Hashirama slowly spoke, "My teacher once said that using war to stop war is not the best way to end war..."
"Teacher, teacher, all you ever think about is teacher! But where is teacher?"
Uchiha Madara interrupted him irritably, his aura flickering between light and shadow. "With his strength, if he wanted peace in the Shinobi World, he would have done it back then. Why wait until now?"
"He's not from the Shinobi World, so we can only understand the Shinobi World ourselves, right?"
Hashirama's mouth gaped open, and the light in his eyes gradually dimmed.
Yes.
As Madara said, with his teacher's strength back then, achieving peace in the Shinobi World would have been a piece of cake.
But what did the teacher do?
After instructing them, he turned and left the Shinobi World.
Back then, not only Madara felt different emotions, but even he felt something different.
Peace is their greatest wish.
Even if their methods differ, their goals are the same.
That is the hope that the Shinobi World will be at peace from now on, that everyone will live and work in peace and contentment, and that there will be no more war or displacement.
"To entrust one's hopes to others is not a delusion that a ninja should have!"
Naruto had been listening for a while, couldn't help but speak up.
Over the past ten years or so, there has been one person who has had a tremendous influence on Naruto.
That's Uchiha Kei!
When they were young and chatting casually, Jing had told him many strange and wonderful things.
Some things he simply couldn't understand, while others benefited him greatly.
The future can only be achieved through one's own efforts; relying on others will only make one a grasshopper on a string, forever struggling.
He always believed this statement to be true and carried it through to the end.
Hearing this from a figure who only exists in legends made Naruto feel somewhat indignant.
Sasuke also seemed to agree wholeheartedly.
He spent far more time with Uchiha Kei than Naruto, yet his strength was largely due to his own relentless efforts.
Of course, this is also related to the fact that Uchiha Kei doesn't really pay attention to him.
But!
This reason is just a minor detail; the real reason is still due to one's own self-improvement!
That's what Sasuke thinks, anyway.
Uchiha Madara, and the Hashirama two were taken aback and looked at Naruto at the same time.
"Little brat, spouting nonsense."
Uchiha Madara scoffed dismissively.
This little guy is unaware of his teacher's abilities, so naturally he says that.
Once you've truly witnessed your teacher's abilities, you'll realize that no matter how hard you try, you can never catch up to them!
"Little guy, are you from Konoha?"
Hashirama noticed the Forehead Protector he was wearing and immediately felt a sense of goodwill towards him.
What wonderful young people they are, so full of youthful vigor.
He's just as good as he was back then.
Hashirama thought to himself with a smug satisfaction.
Senju Tobirama rolled his eyes at his older brother.
As an elder, as the First Hokage, my brother has absolutely no authority!
"Yes! I am Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm destined to become Hokage!"
Naruto thumped his chest, exuding confidence.
"Haha, great! It seems Konoha will have a fantastic Hokage in the future!"
Hashirama was overjoyed, secretly happy for the future of Konoha.
"But..."
Hashirama changed the subject, "You haven't witnessed the teacher's power; he's someone you can't help but feel awe for."
As he spoke, a look of reminiscence crossed Hashirama's face.
Uchiha Madara and Senju Tobirama unusually chose to remain silent, clearly sharing Hashirama's thoughts.
"No matter how powerful a person is, they all started out as weak!"
Naruto retorted defiantly.
Hashirama paused for a moment, then chuckled and said, "That's true. Master said we'd meet again, and perhaps he'd become weaker then. But how could someone like Master possibly grow weaker? Hehe."
"Alright, enough with the chit-chat. We didn't get enough of the battle back then, let's continue, Hashirama!"
Uchiha Madara glanced at him impatiently, seemingly annoyed by his rambling.
Hashirama's smile gradually faded, and he nodded solemnly.
Back in the Valley of the End, he and Uchiha Madara appeared to be fighting to the death, but in reality, they were both holding back.
Although he didn't know why Uchiha Madara died at his hands in the end, he still didn't get his fill of fighting.
"Fire Style: Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
The instant Hashirama nodded, an area within a hundred meters in diameter instantly transformed into a sea of fire!
"Whoosh!"
A beam of light flashed a hundred meters away, Senju Tobirama.
"The Flying Thunder God Technique?"
Naruto glanced at Senju Tobirama with interest.
It seems that my father was known as the "Yellow Flash" in the Shinobi World because he used this Ninjutsu.
Senju Tobirama. "Have you seen me before?"
"No, but my dad does."
Naruto scratched his head, then suddenly remembered something and excitedly asked, "Second Hokage, you and First Hokage were reincarnated, but did the Fourth Hokage also reincarnate?"
The First and Second Hokage were reincarnated, so there's no reason to leave out the Fourth Hokage.
Senju Tobirama thought for a moment, then shook his head. "We were resurrected by Orochimaru, and apart from my brother and me, we haven't seen anyone else."
Upon hearing this, Naruto immediately lowered his head in disappointment.
Without giving it much thought, Senju Tobirama turned his attention to the battlefield.
On the battlefield, the battle for survival continues, and lives could be lost every second.
Faced with the fearless army of White Zetsu and the resurrected ninjas, the Allied Shinobi Forces were clearly at a disadvantage and could only rely on human lives to support their attacks.
However, the battle between Uchiha Madara and Hashirama was extremely entertaining.
At this moment, the complete Susanoo has appeared, while Hashirama on the other side has also unleashed the True Several Thousand Hands technique.
The two enormous behemoths attacked each other, and each collision and strike caused earthquake-like destruction to the surrounding area.
"Boom!"
Susanoo resisted the attack of the True Several Thousand Hands, and a ruthless Uchiha Madara's eyes at his heart.
"Cut!"
With a roar, Susanoo swung his long sword behind him and slashed fiercely at the True Several Thousand Hands.
"Call!"
A sharp, piercing sound rang out as the longsword, like lightning, slashed towards the True Several Thousand Hands with a speed too fast for the naked eye to perceive.
Sword stance...
Swift as the wind!
Hashirama frowned deeply, instinctively trying to dodge to the side.
He was very familiar with Uchiha Madara, and his Ninjutsu was equally so.
He believed he was inferior to Uchiha Madara in every way, except for one thing.
That was the swordsmanship he could never learn!
He knew how terrifying his teacher's swordsmanship was, and now Uchiha Madara's swordsmanship was no less than his teacher's!
Unfortunately, no matter how he dodged, the longsword still struck True Several Thousand Hands.
"Boom!"
Sword stance...
Raging like thunder!
"Snap!"
With a deafening roar, the massive True Several Thousand Hands shattered from the middle, barely reaching its waist!
Hashirama was startled, but breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw that he hadn't split the True Several Thousand Hands in two.
"Madara, do you know what my strongest skill is?"
Susanoo looked casually at Uchiha Madara inside Hashirama.
Uchiha Madara turned his head away disdainfully, too lazy to look at him, feeling a pang of regret.
It missed...
"Combine!"
Hashirama a low roar, and the cracks in the True Several Thousand Hands instantly healed.
His greatest strength is his terrifying vitality, and so is his Wood Release!
"Try this next."
A smile crept across Hashirama's lips; he looked...
Silly?
"Thud."
A wooden arm instantly extended, tightly binding Susanoo like rubber before Uchiha Madara could react.
"Top Transformed Buddha!"
In an instant, the entire sky darkened.
Countless fist shadows flashed across the sky.
With each strike, a piece of Susanoo's armor shattered!