Battle of the Bridge * Suggestion

On stage, to help Hashirama's son, Senju Yūki, act more convincingly and Koremori with Shigemori's loss of his father, Izuna gave him a Suggestion.

That Suggestion was at the death of Hashirama Senju. (Senju Yūki * Battle of the Bridge)

"Don't change the subject." Madara stared at Izuna. "To be able to Suggestion 'father is dead'... means you're absolutely certain Hashirama will die, or in your world... he's already dead."

Hashirama watched him silently, his face expressionless.

Izuna met their gazes, and the fleeting feeling of reminiscing about the past vanished from his face, replaced by calmness, absolute calmness.

"Yes, I know." He said calmly, "I know what I'm doing, and I know what that Suggestion means."

Ban's brows furrowed even deeper.

Izuna was too frank.

So, as expected... Hashirama is dead?

In his world.

"Hashirama Senju is dead," Izuna said calmly. "He was killed by Black Zetsu."

That's obviously nonsense.

While he was still playing the Biwa, he was already thinking about how to shift the blame.

According to the original story, Hashirama died from injuries and illness after his final battle with Madara at the Valley of the End?

No, that won't do. This completely contradicts his character design as Happy Izuna.

In his story, the four of them were best friends since childhood, getting hurt together, fighting together, and eventually joining hands to establish Konoha.

With such a bond, how could Madara and Hashirama possibly develop a life-or-death situation, even to the point of mutual destruction?

Isn't that out of character (OOC)?

Therefore, there must be an external enemy, evil and powerful enough, to bear the blame for "causing Hashirama's death".

Who could be more suitable than Black Zetsu?

This culprit, who spanned a thousand years of Shinobi World history, stirred up trouble behind the scenes, killed Indra, and caused countless reincarnations of Asura, and ultimately betrayed Madara Uchiha, is the perfect scapegoat.

Moreover, he needed to come up with an explanation for the inexplicable outburst a few days ago.

Therefore, Black Zetsu.

You're on your side to take the blame!

"Black Zetsu?" Madara repeated the word, gritting his teeth as he said, "That thing from the gutter?"

"What..." Hashirama opened his mouth, but no complete sound came out. For the first time, his face showed a blank look of confusion and shock.

Murdered? Killed by that black monster that was ripped from Hideki's body a few days ago?

Does that thing have that ability?

Madara took a deep breath and said, "Explain yourself clearly, Izuna."

"It's because of a relapse of an old illness." He began his narration in a steady voice.

"On the Naka River, Hashirama took the fatal blow from his father to protect Madara... Although he didn't die on the spot, the wound was too close to his heart."

"Hashirama later awakened a powerful regenerative ability; the Senju Clan's physique is indeed astonishing. On the surface, the wound had long since healed, leaving barely a scar. But..."

He paused, a hint of barely perceptible pain in his voice. "The hidden wounds from childhood have left hidden dangers in the most critical places."

"His heart has never really been very good. But he never said anything, always hiding it with his carefree, smiling face."

He would cough from time to time, especially when he was exhausted from fighting or when the weather changed suddenly. Occasionally, his heart would suddenly clench, though very briefly, but he would always unconsciously press his hand to his chest, and his face would turn pale for a moment...

"We've noticed all of this, and we're quite worried about it privately. But hidden injuries are hard to heal, and we haven't had a good solution yet; we can only let it drag on."

"Later, the village was established, and everything seemed to be on the right track. But various internal and external affairs remained complicated, and the pressure was considerable. As the Hokage Hashirama, Hashirama always took the lead and personally handled everything."

"Finally, after several sleepless nights dealing with a border dispute, his old injury... flared up."

Izuna's voice became even softer, as if afraid of disturbing something.

"It was very sudden. He was processing documents at the Hokage Building when he experienced excruciating heart pain and could barely breathe. He... probably didn't want everyone to worry, especially you, Madara, because he was afraid you would blame yourself. So his first reaction was to avoid us and find somewhere to tough it out."

"Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, he used the Body Flicker Technique to leave the Hokage Building, intending to go to the woods outside the village, where it was quiet and no one would bother him."

"But..."

"Black Zetsu has been lurking in the shadows all along. It has always wanted to destroy Konoha and disrupt the Ninja alliance. It discovered Hashirama's weakness and saw this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"It has made its move." Izuna's voice remained calm throughout, but these words still made Hashirama and Madara's hearts skip a beat.

"In an extremely subtle way, they interfered with Hashirama's Chakra flow, amplifying the pain and disorder in his heart. Hashirama was already extremely weak at the time, and caught off guard... he couldn't withstand it."

"Black Zetsu's original intention was to make Hashirama's death appear as a natural death due to overwork and a recurrence of old injuries. This way, he could eliminate the biggest threat without immediately arousing suspicion and a full investigation."

"However, it underestimated Tobirama." Izuna's tone became more complicated when he mentioned the name. "That guy... has been keeping a close eye on Hashirama's physical condition."

"Hashirama suddenly left, and his aura was so strange, he immediately noticed and gave chase."

"Unfortunately... it was too late." Izuna's voice lowered, filled with sorrow. "When Tobirama arrived, all he saw was the lifeless Hashirama and the faint, utterly disgusting aura left by Black Zetsu."

"Hashirama- kun... in the end, he still didn't survive."

After the narration was finished, the carriage fell into a deathly silence.

The only sounds were the monotonous thud of Wheels rolling over the road and the occasional chirping of birds from the distant woods.

Hashirama sat there blankly, his face expressionless, as if his soul had left his body.

He instinctively raised his hand and pressed it against his left chest. There, his heart was beating steadily, healthily and strongly.

However, in Izuna's description, in another possible past, this heart stopped beating because of a severe childhood injury, because of the wicked hand of a lurking evil spirit.

Ban's face was ashen, his lips pressed into a stiff line, and the air around him was frighteningly low.

His fingers were clenched into fists beneath his wide sleeves, his knuckles turning white from the force.

The wounds on the Naka River... the wounds sustained while protecting him... ultimately led to that end? Killed by a lurking, sinister creature?

He couldn't imagine what he would be like without Hashirama if what Izuna said was true.