"Come on!"
"You defeated the loser!"
"Uchiha Ren, let him go! I'll cut him down with the Flying Thunder God Technique again!"
Senju Tobirama was more than happy to fan the flames.
He didn't take the furious Uchiha Izuna seriously at all.
He had killed Izuna while he was alive.
Now, there was even less reason to fear losing!
"Descendant, let go of me!"
"My elder brother must have been plotted against by the evil Senju Tobirama!"
"Otherwise, he never would have lost to Senju Hashirama!"
Uchiha Izuna still refused to accept reality.
His most respected and powerful elder brother had obtained the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan—
Yet had still lost to Senju Hashirama.
"Arrogant!"
"You and Uchiha Madara are exactly alike!"
"Neither of you understands that there is always someone stronger and a heaven beyond the heavens!"
"Is the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan really that powerful?"
"Is Susanoo truly so impressive?"
"My elder brother's Wood Release was made to crush Susanoo!"
Tobirama continued rambling without pause.
He treated Uchiha Izuna as an emotional punching bag, pouring out all the resentment and pent-up frustration he had accumulated from being suppressed by Uchiha Ren.
"Enough!"
Uchiha Ren shouted.
This naturally evil Senju old bastard was far too arrogant!
Was he humiliating Uchiha Izuna?
No.
He was clearly slapping Uchiha Ren in the face!
"Tobirama, you've spent the entire evening jumping around and showing off those pitifully few glorious moments from your life."
"Why don't you continue?"
"Why not talk about the disaster that erupted during the First Shinobi World War after Senju Hashirama died?"
"Or the rotten debts you left Konoha while serving as the Second Hokage?"
"You and Senju Hashirama buried one landmine after another, and I had to dismantle every last one."
"Why don't you mention those?"
Senju Tobirama had been basking in triumph.
But after only a few sentences from Uchiha Ren, his expression immediately changed.
His face darkened.
This was bad!
Uchiha Ren was about to expose his past!
"Descendant, explain everything!"
Uchiha Izuna noticed Tobirama's drastic change in expression and immediately realized that he had concealed many things.
Of course!
Something must have happened!
If the evil Senju Tobirama had become Konoha's Second Hokage, how could an Uchiha descendant have become the Third Hokage?
"Tell me every shameful and filthy thing Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama did!"
Uchiha Izuna urged impatiently.
Tobirama had gone too far earlier.
His mask had to be torn away so that his ugly true face could be revealed!
"Then I'll explain."
"Back then, Lord Madara and Senju Hashirama joined forces to establish Konoha."
"Although Senju Hashirama held the initiative, the Uchiha Clan was not far behind."
"The combined power of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama was enough to overturn the entire ninja world."
"Even though the ninja world was vast and abundant, and Konoha was restricted by various practical circumstances to occupying only its most fertile lands, they could still have eliminated every dangerous shinobi force in the world."
"That would have given future generations of Konoha ample time to prepare for the great cause of unifying the world."
"But Senju Hashirama refused!"
"He allowed himself to be blinded by the false peace before him."
"He even made an unbelievably foolish decision."
"He sold all the tailed beasts Konoha had worked so hard to capture."
"And worst of all—"
"He didn't even sell them for a good price!"
"To secure peace agreements worth less than toilet paper, he practically gave the tailed beasts away."
"Each one was sold for almost nothing!"
Uchiha Ren began recounting Senju Hashirama's mistakes.
Failing to unify the ninja world and eliminate every shinobi force that might threaten Konoha did not initially make him particularly emotional.
But when he reached that catastrophic business deal—
Uchiha Ren became increasingly agitated.
At the time, only Sunagakure had captured the One-Tail.
The other eight tailed beasts had all belonged to Konoha.
Those were eight ultra-high-output tailed beast generators!
How much money had that cost him?!
"Senju Tobirama, it looks like your elder brother wasn't that impressive after all!"
"He was an idiot who didn't even understand the principle of uprooting the grass and eliminating threats before they could grow!"
"What was that saying again?"
"A simple mind with well-developed limbs!"
"Just like an ape!"
"No brain at all!"
"Hahahaha!"
Uchiha Izuna finally found an opportunity to strike back.
He eagerly began mocking Senju Hashirama as a brainless fool.
"Shut up!"
"You are not allowed to insult my elder brother!"
"You should be grateful for his mercy!"
"Otherwise, the Senju Clan would have exterminated the Uchiha Clan long ago!"
Senju Tobirama retorted furiously.
Elder brother!
You were simply too merciful!
You should have listened to me and exterminated the entire Uchiha Clan!
You didn't take a single one of Father's teachings to heart.
Only a dead Uchiha was a good Uchiha!
"Descendant, what else happened?"
"Senju Hashirama may have been an idiot, but my elder brother was not."
"He would definitely have eliminated every potential threat."
Uchiha Izuna brought up Uchiha Madara.
His elder brother was merciful, but mercy did not mean weakness.
Izuna believed Madara would have made the correct choice.
"Lord Madara once tried to persuade Senju Hashirama."
"Unfortunately, he failed."
"The two of them fulfilled their childhood dream—ending the war between the Uchiha and Senju Clans and jointly establishing a shinobi village."
"But when it came to the path ahead, an irreconcilable conflict emerged between them."
"Senju Hashirama established the so-called one-country, one-village system and became intoxicated by an illusory, temporary peace."
"Lord Madara was more radical."
"He wanted to go further."
"The Uchiha possess sensitive minds and are naturally inclined toward deep thought."
"Lord Madara's thinking even touched upon the source of every tragedy—the deformed and twisted ninja world itself, where shinobi existed only as tools of war."
"He wanted to forge a new path."
"But he had no clear direction."
"He hoped to search for true peace together with Senju Hashirama."
"Unfortunately, Senju Hashirama refused to take another step forward with Uchiha Madara."
"Even though he tried to ease the conflict between them and intended for Lord Madara to become the Second Hokage, their disagreements continued to deepen."
"Then a certain treacherous individual began sowing discord."
"That finally forced Lord Madara to recognize reality."
"Konoha had no future."
"Even the Uchiha Clan would lose its future by remaining there."
"So he called upon the Uchiha to leave Konoha with him and establish a new homeland."
"But he failed again."
"He moved from one extreme to another and became a rogue avenger consumed by hatred."
"The rights and wrongs of everything that happened cannot be explained in only a few words."
"In any case, Lord Madara eventually left Konoha."
Uchiha Ren briefly recounted how Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama had ultimately gone their separate ways.
He omitted the parts involving Black Zetsu and the stone tablet.
Senju Tobirama remained silent nearby.
In this version of the story, he was almost as black-hearted as Black Zetsu.
If he interrupted carelessly to defend himself, Uchiha Ren would tear him apart with words.
Uchiha Izuna, meanwhile, was filled with righteous indignation.
His mood sank rapidly.
Elder Brother!
Even after obtaining such overwhelming power—
Were your days without me still so difficult?
Betrayed by your closest friend.
Betrayed by your own clan.
Had I been there—
None of this would have happened!
"Descendant, was that treacherous villain Senju Tobirama?"
"It had to be him!"
"Otherwise, once my elder brother became Konoha's Second Hokage, he would have set everything right!"
Uchiha Izuna's heart ached.
His elder brother had suffered so much because of some treacherous villain.
And that villain had to be Senju Tobirama!
Uchiha Izuna was ninety-eight percent certain!
"Senju Tobirama, do you lack the courage to admit what you did?"
"You coward hiding inside your shell!"
"Shut up, defeated loser!"
"So what if I pushed Uchiha Madara aside?"
"Uchiha Madara was never as noble as Uchiha Ren claims!"
"He is merely trying to gild Madara's face!"
"With someone like him, you expect him to end the tragedies of the ninja world?"
"He lacked both the ability and the intelligence!"
Senju Tobirama was becoming increasingly frustrated.
In his eyes, Uchiha Madara had been nothing more than a reckless brute without a brain.
Madara had been foolish enough to pursue the Eye of the Moon Plan and drag all humanity into a dream.
Could someone like that truly comprehend such profound principles?
Uchiha Ren watched Tobirama's face turn red with anger.
It seemed he genuinely had no faith in Uchiha Madara's ability to think.
Honestly—
Uchiha Ren also wished Madara weren't so intelligent.
An insane Uchiha was frightening.
But an Uchiha who started thinking was even more terrifying.
Uchiha Madara had truly touched upon the root of the ninja world's tragedies.
Unfortunately, he had not read enough books and could not find a path toward solving the problem.
Worse still, his surroundings had been filled with endless sources of frustration—
His closest friend Senju Hashirama's inability to understand him.
Senju Tobirama constantly whispering poison from the side.
And Black Zetsu guiding him through the stone tablet.
Step by step, Madara had fallen into the enormous pit known as the Eye of the Moon Plan.
The current Uchiha Madara had already read many books.
To become a qualified factory director, he had supposedly taken management and economics courses during his spare time.
He had also read Uchiha Ren's revised Will of Fire.
That book contained an entire worldview and methodology that had undergone successful practice and the test of history.
Uchiha Ren and Senju Tobirama had even localized it to better suit the ninja world.
What Uchiha Ren had once been most proud of—
And now regretted most—
Was adding the concept of class to the book.
Heaven knew whether Uchiha Madara, after spending so long working like a beast of burden in a factory, might take another step forward.
Forget it.
He didn't want to think about it.
Just imagining the possibility was terrifying.
Uchiha Ren discarded the chaotic thoughts from his mind.
He could only hope that Uchiha Hikari would keep Madara drunk on entertainment inside the arcade.
"Treacherous villain!"
"You are the one who ruined my elder brother!"
"Uchiha Madara brought everything upon himself!"
"Konoha continued flourishing without him."
"That proves my decision at the time was correct!"
"AAAAAH!"
"I'll avenge my elder brother!"
"You?"
"It seems you didn't get enough of the Flying Thunder God Slash last time!"
In an instant—
Senju Tobirama and Uchiha Izuna prepared to fight again.
Uchiha Ren immediately seized control of both their bodies.
Only after their rage had returned to a normal level did he release them.
"Hmph."
"Descendant, I'll give you face."
"Everything we discussed earlier concerned Senju Hashirama."
"But the naturally evil Senju Tobirama must have committed countless filthy deeds."
"Tell me all of them!"
Uchiha Izuna had finally begun to understand.
Senju Hashirama had merely been naïve and foolish.
The truly wicked one was Senju Tobirama.
Without Tobirama, his elder brother would never have endured so much suffering.
"Senju Tobirama's past is hardly clean."
"Uchiha Ren, don't frame me!"
"Don't slander an innocent man!"
Tobirama panicked.
That black-hearted bastard Uchiha Ren would definitely exaggerate everything from the past and twist it beyond recognition.
Then Tobirama's flawless lifelong reputation would be completely destroyed!
"Bullshit!"
"A Hokage records history exactly as it happened without changing a single word!"
"I am Konoha's dignified Third Hokage."
"I know everything about you."
"How could I speak nonsense?"
Uchiha Ren sneered.
How could he possibly smear Senju Tobirama?
He was merely stating the truth.
"First of all, you never treated the Uchiha as comrades."
"You schemed against them constantly."
"You excluded the Uchiha Clan from the village leadership."
"You hoped all the shinobi clans of Konoha would distance themselves from the Uchiha, leaving them isolated and without allies."
"You even deliberately established the Konoha Military Police Force for them."
"Is that true or not?"
Uchiha Ren's voice thundered through the laboratory as he condemned Senju Tobirama.
"You Uchiha were far too dangerous!"
"You remained an unstable element as long as you stayed in Konoha."
"Only by continuously watching and regulating the Uchiha Clan could mistakes be prevented."
"I…"
"I did it all for Konoha."
"What about me?"
"I am Konoha's Third Hokage."
"The Konoha of today is far more prosperous than it ever was during your or Senju Hashirama's reign."
"The difference between then and now exceeds an entire era."
"How can those situations be compared?"
"At least half of Konoha's current prosperity belongs to me!"
"If I hadn't worked tirelessly in this laboratory every day—"
"Enough nonsense."
"I am asking you one question."
"Since I became the Third Hokage, has Konoha continued getting better?"
"Yes or no?"
Senju Tobirama had always been eloquent.
But faced with Uchiha Ren's interrogation, he could no longer bring himself to argue.
He could only lower his head and stand there in silence.
Only now did he finally understand the true meaning of—
All glory belongs to the Hokage.
One careless step had caused a regret lasting through the ages.
When he looked back, a hundred years had already passed!
"Hahahaha!"
"Senju Tobirama, speak!"
"Weren't you extremely talkative earlier?"
"How can such a simple question leave you speechless?"
Uchiha Izuna watched Tobirama hang his head.
He laughed wildly while joining Uchiha Ren in interrogating him.
Hmph!
Hadn't Senju Tobirama been arrogant?
He relied on his elder brother's power and dared bare his fangs before the Uchiha Clan.
The thought filled Uchiha Izuna with overwhelming satisfaction.
At the same time—
He cast Uchiha Ren an approving, passionate glance.
As expected of a descendant of the Uchiha Clan.
The Uchiha were indeed superior to the Senju!
Uchiha Ren had finally helped him vent his anger.
"Hmph."
"It seems someone has silently admitted defeat!"
"You and Senju Hashirama weren't impressive after all."
"Konoha clearly requires Uchiha leadership!"
"Descendant, is there more?"
"Senju Tobirama must have far more dark history than this."
"Continue!"
Uchiha Izuna intended to press his advantage.
As for Uchiha Madara—
Two paths stretched before him.
One led left.
The other led right.
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