As Uchiha Madara's body completely vanished into the flames, Fūmori Masaki thought to himself: "Goodbye, Lord Uchiha Madara. The future era does not need a god-like figure such as yourself to participate."
Uchiha Madara was dead, and with him, his Mangekyo Sharingan had vanished. Black Zetsu would now have to wait for another person with a Mangekyo Sharingan to appear. Although for Fūmori Masaki, Uchiha Madara's death would cause Black Zetsu to take unpredictable actions that might affect the future development of the Ninja World, the benefits outweighed the risks.
Compared to an experienced Uchiha Madara, Fūmori Masaki was more willing to face a younger Uchiha Clan Member; even if they possessed the same Mangekyo Sharingan, the gap in experience would make them far less dangerous than Uchiha Madara.
Furthermore, the Uchiha Clan was already a part of the Ninja Village. Fūmori Masaki could directly observe potential reincarnations of Indra within the Uchiha Clan, making it no longer easy for Black Zetsu to act in secret. The conditions for a Mangekyo that never goes blind were stringent, which would be very obvious to those who were paying attention.
The only drawback was that this would cause Black Zetsu to hide again and not appear or act in the guise of Zetsu. As long as Black Zetsu was alive, the conspiracy targeting the reincarnations of Ashura and Indra would not cease. The best method would be to eliminate Black Zetsu as well, but what method could be used?
At this moment, Uchiha Kagami collected Uchiha Madara's ashes, and Hashirama promptly placed them into his sealing scroll. He said to the others, "This matter is a secret between us. For everyone else, let's just say that Uchiha Madara's body was completely destroyed in battle. When we return to the Village, we will find a place to bury the ashes."
Everyone knew that he did not want anyone to disturb Uchiha Madara's peace, so they nodded in agreement. Tobirama had no intention of scheming against Uchiha Madara; the remaining ashes held no research value, and not even Edo Tensei could summon him. Even if he were summoned, a clay vessel would have no use, being merely a remnant of a soul, so he let Hashirama have his way.
The group immediately began their return journey. Hashirama had been focused entirely on the battle, but now, looking at the miserable state of the surroundings, he took a deep breath and said, "I really didn't expect to cause such massive destruction."
Fūmori Masaki had already seen it when he arrived, but now he suddenly remembered something and said to Uchiha Kagami, "Come to think of it, I wonder if the Village over there was affected."
"Ah!" Uchiha Kagami also remembered. "Indeed, I wonder what the situation is over there."
Upon hearing this, Hashirama remembered that it was the location of that mission. He frowned slightly. He had tried his best to divert Uchiha Madara's attacks elsewhere; while he ensured the Village would be fine, other places were...
Tobirama, having received Fūmori Masaki's reminder, thought of another aspect and said with a solemn expression, "This is bad. If Villages or towns in other areas were affected, we might have some trouble here in the Village."
Once the villagers lost their homes, they would inevitably direct their resentment toward Konohagakure. Moreover, the capital of the Land of Fire would also be angry at the commotion, and they might even reprimand the Ninja Village and impose some penalties, which would be very detrimental to the future of the Ninja Village.
"Damn Uchiha Madara." Tobirama cursed Uchiha Madara in his heart again. If he wanted to leave, he should have just left quietly instead of always causing trouble for the Village. Uchiha Madara was dead and done with it, leaving him and Hashirama to clean up the mess.
"This is all my fault," Hashirama sighed and said. "If anyone really comes looking for us, the Village will take responsibility. We will allocate some of the land held by the Senju Clan to compensate them and allow them to live in the Village."
"In that case, our Uchiha Clan will also allocate some land," Uchiha Kagami said quickly. "Lord Uchiha Madara bears some responsibility for this incident, and the Uchiha Clan will not act as if nothing happened."
"Haha, that is very thoughtful of you." Hashirama smiled and did not refuse. If the Uchiha Clan provided land, it would reduce the pressure on the Senju Clan. If too much land were given away at once, even though the Senju Clan had great faith in Hashirama, there would still be some dissenting voices.
Fūmori Masaki also wanted to contribute some land, and Hashirama and Tobirama would remember his contribution. However, he didn't have much land to begin with. Because his clan had few members, it had to be managed by the Senju Clan. If he really gave it away, he would have to work desperately like a Civilian Ninja to complete missions to support his family, and the current Konoha simply didn't have that many sources of missions.
Fūmori Masaki still needed the land to support his family. Once the Village had more sources of missions in the future and he had the ability to support his family on his own, he could try to contribute land to the Village.
However, Fūmori Masaki was quite interested in the Village's plan to take in the villagers. If he was not mistaken, the first batch of Civilian Ninja would likely emerge from among these accepted villagers.
When they returned to Konohagakure, everyone saw that the Village had lifted the alert status and was beginning to restore order. When Sarutobi Sasuke and the others saw Hashirama return, they quickly stepped forward to ask if Hashirama was safe and about the situation with Uchiha Madara.
Just as the five of them had agreed, they unanimously stated that Uchiha Madara's body was completely destroyed and that they hadn't even been able to recover his remains. Seeing Hashirama's very sorrowful appearance, no one doubted them. After all, Hashirama was genuinely grieving for Uchiha Madara's death, and his emotions were so convincing that people couldn't help but believe him.
After Hashirama and Tobirama returned, control of the Village returned to their hands. They immediately ordered an assessment of the losses and began rebuilding the destroyed houses. Originally, Hashirama could have built them with his own power, but now he didn't have the strength and had to recuperate for a while. Fortunately, the wood left behind by his Wood Release Secret Technique was plentiful and could be used entirely as construction material.
While the Village began to rebuild, Hashirama and Tobirama started a high-level meeting. It mainly addressed three issues: first, the reaction of surrounding Villages and the Daimyo to this massive commotion; second, the issue of the Nine-Tailed sealed within Uzumaki Mito; and third, the issue of the Uchiha Clan.
To be honest, this incident had frightened the Uchiha Clan significantly. Uchiha Madara's actions were almost like roasting them over a fire. In this era, the faults of a leader were usually attributed to the clan. Even if everyone knew that Uchiha Madara's attack had nothing to do with the Uchiha Clan, it did not prevent them from loathing the Uchiha Clan.
It was not so much that they truly hated the Uchiha Clan, but rather that they feared the Uchiha Clan's Mangekyo Sharingan. Uchiha Madara's power had shocked everyone, and the Uchiha Clan had the potential to produce figures like Uchiha Madara. Furthermore, the temperament of the Uchiha Clan was notorious; no one could guarantee whether they would go to extremes like Uchiha Madara.
If the Village really held them accountable and made the Uchiha Clan take responsibility for Uchiha Madara's actions, the Uchiha Clan would have nothing to say. They were also worried that their status in the Village would decline day by day.
Unexpectedly, Hashirama simply glossed over the matter regarding the Uchiha Clan, mainly mentioning the affairs of the Daimyo and the issue of the Nine-Tailed. This made the people of the Uchiha Clan breathe a sigh of relief, and they were also filled with gratitude toward Hashirama. Compared to leader Uchiha Madara, Hashirama was truly like heaven and earth.
During the meeting, Hashirama made a request that puzzled the various Ninja Clans: he hoped the Ninja Clans could check their clan records to look for traces of other Tailed Beasts. As for the reason behind this, Hashirama did not explain. Since the Hokage had requested it and it was not a big deal, the Ninja Clans all agreed.
Hashirama's decision to provide relief to people who might have encountered disasters caused some opposition among the Ninja Clans. However, Hashirama stated that the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan would mainly provide the land, so the other clans didn't say anything. Moreover, to demonstrate their loyalty, they also symbolically provided some land.
Although the amount was not large, it was at least some land. Hashirama did not blame them. As the leader of the Senju Clan, he understood the importance of land to a clan, and he would not force the Ninja Clans to contribute their own land.
Not long after, the ruler of the Land of Fire sent people to inquire about this matter. Moreover, there were quite a few people who had become homeless because of this incident. Tobirama traveled to the capital of the Land of Fire to do his best to talk with the Daimyo, downplay the impact of the incident, and persuade the Daimyo to take in those who were homeless.