Madara and Hashirama Arrive Together!

The Land of Rain.

This is a small, neutral country situated between the Three Countries Wind, Fire, and Earth.

In terms of military strength, the Land of Rain is one of the top small countries. However, due to geographical factors, the Land of Rain was used as a battlefield by the three villages of Konoha, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure during Second Shinobi World War, and was wantonly ravaged, causing great damage to the country and making the already relatively backward economic development of the Land of Rain even worse.

If it weren't for Hanzo, the Hanzo of Amegakure, forcefully declaring war on the Three Great Shinobi Villages at the beginning of Second Shinobi World War, and defeating them in local battles despite being the weaker party, the Three Great Shinobi Villages Three Great Shinobi Villages might have made the Land of Rain their main battlefield for the entire war, and the flames of war would have completely engulfed the entire Land of Rain.

After Second Shinobi World War, Hanzo's reputation in the Land of Rain reached its peak. Especially after the outbreak of the Third Shinobi World War, when the five parties were fighting and the four villages besieged Konoha, Iwagakure and Sunagakure deliberately avoided the Land of Rain, and the name of the Demigod became even more resounding.

However, even so, the destruction that Second Shinobi World War brought to the Land of Rain of Land of Rain took a full ten years to recover, from the end of Second Shinobi World War in Konoha Year 37 to the end of Third Shinobi World War in Konoha Year 47.

The entire Land of Rain is in turmoil, civilians are displaced, public order is in chaos, and thieves are rampant.

For the sake of food, robbery and murder are not uncommon.

A light drizzle was falling from the sky.

The Land of Rain is a country where it is either raining or about to rain, making it difficult for the country to develop agriculture.

Below the cliff, a rushing river flows, and on the right side of the rock face, there is a cave that has been carved out by man.

Obito, dressed in a black Obito and encased in a White Zetsu shell, along with the Black and White Zetsu, appeared here, observing the three people outside the cave.

At the edge of the cave, three young people—two men and one woman—stood in the rain, gazing up at the gloomy sky.

The country is crying.

"Did you see the eyes of that red-haired youth? That's Nagato, Madara's backup plan," the White Zetsu Original said first.

"Is that Madara's Rinnegan?" Obito said calmly. After awakening his Mangekyō Sharingan, his perception of Eye Power became more and more obvious. Even from a distance, he could sense the terrifying Eye Power in Nagato's eyes.

"Those were Madara's original eyes, which were secretly transplanted when Nagato was a child," the White Zetsu Original continued.

At this moment, Black Zetsu slowly explained, "Nagato is a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan, and he has a very strong bloodline talent. Apart from Madara, he is the only person who can summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path."

"Kushina Uzumaki? Isn't her talent inferior to Nagato's?" White Zetsu Original couldn't help but ask.

Black Zetsu's voice deepened slightly as he said, "Do you think we can control Kushina if she has the Rinnegan Kushina? Don't tell lame jokes at a time like this!"

"You said you were the only one," White Zetsu Original couldn't help but retort.

Black Zetsu ignored White Zetsu and said to Obito, "According to Madara's plan, we need to find a way to subdue Nagato first. This is the most crucial step."

Seeing this, Obito headed straight for the cave.

"Huh? What are you doing?" White Zetsu Original asked in confusion.

"To be honest, they must feel just as desperate about this dark world as I do."

Obito continued walking forward, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings.

He made no attempt to hide his presence and walked straight up to the three of them. Nagato was the first to notice Obito, looking at him warily. "Stop. Who are you?"

Obito lifted his black hat, revealing his face hidden behind a white Uzumaki Mask, and his right eye's Three-Tomoe Sharingan. He spoke calmly:

"Uchiha Madara."

His composed demeanor, coupled with his indifferent gaze, caused cold sweat to break out on Yahiko's forehead, while Nagato and Konan were both stunned.

However, Yahiko quickly realized what was going on and said, "How dare you call yourself Uchiha Madara? I don't know if you're bluffing or if you're just an idiot!"

Even with his immense power, Hanzō of the Salamander, the leader of Amegakure, only dared to call himself Demigod.

Uchiha Madara was a figure on par with Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi; who would dare to impersonate such a person?

Yahiko felt that the person in front of him was a joke.

"What exactly is your purpose?" Nagato approached Yahiko and stared at Obito.

"You possess the Rinnegan, and it is our organization's mission to provide you with proper guidance," Obito said slowly.

Nagato looked surprised. "You understand my eyes?"

Nagato has always been afraid of the power of the Rinnegan because he cannot control it. He is always afraid that he will lose control one day and accidentally hurt Yahiko and Konan. Although he has mastered some of the power of the Rinnegan after being taught by Jiraiya, he knows that he has only used a small part of the power of the Rinnegan and there is still a large part that he cannot control.

"You are the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths who longs for world peace. Great nations bask in the sunlight, while small nations remain shrouded in shadow and darkness."

That's why you awakened the Rinnegan and received the mission to change the world! Protecting peace is a form of selfishness that is destined to trigger war.

Large countries have their own way of peace, and small countries have their own way of peace.

Where there are victors, there will be losers; and in order to protect their respective peace, war will never cease.

In order to protect love, hatred will inevitably arise.

This is a cause-and-effect relationship that cannot be severed, so creating a world where there are only winners, only love, and only peace is our ultimate dream.

With our help, you can immediately achieve the peaceful world you've always dreamed of. Come on, join us!

Obito started using Talk no Jutsu and deception.

Nagato looked tempted, clearly easily fooled due to his lack of education, but Yahiko, standing beside him, disagreed and stopped Obito from stepping forward, retorting:

"That's impossible! Are you trying to deceive and exploit us? What you're saying is too idealistic! Only by understanding the pain of others and making the perpetrators shed the same tears can we approach the real world."

"Shedding the same tears, is that revenge?" Obito said coldly. He realized that compared to the easily fooled Nagato, Yahiko was very rational and calm, and was a big problem.

"No, I mean mutual understanding!"

Yahiko said firmly.

"Stop dreaming! There's no such thing in this world!" Obito's eyes were filled with anger. How could there be a day when people could understand each other in this fake world? If they could truly understand each other, how could his Rin have died?

"Nagato, Konan, let's go! We can't trust them!" Yahiko frowned, gesturing for Konan and Nagato behind him to leave.

Obito's gaze grew increasingly cold.

Clap clap clap!

Just then, a series of crisp claps rang out amidst the pattering rain.

A tall man dressed in a black robe walked towards the edge of the cave, clapping his hands as he went, as if he had overheard the conversation.

The tall man removed his hood, revealing a Uzumaki mask similar to Obito's, except that he showed his two eyes.

This person is none other than the "Divine Tree," the Wood Spirit Avatar.

For the past few years, Shiraha has been investigating the Akatsuki. After all, the Akatsuki in the story consists of S-Rank wanted criminals from various countries, as well as powerful Kage Level ninjas like Uchiha Itachi who could defeat Kakashi, an elite Jonin, Elite Jonin a single glance. The Akatsuki's goal is to collect the Tailed Beast, which naturally puts them on the opposite side of Shiraha.

However, there are still more than ten years to go before the events that Shiraha remembers. In the past few days, while investigating the Akatsuki, he discovered that there is no such organization in the Shinobi World.

Therefore, he realized that in this timeline, the Akatsuki might either not have been established, or it might have been an unknown and weak organization, not yet reaching the scale of later generations.

This year, through information from Sasori and Kakuzu, Shiraha learned that there was an organization called 'Akatsuki' in the Land of Rain Territory that had recently gained some fame. They always accepted some difficult missions at low prices, so Kakuzu paid some attention to them.

After all, this kind of behavior constitutes malicious competition, Kakuzu is very dissatisfied.

Shiraha took this very seriously. Although he did not go there in person, the "Divine Tree" was now comparable to a first- Kage Level. It could even First Shinobi World War against Peak Kage Level such as the Third Raikage, Hanzō of the Salamander, and Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage. Moreover, the "Divine Tree" was constantly improving and was capable of handling most situations.

In Shiraha's mind, the best outcome would naturally be to subdue the Akatsuki, 'turn enemies into friends,' and turn potential future adversaries into his own people.

As a second-best option, we should cooperate with the Akatsuki, or at least keep a close eye on them and find out why they are risking offending the Great Nations at the same time to collect the Tailed Beast.

"And who are you?" Yahiko asked in a deep voice. Another strange person had arrived.

"Me? I'm just an ordinary ninja who sincerely wants to cooperate with you."

Shiraha said with a smile.

Obito clenched his fists tightly, his eyes revealing a chilling killing intent.

That's him!

This is the ninja in front of us who took Lin's body!

Black and White Zetsu, who was standing to the side, was also startled. They hadn't even noticed that someone had gotten so close, and the Masked Man in front of them looked very similar to them.

"Playing tricks, you don't even dare to say your name?" White Zetsu Original deliberately mocked.

Shiraha turned his head and glanced at him, then smiled and said, "My name is no secret. Of course I can tell you, my name is Hashirama Senju."

"Hashirama Senju?!"

"The First Hokage!"

"The God of Shinobi?!"

Everyone in the room was taken aback.

If there is anyone in the entire Shinobi World whose self-introduction is more shocking than Uchiha Madara, then it is only the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju!

"Are you kidding me?!" Yahiko's face darkened. He looked at Shiraha, then at Obito, who was also wearing Uzumaki Mask and dressed almost identically, and shook his Obito. "I must be crazy to waste my time with you guys."

"I saw him joking around, so I made a joke too to lighten the mood," Shiraha said, pointing to the Masked Man beside him. Although he couldn't be sure if the man was Obito, he was certain that the person in front of him was not Madara. The last battle was very brief, but Shiraha had already formed some impression of Madara.

"Hmph!" Obito's eyes turned cold, but he did not refute. Whether he was Madara or not was not important. The important thing was to fool Nagato.

I just didn't expect that first Yahiko wouldn't cooperate, and then the Masked Man would cause trouble.

"Let me introduce myself properly. You can call me Kodama," Shiraha said with a smile, extending his hand to Yahiko. "I am genuinely looking for a collaboration with you."

"Cooperate? I think you want to use us just like them, right?" Yahiko didn't shake hands with Shiraha, but looked at him, Obito, and the Black and White Zetsu standing to the side with great vigilance.

"Whether it's exploitation or not, you might as well let me finish explaining."

Shiraha continued.

"I'd like to see what you can say?" Yahiko stopped in his tracks, but unlike Nagato, he wasn't naive and easily fooled. No matter what Shiraha said, he wouldn't believe it.

Shiraha nodded slightly. "I heard what you all said just now, and what you said is all correct, but I think it's all a bit extreme!"

"Extremist? Where is it extreme?" Yahiko asked in a deep voice.

Shiraha: "The world you described, where people understand each other, is far too idealistic and simplistic."

"You really are in cahoots with him." Yahiko looked coldly at Shiraha and Obito.

Shiraha shook his head and chuckled, saying, "If I were Hashirama Senju and he were Uchiha Madara, then perhaps I really would be on his side. But I haven't finished speaking yet! Don't rush to conclusions."

On my way here, I saw a child stealing something, and then he was beaten to death by an adult.

It was just for two pieces of dry, hard bread.

I was about to intervene, but when I saw the knife the child had hidden in his sleeve, I didn't.

Later, when I saw the man's sick wife and children at home, I was even more glad that I hadn't intervened.

Later, I began to reflect on myself and why I possessed this ridiculous sense of superiority.

"Reflection? A sense of superiority?!" Nagato asked, puzzled.

"To me, ten thousand slices of bread are insignificant, so I can casually say the word 'that's all'."

But for that child, he might starve to death if he didn't eat, so he may have been prepared to kill someone before stealing the bread.

The man who committed the cruel act was probably starving himself, just so his sick wife and children could have one more bite to eat.

For them, two pieces of bread were more important than mutual understanding, peace, the future, and everything else.

When you're hungry, no one will understand you.

Judging from your appearance, you must have suffered a lot on your path to pursuing your ideals, but you are lucky now. At least you don't have to worry about what to eat tomorrow.

In this country, in this Shinobi World, many people are still struggling to make ends meet. Mutual understanding can't stop them from going hungry, can it?

Shiraha spoke slowly.

Nagato, Yahiko, Konan all fell silent.

"That's why I say there's no hope in this world!" Obito voice.

"Don't interrupt, I haven't finished speaking."

Shiraha glared at him, then continued:

"Individual force can determine everything, the rise and fall of nations, and in a world where mutual understanding between people is almost impossible!"

In the Land of Rain where you live, people cannot even meet their most basic physiological needs.

If a person is simultaneously lacking food, safety, love, and respect, the need for food will be the strongest for most people, while the other needs will seem less important.

Because hunger takes over a person's consciousness, all energy is used to obtain food.

In such extreme circumstances, the entire meaning of life becomes eating; mutual understanding, experiencing the same pain, and world peace are all just jokes.

Beyond that, there's the need for security. Living in war-torn, turbulent environments, where death could come at any moment, few people are willing to show compassion for others in such circumstances.

The group fell silent again.

Because Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan had all experienced hunger, they deeply understood what Shiraha was saying.

At that time, although they had ideals, most of the time their thoughts were about not starving to death and trying every possible way to fill their stomachs.

Stealing is a common occurrence for children like them.

Shiraha continued, "If you hadn't met Jiraiya, hadn't learned ninjutsu, and hadn't obtained the crucial martial power to survive in this chaotic world..."

Then everything I've said will continue to happen to you. At that point, what energy will you have left to pursue so-called peace?

Beyond the need for safety, there is also the need for affection and belonging. Only when this stage is reached can people have the opportunity to understand each other.

This country's hopes are slim, but you have persisted and never given up.

But if you choose the wrong direction, no matter how hard you try, it's just a waste of effort that takes you further and further away from your goal.

"Even if what you say is all correct, you've only identified the problem. Do you have a solution?" Yahiko asked in a deep voice. Although his attitude still carried a hint of doubt, he had subconsciously agreed with Shiraha's words. It was indeed meaningless to talk about ideals on an empty stomach.

"My organization is called ' Infinite Ring,' and we want to cooperate with your 'Akatsuki' organization to create a Shinobi World that satisfies our needs for emotion and belonging. If you truly share our vision, we will meet again."

Shiraha smiled slightly, and without the slightest hesitation, turned and left.

"..." Yahiko opened his mouth, but hesitated to speak.

They clearly wanted to collaborate with us, but they left before we even discussed the collaboration.

"Nagato, Konan, let's go!" Yahiko glanced at Obito and Black and White Zetsu, and immediately spoke up. These two were obviously no good; their words were empty and pretentious, without any sincerity. On the other hand, the man who claimed to be Hashirama Senju had at least pointed out the crux of the problem.

After the three left, Obito, who had been deep in thought, suddenly realized what was happening and quickly rushed off with Black and Black and White Zetsu in the direction where Shiraha had left.

"Quick, after them!"

P. S.: Happy New Year everyone! Wishing you good health, academic and career success, family happiness, and all the best!