Madara and Hashirama's Birth

"Two thousand years... Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, those two finally came into the world."

Otsutsuki Yuhao sighed.

He felt the chakra of Indra and Asura appear.

"I wonder how I managed to endure these two thousand years.

Several thousand years, nine thousand years—it's still several thousand years.

The Naruto story never gave an exact timeline. It only said several thousand years."

Otsutsuki Yuhao smiled wryly to himself.

As for Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, both could talk and walk just three months after birth. By twelve months, they could speak.

They became Genin at three, Chunin at five, and Special Jōnin at seven.

Uchiha Madara was called a peerless genius who came closest to their ancestor, Indra, while Senju Hashirama was called a peerless genius who came closest to their ancestor, Asura.

Because of Otsutsuki Yuhao, Asura and Indra had lived for a long time, so the Senju and Uchiha clans had preserved most of their family histories.

Their histories traced back to when the two clans had been one, two thousand years earlier. Their ancestors had also been brothers. But a thousand years ago, the Senju Clan Head had accidentally killed the Uchiha Clan Head, and the two clans had begun a civil war. Once close kin, they had become bitter enemies.

A thousand years later, the hatred between the clans had only grown deeper.

During the Warring States period, in the Sea Realm, the year 2007, various ninja clans worked for anyone willing to pay a high price, carrying out assassinations and extermination missions.

To survive, ninjas of that era couldn't even casually reveal their surnames.

Even young children had to fight desperately on the battlefield. As a result, the average lifespan had plummeted, leaving both ninjas and civilians with an average life expectancy of only around thirty.

Troubled by his clan's affairs, Uchiha Madara went to the river to skip stones. There, he met Senju Hashirama, who was also troubled by the wars between their clans.

Uchiha Madara hurled a stone into the river. As it skipped across the surface, it seemed to come alive, dancing with the water. Its graceful arcs looked like a silent abstract painting drawn across the river.

Watching the wondrous sight of the stone skipping across the water,

Uchiha Madara smiled.

Just then, another stone skimmed across the surface in an elegant arc, shattering the stillness of the water.

"Who's there?"

Uchiha Madara barked.

"It's me. My name's Hashirama!

You're pretty good at skipping stones. You're only the second person I've met whose technique is about as good as mine."

Senju Hashirama's eyes shone with excitement, as if he were looking at something wonderful.

"About as good as yours? I'm a little better than you.

But who was the first person you met?"

At the mention of skipping stones, Uchiha Madara's face filled with confidence.

Without realizing it, Uchiha Madara's attention had been drawn to the stone-skipping contest. He didn't even wonder why Senju Hashirama was here.

Perhaps he had let his guard down because Hashirama was about his age. Perhaps he was supremely confident in his own strength. Or perhaps it was because Indra's chakra and Asura's chakra had resonated.

When it came to skipping stones, Uchiha Madara considered himself the best. No one else dared claim second place.

It was a matter of technique, not strength.

Now he had met someone his age who was surprisingly good at skipping stones. Naturally, Uchiha Madara was curious.

"The first was a weird old man named Otsutsuki Yuhao. That weird old man is really good at skipping stones."

Senju Hashirama told Uchiha Madara earnestly.

He had no idea that his words left Uchiha Madara stunned. "What? You know that old man too?"

"Hm?"

Senju Hashirama nodded and asked curiously, "What's wrong? You know him too?"

"Of course. That guy appears and disappears without a trace. Ever since I was old enough to remember, that man named Otsutsuki Yuhao has often shown up in front of me.

"But what I find strange is, why can't my father and the others see him? And why don't they know him?"

Senju Hashirama exclaimed too, "It's the same with my father and the others. Could that weird old man be a ghost?"

"I've thought that sometimes too, but that strange guy seems to have a body!"

Uchiha Madara said.

"If he's not a ghost, then maybe he's a spirit!"

Senju Hashirama said curiously.

Up above them, Otsutsuki Yuhao listened to their conversation grow more and more absurd. His face darkened by the moment.

"That's enough! Don't you two brats know it's rude to talk about someone behind his back?

"And I'm your great-grandfather, which makes it even ruder!"

As he spoke, Otsutsuki Yuhao lightly flicked each boy on the forehead with his index finger.

But that flick sent Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama tumbling straight into the river, leaving them soaked to the bone.

"So you're the spirit of our ancestor! No wonder you're so strong!"

Senju Hashirama rose from the water, channeled chakra into his feet, and stood steadily on the surface. Uchiha Madara did the same.

"I'm not dead, so stop talking nonsense."

Otsutsuki Yuhao said helplessly.

"If you're not the spirit of our ancestor, then why can't my father see you?

"But wait, this guy says you're his ancestor too. Why do you keep going to my house, then?

"So which clan are you from? Are you an ancestor from a thousand years ago?

"But none of our ancestors had the surname Otsutsuki."

Uchiha Madara asked curiously.

He knew that the Uchiha, Senju, and Uzumaki clans had once been one clan, but had later split apart. However, Madara didn't know that the three clans' ancestor was Otsutsuki Hagoromo.

Although Otsutsuki Yuhao was Otsutsuki Hagoromo's younger brother, he could still be considered their ancestor.

"Haha, you tell me! If you want to know my true identity, go find out for yourselves.

"If I tell you outright, it won't do either of you any good.

"Starting now, you'll train here under me!"

Otsutsuki Yuhao said with a laugh.

"Your training?"

Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama exclaimed in surprise.

They didn't know how strong Otsutsuki Yuhao was, but he had often come and gone in their homes. He had been around for as long as they could remember.

And despite his strength, their fathers had never noticed him.

In their minds, Otsutsuki Yuhao had to be stronger than either of their fathers.

"Ancestor, what ninjutsu do you plan to teach us?"

Uchiha Madara asked coolly.

"Ninjutsu? No, I'll teach you Taijutsu first!

"Now, your first lesson begins.

"You're going to take a beating."

As soon as Otsutsuki Yuhao spoke, he unleashed countless low-level techniques from one palm, while his other hand swiftly formed Hand Seals [mainly to show the two boys how].