"I killed Madara!?"
Hashirama's voice snapped like a lightning strike across the clearing.
His eyes widened, his tone raw with disbelief.
"Impossible! That's absolutely impossible!"
He took an uncertain step back.
"Madara and I were close! We founded Konoha together! He's the one who even came up with the name of the village. How could he leave? And how could I ever bring myself to fight him—let alone kill him!?"
His voice rose again as his gaze landed sharply on Tobirama.
"Tobirama. What… exactly… did you do?"
The intensity in his tone made Tobirama instinctively straighten his posture, his body tensing.
But he wouldn't show weakness. Especially not about Madara.
He squared his shoulders and answered coolly.
"That was his choice. No one forced him out. Not me. Not the village. He left after disagreeing with you. Don't turn this into some grand conspiracy."
The tension between them hung thick in the air.
Then slowly, Hashirama's expression shifted. From accusation to something more… conflicted.
"…He left because of me?"
The memories started returning—foggy, distant. For this version of Hashirama, it hadn't happened yet. But now the emotions felt real, heavy.
"Was it… that time he asked me to go to the Nanga Shrine?"
Tobirama didn't respond. He didn't need to.
"…I see. Then I'll fix it."
Hashirama's eyes hardened with a sudden sense of purpose.
"When I return to my timeline, I'll talk to him. I'll make sure he doesn't leave."
Tobirama exhaled slowly. He didn't want to crush that hope… but he couldn't lie either.
"Do what you want. Just don't expect him to be the same person you remember."
Hashirama's jaw tightened. "So I really… killed him."
"Yes," Tobirama said quietly. "You fought for three days and three nights. The Valley of the End was reshaped by that battle. In the end… you stabbed him through the back."
"I sealed his body with my own hands."
Hashirama said nothing.
But that silence echoed louder than any scream. He just stared off into the distance, eyes unfocused.
He could see it. The waterfall. The broken cliffs. The sky above the battlefield where gods had clashed.
Madara had been more than a rival. He was the only person who had ever truly understood him.
And in the end… he was the one who ended it.
He remembered Kai's question during their first conversation.
"What do you want to protect—the village, or your family?"
And now, that question hit differently.
Maybe he'd already answered it.
And maybe… that answer had been the village.
"Brother?"
Tobirama's voice pulled him out of his stupor.
"…It's just hard to accept," Hashirama muttered.
Tobirama stayed quiet. He understood. All too well.
After that battle, the Hashirama from this world had disappeared from public view for months. He'd only come back to the village when Tsunade was born. That little girl had been his only light after the fight.
Tobirama was sure—if Hashirama had Uchiha blood, he'd have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan that day.
"...Alright," Hashirama finally said, regaining some control. "I'll face Madara when the time comes. But now—tell me. How did the war even start?"
Tobirama's expression darkened.
"It was inevitable."
"Once you died, every nation started circling. The Land of Fire is the wealthiest and most strategic territory in the entire shinobi world. Without you… the balance collapsed."
"They didn't just want to challenge us. They wanted to carve the Fire Country up and take it for themselves."
"Figures," Hashirama muttered.
"It wouldn't have happened if you were still alive," Tobirama added. "At the very least, Kinkaku and Ginkaku wouldn't have dared to move like they did."
He shot a cold glare toward the burned earth where Kinkaku had died.
Just remembering it made his teeth clench.
I led the fight. I took on three villages and still forced Kumogakure to agree to peace. I earned the title "Fastest Ninja in the World."
And even then… those monsters nearly killed me.
Kai, off to the side, couldn't help but picture a very different version of that peace summit.
If Hashirama had been the one attending…
Kinkaku and Ginkaku break in mid-negotiation.
Hashirama stands up. "Hmm? Who are these rude guests? Brother Raikage, excuse me for a moment."
The Raikage: "At least have a drink before you go, Lord Hashirama."
Hashirama: "I'll drink after I've cleaned this up!"
One blink later—
Hashirama walks back in, dragging Kinkaku and Ginkaku behind him like a wooden log.
"Brother Raikage! These two can turn into red foxes! Quite amusing. I've sealed them up—just in case. Hahahaha!"
The Raikage, silently sweating bullets holding his wine: "T-terrifying…"
Kai had to stop himself from laughing aloud.
No wonder the world stayed quiet when this man was alive.
Hashirama shook himself out of his thoughts.
"…It's true. My strength played a big role in peace. But I won't be around forever."
"There has to be a better system. A way to keep peace without relying on raw power alone."
His eyes slowly turned serious.
"...The tailed beasts."
He looked at Tobirama.
"In this world… did I try to use the tailed beasts as deterrents?"
Tobirama's face tightened.
"...Don't even start."
"That bad?"
"You didn't just use them as deterrents. You tried to give them away for free at the first Five Kage Summit."
"…Oh."
"I had to force the other Kage to pay for them just to salvage the mess. We kept the Nine-Tails. The rest were sold off to the other villages. And what happened next?"
"The moment you died, three of the four turned around and started a war."
Only Sunagakure stayed quiet. They retreated into research—developing Magnet Release, Feigning Sleep Jutsu, and other tricks.
The rest? Failed.
The so-called Tailed Beast Deterrence System?
Collapsed immediately.
"…So it failed," Hashirama muttered. "I really thought I could use the tailed beasts to prevent conflict."
He turned to Kai.
"Sir… you knew this would happen, didn't you? Even when we first met."
Kai smiled faintly. "I did."
Hashirama looked a little embarrassed. "I thought it was a solid idea. Maybe not perfect, but…"
"It is a solid idea," Kai said. "But most good ideas don't fail because they're flawed. They fail because people mess them up."
Then he turned to Tobirama.
"Second Hokage. In your view, how do you judge whether a policy is good or bad?"
Tobirama answered without hesitation.
"As long as the benefits outweigh the costs, it's a good policy."
Kai nodded. "Pragmatic. That's why you were a better administrator than your brother."
Hashirama: "Hey!"
Kai ignored him.
"Then let's do the math. What were the actual benefits of dividing the tailed beasts?"
Tobirama was silent for a beat, then said flatly, "...We made a lot of money."
"Anything else?"
"...We kind of spread Hashirama's dream of peace?"
Kai raised an eyebrow. "That's it?"
Tobirama glanced sideways at his brother… and wisely said nothing more.
Kai sighed.
"Then I'll say the rest."