Izuna's furious roar echoed throughout the Mountains' Graveyard.
It had to be said that Madara had poured a great deal of effort into the body he had tailor-made for his younger brother...
Which was why Izuna's roar was exceptionally powerful!
Next door.
Several Kage from the Warring States Period exchanged glances, then smiled in relief...
Once again, Senju Tobirama's identity had been confirmed!
"See? I told you..."
"How could Senju Tobirama possibly not reincarnate Uchiha Izuna?"
"That guy holds grudges like nobody else!"
"Looks like he just couldn't find the materials for the Impure World Reincarnation before. Izuna died so long ago that no one could say for sure where he was buried. After a whole Shinobi World War, Tobirama must've gathered plenty of information..."
Ashina analyzed the situation quite reasonably. "Izuna's in for a rough time..."
Kinkaku and Ginkaku nodded in complete agreement.
"Senju Tobirama has always targeted the Uchiha..."
"Now even Uchiha Izuna has become his puppet. Who knows? Maybe one day he'll reincarnate the Shura of the Shinobi World too. He seems to be getting stronger and stronger lately..."
Mū said in a grave voice, "You've all felt it, haven't you? That special ability of ours that comes from his Rinnegan is growing stronger too..."
"The truth is clear now. Senju Tobirama somehow stole the Sage's power. Ever since he faked his death during the Second Shinobi World War and escaped, he's been trying to restore that terrifying power..."
"As his strength grows, so does his ambition, and his thinking is drifting further and further from normal."
The Second Raikage nodded.
"Exactly. Senju Tobirama even wants to keep starting wars. He's become blinded by power. He's completely forgotten the Will of Fire a Hokage should possess!"
Gengetsu sighed. Normally the most unruly of them all, this time he didn't say much.
After all, Tobirama was the teacher of Hiruzen, the First Mizukage...
"Warring States shinobi really aren't right in the head."
"Our village's First Kazekage, Reto, had something wrong with his head too. Back during the Five Kage Summit, I was genuinely afraid he'd get beaten to death on the spot. Thankfully, Hashirama-sama was generous..."
"But I still remember the look in Senju Tobirama's eyes back then. There was killing intent in them."
The newly joined Second Kazekage, Shamon, pondered for a moment before saying, "From what I can see, Konoha is doing very well. Puppetry has been vigorously developed, and they've even given Suna shinobi who genuinely want peace a way forward..."
"If Senju Tobirama insists on doing things his way, then when the time comes, we'll just go through the motions. As long as everything looks acceptable on the surface, that's enough..."
The Second Kazekage Shamon had plenty of experience with this sort of thing, because that was exactly how he had dealt with the First Kazekage back in the day.
If Suna had actually followed Reto's belligerent approach despite how poor they were, forget ending up at the bottom of the Five Great Shinobi Villages—they probably would've been erased from the shinobi world long ago...
The other Kage glanced at Shamon and slowly nodded.
As expected of someone who had worked alongside a lunatic like Reto!
That really was the way to handle it...
If Senju Tobirama ordered them to act, naturally they couldn't resist.
But as for how they fought Konoha's shinobi, and just how far they took the fighting...
There was plenty of room for discretion!
Over the past six months, as Madara's body was repaired by Isshiki's Kāma, the power of the Ōtsutsuki had rapidly restored the essence he had depleted...
Although Isshiki would have preferred Sarutobi Hiruzen as the vessel for his resurrection.
Objectively speaking, however, Madara really was his best choice.
Because even if Isshiki successfully implanted Kāma into Hiruzen, setting aside the many restrictions the Ten Thousand Seals Body Integration Seal would impose on him, the Hokage had always relied primarily on power he developed himself...
He would be highly wary of any sudden increase in his own strength.
Uchiha Madara, on the other hand, had been old for far too long and had yearned to regain his youth for just as long. Coupled with his dependence on the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, he hadn't given much thought to the fact that he was continuously drawing power from Kāma...
So Isshiki had been pleasantly surprised to discover that Kāma's data extraction was proceeding even faster than he had expected...
As for Isshiki, his objective was to reclaim the Tailed Beasts' chakra and combine it into the Ten-Tails.
That meant going to war with Konoha, which possessed the most Tailed Beasts, was something that had to happen.
And so Isshiki kept reinforcing Uchiha Madara's increasingly extreme thinking, causing the Shura of the Shinobi World—who had already been planning to find an opportunity to return to the village—to fall back into his obsession once again...
Konoha still had to be tested!
However, the Will of Fire was exerting its influence as well.
So after the two sides of Uchiha Madara's mind finished battling it out, the result was that he would have these Kage from the Warring States Period test Konoha's new generation...
Asuma, Kakashi, Obito, Seisui, Shisui, Guy, and the others of their generation, with at most one instructor accompanying them—a Konoha Council Member—would have to defeat a two-Kage team.
Only then would it count as proof that the Will of Fire had truly been passed down properly.
This was obviously an insane idea. Even Uzumaki Ashina and the others thought it was going too far...
If one Konoha Council Member leading a few teenagers could fight them to a draw, then even the most demanding old fossils from the Warring States Period ought to smile in satisfaction...
It was worth mentioning that because Asuma was Hiruzen's son, Madara felt he deserved a little preferential treatment, so he had specially prepared a weaker opponent for him.
That opponent had little combat ability, but his particular abilities were unusual.
The strange man known as "Shidan," found in the Land of Hot Water, possessed immortality and the power of curses.
With the Evil God's power, he had originally thought himself invincible. But immortality was far too common within the Crimson Organization. Bragging about it there was practically laughable...
So after "Shidan" entered the Mountains' Graveyard, he was thoroughly put in his place from the inside out...
His current status was about the same as a White Zetsu's, and he spent his days cleaning the place.
"Let him mess around..."
"I'm telling you, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Senju Tobirama are going to fight sooner or later."
"That's just how these Warring States shinobi are. Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama were the same way back then. They'd practically flirt with each other every day, then once they started fighting, every move was meant to kill..."
"Even after they finally made peace, they still had to fight it out at the Valley of the End! If you ask me, they need to fight. Until they do it once, there's no way they'll settle everything between them..."
"Now Senju Tobirama has backed himself into a corner, muttering about tests over and over every single day..." Ashina said sarcastically.
"He's doubting them again. It's been almost three whole days since Hiruzen last proved that he and Konoha possess the Will of Fire..."
"When is the Shinobi World Forum going to be fixed? I really need to get on there and stir people up against Senju Tobirama!"
The other Kage burst out laughing.
They had discovered that Uzumaki Ashina really was an entertaining old man...
Whenever he had nothing better to do, he loved making posts on the forum:
[Doesn't anyone else think Fūinjutsu is actually kind of sacred?]
But the other Kage weren't exactly innocent either.
[Just being objective here, but Gengetsu was way stronger than Mū. Didn't he only lose back then because he got ambushed?]
[The First Kazekage was seriously overrated. Without Shamon, Sunagakure never would've become one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages...]
[A rational analysis of the Second Raikage's remarkable foresight.]
Of course, once the Shinobi World Forum pushed forward with stricter real-name registration and began displaying the region each user was posting from, things would be very different...
The trolls would have nowhere left to hide!
"Ashina's right. No matter how well things are kept up on the surface, they'll have to fight eventually. The Senju and Uchiha are basically the standard template for every Warring States ninja clan and shinobi..."
"Sarutobi Hiruzen may be very strong, but Senju Tobirama is far too devious. He's absolutely capable of using dirty tricks against his own disciple. I suggest we join forces with Obito."
"We can use this whole 'test' as an excuse to give Konoha an upgrade..."
The Second Raikage thought for a moment before continuing, "Obito has already returned to Konoha. The Hokage can see what we're doing through him. Given his generous nature, he'll make sure each of our villages is treated properly..."
"This is also one of the last things we Kage can do for our descendants—leave them a little goodwill to draw on."
The Kage silently nodded.
If the day came when Senju Tobirama ordered them to test Konoha's Council Members and its younger generation, then even if they held back, there was no guarantee blood wouldn't be spilled or someone wouldn't die...
So preparing in advance was necessary.
Because that was simply how the shinobi world worked.
The Senju and Uchiha loved and fought each other in equal measure. They might drink together to their hearts' content one day, then draw blades and spill blood the next.
That was also an important reason why shinobi were so mentally unstable...
The turmoil of the shinobi world was reflected within the hearts of its shinobi.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Uchiha Madara listened to Izuna's furious roar, completely dumbfounded.
'Wait...'
'Why do you think I'm Senju Tobirama too, little brother?'
'How does that make any sense?!'
For a moment, Madara was dazed. Could it be that even his own younger brother didn't understand him?
No. Maybe his impersonation really had simply been too convincing. After all, the Rinnegan, Wood Release, and the other things he possessed now were things Madara hadn't possessed during Izuna's lifetime...
And after fifty years apart, it was only natural that a person's personality would change drastically.
Madara wanted to explain things to Izuna, but there was one problem he couldn't get past.
Why did Hiruzen seem to know that he was Madara rather than Tobirama?
Could it be that the bond between himself and Hiruzen, the inheritor of his ideals from his youth, was actually deeper than the bond he shared with Izuna?
And Hashirama had nearly seen through his identity as well...
A wave of hurt welled up in Uchiha Madara's heart.
'How did things end up like this?'
Within Madara, Isshiki sensed the thoughts and emotions surging through him.
As an Ōtsutsuki, very few things could make him lose his composure, but today he finally broke.
Isshiki's face darkened.
'What in the world are you inferior creatures doing?!'
Isshiki had already done everything he could to give Uchiha Madara the very best, continuously pouring the power of Kāma into his body...
But as a vessel, as a creature who could at least be considered strong, shouldn't Madara be thinking about gathering every conceivable power into himself and ascending to the very top?
How could he possibly take Isshiki's precious power and give it away to someone else?!
Just because of some so-called bond?
At that moment, Isshiki, who had wandered the shinobi world for a thousand years, finally began to take "bonds" seriously.
Willingly sharing one's power with another was absolutely inconceivable among the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
Perhaps it was foolish, but being able to restrain one's desire for power required extraordinary strength of character...
Whether that strength of character was right or wrong, it was frightening all the same.
'Looks like staying behind the scenes won't be easy...'
'I can't keep trying to influence him little by little. I need to accumulate power inside his body. As long as I can seize control and temporarily reproduce my peak strength for a while, that'll be enough...'
'Then I can launch a surprise attack on Konoha and absorb a few Tailed Beasts. Once I do, I'll be able to seize complete control of this vessel and have enough chakra to begin repairing myself.'
Isshiki adjusted his strategy.
And his plan could practically be called "Ōtsutsuki Madara"!
Both of them had suffered damage to their very essence and needed massive amounts of replenishment. Isshiki was simply on a higher level and knew how to use Tailed Beast chakra to restore himself.
Both had also thought about finding someone else to act on their behalf, only to eventually realize that they would still have to do it themselves...
And just as Madara stood there at a loss for words, his hands trembling slightly as he wondered how to face Izuna—
Hi-kun suddenly emerged from underground!
Through the Tobi module attached to Obito, Hi-kun called out loudly to him, "Obito, report this situation to Lord Hokage immediately! Once you have permission, get over here and help me calm things down!"
"You know how the Uchiha are. Once they start talking, they just keep winding each other up. We need someone here to smooth things over..."
Over at the Ninja Academy, where Obito was putting Kabuto, Itachi, and Yamato through the wringer, he jolted.
One "Fire Release: Blast Wave Wild Dance" sent the academy's elite students scrambling across the ground with their eyes wide open...
Then Kamui activated, and Obito headed for the Hokage's office.
Only the academy's elite students were left behind, panting heavily as they stared at one another.
Teacher Obito said his training wasn't very intense.
Was that really true?
Why did they feel so exhausted?!
Back at the Mountains' Graveyard.
Hi-kun's voice rang out loudly, overflowing with enthusiasm.
"Oh, Young Clan Head, you've misunderstood! It was Madara-sama who revived you. He's been preparing for this for who knows how long..."
"Look, doesn't your body feel full of power? If it were Senju Tobirama, why would he ever strengthen you? Just examine yourself carefully and see whether there's any binding juinjutsu. You'll know..."
Izuna, still in the middle of his anger, froze and instinctively clenched his fist.
He really was right...
Izuna carefully examined his body with his ocular power, but found nothing unusual at all.
On the contrary, his ocular power was extraordinarily abundant. Under Isshiki's pure power, one of his eyes had even become a genuine Rinnegan...
Unlike the counterfeit ones possessed by the Six Paths puppets, this one held the power that gives rise to all things.
Hi-kun then turned toward Uchiha Madara and said with a cheerful smile, "Madara-sama, it seems Senju Tobirama really left quite an impression on the Young Clan Head..."
"Don't blame him. The Young Clan Head definitely knows you've always been the leader of the Crimson Organization. It's just that, given how close the two of you were, he probably thought you'd never use the Impure World Reincarnation to summon him back from the Pure Land..."
"So his mind instinctively settled on Senju Tobirama."
"Being revived is far too unbelievable. It just didn't occur to him right away."
Madara's twisted expression eased slightly.
If even his own younger brother couldn't understand him, Madara's heart might truly have cracked...
Though perhaps not.
Because when Izuna mistook him for Senju Tobirama, Madara had instinctively thought of Sarutobi Hiruzen—the man who had played a game of strategy against him from afar and slaughtered his way across the battlefield while wearing his armor...
At least someone understood him!
Izuna's thoughts raced like an electric current.
'Could it really not be Senju Tobirama?'
Izuna leapt down from the lotus held in the hands of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. His eyes immediately landed on Uchiha Madara, who was staring straight at him, and his entire body trembled.
Truthfully, Izuna was still wondering whether Senju Tobirama had somehow disguised himself as his older brother...
But the moment the brothers' eyes met, nothing more needed to be said.
Because Izuna had seen Madara fall into obsession and confusion far too many times. He knew that look—extreme and uncompromising, yet somehow carrying a faint, inexplicable sorrow for the suffering of others.
Senju Tobirama could never imitate it.
That bastard was far too rational.
So rational that he was almost devoid of humanity.
Someone so lacking in emotion could never imitate Madara, a man whose emotions ran to the opposite extreme.
In Izuna's eyes, this was an innate flaw Senju Tobirama possessed.
"Brother..."
Izuna called softly, saying nothing more.
Instead, he walked up to Madara and pulled him into a tight embrace.
Madara instinctively hugged Izuna just as tightly.
At that moment, all the hurt and frustration caused by Izuna mistaking him for Senju Tobirama vanished beneath the warmth of his younger brother's embrace.
Did it matter?
It seemed terribly important, yet somehow not that important after all.
Hi-kun watched the scene with delighted surprise. He slowly clenched his fist, barely resisting the urge to cheer.
Finally...
Finally, someone who knew how to communicate with this lonely old man had arrived!
Izuna wasn't called Little Hi-kun for nothing.
Both he and Hi-kun understood one thing: while logic was important when communicating with Madara, the most important thing was to put emotions and bonds first.
As long as family members communicated openly and loved one another, there was nothing they couldn't talk through.
A hug could always solve more than half the problem right from the start...
And yet shinobi were unwilling to openly show their love to those closest to them. They always expressed it silently, through strictness and awkward behavior, ultimately causing countless catastrophic misunderstandings that could never be undone.
"It's so good to see you again, Brother."
Izuna gazed at Madara's face.
In truth, nourished by Isshiki's power, Madara was already considerably younger than he had once been.
Overall, he looked more like a middle-aged man now rather than the decrepit old man he had been before.
"You must have been exhausted all these years without me, Brother."
"I've always regretted giving you my eyes back then..." Izuna said, dropping a startling revelation.
Madara froze. "Why, Izuna?"
"I never cared about power or the Mangekyō Sharingan or any of that. Back then, I overlooked one problem. Once I gave you my eyes, it meant you had to shoulder all the responsibility by yourself."
"You had to face Hashirama, that bastard, and the entire Senju Clan alone. You also had to keep all the Uchiha shinobi in line. Just how much work was that?"
"Back then, I was blinded by what the old records said too. I thought that as long as you possessed the legendary Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, you'd be able to sweep through the shinobi world by yourself and lead the Uchiha Clan in bringing an end to the Warring States Period."
"But before I died, I finally realized that you and I had always depended on each other. Without me standing beside you, even if you became king of the shinobi world, you'd still be lonely..."
"For someone whose emotions burn as fiercely as yours, loneliness is the most terrifying poison of all."
"If I could choose again, I wouldn't give you my eyes, Brother."
"I'd stay beside you and fight across the shinobi world with you until the very end. Even if the Uchiha Clan lost and had to make peace with the Senju Clan, I'd find some way to maneuver you into becoming the Second Hokage."
"It was my fault, Brother. I made the wrong decision back then and left you to suffer..."
Izuna held Uchiha Madara tightly and whispered, "Forgive me, Brother!"
Madara remained silent for a long moment before tightening his embrace around Izuna as well.
Tears slowly streamed from his Rinnegan.
His heart, filled with the power that gives rise to all things, clenched again and again—but these were spasms of happiness.
What a wonderful little brother!
Hi-kun listened to Izuna's speech in stunned amazement. He almost wanted to applaud the Young Clan Head...
'Hokage-sama really was right...'
'There's always someone better out there. This is the real master when it comes to handling Madara-sama! I still have a long way to go. I absolutely have to stay humble and keep myself from being blinded by a little short-term success...'
It only took one move to recognize a true expert.
Clearly, Izuna was a man capable of handling Uchiha Madara as easily as spinning a top.
He was the true Great Clan Head of the Uchiha Clan!
But at that very moment.
Izuna felt miserable inside.
Because everything he had just said came straight from his heart, yet he had also been using the opportunity to test whether the man before him truly was his brother...
The physical contact, the collision between their chakra and ocular power, and all the tiny expressions and subtle reactions Madara had shown upon hearing those words told Izuna that the man before him couldn't possibly be Senju Tobirama.
This really was his brother.
He had absolutely nothing to do with that bastard...
'How did things end up like this?!'
His heroic older brother, the man who had once looked down upon the entire world and had never stooped to schemes or conspiracies, was known as the Shura of the Shinobi World.
And yet he had somehow ended up hiding his identity in an underground cavern?
Izuna's words had partly been a test, but his regret over the decision he had made all those years ago was entirely genuine.
He truly believed that he bore part of the responsibility for his brother's fall.
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