Chapter 39

After a moment of shock, Hashirama calmed down. Ever since traveling through time and space and meeting another version of himself, among other strange events, his mental resilience had reached new heights. It would take a lot to rattle him.

"So you're occupying this world's Uchiha Madara's body?" Now that he thought about it, Uchiha Madara's aura did seem different from yesterday. Much of his intimidating sharpness had been reined in.

"Two souls in one body, I suppose." Madara rubbed his temples. "This body's rejecting my soul. I can only control it temporarily. I don't have much time, so let's get to the important stuff!"

Hashirama laid Madara's body back down on the tatami, then turned to him. "You mean the reason we came to this world?"

Madara sneered. "The Nine-Tails must have something to do with it!"

"The Nine-Tails alone couldn't have caused this. There must have been other factors at work for such a coincidence to happen. Have you discovered anything?"

Madara shook his head. "I don't know either. I woke up like this." With the experience of two lifetimes, he'd figured out his situation as soon as he arrived and got a little information. Of course, his unusual circumstances played a part—the differences between the Uchiha Clan in the two worlds were unmistakable.

Hashirama thought for a moment, then said, "I've reached an agreement with this world's First Hokage. He'll help us as much as he can."

"You've met him? When?" Madara asked. Though he and this world's Uchiha Madara shared a body, he couldn't access his memories. Besides, he'd deliberately avoided the First Hokage for the past four days. A top-tier fighter's instincts would certainly pick up on something strange, and he wasn't looking for a fight.

"Yesterday evening."

Madara raised an eyebrow. "No conditions?"

"The only one is that we can't harm Konoha's interests."

So, in other words, no conditions. As if Hashirama would do something thankless for no reason—Madara wouldn't, either. Their foundations lay in another world! "What are you planning to do now?"

"We can only take it slowly. The Tailed Beasts might know something, and Tobirama here could help too—if he's as good at research as our Tobirama." Hashirama sounded a little conflicted. He thought of the First Hokage, who was just like him, then of this world's Uchiha Madara, who was somehow completely different... "And what about the original owner of your body?"

"I've suppressed him for now." Madara didn't want to discuss that, so he changed the subject. "Looks like you've taken good care of my body."

Hashirama shook his head. "You'd better get back into your own body as soon as possible. Your current situation is very unfavorable."

"I know." Madara sighed, a rare trace of irritation between his brows. "The head of this clan doesn't intend to stay here and clean up this mess!"

After seventeen years of hard work, he'd been thrown back to square one overnight. That was the kind of miserable fate that would drive anyone mad—and it had happened to Madara. At first, he'd thought he'd never return to his old world, so he'd resigned himself to starting over and rebuilding the Uchiha Clan, determined to replace this world's Uchiha Madara. Now that he knew Hashirama had come to this world too, bringing his original body with him, his predicament clearly wasn't hopeless. There was no need to go through all that trouble.

If I can go back to a life of luxury, why would I stay in Konoha, where everything's so austere? Conquering one world after another is the sort of thing only a chūnibyō would do. I'm not interested in the process. Everything I do is for the result I have in mind.

Madara stepped forward to examine his own body closely. Not everyone got to experience something like this.

The sleeping body still had signs of life. The white robe with blue trim and embroidery had been replaced by a simple outfit, made from inexpensive cloth and without any pattern. But the simplicity did nothing to diminish the body's noble air. If anything, it gave him a wintry, otherworldly coolness. His serene face only deepened that impression, making him look peaceful and composed.

Madara rubbed his chin. So this was what he looked like in white. He had the air of a big bad wolf turned into a little white rabbit... What a harmless-looking fellow!

Hashirama watched Madara "flirt" with his own body, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Madara's finger slid from the face to the back of the hand. The wound there had healed, leaving only a faint red mark that would fade in a few days. Madara frowned slightly. "...Where's Space Eater?"

Hashirama looked confused. "What?"

"The Jade Ring on my right thumb." The ring was bound to his soul, so he could use it no matter what body he was in. It held the things Izuna had prepared for him. He'd thought there was more than he could ever use, but now that he was stranded in another time and space, he was starting to worry there wouldn't be enough.

"Oh, it was in the way when I treated your wound, so I took it off." Hashirama pulled the Jade Ring from his pocket and handed it over. "There's a crack in it. It must have been damaged when I sealed the Nine-Tails. Good thing it didn't break completely."

Madara nodded and reached for it. But the moment he touched the ring, a tremendous force of attraction surged forth! Hashirama immediately threw it away, but it was too late. This world's Uchiha Madara lost control of his body and collapsed.

It all happened so suddenly that Hashirama stared at the two similar-looking bodies lying on the tatami, unsure what to do.

What was going on?!

At that moment, the body that had been asleep for four days finally showed signs of waking.

Hashirama snapped out of his daze. At first, he was delighted to see it, but then he warily watched the person about to rise, tensing for a fight and preparing to defend himself. After all, he still couldn't be sure which "Uchiha Madara" this was.

Weak and feeble, with every joint feeling stiff...

Madara struggled to prop himself up. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Hashirama's conflicted, wary face. "What are you staring at? It's me!"

Hashirama let out a sigh of relief and hurried over to help him up. "You keep switching back and forth. I can't keep track anymore." A faint smile crossed his face. "At any rate, it's good you switched back."

Madara wasn't in a hurry to celebrate. Instead, he asked, "Just now—was it the ring?"

Hashirama nodded. "And that feeling... It was a little like the black hole that appeared when I sealed the Nine-Tails. What exactly is that ring of yours? Some kind of divine artifact?"

"It was made by the clan's research division. It can open up a small space." Madara waved, and the ring flew from the corner into his palm. Frowning, he examined the little object, but this time it didn't create an energy vortex or a black hole or anything of the sort. Uchiha Masahiko, what on earth did you make?

"A space-time artifact!" Hashirama's opinion of the unassuming ring changed at once. Time and space were the two great axes that formed a world. Anything connected to either of them was no less than certain divine artifacts!

"It was made with Star Jade, with various techniques and arrays embedded in it." Just thinking about that made Madara feel that the world he'd been reborn in was ridiculous. Star Jade? Did the name have to sound so fantastical?

"Star Jade?" Hashirama had never heard of it.

"'The sun and moon shine brightly; the stars follow their courses; yin and yang and the five elements move in cycles.' The ancient book Strange Objects: Heavenly Principles mentions Star Jade. It's over a thousand years old and has been out of print for centuries. I only learned about it from the Fujiwara Clan." He gently stroked the crack on the ring's surface and smiled. "Even this small piece was a tribute from the Land of Snow. Lucky for us they had no idea what it was worth."

"If we start with the Nine-Tails and this ring, we should be able to find a way back," Hashirama said delightedly.

"Let's see what happens first." Madara put the ring away, then glanced at this world's Uchiha Madara. "First, we need to deal with him."

Hashirama hadn't forgotten about him, either. Even as they spoke, he stayed on guard. But... killing an innocent man who was unconscious went against his principles. Besides, the man had the same face as Madara. Hashirama would find it hard to bring himself to do it!

"...He's a member of Konoha."

"I didn't say I'd kill him. He's 'Uchiha Madara,' after all. He can't die in such a pathetic way." Madara took the other man by the chin. Lost in a nightmare, Uchiha Madara was forced to lift his head, exposing his pale neck. It would take only a little pressure to snap it. No matter how strong someone was, life was still so fragile. His brows were tightly furrowed, his expression seeming pained and sorrowful, as if he were suffering terribly. "It'll be dawn soon. Should we take him back to the Uchiha estate, or strip him naked and toss him out on the street?"

Hashirama stared at him, at a loss. "What did he ever do to you?"

Madara sneered, tightening his grip by five degrees. "Even if he's not the same person, I won't let anyone hurt him!" The "him" he referred to clearly wasn't this Uchiha Madara. The scene from the illusion that had reflected people's hearts came back to him. Flames seemed to spread across his eyes, and his Sharingan slowly turned red. Madara leaned close to the man's ear and whispered a few words. His voice was soft and almost inaudible, but his words carried a bone-chilling menace.

"I'm sure we older brothers all feel the same. Your heart must be bleeding with pain... So why did you take Izuna's eyes, hmm?"

The faint voice rang like thunder in Uchiha Madara's dream. He abruptly opened his eyes, and found himself staring into a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan!

"How could I ever take my younger brother's eyes?!"

With a furious shout, this world's Uchiha Madara woke up. Before he could counterattack, Madara released his grip and used the Body Flicker Technique to escape his reach.

Hashirama recalled the Wood Release that had been on the verge of erupting. He turned to see Madara looking as if to say, "You're finally awake." The corner of his mouth twitched. "Madara, you did that on purpose!"

"Hashirama, stay out of it. This is a matter between Uchiha Madara." Madara stared at his blood-red Sharingan and smiled. "Eternal Mangekyō, huh? You really don't feel the least bit ashamed using it!"

Before the words had even left his mouth, he vanished. At the same time, a vast expanse of Black Fire engulfed the spot where he'd stood. The house the First Hokage had just given Hashirama had lasted all of one night.

Uchiha Madara regained his proud, composed demeanor and said coldly, "You're the one who took over my body, aren't you?"

Madara's lips curved, but there wasn't a trace of a smile in his eyes. "And if I am?"

The first light of dawn crept above the horizon, illuminating their murderous faces.

In identical white clothes, with their black hair loose, their fierce attacks and killing intent made the two men utterly indistinguishable.

"Don't think you can get away with anything just because you have this face. The gap in our power makes us fundamentally different." Uchiha Madara dodged dozens of projectiles and said scornfully, "You're still mired in weakness, congratulating yourself over petty tricks. You'll never understand the world of the strong."

"The world of the strong?" Madara swept aside seven waves of Fire Tide and looked up with a smile. "I only need to get what I want. You have all that brute strength, yet you couldn't even keep your only younger brother. Who knows what else you'll lose in the future... If that's what being strong means, then sorry, I have no interest in it."

Every word Madara said struck a nerve. Uchiha Madara's eyes darkened further, their crimson deepening. "Do you want to die?!"

"Why don't you try?" Madara pinched out several massive Fire Spears with two fingers. "Good. I've been wanting to beat you up for ages!"