"They both care?"
Raizen's words hung in the air. Hashirama's eyes softened as he glanced at the trembling villagers. The light in his gaze grew warmer, and slowly, the tension he'd held toward Raizen dissolved. He stepped forward and extended his hand.
"Let's meet properly. I'm Senju Hashirama."
"Raizen," he replied, keeping his tone neutral. He couldn't tell what Hashirama was thinking—but if the man was extending this gesture, Raizen wasn't about to refuse. After all, this was the protagonist of the Warring States era. Even Madara didn't compare.
Raizen hesitated, then asked the question that had nagged him. "Don't you… hate me? For killing your clan's ninjas?"
Hashirama scratched his head, unsure how to answer. But when his gaze shifted back to the villagers, he spoke with a steady conviction.
"This world is full of war. Ninja wars breed hatred. My uncle's death… it hurt, yes. But if I let hatred take root because of it, then what makes me different from those ninjas who only know killing?"
Raizen blinked, genuinely surprised. At this age… he already thinks like this? No wonder he could shape the whole Warring States era.
"Seeing you step up for these people today, I decided to let go of my own grudges. I can tell… you're the same kind of person as me." Hashirama's smile shone bright, almost blinding in its sincerity.
Raizen stared at him, momentarily disarmed by the sheer force of that belief. Curiosity pried him open.
"Then… have you thought about ending this era of war?" he asked cautiously.
Hashirama's brow furrowed slightly. "End the war?" His eyes sparked with interest, like a dormant flame suddenly touched by wind.
"Yes!" Raizen felt a surge of energy. He pointed at the villagers around them.
"The fighting between ninja clans has thrown the entire Land of Fire into chaos. Ninjas and ordinary people alike are drowning in hatred. And the root cause… it's the endless struggle between humans themselves. If we stop the fighting, the war stops with it."
He gestured to the villagers, then back at himself and Hashirama.
"As long as the fighting ends, these villagers won't suffer. And ninjas like us… won't be forced to raise weapons against each other for the sake of relatives' deaths."
Hashirama's eyes widened. "End the war?!"
Raizen's words ignited something in him. He could feel it—an ideal too massive for most to even imagine. But then Hashirama's expression shifted, shadowed by realism.
"A beautiful dream," he said, voice low. "But impossible. As long as humans keep struggling, their desires will never cease. The war… it will never truly end."
Raizen shook his head firmly. "Maybe it can't end completely. But it can be stopped temporarily. The Warring States have known chaos for too long. If someone steps up to halt the fighting… I believe the people will follow. Support will come."
Hashirama paused, digesting Raizen's words. For the first time, he considered the possibility of a temporary peace—a pause in the endless cycle of death and hatred.
Raizen's voice grew faster, more urgent, eyes blazing as he stared toward the horizon.
"As long as the war stops, children won't be forced onto the battlefield. People won't kill each other over petty grudges. Even ninjas from rival families can sit and speak as equals. If the fighting stops, the world… can move forward!"
He clenched his fists. "I want to build a village without war. Where children can play freely. Where ninjas can call each other brothers. Where people no longer live in fear of bandits or death. I want to end the Warring States period itself!"
Hashirama listened, captivated. Raizen's vision, his hope for peace, stirred something deep in the young Senju's heart. The idea of ending this endless war began to take root, spreading like wildfire, fierce and impossible to ignore.