Twenty miles outside the Hagoromo clan's territory.
The Senju clan's temporary camp.
Two powerful clan leaders arrived at the central tent.
These two were Sarutobi Kato, the leader of the Sarutobi clan, and Shimura Nesuke, the leader of the Shimura clan.
The Senju First Elder sat at the head of the table, with Sarutobi Kato and Shimura Nesuke on either side.
"Clan Leader Sarutobi, Clan Leader Shimura, the Hagoromo clan only has one patriarch-level expert guarding its territory. You haven't been able to take it down after so many days. I have some doubts about your strength."
The First Elder immediately gave them a show of force.
After all, this concerned the distribution of spoils after the destruction of the Hagoromo clan. As the Senju clan's First Elder, he naturally had to fight for the clan's interests.
Sarutobi Kato and Shimura Nesuke understood the situation.
Therefore, despite facing the Senju clan, they were also doing their best to secure their own interests.
"Elder Senju, the Hagoromo clan is, after all, a first-rate ninja clan. We paid a considerable price to severely injure their Grand Elder," Shimura Nesuke began, mentioning the losses of the two clans.
Sarutobi Kato, echoing his sentiments, nodded in agreement. "That's right, Elder. Many members of our two clans have sacrificed themselves these past few days in our fight against Hagoromo. If we don't obtain sufficient spoils, we will have failed our fallen comrades!"
The First Elder waved his hand. "I know of your sacrifices. After we destroy Hagoromo, you can naturally take a copy of their ninjutsu scrolls."
For ninjas, the value of ninjutsu was self-evident. Sarutobi and Shimura attacked Hagoromo precisely to obtain more ninjutsu and enhance their clans' foundations.
However...
Remembering Butsuma's promise, Shimura Nesuke looked at the First Elder and reminded him, "Elder, Clan Chief Butsuma promised us that after we destroyed Hagoromo, besides the ninjutsu scrolls, we would also receive half of the Hagoromo clan's assets."
Upon hearing this, the First Elder's eyes widened instantly, and his chakra surged.
Bang!
He slammed his hand on the table. "Half the assets? How much did you drink before you came? You just spout nonsense!"
"Besides, how come I didn't know about this? I was right there when the clan chief made that promise. I know perfectly well whether he promised half the assets or not. Absolutely not!"
What nonsense about him being there! The First Elder had no idea about this beforehand. He was only told about it by Butsuma after the Uchiha attack on their territory.
However, Sarutobi Kato and Shimura Nesuke were unaware of this, so he naturally said whatever came to mind.
Regardless of what Butsuma had promised beforehand, that was the clan head's business.
As the First Elder of the Senju clan, he had to be responsible for the clan's interests.
He had to take as much of the assets as possible after the Hagoromo clan's annihilation.
Seeing the Elder renege on the promise, Sarutobi Kato and Shimura Nesuke's expressions darkened.
"First Elder, this is something we agreed upon beforehand. Isn't what you're doing inappropriate?" Shimura Nesuke said angrily, looking at him.
The Elder glared at Shimura Nesuke. "What, are you trying to teach me how to do things?"
Sensing the atmosphere was tense, Sarutobi Kato quickly interjected. "Elder, that's not what we meant. It's just that we've suffered heavy casualties working for the Senju clan. If they break their promise of resources, it will inevitably damage their reputation."
Hearing Sarutobi Kato's words, the First Elder fell silent for a moment.
Indeed, doing so would damage their reputation.
After all, the Senju clan was known as the Clan of Love, with a much better reputation than the Uchiha.
If word got out about breaking the promise, it would inevitably affect the Senju's image to some extent.
Even if the previous agreement was just a verbal promise from the clan head, without any written evidence, breaking it was still undesirable.
"How much do you want?" After a moment's hesitation, he looked up at the two men.
Shimura Nesuke replied without hesitation. "We had an agreement before—half of Hagoromo's assets."
"Impossible!"
The First Elder refused without even thinking. "Our clan leader never promised such a thing. My willingness to concede is an act of benevolence by the Senju clan, showing consideration for you. Don't push your luck and be ungrateful!"
Shimura Nesuke was unwilling to give up the benefits he had already secured. He insisted on his original agreement. "Hagoromo's half of the clan's assets—that's what we agreed upon. If you Senju break your agreement, then I'll have to reconsider the matter of encircling Hagoromo!"
The Senju clan wasn't invincible. If they went too far, he could simply side with the Uchiha clan.
Anyway, there were Hagoromo and the Uchiha between Shimura and the Senju. He didn't believe the Senju could bypass those two clans to deal with Shimura.
As for the Hagoromo clan, whom he'd already offended...
Heh, the Senju were already giving Hagoromo enough trouble. They didn't have time to deal with the Shimura clan.
Hearing Shimura Nesuke's words, the First Elder's eyes narrowed, revealing a dangerous glint. "Are you... threatening the Senju?"
Seeing this, Sarutobi Kato quickly stood up. "Elder, Shimura has suffered considerable losses these past few days. Nesuke is in a bad mood, so his words were a bit harsh. We can still discuss the Hagoromo clan's assets."
As he spoke, Sarutobi Kato went to Shimura Nesuke's side, stopping him from speaking further. "Nesuke, we've already taken action against the Hagoromo. If we give up now, not only will we have gained nothing, but the clan's losses will be irreparable, and we'll also incur the wrath of the Senju. So, let's be patient for now. Less resources are better than nothing."
Sarutobi Kato softly advised Shimura Nesuke. If Shimura backed down now, Sarutobi would be in a dilemma.
Staying here would undoubtedly offend the friendly Shimura clan, but leaving with Shimura would result in even greater losses.
Not only would the losses from attacking Hagoromo be irreparable, but it would also offend the Senju clan—a net loss.
Therefore, Shimura Nesuke absolutely couldn't back down now. If he did, Sarutobi would be in serious trouble.
It must be said that Shimura Nesuke, in terms of intelligence alone, was quite different from his future grandson, Danzo.
At least Danzo, known as the Darkness of the Shinobi, while his methods were somewhat dirty, understood the situation and would never offend the Senju clan under these circumstances.
Fortunately, Shimura Nesuke wasn't entirely brainless. After listening to Sarutobi Kato's words, he didn't continue to confront the First Elder but remained silent.
Sarutobi Kato breathed a sigh of relief and then looked at the Elder, proposing, "How about we two clans take one-third?"
"Impossible, that's too much!" The First Elder glanced at Shimura Nesuke and then rejected Sarutobi Kato without hesitation.
"We can discuss it further. How about a quarter?"
The interests of the two clans were now being negotiated entirely by Sarutobi Kato, and Shimura Nesuke was barely speaking at this point.
Anyway, half of the profits belonged to the Sarutobi clan, and no matter what Sarutobi Kato did, he wouldn't harm the Sarutobi clan's interests.
"One-tenth!" The First Elder stated a number.
Sarutobi Kato's lips twitched. "Elder, you're joking. I think a quarter is just right."
"One-tenth."
"..."
Hagoromo clan grounds.
The morning sun shone into the clan head's courtyard.
After washing up, Kazuki began training in the training grounds.
He had practiced the Rasengan for half the night last night, but hadn't made any progress, so he decided to postpone his Rasengan training for now and first familiarize himself with the ninjutsu his predecessor had mastered.
Fortunately, the original owner possessed a ninjutsu that, while not as lethal as the Rasengan, was still quite powerful in terms of short-range damage.