In the evening, while the Senju Clan was holding a meeting, the Uchiha were holding one as well, because a major event had occurred today: the Tang Clan from their ancestral precepts had appeared.
In the present day, aside from the Lord Ruler of the Land of Fire, members of the Tang Clan were practically non-existent.
That was right. Although the Tang Clan had very few members, they happened to control a small nation—and not just any nation, but the Land of Fire, which occupied the finest territory with the most abundant resources.
Moreover, the Land of Fire was different from other nations. The rulers of other nations were called Daimyo, while the ruler of the Land of Fire was called the Lord Ruler.
Yet none of that mattered as much as the meetings being held by the Senju and the Uchiha.
Within the Senju Clan, there certainly were arrogant and overbearing individuals.
Upon hearing that a member of the Tang Clan had appeared, one such person curled his lip in disdain and said, "So what if it's just a Tang Clan member? Does that mean whatever we do is subject to their control? Besides, who knows if that guy is even a real member of the Tang Clan?"
Hearing this, Senju Butsuma broke out in a cold sweat. "Shut your mouth!" he snapped. "If you provoke that Tang Clan member and get yourself killed, don't expect us to collect your corpse."
The arrogant fellow only grew more scornful. "Hmph, then I'll go find him myself."
And so, this arrogant punk set off. He intended to track down Tang Xiaotian and launch a preemptive strike to make the man understand that the Senju Clan was the strongest, and that he would not accept any control from the Tang Clan.
True to his word, the punk actually found Xiaotian. Seeing his target standing with his back to him, the punk wore a vicious smile and thought to himself, Today I'm going to kill a member of the Tang Clan to prove my strength.
He threw a shuriken, but Xiaotian suddenly vanished. Just as the punk was frantically searching around, he felt himself completely immobilized, and a hand gripped him tightly by the neck.
"Another one. Judging by the outfit... from the Senju Clan, huh? Perfect, you can keep him company."
Clutching the punk by the neck, Xiaotian returned directly to his original spot.
The punk looked over in shock and saw a member of the Uchiha clan already lying there, looking utterly wretched—there wasn't a single unbruised spot on his entire body.
"See that? You're about to end up just like him."
Xiaotian stepped forward and landed a punch. The punk tried to resist, but the former knocked him flat with a single blow.
Was that the end of it? No, this wasn't even the beginning stage; how could it possibly be over?
"You actually dared to attack me. If I don't beat the crap out of you today, I'll eat my hat!"
After delivering this scolding, Xiaotian resumed raining blows and kicks on him. The battered Uchiha watching from the side smiled bitterly to himself, thinking, *I'm finally not the only one.*
Xiaotian glared at the Uchiha. "You still have the nerve to smile? Your turn is coming up in a minute."
And just like that, the reckless Uchiha brat and the arrogant Senju punk received a thorough beating—the kind that left them half-dead.
Being young, they had assumed Xiaotian was merely a nobody with meager strength. What they didn't know was that there was another sentence appended to the end of the ancestral precepts:
"Never disobey the words of the Tang Clan, or you will be beaten into a cripple."
Therefore, when others believe you have strength, you had better actually possess it.
After finishing off the two of them, Xiaotian felt completely refreshed. "I never knew beating people up could actually be this enjoyable. However..."
Xiaotian glared, and the two youths quickly sat up straight, forcing themselves to sit rigidly upright despite their severe injuries.
"Go back and tell your clan heads that if they still want to start a war, the fate of you two will be their fate."
With that, Xiaotian clapped his hands together, and a two-story building rose straight up from the ground. That's right, he even knew Wood Release and could build houses on the spot.
The two of them stared in speechless terror. Just how much Chakra would it take to construct a house this large?
As the pair scrambled away in a panic, Xiaotian placed his hands on his hips. "Honestly, today's youngsters are so arrogant and overbearing that they actually dare to violate the ancestral precepts. Looks like I'll have to whip them into shape properly."
When the two returned to their respective clan grounds and reported what had happened, both leaders were deeply worried. They feared they would be beaten up next, which would be quite a humiliation.
The little ones, however, were filled with curiosity. They had only ever heard the ancestral precepts without ever actually seeing the Tang Clan for themselves.
The next day, many youngsters gathered by the river. When they saw Xiaotian, they immediately switched into curious-child mode, chattering away among themselves.
"Instead of just standing there gossiping, why don't you come over and take a look?"
Prompted by Xiaotian's words, the group of children had no choice but to step forward. Among them, the Senju children were numerous, while the Uchiha children were relatively few.
"Mister, are you a member of the Tang Clan? What's your name?"
The speaker was a small, black-haired boy belonging to the Uchiha clan.
Xiaotian smiled. "My name is Tang Xiaotian. What about you?"
The little black-haired boy had a sudden flash of realization. "So Mister is named Tang Xiaotian! My name is Uchiha Izuna."
"I am Izuna's older brother, Uchiha Madara."
As Uchiha Madara spoke, he kept a tight grip on Izuna's hand, seemingly afraid that Xiaotian might make a move.
Xiaotian reached out, opening his palm to reveal several candies. "Want some candy?"
When dealing with children, the simplest method is candy. With just a single piece of candy, you can win children over to your side.
At the sight of the candy, the children eagerly stepped forward to claim them, and in no time at all, Xiaotian's supply was completely distributed.
Xiaotian gave a light cough. "Now that you know my name, what are your names?"
"Mister, my name is Uchiha Fei."
"My name is Senju Tobirama."
"My name is..."
After listening to the self-introductions of the children, Xiaotian turned back to look at his fishing rod. "Well then, head back and tell your clan heads that I'm going to start holding classes. From now on, during the daytime, you can all come here to attend my lessons. How does that sound?"
"Classes?"
The children found this very strange, but they had no choice but to go back and report it, leaving the decision to their respective clan heads.
Upon hearing the news, the clan heads could only agree. They had no other choice—this was a member of the Tang Clan, someone they could not afford to provoke.
Soon enough, Xiaotian's classroom was open once more—the first time classes had been held in thousands of years.
However, Xiaotian only taught three days a week, leaving the remaining four days as rest periods, because he still needed to study and acquire knowledge.
On one of these rest days, Xiaotian took out his smartphone. That's right, a smartphone—though his phone could only be used for making calls.
"Sigh... I've managed to invent the smartphone, but when on earth will I ever get to play video games?"
Xiaotian was bored. For a thousand years, he had been limited to studying; true computer and mobile games simply didn't exist yet. He had considered gathering people to develop games, but he still had to track down Black Zetsu first.
Nearby, two people were skipping stones across the water: Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama.
The two of them came over every single day to compete at skipping stones. Moreover, because of Xiaotian's presence, the two clans no longer dared to fight and had even reconciled. Thanks to the classes, the children of both clans had become friends as well.
Regardless of whether it was just a superficial peace, as long as Xiaotian was here, neither side dared to turn on each other.
When the two finished skipping stones, they walked over and sat down beside Xiaotian. Hashirama asked, "Uncle, how many fish have you caught today?"
"About three," Xiaotian replied.
Seeing the empty fish basket, Madara chimed in, "Aren't there none at all?"
Xiaotian gave Madara a light smack on the head. "I ate them, got a problem with that?"
An angler never returns empty-handed; even if the catch is zero, one must never admit it.
Rubbing his head and pouting, Madara didn't dare to speak. Xiaotian gently ruffled his hair again. "Remember, sometimes you see through things without exposing them. All right, speak up—what do you two want to ask today?"
Remembering the serious matter at hand, Madara asked, "Uncle, do you think this world is really good?"
Hearing this, Hashirama chimed in, "Yeah, this world is always full of killing and fighting. I'm growing to hate this world more and more."
Seeing the two of them like this, Xiaotian chuckled inwardly, knowing they were the reincarnations of Indra's and Ashura's chakra, naturally filled with an aversion to war.
"Actually, there is nothing wrong with this world. It is people who are at fault."
At Xiaotian's words, the two stared at him blankly. "People?"
Xiaotian nodded slightly. "That's right. Today, I'll tell you something a bit different. Have you ever heard of the Tang State?"
Hashirama immediately replied, "I know about it. The Tang State was a great power a thousand years ago. The Emperor of the Tang State unified the world and brought back peace. But because of a catastrophe, the Tang State was destroyed. The surname Tang we have today comes from that imperial family. Even the language and writing we use are legacies passed down from the Tang State."
Xiaotian let out a soft sigh. "Indeed, the Tang State was wiped out by disaster, leaving behind only its language and writing. But the ideal of the Tang State was undoubtedly correct: ethnic integration and the unification of the world. That is the key to peace, because only by unifying the world and blending ethnicities can true peace be achieved."
"You probably still don't understand just by hearing me say this, so let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, there were seven nations, and these seven nations fought every single day. Either you attacked them, or they attacked you. Every year, wars broke out among the seven states, resulting in countless casualties. Then came a nation that unified the other six. Although there were still wars during the process, casualties were reduced by nearly seventy percent."
When Xiaotian finished his tale, both of them fell into deep thought.
Seeing them deep in contemplation, Xiaotian knew the two youngsters had taken his words to heart.
"Think about it slowly on your own. When the time comes to decide what to do, it's up to you to figure it out."
Xiaotian stood up, packed away his fishing rod, and walked back to his dwelling.
In the blink of an eye, several days later. After finishing his lesson, Hashirama brought Madara to find Xiaotian. "Uncle, we want you to train me and Madara."
"Oh? What's this about?"
Xiaotian crossed his arms and looked at the two of them. Madara answered, "We want to become stronger, become clan heads, and then carry out the village plan."
Hashirama chimed in, "Yes, we want to create a village, and then we want to carry out ethnic integration."
Xiaotian gave Hashirama a light smack on the head. "Alright, you two sure have big dreams. Very well, since that's the case, I'll give you a strategy. You both know the Lord Ruler of the Land of Fire belongs to the Tang Clan, right?"
The two nodded. Xiaotian smiled and said, "I can have a word with them and get them to help you build the village. But you must remember: to forge iron, one must be strong oneself. Without formidable strength and sufficient knowledge, you won't be able to suppress the various clans. The methods might be a bit harsh, but it's an unavoidable necessity."
"Understood."
The two accepted the condition. And so, starting from this day onward, they began their training here. Because Madara and Hashirama shared the same dream of creating a village and protecting their loved ones—and with Xiaotian present—the Senju and Uchiha had no choice but to agree.