Itachi spoke of his days at the Ninja Academy. He talked about how the masked man had slaughtered Tenma and the others to force him to awaken his Sharingan. His face had been completely blank at the time, yet Madara could sense the sorrow and guilt the young man kept buried deep inside.
Later, the birth of his younger brother became a kind of salvation, rescuing the Itachi of those years.
[Life will struggle.]
[Life brings death.]
After those two despairing truths, Sasuke's birth filled in a new line.
[Life gives birth to new life.]
As Itachi described just how adorable Sasuke had been as a child, Madara's thoughts churned with bitter memories of how thoughtful Izuna had been when he was young.
"I'm sorry to say this…"
Madara saw the young Uchiha suddenly turn toward him.
"For some reason, I feel like Madara-sama and Sasuke are very alike."
In truth, Madara thought Sasuke had resembled Izuna far more as a child. Still, he kept his face stern and asked, "Are you saying I'm childish?"
Itachi hurriedly denied it, then smoothly shifted back to the question Madara had raised earlier, about the relationship between the Uchiha, the village, the Hokage, and the shinobi world.
"Does Madara-sama want to become Hokage?"
Madara picked up a leaf and stared at the hole in its center without answering.
"For someone with the Uchiha temperament, it really is a difficult road," Itachi said calmly. "Madara-sama only needs to remember one thing. You are the head of the Uchiha because the Uchiha acknowledge you. Only when the people of the village acknowledge you will you become Hokage."
Conversely, if the Uchiha no longer acknowledged him, then he would no longer be their clan head.
That was the meaning Itachi left unspoken. He hoped that if something were to happen in the future, Madara would remember these words and reflect on where the conflicts truly lay: between himself and the Uchiha, between the village and the Uchiha, and between the village and himself.
Madara snorted. "Leaving Konoha aside, the Senju would never agree to let an Uchiha become Konoha's First Hokage."
"If everyone in Konoha recognizes Madara-sama as Hokage, then Hashirama-sama and Tobirama-sama would have no reason to oppose it."
That hit Madara right where it hurt. "Did I not spar with you earlier? Want to try again?"
"If Madara-sama wishes," Itachi replied, looking completely unafraid.
That lack of reaction only killed Madara's interest.
"Back in the Warring States period, there were plenty like you who suffered from Kekkei Genkai Disease just to awaken their eyes early," Madara said, stiffly changing the subject. "I thought that once the village was established, cases like yours would become rare."
"I'm an exception. Once the plan is complete, Sasuke will go through hardship, but in the end he'll return home in glory. He'll do what I couldn't and restore the Uchiha's honor in Konoha."
Those words had nothing to do with Madara himself, yet they angered him even more than Itachi's earlier blunt implication that he could never become Hokage because he wasn't accepted. It was for one simple reason: Itachi was preparing to leave Sasuke behind, just as Izuna had once left him.
"You're just like Izuna. You don't understand what we really want at all!"
With that, Madara ended the conversation and returned to his residence.
Itachi, meanwhile, lowered his head. He thought of how the Second Hokage had summoned him alone before dinner and told him about Izuna Uchiha and Madara Uchiha. Using Izuna as an example, the Hokage had urged him to tell Sasuke the truth and let him decide right and wrong on his own.
...
Early the next morning.
Before Minato Namikaze and Naruto could even receive the Uzumaki clan's inspection, Obito and Sasuke were summoned first by the old ancestor.
Hashirama clasped his hands together and bowed, earnestly asking the two boys to spend more time with Madara.
"Ever since Izuna passed, Madara hasn't been this happy in a long time."
Sasuke: "..."
Obito: "....."
So to make your best friend happy, we're the ones who have to get beaten up?
Damn it. I never thought you'd be this kind of First Hokage!!
Hashirama Senju's reasoning was simple. As long as no one died, it didn't matter. With his medical ninjutsu and massive chakra reserves, mere flesh wounds were nothing!!
And so, it was destined that today would be another day where the two Uchiha youths nearly ended up critically injured, desperately learning the Uchiha Art of Getting Beaten, and desperately mastering Uchiha taijutsu and Fire Release…
Young Kakashi and Rin went to check on Obito. Kakashi kept grumbling that Obito was an idiot who would only cause trouble, but Rin saw right through him.
"Actually, Kakashi, you're worried about Obito, aren't you? Why don't you just say it? You two could obviously be much closer."
With Obito not around, Kakashi didn't react much. He simply said calmly, "This is enough."
Rin could only sigh helplessly and shake her head.
After that, daily life became a whirlwind of the two juniors frantically absorbing their ancestors' combat experience, their battle instincts improving at a terrifying pace.
Rin treated Obito's injuries, while Sakura healed Sasuke with a face that looked like she was about to cry.
Naruto, meanwhile, received a new mission when a scroll appeared. He was taken by young adult Kakashi to find Minato Namikaze, who was researching space-time positioning techniques with Tobirama Senju.
[Mission Rank: B+]
[Mission Content: Form a contract with at least one of the following locations: Ryūchi Cave, Mount Myōboku, or the Shikkotsu Forest.]
Inside a sealed chamber packed with scrolls, Tobirama Senju examined the scroll Naruto had brought.
"Shikkotsu Forest is the easiest. Big Brother learned senjutsu there. I'll have him summon a slug from that side later."
Minato hoped, deep down, that Naruto would follow the same path as himself and Jiraiya and train under the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku. He told Tobirama that while he wasn't especially proficient in senjutsu, he wasn't completely unfamiliar with it either.
Tobirama raised an eyebrow in clear surprise.
"Oh? Not only did you master my Flying Thunder God Technique, you can also use senjutsu like Big Brother?" There was unmistakable praise in his tone.
Minato chuckled and waved it off, discreetly glossing over Mount Myōboku's senjutsu while Naruto kept pestering him about what senjutsu even was.
Minato took a breath, and when his expression sharpened, his eyes instantly transformed into frog-like pupils. Dark red markings, like eyeshadow, appeared around his eyelids.
"Is that Mount Myōboku's toad senjutsu? First time I've seen it." Hashirama, who had just walked in, naturally strolled up beside his younger brother, draping an elbow over his shoulder as he observed Minato's Sage Mode.
Naruto could clearly feel that his dad had become stronger after putting on those "contacts" and "eye shadow," and he burst into excited cheers.
Not to be outdone in front of the younger generation, Hashirama formed a hand sign without seals and let out a low shout as he revealed his own Sage Mode.
Nearly black, dark red markings spread along the sides of his nose and beneath his eyes, stretching all the way back toward his ears.
His dark pupils turned a brilliant amber gold.
A circular marking, like a third eye, appeared on his forehead as his chakra surged outward.
Even Tobirama, who had seen his brother's Sage Mode countless times, couldn't help but feel stirred, let alone Minato and Naruto.
One moment, Minato was discussing with Tobirama how to leave a mark in this space-time so they could return to this parallel world after going back to their own era. The next, he was chatting with Hashirama about the simple, rustic life of training in senjutsu at Mount Myōboku and Shikkotsu Forest.
The sheer level of showing off was too much even for Naruto. He immediately begged to learn senjutsu as well.
"Uh, learning senjutsu isn't easy," Minato said. "Let's focus on completing this B-rank mission first and forming a brotherhood contract with the sages."
With that, Minato formed hand seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Boom—
After the white smoke cleared…
A tiny tadpole lay on the ground, desperately wagging its little tail.
"....."
"........"
"............"
Naruto poked the tadpole with a small stick. "Dad… it's even smaller than Kiba's Akamaru."
Tobirama let out a sigh and looked at him like he was an idiot. "I honestly can't tell whether you're smart or stupid. The one you contracted with is a future Mount Myōboku toad. The fact that it's already hatched from its egg is impressive enough."
That little hopping tadpole finally pushed Tobirama over the edge, and he muttered to Minato, "You really are a natural airhead."
Hashirama said, "But I heard that a junior who came after you, someone named Jiraiya, could summon giant toads?"
Minato scratched his head and laughed awkwardly. "I'm not sure about that either. I'll ask Jiraiya-sensei later. Come to think of it, I probably hadn't even signed the contract at that point."
After all, Konoha had only just been founded. He hadn't even been born yet.
Tobirama rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It just goes to show that space-time ninjutsu and summoning techniques are among the most special kinds of ninjutsu. When the two interact, even time and space can be distorted. So even if this parallel world doesn't have your contract, it seems that having it in other worlds still works."
The thought that had been circling in his mind, summoning the souls of the dead from the Pure Land into the living world, gradually became clearer.
"I have a few ideas I need to verify," Tobirama Senju suddenly said. "Big Brother, take them to sign contracts with the sages. Don't disturb me for now."
Since Tobirama at this point wasn't yet a master of forbidden techniques, Hashirama took responsibility without hesitation and led Minato Namikaze, Kakashi Hatake, and Naruto Uzumaki away first.
As an aside, Jiraiya was still lingering blissfully in the women's baths.
Ahem. For research. Research.
When Naruto saw Obito and Sasuke, whose injuries had recovered to about sixty or seventy percent, he ran over to greet them and excitedly explained that his mission was to form a contract with the sages.
Obito looked openly envious. Sasuke's expression turned sour.
Madara, refreshed after beating people up, overheard the kids' conversation. His pitch-black eyes, dark as if he were wearing contacts, locked onto Obito Uchiha.
"W-what are you doing?! I'm not even healed yet!!!"
Young Kakashi also thought Madara was about to beat Obito again. He stepped between them without hesitation.
"I'll fight you."
"You?" Madara clearly didn't have much faith in the Hatake clan boy.
"…"
Before Kakashi could even respond, Obito popped out again from behind him, looking aggrieved as he challenged his own ancestor.
"Forget it, don't bully dumb Kakashi. I'll… I'll spar with you instead."
"Pretty enthusiastic. Who said I was going to hit you?" Madara snorted.
"Kid, you, come here!"
The one he pointed at with a crooked finger was actually Naruto Uzumaki.
This time, Sasuke sprang to his feet.
Madara curled his lips at him. "Oh? You still have the strength to activate your Sharingan."
Sakura panicked and hurriedly tried to pull Sasuke back.
But she couldn't move him at all.
Fortunately, Madara wasn't actually planning to bully the Uzumaki kid.
Besides, in a few days, the hot-tempered youths of the Uzumaki clan would arrive. They were already practically sworn enemies of the Uchiha by association. If they found out their precious kid had been treated like a punching bag by the Uchiha clan head…
Well, if you can't win a fight, there's always the Reaper Death Seal, right?
Madara snatched Naruto's mission scroll and glanced at it, then grabbed Obito Uchiha by the collar and tossed him toward Minato Namikaze's feet like a kitten.
"See if this brat can form a contract with a sage," Madara said to Minato and Hashirama. "Ryūchi Cave, Mount Myōboku, or the Shikkotsu Forest, any of them will do. This little punk doesn't get to be picky."
Everyone stared in shock.
Madara Uchiha was actually…asking the Senju to give his kid special treatment?!
Sasuke looked from Madara to Obito, that Obito who didn't look like an Uchiha at all. There was no way he wasn't feeling resentful.
Minato helped his student back to his feet, and at the same time understood Madara's intention.
"Madara-san, are you trying to strengthen Obito's body by having him train in senjutsu?"
Obito: "!!!"
He snapped his head up and looked at the ancestor who had just beaten him until he was black and blue. For a moment, Obito felt an illusion of familial warmth.
"I misunderstood you! Ancestor, you're really a good person!!"
Obito was so moved he was on the verge of tears. Beside him, Hashirama smugly started spreading the gospel of friendship.
"See? I told you. Madara is actually a very gentle person!"
"Stop spouting nonsense and get to work, Hashirama!" Madara snapped, mortified.
Hashirama: "Summoning Jutsu!!"
Boom—
Boom—
Boom—
Boom—
Why were there four sounds?
And four small clouds of smoke?
...
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