Hashirama immediately turned his head.
"Madara, you can't say that."
"It's true you burned Mizuki, but I protected Naruto, and I was the one carrying the Scroll of Seals the whole time."
Madara said coldly, "I did all the work while you slacked off the whole time."
Hashirama's eyes widened.
"When did I slack off?"
"What did you do besides tell me not to set fires?"
"I also stopped you from scaring the Nine-Tails any more!"
"He cried on his own."
Hearing that, Zhang Yu nearly burst out laughing again.
"All right, all right."
He reached out and took the Scroll of Seals.
"You both contributed."
Hashirama immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Madara, however, snorted, evidently dissatisfied with the claim that they had both contributed.
Zhang Yu placed the Scroll of Seals on the counter.
The next second, a system notification sounded.
[Ding!] [Main mission: Theft of the Scroll of Seals, completed.] [Mission rewards distributed: 1,000 gold coins, summons +1.] [Current gold coins: 3,000.] [Current summons: 1.]
Zhang Yu's eyes lit up.
Another thousand gold coins and another chance to summon someone.
The mission had gotten a little ridiculous, but the rewards were fantastic.
Hashirama immediately leaned over and looked at Zhang Yu expectantly.
"Boss, we got a summon, right?"
Madara looked over too.
Although he said nothing, his meaning was clear.
Zhang Yu looked at the two of them.
One wanted Tobirama Senju.
The other absolutely refused to let Tobirama Senju be the only one summoned.
If he summoned only one, the tavern would probably erupt in another argument tonight.
Zhang Yu tapped his fingers on the table and suddenly smiled.
"All right."
"You two can stop fighting."
"This is the first mission you've completed."
"Even though you burned Konoha's back mountain, scared the Nine-Tails into crying, and nearly tore the Scroll of Seals apart along the way."
Hashirama's expression froze.
Madara turned his face away as if he hadn't heard.
Zhang Yu continued, "But the result was good."
"To reward you and keep you both happy, I've decided-"
Hashirama held his breath.
Madara's fingers also tightened slightly.
Zhang Yu looked at them and said each word clearly. "I'll summon both your younger brothers at the same time."
The tavern fell silent in an instant.
Hashirama jerked his head up.
"Really?"
Madara's pupils visibly contracted as well.
"At the same time?"
Zhang Yu nodded.
"Uchiha Izuna."
"Tobirama Senju."
"I'll summon them both together."
Hashirama was beside himself with excitement.
"Boss!"
"That's great!"
"If Tobirama knew he could come back, he'd be shocked!"
Madara said nothing.
But his breathing grew noticeably heavier.
Izuna.
That name carried too much weight for him.
So much that even after all these years, even though he had already died once, his heart still ached at the thought of it.
The Uchiha Clan's emotions had always run to extremes.
The deeper they loved, the more fiercely they hated.
Izuna's death was the deepest wound on his path into darkness.
Now, Zhang Yu said he could bring Izuna back.
No matter how proud Madara was, he couldn't remain calm.
Seeing their reactions, Zhang Yu stopped keeping them in suspense.
He opened the list of the dead in his mind.
[Please enter search target.]
"Uchiha Izuna."
"Tobirama Senju."
[Target locked: Uchiha Izuna.] [Target locked: Tobirama Senju.] [Current summons insufficient to summon two of the dead through conventional means.] [Special mission reward conditions detected.] [Use one summon to simultaneously summon the linked dead: Uchiha Izuna and Tobirama Senju?]
Zhang Yu was delighted.
It really was possible.
"Confirm summon."
[Summoning started.]
Two beams of white light appeared simultaneously in the center of the tavern.
One on the left, one on the right.
The light illuminated the tables and chairs, as well as Madara's and Hashirama's faces.
Hashirama was so nervous he didn't know what to do with his hands.
Madara stood where he was, his expression taut, his eyes fixed on the beam of white light to the left.
Within the white light, two figures gradually took shape.
On the left, a black-haired young man slowly opened his eyes. He was handsome and sharp in bearing, with the distinctive Uchiha pride in his features.
On the right appeared a white-haired man with a calm expression and piercing eyes, who exuded an innate wariness and an oppressive presence.
Both men were momentarily dazed as soon as they landed.
Uchiha Izuna looked down at his hands.
"I... wasn't I already..."
Tobirama Senju also quickly surveyed his surroundings.
He saw Hashirama and Madara.
"Brother?"
Izuna's voice was the first to tremble.
Madara Uchiha could no longer hold himself back and rushed to him in almost a single step.
"Izuna!"
He reached out and pulled Izuna sharply into his arms.
His grip was tight.
As though he feared the person before him would vanish again the next second.
Izuna froze.
His memories were still caught around the time of his death. He had no idea why he had a body again, much less why he had found Madara in a place like this.
But his brother's embrace was so familiar.
The trembling suppressed to its very limit, the strength of that embrace after losing him and finding him again, made Izuna's heart ache.
"Brother..."
He instinctively raised his arms and embraced Madara.
Madara said nothing.
He just held him tighter.
The Asura of the Ninja World, who had been at odds with Hashirama in the tavern just moments ago, was now uncharacteristically silent.
Watching the scene, Zhang Yu was somewhat moved.
The Uchiha Clan really were all obsessed with their younger brothers.
Especially Madara.
Izuna's death had been a major reason he had ended up where he did.
Now that Izuna stood before him again, this meant more to Madara than any mission reward.
Hashirama stood nearby, watching Madara and Izuna reunite, his eyes full of envy.
He sniffled and turned to look at his own younger brother.
"Tobirama!"
Tobirama Senju had only just recovered his senses when his expression abruptly changed.
Hashirama had already thrown his arms wide and was charging at him, his face alight with excitement.
"Tobirama! Your big brother missed you so much!"
Tobirama's pupils contracted.
Years of instinct kicked in at that moment.
He stepped back, his body moving faster than his mind, and raised a hand to press it precisely against Hashirama's forehead, forcibly keeping him half an arm's length away.
"Get lost."
Hashirama stopped dead.
His arms were still outstretched in midair, and Tobirama's hand was planted firmly against his forehead, preventing him from taking even one step forward.
"Tobirama..."
Hashirama's voice turned aggrieved.
"We've reunited after dying. What's wrong with a big brother hugging his little brother?"
Tobirama Senju was expressionless.
"Brother, calm down."
"I am calm!"
"The way you're acting right now is embarrassing."
Hashirama immediately grew dejected and squatted in the corner, his back curling into a practiced huddle.
On the other side, Madara Uchiha was still holding Izuna tightly.
Izuna didn't struggle.
He had only just returned from the Pure Land and was still somewhat confused, but the warmth of his brother's body was too real.
A real physical body.
Real breathing.
Madara Uchiha, truly standing before him again.
"Brother..."
Izuna's voice was low.
Madara's arms tightened a little more.
"I'm just glad you're back."
Watching the scene, Zhang Yu could barely keep the corners of his mouth down.
Both pairs of brothers had been reunited.
The Uchiha side was full of warmth, almost enough to turn sentimental on the spot.
On the Senju side, a single "Get lost" had shattered the mood.
Hashirama crouched in the corner and muttered under his breath.
"Madara gets to hug his little brother, so why can't I..."