In the middle of the road, Madara stood staring wide-eyed at a little girl, and she stared right back at him. The girl showed no fear of Madara whatsoever, while Madara seemed troubled over how to subdue the little brat before him. A flower lay between them. Hashirama could not quite recall its name. Smiling, he walked over, picked up the flower, and handed it to the girl before patting her head. The girl bowed to him, then quickly ran away.
"Back then, if a ninja encountered a child, they would never offer a smile, because all ninja brought was death!"
"That just means this is a different era from back then!"
Watching the little girl leave, Madara spoke with deep emotion. Hashirama laughed happily, as though Madara's words had convinced him that all his worries had been unnecessary.
"Unfortunately, none of this belongs to us anymore!"
Madara spoke inexplicably as he headed out of Konoha. Hashirama hurried after him, somewhat worried.
"Madara!"
Madara glanced at Hashirama beside him. Rather than heading toward any part of Konoha, he walked straight out of the village and invited him along.
"It's been a long time since we took a walk together!"
"Where are we going?"
"Just walking."
The two silently left Konoha just like that. No companions followed them, nor did any Konoha ninja join them. They simply kept walking without anyone speaking. For five whole days, they neither ate nor talked, until they finally reached the seaside. With perfect unspoken coordination, Madara caught a tiger while Hashirama caught fish and built a fire.
"This world is vast. There are always so many things we cannot understand. Why do people possess chakra? Why has no one ever mentioned anything beyond chakra? Why did the Sage of Six Paths spread chakra? Why are