and constantly watch those with malicious intentions. Since the Clan desired harmonious coexistence with the Village, they should show enough sincerity and proactively disclose their information in exchange for the Village's trust.
Based on this understanding, Uchiha Kagami had no doubts about Teacher Senju Tobirama's series of arrangements. In his heart, these measures were simply part of the Hokage's duty, nothing more natural.
This undoubtedly greatly pleased Senju Tobirama. He couldn't help but show a satisfied smile, pointing at Uchiha Kagami and excitedly saying: "You are the best Uchiha!"
After Senju Tobirama dealt with the matter of Uchiha Ming, the Uchiha Clan's only sacrifice, his mood grew heavier.
He couldn't help but recall the other people who had also lost their lives, their faces constantly flashing in his mind, making him unable to let go. However, he knew he couldn't wallow in sadness, because there were more important things waiting for him to complete.
Senju Tobirama took a deep breath, trying to calm his emotions, and forced a smile on his face.
When his gaze fell on his disciple, especially when he saw the bright red slap mark on Uchiha Kagami's right cheek, a sudden urge to continue beating him surged in Senju Tobirama's heart, so he pulled Uchiha Kagami and said: "Let's go! In order to make the Uchiha Clan's geniuses more convinced by you, as your teacher, I think it's necessary to improve your strength. So, let me teach you well!"
Uchiha Kagami was completely unaware that he had become Senju Tobirama's punching bag. He excitedly followed behind Senju Tobirama, full of anticipation for the upcoming teaching.
After a long time.
Senju Tobirama finally ended his teaching of Uchiha Kagami with satisfaction.
At this moment, Uchiha Kagami's body was incredibly battered, as if he had just endured a brutal battle.
Senju Tobirama looked at Uchiha Kagami's wretched state, feeling a surge of satisfaction in his heart, but maintained a calm expression as he said, "Remember, this is the price of true training. Don't shrink back, don't evade. Only by enduring this pain can you become stronger!"
Finally, with a heavy heart, he began to go door-to-door to deliver news of the sacrifices to their families.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Kagami, dragging his exhausted body, struggled back home.
As he massaged his injuries, he secretly lamented, "Tobirama Sensei's teaching is too strict. I feel like I'm almost crippled…"
…
While Senju Tobirama was troubled by how to deal with the many sacrifices.
At the same time, Senju Hashirama, using information gathered by the Anbu, pinpointed the general location of the Earth Spider Clan.
Combined with his perception of natural energy.
He specifically used the convergence points of natural energy to conduct a step-by-step search, eventually locating the Earth Spider Clan's habitat.
Mount Katsuragi.
At the foot of the mountain was a castle named Katsuyama Castle.
This was the gathering place for the ordinary members of the Earth Spider Clan, where tens of thousands of people thrived, making the area bustling with life.
On normal days, these ordinary members of the Earth Spider Clan never mentioned the name Earth Spider, instead identifying themselves as ordinary people, and their interactions with the outside world were quite limited. Most of the time, they would only go out to procure supplies and acquire rare resources under the guidance of the Clan's Ninja.
But most of the time, they were self-sufficient.
"This is the place!" Senju Hashirama, dressed in plain clothes, looked up and observed the natural energy fluctuations within the mountains.
That place was Mount Katsuragi, the peak of the mountain range.
At the center of its peak, heavily enveloped by various formations and barriers, was a sunken area with a prominent fortress.
The protruding fortress and the sunken perimeter formed a gap of over a hundred meters, with a hundreds-of-meters-deep pit in the middle of the gap. Without special methods of entry, it would be extremely difficult to infiltrate. This was where the true elite Ninja of the Earth Spider Clan usually resided.
As the Earth Spider Clan, which relied on the Forbidden Technique: Raging Lion Hair for its survival, it naturally also possessed extremely serious flaws.
That is, if they encounter certain surprise attacks, they cannot use their Forbidden Technique and can only become lambs to the slaughter.
After all, in the entire Ninja World, the Earth Spider Clan, apart from its famous Forbidden Technique: Raging Lion Hair, is truly incomparable to the so-called prominent Ninja World Clans in other aspects.
In terms of Ninjutsu, they are inferior to any first-rate Clan in the Ninja World; in terms of Taijutsu, they can hardly compare to the descendants of Sage bloodlines like the Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan; and in terms of Genjutsu, it goes without saying, the existence of many Dojutsu Kekkei Genkai in the Ninja World are beyond their reach.
Aside from that mutually destructive Forbidden Technique, they have no opportunity to use their Forbidden Technique in a head-on confrontation. Any Genjutsu master can easily control them; any Clan Head Level expert, if they possess information about their Forbidden Technique, can calmly deal with it. Methods such as Space-Time Ninjutsu and special defensive measures can all circumvent the destructive power of Forbidden Technique: Raging Lion Hair.
Furthermore, once the power of the Earth Spider Clan's Forbidden Technique is known, it will even lead to a collective assault.
For this reason, the Earth Spider Clan has always adhered to the principle of not acting unless necessary, but once they do, they must destroy all intelligence information to prevent their own Forbidden Technique from being deciphered and targeted by enemies.
It is also for this reason that the Earth Spider Clan, unlike conventional Ninja, does not take on missions, expand their reputation, or pursue more wealth and status. They simply guard a single location, self-sufficient and not provoking any forces, as they truly lack the capital.
Their only means of survival is to expend their own geniuses to create mutually destructive "bombs."
Therefore, there must be a sufficiently safe place for those who bear the Forbidden Technique to survive safely.
And that was the Katsuragi Mountain Fortress.
And at this moment.
Inside the fortress, in the spacious reception hall of the Earth Spider Clan, the atmosphere was somewhat solemn.
The Clan Head, Spider Elder, sat in the center, with the Clan's elders kneeling on either side. They all quietly watched the center of the reception hall, where one person stood—Senju Hashirama.
Senju Hashirama stood in the center of the conference hall, his body slightly leaning forward, his hands naturally hanging down. Suddenly, without warning, he knelt on both knees, then sharply slammed his forehead against the ground, producing a clear thud.
This action astonished everyone present, especially the members of the Earth Spider Clan, who had never expected this legendary God of Shinobi to so directly bow his head in apology.
It should be noted that even in rumors, Senju Hashirama's act of bowing his head in gratitude during the so-called Five Great Nations' Five Kage Summit to implore everyone to participate in negotiations between the Five Great Nations was considered just a rumor.
However, now that they had witnessed this scene with their own eyes, they couldn't help but gain a new understanding of the true character of this "God of Shinobi."
The Earth Spider members on the side exchanged glances, somewhat at a loss for what to do. They had originally expected Senju Hashirama to face this matter with an arrogant demeanor, but they never imagined he would humble himself so much to admit his mistake.
And Spider Elder, who had once observed the battle between Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama from afar, now wore a helpless expression. He knew more about Senju Hashirama than others, but even so, he hadn't expected Senju Hashirama to lower himself to such a degree in this situation.