Hearing Hashirama Senju's playful, almost whiny tone, Madara Uchiha gave a fond smile…
"This was just a theory of mine back in the day, but I later confirmed it!"
Hashirama sat nearby, his big eyes blinking curiously.
"What's that?!"
"Well… how do I put it? There's a special connection between our chakra…
Back then, it was just a hunch. So, during our big battle, I took some of your flesh and blood. I ran a bunch of experiments and transplanted your cells into my body!
You probably noticed with that Danzo guy, right? He had my cells and chakra in him, but it wasn't perfect!
But my cells and yours? They fused together perfectly…"
Hashirama's eyes widened in shock at Madara's words!!!
"No way!!! Madara! You're saying our cells can fuse perfectly?! But I don't sense any of my cells in you!"
Hashirama immediately clung to Madara, poking and prodding, trying to figure out where his cells could be…
Thwack!!!
Madara helplessly bonked Hashirama on the head.
"You idiot!!! I said it's a perfect fusion! Of course you can't sense it! Your cells are basically my cells now—completely merged, no distinction!"
Hashirama mumbled to himself, still processing…
"So… I fused with Madara…"
Madara's eyelid twitched, and he grimaced. The phrasing sounded weird, but the truth was undeniable—his cells and this idiot Hashirama's cells really could fuse perfectly!
"But… Madara? What does this have to do with your eyes?!"
"My eyes are called the Rinnegan! The legendary eyes of the Sage of the Six Paths! It's exactly because our cells fused that I was able to awaken the Rinnegan! So, I'm guessing our chakra must be connected to the Sage of the Six Paths somehow…
And then that kid Hirofumi Ito showed up, and I became even more certain of my theory!
You remember how Hirofumi said he extracted two different kinds of chakra from us, right?!
After he got those, he completely changed!
So, I'm thinking it must be the chakra tied to the Sage of the Six Paths…"
Hashirama scratched his head, still a bit confused.
"But Madara~ how does that connect to the Rinnegan?!"
Thwack!!!!
"Ow~ Madara~ why'd you hit me again?!"
"Because you're an idiot! I've explained this much, and you still don't get it?! If your cells can fuse perfectly with mine and help me awaken the Rinnegan, then if you transplanted my cells, wouldn't you get the same effect?!"
Hashirama's eyes lit up brighter and brighter!!!
"Madara! You mean you want to fuse with me?!!!"
Thwack!!!
"You idiot! It's just cell fusion! Don't make it sound so weird!!!"
"But… it is fusion, right…?"
"…Fine, you're not wrong!"
Hashirama suddenly leapt up in excitement!
"Awesome!!! Madara~ I'm gonna fuse with you!!!"
"You! You idiot, hold on!
Let go of me!
What are you doing?!
Stop trying to kiss me!
And why are you tugging at my pants?!
I'm not done talking!!!"
Hashirama reluctantly let go, pouting…
"Madara! What else do you have to say?!"
"Well… here's the thing. I'm not entirely sure if fusing my cells with yours will definitely awaken the Rinnegan.
But you know our current revived state. My eyes are still with me! Though, I did leave a pair of Rinnegan out there in the ninja world.
If you want, I could go retrieve them for you…"
Hashirama shook his head without hesitation.
"Nah, Madara~ I wanna fuse with you!!! Come on, let me take a bite! I still remember how much it hurt when you bit me back then~"
"Shut it, you idiot!!! What are you, a dog?! Even if we're transplanting my cells, you can't just do it so carelessly! We can get your brother and that Orochimaru guy to run some experiments!
Those two might not be the strongest, but they're pretty decent when it comes to inventions and stuff…
With them handling it, the success rate would be higher!"
"Alright… Madara! I'll listen to you!!!"
Far off, perched on a tree by the riverbank, Izuna Uchiha sat watching his older brother and Hashirama interact…
Leaning against a branch, Izuna smiled softly.
"Big brother… I hope you succeed this time. As your little brother, I'll always stand by your side, no matter what! For your dream! Even if it costs me my life!!!"
…
Meanwhile, at Mito Uzumaki's home.
"Sister-in-law!!!!"
"Oh, Tobirama, what's up? Something on your mind?!"
Tobirama Senju nodded as he looked at his sister-in-law.
"There's… something I need to talk about. Sister-in-law, you know about Orochimaru's plan, right?! Aren't you going to try to talk some sense into Kushina Uzumaki?!"
"Why would I do that?!"
"Uh… well… I mean…"
Tobirama fumbled, at a loss for words.
Seeing his awkwardness, Mito Uzumaki gave a small smile.
"Tobirama… you know, women hold grudges. And we can be very petty!
My name's Mito Uzumaki. Hers is Kushina Uzumaki. We're both Uzumaki! But you know what? The Uzumaki clan is gone… When our clan was wiped out, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't lift a finger to help!
Honestly, I've held back enough as it is. That's me giving the Hidden Leaf some face! I'm the First Hokage's wife, after all. Otherwise, I'd be out there personally sending Hiruzen Sarutobi and your other dear student, Danzo Shimura, to their graves!!!"
Tobirama froze, stunned by her words…
He hadn't realized… even the Uzumaki clan had vanished from the ninja world?!
And his sister-in-law was saying the Hidden Leaf did nothing…
They just stood by and watched the Uzumaki clan get obliterated!!!