"Three months to wait?"
Upon hearing this, Tsunade gave a slight nod.
She understood in her heart that she could only be patient and wait, hoping that Pain would not launch an attack during these three months.
Jiraiya had just sent back intelligence, saying that Pain would not move to capture the Nine-Tails in the short term. It seemed there was still ample time.
Hashirama watched all of this, curiously looking at Tsunade before bursting into laughter:
"Little Tsunade, I never expected you to become the Fifth Hokage! Hahaha! By the way, how is our Senju Clan doing now?"
Tsunade was pondering how to get through these three months when her grandfather's question made her body stiffen abruptly.
A trace of sorrow, difficult to conceal, surfaced on her face. Clearly, the Senju Clan had not fared well in the future.
Hashirama usually appeared carefree, but his ability to read people was not lacking at all.
Seeing Tsunade like this, the smile on his face instantly vanished.
He already understood in his heart that the Senju Clan was likely in dire straits.
He was never completely ignorant of the darkness in the ninja world.
As Tsunade remained silent, Hashirama's suspicions grew stronger.
He turned to look at Aoki and couldn't help but press:
"Fourth Hokage, how is my Senju Clan doing now?"
Tobirama, standing beside Hashirama, also looked at Aoki with hopeful anticipation.
Under his careful management, the Senju Clan had long been integrated into Konoha. Not only did the main family retain its ancestral lands, but clan members were also spread throughout every corner of the village.
He truly couldn't understand how such a deeply rooted clan could have met its end.
Feeling the weight of their expectant gazes, Aoki sighed softly:
"The Senju Clan no longer exists."
He truthfully recounted the current state of the Senju Clan.
After hearing this, Tobirama froze in place.
During his tenure, the Senju Clan was at its peak. No matter what, he couldn't believe that the clan, which once shook the ninja world, had come to such an end.
"Gone... wiped out?"
Tobirama's voice was filled with disbelief; he desperately wished Aoki would give a different answer.
How could the populous and powerful Senju Clan have been completely eradicated?
Suppressing the shock in his heart, he pressed further:
"What exactly happened?"
The integration of the Senju Clan into Konoha was a plan he had personally devised.
In his view, it was a foolproof arrangement; the idea of annihilation was simply unfathomable.
Aoki gathered his thoughts and slowly began to explain:
"In Konoha Year 17, the First Great Ninja War broke out, and you sacrificed your life in that war. Your student, Sarutobi Hiruzen, succeeded as Hokage, becoming the Third Hokage. Another student of yours, Danzo Shimura, became the Hokage's assistant and secretly formed an organization independent of the Anbu called Root, dedicated to carrying out covert missions in the shadows."
He paused, his gaze darkening, and continued:
"The downfall of the Senju Clan was masterminded and led by Danzo, and Lord Third ultimately chose to acquiesce."
These words struck Tobirama's heart like a thunderbolt.
He stood frozen in place. After the initial shock, a wave of icy rage suddenly swept through his entire body—
Hashirama's expression also darkened completely, his eyes churning with terrifying ferocity, his fists unconsciously clenching.
For these two older-generation Hokage, the death of their grandson Nawaki on the battlefield was a regret, but it was also considered the fate of a shinobi.
Yet they never imagined that the disciple they had poured their hearts into training would deal such a ruthless blow to the Senju Clan.
Overwhelming fury surged forth, and a terrifying pressure instantly filled the entire group chat space.
"Danzo… he has some nerve!"
Hashirama's roar carried deafening anger, his tone filled with disbelief.
"Why… would Hiruzen allow this?"
Seeing the two of them in a state of shock and fury, Aoki slowly took out the evidence he had long prepared and said solemnly:
"Danzo always believed that the Senju Clan, as the founding clan of the village, held too much prestige and had roots too deep. With the bloodline of the First and Second Hokage flowing through their veins, they would inevitably threaten the power he sought to control, and could even shake Konoha's existing order. Using the excuse of 'eliminating hidden dangers and stabilizing the village,' he secretly laid out schemes, targeting the core members of the Senju Clan."
"As for the Third Hokage,"
Aoki's voice softened slightly, carrying a hint of complexity:
"When he first took over the village, the aftermath of the Great Ninja War had not yet settled, and factions within the village were numerous. He was determined to maintain Konoha's stability and unwilling to stir up internal conflict. Danzo constantly fed him the narrative that 'the Senju Clan could become a hidden danger,' even concealing the true severity of the actions. Although the Third Hokage did not agree with the extreme measure of exterminating the clan, under his obsession with 'considering the bigger picture,' he did not intervene to stop it, ultimately leading to tragedy."
Looking at the evidence presented by Aoki—the Root organization's action records, the altered clan member files, and the testimonies of the few survivors—the last trace of doubt in Tsunade's heart completely vanished.
She angrily slammed her palm on the table in front of her, her knuckles turning white, her eyes reddening, her heart filled with both anger and pain.
After the end of the Second Great Ninja War, Tsunade had noticed many things that seemed off and had conducted investigations in private.
But when she vaguely touched upon the truth and learned that Danzo was the mastermind and that her teacher Hiruzen had chosen to remain silent, she could neither forgive Danzo's ruthlessness nor accept her teacher's compromise.
In the end, she could only choose to flee Konoha, escaping this cruel reality.
And now, this irrefutable evidence reignited the fury and sorrow in her heart.
Hashirama and Tobirama watched Tsunade's reaction and carefully examined the evidence, their expressions growing increasingly grim.
The anger in Tobirama's eyes almost seemed to solidify. He knew Danzo's ambitions all too well, but he never expected the other to strike so ruthlessly against the clan of his own teacher.
Hashirama's face, meanwhile, was filled with disappointment. He had never imagined that the next generation, in whom he had placed such high hopes, would choose to sacrifice the Senju Clan in the struggle between power and stability.
Aoki continued, adding:
"Danzo's ambitions extend far beyond this. Anyone he believes threatens his power, regardless of which clan they come from, he will not hesitate to strike down. After the Senju Clan, the Uchiha Clan also failed to escape his schemes—similarly orchestrated by him, using 'rebellion' as an excuse to push for their extermination. The Third Hokage, once again, hesitated but ultimately allowed it all to happen."
Hashirama's brows furrowed even more tightly upon hearing this.
Although Tobirama had always harbored wariness toward the Uchiha clan, Hashirama had never once entertained the thought of exterminating the Uchiha.
Tobirama's caution toward the Uchiha stemmed solely from his fear that another figure like Madara might emerge within the clan, which was why he sought to guide and control them.
In fact, he had indeed nurtured talents like Kagami Uchiha, who were willing to set aside clan prejudices and wholeheartedly serve the village.
"Hiruzen... in the end, he was trapped by 'stability,'" Hashirama murmured with a sigh, his tone filled with regret and sorrow.
Just as the two were lost in their turbulent thoughts, Aoki suddenly smiled and pointed to his own position:
"Because I am the owner of this chat group, I have access to information that goes beyond my time as the Fourth Hokage. So, I not only know about the events of the past but am also well aware of the various upheavals that occurred after the Fifth Hokage."