Hatred for the Senju Uchiha

Crouching Dragon Ascending to Heaven

The earth groaned, trembling violently.

"Haaaaaaah--!"

Diejian refined his chakra, his fury nearly making him tremble.

The storm-like chakra rising from his body made his hair stand on end and caused his coat to snap and flutter in the windless expanse.

The bare wood erupting from the ground around him resembled vipers raising their heads to strike, aiming their sharp tips directly at Kakuzu.

The air on the battlefield grew so taut it crackled; beasts stirred in agitation, and birds took flight, scattering into the sky.

Compared to when he had fought Kakuzu in his youth, the volume of Diejian's chakra was worlds apart. Even if it did not yet reach the level of the strongest tailed beast, the Nine-Tails, it was by no means an ordinary amount.

Kakuzu was a ninja far more cautious than Diejian had imagined.

Or perhaps, had he been intimidated by Diejian's rage?

Upon confirming with his own eyes that Diejian truly controlled Wood Release, he immediately retracted the tentacles he had spread around him, covering and shielding his own body.

His posture was like that of a cocoon.

Diejian had initially remained vigilant, thinking it a preparatory stance for an attack, but Kakuzu showed no signs of initiating anything at all.

"Is this all there is?"

In the heavy silence, Kakuzu spoke as if treading on thin ice.

Diejian did not understand his meaning and replied in a flat, monotone voice, "What do you mean?"

"I said, is this all there is?"

Kakuzu, revealing his face from within the tentacles, spoke clearly this time.

His expression seemed to betray a sense of fear, yet it was mixed with intense irritation.

If this were a cat or dog cowering in fright, it might have been somewhat cute, but the opponent was a man wrapped in eerily writhing tentacles with a slick, malevolent gaze; there was nothing cute about him at all.

Diejian ignored Kakuzu's question, dismissing it as "incomprehensible."

Determining that there was no need to wait any longer, Diejian flicked his fingers, and the stationary trees immediately sprang into action.

With the explosive power of a coiled spring, the spears of giant wood were launched.

Though a spear struck Kakuzu square in the face, it seemed to be a clone; the impact felt shallow.

Very well, then—Diejian manipulated a second and third spear of raw wood.

"--Missed, did I? Next move."

He swung his raised arm down, using it as a signal.

The wooden serpents waiting behind Diejian surged toward the cocoon of tentacles, intent on devouring Kakuzu whole.

"Searching for a grain of gold in the desert" was a phrase used to describe the unreasonable or the impossible, but finding the buried Kakuzu amidst those tentacles was not quite so difficult.

As long as he pierced through indiscriminately with giant spears, he would eventually strike the main body.

That was what Diejian thought.

Although Kakuzu had been pierced by the initial spear, he immediately manipulated his tentacles to counter Diejian's attacks, assuming a defensive stance.

When Diejian attacked, Kakuzu's tentacles blocked him; when Kakuzu attacked, Diejian's wood defended against him.

The battle between Kakuzu and Diejian took on the appearance of a tug-of-war for territory.

However, in a battle between two long-range types, Diejian held the advantage in terms of "mass."

"Uwahahaha!"

Suddenly, Kakuzu burst into loud laughter.

The offense and defense came to an abrupt halt, and Diejian stared at Kakuzu in astonishment.

"So that's it, so that's it. As I thought, you really are only at this level."

"What are you trying to say?"

"No, nothing. Just saying—it's nothing to worry about, after all."

"Still running your mouth..."

A thick sense of pleasure seeped into Kakuzu's words, as if he were relieved.

Diejian looked at Kakuzu with a cold, indifferent expression.

His expression appeared composed, showing none of the caution that had been so evident just moments before.

What on earth was going on?

Diejian pondered.

Up until now, they had been evenly matched, but given the compatibility of their techniques, Diejian should have held the advantage.

Although Diejian lacked a decisive finishing blow against Kakuzu, he had intended to persist until Kakuzu's chakra was exhausted.

Although it would take time, the situation was the same for both sides: neither had reinforcements.

As long as he did not commit any grave errors, he could weather this crisis—that was what Diejian believed.

This was the conclusion he had reached based on the feel of his battle with Kakuzu and the intelligence gathered from past conflicts.

Kakuzu was a veteran of countless battles—a tactical ninja who fought by relying on his technique, years of accumulated combat experience, and his instincts as a shinobi.

Even if his strength had increased compared to the past, he was advanced in age, so there would be no sudden, drastic growth.

On the other hand, thanks to his youth, his lineage, and the excellence of his master, Diejian had been achieving rapid growth all along.

Experience aside, in terms of technique, he possessed a variety of arts taught by his master, Tobirama, which could be used selectively depending on the situation.

This was by no means an unfavorable fight.

It was precisely because he viewed Kakuzu as dangerous that he had gone as far as to reveal the Flying Thunder God to isolate him, but that had been an emergency.

If it were Konoha's greatest combat asset, Sarutobi Hiruzen—though with the caveat of there being no time limit—he could likely shut Kakuzu down entirely on his own.

Being evenly matched with Diejian meant exactly that.

"You, right now, you think you have the upper hand, don't you? You think that because you've grown, you can trade blows with me and maintain an advantage, is that what you're thinking?"

"Haa..."

Diejian shook his head as if feeling exhausted.

"Your jaw certainly knows how to run. That jaw of yours—I'll stitch it shut and fix it in place. Fortunately, it seems there's no shortage of thread."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, brat. You inherited the power of Senju Hashirama—I was indeed anxious when I realized that, but don't get cocky over something like this. A good opportunity. I'll... play with you for a while."

"--What... is this..."

Is it a bluff—the moment Diejian thought this, it happened.

A massive shadow slowly swallowed Diejian's own, and he gasped at the abnormality.

What opened slowly like a blooming flower were eerie wings woven from tentacles.

Centered on Kakuzu, who stood upon the ground, the structure spread out in a fan shape, pulsing like an exposed heart and revealing a hair-raising, writhing motion.

Gale winds howled, and shadows shifted.

A vibration that shook the air swept across the grassland, and the expression on Diejian's face, as he looked up at the sky, vanished.

"Did he... fly?"

He whispered blankly.

The wings unfurled above Diejian's head, slicing through the wind.

The terrifying sight was like a crow about to prey upon a kitten.

This was what they meant by a world of difference.

To say there was no sudden growth—he had been dead wrong.

Until now, he had been holding back.

Kakuzu had clearly achieved a level of growth in his potential that surpassed Diejian's.

A stinging sensation that made his skin crawl—a torrent of chakra surged toward Diejian.

The despair of that moment was such that even if asked if Sakumo, Ina, and Diejian could stop him together, he would have to assert that they could not.

---Rain began to fall.

"This is bad, this is... damn it."

Noticing the "rain" closing in on him, Diejian turned his palms toward the sky.

Following this, a wall of Wood Release emerged from the earth, covering the space above Diejian's head.

However, the rain was not something that ended with a single drop.

The second, the third—the sound of Tentacle Spear piercing through the wood echoed incessantly.

The increasing rain soon transformed into a raging storm.

It was a rain of tentacles that possessed a will of its own, attempting to skewer Diejian—like a sweeping gale, an umbrella would be meaningless.

That Diejian could focus his consciousness overhead, skillfully avoid the "umbrella," and detect the Tentacle Spear poking out from the side was likely thanks to Tobirama's training.

Diejian also created a wooden wall against the horizontal attacks.

But the wall, created in haste, lacked sufficient refined chakra; Kakuzu's tentacles pierced through it, closing in to gouge out Diejian's eyes.

"Hah...!"

He couldn't dodge it.

Judging this, Diejian instantly poured all his chakra into the Wood Release wall.

The pierced wall began to regenerate, the wind holes were rapidly sealed, and at the very last second, the intrusion of the tentacles was halted.

At a distance that nearly touched his eyelashes, the tentacles stopped moving.

"Are you relieved now?"

The voice coming from the side made Diejian's skin crawl.

He whipped his head around, and Kakuzu was right there.

Diejian instantly threw a Kunai.

The Kunai pierced Kakuzu's forehead as if sucked into it, but in that very instant, Kakuzu unraveled like loose threads, decomposing into tentacles.

It was a Tentacle Clone.

The moment they separated, the tentacles aimed their sharp tips at Diejian and lunged.

Countless tentacles pierced the spot where Diejian had been standing just a moment before.

Diejian really wanted to praise himself for being able to execute a Body Flicker Technique in that split second.

But there was no time for that; Kakuzu was in hot pursuit behind the fleeing Diejian.

Tentacles suddenly erupted in the path ahead of Diejian.

Diejian scrambled and rolled to dodge them in a sorry state.

A Tentacle Spear grazed right past his side.

(What is going on... I don't know what method he's using, but that guy is tracking my movements.)

As a disciple of Tobirama, Diejian had inherited his combat style.

His speed was among the best in Konoha.

The only ones who could keep up with his movements were likely those ninjas who specialized in taijutsu training.

Judging by the current attacks, Kakuzu did not seem to be keeping up with Diejian's movements, which were accompanied by sharp, sudden changes in direction.

The speed of the tentacles themselves wasn't particularly fast; Diejian's speed was enough to evade them.

But the reason Diejian was running at full tilt was because he was being constantly ambushed.

The positioning was so eerie, as if it perfectly predicted the direction Diejian was heading.

(And he still calls this "playing around," what a monster.)

It was like an endgame in shogi, with every move accurately blocking Diejian's path.

Even when he tried to switch to a counterattack, that move was countered as if it had been seen through—Kakuzu shouldn't be a sensory-type.

This was evident from their past battles, where he had failed to notice the surprise attacks from Ina and Sakumo.

Sensory abilities came in various forms.

For example, Wind Style users could locate targets by sensing the wind, and ninja beast users could use the power of their beasts to track enemies—there were many ways to detect enemies, and these were all things that could be learned later in life.

However—all these sensory methods were inferior to the ability to "purely sense chakra."

Moreover, that ability relied heavily on innate talent, and very few people were born with such a gift.

In that sense, the Yamanaka Clan, which could produce sensory ninjas on a clan-wide scale, was a more precious existence than the Senju Clan, and Sakumo, who was born with sensory abilities, could be called a greater genius than Diejian.

Fortunately, Kakuzu shouldn't be that kind of genius; if that were the case, he shouldn't have been able to accurately detect Diejian's movements, which included feints.

Yet—Diejian dodged the tentacles closing in on him with a nimble, crouching run, convinced that he was being accurately sensed.

This was clearly abnormal.

Although he gritted his back teeth in frustration, he couldn't just complain.

Diejian searched for a way to break the deadlock.

(The ability of Kakuzu to fully capture the "movements" I inherited from the Second Hokage isn't just some level of "prediction" based on experience. There must be some mechanism—right, his ability is to steal hearts and absorb the chakra nature residing in the meridian system. Did he kill a sensory-type ninja and steal their heart?)

Was such a thing even possible—Diejian pondered.

The very act of stealing someone else's heart was an inexplicable, deceitful ability to begin with.

Could it be that this was also possible—if so, it made sense.

In other words, Kakuzu's sensory ability was no different from that of a natural-born sensory ninja.

Frankly speaking, this was desperate.

Out of Kakuzu's five hearts, Diejian had to accurately identify and destroy the one belonging to the sensory-type ninja.

To do this with a one-in-five chance—if he failed, Kakuzu would surely guard that heart with everything he had.

In that case, Diejian would have no breakthrough.

(No, come to think of it, is he already guarding it? If so, it must be deep within the most heavily fortified defense. If only I knew the location... I could strike the point where the tentacles are most concentrated with a full-force blow accelerated by the Eight Inner Gates—)

Although it would consume a massive amount of stamina, if he could strip away the sensory ability, it would be an even match.

Diejian, who was far superior in terms of stamina, was not without a chance of winning.

As a strategy, it wasn't bad.

So, he should aim for the heart furthest from him—but a major problem emerged here.

That was, Diejian himself was not a sensory-type, so he didn't know the location of Kakuzu's hearts.

Diejian was, after all, a Jonin.

Although he had mastered the skill of detecting chakra signatures through sound, it was completely useless against Kakuzu.

The only other sensory ability he possessed was the "Circle Domain," which required him to emit chakra from his entire body to create a personal field, capturing anyone who entered it.

This was immensely powerful against close-quarters combatants, but it was ill-suited for long-range battles.

Because the opponent simply would not enter his range.

Originally, because their class included Juri, who excelled at melee combat using the Sharingan, and Sakumo, who possessed top-tier speed in Konoha, Diejian had trained as a long-range support type, but this had backfired.

And in the occasional long-range skirmishes, he had always employed a rational yet detestable tactic: hiding his true body within the protection of trees and leaving the fighting to his clones.

Now, it was as if that tactic was being returned to him in kind.

Armchair strategy—

Even the method he had painstakingly found was not working.

Diejian thought of his late grandfather; how on earth had he defeated such an opponent?

His grandfather was not a sensory type, so how had he located Kakuzu's hearts? Diejian did not know, but Senju Hashirama had not specifically sought out the hearts to destroy them one by one.

He had used overwhelming mass, literally pounding and crushing them until everything was reduced to mincemeat.

(Grandfather, just how... No, there is only one way to acquire chakra sensing after birth... but that is even more difficult and dangerous than the Flying Thunder God. There is no way I could control it—no, wait—)

Senju Hashirama did not possess innate sensory abilities.

The sensory domain was primarily handled by his younger brother, Tobirama.

Yet, during his lifetime, Senju Hashirama could sometimes accurately grasp a person's presence.

When fleeing with a young Diejian, he had skillfully slipped through the gaps in the pursuit led by Hiruzen and Tobirama to escape.

Diejian remembered.

Diejian had believed that Senju Hashirama defeated Kakuzu using that kind of presence detection, but that was actually a mistake.

However, this misunderstanding led him to a correct answer.

(Wait, just now, what did that guy say?)

The wind blowing over the mountain peak was cold, cooling the head of Diejian, whose blood had been rushing with heat.

Diejian glanced at Kakuzu, who was likely sneering overhead, and tasted the sensation of cold sweat trickling down his back.

(Was it an illusion? No, it wasn't. I definitely heard it. That guy said, "You, too, have inherited the power of Senju Hashirama." That way of putting it is simply... no, such a stupid thing couldn't be true.)

Calm down, calm down, he suppressed his impatience.

Diejian's heart was beating faster, and not just because of the continuous running.

(The reason Kakuzu, who should have died, is alive... the perfect sensory ability, the rapid growth inconsistent with his age—could it be, is that kind of thing... possible? But if that's true, then this really is... no, but the reason Grandfather would do such a thing...)

An ominous premonition flashed by, and Diejian denied it.

That was impossible.

Senju Hashirama intentionally bringing Kakuzu back to life... wait, that was impossible.

---His heart gave a violent jolt.

A stinging, momentary pain.

Old scars grew hot and began to ache.

At that moment, Diejian remembered.

No, perhaps it would be better to say he understood.

That feeling, surging into his heart as a visceral reality, was something he had always tried to deliberately forget.

As knowledge, the record was preserved, but as a lived experience, it had been forgotten.

That was by no means a bad thing.

It was only natural.

Anyone who had experienced such a thing would try to forget it.

The reality of being—killed.

(Who was it that brought the killed me back to life? Who was it that killed me? What was the cause of my death?)

The one who brought the killed Diejian back to life was his grandfather, Senju Hashirama.

The one who killed Diejian was his nemesis, Kakuzu.

The cause of death was the loss of his heart—where had that lost heart gone?

Kakuzu's ability was to seize hearts, something he had once done in front of the terrifying Ina and Sakumo.

He had seized Diejian's heart and absorbed it as his own.

That was it—Diejian's heart had been stolen by Kakuzu.

And Senju Hashirama, in order to wake the dead Diejian, had regenerated "Diejian's heart."

"Diejian's heart" had been revived and had begun to beat once more.

(That's right. That guy is... the power of Grandfather--)

Kakuzu, who should have been reduced to minced meat, regenerated using Diejian's heart as the core.

Hiruzen and Senju Tobirama, having recovered the five hearts that were originally present, had therefore judged Kakuzu to be dead.

Because Diejian's heart was inside Diejian's body, they had not noticed that Diejian's heart was "twofold."

Thus, Kakuzu's power was something Diejian could not measure.

It was because he did not know exactly how much of Senju Hashirama's power he had obtained.

Whether he could manipulate Wood Release, whether he could manipulate Sage Mode—at the very least, judging by his sensory abilities, he had indeed mastered Sage Mode or a "power" close to it.

Ten years after Senju Hashirama died—Diejian became Senju Tobirama's direct disciple, and in his heart, he began to respect Senju Tobirama, who was the exact opposite of Senju Hashirama.

Even as his companions increased and his family grew, his reverence for Senju Hashirama, who had once loved him and saved him, never faded.

It could even be asserted that the man Diejian hated and loathed most in this world was Kakuzu.

The man who had taken the beloved Senju Hashirama away from Diejian's side.

It was precisely because he had heard he was dead that Diejian had forgotten about him.

However, Kakuzu was still alive.

Moreover, he had appeared before Diejian, resurrected by utilizing Senju Hashirama's power.

The child whom Senju Hashirama had risked his life to protect was now about to be killed by Kakuzu using Senju Hashirama's own power.

What an insult this was.

What a wicked path.

Driven by hatred for Kakuzu, the blood throughout Diejian's body heated up as if boiling, and his eyes began to bloodshot.

(--Dying is fine. I was prepared for it. I just swore to myself a moment ago to live in a way that wouldn't shame my master. Those words are still ringing in my ears, and I have no intention of changing my mind. I was prepared to take him down with me from the start. But... I cannot be killed by you of all people!)

However, he could not win like this.

Precisely because of that, Diejian decided to unleash the power he had kept sealed since the day he was born.

(--To say I'm not afraid would be a lie... The one who changed me was Senju Hashirama. But the one who guided me was none other than... Senju Tobirama. Thank you for trusting me. The current me has already made up my mind. You are my... greatest master—Old Man.)

Diejian's emotions surged, turning violent.

Then, the change occurred.

Chakra is something produced by mixing spiritual energy and physical energy.

If either side loses its balance, the amount of chakra that can be produced decreases drastically.

The Senju clan, to which Diejian and the others belonged, combined the sturdy bodies inherited from their progenitor with a stable heart and love, exerting unparalleled power.

Therefore, the Senju clan possessed a foundation several tiers higher than the average ninja, boasting a stable strength.

Among such a Senju clan, Diejian's emotional fluctuations were intense, and it was hard to call him stable.

Perhaps it was like his grandfather Senju Hashirama, or perhaps it was the influence of his innate "Fire-style chakra nature"—he had ruined his own innate Senju "strength."

His master, Senju Tobirama, believed that this would become a major weakness for a ninja.

Therefore, to correct this, Senju Tobirama had always admonished Diejian to "examine himself calmly" and "understand himself," deeply imprinting this teaching upon him.

Diejian, who had received such elite education, was inferior to Sakumo among his peers and ended up a jack-of-all-trades, master of none, because Diejian had always turned a blind eye to one thing.

Because he stubbornly refused to face his own heart.

---Senju Diejian was a transmigrator, and before that, he was a reincarnator.

After realizing this undeniable fact in his early childhood, he had once considered facing it.

The records of that previous life, as he grew, gradually awakened like mist dissipating.

However, that record he had once wanted to face was something Senju Diejian absolutely did not want to acknowledge.

It was something he absolutely could not admit.

Therefore, he admonished himself that "I am Senju Diejian, not anyone else," and sealed that record away.

This led to a partial deficiency in his spiritual energy.

Even with Senju Tobirama as the best master and the Senju clan as the highest potential, his growth had stalled at a level only slightly stronger than an average Jonin; the reason lay right there.

"These eyes, the firelight sees very clearly."

Now, Diejian had unleashed it.

The Crouching Dragon raised its head.

Diejian stared at the scenery he had previously been unable to see.

The self-contradiction born from both loathing and respecting Senju Tobirama was resolved by Senju Tobirama's final words.

The blood flowed like a raging tide; although he was excited, he was calm.

It was as if this state of excitement was his natural state.

The tentacle that pierced Diejian's shoulder at that moment did not make Diejian feel any pain.

He tore off the Tentacle Spear with an expressionless face and tossed it aside.

Wiping away the blood gushing from his shoulder, he moved his blood-stained fingers from the corner of his eye down to his chin.

The blood-stained makeup traced a single line.

"---It is about time to end this."

Kakuzu, floating high in the sky, spoke.

Having captured Diejian with his Tentacle Spear, Kakuzu had grown tired of the game of chasing him and intended to bring everything to a close.

Accompanied by a quantity and power of Tentacle Spears incomparable to anything seen before, the army of them shot toward Diejian.

This was a tribute to the technique that had once killed Kakuzu at the hands of Senju Hashirama: "Sage Art: Wood Style: True Several Thousand Hands---Top-Level Buddha."

He harbored the wicked thought that there was no move more fitting to kill Senju Diejian, the grandson of Senju Hashirama.

"---Hm?"

Floating in the air, Kakuzu sensed a transformation in the chakra of Diejian, which he had been tracking all along.

The aura of natural chakra, which had felt like a rushing mountain stream, had turned into a scorching chakra that felt like a volcanic crater containing burning magma.

However, the attack had already begun.

The die had been cast.

If Diejian's life were to end here, Kakuzu dismissed it as a trivial matter.

---Technique.

A massive block of fire swept through the army of tentacles.

It was a colossal explosion of flames, a veritable firestorm, its heat terrifying.

Kakuzu could not help but leap even higher into the sky.

The smell of burning organic matter and the sizzling sound of evaporation filled the air.

While regenerating the tentacles that had been burned away, Kakuzu carefully observed the ground.

The earth was scorched, the lingering scent of the explosion was intense, and charred, carbonized remains were scattered everywhere.

In that devastated land, a circular patch of green could be seen.

Everything around it was scorched, revealing the bare earth, yet that spot alone displayed an unchanged landscape as if nothing had happened.

In the center stood a man.

With long hair dancing in the wind and a purple coat swaying, the man gave Kakuzu a sense of déjà vu that made him tremble.

"The First, Hokage..."

But he shook his head, telling himself it was wrong.

Indeed, the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, was already dead.

The fact that Kakuzu was still alive was proof of that.

Looking closely, the height was shorter than Hashirama's.

The oppressive presence was also not on par with Hashirama's.

Without a doubt, it was the very same Senju Diejian he had been fighting just moments ago.

The moment Kakuzu trembled, an unimaginable weight pressed down upon his body.

Unable to fly, Kakuzu was dragged down to the ground.

With a crash and an impact—before he could even perform a breakfall—Kakuzu was slammed into the earth.

He spat out blood and let out a pained groan.

"---You seem to have been having fun."

It was Diejian who mocked the writhing, pain-stricken Kakuzu in a flat, monotone voice.

Kakuzu stared in confusion at Diejian, whose atmosphere was distinctly different from before.

With his back to the sun, Diejian's expression was hidden in shadow, and since Kakuzu was sprawled on the ground, he could not discern it from his vantage point.

"What did you do..."

To the dying question from Kakuzu, Diejian did not answer.

Diejian silently swung down his raised hand, and a branch of Wood Style emerging from his palm pierced through the top of Kakuzu's skull.

Kakuzu let out a final, dying scream, but immediately lost his human form, collapsing into a pile of scattered, writhing tentacles.

This was also within expectations; Diejian was not surprised.

He merely clicked his tongue once and looked around.

Swiftly waving his arm, several branches flew out.

The sharp branches struck an unremarkable rock nearby, but the next second, the rock shattered, revealing wriggling tentacles.

It was Kakuzu, having transformed himself.

"What just happened..."

This time, it was Kakuzu who felt astonishment.

Diejian, who until a moment ago had been almost completely undetectable, had suddenly and accurately struck the exact location where Kakuzu was hiding.

Although they were all shadow clones, Kakuzu, who was watching from a hidden spot elsewhere, could only feel shock.

But that question was resolved the very next second—Diejian turned his head back.

"That's... impossible!! That guy is a Senju, right... Why does he have those eyes..."

Diejian, having turned around, was staring straight at Kakuzu.

Feeling their gazes lock, Diejian channeled chakra into his eyes.

He was intimately familiar with that way of using one's eyes.

In the life he lived as Senju Diejian, he had been instilled with hateful knowledge.

It was just that, back then, it had been from the perspective of an adversary.

Perhaps fearing a genjutsu, Kakuzu instantly lowered his eyes and submerged into the sea of tentacles.

The situation, with the surrounding area engulfed by tentacles, had not changed.

He still had five hearts remaining, and he could continue to create more clones.

His chakra levels had barely decreased, leaving him in a near-perfect state, yet the reason Kakuzu's sense of agitation would not vanish was the pair of eyes Diejian had revealed, harboring an ominous color.

---Senju Diejian was a reincarnator.

"He" possessed the experience of having fought the Senju clan and taken their lives.

He held memories of finding Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama incomparably detestable, hating them enough to want them dead.

Therefore, even after being reincarnated, he continued to harbor hatred for the Senju brothers.

A child whose hatred and disgust had been incited, his self had been eroded by a deep "darkness" that was inexplicable yet undeniably present.

Occupying the child with the memories of a past life to destroy the Senju from within—the dojutsu ability he had activated just before entrusting his eyes to his older brother at the moment of his death, along with that dark ambition.

That was the true beginning of Diejian.

And then, later—Diejian encountered the great tree that bore the weight of everything.

"Kakuzu... You are the only one I will kill. I will be the one to stop you, who abuses the power of the First Hokage."

Senju Diejian was a reincarnator.

The name of his predecessor had long since been forgotten.

With Hashirama dead and Tobirama's fate unknown, it was uncertain if anyone who knew the truth still remained.

Past records and present memories had completely blended, becoming one.

It was a truth that would be buried in darkness if he remained silent.

But Diejian accepted it.

Though he would not speak of it voluntarily, Diejian believed that he had to say it aloud at least once, to acknowledge it.

Therefore, he would chant the name that had always been hidden in his heart.

Once, there was a young Uchiha who hated the Senju clan and died during the Warring States period.

There was a young man who continued to hate the Senju clan until his dying breath, and who haunted a child after his death.

---His name is, "Uchiha Izuna"