Conversation

"Brother Natsu, how many Uchiha clansmen are there in your Flame Ninja Village right now?" Hashirama cut straight to the point, his tone still as warm and cheerful as ever, as if he were talking about what to eat in the cafeteria today. But Natsu could tell that the question itself was a probe.

"Not much," Natsu said casually, picking up her teacup. "Enough."

"What do you mean by 'enough'?" Hashirama blinked, clearly dissatisfied with the answer, and leaned forward. "I saw that guy Jin from afar at the border last time. He just glanced at me, didn't say a word, and walked away. I was wondering if I had offended him somehow."

Natsu's lips curled up slightly. "He said you looked like you came to fight him, wanted to strike first, but were afraid of losing, so he simply pretended not to see you."

A moment of silence fell over the main hall. Hashirama paused, then threw his head back and burst into laughter, the sound making the windowpanes vibrate. Madara leaned against the window, his lips twitching almost imperceptibly before returning to his indifferent expression.

"Can't beat me?" Hashirama laughed and slapped his thigh. "I've seen King's strength with my own eyes. He even forced Susanoo to use his Susanoo. Do you think he'd be afraid of me?"

"Susanoo probably scared him," Natsu said, taking a sip of tea. "He said that people from Konoha don't have any martial ethics when they fight, and they always go into their full form."

Ban finally spoke, his voice as cold as frozen water. "He's right."

"Hey, Madara, whose side are you on?!" Hashirama turned around and protested.

"The facts are as follows." Madara didn't even lift his eyelids.

Just then, Tobirama Senju pushed open the side door and walked in. He glanced around at the three unfamiliar faces in the room, his gaze lingering noticeably when it fell on Natsu's Sharingan eyes. He then walked straight to the seat next to Hashirama, placed a thick stack of documents on the table, and asked in a perfunctory, indifferent tone, "Who are these three people?"

Madara spoke before Hashirama, his words concise and to the point. "Flame Ninja Village."

Tobirama's eyes sharpened the moment he heard those three words. He scrutinized Natsu again, unable to glean anything from those Sharingan that were unusually calm for someone his age. "What are you doing in Konoha, someone from Flame Ninja Village?"

Just as Hashirama was about to smooth things over, Natsu put down his teacup. He raised his eyes, his crimson Sharingan Tobirama, and said, word by word, "Just came to see how the Uchiha here are doing. And, by the way, to confirm one thing."

"What's up."

"Was Tobirama Senju truly as hostile to the Uchiha as the rumors suggest? Even though the Uchiha had joined forces with the Senju Clan to establish Konoha, and even though Madara Uchiha was standing right next to you, did you still consider the Uchiha your imaginary enemy?"

Natsu's tone was as flat as if she were reciting an official document, "It's confirmed now. And then?"

The air in the main hall seemed to freeze for a moment.

The Yaoyu and smell of Yakumi almost simultaneously pressed onto the hilt of the sword. Tobirama's gaze was as cold as a blade, but he didn't move—not because he didn't want to, but because Madara had already straightened up from the window.

"Tobirama did indeed hate the Uchiha. There's no denying that." Madara's voice remained indifferent, as if stating a fact unrelated to himself.

"But Hashirama trusted the Uchiha, so I'm staying here. If one day Hashirama is gone, Tobirama decides to take action against the Uchiha —I'll show him what true Uchiha hostility is."

Hashirama looked around, then suddenly stood up, clapped his hands, and announced in an unquestionable tone, "Tobirama, young man Natsu, please sit down. Any disagreements can be discussed calmly, but no one is allowed to fight in the Hokage Building today. This is the Hokage's order."

Madara glanced at Hashirama, then leaned back against the window.

Tobirama remained silent for a moment, then opened the document in front of him, which was taken as tacit agreement.

Natsu picked up her teacup and continued drinking.

Hashirama nodded in satisfaction and sat down again.

The moment his buttocks touched the chair, he suddenly leaned closer and asked Natsu in a low voice, "You just said that Jin pretended not to see because he was afraid he couldn't win, is that true?"

Natsu put down her teacup, the smile still lingering on her lips, "I made it up. But given Chief Jin's personality, it's not impossible."

Hashirama burst into laughter again, pointing at Natsu he said to Madara, "This kid is much more interesting than Jin! Madara, write a letter to that Uchiha King and ask if he can give him to our Konoha."

"Write it yourself." The manga's face remained expressionless.

"I'm not good at writing letters," Hashirama matter-of-factly.

"I'm not good at it either," Madara replied just as confidently.

The two exchanged a glance for a moment, then simultaneously turned their gaze to Tobirama, who had been silently reviewing documents. Tobirama, without looking up, coldly uttered two words: "Don't even think about it."

Just then

A cheerful voice rang out from outside the door. "Hashirama- sensei! You've skipped work again, haven't you? Teacher Tobirama asked us to help deliver some documents--"

The moment Hiruzen Sarutobi open the door, his smile froze on his face.

Shimura Danzō was following behind, almost instinctively reached into his ninja tool pouch. The moment his fingertips touched the Kunai handle, he was pinned to the spot by a killing intent that was almost solidified.

The Yaoyu and the Yakumi pierced the previously harmonious atmosphere in the main hall the moment Tachi person was identified.

The crimson Three Tomoe spun wildly in their eyes, and the chilling killing intent was so intense that even the edges of the map on the wall curled up.

Hashirama and Madara reacted almost simultaneously.

Hashirama stepped forward, blocking Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo. His right hand was already formed with the Evil-Sealing Method, and he shouted in a deep voice, "You two—calm down!"

Madara's Mangekyou Mangekyo Sharingan suddenly lit up in his pupils, and deep purple Chakra overflowed from his body, but he made no further move. He simply locked the hands of Yaoyu and Yakumi holding the sword, his tone cold and restrained. "This is the Hokage Building. Whatever your grudges are, put down your swords first."

Tobirama instinctively placed his hand on the hilt of the Thunder God Sword.

His gaze swept quickly over the Yaoyu and Yakumi, then over the two students he had personally brought out from the doorway. His brows furrowed into a deep knot, and he asked in a low voice, "Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo, what were you two doing before you came in?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi, holding the documents, was completely dumbfounded. "We didn't do anything! We were just delivering documents for Teacher Tobirama. We came in as soon as we got to the door, without saying a word! Danzo, say something!"

Danzo remained silent, his gaze fixed on the Yaoyu and Yakumi, his hand never leaving his ninja tool pouch.

He could sense that the killing intent was not a bluff, but something that had truly been steeped in blood and corpses.