"I know about that."
Hashirama nodded. Slow on the uptake, he did not immediately notice the anger rising in Madara.
"The Sage of Six Paths brought me here while that kid Naruto was unifying the shinobi world.
I was planting trees in the desert in the Land of Wind when I suddenly got pulled over here."
Boom!
At that moment, the thread holding Madara's reason together snapped completely.
Hashirama knew?
He had known all along that Naruto was "unifying the shinobi world"? Not only had he known, he had taken part!
Then what about me?!
The dear friend he had once wanted more than anyone to join him in this endeavor had gone off after his death to help someone else fulfill the "ideal" he had dreamed of!
This was no longer merely a mockery of his beliefs. It was outright betrayal!
It was a complete repudiation of every argument between them, their parting of ways, and even their battle to the death at the Valley of the End!
Why?!
Why would Hashirama rather help some brat from a later generation achieve "unification" when he had flatly rejected my proposal back then?
Why was he willing to pursue "unification" another way now that his naive path of "mutual understanding" had failed?!
Utter fury, the humiliation of being kept in the dark, the frenzy of having his ideal "stolen," and his deep confusion and resentment over Hashirama's ever-unfathomable "choices"...
All those emotions erupted like a volcano at that moment.
Madara hurled the Seven Sins Mirror he had been toying with at the Sage of Six Paths, and his black eyes transformed into purple Rinnegan.
He moved like lightning, stepping in front of Hashirama. Before Hashirama could react, Madara thrust out both hands, seized his collar in a death grip, and lifted