After hearing Hashirama's words, Tobirama couldn't help frowning. Even so, his instincts told him to believe that this rescue mission wasn't a conspiracy by the Uchiha Clan.
"No! No! I have to catch up with Father and see for myself!"
Hashirama was extremely worried and had no intention of going to the Uzumaki Clan. He turned to Tobirama and Aihara and spoke.
"At this hour?"
Butsuma had left over an hour ago. Given his speed, there was no way they could catch up to him in a short time. Besides, it wasn't just the two brothers here; Uzumaki Aihara was their guest. Taking a guest onto the battlefield was hardly polite.
"It's all right. Since you two brothers are worried about your father, it's only natural to go check on him. Besides, I don't think Lord Zongzuo will mind waiting another day or two!"
Uzumaki Aihara seemed to have noticed Hashirama and Tobirama's awkwardness, so he hurriedly explained.
"Thank you, Aihara!"
Hashirama gave him an apologetic smile and thanked him.
"Heh heh!"
Uzumaki Aihara shook his head and said nothing more. The three of them turned and hurried after Senju Butsuma's forces.
Tianling Valley was a remote, barren valley in a rugged mountain range between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers, far from any settlements. Steep mountains surrounded three sides of the valley, and the rock faces were slick. Even with chakra coating their feet, anyone climbing them had to tread carefully. Strong natural winds also swept through the valley, making it difficult to move along the mountainside. Atop the sheer cliff, Madara, Mingye, and Izuna had everything prepared. Beside them stood an old man, trembling so badly that one stronger gust of wind might have swept him into the sky.
"You can only hope that the person you chose really can trade his life for a wound on Hashirama Senju. Otherwise, I'll kill not only everyone we promised to give you, but your entire clan as well."
Mingye turned to the old man, his cool, indifferent gaze fixed on him. His cold words made the old man sigh. He lifted his head and replied.
"I have never believed he would fail. But, my lords, are you truly willing to spare us?"
Mingye looked at the old man with disdain. When he finished speaking, Mingye mocked him.
"The women and children of the Haguro Clan, along with those of the Togakushi Clan, number more than seventy. If you really stab the leader of the Senju Clan's party with the dagger we gave you, then you'll be under the protection of the Uchiha Clan. Don't worry. I've never gone back on my word."
Madara, who had stood silently to one side, finally couldn't hold back. He hated Mingye's despicable methods, but since Mingye was his younger brother, scolding him might not make him give up. Madara still wanted to seek a fair duel with Hashirama.
"Third Brother, isn't this going too far? Do you still not believe I can defeat Hashirama Senju?"
Mingye raised an eyebrow at Madara, at a loss for words. They had agreed on everything the day before, but Madara's pride had once again stopped him from letting the matter go. Bringing it up again, he made Mingye impatient.
"Big Brother, I've told you before: your battles will only throw the world into greater chaos. You possess incomparable power, but your talent and strength aren't meant for mindless fighting. They're meant to save the world. Stop throwing a tantrum. The poison on my dagger won't kill Hashirama. You can capture him alive when the time comes, can't you? Our goal has never been to kill Hashirama. Of course, if we do kill him, that won't be a bad choice either!"
Izuna didn't want Madara to duel Mingye, either. It should have been an easy victory, but Madara had suddenly made it three or four times harder. That clearly wasn't in their interests. There was no point at all to a contest between Hashirama and Madara.
"Third Brother is right. Big Brother, I know you want to settle things with Hashirama, but you fought three or four times three years ago and always drew. And didn't you already beat him at Okayama this time? Why are you still hung up on this?"
Pressed by his two brothers, Madara didn't know what to say. In the end, he could only hold fast to his convictions and make one last plea.
"Hashirama was poisoned by Third Brother that time. That's the only reason I won so easily. I want a real fight!"
Mingye looked at Madara and sighed inwardly. Perhaps Madara wasn't truly a demon yet. He was simply a powerful warrior who aspired to reach the pinnacle of the shinobi way—or perhaps just a battle maniac. But his abilities still fell far short of Hashirama Senju's. After all, lurking in the shadows of this world was a terrifying being: the Sage of Six Paths.
The old man had appeared at the end of the manga. Could anyone really say he was dead? Could anyone claim he was truly an immortal? No. No one could say anything for certain. What was the true purpose of the Sage of Six Paths' existence? Even after reading the entire manga, Mingye had never had the slightest clue. "His chakra continued to protect the world even after his death"—what kind of bullshit was that? Only when manga was still just manga could anyone believe such words. Now that the manga's world had become reality, anyone who still believed the Sage of Six Paths' words from the manga was a fool. Mingye certainly had no intention of being one. This was the real reason he was so desperate to prevent Hashirama and Madara from fighting. His arrival had already changed the course of this world's story.
If history returned to the path of the original manga, would he have come to this world just to watch? He would watch his younger brother die, wake up having lost his eyes, and never again hear his mother's laughter. After three years of hard training, he would return home only to see his father dead. If he didn't change the course of history, then over the next few years he would have to witness the death of his second brother, Izuna; the founding of Konoha; the Uchiha Clan being kept like dogs by Tobirama Senju; and, finally, the death of his eldest brother, Madara. How could that happen? If that was how things were going to end, Mingye would rather cut himself down right now and turn to dust, never again looking upon the merciless world.
"Let's end all of this with today's battle!" After two hours of nonstop forced marching, Senju Butsuma led the elite shinobi of the Senju Clan to the entrance of Tianling Valley. Looking at the silent woods around him, Butsuma felt a chill run down his back for some reason. A strong gust of wind blew past, and he shook his head in self-mockery, cursing himself for being a coward. Then he looked at the Kurohabaki Clan shinobi leading the way and asked, "This is your clan's territory, right?"
An ordinary-looking shinobi stepped out from the crowd behind Butsuma. He took off the pack on his back and crouched in front of Butsuma, fiddling with the frame inside it as he answered.
"Yes, my lord. Please wait a moment. I'll use our secret technique to summon the clan head! We're afraid the Uchiha Clan might find us, so we don't even dare leave this valley. I hope you won't hold it against us!"
"Don't worry. I understand your predicament. This time, I—ugh!"
Butsuma sympathized with him. Standing to one side, he surveyed the terrain of Tianling Valley and was just about to continue when the shinobi crouching on the ground suddenly turned and attacked him. Butsuma reacted quickly, slapping at the shinobi's head. But even after being struck in the head, the shinobi showed no sign of stopping his attack. A dark green Kunai plunged into Butsuma's abdomen. Butsuma quickly raised one knee and kicked the shinobi's arm away, then struck him with enough force to send him flying three meters into a boulder.
"My... lord, I... know... I can't... escape... death... but... this was... my only... choice..."
"You...!"
The shinobi looked at Butsuma, his eyes full of remorse. He bit down on the poison hidden beneath his teeth and, haltingly, explained himself. Butsuma's abdomen burned as if on fire. He looked at the shinobi who had killed himself, yet couldn't find anything to say.
"Earth Style: Iron Prison!"
The name of the technique rang through the sky. White iron walls sprang up across an area a mile in radius, rising quickly and carving a circular battlefield out of the woods. When the dust settled, Madara, Mingye, and Izuna stood atop the walls, looking down at Butsuma.
"I can't believe we caught a little fish!"
Madara looked at Butsuma with disdain and curled his lip. Since his opponent wasn't Hashirama, he seemed to have lost all interest in fighting.
"Big Brother, kill him. Since Hashirama isn't here, there's no reason to drag this out!"
Mingye frowned. Hashirama wasn't present for a battle like this. He sensed the shinobi in the arena; they all seemed to be elite members of the Senju Clan. So where had Hashirama gone? He hadn't even come when his family was fighting. What was he planning?
"Exactly! If we wipe out this group of Senju shinobi, the Senju Clan will be on the verge of extinction!"
Izuna didn't give it as much thought as Madara and Mingye. There were more than a hundred Senju shinobi present, which meant the Senju Clan had sent nearly all its forces into this battle. If they could wipe them out here, the Senju Clan would lose the strength to contend with the Uchiha Clan. As he spoke, Izuna leaped into the Iron Prison and charged at the Senju shinobi.
Madara followed close behind. His Mangekyō Sharingan activated, and Susanoo enveloped his body. With a powerful leap, he soared into the sky like a meteor, then plummeted into the midst of the Senju shinobi.
Mingye sat atop the Iron Prison, surveying the battlefield. With Izuna and Madara charging in, the Senju Clan's ranks descended into chaos. At the same time, Uchiha shinobi surged in from all four sides of the Iron Prison and attacked the Senju Clan.
"Earth Style: Stone Statue Heaven Shaker!"
At Senju Butsuma's furious roar, a huge stone statue burst from the ground and punched Susanoo, forcing Madara back several steps. Madara controlled Susanoo to swing both swords and sever the statue's arm. But Butsuma seemed to have anticipated this. Behind the statue, more earth quickly rose, forming another pair of arms. The statue's body spun around, turning its back into its front, and the arms swept toward Madara like meteor hammers.
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