Uchiha Madara

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

Diejian's cheeks were wet with the tears he'd been holding back, not only in the mental world but in reality as well.

Ina was right beside him, gently stroking his trembling back the whole time.

Diejian was the ultimate grandpa's boy. He clearly wanted to hide just how much he adored Hashirama, but he simply couldn't.

For Ina and Sakumo, who had known him for a long time, it was all too easy to imagine what would happen if someone like him found out his grandfather had died for his sake.

And Tobirama felt the same way.

Among the Senju Clan, who were known for their love of others and strong sense of fellowship, Tobirama had noticed that Diejian's feelings were somewhat different.

His attachment to Hashirama was incredibly strong—and Tobirama had never thought that was a bad thing—but he worried that Diejian might fall apart because of how devoted he was.

Sure enough, Diejian's forced smile—his tears held back, his expression pretending to be strong, yet unable to hide the gloom inside—made Ina and Sakumo feel restless.

They wanted Diejian to rely on them more.

Thanks to Ina's hard work, Diejian was now clinging to her more than ever before.

Ina, too, wore the compassionate expression of a woman who had accomplished her mission.

—Two figures watched over them.

Outside the hospital building, beneath the leafy shadows of a tree.

"Ah, Diejian's hugging Ina!"

"Hey, you're too loud."

The two figures were Hatake Sakumo and Inuzuka Yaeha.

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

He guessed that she might have something planned, so when Nara Rushika asked, "Where's Ina?" he pretended not to know.

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

"Woof!"

"Shh—quiet."

Smiling, Sakumo gently stroked Kazemaru's head.

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

Sakumo apologized to Yaeha, who was glaring at him as if to say, "He's my partner!" and pulled his hand away from Kazemaru.

Kazemaru watched the hand go with obvious reluctance.

They said that thanks to her natural intuition, Inuzuka Yaeha had sensed the change in Diejian and Ina's secret plan. Every now and then, she nearly blurted out something that might have ruined it.

Sakumo and Kazemaru worked together to smooth things over whenever she did.

"I didn't know, okay?" Yaeha muttered, looking more and more dejected.

Sakumo couldn't stand to see it.

"Still, thank you, Yaeha."

"For what?"

"For worrying about Diejian."

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

Yaeha puffed out her cheeks in indignation, but to Sakumo, she looked radiant.

After the battle with Kakuzu and the ordeal they'd endured together with Diejian, he'd apparently become arrogant enough to think that he was Diejian's only friend.

He silently thanked Yaeha for pointing that out.

Of course, Yaeha probably hadn't realized what she'd done.

Sakumo thought he should apologize for underestimating how much she cared.

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

Sakumo apologized sincerely, and Yaeha lifted her chest with satisfaction. "Good. You get it."

There hadn't really been a winner or a loser, but Sakumo felt she'd completely outmaneuvered him this time. He thought more highly of Yaeha, who was shrewder than he'd expected.

"Hey, Sakumo. Shouldn't we go over there?"

"It looks like he's all right now. We should leave them alone."

Sakumo soundlessly dropped from the tree, beckoned Yaeha over, and quietly headed for the hospital exit.

Yaeha hurried after him, just as silently.

Sakumo's steps were light. It seemed he really had nothing left to worry about.

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

"Okay! It's more fun going home together. But shouldn't we go see Diejian? He's recovered now, hasn't he...?"

"'Recovered' is a good way to put it. But like I said, he seems fine now. We can see him tomorrow. Besides—"

"Besides?"

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

Sakumo turned and smiled.

He'd meant to look a little cool, but Yaeha didn't seem interested at all.

Sakumo's shoulders slumped.

"Is that so? But Ina saw him, didn't she?"

"Yeah. Ina's special."

"Ehh..." Yaeha sulked.

Saying Ina was special didn't necessarily mean Yaeha wasn't, too, but she still felt left out and looked displeased.

"All right, all right," Sakumo said, trying to soothe her.

When Yaeha asked, "If girls shouldn't see him, why didn't you go in? You're a guy, Sakumo," Sakumo gave a wry smile, as if to say, "What am I going to do with you?"

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

"So you mean he doesn't want anyone to see him?"

"It's a little different, but more or less."

"But Ina saw him, didn't she?"

"Yeah. Ina's special."

Sure enough, Yaeha sulked again. "Ehh..."

"Is that just how it is?"

"That's just how it is."

"How troublesome!"

"Yeah."

"But Sakumo and I saw him, too, didn't we?"

"Yeah. Let's keep it a secret. Diejian would probably want that, too."

"Diejian really is impossible!"

"He really is..."

—He really was impossible.

If Ina hadn't acted, Sakumo had planned to find his own way to talk Diejian through it. He clenched his scarred hand.

With cheerful voices, the two figures disappeared into the darkness of night.

—They're finally gone.

It was Yamanaka Ina, who had noticed them all along.

Enduring the embarrassment of being watched, she'd desperately kept Diejian's attention on her so he wouldn't realize there were two people outside.

She relaxed her ever-vigilant guard and leaned against Diejian, looking exhausted as well.

Diejian, who had fallen asleep after crying himself out, woke to the dazzling light of the sky.

When he came to, he felt wonderfully refreshed, as if he'd just taken a morning bath after going without one for days.

His eyes stung a little, but his body and mind felt liberated, as though he'd finally been relieved of long-standing constipation.

The comforting weight by his feet was Ina, fast asleep.

She'd leaned against Diejian's bed and dozed off.

Diejian ran his hand through Ina's glossy hair. It slipped between his fingers like a ray of light.

"So dazzling..."

Outside the window stretched a cloudless blue sky, with the sun shining down on the earth.

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

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

★

"Waaah... Grandpa..."

"Brother, are you still crying?"

"Just let him be, Tsunade."

Some time after his return, Diejian was allowed to leave the hospital.

The drastic drop in his Chakra seemed to have been caused by the turmoil in his body and mind. After he found emotional release during that night with Ina, his Chakra began to recover right before their eyes.

Afterward, Diejian returned to his usual daily routine, but he still couldn't easily get over Hashirama's death. He often burst into tears over the smallest things.

His family felt it was better to let him cry as much as he needed rather than make him hold it in, so they let him be.

He cried at the Ninja Training Academy, too. At first, his classmates were confused and worried, but after it happened so many times, they stopped paying much attention.

Since he would stop crying and return to normal almost immediately, whenever Diejian started up, everyone quietly plugged their ears.

Meanwhile, after gaining a great deal of life experience in the battle with Kakuzu, Ina stopped being a crybaby and grew into a strong woman.

"Brother, shouldn't you be ready to move on by now?"

"Yeah. It's about time."

Sure enough, Diejian had stopped crying. Tsunade pressed a hand to her forehead, looking exasperated.

Ina laughed as she watched the siblings.

This time, Diejian had started crying because of a bonsai stall.

He'd taken over caring for Hashirama's bonsai trees, but apparently they looked different when he saw them outside.

When he'd just been discharged, even seeing the Face Rock had made him bawl. He'd come a long way since then.

Tsunade and Ina had brought Diejian to the shopping district.

They were there to pick out a birthday present for Sakumo.

Through Ina and Diejian, Tsunade had gotten to know Sakumo as well, so she was enthusiastic about Ina's suggestion.

The only one who resisted right up until the end was Diejian.

He tried to brush them off, saying things like, "Men don't need presents from each other," and "Friendship isn't about formalities." In the end, Tsunade knocked him down with a punch and dragged him along.

Ever since that incident, Diejian had been putting more effort into Taijutsu training, leaving him less time to play with her. This was Tsunade's way of indulging herself as much as she could.

Diejian had of course noticed, but the spot where she'd hit him hurt like crazy.

Once he was back on his feet, Diejian lightly tapped Tsunade on the head with his fist and told her she'd gone too far. Tsunade's eyes filled with tears because he hadn't understood how she felt.

Ina understood Tsunade's feelings and was a little worried, but then she heard Diejian turn away and mutter, "Maybe we should go to the casino after all," and let out a sigh.

As a fellow member of the gambling-loving siblings, Tsunade was moved. "Brother..." But Ina couldn't help thinking, Why do they love gambling at such a young age?

It was clear that Diejian and Tsunade were looking forward to gambling afterward more than they were to picking out Sakumo's present.

Tsunade was seriously trying to find a present for Sakumo, but Diejian pointed at a teddy bear and said, "Why not get that?"

Ina smacked Diejian and said, "That's your partner!" She also felt a little sorry for Sakumo, who was still working hard at his training every day, and told Diejian to put more thought into his choice.

Still, the question of what to get him was a difficult one.

But that sort of thing—fretting over what to buy—was exactly what the women's side enjoyed.

Ina and Tsunade left Diejian out of it and excitedly discussed whether they should give him food, a book, or ninja tools.

Diejian remembered that he'd already bought a present for Sakumo and hidden it in his room: a set of supplies like Military Ration Pills and Blood Replenishment Pills.

That guy was always getting hurt, too. Diejian, who was constantly being put through the wringer by his teacher, Tobirama, couldn't help feeling they were in the same boat.

Diejian envied Ina, who got to receive Mito's gentle guidance alongside Tsunade, and shot her a slightly resentful look.

But Ina was a sensor type.

She narrowed her eyes, turned around, and glared at Diejian as if to ask, "What?"

"Nothing." Diejian clasped his hands behind his head and shrugged.

"You've changed," Yamanaka Ina testified.

Since that night, Diejian's personality had changed little by little.

It wasn't that he'd become wild or prone to blowing up like a knife without a safety catch. Rather, it was as if something possessing him had been exorcised, and he'd started imitating Hashirama less.

At the same time, Hashirama's innate gentleness had faded somewhat, and Diejian had begun to give off a subtly dangerous air, like a bitter, grown-up man.

The women thought it suited him, but Ina alone felt he was accelerating toward a useless life in a direction other than gambling.

Ina had unloaded on Diejian in the mental world with a loving, gentle scolding, stripping away all his masks, but she hadn't realized it herself.

Of course, he hadn't quit gambling, which was in his bones, or stopped caring for bonsai. But he no longer gambled excessively or kept buying more bonsai until his room was packed full.

Mito and the others, who didn't approve of gambling, smiled, thinking this was a good sign.

Tsunade, on the other hand, seemed to be a born gambler, and only became more immersed in it.

The only person who'd been worried was Tobirama. He'd feared Diejian might change the person he was imitating now that Hashirama was gone, but Diejian seemed to have found his own way of life and settled down, so Tobirama was sure his worry had been misplaced.

Now, perhaps inspired by his bonsai, Diejian had planted a peach tree in the yard—his favorite fruit—and took great pleasure in caring for it every day.

"Well, if it isn't our big brother Hiruzen!"

"Oh, Diejian."

The group was wandering around the shopping district when they ran into Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was carrying a shopping bag.

Everyone greeted him with a bow, but Hiruzen seemed uneasy.

He looked as if he wanted to leave as quickly as possible, repeatedly glancing down the road.

"Haha..." A mischievous smile spread across Diejian's face.

"Big Brother Hiruzen, what did you buy?"

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

Seeing how uneasy he looked, Diejian knew it had to be what he thought—and snickered.

Because of what had happened earlier, Ina and Tsunade both thought Hiruzen was a wonderful ninja with excellent character.

Tsunade was especially close to him, almost as close as she was to Diejian. It often left Diejian feeling rather put out.

"Is it a book about ninjutsu?" Ina asked.

"Exactly," Hiruzen replied.

Diejian couldn't help wanting to laugh.

"What kind of book is it?" Tsunade asked. Hiruzen vaguely said something about avoiding enemy traps and the like...

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

"No wonder you're the First and Seconds' student, my senior. You never let up on your training, even in your everyday life."

"Ex-exactly."

Hiruzen's eyes lit up at Diejian's unexpected support, and he immediately played along.

He had no idea it was a trap.

"What kind of traps does the book teach you to deal with?"

"W-well..."

"Things like covert operations?"

"Y-yes."

"Spying and the like?"

"Exactly."

"Seduction tactics and the like?"

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

"I can see the pictures in your bag."

"What!?... Ah."

A true ninja, indeed.

Ina and Tsunade both knew what "seduction tactics" meant.

Then their gazes shifted to the shopping bag in Hiruzen's hand.

"Oops, my hand slipped." Diejian tossed a kunai, deftly slicing open only the shopping bag.

A pile of obscene books and magazines spilled miserably onto the roadside.

Every cover featured special erotic illustrations of young women with huge breasts.

Hiruzen shrieked and scrambled to sweep the books beneath himself, trying to hide them.

Even Ina, who had grown somewhat used to this sort of thing thanks to Chouya and Diejian's interactions, gave him a cold look.

That's right.

Despite his cheerful exterior, Sarutobi Hiruzen was an incorrigible lecher.

"Hiruzen, what is this...?"

"B-Biwako, it's not what you think!"

Just then, Biwako, the woman rumored to be involved with Hiruzen, happened to pass by.

Biwako was trembling, while Hiruzen's reaction was anything but clear.

Looking at the erotic illustrations of women who were nothing like her, Biwako's expression—impossible to tell whether she was furious or about to cry—twisted into a hideous, hannya-like glare.

Ina and Tsunade looked worried on the surface, but couldn't hide the gleam in their eyes as they eagerly watched the couple's quarrel.

Biwako couldn't take it anymore and ran off. Hiruzen hurried after her.

The bundle of magazines was left behind.

Diejian suggested, "I'll take care of getting rid of them," but the idea was immediately rejected. They finally decided Ina would keep them and return them to Hiruzen later.

But Diejian wondered...

What would it feel like for a man to have a younger girl hand him this kind of lewd magazine?

A cold sweat broke out as Diejian realized how serious his crime was.

By sunset, the two women finally seemed satisfied.

They even had Diejian use Shadow Clones as porters, then headed home with contented expressions.

Looking at the bags stuffed full of women's clothes, Diejian wondered which of them was meant to be Sakumo's gift.

Later, he heard that Hiruzen had gone to Tobirama with a serious expression to ask for advice, only to be sternly scolded.

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

People called the waterfall created by the aftershocks of their battle the "Valley of the End."

Though Tobirama wasn't particularly enthusiastic about it, a movement had sprung up in Konohagakure to build stone statues of the two men at the Valley of the End.

The idea had come from some of the older villagers not long after the transition to the Second's administration. They wanted to preserve Hashirama's likeness before it faded from people's memories.

Since Tobirama had suppressed the elders' opinions during the Hidden Waterfall Village incident, he had to accept their wishes this time. Besides, he had no objection to building a statue of his older brother.

The problem was the other man: Uchiha Madara.

To be frank, Tobirama didn't like Uchiha Madara.

He could even say he hated him.

Madara had trampled all over Hashirama's goodwill, yet showed an astonishing attachment to him. Even after they formed an alliance, Madara had said all sorts of strange things before leaving the village. In the end, he had even tried to attack the village, seeking to destroy both it and Hashirama. Tobirama couldn't stand such selfish behavior.

Honestly, he had no desire to spend the village's funds on a statue of Madara.

But there were circumstances he couldn't avoid.

As expected, it was the Uchiha Clan, Madara's own people, who had asked for the statue.

Their point seemed to be that if the Senju clan leader was getting a statue, then their clan leader deserved one too.

Madara was dead, and their influence had waned, but there were still troublemakers among them.

Tobirama couldn't guarantee that simmering resentment wouldn't produce a second or third Madara, so he couldn't outright refuse them.

During the Warring States Period, the Uchiha Clan had been the strongest clan alongside the Senju, to which Hashirama, Tobirama, and Diejian belonged.

People generally believed the Senju Clan valued love, while the Uchiha Clan valued the power of jutsu itself—but that wasn't really true.

The source of the Uchiha Clan's power lay in their profound love.

For some reason, the Uchiha were a clan who felt love intensely, yet suppressed those feelings.

Once an Uchiha awakened to love and released those restraints, they became people of exceptional character. But if they lost that love, their mental disposition would abruptly reverse, turning them into monsters consumed by deep hatred.

The deeper their love, the greater their hatred. And the deeper that hatred, the more their strength as ninja would increase.

Even if they were only a minor threat at present, they could never be taken lightly.

If an Uchiha's love ran deep enough, and they lost it, allowing profound hatred to take root within them—then "great evil" could suddenly emerge in the village.

Still, Tobirama didn't believe the other clans could be trusted without question.

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

In fact, besides the Uchiha, plenty of people had tried to exploit his brother Hashirama's naivety and eat away at the village from within. Tobirama had driven them all back.

Now that his brother was gone, Tobirama found himself missing the work of cleaning up Hashirama's messes.

As far as he was concerned, he wanted to eliminate as many potential threats from the Uchiha as possible.

But he couldn't use force, and outright refusal wasn't a good strategy either.

Ever since Hashirama was alive, one of the issues that had given Tobirama the biggest headache was how to deal with the Uchiha Clan.

He had even considered wiping out the entire clan during the Warring States Period. But one of his subordinates was an Uchiha named Kagami Uchiha, whose abilities rivaled those of his top disciple, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and whose ideals were noble. So he couldn't lump all "Uchiha" together.

Tobirama's plan was to pull as many of the Uchiha's fangs as possible during his own generation, render them powerless, and leave the rest to the next generation.

He believed it was the duty of the older generation to cut off future troubles.

"Hey, mister, what's this? Grandpa's statue?"

"Don't call me mister. I'm the Second."

The statues of Hashirama and Madara.

Tobirama was sitting cross-legged, studying the design plans and wondering what to do, when Diejian poked his head over Tobirama's shoulder.

Training required proper rest, too.

Today was a rare day off.

Who was it? This feels... a little familiar.

That was Diejian's first impression when he saw the completed design for Uchiha Madara's statue.

He felt like he'd seen it somewhere before, but couldn't remember.

The frustrating feeling of having something on the tip of his tongue was unbearable.

"Mister, this one...?"

"Uchiha Madara. You should've seen him in person. He was the former leader of the Uchiha Clan, which stood alongside the Senju."

And, unfortunately, his older brother's dearest friend.

Tobirama kept that last part to himself.

He didn't think there was any need to bring it up, and he didn't want to talk about Madara.

"You don't remember? That's understandable. You were just a little kid back then—and it was before that man left the village."

"Uchiha... Madara..."

It had happened shortly after Diejian was born.

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

Overjoyed at the birth of his eldest grandson, Hashirama had naturally rushed off to introduce Diejian to his best friend, Madara.

Madara had still been relatively gentle back then. Surprised to see Hashirama holding a newborn, he congratulated him, then scolded him for bringing a Senju baby to the Uchiha Clan's neighborhood. After that, the two of them escorted the excited Hashirama home.

Apparently, Madara had held little Diejian in his arms.

With his fearsome appearance, Madara usually frightened children.

But Hashirama later said that Madara had seemed a little pleased that this rare baby hadn't cried in his arms.

By then, Tobirama had had enough.

Why did he have to sing the praises of an enemy?

"Mister, when I become a Genin, can I help build this statue? I'll take on missions."

It seemed a little early to be talking about it, but Diejian's Genin exam really was coming up soon.

So it's already come to this. Tobirama gazed out at the village.

It had been a turbulent year, but they had finally made it through.

Surprisingly, though, Diejian wanted to help with Madara's statue, not Hashirama's.

Tobirama had assumed that if Diejian wanted to help, it would be with Hashirama's statue.

When Tobirama asked why, Diejian replied:

If Grandpa said that man was his best friend, then he must have been worthy of that name, right? I just think it'd be nice if at least one person on the Senju side thought he had the right to exist.

Diejian hadn't explained exactly what he meant by "the right to exist," but Tobirama more or less understood.

I see. It's a way of living different from my brother's and mine, but it's certainly an expression of the Will of Fire.

A year had passed since then.

It seemed that there really was nothing left to worry about. Tobirama felt a little glad.

Diejian was eager, urging Tobirama to continue telling him stories about Madara.

"Fine." Tobirama sighed.

Though he was reluctant, he still did his best to indulge his disciple's request. That was exactly why the young people, Hiruzen foremost among them, looked up to Tobirama.

Tobirama began telling him about one of the strongest figures of the Warring States Period.

A man with strength to match the strongest in the Shinobi World, Senju Hashirama—though there was no denying Hashirama had held back somewhat out of friendship.

His Fire Release could burn down a forest, his Taijutsu could sweep away hundreds of troops, and his greatest Dojutsu was the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Hearing Tobirama describe such legendary power, young Diejian grew ordinarily excited.

Tobirama, on the other hand, was growing tired of it.

To him, Madara wasn't some legend. He was a constant, full-scale threat and source of trouble Tobirama had watched firsthand since childhood.

Why did he have to go on and on about an enemy's exploits? Tobirama slumped.

"Who was stronger, him or Grandpa Hashirama?" Diejian asked.

Tobirama proudly answered, "Of course my older brother was."

But when Diejian asked, "Then who was stronger, you or Madara?" Tobirama fell silent.

Tobirama was one of the strongest, too.

He was the fastest ninja and a developer of jutsu.

He believed that with the right strategy, he wouldn't be outmatched. But if the question was who was stronger... that was hard to say—or rather, hard to admit.

He wore no expression, but if you looked closely, that troubled look on Tobirama's face was a rare sight.

Diejian was secretly pleased to have seen something so unusual, but Tobirama hadn't missed his expression.

Diejian had yet to realize what form the payback would take.