When the fox finally fell silent, Hashirama could only give a sheepish laugh. Back in his time, he'd seen the Nine-Tails as a natural disaster, a mass of pure malice, and had feared its strength enough to seal it away.
But now, seeing Kushina and the Nine-Tails coexist peacefully without a seal… it made him feel more than a little awkward.
Had he been far too heavy-handed back then?
As for Asura, he was simply dumbfounded.
All his life, he had believed the Nine-Tails to be his ally, his trusted companion—otherwise, why would it have willingly lent him its power in that great battle long ago?
"Nine-Tails, it's me—Asura!"
Asura stepped forward sharply, closing in on the fox's face the same way Hashirama had earlier, his expression incredulous.
"We fought side by side to defeat Indra, didn't we!?"
"How could I possibly be someone who throws the shinobi world into chaos? Everything I did was for peace! Nine-Tails, isn't that what you believed too? Otherwise, why would you have fought so hard to help me back then?"
The Nine-Tails rolled its eyes so hard it was a wonder they didn't get stuck. The small fox's form sprouted an oversized paw, which it used to shove Asura's face back—hard.
"You're just as stupid as you were a thousand years ago! Who ever said I thought you were right? It was only because that old man, the Sage of Six Paths, insisted on helping you!"
Asura's eyes went wide. "Huh?"
"Huh, what? Oh… Don't tell me you actually think that nonsense about mutual understanding you and that old man preached was correct?"
The fox's eyes narrowed, its voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Let me guess—you also believe the people in the Shinobi Sect gave you chakra because they admired you?"
"Please. Did you even notice who was leading them? The Sage of Six Paths himself was standing at the front. Unless someone had rocks for brains, even if they thought Indra was right, who would openly oppose him?"
The Nine-Tails yawned broadly. "Remember the exam to decide the Shinobi Sect's successor? The one where you and Indra were sent to help a village dig a well—"
"I remember, of course I remember," Asura cut in, eyes going distant.
"Father sent us to help a village dig a well. I was clumsy and inexperienced, so all I could do was dig alongside the villagers. It took an entire year…"
"But my brother used a chakra-based technique to complete the well in a single night."
"Yet Father still chose me—because the well my brother made was so easy to get, the villagers soon fought over its use and killed each other."
"But the well I made, with everyone working together, was used wisely. Father even taught us a lesson: happiness that comes too easily won't last; only through hardship will it become solid and lasting."
Asura recounted the story like it was a treasured memory.
Listening from the side, the Nine-Tails, Kushina, and Hashirama all froze in awkward silence, huge beads of sweat rolling down their temples.
Sweat-drop moment, indeed.
"You sure remember it clearly—and you're really not embarrassed to say it out loud…" the Nine-Tails snorted.
"That had nothing to do with hardship making things last—it was pure luck. You just happened to run into a village full of decent people!"
"A whole year's worth of time? Indra could've built wells across the entire world in that span!"
"It's nothing but plain favoritism… After all these years, Indra has long since understood that—he just can't let go of the resentment in his heart."
"You're amusing. Do you really think you were in the right? If I were Indra—knowing full well I was the more talented one, yet being singled out by that old man, forced to accept that my excellence was a mistake, all for the sake of some fool like you—"
The Nine-Tails shot Asura a cold glare. "I'd be just as furious as he was."
Asura's entire body began to tremble.
If anyone else had said such a thing, he might not have cared much. But coming from the Nine-Tails, the weight of those words was entirely different.
So… the Nine-Tails had only helped him because the Sage of Six Paths ordered it? Then all the other comrades in the Shinobi Sect had only supported him because of his father's favoritism?
"You… what do you think?"
Mind in a haze, Asura turned to Hashirama and suddenly grabbed his hand. "I know you built a village, and that you proposed something called the Will of Fire!"
"The Will of Fire… I remember it was about mutual trust, right? You must understand me, don't you? Could it really be that I only became the head of the Shinobi Sect because of my father's favoritism?"
By this point—
The way the Nine-Tails had cut him down so sharply, knocking Asura out of the debate before it could even start, was well outside the scenario Tobirama had told Hashirama to follow…
The God of Shinobi could only give an awkward laugh.
Funny thing was, he didn't actually understand the Will of Fire all that well. The whole philosophy had really been developed by Tobirama and later refined by Sarutobi Hiruzen.
If Hashirama had to put it into words, it would probably boil down to: "Protect your family with your life."
"Uh… you should go talk to Tobi—"
Hashirama stopped mid-sentence. Thinking about it, his younger brother's bluntness might hit this overly straightforward fool too hard.
"Go talk to the Monkey—Sarutobi Hiruzen. He understands the Will of Fire very well!"
Slapping his forehead as he passed the problem along, Hashirama coughed lightly. "I know you want to debate me, but go talk to the Monkey first… Once you understand it from him, I'll discuss the Will of Fire with you."
This time, it was Asura's turn to bolt off in a rush, running through the Allied Shinobi Forces' camp and shouting Sarutobi Hiruzen's name, eager to finally learn about the legendary Will of Fire.
...
Uchiha Madara and Indra stood facing each other.
There was fire in both of their gazes.
"You need something?" Indra asked calmly.
"No. I just came to see what a loser looks like," Madara replied with a cold snort.
"Loser?"
Indra's brow furrowed, his Mangekyō Sharingan flaring open in an instant as he locked eyes with Uchiha Madara. "Are you talking to me?"
Madara let out a cold snort, the ancient and unfathomable Rinnegan in his eyes meeting Indra's Mangekyō without the slightest hint of retreat.
"Successful, are you? You couldn't even beat Asura—laughable."
At that moment—
The power in Indra's eyes surged violently, the genjutsu driven by his ferocious Yin Release chakra stabbing toward Madara's eyes like a barrage of ice-cold steel needles.
Compared to the relatively cordial exchanges between Asura and Senju Hashirama…
Indra and Uchiha Madara were the type to come to blows the moment words didn't align.
"Pointless."
Madara smirked in mockery. The ripples within his Rinnegan shimmered, effortlessly dispelling every trace of Indra's ocular power.
Even if Indra's Sharingan was the very source of the Uchiha bloodline…
Madara had already stepped beyond the bounds of the Uchiha, grasping the synthetic laws of all things, and entered an entirely new realm.
"You think just having a Rinnegan makes you impressive?"
As Indra stared at Madara's Rinnegan—the same eyes as the Sage of Six Paths—unpleasant memories of his father's favoritism came rushing back.
For a thousand years, Indra had been reincarnating, never once yielding to that Sage father, all in the hope of making him realize his mistakes.
In this instant, Indra's chakra erupted, as if he was ready to clash with Madara for real.
But Madara didn't mirror his intent. Instead, he smiled in disdain.
"Save it. In this day and age, you're still going to bring out your Perfect Susanoo?"
"Open your eyes. Even without mentioning Kazuki, Izuna, and that bastard Tobirama, they all already have Mangekyō Sharingan…"
"I came here today to talk to you about saving the shinobi world. If you're interested, we'll keep talking. If not, stay buried in your outdated beliefs."
Indra, who had been all set for a fight, felt irritation rise when he saw Madara clearly had no intention of engaging. He drew back his chakra with reluctance.
Proud as he was, Indra truly couldn't bring himself to fight someone unwilling to fight back.
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