Chapter 097: Battles of the Past

Before the founding of Konoha, battles were fought between clans.

Today you attack me, tomorrow I attack you—it was utter chaos.

Some clans harbored deep-seated hatred for each other, wishing to completely annihilate the other, even to the point of extermination. For instance, the Uchiha and Senju clans were once enemies.

Thus, the shinobi world at that time was in terrible turmoil.

To pacify the chaotic world, Hashirama Senju joined forces with his enemy clan, the Uchiha, and together with Madara Uchiha, they established Konoha.

For the sake of their shared dream, Madara Uchiha even set aside a tremendous grudge.

His younger brother, Izuna Uchiha, had been killed by Hashirama’s brother, Tobirama Senju. It is well known that the Uchiha clan is one of intense emotions.

Itachi Uchiha’s love for Sasuke Uchiha proves this.

And Madara Uchiha’s love for his brother Izuna was certainly no less than Itachi’s.

Yet even so, he set aside his hatred and joined hands with Hashirama Senju—one must say this was truly a profound bond.

The two founded Konoha and invited many clans to join, making it a colossal entity.

Seeing this, ninja clans from other countries followed suit, establishing villages like Kirigakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure, thus ending the Warring States period.

To maintain peace, Hashirama Senju personally captured all nine tailed beasts and distributed them among the other ninja villages, keeping only the Nine-Tails as Konoha’s jinchūriki.

Hashirama Senju originally thought this would balance everyone’s power and preserve peace, preventing easy outbreaks of war. But who could have imagined this was merely a false peace?

People feared the strength of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, so they dared not start conflicts lightly.

However, after Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha died, things went to hell.

The Great Ninja War!

Or rather, the First Great Ninja War broke out.

Before Hashirama Senju founded Konoha, the shinobi world was chaotic and full of wars, but the scale of battles was not large. After Konoha’s founding, the scale of battles rapidly expanded.

The term 'First Great Ninja War' alone says it all.

This war was no longer between clans but escalated into a war between nations, with dozens of clans united against dozens of clans.

The scale was so vast it could only be described as tragic.

In this war, the Hokage, Raikage, Mizukage, and Tsuchikage all fell, the fighting was extremely brutal. It also halted exchanges among the five great nations, leaving lasting scars and hatred in the hearts of shinobi from each village.

This laid the groundwork for the Second and even the Third Great Ninja Wars.

From this, it is clear that the system Hashirama Senju established did not resolve war. Tsunade Senju knew this well, yet now she heard Wang Bo claim he could establish a thousand-year regime without large-scale wars.

Her first reaction was that he was boasting.

Precisely because she had witnessed the cruelty of war, she found it hard to believe that people could understand each other, and a thousand-year regime seemed utterly unreliable.

Seeing Tsunade Senju’s expression of disbelief, Wang Bo did not elaborate. “In any case, I promise you: once the shinobi world is unified, your Konoha shinobi will return to Konoha.”

Tsunade Senju frowned and said, “The path to unifying the shinobi world is fraught with difficulties. I cannot trust you. Perhaps before you unify it, Konoha’s shinobi will have been wiped out by you.”

Wang Bo shook his head and said, “You underestimate me. Unifying the shinobi world is as easy as turning my hand—it requires no effort at all.”

Tsunade Senju said, “Let’s set aside the Kazekage of the Wind-Earth Alliance for now, but the Tsuchikage is cunning and powerful, possessing a Kekkei Tōta. Two countries, plus many small nations, are no weaker than the Land of Fire.”

“And the Land of Water has conquered the Land of Lightning. The Mizukage defeated the Raikage with a single punch, showing immense strength. I believe he might be no weaker than my grandfather, Hashirama Senju. Both factions are formidable in their own ways. How will you unify the shinobi world?”

Wang Bo laughed heartily and said, “The Wind-Earth Alliance is nothing but chickens and dogs—beneath mention. The Tsuchikage may seem strong, but if I want to kill him, I won’t need a second move. As for the Mizukage, you need not worry; he is my natural ally. Soon, the Land of Fire, the Land of Water, and the Land of Lightning will merge into one vast power. Then unifying the shinobi world will only be a matter of time.”

Tsunade Senju’s face showed surprise, and she couldn’t help asking, “The Land of Fire merging with the Land of Water? What exactly is your relationship with the Mizukage?”

“We are natural allies, no less than your grandfather Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha,” Wang Bo replied.

Tsunade Senju grew even more uneasy. “My grandfather and Madara Uchiha later fell out.”

The battle at the Valley of the End is known to all.

After her grandfather defeated Madara Uchiha, he died not long after.

Wang Bo reassured Tsunade Senju, “Rest assured, the Mizukage and I will never reach that point, because we have no interest in power. Once we unify the shinobi world, we will both retire and support the younger generation to take over.”

Tsunade Senju felt deceived.

You two work so hard to conquer the world and unify the shinobi world, just to support the younger generation?

No one in their right mind would believe that.

Wang Bo read her expression and chuckled. “If you don’t believe me, I can’t help it, but that’s the truth. Even if, in the worst case, the Mizukage and I fall out, whether I kill him or he kills me, it won’t affect the outcome, because by then we will have already unified the shinobi world.”

Tsunade Senju listened and fell into deep thought.

After a long while, she slowly said, “If that’s really the case, then you might actually unify the shinobi world.”

In fact, her grandfather and Madara Uchiha once had the chance to unify the shinobi world, but unfortunately, their ideals clashed, and they fell out, leading to the battle at the Valley of the End.

If they had worked together back then, the three Great Ninja Wars would never have happened, and her younger brother Nawaki Senju and her lover Dan Katō would not have died.

But if her grandfather had truly unified the shinobi world, perhaps she would never have met Dan Katō.

After all, she and Dan Katō met because of the matter of medical ninja.

If the shinobi world had been unified, she would have been the princess of the shinobi world, the proposal for medical ninja would never have been obstructed, and she would never have met that young ninja from the Katō clan.

Compared to the Senju clan, the Katō clan was truly insignificant—indeed, too unremarkable.

As Tsunade Senju’s thoughts raced, Wang Bo spoke up, “So, how about it? Would you like to join my ranks and contribute to unifying the shinobi world and eliminating war?”

After all, in the shinobi world, Tsunade Senju’s medical skills were absolutely second to none.