Uchiha Madara

When Ina released the Mind Body Switch Technique and Diejian and Ina returned to the real world—

Diejian's cheeks were soaked with the tears he had been desperately holding back, not just in the mental world, but in reality as well.

Ina stayed right by Diejian's side, gently stroking his trembling back.

Diejian was a grandfather-obsessed boy; despite wanting to hide his extreme adoration for Hashirama, he was completely unable to conceal it.

For Ina and Sakumo, who had known him for a long time, it was painfully clear what would happen to a guy like him if he learned that his grandfather had died for his sake.

Moreover, Tobirama felt the same way.

Within the Senju clan, already known for their strong sense of universal love and brotherhood, Tobirama had sensed that Diejian's feelings were something unique.

His attachment to Hashirama was incredibly intense—though Tobirama never considered that a bad thing—but precisely because of this singular devotion, he worried that Diejian might collapse under the weight of it.

Sure enough, the way Diejian held back his tears, pretending to be strong while wearing a fake smile that couldn't mask the gloom in his heart, made Ina and Sakumo feel restless.

They wished Diejian would rely on them more.

Thanks to Ina's dedicated efforts, Diejian was currently acting more spoiled toward her than ever before.

Ina also wore the expression of a woman who had fulfilled her mission, her face filled with tenderness.

---Two figures were watching over the pair.

Outside the hospital building, hidden within the shadows of the lush, leafy trees.

"Ah, Diejian is hugging Ina!"

"Hey, keep your voice down."

The figures were Hatake Sakumo and Inuzuka Yaeha.

Sakumo had noticed earlier in the day that Ina was keeping a close eye on Diejian.

He guessed that Ina might have something planned, so when Nara Rushika asked, "Where is Ina?", he had simply feigned ignorance.

"Still, Yaeha, I didn't expect you to notice too. You were a big help, Kazemaru."

"Woof!"

"Shh—quiet now."

Sakumo smiled and gently patted Kazemaru's head.

Watching Kazemaru wag his tail happily, Yaeha puffed out her cheeks and pouted with a "Hmph."

Sakumo apologized to Yaeha, who was indignant that "That's my partner!", and pulled his hand away.

Kazemaru looked at the hand with lingering attachment.

It was said that Inuzuka Yaeha, relying on her natural instincts, had sensed the changes in Diejian and Ina's covert actions, occasionally nearly blurting out words that might have ruined Ina's plan.

Sakumo and Kazemaru had worked together to smooth those moments over.

Yaeha muttered, "I didn't know, okay?", and looked like she was about to wilt.

Sakumo couldn't bear to see it.

"But, thank you, Yaeha."

"Thank me for what?"

"Thank you for worrying about Diejian."

"What are you talking about! Diejian is my friend! He's not just your friend, Sakumo."

Yaeha puffed out her cheeks, looking utterly indignant, but in Sakumo's eyes, she looked radiant.

It seemed that after the battle with Kakuzu and surviving the carnage alongside Diejian, he had developed the arrogant notion that he was Diejian's "only" friend.

He silently thanked Yaeha for pointing that out.

Of course, Yaeha likely didn't realize it herself.

Sakumo thought to himself that he needed to apologize for underestimating Yaeha's feelings.

"You're right. I'm sorry."

To Sakumo's honest apology, Yaeha puffed out her chest with satisfaction and said, "Glad you know it."

Although there was no real winner or loser, Sakumo felt he had been completely outmaneuvered this time, and his estimation of Yaeha's intelligence—which was higher than he had imagined—rose accordingly.

"Hey, Sakumo. Don't we need to go over there?"

"It looks like he's alright now. Let's leave them be."

Sakumo dropped silently from the tree, beckoned Yaeha to "come over," and then quietly headed toward the hospital exit.

Yaeha followed him in a flurry, though she too made no sound.

Sakumo's steps were light; it seemed he truly had no more worries.

"Sorry, Yaeha. I dragged you out so late. I'll walk you home."

"Yeah! It's more fun walking back together. But, are you really sure we don't need to see Diejian? He's already recovered, right..."

"The word 'recovery' is truly well-chosen. However, as I just said, it seems there are no more issues, so meeting tomorrow would also be fine. And—"

"And?"

"Men, you see, have sides they don't want girls to see."

Sakumo turned his head and smiled.

He had intended to look a bit cool, but Yaeha seemed completely uninterested.

Sakumo slumped his shoulders in dejection.

"Is that so? But didn't Ina see it?"

"Yes. Ina is special."

Yaeha let out an "Eh—" and began to sulk.

Saying Ina was special didn't necessarily mean Yaeha wasn't, but Yaeha always felt as if she were being excluded, and she looked quite dissatisfied.

Sakumo placated her with a "There, there."

To Yaeha's question, "If it can't be a girl, then why don't you go, Sakumo, since you're a guy?" Sakumo wore a wry smile, as if to say, "There's just no helping you."

"Men, you see, also have sides they 'don't want other men to see'."

"Doesn't that just mean you don't want anyone to see?"

"It's a little different, but it's pretty much that feeling."

"But didn't Ina see it?"

"Yes. Ina is special."

Sure enough, Yaeha let out an "Eh—" and began to sulk again.

"Is that how it is?"

"That is how it is."

"What a pain!"

"Indeed."

"But didn't you and I see it too?"

"Yes. Let's keep it a secret. Diejian would surely want it that way."

"Diejian really is a hopeless guy!"

"He certainly is—"

---He really is a hopeless guy.

Had Ina not taken action, Sakumo had intended to guide Diejian in his own way; he tightly clenched his scarred palm.

Accompanied by cheerful sounds, the two figures melted into the darkness of the night.

---They've finally left, then.

This was Yamanaka Ina, who had been aware of them all along.

Enduring the shame of being watched, she had desperately tried to hold Diejian's attention so he wouldn't notice the two people outside.

She relaxed her long-tensed guard and, as if exhausted, leaned against Diejian.

Diejian, who had cried himself to sleep, woke up due to the dazzling brightness of the sky.

Upon waking, he felt an incomparable sense of refreshment, as if he had taken a morning bath after many days.

Though his eyes stung a little, his body and mind were filled with a sense of liberation, as if he had finally found relief from long-term constipation.

The comfortable weight felt at his feet was Ina, who had fallen asleep.

She was slumped against Diejian's bed, sleeping.

Diejian used his hand to comb through Ina's lustrous hair; it slipped through his fingers like rays of light.

"So dazzling..."

Looking out the window, he saw a cloudless blue sky and a sun shining upon the earth.

Plip—a single drop of water fell onto Diejian's cheek.

By the time it had left a mark on the bedsheet, a smile had already appeared on Diejian's face.

★

"Waaah... Grandfather..."

"Is he still crying, brother?"

"Just let him be—Tsunade."

Some time after returning, Diejian was allowed to be discharged from the hospital.

The extreme depletion of his chakra seemed to have been caused by a disturbance in his body and mind; ever since the night he spent with Ina, his spirit had been liberated, and his chakra had been visibly recovering.

Afterward, although Diejian returned to his usual daily life, it was, as expected, not so easy to completely let go of Hashirama's death, and he would often burst into loud sobs over the smallest things.

His family felt that rather than forcing him to endure, it was better to let him have a good cry, so they left him to it.

He would even cry at the ninja academy, so his classmates were initially confused and worried about him, but as the frequency increased, they stopped paying much attention.

Because he would stop and return to normal the moment he finished crying, everyone would quietly plug their ears whenever Diejian started to sob.

On the other hand, having accumulated a wealth of life experience after the battle with Kakuzu, Ina had shed her habit of crying easily and grown into a strong young woman.

"Brother, isn't it about time to stop?"

"Yeah. It's about time."

Sure enough, Diejian had stopped crying, and Tsunade pressed her forehead with a look of resignation.

Ina smiled as she watched the siblings.

The reason for Diejian's tears this time was a bonsai stall.

Diejian had taken over the care of Hashirama's bonsai after that incident, but it seemed things looked different when viewed from the outside.

Back when he had just been discharged from the hospital, he would wail at the mere sight of the Face Rock, so he had already grown quite a bit since then.

Tsunade and Ina brought Diejian to the shopping district.

The goal was to pick out a birthday gift for Sakumo.

Thanks to the connection between Ina and Diejian, Tsunade and Sakumo had become well-acquainted, so Tsunade was quite enthusiastic about Ina's suggestion.

In the end, it was Diejian who resisted the most.

He tried to brush it off by saying things like "men don't need gifts" and "friendship shouldn't be about formalities," only to be knocked down by a punch from Tsunade and dragged along by force.

Ever since that incident, Diejian had been pouring his energy into taijutsu training, leaving less time to play with her; this was Tsunade's way of indulging in a bit of willful behavior, using every ounce of her strength.

Diejian was, of course, aware of this, but the spot where he'd been hit hurt like crazy.

Diejian stood up, tapped Tsunade lightly on the head with his fist, and told her she was "going too far," which left Tsunade with teary eyes because her feelings hadn't been understood.

Ina knew how Tsunade felt and was a bit worried, but when she heard Diejian turn away and mutter under his breath, "Maybe we should just go to the casino instead," she let out a sigh.

As a fellow member of the gambling siblings, Tsunade said, "Brother..." with emotion, but Ina couldn't help but think: why are they so fond of gambling at such a young age?

It was clear that Diejian and Tsunade were looking forward to the gambling that awaited them more than actually picking out a gift for Sakumo.

Tsunade was at least seriously trying to choose a gift, but Diejian pointed at a teddy bear and said, "Isn't that one fine?"

Ina slapped Diejian and said, "That's your partner!", then, feeling a bit sorry for Sakumo, who was still working hard at his training today, she told Diejian to pick something better.

That said, the question of what to give was quite a difficult one.

However, this kind of thing—the act of agonizing over shopping—was exactly what the female camp enjoyed.

Ina and Tsunade left Diejian aside and excitedly debated whether to give food, books, or ninja tools.

Diejian remembered that he had actually already bought a gift for Sakumo and hidden it in his room—a set of medicines like Blood Replenishment Pills and Military Ration Pills.

That guy is always getting hurt, too—Diejian, who was worked to the bone every day by his teacher Tobirama, couldn't help but feel a sense of shared misery with Sakumo.

Diejian envied Ina, who could receive gentle guidance from Mito alongside Tsunade, and couldn't help but cast a resentful glance her way.

But Ina was a sensory-type ninja.

She narrowed her eyes, turned around, and intimidated Diejian with a "What?"

"Nothing." Diejian shrugged, his hands behind his head.

"Your personality has changed"—this was the testimony of Yamanaka Ina.

Ever since that night, Diejian's personality had changed bit by bit.

It wasn't that he had become savage or prone to outbursts like a blade without a safety catch, but rather, as if an evil spirit had been exorcised, his imitation of Hashirama's behavior had decreased.

On the other hand, this also meant that the innate gentleness of Hashirama had faded; he began to carry a slightly bitter, adult-like, and subtly dangerous atmosphere.

The female camp thought this was fine, but only Ina felt that he was accelerating toward a dead-end life in a direction other than gambling.

This was because the love-filled and gentle scolding Ina had conveyed to Diejian in the mental world had stripped away all of his masks, though Ina herself did not realize it.

Of course, the gambling that had seeped into his bones and the bonsai care he had started did not stop, but he no longer indulged in gambling to excess, nor did he keep adding bonsai until his room was packed full.

People who didn't look kindly on gambling, starting with Mito, felt this was a good trend and showed their smiles.

On the other hand, Tsunade seemed to be a natural-born gambler and had become even more addicted.

The only worry was Tobirama, who feared that Diejian had changed his object of imitation because Hashirama was gone, but seeing Diejian seemingly find his own way of life and settle down, he became convinced that his worries were unnecessary.

Now, perhaps as an interest derived from bonsai, Diejian had planted his favorite peach tree in the courtyard and enjoyed tending to it every day.

"Oh my, isn't that Brother Hiruzen?"

"Oh, yes, it's Diejian."

The group wandering through the shopping district ran into Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was carrying shopping bags.

The group bowed their heads to greet him, but Hiruzen appeared restless.

He seemed to want to leave quickly, constantly glancing toward the road ahead.

"Haha..." A mischievous smirk appeared on Diejian's face.

"Big Brother Hiruzen, what did you buy?"

"Ah, no, this is... it's a book."

Seeing his unsettled demeanor, it was just as he thought—Diejian sneered.

Because of that previous incident, Ina and Tsunade both considered Hiruzen to be a ninja of excellent character and a wonderful person.

In particular, the degree of closeness Tsunade showed him was comparable to how she treated Diejian, which often left Diejian feeling bitter in his daily life.

"Is it a ninjutsu book?" To Ina's inquiry, Hiruzen replied, "Exactly."

Diejian couldn't help but want to laugh.

"What kind of book is it?" To Tsunade's question, Hiruzen spoke vaguely, saying it was something about avoiding enemy traps and the like...

"It is indeed a book about avoiding enemy traps," Diejian said.

"Truly worthy of being a student of the First and Second Hokage, my senior brother. You really never slack off in your training, even in your daily life."

"Ex, exactly."

At Diejian's unexpected support, Hiruzen's eyes lit up, and he immediately went along with it.

Little did he know, it was a trap.

"What kind of traps does the book describe how to deal with?"

"Th, that..."

"Is it about stealth operations?"

"Yes, yes."

"Is it about espionage?"

"Exactly."

"Is it about honey traps?"

"That's right... uh, no, no..."

"I can see photos from the bag, you know."

"What!?... Ah."

As expected of a ninja.

Both Ina and Tsunade knew the meaning of "honey trap."

And so—their gazes turned to the shopping bag Hiruzen was carrying.

"Oops, my hand slipped—" Diejian threw a kunai, skillfully slicing only the shopping bag open.

The scandalous, lewd magazines scattered miserably onto the roadside.

Furthermore, every single cover featured explicit erotic illustrations of young women with enormous breasts.

Hiruzen shrieked, sweeping the scattered books under himself in an attempt to hide them.

Even Ina, who had become somewhat accustomed to such things due to the interactions between Cho and Diejian, cast a cold gaze his way.

Yes.

Despite his bright and cheerful exterior, Sarutobi Hiruzen was a hopeless pervert on the inside.

"Hiruzen, what is this..."

"Bi, Biwako, it's not what it looks like!"

Just then, Ms. Biwako, who was rumored to be in a relationship with Hiruzen, happened to pass by.

Watching the trembling Biwako, Hiruzen's attitude remained ambiguous.

Looking at the erotic illustrations featuring women of a completely different type than herself, the expression on Biwako's face, indistinguishable between tears and rage, became as ferocious as a Hannya mask.

Ina and Tsunade, who were keenly interested in the lovers' quarrel, wore expressions of concern on the surface, but could not hide the sparkling excitement in their eyes.

Biwako couldn't help but run away, and Hiruzen hurriedly chased after her.

As for the bundle of magazines left behind.

Diejian's suggestion that "I will take responsibility for disposing of them" was instantly rejected, and it was ultimately decided that Ina would keep them to return to Hiruzen at a later date.

However, Diejian thought to himself.

What must a man's state of mind be like when such lewd magazines are handed to him by young girls?

Diejian broke into a cold sweat over the severity of the crime he had committed.

By the time the sun was setting, the two women finally seemed satisfied.

They even made Diejian use Shadow Clones to act as porters, and they headed home with expressions of contentment.

Looking at the bags stuffed with women's clothing, Diejian wondered which one of these was actually a gift for Sakumo.

Later, it was said that Hiruzen had gone to consult with Tobirama with a serious expression, only to be severely reprimanded by him.

★

Several years had passed since the battle between the previous Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and Uchiha Madara.

People came to call the waterfall created by the aftermath of their clash the "Valley of the End."

Although Tobirama was not particularly enthusiastic, a movement arose within Konohagakure to build stone statues of the two men at the Valley of the End.

This was shortly after the transition to the Second Hokage's administration, and it was the wish of some of the elders to preserve Hashirama's likeness before his image faded from people's memories while he was still alive.

Because he had suppressed the elders' opinions during the Hidden Waterfall Village incident, he had to accept this proposal; furthermore, Tobirama had no objections to building a statue of his elder brother.

The problem lay with the other person, Uchiha Madara.

Frankly speaking, Tobirama did not like Uchiha Madara.

One could even say he loathed him.

This stemmed from the fact that Madara had trampled on Hashirama's goodwill, yet simultaneously displayed an astonishing obsession with him, leaving the village after saying inexplicable things even after forming an alliance, and ultimately attempting to attack the village to destroy both it and Hashirama—such selfish and self-serving behavior.

To be honest, he did not want to waste funds to build a statue of someone like Madara.

However, there were unavoidable circumstances.

The ones who proposed building Madara's statue were, as expected, the Uchiha clan themselves.

The implication seemed to be that since they were building a statue of the Senju clan head, they had to build one for their own clan head as well.

Although Madara was dead and his influence had waned, restless elements still existed.

There was no guarantee that a second or third Madara wouldn't emerge due to pent-up dissatisfaction, so he could not flatly refuse.

In the Warring States period, the Uchiha clan was the strongest clan, standing alongside the Senju clan to which Hashirama, Tobirama, and Diejian belonged.

It was generally believed that the Senju clan valued love, while the Uchiha clan valued the "power of jutsu" itself—but that was not actually the case.

The essence of the Uchiha's power of jutsu stemmed from their profound love.

For some reason, the Uchiha clan was a clan that possessed intense love, yet suppressed those very emotions.

Once an Uchiha awakened love and lifted that suppression, they became individuals of excellent character; conversely, once that love was lost, their mental state would undergo a sharp reversal, turning them into monsters plagued by deep-seated hatred.

That hatred would increase in proportion to the depth of the love, and the deeper the hatred, the more the combat power of an Uchiha ninja would drastically increase.

Even if it were only a negligible amount of power at the current stage, one could never let their guard down.

If that Uchiha's love was deep enough, and they lost that love, allowing deep hatred to take root within them—then a "great evil" would suddenly appear in the village.

However, Tobirama did not believe that other clans could be trusted unconditionally either.

It was simply that the Uchiha clan was the one that required the most vigilance.

In fact, besides the Uchiha, there had been many people who wanted to exploit his brother Hashirama's naivety to erode the village from within—but Tobirama had repelled them all.

Cleaning up his brother's messes like this actually made him feel a bit nostalgic now that his brother had passed away.

For Tobirama, he wanted to eliminate the potential danger of the Uchiha as much as possible.

However, he could not use force, and a flat refusal was not the best strategy.

Since Hashirama was alive, one of the things that gave Tobirama the most headaches was the issue of how to treat the Uchiha clan.

It wasn't that he hadn't thought about wiping out their entire clan during the Warring States period, but among his subordinates was an Uchiha named "Kagami Uchiha," who possessed strength and noble aspirations not inferior to his top disciple, Sarutobi Hiruzen, so he could not lump all "Uchiha" together.

Tobirama simply thought that in his generation, he would pull the Uchiha's teeth as much as possible, render them powerless, and then hand them over to the next generation.

Because he believed that cutting off future troubles was the duty of the predecessor.

"Old man, what is this? Grandpa's statue?"

"I am not an old man. I am the Second Hokage."

The statues of Hashirama and Madara.

Tobirama was sitting cross-legged, staring at the blueprints and contemplating how to handle the situation, when Diejian poked his head out from behind him.

Even after training, one needed proper rest.

Today was a rare moment of free time.

---Who is this? Somehow, it feels a bit nostalgic.

This was Diejian's first impression upon seeing the completed design for Uchiha Madara's statue.

He felt like he had seen him somewhere before, yet he couldn't recall.

This uncomfortable feeling of having words on the tip of his tongue but being unable to speak them was unbearable for Diejian.

"Old man, this...?"

"Uchiha Madara. You should have seen him in person, too. He was the former head of the Uchiha clan, which stood alongside the Senju."

He was also—though it was a great pity—his brother's best friend.

Tobirama kept this sentence hidden in his heart.

Because he felt there was no need to go out of his way to say it, and he didn't want to bring up the topic of Madara.

"Don't remember? That's to be expected. You were just a brat back then—and that was before that man left the village."

"Uchiha... Madara..."

That was back when Diejian had just been born.

It was a story from before the deep rift had formed between Senju Hashirama and Madara.

Thrilled by the birth of his eldest grandson, Hashirama naturally rushed over to introduce Diejian to his best friend, Madara.

Madara, who was still relatively gentle back then, was surprised to see Hashirama appear with a newborn in his arms. After offering his blessings, he scolded Hashirama for how absurd it was to bring a Senju infant into the Uchiha clan's residential district, and then the two of them escorted the beaming Hashirama back home.

It is said that at the time, the young Diejian was even held in Madara's arms.

Because of his fierce appearance, Madara was usually feared by children.

But according to what Hashirama said later, Madara seemed quite pleased by this rare infant who didn't cry or fuss even while being held by him.

By this point in the story, Tobirama was already exhausted.

Why on earth did he have to speak well of a mortal enemy?

"Uncle, once I become a genin, can I help build this statue? I'll take it on as a mission."

Although he felt it was a bit premature to say such things, the genin exams were indeed waiting for Diejian in the near future.

It's already been this long, Tobirama thought, looking out the window at the village.

It had been a turbulent year, but they had managed to pull through.

Unexpectedly, however, Diejian wanted to help with the construction of Madara's statue, not Hashirama's.

Tobirama had assumed that if he were to help at all, it would certainly be with Hashirama's statue.

When Tobirama asked why, Diejian replied.

---Since he is the man Grandfather calls his best friend, he must be a man worthy of that title. I just think that on the Senju side, it wouldn't be a bad thing if at least one person felt that he "had a right to exist."

Diejian didn't explicitly state what he meant by "had a right to exist," but Tobirama understood well enough.

---I see. This is a way of being that is different from my brother's or my own, yet it is undeniably a manifestation of the Will of Fire.

A year had passed since then.

It seems there is truly no need to worry anymore—Tobirama felt a sense of relief.

Diejian, looking full of excitement, urged Tobirama to continue the story of Madara.

"Fine." Tobirama sighed.

Though reluctant, he still did his best to satisfy his student's request; this was precisely why the young ones, Hiruzen included, looked up to Tobirama.

Tobirama began to speak of one of the strongest figures of the Warring States period.

A being who possessed power to be proud of, standing on equal footing with the strongest in the ninja world, Senju Hashirama—though it could not be denied that Hashirama had held back slightly due to their friendship.

The Fire Style that could burn down entire forests, the taijutsu that could sweep away hundreds of soldiers, and the ultimate ocular jutsu: the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Listening to Tobirama recount that legendary power, the young Diejian was naturally thrilled.

On the other hand, Tobirama was feeling annoyed.

To Tobirama, Madara was no legend; he was a life-sized threat and a source of trouble that he had witnessed with his own eyes since he was a child.

Why must I go on and on about the deeds of a mortal enemy, Tobirama thought, feeling dejected.

"Who is stronger, you or Grandfather Hashirama?"—to Diejian's question, Tobirama secretly puffed out his chest and answered, "Naturally, it is Big Brother."

But to the question, "Then who is stronger between you and Uncle Tobirama?", Tobirama fell silent.

Tobirama was also one of the strongest.

He was the fastest ninja and a developer of jutsu.

He believed that depending on the counter-strategy, he would not fall behind, but to say who was truly stronger... that was hard to say... or rather, hard to put into words.

Though his face remained expressionless, if one looked closely, Tobirama's troubled look was not something one saw every day.

Diejian felt he had seen something rare and was secretly pleased with himself, but Tobirama had certainly noticed Diejian's reaction.

Diejian had yet to realize what kind of retribution would befall him for this later on.