Ideals and Reality

"Madara!" The clear shout rang with pure joy, and the boy's face held a bright, undisguised smile.

Morning light outlined his thick black hair and resolute features. It was Senju Hashirama.

A rare, gentle smile surfaced on Madara's face as well, all his defenses dropped, and he strode over quickly. "Hashirama!"

"I thought you weren't coming!" Hashirama let out a breath of relief, then sharply noticed the faint bluish shadows beneath Madara's eyes and the fatigue he could not quite hide between his brows. "You... don't look so good. Didn't sleep well last night?"

"It's nothing." Madara waved a hand casually, walked to the riverside, and picked up a flat stone shard. "Something came up in the clan. I handled it a little late."

He avoided Hashirama's gaze, unwilling to let last night's bloodshed and scheming taint the purity of this moment.

Madara flung the stone shard in his hand with force. It cut across the calm surface of the water, skipping lightly and leaving a string of ripples behind.

Hashirama's attention was immediately caught, and he picked up a stone as well. "Haha, want to compete? I'll definitely beat you this time!"

He flung his stone shard too. The two stones chased each other across the water, and the number of skips was actually neck and neck.

The crisp pap pap echoed along the quiet riverside, temporarily dispelling the gloom in Madara's heart.

After several exhilarating rounds, both of them were a little out of breath, fine sweat beading at their temples.

Hashirama pointed to the mountaintop not far away. "Want to sit at the old place?"

"Yeah." Madara nodded slightly.

The two climbed the familiar slope side by side and sat beneath a huge cedar tree.

The view here was excellent. They could look down on the winding river below and the forest in the distance bathed in morning light, quiet and far-reaching.

Hashirama gazed into the distance, his eyes turning deep and full of longing. "Madara, you know? I often think... what will the future world be like?"

Madara turned his head to look at him. "Tell me."

"I want a world... without war." Hashirama's tone was unusually serious. "No endless slaughter between ninja clans, no family and friends falling because of hatred.

Children could play freely under the sun, without having to pick up weapons from a young age.

People could treat each other honestly and understand one another... just like we are now."

He looked at Madara, idealistic light flickering in his eyes. "A truly peaceful place where everyone can live together in harmony."

Madara listened quietly. Hashirama's description unfolded before his eyes like a beautiful painting.

He was silent for a few seconds before slowly speaking. "I'm the same as you, Hashirama. I also long for that kind of peace. But to realize a world like that..."

Madara paused, his gaze growing sharp. "You need absolute power strong enough to suppress all unrest and crush every conspiracy! Only by standing at the pinnacle of power can you set the rules and protect that peace.

Otherwise, every ideal is nothing more than a castle in the air."

Hashirama frowned slightly, clearly not entirely agreeing. "Power is important, of course, but I think... sincere feelings and understanding are the key!

If we can all let go of hatred and feel the goodwill in each other's hearts, then even former enemies might not be unable to become friends and build a peaceful home together."

"You're too naive, Hashirama." Madara shook his head lightly, his tone carrying a trace of helplessness, but no mockery. "The human heart is far more complicated and far darker than you think.

Without power enough to deter everything as the foundation, so-called understanding and goodwill won't withstand a single blow before enormous interests and deeply buried hatred."

Madara thought of the cruel enslavement of the Hyuga Branch Family by the Hyuga Main Family last night, and of the cold layout his father and the elders had planned. These naked realities made it impossible for him to be as optimistic as Hashirama.

Hashirama looked at the weight settled in Madara's eyes and knew this friend must have experienced cruelties he knew nothing about.

He did not refute him. He merely gazed thoughtfully toward the surging river in the distance. "Maybe you're right... but I still believe that the power of understanding and trust will one day surpass hatred and power."

And so the two sat side by side, one speaking of the light of ideals, the other emphasizing the cornerstone of reality.

They argued and discussed, sometimes fiercely, sometimes in silence.

The morning light gradually rose higher, lengthening their shadows.

More than an hour slipped away quietly amid the clash of thoughts.

Hashirama stood up and patted the grass off his pants. "It's getting late, Madara. I have to go back."

Madara also stood. "Yeah."

By tacit agreement, neither of them argued any further.

Hashirama ran toward the other end of the forest. Halfway there, he stopped again, looked back, and waved hard at Madara. "Next time we'll compete at stone skipping again! I'll definitely win!"

Madara looked at the boy's vibrant figure in the sunlight, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously lifted in a faint smile. He also raised his hand and waved. "Waving isn't an apology—it means you still need more practice, little bro!"

"You bastard..." Hashirama curled his lip, turned, and vanished into the woods.

The smile on Madara's face slowly faded, and the depth and solemnity belonging to the young clan head of the Uchiha returned.

On the other side, a thousand miles away, the Hyuga Main Family clan grounds were completely shrouded in icy killing intent.

Qin Mo's shadow clone stood atop a high slope, looking down over that ancient and luxurious clan estate below.

Pavilions and towers glowed with warm light in the dawn, and faintly, the sounds of strings and pipes could still be heard drifting out.

That was the lingering aftertaste of a night of revelry from the core members of the Hyuga Main Family.

This "pure land," supported by the blood and sweat of the Branch Family ninja, was now nothing more than a piece of fat meat waiting to be butchered in Qin Mo's eyes.

"Elder Tosei." Qin Mo's voice had no ripple of emotion as his gaze swept over the elite Hyuga Branch Family forces waiting in strict formation behind him. "I'll leave the outer perimeter watch to you. Remember, not one bird, not one mouse, is allowed to leave alive."

Hyuga Tosei replied grimly, "Please rest assured, my lord!

This old man guarantees it with his life. The people of the Main Family won't escape even if they sprout wings!"

And behind him, every Branch Family ninja gripped their weapons tightly. After so many days of enslavement and humiliation, the moment of reckoning had finally arrived!

"Very good." Qin Mo nodded slightly, then turned to his left and right. "Clan Head Hozuki, Clan Head Xue."

Hozuki Dark Moon and Xue Tahai immediately stepped forward and bowed to await orders.

"Flank from the left and right. Clear every area." Qin Mo's voice was so calm it made hearts tremble. "Target—the entire Hyuga Main Family clan. Men or women, old or young, ninja or unarmed civilians... leave no one alive. Execute immediately!"

"Hiss—" Though they had already mentally prepared themselves, the two clan heads and their elite jonin still sucked in a breath of cold air.

Extermination!

A true, thorough extermination that would not even spare the chickens and dogs!

The targets even included weak women and children who could not truss a chicken, and civilians who had never taken part in battle!

This command, cold to the extreme, once again refreshed their understanding of just how ruthless this young man was.