Madara Uchiha was no fool. On the contrary, he had always been an extremely intelligent man, but intelligent people always had a weakness: they could be terribly conceited.
He trusted his intelligence, his perspective and insight, and his own judgment.
Thus, once he began to believe in something, he would decide that what he was doing was the right path and press forward with the firmest resolve.
But however conceited intelligent people might be, once they discovered that what they believed seemed different from what they had imagined, they would begin to think seriously and question it.
Indeed, as their thinking deepened, they would discover more things they had never noticed before, sinking into deeper contemplation and self-doubt.
That was precisely Madara Uchiha's situation now. Although Xia Yan's words had moved him somewhat, it was not Xia Yan he believed, but Hashirama Senju, who would never joke about something like this.
And he was, after all, a man with strong opinions of his own. Only after hearing that explanation, coupled with his trust in Hashirama's character, did he begin to consider whether what he had seen was real.
Of course, none of that was enough to plunge him completely into self-doubt.
What truly plunged him into profound doubt was primarily the corpse of Urashiki Otsutsuki that Xia Yan showed him!
The instant he saw that corpse, he immediately realized how powerful its owner had been.
Even though this fellow had already been dissected with exquisite precision and could not have been any deader.
That formidable aura and the chakra still active within him constantly told Madara Uchiha how powerful this fellow had been in life!
Who was this fellow? Why did someone like him exist?
Madara Uchiha was somewhat shaken, but he had already come to believe Xia Yan's claim