The morning air was crisp in the newly claimed Uchiha territory.
The stone streets still felt strange under the feet of those who had walked Konoha their whole lives, but the scent of fresh markets and the hum of activity filled the air for the first time since the caravans arrived.
Naruto spotted Shikamaru and Ino near one of the communal wells. Before he could greet them, a familiar voice called softly.
"Naruto-kun…"
He froze, turning to see Hinata standing a few paces away, her pale eyes brighter than he remembered.
"Oh—H-Hinata! You… you came here?" Naruto's grin was awkward but genuine.
She nodded slowly. "My clan followed Hiashi-sama's decision. But I also… wanted to see you."
Naruto's cheeks went a little pink. "Tch—good to see you too! Guess we'll be training together again, huh?"
Behind them, Sasuke walked past with calm steps, only to stop when he caught Ino watching him. She gave a half-smile.
"So the great Uchiha Prince still talks to people?" she teased.
Sasuke's reply was flat but not unfriendly. "If they're worth talking to."
Ino smirked faintly. "I'll take that as a start."
Not far away, Kiba was showing off his ninken to a small circle of kids — Chōji, Ino's younger cousins, a couple of Kurama children — when Naruto strolled over. Sasuke followed, hands in his pockets like he had no intention of joining in, but didn't leave. Shikamaru leaned against a wall, muttering "troublesome" under his breath, though the corner of his mouth fought a smirk.
For a moment, it almost felt like the old training ground days — before clan politics, before split loyalties, before war.
That calm didn't last.
Deep under the main hall, the reanimation chamber smelled of ink and burnt incense. Mali and Izuna stood over the prepared circle, its edges drawn with precision to limit movement once the summoning was complete. Hashirama was present too, his arms crossed, his face grim.
The air thickened as the jutsu took hold. Ash swirled, limbs formed, armor plates clinked — and then Senju Tobirama stepped forward from the smoke with eyes already sharp and suspicious.
The first words out of his mouth were a barked curse.
"Uchiha…! It's always the damned Uchiha—"
Before Mali could speak, Tobirama's hands blurred into a water-release seal, a spear of pressurized water slicing across the floor toward the nearest target — Mali himself.
Hashirama moved faster. His wooden tendrils burst from the ground, smashing the water apart in midair.
"Tobirama!" Hashirama's voice shook the chamber. "Stop this at once!"
Tobirama's eyes snapped to him — and froze. "Brother? How—"
But Hashirama was already stepping forward, fury tightening every word.
"You have disappointed me beyond measure. Because of you, because of your disciples… everything we built has turned to ash. Small children marched into wars they never should have seen. Families torn apart. Villages poisoned by suspicion and hatred."
Tobirama's face drained slightly of color. "Brother—"
"No!" Hashirama's voice cut him off like a blade. "Do you know why Konoha rotted? Because the seeds of it were planted in your orders. The ones you gave and the ones you allowed."
Tobirama's hands flexed — not in readiness, but in something closer to shame. "I… never meant…"
"You never looked beyond your fear," Hashirama said. "And now you will answer for it."
For the first time since his return, Tobirama seemed to falter. "Brother… what would you have me do?"
"You will follow Uchiha Mali," Hashirama said without hesitation. "He is the ruler of this land now. In his village, people live as mortals. They trade, they build, they work as civilians alongside an army that protects them, not uses them. No one here will be a mercenary. No one will turn war into a business."
Tobirama's eyes flicked toward Mali, then back to Hashirama. His jaw worked, like the words inside it burned to say.
"And if I refuse?" he asked finally.
Hashirama's gaze hardened. "Then you don't walk out of this chamber."
The silence that followed was long enough for the sound of the barrier seals humming to seem deafening. Finally, Tobirama — the man who had once hunted Uchiha like prey — lowered his head just enough to be read as surrender.
"…I will obey," he said quietly, though his eyes promised the decision would not come without resistance of spirit.
Mali nodded once, satisfied but not smiling. "Then we begin tomorrow. You learn the laws first."
Izuna's smirk was razor-thin. "This should be… entertaining."