--------------------------------------------------
In the Pure Land, Hashirama Senju sat across from Senju Tsuru, halfheartedly playing dice.
"Madara and I might be this generation's Indra and Asura, but we never fought. Honestly, we're more like brothers. How does that make sense?" Hashirama asked.
"It's not that strange," Tsuru said with a smile.
"There was once a pair of Indra and Asura reincarnations who became lovers. You and Madara being best friends isn't that unusual."
Hashirama let out a helpless sigh.
After he died, Hashirama arrived in the Pure Land and saw many familiar faces. His father was there, along with many former Senju Clan members.
"By the way, why isn't Madara here yet?" Hashirama asked.
"Madara is Indra's reincarnation, so he should be in the Uchiha section of the Pure Land. You could always go over there and ask around," Tsuru replied.
"Maybe I will. It's been years, so Madara should be dead by now," Hashirama said, nodding as he thought.
"Hashirama! There are two men outside looking for you! One's named Itama, and the other's Kawarama. They look like they just died and came up here!" Senju Futen called from the doorway.
Hashirama's face brightened. Finally, his little brothers had died too!
'When are you going to die, Tobirama?' he wondered.
——————————
Back on Mount Myōboku, Manji set out a table full of food.
He, Kaguya, and Hikari ate together and chatted like a family.
"Are you planning to return to the mortal world? What's so great about that place?" Kaguya asked between bites.
She had ruled the mortal world before and always thought it was boring. Hikari agreed. All the worst things in her life had happened there, so she missed it even less.
"I'll probably go back to check on things, unless something unexpected happens. There are still three troublemakers down there I can't ignore." Manji was thinking of Madara Uchiha, Tobirama Senju, and Izuna Uchiha.
Each one had a lot of influence.
In the original story, a half-dead Madara threw the whole shinobi world into chaos. Now Tobirama and Izuna were working with him.
Who knew what kind of trouble they could cause?
..............
At the same time, inside the Mountains' Graveyard, Madara turned to his younger brother.
"Something feels wrong with my eyes, but I can't figure out what it is. It's been like this ever since Hashirama's cells were implanted. Izuna, have you felt anything similar?" Madara asked.
"No, Brother. My eyes are recovering, but I haven't noticed anything strange." Izuna frowned and shook his head.
"Could my power be reacting with Hashirama's cells?" Madara murmured.
Tobirama entered the cave with a troubled expression.
"I wanted to bring my brother back. I tried using Impure World Reincarnation again, but for some reason, I couldn't summon the dead at all," he said.
It didn't make sense. The technique had worked fine on the battlefield. The summoned dead couldn't speak, but they still showed up. Now the jutsu just stopped working, like something had cut off the connection to the dead.
"Forget about summoning Hashirama. Even if you brought him back, he wouldn't side with us," Madara said with a dismissive wave.
He knew Hashirama too well. As soon as his old friend found out about their plan, he would try to stop it.
Tobirama considered that, then nodded.
Suddenly, Madara felt a sharp pain in his eyes.
"What is this?!"
The patterns in his Mangekyō Sharingan twisted and changed. In a moment, the red designs turned into a set of rings.
Madara had awakened the Rinnegan!!
——————————
"Master! Master! History is about to change beyond recognition! I saw it! I saw everything!" Gamamaru rushed up Longevity Peak to report his dream.
Manji had just finished eating and was leaning on a stone railing, talking with Kaguya and Hikari.
"Calm down, Gamamaru. Catch your breath and tell me what happened," Manji said.
Gamamaru bent over, out of breath, and told them everything he saw.
"I dreamed of someone capturing the tailed beasts. I saw the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, the Eye of the Moon Plan, and... the resurrection of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki!"
"The tailed beasts, the Demonic Statue, the Eye of the Moon Plan, and Kaguya's resurrection..." Manji repeated, his eyes narrowing.
Wait. What the hell was going on?
Were those events actually going to happen in this timeline?
The Uchiha stone tablet never existed. Manji, as the Sage of Six Paths, never left a tablet behind. Even if there had been one, he would have destroyed it when he got rid of the old Ninshū.
Black Zetsu, who should have been the mastermind behind the entire plot, now served Mount Myōboku.
Manji turned and gave Kaguya a suspicious look.
"Manji, I had nothing to do with this," Kaguya said, shaking her head at once.
"Sister Kaguya is alive and sitting right here. Why would anyone need to resurrect her?" Hikari asked, baffled.
Manji put his hands behind his back and shook his head. He trusted Kaguya. After living on Mount Myōboku for so long, she had changed. By now, the place had almost tamed her.
"Could Madara and the others be behind this?" Manji wondered.
That thought made him feel better. They were all family. No matter what trouble they caused, he could handle it.
"Did you see anything else?" Manji asked.
"I think I saw a white-haired boy wander into Mount Myōboku," Gamamaru replied, scratching his head.
Manji nodded and started thinking.
Mount Myōboku had not accepted a human disciple in a thousand years.
Manji had ordered Mount Myōboku, Ryūchi Cave, Shikkotsu Forest, and the Monkey King Clan not to take outsiders as students without permission.
Only two exceptions had ever been made. Manji had allowed Hashirama Senju to train in Shikkotsu Forest, and because of his long friendship with the Monkey King Clan, he later gave Hiruzen Sarutobi the same privilege there.
Jiraiya, however, was family. He deserved the inheritance that should have been his.
"When that boy arrives, teach him Mount Myōboku's Sage Arts," Manji said.
Gamamaru blinked, unable to understand why his teacher would make an exception after refusing outsiders for a thousand years.
Still, he nodded.
"Understood, Master."
——————————
~ Every 200 PS = Bonus Chapter!
~ 15 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)