Watching the stone drift to the opposite bank, Hashirama seemed to grasp something. He stood up woodenly and stared blankly at Uchiha Madara beside him.
That look was like someone gazing at a dear friend he'd waited years to see. Combined with Madara's confident smile, the scene practically crackled with bromance.
Madara turned and said, "Even if I don't know what's in your heart, I do know that you..."
"What?"
"Your hair, your clothes—they're both so outdated they're practically falling apart." His tone abruptly turned teasing.
Well said!
Shin cheered inwardly. Hashirama's hair and clothes had always been something he wanted to poke fun at.
Watching the two of them interact, Shin felt a pang of emotion. As expected of Indra and Asura's reincarnations. Even reborn into different clans, they couldn't help being drawn to each other when they met. Perhaps this was the bond the Hokage spoke of.
At that thought, Shin suddenly stood and chuckled. "Since you two want to change this flawed world, why don't we start with the three of us?"
Madara and Hashirama looked at him at the same time, puzzled. "What do you mean?"
Shin grinned and pressed one hand to the ground. With a bang, an offering table appeared, set with three bowls of clear wine. Three long incense sticks burned on it.
"What's that?"
"This is one way of using my Space-Time Ninjutsu. Pretty impressive, huh?"
"Who asked about that...?"
Shin laughed, then suddenly grew serious. "Madara just said that the only way to change the world is to be honest with our enemies, hide nothing from each other, and swear brotherhood. So let's start with the three of us. For now, let's forget all the rules of the shinobi. We'll tell each other our surnames and swear brotherhood here. If even