Looking Back, It Was All but an Illusion

Night fell completely, and the clear moonlight spread across the entire courtyard, fading away the hustle and bustle of the day, leaving only the cold, desolate moonlight covering the ground.

Madara Uchiha stood alone in the corridor, his figure solitary and aloof. His fingertips gripped the Kunai left behind by Izuna Uchiha tightly, the cold metallic touch penetrating his palm, clear and piercing.

The bright Gecko flowed slowly along the sharp blade, forging a line of chilling light that lingered silently in the night, exuding a coldness that had not dissipated over the years.

Madara Uchiha sat alone in the empty corridor, his fingertips tightly gripping the Kunai left behind by Izuna Uchiha.

The cold Gecko streamed across the sharp blade, reflecting a thin, chilling glint that cut to the bone.

He was unusually calm tonight, the arrogance and sharpness of his past life gone.

There is no longer the fiery temper of youth, no restlessness to vent anger, and certainly no impulsive act of overturning the dry landscape garden in the courtyard.

He sat there quietly, his aura calm and composed. Even the evening breeze under the eaves seemed to feel pity and couldn't bear to stir him. The hanging wind chimes stood silently, without making a sound all night.

Tonight, he showed none of the arrogance and wildness of his youth.

He never drowned his sorrows in alcohol, never smashed objects to vent his anger, and never even considered destroying the entire courtyard of barren landscape.

Hashirama technique, losing eight out of ten matches, yet he showed no sign of frustration.

His forehead was damp with a thin layer of sweat, but he simply raised his hand to wipe it away. His eyes were bright, open, and enthusiastic as he smiled. Every time, he earnestly raised his hand and promised that he would practice his technique diligently next time and be able to beat him decisively.

Back then, the Naka River beach was always warm and breezy, with soft sand on the shallows, and the river water flowing tinklingly, so clear that it could reflect the entire clear sky.

Two unsupervised teenagers always liked to sneak off to the riverbank to play when there were no clan affairs to attend to.

They bent down to pick up the thin, round river stones, then leaned close to the water's surface and flung them out with all their might, competing to see whose stone slid the farthest and got wet the most times.

The more desolate the surroundings, the more vivid the long-forgotten memories became, flowing into his heart with the moonlight and pulling him back to his distant yet passionate youth.

But fate is always cold and unkind, never treating sincere expectations kindly.

In just a few days, a piece of paper revealing her true identity shattered all that was pure and beautiful.

The wind blew across the riverbank, the water murmured, and two boys stood side by side on the riverbank, watching the rushing water, and quietly made the same simple yet grand wish.

May this chaotic Ninja World eventually find peace, and may all children in the world grow up in safety, never again having to take up arms and fight on the battlefield at such a young age.

Those were the purest and most carefree years.

At that time, they were unaware of each other's origins and destinies, and oblivious to the age-old feud between the Senju Clan and Uchiha.

One was unrestrained and flamboyant, with her own sharp edge; the other was warm-hearted and open-minded, full of sincerity. They accompanied each other every day, playing and joking freely, without the slightest suspicion or estrangement.

That day, I was still on the banks of the Naka River, the scenery on both sides remained the same, but my state of mind had been completely transformed.

He stood on this bank of the river, gazing at the boy on the opposite bank.

The familiar, bright face had lost its usual smile, leaving only the same bewilderment, confusion, and embarrassment as mine.

Born to be enemies, with deep-seated hatred, their bloodlines are etched with an inescapable fate of fighting to the death.

Senju Clan Uchiha.

As time went by and events unfolded, the world ultimately followed the trajectory of fate, gradually sliding towards the worst possible outcome.

At that moment, the purest expectation in the boy's heart collapsed, and for the first time he truly realized how absurd and mocking fate could be.

He just sat quietly, so quiet that even the evening breeze under the eaves seemed unwilling to disturb him, and the wind chimes hanging from the eaves did not ring once for a long time.

My thoughts drifted lightly, and in a blink of an eye, they landed back in my distant childhood.

Back then, he and Hashirama would often hang out on the banks of the Naka River, skipping flat pebbles across the water, competing to see whose pebble would drift the farthest and stay in the longest place.

Hashirama always lost more than he won, but he wasn't annoyed at all. He just wiped his sweat and smiled frankly, always earnestly promising that he would definitely win back next time.

At that time, they did not know each other's surnames or backgrounds.

A carefree boy and a wildly unrestrained boy, facing the same ever-flowing river, secretly made the exact same wish.

May the Ninja World cease its wars, and may the children of the world never again be forced to step onto the battlefield and shed blood.

But fate is never kind.

Before long, they learned each other's identities.

Senju Clan Uchiha. Born to be enemies, bound by a blood feud.

He stood on this side of the river, gazing at the Hashirama on the opposite bank. The same bewildered expression on the pillar's face made him realize for the first time how absurd and laughable fate truly was.

As time goes by, things inevitably spiral towards the worst possible outcome.

Izuna Uchiha is gone. He fell to Tobirama Senju's Flying Thunder God Slash, caught off guard, with no way back.

He knelt before the cold corpse, tightly gripping his brother's hand.

The hand that had always been with him, accompanied him, and guided him through life since childhood gradually lost its warmth, slowly becoming stiff and cold.

The biting cold spread from his palms throughout his body, making even breathing painful.

At that moment, he made a blood oath in his heart to make Tobirama pay for his crimes and to seek justice for Izuna Uchiha.

But he ultimately failed to keep his promise.

It was only because Hashirama knelt before him, his eyes red with tears, pleading desperately, not wanting to see any more children perish in the flames of war.

He believed Hashirama.

Suppressing the overwhelming hatred for his brother's murder and the century-old resentment of the Uchiha, he signed the covenant and joined hands with the Senju Clan to build the village of Konoha.

At that time, he naively believed that this was the beginning of peace and the end of all suffering.

Later, he gradually realized that a written alliance could never erase the deep-rooted feud between the two races.

The Tobirama looked at him always held an unyielding wariness and hostility.

The Uchiha clan has always harbored suspicion and estrangement towards the Senju Clan.

He sat high in the Hokage Building, watching helplessly as the conflict between the two clans, like an undercurrent deep within the Naka River, surged and accumulated beneath the surface of peace, yet he was powerless to eradicate it.

It was from that moment that he began to seriously doubt for the first time whether the ideal that Hashirama had devoted his entire life to pursuing was too naive and too unrealistic.