Hashirama's sudden change of heart completely threw Madara off, leaving him stunned and at a loss.
They'd only been apart for half a day.
How had Hashirama changed so much?
Had he already anticipated my intentions and deliberately used the Hokage Position to keep me here?
No, my Hashirama couldn't possibly be that clever!!
Or was this just a joke?
"Hashirama, that's not a funny joke."
Hashirama immediately swore, "Madara, I'm not joking. I'm serious!"
"I've decided to make you my successor as Hokage!"
"Tomorrow, I'll officially write my will and inform the Land of Fire and the other clans that you'll succeed me as Hokage. No one will be allowed to object!"
It was certainly autocratic and undemocratic.
But in Hashirama's eyes, the village's safety mattered far more than democracy...
Madara stared at Hashirama, searching his eyes for even the slightest sign of deception.
But Hashirama still looked utterly sincere.
Knowing Hashirama, Madara could be almost certain he was serious this time!
And once Hashirama made up his mind, no one could change it—not even his younger brother, Tobirama!
Madara took a deep breath, then said quietly:
"I'd already decided to leave Konoha."
"A few days ago, I even called the clan members together and prepared to leave with them. Unfortunately, none of them was willing to follow me."
"The long Warring States Period had left them tired of war, and they cherished the hard-won peace of today all the more."
"I never expected you to pull a move like this, Hashirama. You really caught me off guard!"
Hashirama was startled.
So it really did match the future. Madara was already preparing to leave Konoha.
"Madara, you..."
"Hashirama, you've only just become Hokage. Though everyone wanted you in the position, if you immediately declare your successor as Second Hokage by fiat, you'll face tremendous opposition. It could even damage the Hokage's reputation..."
"I don't care!"
"As long as you stay. You're my brother too, and I sincerely hope you'll keep helping me!"
Hashirama urged him with fiery enthusiasm.
He couldn't bear the thought of Madara leaving, much less killing him with his own hands someday.
Just thinking about it made his heart ache.
He couldn't let that future come to pass!
Madara fell silent again. Hashirama's warmth moved him, filling his heart with a comforting glow.
It was like a wife on the verge of leaving home over a small quarrel, suddenly stopped by her husband's heartfelt affection. He was even willing to change himself and stand against the whole village.
Who could resist that kind of love?
Madara couldn't help wavering...
"Hashirama, I want to know what made you change your mind so suddenly. This isn't the kind of choice you'd normally make..."
Hashirama paused. After thinking it over, he decided there was no point hiding anything and spoke frankly:
"Madara, you can't leave the village. That'll only drive us farther apart, until one day I end up killing you with my own hands!"
"Hashirama, what are you saying? Do you really think you can kill me?"
Madara grew agitated and shouted.
His bond with Hashirama was genuine. But competing and testing each other was fun too. Naturally, he was displeased by Hashirama's outrageous boast.
The way Hashirama put it, it sounded as if he already had Madara beaten.
How could Madara let that slide?
"Madara, don't get worked up. That's not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?"
"Well, today I unexpectedly received a Sage's help and traveled to the future. I saw many terrible things that shouldn't happen. Quite a few of them involved you..."
Madara: "Huh?"
Even Madara, with his iron will, couldn't help questioning reality after hearing such an absurd explanation.
He even wondered whether Hashirama had gone stupid from being Hokage.
Or whether he was still dreaming.
Hashirama wasn't offended. He knew perfectly well how unbelievable the story sounded.
He immediately led Madara over, and they both sat down.
Then, with painstaking seriousness, he recounted everything he'd just experienced and seen.
The more Madara heard, the more alarmed he became.
He couldn't help marveling at the future course of the entire Ninja World.
Though many of the future events sounded utterly absurd, a closer analysis showed they fit each person's character and expectations remarkably well.
In fact, many of them coincided with Madara's own predictions about the future.
He couldn't help believing some of it.
Especially the parts about him planning to defect from the village, capture the Nine-Tails, and attack Konoha again...
Madara hadn't made up his mind completely, but he'd already begun to consider and plan for those things. He hadn't told anyone about them, yet Hashirama had laid them all bare.
That alone said a great deal.
Besides, Hashirama could never have come up with such an absurd yet plausible story on his own...
"Hashirama, is that why you changed your mind? That's quite a story!"
"Madara! It's not a story. It's the real future—I witnessed it with my own eyes!"
"I'll decide for myself whether it's true."
"Madara, believe me! I really need you too. Based on how the future unfolds, there's a good chance I'll die in fifteen years. By then, Tobirama won't be able to maintain the hard-won peace!"
"But you're different. As long as you stay in the village and succeed me as Second Hokage, the First Shinobi World War might never break out at all."
"Peace across the entire Ninja World could endure. You're the only one who can make that happen!"
Hashirama pleaded with utter sincerity.
After witnessing the future, he'd pondered the problem at length, and this was the solution he'd come up with.
As long as Madara stayed in the village and took over as Hokage, his prestige and deterrence would be enough to prevent the First Shinobi World War from ever starting!
As for Tobirama?
His younger brother had nearly fallen to two "human foxes." What a loser!
For the sake of the village's future, he'd just have to sacrifice the Tobirama in this world.
"Hashirama, you're so naïve! Even if I succeed as Second Hokage, how long will I live? Once I'm gone, the Ninja World War will still be unavoidable..."
"I know! But at least it'll preserve peace for a while longer, giving us time to find other, better ways to maintain it."
"What ways?"
"You and Tobirama tried to maintain a balance of military power among the great Ninja Villages by handing out Tailed Beasts in the future? What a naïve and foolish idea!"
"Still, it's exactly the sort of thing you'd do."
Madara scoffed derisively.
As far as he was concerned, it was utterly foolish.
Handing strategic "weapons" over to other Ninja Villages?
And that was supposed to maintain peace?
It was nothing but digging your own grave!
It wouldn't preserve peace. It would only fuel the ambitions of the other villages and trigger a frenzied arms race between nations...
Just like the US-Soviet Cold War.
Atomic Bombs, Neutron Bombs, hydrogen bombs, dirty bombs...
They'd compete madly to build up their arsenals, with each weapon bigger and deadlier than the last!
In the Ninja World, that would mean frantically researching Tailed Beasts and constantly developing their power. The principle was the same...
Hearing this,
Hashirama broke into a faint sweat, looking a little embarrassed.
According to the future, this was indeed the "plan" he'd personally led and pushed forward.
"The plan to distribute the Tailed Beasts does have a lot of drawbacks. It needs work, and I'm still thinking it over..."
"Hashirama, placing all your hopes in the foolish people of the future is a mistake in itself!"
"Madara, how can you talk about our descendants that way? Guiding and nurturing the children is our responsibility. And there are excellent shinobi among the next generation!"
"Hashirama, why are you so naïve?!"
In a way, this was the greatest difference between Hashirama and Madara.
They both longed for peace.
But Hashirama championed the passing on of love. He believed in the shinobi of the next generation and hoped to pass on the Will of Fire from generation to generation, achieving peace through "mutual understanding and mutual deterrence."
Madara, on the other hand, had no faith in those who came after him. He believed only in himself. After decades of planning, everything ultimately came down to him alone: he intended to eliminate every threat by his own hand and achieve everlasting peace.
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