Madara Uchiha knew very well that even if he used Izanagi to escape death for a moment, he would ultimately be unable to avoid defeat in front of Hikaru.
So, faced with the fatal kunai, he chose to quietly accept the arrival of death.
At the moment the kunai pierced his heart, he could clearly feel the rapid drain of his life force.
The world before his eyes began to blur, and his consciousness slowly drifted from his body.
Madara understood—this was the end of his life.
In his final moments, scenes flashed through his mind:
The omnipresent threat of death in his childhood, the burden of clan honor in his youth, the joy of founding Konoha with his best friend, and the ambition behind the Eye of the Moon Plan.
Finally, Hashirama's figure appeared before him, smiling freely. In that instant, all their grudges and resentments seemed to dissolve.
These memories flashed like a revolving lantern before vanishing into endless darkness.
And in that moment, Madara felt an unprecedented lightness.
Death, to him, wasn't frightening—rather, it was liberation.
No longer did he have to suppress his nature for the sake of the Eye of the Moon Plan. No longer did he have to bear the burden of peace in the shinobi world.
He could put everything down. He could finally rest.
In that final moment, Madara found peace within his heart.
He slowly closed his eyes, a faint, relieved smile on his lips.
Chiri looked at the smiling Madara with a complicated expression.
Facing this Uchiha legend—if not for the things he had done to her—she might have seen him as a hero.
Even Hashirama felt a sense of closure upon seeing Madara's peaceful smile.
Their endless conflict had finally come to an end. After all, what grievances could two dead men still hold?
Hinata also felt a touch of sorrow seeing Madara's death. In a certain world, the Madara of that time had helped her greatly.
Even the eyes she now possessed were a treasured gift left to her by that Madara.
So seeing his death again stirred deep emotion within her.
The other girls also sighed at the fall of a legend.
Only Hikaru wore a strange expression.
After a moment of silence, he began forming hand seals.
"Edo Tensei!"
As Hikaru's voice fell, everyone turned toward him in shock.
The sudden appearance of this jutsu had caught them completely off guard, plunging the atmosphere into a strange silence.
Meanwhile, Madara's corpse had already begun to change.
Thanks to the enhancements from the Idle Training System, the Edo Tensei had become something unreasonable.
It no longer required a sacrifice. And if the summoner used their own body as the medium, it could even unleash 99% of the original power.
Additionally, it retained Edo Tensei's signature traits—immortality and infinite chakra.
In some ways, this Edo Madara was even more troublesome than when he was alive.
But this technique wasn't without flaws.
The Edo body had lost one of a living being's greatest advantages—the ability to grow.
Though powerful, it couldn't continue to evolve like the living.
This limitation meant that against certain enemies, Edo Tensei could be restricted.
At this moment, the summoning was complete.
Madara slowly opened his eyes, a hint of confusion flickering in them.
'Didn't I die? Is this the underworld?' he wondered.
Soon, he realized his body wasn't under his control—it stood up on its own.
'What… is going on?' His thoughts swirled in confusion.
And when he fully stood, he saw Hashirama and the others still standing before him.
The scene threw his just-awakened mind into even more chaos.
But he quickly calmed down, the confusion in his gaze replaced by sharpness. He glared at Hikaru and shouted angrily:
"You brat… you'd even rob me of a peaceful death?!"
Hearing his roar, the others came back to their senses.
Hashirama, in particular, felt a wave of discontent. If his and Tobirama's resurrection had been justified due to Madara's threat—then with Madara dead, why revive him again?
But Hikaru didn't care at all about Hashirama's displeasure.
He wasn't joking—he only cared about Mito Uzumaki, not Senju Hashirama.
Even though Mito had been angry at Hashirama, inwardly she was pleased.
If she had to choose whether Hashirama should return to the Pure Land, Hikaru figured the answer would be "no."
And if he really had to go, it would only be when Mito went there herself.
Besides, Hikaru had a secret weapon just for dealing with Madara.
So he turned to the furious Madara and said, "I know you're in a rush, but don't be."
He pointed behind Madara and gestured for him to look.
"Why don't you take a look at what's behind you before yelling at me?"
Madara frowned and turned around in confusion.
Hashirama and the others also looked in the same direction.
There stood a familiar figure—his younger brother, Izuna Uchiha.
Madara froze.
Hashirama and the others were equally stunned.
Madara could hardly believe his eyes.
He had never imagined he'd see his brother again in this world.
His anger vanished in an instant, replaced by shock and joy.
"Izuna… is that you?" he asked, voice trembling.
The figure nodded, a warm smile on his face. "Yes, brother. It's me."
Madara was overwhelmed. He took a step forward but suddenly stopped.
He realized that both he and Izuna were revived through Edo Tensei—not truly alive.
He turned to Hikaru, his gaze full of conflicted emotion.
"You brat… what exactly are you trying to do?" he asked, voice low, radiating pressure.
Hikaru remained calm.
With a faint smile, he spread his hands and replied, "Nothing much. Just giving you a choice."
Madara frowned deeply. "What choice?"
Still smiling, but with a cryptic undertone, Hikaru said:
"Your brother—I'm definitely keeping him in the world of the living."
"So, will you stay here and reunite with him… or return alone to the Pure Land?"
Madara fell silent.
Complex emotions flickered in his eyes as he weighed the pros and cons of this decision.
Hashirama also came to his senses. He couldn't understand what Hikaru was trying to do.
Unable to hold back his anger, he stepped forward and demanded:
"Hikaru, what are you thinking?! Why do you keep disturbing the peace of the dead?!"
Hikaru simply shrugged, his attitude relaxed and even a little callous.
"If I didn't have this idea, then why would I have improved the jutsu in the first place?"