Chapter 47: When Enemies Meet, It's Fate
No matter how troubled Nara Shikakazu was, he still had to respond to the letters from the two clans. After replying, if the two sides really clashed when they met, it would be an issue between the Senju and the Uchiha. At most, the two clans would have less interaction with the Nara Clan in the future, and they wouldn't arouse any grudges. But if he concealed the matter on his side...
Nara Shikakazu didn't want to attract the attention of these two big shots for no reason. Not to mention their Nara Clan, even the Uzumaki Clan, which had an extremely close relationship with the Senju and was almost like one family, would choose to avoid getting involved when the Senju and the Uchiha were at war.
What? You're curious about the reason?
The reason is that during the most intense period of the fight between the Uchiha and the Senju more than a decade ago, the Uzumaki, thinking that their old friends were having a hard time, wanted to help out. As a result, the Uchiha members went crazy—maybe they were really crazy—and completely gave up fighting the Senju and instead focused on pounding the Uzumaki.
Even the Uzumaki, who usually had some conflicts with the Uchiha and more or less knew about the Uchiha's strength, was stunned by the attack. The Senju also had to spare some effort to rescue the Uzumaki due to the pitiful state of their ally.
By the end of the war, the Uzumaki Clan had been completely traumatized by the Uchiha Clan. Their original plan to move from the Land of Whirlpools to the Land of Fire was completely abandoned. After that, whenever there was a fierce conflict between the Senju and the Uchiha, the Uzumaki would never participate directly. They only dared to secretly send some supplies and exchange newly developed ninjutsu to show their support. However, when the Senju was not involved, the Uzumaki still dared to fight against the Uchiha.
In short, even the Uzumaki, which was hard to handle even when the three clans were united, didn't want to get involved in the conflict. Nara Shikakazu definitely didn't want his clan to be dragged into it. Moreover, those crazy Uchiha were extremely vengeful!
Thinking of this, he sighed again and silently picked up his pen to reply to the letters from the two clans. He decided to just let things take their natural course. If necessary, they could sacrifice more interests to avoid trouble. But if they were really dragged into it, they wouldn't let others boss their clan members around.
After all, in an era when the average lifespan of ninjas was less than thirty, they had managed to raise the average lifespan of their clan members to forty - five. Naturally, their three united ninja clans had some tricks up their sleeves.
However, this matter might cause quite a stir, so he wouldn't let the clan members who were originally in charge handle the reception. He would go there in person. He didn't believe that these two face - saving clans would still start a fight!
But as fate would have it, when enemies meet, it's fate. After Nara Shikakazu replied to the letters, the two clans really came at the same time and bumped into each other face - to - face.
If Nara Shikakazu didn't know that the Senju and the Uchiha could never make up, he would have thought that the two clans had planned to come together to mess with his head.
Look at their strikingly similar expressions when looking at each other. If it weren't for the fact that the Uchiha were slightly fairer than the other side and the Senju were half a head taller, people might even think they were from the same family!
Look at the team configurations of the two clans and the way they only had eyes for each other. One team had three men and one woman, and the other had three women and one man. Those who knew they were here to buy medicine from the Nara Clan, and those who didn't know might think they were here to have the Nara Clan witness some epic romance!
Nara Shikakazu silently complained about the trouble in his mind, but his eyes couldn't help but secretly glance at the young Uchiha with a silk ribbon covering his eyes. He was quite puzzled. [That kid named Uchiha Yugu said he was in charge of leading the team. However, it was obvious that this team was centered around that young man. But that kid's eyes... Did the Uchiha come here to seek medical treatment? Is the deal just an excuse?]
Just as Nara Shikakazu was deep in thought, the young man with a blindfold spoke first. His voice showed no trace of killing intent, but rather a great deal of helplessness. "How should I put it... In a way, it's really a disgusting sense of tacit understanding."
The tallest young man in the Senju team forced out a smile. "Hehe, same here. What? Are you, this disgusting guy, planning to be transferred to logistics to make the most of your remaining days?"
"No way. I'm just blind, not good - for - nothing. I'll definitely hit the battlefield." Ling leaned on his staff sword with both hands, smiling gently. "As for you, Senju Chokei, wait for me. I'm still looking forward to using your head as a souvenir. If you kick the bucket too early, I'll be sad."
Senju Chokei's smile became even stiffer. "Really? It seems our opinions on this matter clash. If you can manage to buy the farm in some remote corner, I'll definitely buy a string of firecrackers to see you off."
"Only one string? You're so cold..." Ling sighed softly. "After all, we have a life - and - death friendship, right?"
"If you kick the bucket right now, not to mention one string, I'll buy you ten strings, and I'll go buy them right away."
"Haha, I'm not ready to kick the bucket yet. How about you buy the farm first? I just brought a lot of Explosive Tags. After you buy the farm, I'll set off a dozen or so to liven up the occasion."
"Then let's meet on the battlefield later - I also want to have a heart - to - heart talk with you then." Senju Chokei sneered. "But are the Uchiha in such a bad state now? They actually have to send a blind guy like you out to do business?"
"So I've already said, I'm just blind, not useless... But those who chased me that day should have started to retire, right? How are they? I gave them a good response to their enthusiasm - remember to say hello to them for me when you go back."
Seeing Senju Chokei's increasingly distorted expression, Nara Shikakazu knew that if he kept watching, the two sides would really start fighting. So he coughed lightly. "I don't have much free time. Let's get down to business."
"I'm Uchiha Yugu / Senju Asa. I'm the leader of this trading team. Our clan has come here to purchase medicinal herbs. Please give us a hand, Nara Clan Leader."
The voices of both sides fell almost simultaneously. Uchiha Yugu looked up at the female ninja who spoke at the same time as him, only to find that her expression was as bad as if she had eaten a pound of cockroaches raw.
The atmosphere fell silent for a moment, but after a short while, the two spoke simultaneously again. "If the Nara Clan Leader can give us a hand, we Uchiha / Senju will not only offer the regular rewards but also owe you a favor. We can also discuss future missions."
After their words were spoken, Uchiha Yugu's always - cold face showed a hint of emotional cracks, and Uchiha Sen even glared with his Sharingan, looking menacing. "You're deliberately picking a fight, right?!"
The Senju on the other side didn't yield an inch. A relatively short girl considering the Senju's physical build stepped forward without hesitation, her right hand reaching for the Tantō on her back. "You're the ones deliberately causing trouble! Quit copying us! It's gross!"
"What? You flat - chested and flat - assed gorillas! You're the real disgusting ones!" Uchiha Sen sneered, the tomoe in his eyes slowly spinning. "Mimic you? You country bumpkins don't even deserve it."
Seeing that the two were about to quarrel again, Nara Shikakazu had a splitting headache. He was complaining about the damned synchronization between the Senju and the Uchiha in his mind and planning to interrupt and change the topic. At this time, Ling and Senju Chokei, who had spoken at the beginning, almost spoke at the same time.
"Alright, Sen, that's enough."
"Ming, get back in line, right now."
After they spoke, the three groups of people fell silent again.
Ah, this damned sense of synchronization.