The moment those words left his mouth, Hibari, standing nearby in a mask, heard every last one.
It's no use. Madara has his own obsessions, Hibari muttered inwardly.
Long ago, when he had followed Uchiha Madara around learning Fire Release, he had considered trying to change Madara's mind.
But he had soon given up, for a simple reason: first, Uchiha Madara was proud beyond measure, and the prouder a person was, the harder it was to change his mind.
Besides, Madara's strength spoke for itself. That alone gave him every reason to be confident.
Someone that powerful would naturally only listen to a person of equal standing. Yet the one person qualified to speak to him had never truly managed to reach his heart.
As for the second reason, Hibari had no way to expose all the tangled secrets behind it. He was just a little kid. If he suddenly went running to Uchiha Madara, babbling about ancient legends and the secrets of sages, wouldn't that be ridiculous?
Unless Uchiha Madara had lost his mind, why would he believe him? Even putting himself in Madara's shoes, which would he trust: records passed down through his clan for generations, or some little brat's nonsense? Was that even a choice?
While Hibari pondered all this, quite a few people below the platform were already stealing glances at him and Sarutobi Hiruzen. The two stood on either side of Lord Hokage, wearing strange masks. What was that about?
This was Lord Hokage's first public appearance since recovering, and every family in the village had sent someone. Even those who were less than fond of Senju Hashirama still had to observe the formalities and show him the respect he was due.
Otherwise, what would they do if they earned a reputation for disrespecting the