 As you know elder brother, the Uchiha are a clan possessed by evil. The title of Hokage is more than simply being the leaf's strongest shinobi. It's more than being its smartest. For any kage of any of the villages, they choose the person who is best equipped physically, mentally, and emotionally to protect their people. Some kage are thrust into situations beyond their control and they have to clean up the pieces. Some are simply figureheads. For the village hidden in the leaves, each of their kage have strengths and weaknesses. But I think Tobirama Senju is the village's most complex Hokage, the one who did so much good and yet so much harm. One whose decisions would have a severe ripple effect on the shinobi world and on the ones who would seek vengeance upon it. To understand why Tobirama Senju made the decisions he made, we have to go back to his upbringing. Brother Tihashi Rama, the silver haired Tobirama was the polar opposite of his older brother. Where Hashirama was playful, emotional, filled with joy in life, Tobirama was stern, sturdy, and approached the world around him with logic and fact. When Hashirama wore red, he wore blue. His brother's hair was black and long. His was light and shorter. Growing up in the warring states period, where the average age of shinobi was 30 years old, Tobirama was quickly hardened by war. Having watched his younger brother die in battle and be deemed a shinobi, a full fledged shinobi only at 7 years old, his hardened interior and exterior was the result of all the violence surrounding him. Tobirama and Hashirama's reactions to their brother's death embodied who they were as people. Hashirama was hot headed and desired peace so much that he was willing to fight their father for it. Tobirama understood his brother's anger but also understood his father's plight. He was much more willing to kill and to fight for the senju clan at any cost if it meant living. He understood that avenging their siblings would only lead to their death and that emotion blinds both sides. Peace will only come through policy, rules, and packs. Tobirama was grounded in reality and when it came time to it, the reality was that he needed to kill to survive. This intelligence aided him on the battlefield. He was smart enough to know that the one who could strike first would win. So he perfected his flying rajin's slice as it was the blow that determined the fate of the senju and the uchiha. After Madara's rebellion and his death, Tobirama retrieved Madara's body and studied the sharingan, seeking its mysteries when he would soon become the leaf's second okage. Exactly what Madara feared. The village is not without its politics. It's not without its history. The leaf is a nation built off two forces, the two strongest forces in the shinobi world, the uchiha and the senju. But in the leaf, power always pulled in one area, the senju. The common saying in history is that history is decided by the victors. Power is the same. At the end of the uchiha-senju battle, the uchiha were considerably weaker, having not only lost their second in command, Izuna, but also Madara having been defeated, they were at the mercy of the senju. In Hashirama's hands, he made sure to treat them no different than any other clan, so long as they didn't try to rebel against the village. But under Tobirama is where things change. Tobirama was the one person that always stood in between Madara and Hashirama, since they were children. He was the one to spy on the two and inform their father of their friendship. He was the one who killed Izuna. Tobirama was also the one person Hashirama could never go against. We see that reflected in the very first senju and uchiha battle, as the elder brother was willing to fight his best friend if it meant protecting his sibling. Hashirama loved Madara so much, like a brother even. But even he couldn't replace that bond, and that hurt Madara, considering Tobirama was the one who took his last brother. Tobirama watched the uchiha leader awaken his charing god as a child, and replaced his fallen brother's eye to awaken the eternal mangekyo. Tobirama felt the destructive power of Madara, his eyes and his hatred. If it wasn't for his older brother, Tobirama would have executed the uchiha leader. Even as the truce was formed, Tobirama always had an eye out for potential uchiha rebellion. He even repeated rumors he heard about the charing god and his brother. He knew that without Hashirama's unique skill set, there was no stopping the charing god. Tobirama feared them. As much as Tobirama believed in rules and policy and in logic, he is still just a man, a man with emotions. For a man as dedicated to pragmatism as he was, when it came to the uchiha, Tobirama's emotions always took over. When asked if he hated the uchiha, the second replies that it's not entirely true. So, taking his word as fact, he might not have hated the uchiha, but he did have prejudice against them and he did intentionally slight them. Tobirama feared them. For a man as intelligent as he was, I just don't believe that he was not aware of the ramifications of giving the uchiha the rule that he did. He clearly says that if another Madara were to emerge, he could be dealt with right away, implying that he could keep a watchful eye over the red-eyed clan. Up until this point, they've spent their whole lives fighting the uchiha. They were the enemy. Somewhere around 20-25 years, they've spent fighting, loathing the red-eyed clan, killing them and them killing Tobirama's loved ones. Tobirama is not Hashirama. Their hearts are not the same, and he proves it even after his death. Despite having an uchiha member on his team, after he learns that Sasuke is an uchiha, his gut reaction is to call him a scoundrel. Again, when Sasuke asks the second if he hated the uchiha, he answers that that's not entirely true, but he never outright denies it. So when given the opportunity to become Hokage, he intended to keep an eye on the uchiha, and he created the police force. If we look into the future, we know that this action caused by Tobirama would have a ripple effect that would eventually exterminate the red-eyed clan. Like Orochimaru stated, building the police station next to the prison and making the uchiha head of the police force, automatically garnered a dislike for them. It's very important to note that Orochimaru says that Tobirama did this under the pretext of facilitating the monitoring of criminals, and that he conspicuously shoved the uchiha to the margins of the leaf. Not only was there an ulterior motive, but he intentionally and clearly alienated them from their peers. Orochimaru at this point has no stake in this conflict, or in what happened. He has no bias. This is information that Sasuke already knows, he's already heard it from Obito. To move back to the uchiha, getting placed under close scrutiny by the senju-led government and adding their natural pride to it all just made things worse. Move them to the margins of the village and never include the uchiha in any positions of real authority or power, and here are the ingredients for rebellion. For moderate adherence. It was Tobirama himself who introduced the Anbu as well. He created both of these institutions. The Anbu were the real protectors of the leaf. They were the ones who were sent out on important missions. The police force was essentially grunt work. The uchiha, the co-founders of the leaf, relegated to police work. No council members, no senior leaders, and no hokage who bear the uchiha family crest. All under the belief that the uchiha might rebel. When we look back to the moment that Madara loses to the senju, Madara says that there isn't anyone left in the uchiha who feels such anger towards the senju. Later, when Madara urged the uchiha to leave the leaf, not one member listened. We see through Madara's memories that his clan desperately desired peace. Under Hashirama, the uchiha were comfortable in the leaf. They clearly felt respected. Even the uchiha voted for Hashirama to become hokage over Madara. It's only when Tobirama sits on the throne that things change. The uchiha decades later would plan the kurita, something that does not happen if it weren't for Tobirama's feelings towards that clan. Tobirama concluded that the uchiha is a clan who feels great love, and in the potential that they lose said love, their power becomes destructive. Tobirama studied one sharingan, and it happened to be the sharingan of a man who watched his brother die in front of him, at the hands of what was the enemy. We know throughout this series that the sharingan is quite easily controlled. We see that through Itachi, Kakashi, Shisui, Young Obito. If we take it a step further and look at the Mangekyo sharingan, if we look at Kakashi's, Tobirama says that the sharingan increases the power of their hate. Even after he had to kill Reen, it didn't increase Kakashi's, and what about Itachi's or Shisui's? These were all people who became even more dedicated to the leaf after their Mangekyo sharingans were activated. Tobirama was correct in that the eyes do reflect the heart, but he never took in account those whose hearts did not crave vengeance against the village. They were a clan who was cast aside, and their anger was built off of said marginalization. The second hokage would become the team captain of Team Tobirama during the first ninja war. Team Tobirama included two members who would be vital to the leaf's future. Donzo Shimura, and here is in Sarutobi, leader of the Anbu Black Ops and member of the hokage council and the third hokage himself. Donzo we know to be obsessed with the sharingan and its power. We know that the Uchiha massacre was mainly his doing, and we also know how he was instead idly by. As an adult, watching his older brother continually give Madara Uchiha chances, Tobirama would become the voice of reason for his brother, and for the village the two had created. Since they were children, the Uchiha were the enemy. Madara was the enemy. Madara dared to ask his older brother to take his own life, instead of taking Madara's, and his brother was selfless enough to do it. This kindness was not only extended to the enemy clan, but to enemy nations as well. Tobirama saw to it that his brother's kindness would never be taken advantage of. When Hashirama wanted to appoint Madara as the hokage, Tobirama was the one who asked for democracy. During the very first summit of the five kage, when his older brother wanted to give the tailed beasts away for free, Tobirama ensured that they came at a price, defending the honor of the hokage and growing the village's economy. The second hokage did amazing things for the village. He was the backbone of the village's infrastructure of their economy, the brains behind Hashirama's heart and strength. He was the one who introduced a democratic vote for hokage. He established the academy, the Anbu, the Chunin exams, all important institutions that helped not only Konoha, but their relations with other villages. As others were included in their own, Tobirama might have been the smartest hokage, because he understood what the leaf needed to become a functioning, efficient village, with systems in place for it to grow and survive long term. Tobirama's term very much embodies the shinobi world of his time. While they dreamt of a world that kids didn't need to fight in wars, this wasn't feasible. So in order to recruit the strongest of shinobi, he created the academy, the Anbu, the Chunin exams, to weed out only the strongest of shinobi. It's a very dark system, but a system that was necessary considering the cruelty of the shinobi world. In that darkness, he also created the Edo Tensei, a failsafe jutsu that would allow him to summon an army of undead shinobi, if necessary. A jutsu that could win them wars. Tobirama was the perfect combination of Madara and Hashirama. He upheld the dedication to the village that Hashirama did with the ferocity that Madara carried. He treated any who posed a danger to the village with extreme kasha. That is the philosophy of the second hokage. There were few Uchiha that Tobirama was able to work with, Kagami and other unmentioned ones, but he would only work with those who would sacrifice themselves and their clan for the village. They were the only ones he respected. At the will of fire, this philosophy, when Hashirama offered it to Madara, he offered it from a place of empathy and understanding. While he never studied the sharingan, he knew that the love Madara had for his fallen brother was tremendous, and losing Izuna had him walk down a lonely path. Understanding that loss, he offered Madara the idea of protecting this village and treating this village like his brother that he couldn't protect, giving him a second chance. Madara was the only Uchiha to rebel without real provocation. Out of sheer anger, out of a broken heart, Hashirama killing Madara was truly to protect the leaf and for no other ulterior motive. The will of fire in its greatest goal is the eventual elimination of the framework of clans. That was Hashirama's dream. But even Hashirama's dream was flawed, in that its framework asks for one to sacrifice everything for the village. It's without nuance. To ask an individual to sacrifice their entire clan is quite a feat. But because Tobirama and Hashirama's influence spread throughout the shinobi world, this dedication to one's home influenced the shinobi system as well. The will of fire is a philosophy that believes survival of the village will do greater good over survival of any one person. That the village will always protect people, shinobi and children alike. It's an undying loyalty to the leaf, no matter what. It's why Hashirama said that he would not forgive even his own child, if they harmed the village. When Tobirama inherited the will of fire, his approach as noted was a lot more strict and harsher than his brother's was. It was much more systemic. Hashirama groomed the leaf's culture and Tobirama stabilized its future. The title of hokage is more than simply being the leaf's strongest shinobi. It's more than being its smartest. For any kage of any of the villages, they choose the person who is best equipped physically, mentally and emotionally to protect their people. The uchiha were a part of those people. They were a part of the village. And Tobirama did not have their best interests at heart. It's important to acknowledge that. For the hatred that he felt towards Madara and Izuna, the rest of the uchiha would suffer the consequences. For the rest of the leaf, Tobirama was a great hokage, stabilizing their home, creator and inventor of all these different institutions to help build their village. Tobirama was involved with the dark arts of the shinobi world, Jutsu that he would only use for the benefit of leaf. Sure, the edotense ended up in the wrong hands, but the flying Raijin, the shadow clone Jutsu, they ended up in the hands of the greatest father-son duo that the shinobi world has ever seen. And it ended up in the hands of the one who would save the shinobi world. Shinobi and people are not to be conflated. Shinobi must do things that people cannot or would not. They have duties to follow, people to protect, and they will do whatever it means to protect their home. Tobirama might not have been a great person, but he was a great shinobi, because there is no real moral code in the shinobi world. Protecting their village is the moral code. The hokage must be willing, and Tobirama was willing to do anything, to be a decoy and sacrifice their life in order to protect his village. In the first ninja war, the second hokage did exactly that. Tobirama Senju's legacy is one of great success, and of great harm, and it's why he is, in my opinion, the most polarizing hokage that Konoha has ever seen. This video has been sponsored by Raycon. 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