"What a shame. A thousand years of blood feuds couldn't possibly be shaken by the convictions of just two people. Only a decisive victory could bring that hatred to an end!"
"I'd bet on it! Whenever Madara's strength skyrockets again, Hashirama will catch up instantly, keeping them evenly matched and at odds! This cycle is nothing but an endless loop!"
Inside Konoha's Hokage Office, the atmosphere was unbearably oppressive.
Tsunade clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white, her entire body radiating irrepressible anger and hurt.
Ever since she was little, Hashirama Senju had been the brightest hero in her heart, the one she admired most.
She revered her grandfather for ending the chaos of war and founding Konoha.
But only after watching the Sky Screen today did she finally understand.
The God of Shinobi she had admired all her life had been nothing more than a pawn in someone else's game from beginning to end!
Hashirama's breakthroughs, his power, his wars, his dreams, his lifelong struggles-all of it had been under the Sage of Six Paths' control!
"My grandfather... was never your test subject!"
Tsunade's eyes reddened, her voice trembling with anger and defiance she could no longer suppress.
"Sage of Six Paths! What exactly are you trying to do?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya stood in silence, watching the endless back-and-forth battle on the Sky Screen, chilled to their very bones.
The images on the Sky Screen shifted rapidly, the smoke of the war-torn era rising and fading as countless brutal battles flashed past.
The struggle between the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan continued year after year.
Everything was exactly as the people of the shinobi world had suspected. Fate's balancing act never failed.
Whenever Madara Uchiha's strength improved, Hashirama Senju's power would surge alongside it;