Naruto, Madara is my girl.

"Five Elements Escape Technique, Yin,Yang Escape Technique, Sharingan, Ice Clan, and even Blood Dragon Eye. Wow, Sarutobi Sasuke's collection is really rich."

After marking each discovery and the hair he subtly pulled from Sarutobi Hiruzen's head with special seals, Akira Senju went straight back into research,this time diving further into new ninjutsu and the [Otsutsuki] bloodline.

Whatever was wrong with Hiruzen could wait. The Uchiha problem couldn't. Despite knowing they used tactics Akira had designed, the Uchiha had neither backed down nor surrendered. That alone guaranteed one thing: war was coming. And when it did, only those who came prepared would live through it.

Capturing Hiruzen for analysis could happen later. After the village was built, there would be time,too much of it, in fact,to study him properly.

For now? Thanks to Sarutobi Sasuke's "support," several previously locked theories could finally be put to the test. Research progress had sped up significantly with the new blood samples and data obtained from Sasuke's experiments.

Unsurprisingly, both the Senju and Uchiha knew what was coming. Even without speaking it aloud, both sides prepared for what would be their final showdown,a collision that would decide not just their own fates but the power structure of the future ninja world itself.

Should the Senju clan triumph, Uchiha would lose any remaining resolve to fight again. If Uchiha prevailed, the image of the [God of War] would be shattered forever,drawing rogue recruits to Madara's banner in waves.

For survival or pride, everyone rallied their forces and prepared for the clash to come.

Meanwhile, the smaller clans Akira drove away began spreading word across the continent. Their narrative warped and twisted with every retelling: Hashirama's overwhelming power, Senhoshi's alleged manipulation of outcomes, and above everything else,the Uchiha's mastery over the tailed beasts.

To protect themselves from retaliation and stay relevant in ninja politics, these same clans began reporting that the Senju had founded some new "alliance organization." It was nothing but self,preservation masquerading as information sharing.

Even though many factions remained skeptical of these reports at first, the movements of both major clans were too loud to ignore,especially once spies were deployed and returned with troubling news or failed to return at ALL.

Whether confirmed or not, rumors turned into songs of fear. "Senju Twin Gods." "God of Ninja." "God of War." These names echoed across meeting halls from the Land of Water to far outposts in the northern mountains.

With Akira's frightening intellect and Hashirama's brute force matched only by Uchiha's beast,wielding strength,other nations started accelerating their own consolidation in pure survival instinct.

Assassinations, forced mergers, betrayals between allies,all became common tools during this time as rival factions scrambled to form "alliances" just to not be left behind in the bloodshed ahead.

From chaos came order,or rather, clearer lines between power blocks:

The [Thunder Alliance] controlled the northeast territories,

The [Water Alliance] consolidated holdings in the east,

The [Earth Alliance] claimed mountainous terrain in the northwest,

And [Sand Alliance] solidified in the harsh lands of the southwest.

Many smaller groups remained scattered throughout the map,but none carried enough weight to matter anymore.

Everyone skirmished over territory; no one dared poke too hard at either Senju or Uchiha right now. New spies continued arriving but uncovered little beyond carefully curated outposts and misinformation traps laid by Akira himself.

In one incredible case,some spies managed to sneak across enemy lines only to return home weeks later and find out their homeland no longer existed.

After nearly three months of nonstop warfare and shifting alliances, hostilities eased,not from peace but exhaustion. Every region was now divided into hard targets too costly to conquer or simply inaccessible dead zones of strategic irrelevance.

What followed could only be described as peace by default. An uneasy silence hovered over everything like fog waiting to lift again at any moment.

Akira's sleep broke abruptly when Hashirama yanked him by his collar without warning.

"Hurry up,the sun's shining on your ass already. Everyone's waiting on you now."

Akira peeled one eye open in confusion. "Waiting? …For me?"

"The war's just around the corner," Hashirama said firmly. "They're waiting for your strategy."

"That's it?" Akira sighed and rolled away from his grip. "No rush… Let me sleep first."

"Small matter?" Hashirama snapped,and yanked him right out from under the blanket by force this time.

"The Uchiha sent their declaration of war already! If we don't start deployment now,how are we supposed to prepare defensive countermeasures?! What about choking points? Reserves? Morale tactics?! You think plans draw themselves!?"

Akira didn't even flinch as he folded his arms under his pillow again. "Five minutes… just five…"

Hashirama exhaled slowly through his nose, then leaned close and whispered next to his ear,voice dangerously cheerful:

"If you don't get up… I'll introduce you to Second Uncle's granddaughter for that blind date we talked about."

Akira sat bolt upright as if struck by lightning. "Wait,what? Second Uncle? Granddaughter?"

In his already half,lucid mind bloomed one of his worst memories: the image of that 28,year,old cousin pushing 200 kilograms of pure eagerness,her cheeks flushing awkwardly as she blew him that kiss across the courtyard,

"Ughhghg,are you insane!?"

His glare darted toward Hashirama who simply stood there grinning proudly,as if he'd won already without saying another word.

"You bastard… Fine,I'm up!"

Akira shoved open the bedroom door with one swift kick and threw on clothes mid,stride as they descended toward the war council chamber together.

Unlike before,where meetings took place in war tents full of shouting,this time everyone sat silently on neat rows of futons like students awaiting examination results.

Three seats lined the front; Tobirama already waited in one of them across from rows of bowed heads. The two remaining seats were obvious,

One for Hashirama. One for Akira.

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