"Asura's side—Hashirama has already gone to persuade him… My opinion is, we need to convince both the Sage of Six Paths and Ōtsutsuki Hamura, to ensure the grand formation's power reaches its absolute limit."
Madara cast a glance at Indra. "Got a way to do that?"
Indra frowned, but then considered—if he could get that father who had never accepted him to stand obediently within the formation, supplying him with chakra so he could be the one to save the shinobi world…
Perhaps their old grudges could be left unspoken.
"Leave the Sage of Six Paths to me. If I pretend to accept his ideals, I should be able to persuade him."
"Since you've all done so much, I need to contribute as well… As for Ōtsutsuki Hamura—this uncle of mine, I'm not familiar with him."
Indra pondered for a moment, then asked, "Are you sure you can get Asura to join? That little brother of mine is as stubborn as they come…"
"Don't worry about it."
Madara recalled the persuasive lines Tobirama had prepared for Hashirama, and shook his head helplessly. "We've got the right person to handle him."
"All right. One last thing—when it comes to the development of this formation, I want to be involved," Indra said in a deep voice.
"To bear such an enormous amount of chakra, the structure must be solid and precise. If we can't design it properly, everything we've just discussed is nothing but empty talk."
Indra patted his chest with pride. "The very concept of ninjutsu was my creation, after all."
"No problem. I'll take you to Senju Tobirama," Madara nodded.
He wasn't worried that Indra would tamper with the formation.
Tobirama had made it clear—the core of the formation would be the soul imprints from himself and Kazuki, unshakable by anyone.
As for Kazuki and Tobirama's relationship—
While Madara stubbornly believed Tobirama didn't truly understand Kazuki, he still acknowledged that Tobirama would never harm him.
Meanwhile—
Asura, who was expected to be persuaded by Hashirama, had finally found Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"You're the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, right?"
Asura had been dashing all over the Allied Shinobi Forces' camp, asking countless people until he finally found Hiruzen fishing by the river. He shouted loudly: "I'm here to learn the Will of Fire from you! I'm Asura!"
Hiruzen frowned at him.
Never mind that his fish had gotten away…
What era is this, and you're still trying to learn the Will of Fire?
"Forgive me for asking, but… you are Asura-sama, the younger son of the Sage of Six Paths, correct?"
Hiruzen put away his fishing rod, studying the anxious look on the young man before him as he asked softly.
Ever since Senju Tobirama had been completely vindicated—restoring his position as the backbone of not just Konoha but the entire Shinobi Alliance—Hiruzen had been living in a state of resigned detachment, a kind of "well, whatever happens, the world's a wide place" mindset.
What had he done?
He'd led the people of Konoha—including, but not limited to, Tobirama's granddaughter, Kazuki's younger brother, and the entire Uchiha clan—against his own old sensei…
He'd even gone so far as to activate the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, ready to trade his life for Tobirama's in a one-for-one exchange!
In the end, it had all turned out to be a misunderstanding, and Tobirama had made no open move to settle accounts with him—going so far as to keep calling him "my beloved student."
Yet the more indifferent Tobirama seemed, the colder Hiruzen's heart grew.
It wasn't that he feared ending up like Shimura Danzō—swallowed in soul-devouring black flames, cut down in one stroke from flesh to spirit…
After all, from the very beginning Hiruzen had leaned toward Kazuki's side. Even if he couldn't claim great achievements, he at least had put in the effort.
He also hadn't, like Danzō, committed countless unforgivable acts driven purely by personal ambition.
Hiruzen's flaws as the Third Hokage lay more in his personal strength and narrow perspective, and in the conflicts that erupted in the turbulent age of the shinobi world.
Simply put—Hiruzen wasn't a bad person; he just wasn't suited to sit in the Hokage's seat during that particular era.
Many of the suffocating decisions he'd made were the result of his own strength—or lack thereof—affecting his mindset, which, after years of back-and-forth, had fostered a habit of indecisiveness.
That said, even if he wouldn't meet the same end as Danzō, being able to land safely was already a luxury.
So—
Hiruzen had simply decided to lay down his burdens.
Kazuki got along well enough with both him and Asuma, and would at least stop Tobirama from acting too rashly. His life wasn't in danger.
But as for his future… that was already a closed door.
Hiruzen still had ambitions, still wanted to contribute to Konoha's strength.
But circumstances outweighed the will of men. Now, aside from carrying out the tasks Tobirama assigned him, the only thing he could do to ease his frustration and worries was fish idly by the river.
That was—until today.
When Hiruzen saw Asura asking him about the Will of Fire…
A sharp, powerful premonition exploded in his chest!
It was the finely honed intuition born from decades of political push-and-pull in Konoha, and from tirelessly propagating the Will of Fire.
—This might be his chance to make a comeback!
Outwardly, Hiruzen still wore a mask of calm, even with a touch of wariness and resistance. Inwardly, his mind was already spinning at full speed, scrutinizing every microexpression on Asura's face as he entered what could only be called combat mode.
This was a big one—
A catch big enough to turn his fortunes around, maybe even wipe away most of his past mistakes!
'According to the plan set by the sensei, it should have been Hashirama-sama provoking Asura into joining the project… yet he came to me instead, asking about the Will of Fire?'
Hiruzen's mind raced like lightning. I get it… with Hashirama-sama's personality, he must have delivered the message Tobirama-sensei asked him to pass on, but when that failed to draw Asura in, he had no idea what to do next.
So… he probably thought Asura was a decent enough person and didn't have the heart to hand him over to Tobirama-sensei directly, and decided to ask me to help persuade him instead?
A faint glimmer flashed in Hiruzen's eyes.
Whether or not you're the Sage of Six Paths' son—if you're willing to walk right into the great net of the Will of Fire yourself, then I, Sarutobi Hiruzen, will be the one to reel you in.
"I… I am," Asura replied, looking somewhat embarrassed under Hiruzen's guarded gaze.
After his resurrection, Asura—though over a thousand years old in theory—appeared no more than a young man.
And it wasn't just his appearance. In truth, having spent his life in the Shinobi Sect obeying the Sage of Six Paths' instructions, acting as a mere tool to oppose Indra, Ashura's mental age wasn't all that high either…
Seeing that this old man had stopped his leisure activity of fishing because of his own impulsiveness, Asura felt a pang of guilt.
It was his fault.
During his conversation with Senju Hashirama, Asura—who had always believed the Shinobi Sect and the Nine-Tails supported him out of mutual understanding—had learned the truth after the Nine-Tails' betrayal, and it was a truth he could not bear.
If everyone had supported him only because they supported the Sage of Six Paths…
Then wouldn't that mean if the Sage had sided with Indra back then, they would have supported Indra instead? That it had never been because what Asura was doing was right?
If so, then his thousand-year struggle against his brother had not been a noble debate over the path to peace, but a senseless family squabble that had plunged the shinobi world into a thousand years of war…
Wouldn't that make him a sinner?
Asura could accept sacrificing a portion of the present for the sake of a better tomorrow, because such losses were necessary to lay the foundation.
But if that "better tomorrow" did not exist at all—
Then his age-old battle with Indra had become nothing more than the very justification for the war he hated most!
"I've learned some things… My reincarnation, Senju Hashirama, told me you believe in achieving peace through mutual understanding, and that you created the Will of Fire—a philosophy even Konohagakure holds in high esteem…"
Asura sighed, then gave a slight bow to Hiruzen.
"My apologies. My impulsiveness has disturbed your rest… it's just that my thoughts are a mess, and I was hoping you could help me sort them out."
Hiruzen's heart leapt with delight. As expected! I was right about everything…
"Peace, of course, requires mutual understanding between people… Asura-sama, if that's all, then there's no need for you to be so troubled."
Hiruzen's earlier wariness melted away. He smiled kindly, his gaze warm and gentle, like that of a benevolent elder guiding a lost child back home.
"Please, have a seat. This old man may not have much in the way of talent, but after managing a village of over ten thousand in Konoha for decades, I've learned a thing or two about the Will of Fire."
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