Good Friends for a Day, Good Friends for Life

"Ah! Of course I remember, heh, I never thought it would actually come true."

"Back then, you said you wanted to build a village of our own right here."

"A place where the children of the village wouldn't have to kill each other, and where we could build a ninja academy to train them."

"We could let them grow and slowly become stronger within the academy, and then everyone could choose the missions they wanted to undertake based on their own abilities and strength."

"We would also elect a village leader capable of clearly distinguishing mission ranks, so that we wouldn't have to send children to the battlefield."

"I thought you were foolish back then, but at the same time, I also felt that such a village would be wonderful!"

Madara Uchiha looked at Konoha before him, recalling the days of their youth when the two of them sat in this very spot, gazing at the village that now made him feel a sense of disbelief.

After all, he never imagined that he would truly realize the wish he once held.

"Heh, indeed!"

"How wonderful a village like this is! We can keep all our younger brothers here under our protection, safe from any threat."

"We can protect them from harm; if anyone wants to hurt them, they will have to step over our corpses first."

Hashirama Senju looked at the smiling, happy clansmen before him, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

Although they had only established this village for a little over a month, countless commoners had already flocked here to reside, and they had welcomed them all without objection.

After all, a village cannot thrive without people, and now they were continuing to expand their home.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...!"

A sudden gust of wind blew, and Madara Uchiha caught a withered leaf, holding it in his hand.

"I originally thought this was just a dream, never realizing that it was something we could have achieved with effort all along, yet I chose the most brutal path."

Madara Uchiha looked at the withered leaf in his hand and spoke slowly, finding his former, reckless self truly laughable.

"Hasn't it become reality now? Your brother, my brother, and our clansmen are all under our protection; from now on, no one will be able to destroy our village."

"As the leader of the ninjas who silently guards the Land of Fire within the village, let's call it Hokage, shall we? What do you think of that name?"

Hashirama Senju looked at Madara Uchiha with a smile, then proposed the title of Hokage for the village leader, feeling it was quite fitting.

"What are you saying? Hokage? What does that mean?"

Madara Uchiha asked, looking at Hashirama Senju with some confusion.

"The Daimyo of the Land of Fire requires us to choose a leader for the village, and I want you to become the leader of this village, to become the Hokage."

"Your brothers and clansmen are all here, but I also hope you can treat the other ninjas and commoners in the village as your own brothers."

"I hope that after you become Hokage, you will protect everyone in the village just as you have always protected your brother and your clan."

Hashirama Senju knew that Madara Uchiha was a kind and powerful man; there was no reason he couldn't be Hokage, and he said this with a smile.

"Is that so? Can I really do it?"

"I couldn't even protect my own brothers; now only Izuna remains. Can I really protect them all?"

Madara Uchiha looked at the withered leaf in his hand and muttered to himself.

Recalling the days when his brothers died one after another before his eyes, he felt an incomparable grief, yet he had been powerless to stop it—a feeling he truly never wanted to experience again.

"Heh, there is no time for you to retreat now. I believe you are the only one worthy of being Hokage."

"Besides, the Sarutobi Clan and the Shimura Clan are both looking to join our village now!"

Hashirama Senju looked at Madara Uchiha, smiled slightly, and spread his hands.

"Oh?"

"Really? Are you sure you aren't joking?"

Madara Uchiha had never expected that the ninja village he and Hashirama Senju had built with their own hands would actually attract others to join. It completely overturned his worldview, yet he felt a hint of embarrassment as he asked.

"Of course not. You must not have been out to see lately, right? Look at that area, those are all newly built, and over there as well."

"Many people have come to the village!"

"It will only grow larger and stronger in the future."

"By the way, we should give the village a name. What do you think would be a good one?"

Hashirama Senju smiled at him, then pointed to a clearing that had previously been a forest.

"Hmm?"

"A name?"

Madara Uchiha paused. A name... he looked at the withered leaf in his hand, seeing the entire village through the corner of the leaf.

"Then let's call it Konoha Ninja Village, how about that?"

After a moment of contemplation, Madara Uchiha said with great seriousness.

"How simple...!"

"It has no depth at all; you just named it after the leaf in your hand?"

Hashirama Senju heard the name Madara Uchiha had chosen and instantly lowered his head, his spirit wilting as he muttered, "How is this any different from the life of the Hokage you spoke of?"

"And another thing, when are you finally going to get over that annoying habit of yours, wilting away at the slightest provocation?" Madara Uchiha barked at him, clearly frustrated by Hashirama Senju's dejected display.

With that, the name Konoha was finalized, and the village gained the recognition of countless people.

"Hahaha, even though so much time has passed..."

"Our wars have finally come to an end. Looking at us now, it's as if I'm seeing our childhood all over again."

Hashirama Senju looked at Madara Uchiha and burst into hearty laughter. Gazing out at the entirety of Konoha, he felt deeply satisfied, as if he had returned to the happy days they shared years ago; he truly yearned for those youthful times.

"By the way, this Hokage you mentioned—what does a Hokage actually do? Is it just staying in the village and protecting the villagers?"

Since they were pioneers who had built the very first ninja village, Madara Uchiha had no idea what the leader of such a place was supposed to do. Everything had to be started from scratch, and they were essentially fumbling in the dark, so he looked at Hashirama Senju and asked in confusion.

"That's only a part of it, not the whole picture. You have to remember, we still need to expand the village."

"We also need to accept missions from various countries, assign ninjas to complete them, and collect the rewards."

"The village is still under construction, and we will be accelerating its development moving forward."

"So, as the Hokage, you will gradually find yourself becoming quite busy."

"When the time comes, we'll carve your likeness onto the cliff face beneath our feet. Though, you should probably change your expression—it's a bit terrifying and not very friendly at all, hahaha!"

Hashirama Senju looked toward the cliff below, having already conceived his next steps. Hearing this, Madara Uchiha froze, a bead of cold sweat appearing on his brow.

"As a symbol to protect the village?"

"Are you kidding me? You're calling my handsome face terrifying? Tch."

"It's still much better than that pathetic, soul-crushed expression of yours, isn't it?"

Madara Uchiha immediately retorted. To insult his handsome features was simply unforgivable, and he fired back without hesitation.

"Uh...!"

"Is it really that pathetic?"

Hearing Madara Uchiha say this, Hashirama Senju instantly hung his head, muttering to himself in a dejected stupor.

"Hahaha...!"

"Not pathetic, not pathetic at all."

"If I had to say, it's downright embarrassing, hahaha...!"

Madara Uchiha watched Hashirama Senju's reaction and roared with laughter.

"Is that so? Heh, hahaha...!"

Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"So this is where you are!"

"Big Brother, you two really made us search for you!"

Just then, Izuna Uchiha and Tobirama Senju ran over. Seeing their brothers laughing together with Hashirama Senju, they approached with smiles on their faces.

Tobirama Senju followed closely behind, and the two of them stood behind Madara Uchiha and the others.

During this period, thanks to the reconciliation between the two clans and the marriage between Senju Fujima and the Uchiha Clan, Tobirama Senju's perception of the Uchiha had changed drastically, and he had become good friends with Izuna Uchiha.

The Uchiha Clan had always been known as demons possessed by love, but after truly interacting with them, he realized their love was one of protection—an affection born solely for the sake of guarding others.

It was just like the bond between him and his own older brother; it was a protective love. He loved his brother, and in turn, his brother was willing to sacrifice everything for him. It was as simple as that.

As the saying goes, one often makes friends through conflict; it was truly ironic that two former mortal enemies had become such close companions.

This was all thanks to Senju Fujima, who had tirelessly explained things to his second uncle to dispel his hatred for the Uchiha Clan, eventually using his "Talk no Jutsu" to convince Tobirama Senju.

Moreover, Senju Fujima felt that since he had already arrived in the world of Naruto, what would be the point if he didn't change history and just followed the original plot?

He was determined to make the Uchiha and Senju clans live in peace, so that they could eventually unite to confront the Otsutsuki Clan.

Thinking of Naruto and Sasuke, and how they were left with no way to fight back against Ōtsutsuki Isshiki when their power levels collapsed in the later stages, he felt a lingering fear.

His current strength was nowhere near that of Six Paths Naruto or Six Paths Sasuke; if he were to encounter Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, he would be finished in an instant.

Furthermore, he was currently possessing Jigen, yet he didn't even know where the man was. Such an enemy was terrifying, far beyond anything Black Zetsu could compare to.

The invincible final boss had yet to appear, so he had to take precautions. Besides, it was unknown whether there were even more powerful beings within the Otsutsuki Clan than Ōtsutsuki Isshiki.

"Big Brother, why are you still wasting time here?"

"The ministers from the Land of Fire are about to arrive for the meeting. You two need to hurry up and prepare."

Tobirama Senju saw the two of them relaxing and laughing, while he and Izuna Uchiha were busy to the point of exhaustion.