Izuna, restore the glory of the Uchiha!

Izuna's somewhat gloomy conjecture proved unfounded.

Clearly, Hashirama's smooth brain was not yet able to delve into such complex and twisted emotions.

The Senju clan leader sighed heavily, as if he too realized that his more detailed questions—which, of course, concerned Madara Uchiha—were no longer appropriate to be raised in this setting.

The conversation finally got on track, and Hideaki Senju and Koichi took out paper and pen, sat up straight, and prepared to take notes.

Hashirama's emotions came and went quickly, but now it was the Senju scribe's turn to be preoccupied.

He was a clerk promoted by the elders, with no family connections and a clean background, so naturally he could only care about the interests of the elders.

The situation is very tricky:

Madara Uchiha didn't come; instead, Izuna Uchiha, the second-in-command known for his decisive and efficient actions, did.

Needless to say, they certainly won't be led astray by Hashirama, and they are very clear-headed, which also means that the situation is very unfavorable for them.

Izuna was unaware of Senju Hideaki's inner thoughts. If it was just a question posed by Hashirama, he did indeed have a plan in mind.

The first question concerns prisoners of war.

This is actually the safest issue for both clans right now. The Uchiha's act of releasing two batches of prisoners in succession has already clearly shown their attitude. Bringing it up again now is just going through the motions.

Therefore, Izuna's answer was standard and conventional.

"As the compensation materials arrive one after another, there is no doubt that the Uchiha are not a clan that does not keep their word, and the prisoners will definitely be released in a timely manner."

Hashirama and Senju Hideaki both nodded. They didn't need to ask any more questions about the time. As long as the money was in their accounts, releasing the prisoners would be a simple matter for the Uchiha clan. Both sides were well aware of this.

Immediately afterwards, Hashirama nervously rubbed his hands together and asked the second question: about the Uchiha's attitude toward peace talks.

The relationship between the two clans at this time was actually very delicate, and the Uchiha's act of releasing prisoners undoubtedly showed a strong tendency towards goodwill.

However, their attitude toward signing a contract or becoming allies is ambiguous, which makes it impossible for the Senju leadership to understand the Uchiha's true intentions.

Perhaps these envious people are only releasing those lives in exchange for supplies because they're greedy? Will they start fighting again once they've calmed down?

In reality, there was only one reason why Izuna tried so hard to postpone signing the alliance: he needed his clan to have a smooth transition period into the era of the ninja village.

Whether it was setting up technical schools, winning over the Hyuga clan and the Daimyo, or establishing laboratories and hospitals, all of these were preparations for the Uchiha clan after the establishment of Konoha.

In order to prevent the Uchiha clan from falling into the same embarrassing political situation as in the original story, he could only keep prolonging this ambiguous transition period in order to make more thorough preparations.

After all, once the alliance is signed, the rest will snowball, becoming increasingly complex and rapid, and the development will be beyond his control.

Therefore, for the long term, he hoped that the peace agreement would be signed after the prisoners were released, while the formal establishment of the village could be postponed further, so as to extend the Uchiha's development period as much as possible.

Of course, enslaving Tobirama as much as possible was also an indispensable part of his plan, since Tobirama was just too useful.

Izuna smiled slightly at Hashirama:

"Lord Hashirama, the deep-seated blood feud between our two clans is not something that can be easily resolved. I believe that as the clan leader, you understand this better than anyone else."

Upon hearing this, both Hashirama and Senju Hideaki's expressions darkened, as if they were sliding into the worst possible scenario.

However, Izuna's next words rekindled their hope.

"Whether it's a more basic ceasefire and peace talks, or a more profound form of co-governance, it's all negotiable."

He spread his hands, his tone relaxed:

"Since we don't intend to continue fighting in the war, as long as we are sincere, we should be able to come up with a solution."

Izuna remained smiling, and his words, coupled with his warm, sun-like expression, immediately eased the tension between the two people opposite him.

If there's something to talk about, that's a good thing!

Hashirama was very happy. Madara's younger brother was indeed like Madara, holding a lofty belief in peace. So he took the opportunity to ask the next question.

"So, what preparations need to be made during peace negotiations?"

The meaning of this sentence is quite clear:

What additional price should the Senju have to pay for peace negotiations?

This is also the most important question after confirming the Uchiha's attitude.

If they can accept the conditions offered by Izuna, then everyone will be happy.

If the Uchiha clan makes exorbitant demands, the current peaceful situation could revert to its original state within days.

In short, this is a very important issue.

Izuna did not answer immediately; he knew what "Thousand Hands" meant.

Knowing that as long as his demands weren't excessive, Senju, eager for peace, would generally grit his teeth and agree, he also knew that this was the ultimate purpose of Senju and his group proposing this meeting—to test their bottom line.

But you need to get him to make some specific demands about the situation six months or a year from now.

This is undoubtedly asking too much of a man, after all, the situation in the ninja world changes in an instant, and it is difficult for him to predict how things will develop and change in a few months.

Therefore, he could only give a somewhat unclear, but absolutely reassuring, answer:

"This is a major matter concerning the future of both races, and we need to consult Ban's opinion; it's not something I can decide on my own."

Senju Hideaki frowned almost imperceptibly upon hearing this, because it was tantamount to saying nothing at all and passing the buck back, which would be difficult to explain to the elders.

However, upon hearing this, Hashirama raised his eyebrows in delight, which was probably the biggest smile he had tonight besides winning money.

He believed that Ban would make a detailed consideration of the future of both races!

With the negotiations concluded, the outcome was essentially decided.

What followed were a few trivial questions, which were answered fluently by both sides in a harmonious atmosphere with no apparent conflict.

With that, the secret meeting was drawing to a close. The group packed their things, stood up, and prepared to go their separate ways.

Hashirama waited for Senju Hideaki to pack his things when he suddenly slapped his forehead, remembering that he had forgotten an important matter. He stopped Izuna, who was about to leave first, and said urgently:

"What about Tobirama? How has he been lately?"

Izuna pulled his foot back from the door, his question now answered.

Tobirama, it turns out your brother did care about you, he just simply forgot about you.

However, he couldn't possibly tell Hashirama that Tobirama was contributing the Senju's power to the Uchiha's great cause.

Wouldn't that be like walking into a trap? They only need to think about the experiments Tobirama had done before to guess how absurd these two are doing now.

Seeing Hashirama's expectant face, Izuna's answer remained calm and indifferent:

"He's perfectly fine, don't worry about him."

Hashirama was a little confused by Izuna's answer. What did he mean by "lively and energetic"?

However, Izuna's intention not to explain in detail was quite clear. In front of Senju Hideaki, he couldn't very well ask about the purpose of the cells he had sent over, so he had no choice but to give up.

"That's good……"

Hashirama had no choice but to accept this explanation.