They were arguing again…
In such a short span of time, how many times had the First Hokage and the Second Hokage already quarreled?
The brotherly bond of the Senju—this so-called "clan of love"—was honestly hard to put into words.
No… it felt like every time the two of them fought, it was because of the Uchiha.
Those trapped in the illusion endured the same ache that had once eaten at Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke, all while listening to the First and Second Hokage bicker about the Uchiha.
["Tobirama! Don't talk like that! The one in front of you is just an innocent Uchiha child!"]
["The village is what matters most! The village comes first, above everything! Brother, you understand that, don't you?!"]
["But, Tobirama…"]
Alright, verdict's in. The First Hokage couldn't win an argument against his little brother to save his life.
Was this really the legendary God of Shinobi? Where was the overwhelming presence everyone talked about?
As people across the ninja world were thinking that, "they" heard "themselves" speak.
["Enough!"]
Right after that, everyone felt a violent, unfamiliar pain flare in their eyes, along with a surge of anger that clearly didn't belong to them.
["I'm not a child, and I'm not naive."]
Sasuke Uchiha opened his Mangekyō Sharingan.
["First Hokage! Tell me what a village is. Tell me what a ninja is! My brother was used by his own village, and yet he still used everything he had—everything he was—to protect that village! Why?!"]
Used by the village… and still willing to throw everything away to protect it.
Whether the Uchiha hated Itachi or could understand him, they finally grasped what that one Uchiha boy in the illusion had done to protect them.
And lately, young Itachi Uchiha had been running all over the place with young Obito, trying to convince Konoha's ordinary elders and ninja through action, not words.
The elderly in Konoha adored him. He was quiet, well-behaved, almost painfully obedient—loved sweets, too, but was too embarrassed to admit it. Obito had that bright, sunny toughness to him, but young Itachi Uchiha gave people a different feeling, almost like a sweet little girl you couldn't help but dote on.
How could a child like that have carried a mission like wiping out his clan?
It was nearly impossible to believe.
["My brother… even at the moment he died, he was proud to be a Konoha ninja! And yet…!"]
Sasuke didn't finish. But the force of his will made people read the rest in his memories.
…
"Did you hear? That Itachi Uchiha is dead!"
"Hah! A missing-nin from Konoha. Serves him right!"
"Absolutely deranged, wiping out his entire clan!"
"He even killed the parents who raised him! He's a beast!"
…
One insult after another, spat out by Konoha ninja.
And all of it thrown at someone who, to protect the Uchiha clan's honor, had died still looking like Konoha's traitor to the outside world.
The truth was, Itachi Uchiha had been Konoha's spy. Everything he did had been for Konoha.
But the people who truly knew that…
Aside from the long-dead Third Hokage and a handful of Konoha's scheming elders who only knew how to stir up trouble, there was only Sasuke Uchiha left.
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke had always wanted to clear his brother's name. But Itachi, even in death, was still protecting the Uchiha's honor. He didn't want the clan branded with the labels of missing-nin and traitors, so he carried every stain alone.
And because of that, Sasuke couldn't do it.
He couldn't just tell Konoha everything—couldn't lay it all out and be done with it.
Tell them—
Your lives. The peace the ninja world has today. All of it was bought with my brother killing his father and mother, wiping out his entire clan. He lived his whole life as a double agent, suffering every day of it, burning away everything he had just to make this happen!
And now, he'd come to a parallel world where the Uchiha clan hadn't been wiped out yet.
A world that didn't belong to him.
Sasuke Uchiha, pulled here from the era of the Fourth Shinobi World War, only wanted to vent it all—the malice, the pain, every last thing boiling inside his chest.
If the Uchiha and Konoha were still going to stay stubborn and blind…
Then this time, he would take his brother's place and shoulder everything that should have fallen on Itachi Uchiha.
And so…
The Konoha ninja of this world, staring at the ending of another world, were flooded with a cold, bleak sadness.
They couldn't even say who it was for anymore. For Itachi Uchiha, who gave up everything. For Sasuke Uchiha, left behind alone. Or for the Uchiha clan itself, condemned to a fate like that.
["What is a village? What is a clan? And what is a ninja?"] Sasuke Uchiha said. ["First Hokage, depending on your answer, I'll decide…"]
["…whether I should take revenge on Konoha, or carry out my own plan to reshape this ninja world."]
"…"
As expected, it had come to this.
The Uchiha, the people of Konoha, even those from other villages… their emotions tangled into something too complicated to put into words.
["Revenge on Konoha?"]
The phrase hung in the air like the stillness before a storm.
Everyone felt something ominous creeping closer.
To say something like that in front of the Hokage… only a Uchiha would dare.
Sure enough, everyone saw the Second Hokage across from "them"—
["You wicked Uchiha brat! This old man will—"]
Swish!
Killing intent slammed into them head-on, and the surging chakra was so fierce it felt suffocating.
So this was the Second Hokage?!
The man who, together with the First Hokage, had once led the ninja clans of the Land of Fire and founded Konohagakure… and later created so many forbidden techniques.
Even the Kage from other nations who'd been dragged into this place jolted at the Second Hokage's murderous aura.
Their consciousness was trapped inside Sasuke Uchiha's body. They couldn't use their own power at all, and even a reflexive defense was impossible.
Whoosh.
The Second Hokage lifted a single finger.
The pressure doubled instantly.
No wonder he was the kind of man who could grind the dignity of the God of Shinobi into the dirt.
So that was power, huh…
["Tobirama."]
A warning voice came from across the way—the First Hokage, sharp and low.
The very next instant—
Boom!!!
Everyone felt like the Naka River Shrine they were in was about to collapse.
An even more shocking force surged out, a terrifying power they'd never felt before.
Fourth Raikage: "Stronger than when the Eight-Tails went berserk?!"
The people from Kakashi's team and Minato's team just stared, dumbfounded. This…
This was the First Hokage, Hashirama—the same man Tobirama-sama always scolded like he was a kid?
Only Minato, the Fourth Hokage, understood. In another parallel world, he had seen Hashirama-sama use Senjutsu Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees. He knew the truth.
The First Hokage was…
Absurdly strong.
He just spoiled his little brother, that was all.
In reality, Hashirama-sama's strength was monstrous, the kind that made your scalp go numb.
["Put your finger down!"]
That deep voice, that terrifying chakra, that overwhelming pressure that made you obey without thinking…
["S-so intimidating I'm gonna die!!!!"] Suigetsu was so scared he practically melted.
When did the First Hokage get swapped out?
Where did that gloomy guy go, the one who kept drooping and mumbling, "T-Tobirama, don't yell at me, I was wrong"?
["I understand."]
The chakra receded, and the finger lowered with it.
Tobirama Senju said, ["Don't just let your chakra flare up like that, brother."]
Wait…
He backed down?!
["Hahahaha, sorry, sorry!"]
From Sasuke Uchiha's point of view, everyone saw Hashirama-sama—who had just used chakra to forcibly suppress his younger brother—quickly reach out and rub the white fur collar around Tobirama's neck.
It looked exactly like he was apologizing. Like he was soothing Tobirama's mood.
"..."
There was really nothing to say.
So the reason the Second Hokage could scold the God of Shinobi until he couldn't lift his head wasn't because Tobirama was stronger.
It was because Hashirama had spoiled him rotten.
The Senju brothers' bond and the Uchiha brothers' bond were both equally hard to understand.
Spare me…
Konoha's people: We were too naive.
The Third: Same as always… those two sensei.
Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane: Yep. That's definitely the real Hashirama-sama and Tobirama-sensei, no doubt about it.
["You have a good older brother, a ninja even better than I am!"] Hashirama Senju praised.
["Alright, let's talk about what you wanted to ask. It might take a while."]
["Where should I even start…"]
["When Madara and I were kids, our friendship started because of a game of skipping stones."]
"..."
That kind of friendship…
Wasn't it a little cheap?
["Hahahaha, you probably won't believe it! Madara was super clumsy as a kid. He couldn't even skip a stone to the other side of the river. Every time I laughed at him, he'd get mad and bristle like a cat!"]
"..."
Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage—who had seen Madara Uchiha's power back when they were young—could only think: Truly worthy of you, God of Shinobi.
…
Who even are you?
Surname can't be said, name's Hashirama.
Just shut up and watch. If I'm serious, I'll definitely throw it across!
That stance… that's shurikenjutsu.
…
Hashirama Senju described it so vividly that even those listening through the illusion could feel the warmth of his childhood memories, the lightness in the God of Shinobi's voice.
…
Why are you standing behind me? Trying to distract me?!
I'm super sensitive, okay! If someone's behind me, I can't pee!!
S-sorry! I didn't know you had such a troublesome, annoying habit.
You believe I won't throw you like a rock to the other side of the river?!
D-don't get mad! I'm ready to be thrown. But first… can you really throw me to the other side?
…So frustrating.
That mouth was seriously vicious.
…
Hashirama-sama, while you're telling this story, maybe check your brother's face?
Tobirama-sama looked like he was getting irritated again.
He was probably remembering some "unforgettable" childhood moments of his own.
["After I realized Madara was also from a ninja clan, I didn't hide the fact that I was a ninja either. When I saw the bodies of the Hagoromo clan floating down the river, I used the Water Walking Technique to go check. I told Madara this place was about to become a battlefield, and that he shouldn't come here for a while."]
["After that, it was a long time before Madara and I met again. Because the Senju clan also joined that war."]
["My younger brother… he was only seven at the time…"]
["He died in that war."]
["The one who killed him was a ninja from the Uchiha clan."]
What?!
The Uchiha clan… killed the First Hokage's own little brother?
You had to be kidding.
Just look at Tobirama. It was obvious how much Hashirama adored his brother. He could get yelled at and still not get angry.
If someone killed Tobirama…
How could Hashirama not take revenge on the Uchiha?!