The God of Shinobi Kneels, Madara Uchiha Returns

Konoha Year Seven, autumn.

Inside the Hokage Office, the air had frozen solid as iron.

Hashirama Senju stood at the window, his back to his younger brother. His usually straight back looked slightly slumped now, his shoulders heavy. He was not looking outside, only staring at a faint grain in the wooden window frame, his gaze frighteningly empty.

What the Anbu had reported last night, the scattered rumors he had caught himself, and his knowledge of his brother's nature... they fell into his heart like cold stones, one after another, sinking to the bottom and chilling it through.

"Tobirama." His voice was low, carrying a weariness rarely heard from Hashirama, along with sparks of anger he could not suppress. "Yuanguang's death was your doing too."

It was not a question. It was a statement.

Tobirama Senju sat behind the desk, still holding his pen, a half-reviewed document spread before him. At his elder brother's words, his pen paused. Then he slowly put it down and looked up.

Light from the window fell across his face at an angle, reflecting off his lenses and obscuring his eyes. His expression showed neither panic nor anger. He was almost eerily calm.

"Brother," he said, his voice equally level, as though discussing the weather, "if I said I'd been falsely accused, would you believe me?"

Hashirama Senju spun around and stared at him, his eyes bloodshot with anger and exhaustion. "Falsely accused? The Tsuchigumo clan leader's head has already been handed over! Do you think everyone is blind to those tricks at the scene? Yuanguang was under constant surveillance. Where did he get the ability to lure the Tsuchigumo clan leader to that exact godforsaken place and arrange for them to 'kill each other'? The rumors have even reached the Tsuchigumo Clan itself! Talk of a 'real big tree,' of being 'discarded after use'! Tobirama, do you dare say you had no hand in this? Do you think I know nothing about your private dealings with Yuanguang?!"

His voice rose as he spoke, until he was almost shouting. His fists were clenched so tightly that veins stood out on the backs of his hands.

Tobirama Senju listened quietly. Only after his brother finished shouting did he unhurriedly remove his glasses, wipe them with a soft cloth, and put them back on. Every movement remained composed.

"Brother, what did you see?" he asked, his tone almost excessively calm. "You saw Yuanguang collude with Tsuchigumo to plot Elder Xuan's murder, with conclusive evidence. You saw Yuanguang meet the Tsuchigumo clan leader at an abandoned training ground, fight him, and die together with him, with traces and physical evidence all present at the scene. You saw the Tsuchigumo clan leader's head here, with the Uchiha elders and clansmen all able to testify. Are these not facts?"

"As for rumors..." His lips curled in a cold smile. "Brother, you're the First Hokage. You should know better than I do how filthy people's hearts can be, and how loose their tongues are. Yuanguang is dead. Someone has to take the blame, and someone has to find an excuse. The Tsuchigumo suffered a loss and lost their clan leader. They're seething. Is it so strange for them to invent a few lies that favor them, to smear Konoha and me? They might even be testing us, watching Konoha's response, seeing whether a few words of bullshit will throw us into disarray!"

He stood and walked up to his brother, the gaze behind his lenses sharp enough to pierce a heart. "Brother, tell me. Do you believe those disreputable rumors, or the evidence right before your eyes? Do you believe me-your own younger brother, one of Konoha's founders, Tobirama Senju, who has poured his heart and soul into this village-or a pack of outsiders with ulterior motives and a traitor who's already stone dead?"

Hashirama Senju was forced half a step back, his chest heaving. His brother's words were watertight, his logic rigorous, shifting everything onto "evidence" and "rumors." Yes, on the surface, that was how it looked. But he knew something was wrong. That cold, calculating willingness to use any means to achieve an end was far too familiar. On battlefields, at negotiating tables, whenever his brother dealt with countless dark matters, he had sensed it time and again.

"So..." Hashirama's voice grew hoarse, laden with profound disappointment and helplessness. "Even if you had some tiny part in Yuanguang's death, even if you tacitly approved it, even if you handed over the knife... none of that matters, does it? Because he 'deserved to die,' because he was a 'traitor,' because this benefited 'Konoha,' right?"

Tobirama Senju fell silent for a moment. He did not answer directly, only said, "Brother, Konoha needs stability. The Uchiha were unstable internally, and Yuanguang was the root of the trouble. That root detonated on its own and was removed. That's good for both Konoha and the Uchiha. The process may not have been perfect, but the outcome was good. Sometimes, for the peace of the majority, certain... less-than-clean methods are a necessary price."

"A price..." Hashirama Senju murmured the word, then suddenly laughed, an expression uglier than tears. "Tobirama, do you remember the oath we swore when we founded Konoha? That children would no longer have to go to war, that we would end this endless hatred and slaughter. And now? You sit in this office, using 'the price,' 'necessity,' and 'the greater good'... to scheme against comrades in your own village, even if he was a bastard! Yes, Yuanguang was a bastard. He deserved to die. But even then, he should have been judged by the Uchiha Clan's rules and Konoha's laws! Not killed in some murky 'deal' and 'silencing'! How is this any different from the filthy assassinations, frame-ups, and clan massacres we saw in the Warring States era?!"

He seized Tobirama's shoulders, his fingers digging so hard they almost reached the bone, his eyes red. "The difference is that other clans used to do it to us! Now it's you! It's us doing it! Tobirama, we didn't build Konoha to become the very people we once despised most!"

Tobirama Senju's shoulders throbbed in his grip, but he did not even frown. He merely watched his distraught elder brother calmly, even with a trace of pity.

"Brother, you're too naive." He slowly pried Hashirama's hands away, his voice turning cold. "Peace isn't a dinner party. It doesn't come from everyone holding hands and singing. Beneath peace lie blood, calculation, and an iron fist ready to crush every destabilizing factor at any moment. Madara Uchiha left, but the Uchiha threat didn't. Yuanguang was just a minor player. Behind him are more people, more agendas. If I don't scheme, if I don't take control, am I supposed to wait for others to scheme against us and control Konoha? Will you only regret it when the Uchiha produce another Madara, or when hyenas like the Tsuchigumo catch the scent and pounce to tear into us?"

"Enough!" Hashirama Senju abruptly let go and stumbled back several steps as though burned. Gasping for breath, he looked at his brother with an unfamiliarity and anguish he had never felt before. He knew some of what his brother said was reality, was unavoidable, but he could not accept it, especially when that cold reality had been wrought by the brother he trusted most.

The brothers stood facing each other. The office was deathly silent, save for their heavy breathing.

After a long while, Hashirama Senju seemed drained of all strength. His shoulders sagged. He turned and walked toward the door, each step heavy.

"Brother, where are you going?" Tobirama Senju asked behind him.

Hashirama Senju did not stop. His hand rested on the doorknob, his back still to his brother, his voice utterly exhausted. "To... clean up the mess you left behind."

The next day, the news struck like thunder, shaking all of Konoha and spreading even farther.

The First Hokage, the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, went alone, without a single attendant, first to the Tsuchigumo Clan's compound deep in the southeastern mountains.

No one knew exactly what he said or did after entering. When the Tsuchigumo clansmen recalled it later, all they remembered was that mountain of a man walking into their humble assembly hall, facing clansmen who were frightened, angry, or wary. Then, beneath everyone's disbelieving gaze, he slowly, solemnly knelt.

One knee to the ground, his head bowed.

He said, "Regarding Elder Yuanguang, whatever the truth may be, the Tsuchigumo clan leader lost his life in Konoha. As Hokage, I failed in my oversight, and Konoha failed to adequately protect an affiliated clan. I, Hashirama Senju, apologize to the Tsuchigumo Clan on Konoha's behalf. Konoha will investigate this matter thoroughly and give your clan an answer. I also ask you all to trust Konoha's original commitment to preserving peace. Do not let hatred blind you into doing something that pains your loved ones and delights your enemies."

The great God of Shinobi had actually knelt. Before a small frontier clan.

The entire Tsuchigumo Clan, from its new clan leader to its ordinary members, was dumbstruck. Their hearts full of anger, suspicion, and grievance were shattered by that kneeling figure. Some turned their faces away. Some felt their eyes redden. More simply did not know what to do.

Hashirama Senju knelt for roughly ten breaths before slowly rising. He bowed deeply to the still-silent crowd, then turned and left. His back was straight, yet it carried an indescribable loneliness and weight.

Next, he went to the Uchiha Clan Compound.

The Uchiha were no less shocked than the Tsuchigumo. When the guards at the compound gates saw that familiar, tall figure approaching alone and directly requesting to see Elder Xuan and Acting Elder Yinglang, their tongues tied themselves in knots.

Word spread like wildfire. Soon, many Uchiha clansmen who had heard the news gathered outside Elder Xuan's private chamber, craning their necks, their gazes complicated.

Inside the chamber, Elder Xuan sat propped on a couch. His face was still pale, but his eyes were sharp. Yinglang and Liuli stood attending him.

Hashirama Senju entered, his gaze sweeping over all three faces before settling on Elder Xuan. Without a single unnecessary word, just as he had at the Tsuchigumo Clan Compound, he knelt on one knee again before Elder Xuan, Yinglang, Liuli, and the many Uchiha clansmen faintly visible outside the door.

"Elder Xuan was gravely wounded in an attack, and Elder Yuanguang died. This all arose from internal strife within Konoha and inadequate supervision, implicating the Uchiha and costing your clan an elder. I, Hashirama Senju, as Hokage, cannot escape responsibility. I have come today to apologize to Elder Xuan and the Uchiha Clan."

His clear, heavy voice echoed through the silent chamber.

Unrestrained gasps sounded outside the door.

Elder Xuan's pupils contracted sharply. His lips moved, but no words emerged. He had not expected Hashirama Senju to come, much less in this manner.

Yinglang stood to one side, his eyes lowered, his expression perfectly controlled. Only the corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. Inside, he nearly laughed himself breathless.

Yinglang appeared perfectly calm, but inwardly his commentary ran wild. Hahahahaha! Holy shit! He actually knelt! Hashirama Senju really knelt! On one knee, too! Talk about putting on a show! I can't take it. Holding this laughter in is killing me! This is ten thousand times better than a monkey show!

Liuli covered her mouth in shock as well, looking from the kneeling Hashirama Senju to Yinglang beside her, whose shoulders were trembling slightly (from holding in his laughter), her gaze strange.

Hashirama Senju knelt for several breaths, then rose and bowed separately to Elder Xuan and Yinglang. "The Uchiha and the Senju are both cornerstones of Konoha. From now on, Konoha will strengthen its care for and contact with every clan, doing everything possible to prevent such tragedies from recurring. Please rest and recover, Elder Xuan. Konoha will do its utmost to compensate the Uchiha for their losses."

After speaking, he gave Yinglang another long look, his gaze complicated, as though he wanted to see through that excessively young face to everything behind it. In the end, however, he merely nodded, turned, and strode away. His back remained straight, yet he seemed to be carrying something invisible and immensely heavy.

Even after Hashirama Senju's figure had vanished completely beyond the courtyard gate, silence still reigned inside and outside the chamber.

Only after a long while did Elder Xuan let out a long breath, his gaze incomparably complicated. "Hashirama Senju... what he's doing..."

"Whoa-!"

An enormous, irrepressible clamor finally erupted outside the door! Shock, confusion, emotion, satisfaction, humiliation (at feeling they had received charity)... all kinds of feelings intertwined.

Inside the chamber, once he confirmed the outsider had gone far enough, Yinglang finally lost control. His shoulders slumped, and he clutched his stomach, letting out a string of intensely suppressed chuckles squeezed from his throat, laughing until tears nearly came.

"Pfft... hahaha... I can't, I really can't..." He waved a hand as he laughed, his usual composure entirely gone. "Elder Xuan, Liuli, did you see that? Hashirama Senju! The God of Shinobi! He actually knelt! Twice, even! My god, I could laugh about this for a year!"

Elder Xuan frowned at this "unseemly" display, but a faint sense of absurdity flashed through his eyes as well. It really was... far too unexpected.

Liuli was both annoyed and amused. She gave Yinglang a light pat. "Keep it down! He hasn't gone far yet!" She found it unbelievable too, and said quietly, "Say... why didn't Hashirama Senju bring Tobirama Senju along to kneel with him? Can Lord Tobirama really be free of involvement in this?"

Yinglang finally managed to stop laughing. Wiping the corners of his eyes, he snorted, his tone laced with knowing mockery. "Bring Tobirama? Wouldn't that be admitting the brothers really did this, or at least tacitly approved it? Hashirama is playing the suffering martyr to distance himself-no, to separate the position of 'Hokage' from 'Tobirama Senju the individual.' By kneeling alone, he represents Konoha admitting 'fault,' but that fault lies in 'supervision' and 'oversight.' It's official business. If he brought Tobirama, it would become 'collusion' between the Senju brothers, and the nature of it would change. Besides..."

He paused, his eyes cooling slightly. "My guess is that the brothers really have fallen out this time. Hashirama is slapping his brother in the face in the harshest way possible, while also giving everyone watching this matter an 'answer.'"

At that, Elder Xuan remained silent for a long while before slowly saying, "Whatever the case... with that kneeling, he has quelled the Tsuchigumo's anger for now. He has also given the Uchiha both substantial consideration and ample dignity. But... after this incident, the thin veil between the Uchiha, the Senju, and Konoha High Command has been torn through completely. That trust can never be restored."

"Better that it can't," Yinglang said lightly, his tone returning to its usual calm. "If a muddled account can't be settled, better to tear it open and look."

As the three spoke, an immense, violent surge of chakra, filled with endless oppressive force and fury, suddenly swept toward them with a crash from the south, impossibly distant yet seemingly close at hand, like a volcanic eruption, like raging waves in the deep sea!

That chakra was so familiar, so deeply engraved in their memories!

Cold! Arrogant! Looking down upon the world! Carrying an absolute fury that sought to burn every trace of hypocrisy, compromise, and weakness before it to ashes!

Inside and outside the chamber, every Uchiha clansman, young or old, felt their heart seize the instant that chakra swept past. Their blood seemed ready to boil, their Sharingan stirring and heating uncontrollably!

Elder Xuan abruptly sat upright, his expression changing drastically.

Yinglang and Liuli instantly paled as well, whipping their heads toward the south.

This feeling... there was no mistaking it!

Madara Uchiha!

He was back?!

Immediately afterward, an icy, savage roar that seemed capable of tearing the heavens apart crossed the endless distance like rolling thunder, exploding over Konoha and in the hearts of everyone who sensed that chakra:

"Hashi! Rama! Sen! Ju-!!!"

"You coward!!! You've utterly disgraced the strong!!!"

"I'll be waiting for you-at the Valley of the End!!!"

The rolling waves of sound carried boundless fury and disappointment, shaking Konoha's buildings, making countless people's eardrums ache and their hearts and minds tremble.

Hashirama Senju had barely gone any distance beyond the Uchiha Clan Compound when the voice reached him. His steps stopped abruptly, his straight back instantly stiffening. He slowly raised his head toward the southern horizon. There was no surprise on his face, only a profound weariness mingled with pain, resolve, and understanding.

What had to come had come at last.

He took one final look toward Hokage Rock, then at the window of his brother's office. Without hesitation, he turned and set off toward the Valley of the End in the south.

His steps were slow, but exceptionally firm.

Storm clouds gathered once more over the Valley of the End.

And perhaps the true storm had only just begun.