Tobirama looked up at his Aniki, his expression filled with suspicion. "The name Uchiha Ryo isn't rare. How can you be so sure?"
"Yeah, it's true that the name isn't rare, but look here," Hashirama pointed at the name Madara Uchiha. "Father said there's a guy named Madara Uchiha of our generation who might be the next leader of the Uchiha clan.
"Didn't the clan say before that Uchiha Ryo is the son of the leader of the Uchiha clan? These two names might not mean much separately, but if they appear together, they're probably brothers. The Uchiha clan always values family. It's normal for an older brother to take his younger brother on a mission, right?"
"Aniki, what you said kinda makes sense, but..." Tobirama frowned. "The Uchiha clan is different from our Senju clan. Their leader of the Uchiha clan is not determined by heredity or succession but by ability.
"Uchiha Ryo isn't the heir merely because he's the son of the leader of the Uchiha clan, but because he's extremely powerful and happens to be so. What you said is possible, but the probability is small.
"Moreover, the Uchiha clan couldn't have hidden such a big move from our Senju clan. How could they allow us to easily figure out what their heir is going to do?
"Although it's an established rule among the ninja clans not to target the younger generation, they all know that clan heirs are not covered by this rule. Otherwise, why would they all keep the information about their heirs secret?"
"Eh? Oh, really?"
Seeing his Aniki looking so dumbfounded, Tobirama couldn't help but sigh. "Although the probability of your guess is small, it's still possible. It's better to tell Father about this—"
"Tobirama, I don't want to tell Father."
Tobirama immediately went expressionless. "What are you up to again?"
Hashirama put his arm around his younger brother's shoulder and walked a few steps quickly. "I... want to go to the Land of Lightning to see this Uchiha Ryo."
After a brief silence, Tobirama reached out and touched Hashirama's forehead, then nodded thoughtfully, slapped Hashirama's hand away, and walked back. "I'll go and tell Father to send a team to take you to the Land of Lightning to find these two."
"Wait, Tobirama, wait a minute," Hashirama grabbed him back. "Tobirama, calm down. Listen to me first—"
"Aniki, I can't help you with this," Tobirama said seriously. "Don't you know the relationship between our Senju clan and the Uchiha clan?"
"But Tobirama, that Uchiha is different—" Hashirama firmly held Tobirama, who was about to walk back, and looked straight into his eyes. "Although I've only met this one Uchiha so far, I'm sure he's different from other Uchihas."
Seeing that he couldn't break free, Tobirama simply folded his arms with a dark face. "Different? All I know is that the Uchihas are all crazy, and we should stay away from them."
"But that Uchiha Ryo is really different. Tobirama, you know about the conflict between our two clans, right?"
"
"Aniki, can you stop talking nonsense?"
Receiving his younger brother's disgusted look, Hashirama coughed dryly. "Tobirama, do you know Tsutomu, who's in the same generation as me?"
Tobirama thought for a moment before speaking. "Is he the guy who has little ninja talent and always seems insecure?"
Hashirama nodded. "That's him. Tsutomu always trains himself privately to keep up with everyone. Before, he met Uchiha Ryo in the deep mountains of Nanka River."
Tobirama finally suppressed the impatience in his heart a little. "So? Just because this Uchiha showed a moment of pity for Tsutomu, you think he's a kind - hearted Uchiha?"
"No, before that, I also met him when I went out on a mission," Hashirama shook his head slightly. "Although he had the intention to kill our group, he didn't show any hostility. I really want to figure this out no matter what."
"Aniki, is your brain just for show? Can't you let it work in your head?" Tobirama clicked his tongue. "Why did he spare you?
He didn't know you were the heir. You were in a training group and too weak to catch his attention, so he spared you.
It might be safe and reliable to be friends with the Uchiha, but do you really think they'll go easy on their enemies? Aniki, does that even make sense to you?"
"Please, Tobirama. I know this is really dangerous, but I really want to observe that guy again. So, help your big brother think of a way.
Your big brother really has no one else to rely on but you," Hashirama clasped his hands together and bowed to his younger brother. "If you help your big brother, your big brother won't go to the casino for a month after coming back! And I'll let you manage all the ryo I earn from missions!"
Tobirama's face turned even darker. What did his big brother mean? Was he implying that he shouldn't have stopped him from being an easy mark at the casino? It seemed he was wrong to try and rein him in!
Moreover, when would his big brother ever change his bad habit of always subconsciously thinking the best of people, being overly naive and idealistic!
It'd be fine if it were other ninja clans, but this is the Uchiha! The relationship between the two Senju and Uchiha clans is so strained that they're practically on the verge of attacking junior ninjas on training missions. Yet his big brother still thinks this Uchiha is different from the rest. He's really nuts!
Thinking of this, Tobirama gave a sidelong glance at Hashirama, who was clasping his hands together and looking at him pitifully, and snorted. "So what if you meet that Uchiha? What on earth do you want to do?"
"I want this world to be free from wars," Hashirama's expression became a bit more serious. "And ending the feud between the Senju and the Uchiha is the first step I want to take.
From the fact that Uchiha Ryo spared Tsutomu, we can tell that compared with other Uchihas, at least his attitude towards the Senju is relatively amiable.
So I want to reach out to him in person again to see if it's possible to end the feud between the two clans through him once I've gained enough strength in the future.
Tobirama's eyebrows twitched slightly. He really wanted to grab Hashirama by the collar and ask him how much water was in his head to claim he wanted peace as a ninja. Ninjas were a profession that relied on war to survive. So, where would they go after peace? Go hungry?!
"Please, Tobirama, help your brother."
Tobirama let out a long breath and turned his head impatiently. "Didn't Brother She Lin and the others say when they came back that Uchiha Ryo sent a challenge to Brother Yi of the Uzumaki Clan? You can go to Brother Yi for help and disguise yourself as a member of the Uzumaki Clan to see that Uchiha Ryo."
"Tobirama, you're the greatest! Aniki knew you'd come through for me!" Hashirama laughed heartily and picked up his younger brother. "Aniki loves you so much!"
Tobirama, whose feet were forced off the ground and was being spun around, blushed. "Idiot Aniki! Put me down right now!"