The Shadow of Konoha

The Hidden Leaf Village was founded more than ten years ago. After the development of the first and second generation Hokage, it has now established a complete system. There are many intelligence, administrative, combat and security agencies set up under the system. Konoha's orphanage is one of them. After all, being a ninja is a high-risk profession, and sacrifice can happen at any time, not to mention during the Ninja World War.

Therefore, orphans' homes came into being to take care of sacrificed ninjas and some civilian orphans. However, considering Hanyu's age, it is actually not suitable for him to go to an orphanage... At his age, he is already able to take care of himself, so he should be out of the orphanage instead of entering it. But for some unknown reason, he still fell into the hands of the director of the orphanage.

"This will be your room from now on. You must have been through a lot in the past two days. Just take a good rest today. We'll talk about the details tomorrow... Oh, by the way, I'll arrange for someone to deliver meals." Sansho said to Hanyu, and she arranged the latter to stay in a separate room in the orphanage.

"Okay, I understand." Hanyu had no complaints about this arrangement. The room was a little small but clean, with simple but complete furniture. This was a living environment that Hanyu, who had been wandering for several years, had never dared to imagine. As for what will be arranged next, Hanyu doesn't know, but this small room can be said to be a good start.

The orphanage was very large, with about three-digit orphans living here, but there were no other orphans living around the room where Hanyu was temporarily staying. It was conceivable that outsiders like him were treated differently.

Therefore, although the village did not restrict his freedom, he would never run around unless he received clear instructions, let alone contact with other people in the village... Hanyu limited his activities to this room. This is called self-knowledge. It is better to live in seclusion voluntarily than to be imprisoned for improper behavior. In Hanyu's impression, ninjas are not only keen on killing their enemies, but sometimes they are also keen on killing their own people.

Putting aside the messy considerations on Hanyu's side, after arranging his affairs, Sansho quickly left the orphanage... At this time, Konoha was in a period of power transition between the old and the new, and because the handover happened too hastily, people like Sansho are very busy now, and she can't spend too much time on Hanyu.

Next, Sansho has something very important to explain and clarify to a person in the Konoha high-level, and she must try her best to gain the other party's recognition and understanding. That person's identity in Konoha is extremely noble - Uzumaki Mito, the wife of the first Hokage, and this is exactly the person Sansho is about to face.

In terms of status, Uzumaki Mito is now the most respected person in Konoha, and even the succession of Hokage must be approved by him. Just like Sarutobi Hiruzen needed Uzumaki Mito's support for the position of Hokage, what Sansho wants to do also needs the support of the other party.

Uzumaki Mito looked to be in her fifties, and her iconic crimson hair when she was young was no longer shiny. After Sansho came to her side, before she told him why she was here, Uzumaki Mito had already started talking in a slightly extreme way: "Sansho, are you really determined to do that?"

Apparently, Mrs. Hokage had previously learned of what Sansho was planning to do in some way. "Well, that's a done deal... Now, it's time for the Senju clan to retreat." Sansho said.

She paused for a moment and saw that there was no obvious change in the other person's expression before she continued to explain, "Since the Ninja World War, the sense of honor of being a member of the Senju clan and the sense of mission of being a member of the Hokage clan have made the clan members too 'lead the charge' in the course of the war. Those who dare to fight to the death, will die. The death and injury rate of the Senju ninja in the past few years has even exceeded that of the chaotic times before the formation of Konoha..."

"On the other hand, it is precisely because of this sacrifice rate that a large number of outstanding clan members died before they could truly grow up. Therefore, after the first and second generations, the Senju clan has never produced a ninja as intelligent and powerful as the two ancestors who could unify the clan. Therefore... I think it's time."

"Hiding the name of Senju is a correct decision for both the clan members and Konoha. The reason is simple, the Senju clan cannot be the Hokage forever, otherwise we will just continue to be our own Senju, and what is the point of forming Konoha? And since the Senju cannot be the Hokage forever, we don't have to take on any more responsibilities than ordinary ninjas... This does not mean that clan members are prohibited from becoming ninjas, but that they should no longer bear the heavy name of Senju." Sansho's voice was extremely sad when she made this explanation.

"The Senju clan" has become an unbearable burden on their lives. Abandoning the Senju was certainly a very sad decision, but on the other hand, for one of the best ninja clans in the entire ninja world to give up their reputation, one can imagine what kind of casualties they had suffered in previous wars.

"Do all the Senju people have the same opinion?" Uzumaki Mito was silent for a long time and asked again.

"Well, at the previous clan meeting, although everyone expressed great regret over this decision, the vast majority chose to accept it."

"So that's how it is? Has the time finally come for the Senju clan to abandon their glorious clan name? I thought that quite a number of people would oppose such a decision, but... this is better. At this point, even if Hashirama is resurrected, I have explained to my husband, and he should have nothing to say." Uzumaki Mito said.

She was born into the Uzumaki clan, and even though she married the first Hokage, Hashirama Senju, she was not a real Senju after all - there were some things that only the purest Senju could decide. That's because the clan members who had the strongest sense of family and would express the most resolute opposition to this decision had already died on the battlefield... Sansho wanted to shout this out loud, but in the end she opened her mouth and said nothing. Because not only she understood this kind of thing, the person who sat opposite her and accompanied the Shodaime throughout his life understood it even better.

In summary, the death of the Second Hokage was the catalyst for the Senju clan to make the decision to hide their clan name. The war had already reached the middle stage, Konoha had thwarted the invasion of Kumogakure, and the two countries were about to conclude a peace and alliance treaty, which was achieved at the cost of the lives of countless Senju clan members. However, all of this disappeared.

Peace seemed within reach, but in the end it disappeared without a trace. The gap between the past and the present caused the morale of the Senju clan to plummet. They could not help but begin to doubt whether their sacrifices had really meant anything. The answer certainly makes sense.

However, their efforts are far out of proportion to the significance and value of the results achieved. So when Sansho proposed to hide the Senju, the tribe members were initially surprised, but then most of them accepted the proposal. Then, this proposal became the final decision.

The sacrifice of the Senju clan was not only understood by them, but also by the entire Konoha Village. After paying such a heavy price, no one had the right to ask them to make more sacrifices. Therefore, as long as the Senju clan made such a decision, the village would not and had no way to stop it. From today onwards, the Senju clan, which forms the most important ninja sect of the Konoha Ninja Village and is well-known in the ninja world, will gradually fade away, and the surname Senju will soon only exist in history.

"Although there will be no more Senju ninjas in the future, this is only because all Senju ninjas have become Konoha ninjas. We have not given up our responsibilities, nor will we evade the responsibilities we should have as Konoha ninjas. But for the long-term survival of the clan, we can only do this. No matter how glorious the name is, it is empty. Compared with the lives of the clan members, it is not worth mentioning... Therefore, Senju will only be born as Konoha ninjas, fight as Konoha ninjas, and even die as Konoha ninjas in the future."

No other ninja sect can surpass the Senju in terms of sense of identity and belonging to the Hidden Leaf Village, so Sansho's words are trustworthy.

"However, after making this decision, in order to avoid too much speculation in the village, I will go to the Land of Lightning again and take on the mission of being an envoy to Kumogakure." She added that attitude is one thing and action is another, and she needs to prove with her own actions that the Senju's attitude towards Konoha will not change.

"Go to Kumogakure? You have to know that with your physical condition you are not capable of carrying out high-intensity tasks. You should..." Uzumaki Mito could no longer remain silent about this decision.

"But my identity can best express Konoha's sincerity for peace. In this symbolic sense, there is no one more suitable for this task than me... The death of the Hokage and the Raikage was just an accident, and the desire for peace between the two sides will not change because of this. As for me, I will never be stingy with my hatred for Kumogakure, but hatred is the simplest and easiest thing to do. The difficult thing is to complete the unfinished business of the Second Hokage. In this Ninja World War, Konohagakure was presided over by the Second Hokage, so ending the war is also what the Senju should do... This will be the last thing the Senju will do in the name of the Senju."

The determination reflected in Sansho's words will never be changed by anyone. This made Uzumaki Mito silent again. After thinking for a long time, she finally said: "If you think so, then do it. Whether it is the matter of Senju or Kumogakure, do it... But you have to remember that if you are determined to do it, you will succeed." This elder of high status finally approved of Sansho's plan.

"Of course, I will never fail." Sansho has the confidence to succeed.