(PS: Since Senju Hashirama's son did not appear in the original work, and the identity of Tsunade's father is unknown, for influential characters like Senju Hashirama, I couldn't create an original character to be Hashirama's son. Some readers dislike original characters, but for the sake of plot coherence and rationality, Tsunade is directly introduced here and set at 3 years old. You can simply ignore Hashirama's son.)
While Iwagakure was celebrating the New Year with great fanfare,
Konoha was also celebrating.
This year, Konoha had a relatively good time.
The Ninja School, Anbu, and Administrative Department were established one by one in Konoha. Coupled with the large amount of funding provided by the Land of Fire's Daimyo, and the diligence of Konoha Ninja themselves, Konoha was relatively stable, except for the situation with Kumogakure.
"Happy New Year!"
Senju Tobirama, now the Nidaime, came to visit Uzumaki Mito's home.
"Hmm, Tsunade, come quickly and pay your respects to your grand-uncle."
Uzumaki Mito called out the three-year-old Tsunade.
Little Tsunade, reluctantly holding dice, was called out by Uzumaki Mito.
"Hmm, little Tsuna, what new poems have you learned recently?"
Senju Tobirama slowly sat down and asked while drinking tea.
Tsunade said nothing, still fiddling with the dice in her hand.
"Your grand-uncle is asking you, Tsunade. If you're going to be so impolite again, you can go outside and stand!" Uzumaki Mito said with gentle anger.
Only then did Tsunade reluctantly put down the dice, quickly searching her mind for the poems she had learned.
She suddenly recalled a poem created by the Tsuchikage of the neighboring Village, which she had seen in the newspaper earlier.
"Grand-uncle, yes, I'll recite it for you now..."
Tsunade, with her small hands behind her back, began to recite: "Forty years of home and country, three thousand li of mountains and rivers..."
The more Senju Tobirama listened, the more something felt off. How did this poem feel like it was slandering him?
"Forty years of home and country"—he was almost forty now.
"Three thousand li of mountains and rivers"—while a bit exaggerated, the territory of the Land of Fire conquered by foreign enemies was not far from that number...
Uzumaki Mito, beside him, also felt increasingly uneasy.
She quickly told Tsunade to stop.
"Alright, Tsunade, stop reciting."
Uzumaki Mito quickly pulled Tsunade closer, looking apologetically at Senju Tobirama.
Senju Tobirama smiled helplessly and asked, "Little Tsuna, where did you learn this from?"
"Hmm... I saw it in the newspaper, written by the Tsuchikage of the neighboring Village..."
Tsunade pouted and told the truth.
Upon hearing it was Mu, Senju Tobirama felt a bit upset again.
Damn it, that bastard Mu.
"Tsunade, here are your dice. Go play."
Uzumaki Mito quickly handed the dice to Tsunade, sending her away.
"Hehe... It's nothing..."
Senju Tobirama waved his hand.
Now, the northern and southern parts of the Land of Fire had been reclaimed. Only Hidden Mist and Iwagakure were more troublesome, so he could only rely on the wisdom of those who came later.
"Kumogakure recently sent word, showing an intention for peace talks. Perhaps the war is about to end..."
Senju Tobirama showed a relieved expression.
"Be careful, don't fall into a trap!"
Uzumaki Mito warned.
"Don't worry, my jutsu is almost perfected..." Senju Tobirama said meaningfully.
Uzumaki Mito showed a serious expression and said nothing.
...On the other side, in Iwagakure.
"Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!"
"Mu, I didn't expect you could write poetry. This poem of yours is excellent, especially the 'three thousand li of mountains and rivers' part..."
Mu and Hōzuki Gengetsu were admiring Mu's previous poem.
Since the New Year passed, Hōzuki Gengetsu had extended his visit by seven days.
During these seven days, the two played together.
They soaked in hot springs, visited temple fairs, admired the lanterns, fished, ate grilled snacks in Iwagakure's commercial street, and watched the unique rock rain of the Land of Earth.
Hōzuki Gengetsu even wanted to stay in Iwagakure and not leave.
Now, thinking back to that godforsaken place, Hidden Mist,
What kind of bitter life had he lived before!
Hōzuki Gengetsu didn't want to go back.
It was truly 'joyful to forget the mist'.
Before coming, he had thought Iwagakure was still full of mud houses and stones, like before.
Who said Iwagakure was bad? Iwagakure is fantastic!
"By the way, this poem of yours couldn't possibly be alluding to Senju Tobirama, could it?" Hōzuki Gengetsu said with a mischievous smile.
"No! Absolutely not!"
Mu immediately denied it.
Actually, this was just something he wrote in his spare time; it wasn't even his original work.
"Ah~ These days in Iwagakure have been too comfortable. Indeed, when I'm with you, it's the most relaxed time. Those Kekkei Genkai clans in Hidden Mist are too scheming. My brain cells are almost dead from being with them..."
Hōzuki Gengetsu said, lying on the tatami.
"You are the Village's Kage. You've been here so long, aren't you afraid of being usurped and sidelined by those people?"
Mu spoke quietly.
"Sigh! Let them sideline me, then. I'm quitting. Being a Kage is a tough job, especially in Hidden Mist. I really don't know how old man Byakuren endured it."
Hōzuki Gengetsu said, closing his eyes, looking like he had given up.
"Oh? Who are your political rivals?"
Mu narrowed his eyes slightly. Because Hidden Mist had always maintained a policy of secrecy, and he hadn't dispatched Anbu to Hidden Mist, he wasn't clear about the situation there.
"Hmph! Don't mention that person who uses Ice Release. That person has always insisted on a high-pressure policy, and I can't stand it. And old man Byakuren gave that person immense power before he died."
Hōzuki Gengetsu said through gritted teeth.
"So that's how it is..."
Mu's intelligence had already guessed who that person was.
Uses Ice Release, that's already close enough.
Do you remember the young man standing behind Byakuren in the Five Kage Summit in the original work?
In the original work, the Kage of the four Villages all brought their respective second-in-commands.
Only Byakuren brought that nameless person, who was the Third Mizukage.
It can be seen that Byakuren did not bring Hōzuki Gengetsu in the original work, possibly meaning that the Third Mizukage was more to Byakuren's liking, or perhaps Hōzuki Gengetsu and the Third Mizukage had a conflict.
The two might have been opposites.
Hōzuki Gengetsu was cheerful and carefree, while the Third Mizukage was similar to Byakuren, leaning towards a high-pressure, serious policy (the original work described Byakuren as serious and high-pressure).
Based on Mu's understanding of Hōzuki Gengetsu,
Hōzuki Gengetsu, being optimistic, cheerful, and open-minded, could never have created the Bloody Mist Village.
(PS: Some people say the Bloody Mist was created by Madara and Obito. Although Madara showed signs of controlling Hidden Mist, why would Madara create the Bloody Mist Village? Obito is even less likely. When Zabuza was about the same age as Kakashi and slaughtered his classmates, Obito was still kissing Rin's photo...)
Therefore, the Bloody Mist Village was most likely caused by the Third Mizukage.
"It's not that I'm trying to stir up internal conflicts within your Hidden Mist, but you need to be careful of that person..."
Mu looked at Hōzuki Gengetsu seriously.
"Hmm, I will. Hehe, how could an outsider harm me? Only insiders can harm me..." Hōzuki Gengetsu said sarcastically, expressing his dissatisfaction with Hidden Mist's internal affairs.
Late at night, Hōzuki Gengetsu led his visiting delegation away from Iwagakure.
Before leaving, Hōzuki Gengetsu expressed his desire to live in Iwagakure after retirement.
Mu naturally agreed to allow it.
"Take care, Mu..."
Hōzuki Gengetsu tightly clasped Mu's hand, then left.
"Tsuchikage-sama, the latest intelligence from the Land of Fire intelligence station!"
After Hōzuki Gengetsu left, Anbu quickly arrived.
Mu opened the scroll and saw.
It was news that Konoha and Kumogakure were going to hold peace talks.
Mu's eyes narrowed slightly. Could the plot have advanced a few years?
Senju Tobirama might be killed by the Gold and Silver Brothers...
"Hmm..."
Mu would not allow Senju Tobirama to live on indefinitely.
Konoha had a strong foundation and many Bloodline Limits. If it developed wholeheartedly, it would be a threat to Iwagakure.
"Perhaps I can try... If the Gold and Silver Brothers can't kill him, I'll go personally to finish him off, and while I'm at it, kill Hiruzen Sarutobi and a series of other successors..."
Mu's eyes narrowed slightly.
A hint of killing intent shot out from his eyes.
.....
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