Arthur was left speechless by Madara's remark.
"I'm already five, I'm not small at all!" Arthur puffed up his cheeks and closed his eyes. After a moment, seeing that Madara had no reaction, he stealthily cracked open one eye to observe him.
"If you don't want to say it, fine, you're so stingy!" Seeing that Madara still didn't react, Arthur grew even angrier. Dropping that, he crossed his arms and turned his head away, trying to catch Madara's attention.
Madara, who was busy eating his Inari sushi, glanced at Arthur once and ignored him, simply continuing to eat.
"Don't look down on me just because I'm young. I'm actually super strong! Many young clan heads aren't my match at all!" Arthur pointed at himself with his thumb, looking quite proud.
To be fair, he wasn't lying. Over the past six months, to test his own strength, he had fought quite a few people: the young head of the Akimichi clan, the young head of the Yamanaka clan, the young head of the Aburame clan... Apart from the young head of the Sarutobi clan whom Lily had caught peeking near the women's bath half a month ago, he hadn't slipped up against a single one.
Although that young clan head was only eight years old, he already possessed the strength of a Chunin. If he hadn't exchanged for Invisible Air during that period, he definitely wouldn't have lasted until the Sarutobi clan head arrived.
Of course, if that had happened, he wouldn't have witnessed the heartwarming scene of a loving father beating his filial son afterward.
Then there was the young head of the Shimura clan. The very next day after the young head of the Sarutobi clan got beaten up, this kid had come looking for him to avenge his good buddy. Unfortunately, despite also being eight years old, the Shimura young clan head was barely at the level of an Elite Genin, so he got beaten up too. After that, he never dared to show his face again.
On the surface, Madara remained nonchalant, but inwardly he acknowledged Arthur's words. With just this amount of Chakra, and being a commoner to boot, his visible talent was undeniable. Compared to Izuna... well, he was just a little shy of being on par with Izuna. If he had been born as a genius of the Uchiha clan, perhaps he couldn't help but take him as a disciple.
"Children shouldn't poke their noses into adult business."
"Eh? Don't think I'm too little to know. Big Brother Madara must be unhappy because he can't win over the girl he likes!" Arthur propped his head up with both hands, a flash of wisdom in his eyes, putting on the air of a little adult.
Actually, even if Hashirama didn't know what was troubling Madara, how could he not know? He just couldn't say it outright; he had to make Madara say it. Otherwise, if a five-year-old kid with no background suddenly knew these things, instead of having a proper conversation, the other person would likely either get paranoid and have the Yamanaka clan read his memories, or just kill him outright. The best-case scenario would be secretly monitoring him and killing him the moment any abnormality arose.
Nipping all uncertain factors in the cradle was the correct approach. Uchiha Madara, who had carved his way out of the Warring States period, never hesitated to kill—nobody would ever doubt that.
"You little brat, where did you hear all this?" Madara slanted a gaze at him.
After a moment of hesitation, Madara spoke as if mentioning it quite casually: "Lily, between friends and ideals, which would you choose?"
Arthur's pupils constricted. This question—had Madara already read the stone tablet? Had things already reached this point? Wasn't this practically defecting already? If Madara ran away, wouldn't all his efforts to cozy up to this powerful figure go down the drain? Most importantly, it wouldn't just be a matter of him running away; sooner or later, his departure would drag Konoha's other powerful pillar away in a state of severe injury.
Thinking of this, Arthur hurriedly lowered his head, his little brain spinning rapidly. Although Madara might not take a child's opinion as a reference or treat it seriously, there was no doubt that by asking, it meant his answer would influence Madara to some extent.
After a moment of thought, Arthur slowly spoke under Madara's gaze: "Only children make choices. Adults, of course, want both!"
Want both... What a childish answer indeed. How greedy.
Madara silently took another bite of Inari sushi. But the adult world doesn't allow for the best of both worlds, Lily.
"However..." Arthur changed the subject, pulling Madara's thoughts back.
"If I really have to choose, I'd choose friends. If there are no friends, no family, no one in this world who can understand me, then even if I finally accomplish my ideal, I'll still be all alone." Arthur looked at Madara earnestly and seriously, a trace of imperceptible tremor in his tone.
That's right, in this world, I am already completely alone. No friends, no family, nothing left.
At these words, the hand holding the Inari sushi visibly trembled. Without Hashirama, without anyone who could understand me, would I be alone too?
"What if your family is gone too... Or rather, what if your last remaining family member was killed by that friend's younger brother? Which would you choose then?" Madara put down the Inari sushi, his sharp eyes filled with confusion.
There were many reasons why Madara would leave Konoha in the future: the contents of the stone tablet altered by Black Zetsu, and the differences in vision between Hashirama and himself. But Arthur believed that Izuna's death probably accounted for fifty percent of it. If Izuna hadn't died, whether Madara would leave or not would remain a question mark.
What should he do? How should he answer? If he chose friends, then the death of his family would make this answer contradictory. If he chose ideals, what should he do if Madara decided to defect on the spot?
System-ge, please teach me how to answer... Wait, the System?
Arthur remembered something in the mall that might just save Madara!