Madara, Madara, Madara!
What was so great about that wicked Uchiha Madara?
Elder brother, how could you still be dwelling on Uchiha Madara at a time like this!
Senju Tobirama silently cursed his older brother a few times in his heart, yet out of consideration for Emiya Shihara—an outsider—he wanted to salvage a bit of his brother's dignity.
"Elder brother!"
Senju Tobirama reached out and pressed down on his brother's shoulder, urging him to snap out of the lingering panic left behind by his nightmare: "Pull yourself together a little..."
"Who is it!"
Senju Hashirama instinctively raised his head.
"Oh, it's you, Tobirama..."
Upon seeing his younger brother, the panic on Senju Hashirama's face gradually subsided, and with lingering fear, he recalled the nightmare he had just experienced.
"Tobirama..."
Senju Hashirama looked down at his own hands, as if he could hardly believe that these hands had been stained with the blood of his old friend in the dream: "I dreamed that I... killed Madara."
"Elder brother!"
Senju Tobirama's expression shifted.
"No..."
"That wasn't a dream..."
Senju Hashirama's body suddenly seemed to collapse, his hands dropping limply to his sides, his expression heavy with an inexpressible, restless agony.
"Tobirama."
"I think..."
Senju Hashirama spoke slowly, forcing his hands upward with great effort. He pressed his palms against his forehead, and two streams of hot tears slowly welled up in his eyes.
"I really did kill Madara..."
"......"
Senju Tobirama fell silent for a moment.
Although Senju Tobirama was thoroughly pleased with his older brother's decisive act of killing Uchiha Madara, he also knew that his brother would inevitably grieve over Uchiha Madara's death.
Senju Tobirama had witnessed with his own eyes the friendship forged between his older brother and that wicked fellow amidst the generational blood feuds of their two clans—a bond his brother had been willing to risk his life to preserve.
What a pity...
The bond between them had been severed after all.
And it had even ended with Senju Hashirama killing Uchiha Madara with his own hands, cutting off the connection that had stretched on since the Warring States Period.
"Elder brother."
Senju Tobirama patted his older brother's shoulder, advising him in a deep voice: "Do not forget, that fellow Madara wanted to use the Nine-Tails to destroy Konoha. Choosing to kill him was also to protect the village we all built together..."
"To protect the village, you say..."
Senju Hashirama's gaze grew vacant.
To protect the village...
It was precisely this thought of his own...
that had driven him to resolve to kill his dearest friend in battle.
The village of Konoha was something he and Uchiha Madara had built together hand in hand; even the name Konoha had been chosen by Uchiha Madara himself.
And yet...
Throughout this battle...
Madara had harbored no intent to kill him.
Uchiha Madara was still the same as ever, indifferent to everything, believing he could throw a childish tantrum just by ending a battle to force Hashirama to submit, compelling him to yield and help destroy the very Konoha the two of them had built...
However...
Senju Hashirama knew all too well.
His regard for Konoha had already surpassed his friendship with Madara; deep within his heart, he had already forged the resolve to kill anyone whatsoever in order to protect Konoha.
It was this very resolve that ultimately led him to kill Madara.
Yet it was precisely this that made Senju Hashirama's heart ache all the more. To protect Konoha, he had slain his own friend with his own hands, casting aside the friendship he had painstakingly cultivated over many years.
How agonizing it was...
This agony which no human life could bear.
Senju Hashirama's hands clutched weakly at the bedding, sitting blankly upon the bed as tears streamed down his face, his mind replaying the past he had shared with Uchiha Madara.
"Let the patient rest for a while."
Emiya Shihara stood up, taking the initiative to speak: "Right now the patient's state of mind is unsettled; it is best to let him stay here alone for a little while."
"Also..."
"For the time being, do not let him use chakra to heal his physical injuries, so as to prevent his internal cell division from speeding up. That is detrimental to his body..."
"Very well."
Senju Tobirama helped his older brother lie back down.
"......"
Senju Hashirama lay blankly back down on the hospital bed, not even paying attention to Emiya Shihara beside him, tears continuing to slowly slip from the corners of his eyes.
"Elder brother."
"Get some more rest."
Senju Tobirama reached out to pull the quilt over him, continuing to instruct: "Do not use chakra during this period. Keep your body's self-healing ability under control."
"Wait..."
Senju Hashirama suddenly grabbed his younger brother, asking, "Tobirama, was Madara's body also brought back to the village?"
"The body has already been dealt with and buried."
Senju Tobirama's eyes flickered slightly.
This was a lie Senju Tobirama had told his older brother.
Senju Tobirama had hidden Uchiha Madara's body away in the mountains in advance.
After all, Uchiha Madara was the strongest member of the Uchiha clan, possessing the Mangekyou Sharingan—the highest-ranked ocular power among the Uchiha clan's Bloodline Limits.
No matter from what perspective, Uchiha Madara's corpse possessed considerable research value. Senju Tobirama wanted to dissect Uchiha Madara's body to figure out how to resolve the issues surrounding the Uchiha clan's Sharingan, and naturally, he had no desire to let this opportunity go to waste.
Besides...
Senju Tobirama had detested Uchiha Madara since childhood, and naturally, he cared not a whit whether such research would desecrate Uchiha Madara's remains.
However...
This was something he definitely had to keep from his older brother.
Yet this matter had not escaped Emiya Shihara.
Emiya Shihara had been observing the exchange between the Senju brothers the entire time and had noticed the anomaly in Senju Tobirama's gaze, reminding him of a most interesting affair.
As a transmigrator, Emiya Shihara had encountered this period of Konoha's history in his memories of his past life, and he was also aware of how Senju Tobirama's concealment of Uchiha Madara's body would ultimately end.
The corners of Emiya Shihara's mouth curved upward.
If nothing unexpected happened, perhaps he now knew where his ally from a thousand years ago was.
"My chess piece..."
"No, my ally..."
"The chess piece in my ally's hand is also my chess piece..."
"I hope my ally Black Zetsu will forgive my betrayal from back then..."
"In this era, I am bound to experience a sudden awakening of conscience..."
Deep within the mountains of Konoha.
Inside a hidden cave chamber.
A pitch-black creature quietly emerged from the depths of the earth.
This strangely shaped, pitch-black creature was none other than the ally Black Zetsu mentioned by Emiya Shihara. Its biological essence was extremely unique, allowing it to survive for over a thousand years.
Black Zetsu stood within the secret chamber, staring blankly at the coffin before it, as if finding it hard to believe everything happening right before its eyes.
"How did Uchiha Madara die?"
What in the world was going on here?
How could a fellow like Uchiha Madara just get killed off like this!
This was the most suitable chess piece it had found in a millennium.
The previous most suitable chess piece had been Emiya Shihara from a thousand years ago; indeed, his genius intellect and grand dream had made him even more suitable than Indra.
As it turned out, that chess piece had been far too simple-minded, ultimately falling for Asura's empty talk and actually believing that the Shinobi World would eventually transform into a blissful paradise for all under the philosophies of the Ninjutsu Sect and medical ninja!
Too naive...
To actually believe that chakra was a force that brought happiness...
Human perspective remained far too short-sighted; they fundamentally failed to understand their own nature of slaughtering one another for resources, and any form of supreme power was bound to inevitably transform into an increasingly efficient weapon of murder!
What a pity...
Emiya Shihara's mind had been so brilliant...
How could he happen to be such a kind-hearted softy, easily persuaded by the rosy future painted by Asura?
Black Zetsu couldn't help but miss that former favorite chess piece of his all the more. Back in that crude ancient era, Emiya Shihara had actually had the Slug summoning animal from the Shikkotsu Forest assist him with human experimentation on his own body, thereby acquiring a portion of the power of the God Tree and the Sage of Six Paths!
Just a little more...
And they would have succeeded!
Indeed...
They could have shattered everything belonging to the Sage of Six Paths!
What an absolute shame...
Emiya Shihara had been far too stubbornly obsessed with his naive dream.
Of course.
If Emiya Shihara hadn't been so obsessed with that self-proclaimed grand dream, he wouldn't have been utilized by Black Zetsu—the mastermind behind the scenes. Yet, in the end, it was precisely because of that self-proclaimed grand dream that he had been persuaded by that idiot Asura and committed betrayal!
What's more...
Emiya Shihara had even entrusted his dream to Asura!
Hmph...
If he were still alive...
He would surely regret ever trusting that idiot Asura!
It truly was such a lamentable waste...
That Emiya Shihara, possessing astonishing wisdom in human medical technology; that Emiya Shihara, whose temperament was so naively and foolishly kind—he had been Black Zetsu's favorite chess piece in a thousand years...
By comparison...
The chess piece that was Uchiha Madara was somewhat too arrogant and conceited.
Before it had even caught a glimpse of the slightest hope for the plan's success, it discovered that the plan seemed destined to be nipped in the bud alongside Uchiha Madara's death...
"Madara is dead..."
"Must I continue waiting?"
"Should I just go ahead and pluck Madara's eyes out first? At the very least, they are a pair of Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan..."
Just as Black Zetsu was feeling a sense of bleakness regarding the future, it suddenly sensed movement within the sealed coffin, startling it into hurriedly sinking back into the earth.
Black Zetsu's abilities were exceptionally peculiar.
Entering the earth for its body was akin to entering water.
Yet it did not immediately depart; instead, it re-concealed itself in a secluded corner of the secret chamber, cautiously observing the movements within that tightly sealed coffin.
Please keep adding it to your libraries and dropping monthly tickets!
To explain: in Chapter 1, the 5S commission Weiyuan had to complete included Naruto and Sasuke, which was why he could only gamble on a world a thousand years in the future. He could not live forever because his lifespan was limited.