Senju and Uchiha

"Big brother! He's here!"

Tobirama Senju's senses were firmly locked onto the chakra source that was approaching at an alarming speed, his crimson pupils filled with vigilance and solemnity.

However, Hashirama Senju showed none of the tension or fighting spirit one would expect when facing a nemesis. Instead, his expression was somewhat dazed, his gaze drifting into the distance, and a wistful and wistful smile unconsciously curving his lips.

"Boom!!!"

With a deafening roar, accompanied by a powerful gust of air, it slammed down not far from the Senju Clan brothers.

Grass clippings and dust swirled as two figures emerged from the smoke and dust. Leading the group was none other than Uchiha Madara, clad in red Sengoku armor, his Rinnegan gleaming, his long hair moving without wind.

Beside him Uchiha Izuna, who had also regained consciousness, his eyes sharp as knives.

Madara's gaze instantly locked onto Hashirama Senju, his Rinnegan bursting with undisguised excitement, fervent fighting spirit, and an even more intense sense of destiny after crossing the boundary between life and death.

"Found you! Hashirama!"

His voice was booming, carrying an undeniable sense of declaration.

"Ban... it's been a long time."

Hashirama Senju finally recovered from his daze, a complex smile appearing on his face. "It seems... we both woke up in this strange place. What a... strange coincidence."

"Brother! Don't let your guard down!"

Tobirama Senju shouted sharply, taking a half-step forward to subtly block Hashirama. His gaze simultaneously swept towards the black-haired youth beside Madara, "You are... Uchiha Izuna?"

His appearance was exactly the same as when he was alive, which allowed Tobirama to quickly confirm his identity.

"Yes, it's me," Uchiha Izuna replied coldly. "Long time no see, Tobirama Senju. Although I don't know why you're here, this time..."

He raised his chin, with the pride and determination unique to the Uchiha Clan, and declared, "I will never lose to you again."

These brainless war maniacs! What kind of time is this?!

Tobirama Senju cursed inwardly. Faced with this bizarre situation that was completely beyond reason, where he had not even figured out his own condition or where he was in, he was in a completely strange situation.

These two evil Uchiha's first reaction was still to fight?!

And the older brother, he's actually lamenting about "fate"?! Can't he at least figure out the situation before deciding whether to reminisce or take action?!

... etc.

In a flash, Tobirama Senju's mind quickly connected and analyzed all the previous clues. He was dead, and his elder brother was dead too.

Uchiha Madara... is already dead, and Uchiha Izuna, needless to say, died even earlier. And now, they all appear on this strangely energetic grassland in this state of "soul form," somewhere between physical and illusory...

He once again projected his senses onto the distant grassland, where scattered, still, and indistinctly outlined "figures"... Previously, he had only thought they were some kind of energy entities or illusions, but now, considering his own state, he carefully perceived them...

"...Brother," Tobirama Senju's voice suddenly carried a knowing glimpse of the truth. He turned his head, "I think...I roughly know our current situation, and...where exactly we are."

"Hahaha! Tobirama! I never thought we'd see something like this!"

Hashirama hadn't quite caught up with his brother's train of thought yet; instead, he was excited by the reunion of his brother, his nemesis, and his nemesis's younger brother. He laughed and patted Tobirama shoulder.

"Indeed, meeting old friends, even in such a strange place, is exhilarating!"

"Big brother!!!"

Tobirama Senju's voice suddenly rose, making Hashirama's ears Hashirama. "Listen to me carefully!!"

"Hiss... Okay, okay, I can hear you, you don't need to shout so loudly..."

Hashirama shrank back, startled by the shout, and finally toned down his cheerful expression, looking at his younger brother with a pitiful expression.

This guy... really has no authority whatsoever.

Uchiha Madara, who had witnessed the entire interaction between the Senju Clan brothers, raised an eyebrow, a hint of helpless resignation flashing in his eyes—a sentiment he had long since grown accustomed to.

"Hey! Tobirama Senju! Are you ignoring me?!"

Seeing his provocation dismissed so easily and as his brother began analyzing the situation, Uchiha Izuna felt utterly disrespected. "I told you, this time, I will not lose again! Let's settle this once and for all!"

Tobirama turned his gaze from the sky to Izuna's fiercely competitive face, and sighed. "No, I don't want to fight you."

"What?!" Izuna was stunned, then his anger intensified. "What do you mean? Do you think I'll do the same thing as last time?!"

"Don't misunderstand, I'm not afraid, or rather, I'm showing you any special mercy." Tobirama's voice was calm and even. "It's simply because our current battle... is meaningless."

His gaze swept over Madara Hashirama, finally settling on Izuna before delivering that cruel conclusion.

"Because we are all dead now."

"... ha?!"

These words instantly stirred up a huge wave among the four. Not only Izuna, but also Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju turned their heads sharply and looked at Tobirama Senju in disbelief, their faces filled with astonishment and doubt.

"Are we all dead? But why are we all...?"

Hashirama subconsciously looked at his hands, feeling the real touch, trying to find evidence to refute it.

Ban's face instantly darkened, like the sky before a storm. He couldn't accept this conclusion! He clearly felt the power, felt his "body," felt the realness of resurrection! How could he be dead?!

"Big brother, haven't you figured it out yet?"

Tobirama pointed to the peaceful yet eerie grassland around them, then to the Little Sun radiating warm light in the sky. "This is not the mortal world at all. Our 'bodies' feel real, but they are not made of flesh and blood, nor do they feel any sense of being forcibly bound or defiled—this is not Impure World Reincarnation. Also, look around."

He raised his hand and pointed to the semi-transparent figures in the distance, each with a different posture and indistinct outline, scattered across the grassland.

"Those drifting phantoms, if I'm not mistaken, are like us, the souls of the dead. Only they seem... to be in a state of slumber or not yet fully manifested."

"Haven't you noticed? As time goes by, those phantoms are solidifying. I'm afraid it won't be long before all the souls on this land, like us, gradually awaken. This is the afterlife, only... it has been changed into its current form by someone, or by some force."

Tobirama's analysis was clear, logical, and rigorous, pointing to an answer that, while unbelievable, was reasonable, when combined with all the existing anomalies.

"... I see."

Unexpectedly, after hearing his younger brother's explanation, Hashirama Senju was not frustrated or afraid. Instead, he seemed to have a Taiseki lifted off his shoulders, and let out a long, relieved sigh, a relieved smile appearing on his face.

"If this is the afterlife... that's fine too. At least I wasn't forcibly summoned back to the present world to interfere with it and cause trouble for future generations."

He viewed life and death with equanimity, and was more concerned with not causing unnecessary turmoil to the world of the living.

However, Uchiha Madara's face turned completely grim. The afterlife... the plan... so it never succeeded at all? What about the Moon Eye? What about Infinite Tsukuyomi? What about Obito and Nagato?!

Although he was extremely unwilling to admit it, reason told him that the conclusion reached by that Tobirama Senju was most likely the truth.

After all, this guy's brain... is indeed disgustingly clever.

An indescribable rage, frustration, and extreme resentment towards the status quo surged within him.

"Boom--!!!"

To vent this violent emotion, cold yet intense chakra erupted from Uchiha Madara! Blue chakra shot into the sky, rapidly condensing and forming behind him!

In the blink of an eye, a Perfect Susanoo, towering a hundred meters tall, clad in majestic armor and wielding a massive chakra weapon, stood proudly on this newly grown grassland!

"Madara! Didn't you hear what Tobirama said?! There's absolutely no point in us fighting now!" Hashirama shouted as he tried to stop them.

However, Madara stood within the crystal on Susanoo, his Rinnegan flashing with a fanatical, insane light.

"... Does a battle need a reason? Come on, Hashirama."

Looking at the familiar yet seemingly more powerful Susanoo before him, and feeling the overwhelming pressure mixed with anger and boundless fighting spirit, Hashirama Senju's expression of dissuasion gradually faded, replaced by an equally ignited excitement and fighting spirit.

For some reason, he felt that Madara... seemed to have become stronger.

As lifelong rivals, if it weren't for war and the survival of the village, deep down, Hashirama actually quite enjoyed having a good, satisfying fight with Madara.

"The Wood Human Technique!"

Hashirama said no more, and suddenly clasped his hands together! A vast and boundless chakra surged from his body like a tsunami, flowing into the ground beneath his feet!

"BOOM--!!!"

The earth trembled, and a massive number of trees burst forth from the ground as if they were alive. In the blink of an eye, a huge Wood Golem figure, only slightly shorter than the Perfect Susanoo, made entirely of hard ancient wood, with bulging muscles, rose from the ground and confronted the blue Susanoo the void!

"Hashirama!!!"

Madara roared, and under his control, the Perfect Susanoo took huge strides, wielding a giant chakra sword, and slashed fiercely at the Wood Golem!

"Spot!!!"

Hashirama also let out a loud shout, Wood Golem fearlessly charged forward, its massive wooden arm clenching into a fist and slamming head-on into the chakra giant sword!

"Boom--!!!!!"

Blue chakra light and brown wooden fragments exploded out like a nebula!

An indescribable roar seemed to shatter the tranquility of the world. A violent shockwave spread wildly in a ring from the point of impact! The grass beneath our feet was uprooted, soil flew everywhere, and turbulent energy swept across an area of hundreds of meters!

On the ground, Tobirama Senju had already retreated swiftly while both sides were gathering their strength.

He frowned, watching the meaningless yet earth-shattering battle, his heart filled with helplessness and annoyance.

He never fought pointless battles. At this moment, he only wanted to take advantage of the two battle maniacs' entanglement to leave this place as quickly as possible, to investigate this so-called afterlife further away, gather more information, and find out what exactly happened here.

However, he had only taken a few steps when a figure suddenly blocked his way.

"Don't even think about escaping! Tobirama Senju!" Uchiha Izuna gripped his longsword, his eyes cold and resolute. "Your opponent is me!"

"Get out of the way!" Tobirama's voice was impatient. "Our battle was decided decades ago! Repeating pointless fighting is just a waste of both of our time!"

"This time... it will be you who dies!" Izuna ignored him completely, his eyes blazing with killing intent. He swiftly Hand Seals, unleashing "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A massive, incredibly hot fireball hurtled straight towards Tobirama!

Seeing the familiar Fire Release flying towards him, Tobirama Senju Body Flicker Technique dodged to the side while simultaneously pulling a Kunai from his ninja tool pouch, cursing under his breath.

This is so annoying... This bunch of the Uchiha Clan are mentally unstable and inherently evil!