Madara, You Should Be Hokage!

Only after carefully inspecting the wound and finding that the bleeding had stopped did he breathe a sigh of relief. He took a moment to read the remaining information...

[Basic function 2—One random Lottery every two months]

[Warning: Hashirama Senju will die under mysterious circumstances in two years! Please prepare in advance.]

[Notice: Unify the Shinobi World to unlock advanced functions. Keep up the good work, host!]

"What? I only have two years left? I don't even know how I'm going to die! What am I supposed to do?"

After reconsidering, he decided, "I need to find that man first. If I wait too long, he might leave the village."

Tiezhu immediately used the Kagura Mind Technique. The instant he closed his eyes, clusters of blue and gold lights appeared across his retinas, as though he were immersed in a flowing galaxy.

One cluster of scarlet chakra stood out painfully-probably Madara Uchiha. Tiezhu could sense his distinctive brutality and loneliness.

After pinpointing his location, he dashed over in a few swift bursts...

The wind howled along the cliff, whipping Madara's long hair and black robes about. His aloof presence kept everyone at a distance as his proud, solitary figure stood there.

The peaceful village below was reflected in his black eyes, which occasionally flickered with complicated emotions.

"Madara, I knew you'd be here!" A voice broke the silence as Li Tetsuhiro strode casually toward him.

"..." Madara gave no response.

Only Tiezhu's footsteps filled the silence. Scratching his head, he looked into the distance. "Our dream finally came true. Thank you!"

"Are you mocking me?" Madara glanced at Tiezhu, his face expressionless and his voice icy.

Tiezhu hurried to explain. "You know that's not what I meant. Well... I understand how you feel about losing to me, and about Izuna's death..."

"Enough!" Madara cut him off. "I understand all that. Wherever there are people, there will be conflict and hatred. But I will never forget the deaths of Izuna and the others!"

Tiezhu ventured, "So you're still hung up on losing to me?"

Madara abruptly turned around, his eyes burning with anger. "Hashirama, you bastard! There's no shame in defeat. But being spared after losing and clinging to life-that is a disgrace!"

Tiezhu took two steps forward and reached out to pat Madara's shoulder, only to have his hand knocked aside. He could only awkwardly lower it.

"Death snuffs out a life like a flame. Plenty of Senju died in battle too. My brothers Itama and Kawarama were brutally killed when they were only ten. Did they deserve to die?"

He drew a deep breath and gave a smile that seemed to convey acceptance. "We have to look ahead. Our childhood dream has come true, and children no longer have to die on the battlefield.

"Don't you want to watch it flourish with your own eyes? Are you really willing to carry the label of a loser for the rest of your life?"

"Of course not!"

"If you died, I'd be lonely!" Tiezhu frowned slightly, a trace of desolation entering his eyes.

"Tch." Out of Tiezhu's sight, complicated emotions flickered through Madara's eyes again. He never expected the next words to nearly shatter his composure.

"Madara, you should be Hokage!" Tiezhu's voice was filled with sincerity.

Madara's eyes flashed with a piercing light as he fixed them on him.

Under that pressure, Tiezhu smiled and pointed toward the village. "You don't want to? The village needs someone with your drive and ambition to lead it!"

"Hashirama... is this just your personal wish? Tobirama and those old men won't agree."

Seeing Madara so stunned that he could no longer maintain his aloof facade, Tiezhu secretly rejoiced. Madara still had an emotional side at this point, unlike the ruthless man he would later become.

He kept his radiant smile. "I can rest easy entrusting our dream to you! As for Tobirama and the elders..." His gaze sharpened. "They'll agree..."

"Stop pretending!" Madara's black eyes instantly transformed into scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan. "Don't act like some magnanimous victor. I don't need your pity!"

Chakra erupted around him, cracking the rock beneath his feet.

This is bad! Li Tetsuhiro thought. Why does this guy fly off the handle like a lunatic at the drop of a hat?

Feigning ease, Tiezhu spread his hands. "This isn't pity! It's trust. I want to change this world. I want to abolish the Daimyo!"

Madara's eyes lit up. He studied the man before him closely, then said something that made Tiezhu's hair stand on end. "Hashirama, you feel somewhat unfamiliar. If not for what my Sharingan told me, I would have already attacked."

Cold sweat immediately beaded at Tiezhu's temples. He forced himself to put on a goofy grin. "Ha... haha. How could that be? Who could fool those eyes of yours?"

That earned a look of faint satisfaction. "True. Your words and actions today have certainly made me see you in a new light."

In truth, he had entertained the same idea himself. How could ants be allowed to command a lion?

"Tell me what you intend to do."

Tiezhu answered firmly. "First, you become Hokage. Then we'll lead a team together to raid the Daimyo's Mansion. I've already arranged a meeting with Tobirama and the Senju elders. Let's wait for good news from my Wood Clone..."

Wood Release-Wood Clone Technique!!!

A length of wood shot out of his back, gradually taking Hashirama's shape before landing steadily on the ground.

The clone nodded to Hashirama. He knew he had to hurry and investigate certain things...

So he quickly departed using the Body Flicker Technique.

There was no telling what Madara was thinking, but the faint upward curve of his lips betrayed his mood.

Li Tetsuhiro took the opportunity to activate his inspection.

[Madara Uchiha and the host's Bond Level—89%]

Then he remembered he had forgotten to use his Lottery. "Oh, right. System, do the draw!"

Ding!!!

A huge red wheel with a gold rim suddenly appeared before his eyes. Every segment bore a question mark.

The pointer began to turn slowly. A faint golden light flashed, but in the end, it veered toward the six o'clock position.

"Damn it! That was definitely a legendary gold reward! Why did you have to show me that golden light? I feel like I just lost a hundred million!"

[Congratulations, host! You have obtained the White Underwear-can quickly establish a bond with a specific character.]

A pair of off-white boxer briefs suddenly appeared in his hand. They even looked used. There was a distinctive masculine musk on them...

"What the hell is this? You gave me this? Unbelievable. I wanted a Zanpakuto or a Devil Fruit!"

Just as he pinched a tiny edge of the underwear in disgust, Madara's unusually cold voice suddenly rang out. "Hashirama, what are you holding?"

"Underwear. No idea whose. Pretty pungent, too."

Perhaps Madara was too furious; the veins at his temples began to throb. His mood had only just improved, and now it was ruined again.

"You don't know whose? Then how did they end up in your hand? Die!"

"What?" Tiezhu immediately felt an intense killing intent. Every alarm in his head blared, as though some great terror had descended!

Faced with Madara's relentless attacks, he could only flee in a sorry state.

"Have you lost your mind? Stop!"

The icy menace behind him remained. "I've lost my mind? Hashirama, you dare do it but won't own up to it? You have the nerve to play this kind of joke on me!

"You pretended to offer me the Hokage Position to distract me so you could make your move, didn't you? I never imagined you were this kind of man!"

"What?" Tiezhu looked utterly baffled.

"You're holding the evidence, and you still refuse to admit it? Prepare to die!"

"Fuck!" Only then did he realize. "You damned system, what the hell are you playing at? I asked for a draw, and you actually drew Madara's underwear! What did I do to deserve this?"

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!" A succession of sharp whistles came from behind him.

He swiftly dodged, and the kunai practically grazed his hair before embedding themselves in a tree trunk.

There was no time to be scared. All he wanted now was to escape alive. He wished he had a few extra legs.

Soon, he fled all the way to the Konoha Gate.

"Uh... Madara, calm down. This is a misunderstanding! I'll give them back first."

He tossed the underwear to Madara, then accelerated again to put a little more distance between them.

"Madara, let me make an excuse-no, I mean explain..."

"Finally outside Konoha, heh..." Madara's expression darkened. Stroking the mended patches on the underwear, he sneered. "Today, either you die, or you die! Your life is mine!"

[Congratulations, host! You have unlocked the collection Pokédex. The White Underwear will now be added to the system, and their information completed.]

[Madara Uchiha's White Underwear]

[Description: An ordinary pair of underwear, yet the mended patches carry the deep affection his younger brother, Uchiha Izuna, held for him.]

[If you can make Madara soften toward the person who obtained the underwear, the Bond Level will immediately increase by 6%.]

Ding!!!

[Congratulations, host! You have successfully raised Madara's Bond Level with you above 90%! Keep up the good work!]

[Friendly reminder: A bond above 90% not only makes the other person trust you unconditionally twice, but also has a chance to trigger special behavior.]

The system's sudden automatic notification sent Tiezhu into ecstasy!

Meanwhile, over with the Wood Clone...