"The weight of a ninja... interesting way to put it."
Madara's face didn't change at all. Not even a flicker in his eyes.
Sasuke took a deep breath. "Just interesting?"
"Is there supposed to be more?" Madara looked at Sasuke with a hint of surprise, then gave a small laugh. "Oh right, reanimated bodies don't need food. I haven't eaten. That good enough for you?"
Sasuke: "..."
Honestly, it felt strange.
Madara crossed his arms and looked into the distance. "Interrupting someone when they're talking is pretty rude. It works well in a fight, especially against enemies, but it's not always the best move."
"So now it's my turn to ask—have you eaten?"
Sasuke took another deep breath, a helpless look on his face. "So you're trying to say... that stuff doesn't work on you?"
"You're too soft." Madara lowered his eyes. "Your mind doesn't match your strength. For you, a fight is just a fight. You don't give it any meaning. But for people like us, even Hashirama—he knew exactly what every battle meant."
"Fighting for friends? For the future? Sounds nice, but it's just talk. The point of a fight is to win. The only difference is how you win."
"Hashirama was pretty foolish, but he had a much stronger heart than any of you. That kind of feel-good talk never worked on him, and it won't work on me either."
"You're more naive than I expected." Madara shook his head, clearly disappointed. "In the end, this is all you guys amount to."
He saw Hashirama as his greatest rival—not just because of strength. If it were just about power, Madara had faced countless deadly situations when he was weaker. Some even beat him. But he'd already forgotten most of them.
It wasn't about power. It was about vision—how they saw the world.
Hashirama was foolish and too idealistic, but deep down, he was far from stupid. A real fool could never lead the Senju clan to so many wins. A fool couldn't convince the Uchiha clan. And a fool definitely couldn't build the Hidden Leaf Village during the Warring States period.
Only his friends saw him as a fool. His enemies never did.
"That's the difference between you and us." Madara finished with a cold look, his eyes turning back to Sasuke.
"If this is what the next generation of Konoha is like... then I'm really disappointed."
"Madara, that's going too far."
Hashirama stepped forward, staring him down seriously.
"Too far?" Madara's eyes turned cold. "Hashirama, they're ninjas, not kids. If they can't protect themselves, they'll only hold others back. When will you realize that ninjas aren't supposed to rely on others to be saved?"
Hashirama's tone also grew serious. "Strong ninjas protect weaker ones so they can grow. Then when they get stronger, they protect the next group. That's how the village moves forward."
"That only leads to more war, not peace," Madara shot back. "Passing things down from one generation to the next doesn't stop the cycle of hate. Even if we force peace again—whether it's us or those two kids—it won't last long."
"When the people holding things together die... when the ones keeping the whole ninja world in check are gone... the hate will explode again. And what your so-called future generations will face is endless war. Just look at the state of the world after your death."
"Or do you still think that as long as your village is at peace, that's good enough?"
Madara gave him a sharp look. "Just like before—killing friends, family, even your own children, all for the sake of 'the village'?"
Hashirama went quiet.
"Hmph!" Madara scoffed at his silence.
Then he turned back to Sasuke and said, "You're right. I don't carry the so-called 'weight of being a ninja.' Ninja history is just the history of fighting. And that history only left behind more and more hate."
"I don't carry the weight of ninja battles—I carry the hatred that history left behind."
Hate never really goes away, and history never forgets. These two heavy things can't be explained with just words.
"I'm talking too much," Madara closed his eyes and let out a short, self-mocking laugh.
Maybe it was because Sasuke looked too much like Izumi. That made Madara want to give the kid a lesson.
But this kind of naive thinking—if not backed up by real strength—wouldn't let you survive even one battle during the Warring States era.
Even someone like Uchiha Itachi, who was full of emotion, would still strike down an enemy without hesitation if they tried to fight back on the battlefield.
Naive people can't survive in the ninja world.
Why? Because your enemies won't show you mercy just because you're soft.
That's what hate is.
Hashirama looked at Madara, then at Sasuke's stunned expression behind him. He sighed quietly and said,
"Madara, a ninja isn't someone who fights alone. A ninja protects the people they care about—together with their friends and comrades."
"Hah, that's exactly the kind of thinking that keeps hatred alive," Madara shot back.
"We fight to protect, and in the process, we kill. The ones who are killed leave behind more hatred. The ones who couldn't protect will grow stronger, and one day, they'll seek revenge."
Hashirama gave a bitter smile. "If we really open our hearts and try to understand each other, one day, the hatred will fade."
Madara glanced at him. "That's what you used to believe. And look what happened—you died, and the world was thrown into war."
Hashirama shook his head. "I still believe in humanity's future."
Madara lifted his chin. "Then you're putting too much faith in how good people really are inside."
One believed hatred could be erased.
The other believed it never would.
That's why they split paths.
And why they fought to the death.
Just like red and blue—always clashing, never mixing, never disappearing.
Sasuke stood there, head buzzing, not sure what to think. He looked at Hashirama, then at Madara.
For a moment, he started to think Madara might actually be right.
As he was caught in doubt, a hand landed on his shoulder.
Sasuke turned without thinking, a little surprised. "Naruto? No... Kurama?"
The rough whiskers, the red eyes, the sharp teeth, and the overwhelming chakra—even without trying to release it—it clearly wasn't Naruto.
That's right. It was Kurama using Naruto's body. He gave a proud smile and looked at Sasuke with a teasing glint in his eyes.
"Feeling lost?"
"No," Sasuke turned his head stubbornly. No way he was going to admit it.
"Doesn't matter. Because honestly, Madara's not wrong," Kurama said, giving him a pat on the shoulder.
Sasuke froze, staring at Naruto's face in confusion.
Kurama chuckled. "You think just because I hate Madara, I'll disagree with everything he says? Nope. At least when it comes to hatred, I think he's got a point. Hate... isn't easy to get rid of."
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