Chapter 5 — The Will of a Close Friend
Just as Madara was still reminiscing about everything that had happened before, feeling the maddening loneliness of being in this world, a small figure was peeking at him furtively from the stairwell nearby.
Uchiha Madara coldly drove her off.
"Get lost, brat."
But Gion paid him no mind.
After all, she was still in that phase where her grand ambition remained unfinished. She was determined to make that hateful, ungrateful wolf Uchiha Madara fall beneath her pomegranate skirt—though, given her age, maybe it was more like a princess dress.
"Master, won't you get bored being all by yourself?"
Madara felt a surge of irritation.
I'm here reminiscing about my past life—failed, yes, but still legendary. Do you have any idea how satisfying that is? And yet you insist on interrupting.
Then he thought about it again. This brat pestering him all the time wasn't a solution either.
"It is somewhat dull. Want to hear my story?"
Gion's eyes lit up instantly.
"Yes! Yes! No one's told me stories since I turned ten!"
Madara's eyes also brightened slightly, and he began.
"The place I used to live in was consumed by endless war. My father died. My family died. My clansmen betrayed me. My brothers all died too. Later, I even killed my closest friend. I lost—but he died, while I and my ambition survived."
"Our land also had some interesting customs."
Gion's big eyes sparkled.
Although Uchiha Madara's storytelling skills were terrible, and his tone carried absolutely no feeling, it was still better than nothing. She quickly played along and asked,
"What kind of interesting customs?"
"We liked fighting our closest friends, and killing them. We liked fighting our comrades, and killing them. We liked fighting our seniors and juniors, and killing them. We liked fighting our fellow disciples and brothers-in-arms, and killing them."
"In this regard, although I myself achieved quite a lot, I still could not compare to the will of my close friend."
Gion was left completely stunned.
So the ninja of Wano Country are all lunatics, is that it?
Seeing that she was speechless, Madara curled his lips upward and pressed on while the iron was hot.
"My close friend's will was called the Will of Fire. Its inheritors were called Hokage. The one who truly carried it forward was the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. He had three disciples. One of them chose to evade him. One of them chose to look down on him. And one of them always wanted to see him through to the end of his life."
Tilting her head, Gion said,
"Doesn't that third disciple sound pretty good?"
The upward curve of Madara's lips rose even higher.
"That monkey's third disciple was driven out of the village at first. Then he patiently laid plans for decades. In the end, he came back and brought along the monkey's teacher and my close friend. The three of them successfully sent the monkey off."
Gion: ...
That really was a spectacular act of filial piety.
"The disciple who liked avoiding the monkey was called Jiraiya. Misled by the slander of some toads, he also took on a few disciples. In the end, he was stabbed six times by his own disciple and had his corpse thrown into the deep sea."
Gion: ...
"Then, as the Will of Fire was passed on, Jiraiya's disciple, the Fourth Hokage, also took a disciple. In the end, he and his wife were skewered like grilled kebabs by that very disciple. Ah, and along the way, that disciple also killed the Third Hokage's wife."
Gion: ...
"The disciple who killed the monkey was called Orochimaru. Later, he also took a disciple. Then he was stabbed to death by that disciple's older brother. Though that kid was lucky and came back to life later. As for that disciple, he went on to kill his own older brother, so I suppose the tradition lived on. The older brother who got killed had once murdered their parents."
Gion: ...
One could only say it was truly a harmonious family, full of brotherly respect and domestic joy.
"Now then, brat, let me tell you one more secret. I was once a candidate for First Hokage."
Gion: Are you crazy?
"The reason I never became Hokage is because I was afraid I would die by my own disciple's hand. So I swore that I would never take a disciple. And if I ever did take one in the future, I would kill them immediately—just to be safe."
Uchiha Madara looked at Gion dangerously, as if fully prepared to eliminate her on the spot.
Gion: "Waaahhh~ I'm so moved. That was so touching!" /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~
Uchiha Madara: ...
Madara had imagined many possible outcomes.
The brat might get scared away, burst into tears, refuse to be afraid, refuse to believe him, leap up in righteous indignation, or fly into a rage.
He had anticipated all of those and already thought of ways to respond.
But this move—this one, he had not seen coming.
Did I just say something touching?
"Brat, you…"
For a moment, even Uchiha Madara didn't know what to say.
In the end, he simply turned his back to her and ignored the little girl who was still secretly moved behind him.
About five minutes later, Gion got up and left.
Seeing her go, Madara felt a flicker of joy in his heart.
A brat is still just a brat. No patience at all. Ignore her for a little while, and she leaves on her own.
At the same time, he thought to himself that if it had been Hashirama or Izuna as children, they definitely would have been better than this brat. They certainly wouldn't have left after just a few minutes.
After leaving the rooftop, Gion ran all the way to the treatment ward and burst through the door, immediately searching for something.
When Sengoku saw the frantic Gion, he smiled faintly.
"Little Gion, what are you looking for?"
Gion flashed Sengoku a cheerful smile.
"I'm looking for my knife-knife."
"What do you need a knife for? Did Mr. Madara agree to take you as his disciple and is he about to train you?" Sengoku was delighted by the thought and quickly handed over his own command saber.
Gion gave him an adorable smile and said sweetly, (●'◡'●)
"Nope. Master told me to kill him."
Sengoku: ?
Gion paid him no further attention, grabbed the saber, and dashed straight toward the rooftop where Madara was.
Operation Play Pitiful 2.0: The Strict Master Produces Outstanding Disciples Plan.
After Gion left, Uchiha Madara had intended to think about life—to consider what he should do from here on out. He couldn't very well be reborn into a new life only to drift around doing nothing.
And while he was at it, he planned to reminisce about Hashirama some more.
The utterly bored Madara suddenly twitched an ear.
Someone was coming.
That sound… the brat?!
He immediately sat up to scout the situation. If anything looked wrong, he was prepared to flee at once.
Poking his head out, he saw Gion running toward him excitedly, carrying a saber almost as tall as she was.
The moment Gion saw Madara pop up, she became even happier.
She raised the sword high overhead and shouted at him in the cutest voice possible,
"Master! Die!!!"
Madara: ... Has this brat grown tired of living?
With a forceful leap, Gion landed on one leg atop the stair railing and began gathering strength.
Madara's eyes lit up.
Iaijutsu? The stuff those samurai used? Interesting!
The sharp aura around Gion grew stronger and stronger until it reached its peak. The blade slid slightly from its sheath, and then she used Soru to charge straight at Uchiha Madara.
"I am the inheritor of the Will of Fire—Hyaaah! Patricidal Filial Piety Sword!!!"
Madara, who had just been about to laugh, could no longer laugh.
With black lines all over his face, he caught Gion's sword between two fingers.
Clinging to the hilt, Gion was left dangling in midair like a stupid cat being lifted by the scruff of its neck, looking pitifully at Uchiha Madara.
Faced with Madara's dark expression, Gion forced out a cute little smile.
"Well, Master… could you maybe give me one more chance? I'm still young. I can also endure for decades, you know. (●'◡'●)"
Madara's face grew darker and darker, making Gion feel a bit uneasy inside.
Uh-oh… I think I may have gone too far.
She immediately let go of the command saber, pumped her little legs furiously, and ran for her life.
Madara stood there, looking at the command saber in his hand, and slowly let out a breath in relief.
This farce was finally over.
At the same time, without even realizing it himself, the corner of his mouth quietly lifted.