Chapter 13

"My name is Itama. I didn't expect you to be so skilled at cooking!" The boy who called himself Itama forced a smile onto his expressionless face, offering a compliment to Mingye.

The moment the other party stated his name, Mingye confirmed that he was undoubtedly Tobirama Senju. Butsuma of the Senju clan had four sons; Itama Senju had been killed by Hagoromo clan ninjas at the age of seven, and Kawarama had been killed by his own kin about half a year ago. Butsuma was left with only two sons, so the one accompanying Hashirama had to be Tobirama himself. It was unexpected that Tobirama, who had injured his own brother Izuna, would appear here unscathed. My second brother really is inferior in skill, Mingye thought, mocking Izuna while once again turning to Tobirama with a request.

"You're not bad yourself! Itama, can you set up three fire pits? I have a lot of food to prepare, and one won't be enough!"

"Very well!" Tobirama didn't think Mingye's faint, mysterious smile was a jab at his alias. Without a hint of concern, he nodded and began setting up the other two fire pits.

"Is this enough blood? It's a whole basin now, Mingye!" Madara carried a basin of pig blood toward Mingye, then quickly reacted and called out again.

"What is the pig blood for?" Seeing Mingye nod, Hashirama looked at the basin of bloody, pungent liquid with great curiosity. He found the smell repulsive and, failing to understand, asked about Madara's intentions.

Madara rolled his eyes at Hashirama without answering. When Hashirama received no response, he asked again.

"You aren't planning on making us drink pig blood, are you?"

An impatient Madara looked at Mingye with disdain, then haughtily mocked Hashirama.

"If I say you're stupid, does that mean your brain is actually made of pig brains?"

"I'm sorry." Hearing Madara's mockery, Hashirama instantly slumped in dejection. Not wanting to continue this nauseating conversation with Hashirama, Madara explained the use of the pig blood.

"My younger brother is a genius. If this pig blood is frozen, it will congeal into blocks, and the soup made from it is delicious!"

"Oh! But how do we freeze it?"

"Ugh!" Hashirama asked again, and Madara began to struggle. When it came to cooking, he was quite adept—a single fireball could solve everything—but freezing was a challenge. Not far away, Tobirama, having finished the three fire pits, stood up and walked over to Madara and Hashirama, taking the basin of pig blood.

"I'll do it. I know a ninjutsu that can freeze things. Give it here!"

"Haha! My brother is a genius too! My brother is best at Water Release!"

Just as Madara was feeling suspicious, Hashirama loudly boasted, showing off that he had a good brother. Madara looked at Tobirama with annoyance and demanded, "I haven't asked your name yet!"

"My name is Itama!" Tobirama replied flatly. Hashirama laughed heartily, but then suddenly remembered Tobirama's name and looked at him in bewilderment.

"Hahaha! What do you think, Madara? My brother, Tobi... Itama?!"

Tobirama looked at Hashirama with an expressionless face, then extended an invitation and turned toward the river.

"Brother, come into the river with me. I'm not yet very familiar with the ninjutsu I've mastered; you help me keep an eye on it!"

"What a strange pair of brothers!"

Madara was merely puzzled, feeling it odd that Hashirama had blanked out upon hearing Tobirama's name, but he didn't think too much of it. He hoisted four or five slabs of pork onto his shoulder and walked toward Mingye.

"Why did you lie?" By the riverbank, watching Tobirama walk into the water, Hashirama asked with a frown. Tobirama remained silent for a moment before looking up at Hashirama with a cold expression.

"My suspicions were correct!"

Hashirama showed no emotion. He looked past him at the smiling Madara and Mingye, feeling a surge of envy, and replied casually.

"So what if they were?"

Tobirama frowned, unable to understand why Hashirama was pretending not to grasp the crux of his question.

"Big Brother, you should know what I mean!"

Hashirama sat by the river, took a deep breath, and then, with a smile and a hint of sadness in his tone, said to Tobirama:

"I only know that I came here to eat today. I don't want any regrets today. Tobirama, you had best not make me angry!"

"Hmph!" Tobirama snorted. Understanding Hashirama's meaning, he lost the urge to leave immediately. Let it be for now. After all, an elder brother was like a father; Tobirama didn't want to embarrass his brother at this moment. Besides, the food was delicious, and he was quite interested in trying this so-called pig blood soup.

"No matter who they are, today you and I are their friends. Even if it's only for this one day, I ask that you treat them as your friends. I don't ask for much, just a happy meal!" Hashirama didn't understand what was going through Tobirama's mind. Seeing Tobirama remain silent, he assumed Tobirama didn't want to spend this happy day with him, and added with a hint of pleading:

"I understand."

Tobirama nodded silently to show he understood, then submerged his body into the water.

"Hahaha!..."

Bursts of laughter and banter rang out from the riverbank. Hashirama and Madara were bickering, while Tobirama watched them silently, his face unsmiling. Mingye suddenly felt a sense of relief; the pain of losing his kin seemed to have truly lightened. Mingye didn't know how Madara and Izuna had managed to forget that bone-deep pain, nor did he know if they had truly "let go." Mingye only knew that he would not let go so easily...

"Mingye! What's your take on this?"

"What? What take?"

Caught off guard, Mingye heard someone calling him. He hadn't been paying attention and asked, feeling confused by the topic the three were discussing.

"On the current war, of course!"

Hashirama smiled at the bewildered Mingye and repeated the question.

"War, huh? What take could I possibly have on such a cruel thing? People are always living in a state of hunger. They can't even afford meat, and they spend their days chewing on vegetables like livestock. That kind of life isn't truly living. I have no opinion. Opinions on war are for adults. All I want to do is live each day happily! That is all!"

He spoke to them calmly, then looked up, trying his best to feel the warmth of the light beyond just his skin. His eyes narrowed as he repeated the last four words to himself: "Live each day happily... what a luxurious thought that is!" The unsmiling Tobirama lowered his head in silence. If one wanted the ninja wars to end, perhaps Mingye's mindset was more in line with the definition of survival in this society. Life was but a hundred years; if one could truly live each day happily, how wonderful that would be. Unfortunately, luxury was always luxury, especially for a ninja—a state of being that could never be achieved.

"You will live each day happily. Besides, your eyes aren't completely useless, so stop talking so gloomily, okay? You are my brother, Madara!" Madara laughed haughtily and said firmly to Mingye.

"Madara, your brother seems to be more capable than you! He even beat you at skipping stones!" Hashirama, who also seemed to have felt the meaning of "living happily," suddenly teased Madara with a silly grin, twisting the knife.

"Bastard! What do you mean by that! Are you looking down on me? Let's fight!"

Madara bristled, stood up abruptly with a stone in his hand, and roared at Hashirama.

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have pointed out your weakness!"

Hashirama instantly slumped, apologizing repeatedly while twisting the knife again. Madara snorted and threw the stone toward the lake, but for some reason, as if the heavens were deliberately teasing him, the stone only skipped twice before sinking into the water.

Madara suddenly realized that Hashirama's very existence was meant to thwart him, or rather, to harass him. Shifting the blame once again, he roared at Hashirama, "It's all your nagging! You made me mess up! It's all your fault!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Hahahaha!"

One was furious while the other was dejected, but as the two locked eyes, they both burst into hearty laughter. Watching his brainless older brother having such a good time, Tobirama felt a flicker of curiosity toward Madara for reasons unknown to himself. Surely, these two would be capable of accomplishing something in the future.

Tobirama kept his inner thoughts to himself, not sharing them with the other three. At this moment, Mingye interjected once more, "The world of a ninja is inherently heartless, for a ninja is nothing more than a so-called weapon. As we are now, we have no right to choose, and even in the future, we will never possess the luxury of refusing to fight. What we can do—or rather, what we must strive to do now—is to seize that right of choice and hold it firmly in our own hands!"