By the time Senju Hashirama reached the battlefield, half the Hyūga compound looked like a storm had ripped through it. Walls crumbled, dust hung thick in the air, and chakra still crackled in the shattered courtyards.
Seeing the destruction turned his blood cold.
But when he spotted who was fighting, everything inside him stopped.
"…Tobirama?"
His own brother, in the center of the chaos, clashing head-on with Hyūga Tennin.
The anger that surged through Hashirama was sharp enough to drown out every thought.
"STOP!!"
His roar rolled across the district like thunder. Chakra burst from him in a wave, sweeping tiles and debris aside as if the world itself shrank back in fear.
Every shinobi turned toward him, shoulders locking under the weight of his presence.
"Lord Hashirama…!"
Relief and dread mixed in their voices. No one had dared intervene before. Tobirama and Tennin were too high-ranked, too politically dangerous to restrain by force.
But Hashirama had no such hesitation.
Tennin and Tobirama split apart at his shout, both pulling back.
Only Tobirama didn't get far.
Hashirama blurred forward.
His fist sank into Tobirama's gut before anyone even saw him move.
"—gh!"
Tobirama's breath exploded out of him as he flew backward, blood arcing from his mouth before he skidded across broken stone.
"Tobirama."
Hashirama's voice trembled with barely buried fury.
"Explain why. Why were you fighting in the middle of the village?"
"Big Brother—"
Tobirama staggered to his feet, clutching his ribs.
But before he could speak, another voice cut in.
"It was my clan's matter," Hyūga Tennin said, stepping forward with formal calm, though his Byakugan still simmered with the remnants of battle.
Tobirama's face went tight.
Hashirama raised a hand without looking at him.
"Tobirama. Quiet."
The younger brother shut his mouth immediately, jaw tight.
Tennin bowed sharply.
"Since everyone has gathered… I will repeat what Senju Tobirama said in our clan grounds."
And he did.
Word for word.
The secret meetings.
The ambition.
The attempt to secure support for making Hashirama the new, permanent Hokage.
Everything.
The crowd rippled with a sharp intake of breath.
Even Hashirama's expression faltered.
"Tobirama," Hashirama whispered, voice tight, "is this true?"
"…Big Brother…"
Tobirama lowered his eyes, saying nothing.
That silence was answer enough.
Hashirama exhaled sharply and closed his eyes for a moment, shoulders trembling.
Then—
He dropped to his knees.
A full prostration before the assembled clans, forehead striking stone hard enough to break skin.
Blood dripped down onto the dust.
"The Hokage position was never my desire," Hashirama said, voice thick but steady. "I accepted leadership only to stabilize Konoha until Raizen-dono returns. If my brother's actions have brought shame to this village, then as the elder brother, I will bear the responsibility."
"Hashirama-sama!"
"T-that's—!"
Shock rippled through the crowd.
Even Hyūga Tennin flinched, his disciplined mask cracking for a moment.
But Hashirama didn't rise.
He pressed his palms flat against the ground.
"Senju Hashirama will accept any punishment. I will not defend myself."
The sincerity choked the air.
Even the wind felt still.
Everyone knew the truth though:
Hashirama was the acting leader of Konoha.
Punishing him was impossible.
And Tobirama… was too politically important to simply execute.
Which left only one option.
"The Senju elder bears no fault," said the Shimura patriarch at last, stepping forward. "But Senju Tobirama did overstep. It is undeniable that we need stability—but presuming Hokage-sama dead is too reckless."
Hyūga Tennin nodded.
"I agree. Tobirama-dono's actions cannot be ignored."
"And yet," the Shimura head added, "death is too much. He committed no violent coup. Only words."
He folded his arms. "I propose imprisonment."
Murmurs filled the crowd.
It was fair.
It was practical.
And it avoided tearing Konoha apart.
"Then let it be imprisonment," Tennin concluded. "Senju Tobirama's life will be spared, but he will answer for his crime."
Tobirama tensed… but he didn't protest.
Not with his brother kneeling in the dust because of him.
Hashirama bowed once more, forehead touching stone again.
"Thank you. All of you."
The assembled clans slowly dispersed, the crisis finally settling.
Hyūga Tennin received only a light reprimand for the damage—nothing more than a formal warning. He accepted it calmly, unaffected.
And as the last shinobi turned away, Hashirama remained kneeling, staring at the blood on the ground.
Only he knew how deep the damage ran.
Konoha had been united for less than a year.
And already… cracks began to spider through its foundation.