Chapter 427: Uchiha Madara Arrives!
Sasuke gave a soft "Hmm" in response, showing little reaction to Tobirama, even though he was the Second Hokage.
On the other hand, Naruto was quite intrigued by Tobirama and eagerly explained on Sasuke's behalf:
"That was a gift from Uncle Haneda! The Rinnegan Chakra Mode is way stronger than my Nine-Tails Chakra Mode."
"Hmm... it can fly, fight, defend, and even enhance dynamic vision…"
Kurama, why are you so weak... Naruto continued complaining internally to the Nine-Tails.
In return, all he got was a blank stare from the Nine-Tails, who really wanted to say, I'm not weak...
But in the face of Haneda's overwhelming power, he had to admit he felt pretty weak.
"Impressive," Tobirama complimented with a smile, though his mind was occupied with thoughts about Haneda.
The quality of the Rinnegan Chakra was noticeably higher than that of the Senju chakra.
What terrified him most was that, through his observations, even Itachi's Eternal Mangekyo and his brother's Sage Body couldn't compare to Sasuke's chakra quality!
Such power was terrifying, and this was merely a gift from Haneda to Sasuke.
If Haneda could give it to one person, he could give it to another.
This boy...
He was extraordinarily powerful!
Fortunately, he was imbued with the Senju's spirit of love, a naturally kind-hearted Uchiha prodigy!!
Just as Tobirama was about to extract more information from Sasuke and Naruto, another member of Konoha's founding four appeared.
"Big brother! You've been summoned by the Edo Tensei too!" Tobirama called out to Hashirama from afar.
But Hashirama, having witnessed Madara massacring the allied shinobi forces, wasn't pleased with the Edo Tensei:
"It's another one of your creations, used for war. If only you had listened to me back then…"
Tobirama interjected, "Enough with the chatter, big brother. I'm talking with the young ones now…"
"But…"
Hashirama was about to mention Madara's resurrection, but Tobirama's sharp "Be quiet" shut him up, leaving him speechless.
"Um, are you the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Yes, that's me…"
Naruto, however, was unimpressed: "Huh... you're the God of Shinobi, but you don't seem very authoritative. Shikaku-ojisan never talked to Uncle Haneda like that."
"…" Hashirama fell into silence once again, stung by the child's remark.
Tobirama temporarily set aside his plans to question Sasuke and Naruto, turning to Hashirama:
"Big brother, why are you here?"
Hashirama glanced at Orochimaru, who was watching him with great interest, and explained:
"I was summoned by him. In the Land of Wind, a young man told me that a ninja alliance was planning to invade Konoha, so I came to support…"
Tobirama asked, "Big brother, was that young man named Uchiha Haneda?"
Hashirama responded, "I forgot to ask his name. He was wearing a black cloak, only showing Konoha's headband. When I heard about the planned invasion, I rushed over."
Orochimaru, with his serpent-like grin, added, "It was indeed Uchiha Haneda. He has another identity that might interest you—he's the Fifth Hokage."
Hashirama, puzzled, asked, "The Fifth Hokage? But why is every village opposing him? Why form an Anti-Konoha Alliance to attack Konoha?"
Orochimaru smiled at Itachi, who explained:
"That's because Uncle Haneda eliminated the daimyo. The daimyo all opposed him."
"To prevent the daimyo from causing trouble in the Land of Fire, Uncle Haneda relocated all of the daimyo's blood relatives to Hoshigakure and announced that the daimyo of the Land of Fire had no heirs."
"This left the heirs of other daimyo with claims to the Land of Fire's territory, at least in the eyes of most of the world."
"When they thought Uncle Haneda was dead, they planned to attack Konoha and seize the Land of Fire's lands."
"But Uncle Haneda did all this to claim moral high ground, unite the world, and create a peaceful, unified new world."
Hearing this, Tobirama stroked his chin and praised, "Well done. But he's still too kind-hearted—didn't kill them all. Clearly, he's a naturally kind Uchiha genius, imbued with the Senju's spirit of love."
Hashirama protested, "Tobirama, by doing this, he's destroying the one-country, one-village system we established! He's artificially creating war!"
Orochimaru countered on Haneda's behalf, "Lord First, aren't all wars artificially created? If you had unified the shinobi world back then, the First, Second, Third, and even the Fourth Shinobi World Wars wouldn't have happened."
Tobirama added, "Though Hiruzen wasn't very capable, he did teach one good student… Big brother, I once believed in the one-country, one-village system too. But after you died, the daimyo cut off support to Konoha, and the First Shinobi World War followed. I died in that war."
"But…"
Tobirama continued, "Big brother, do you know about Tsunade and Nawaki? When you were alive, the daimyo made Tsunade a princess. But after you died, Nawaki got nothing. Isn't that the best evidence?"
Knowing Hashirama wasn't good at arguing, Tobirama added:
"Times always change. We created the one-country, one-village system during the Warring States period. What's wrong with abolishing the daimyo now in the new era?"
"Big brother, when you created the one-country, one-village system, many opposed it. Now it's the norm, isn't it?"
"Give the young people confidence, big brother."
"Sen… Uchiha Haneda is an excellent young man, just like Uchiha Itachi here."
Hashirama couldn't find the words to argue. In front of Tobirama, especially in verbal battles, he had no authority.
As everyone fell silent, another familiar voice rang out.
"Even you acknowledge my past self now, Hashirama. You've really failed."
"Uchiha Madara!"
"Madara."
Everyone, except Hashirama, looked at Madara with caution as he jumped into view. Hashirama gazed at him with the eyes of an old friend.
Madara had no immediate intention to fight. Seeing the potential to sway Hashirama through Tobirama, he spoke:
"Haneda, this young man, understands the shinobi world and the world at large. He knows that as long as different countries exist, conflict and strife are inevitable."
"These conflicts range from national and societal disputes to trivial issues like skin color, hair color, or accents."
"The real issue isn't scarcity, but inequality. Differences between people create barriers, and when combined with conflicting interests, these can escalate into struggles."
"If these struggles are magnified and complicated, they can evolve from disputes between two people to conflicts between two villages, towns, or even nations."
Madara pulled out a copy of My Struggle and continued:
"That's why he agrees with my past ideals. He believes that uniting the shinobi world will end major conflicts and wars."
"But he doesn't see as clearly as I do. With his eye power, he must have seen the tablet left by the Sage of Six Paths. That is the only way to end all conflicts and create everlasting peace."
"He's as naïve as you, Hashirama."
"He thinks that by connecting the world through transportation and linking hearts through the network, combined with long-term education, conflicts will gradually decrease. But people are inherently selfish."
"No one understands human nature and peace better than I do, Hashirama!"