No one knew exactly when it started, but rumors had begun to spread across the shinobi world—rumors about Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.
According to eyewitnesses, the two had been seen strolling side by side down a busy street, followed by a handsome young man who was suspected to be Madara's illegitimate son!
A certain casino owner, who refused to reveal his name, claimed,
"The God of Shinobi has terrible gambling skills—he lost hundreds of thousands of ryō in just a short time..."
People throughout the shinobi world were excitedly discussing these two legendary figures—once rulers of the ninja world, long since deceased.
Of course, everyone treated it as just entertainment, laughing off the eyewitness accounts.
"Stop joking around. Those two have been dead for who knows how long."
"Exactly. Who would be stupid enough to believe something that absurd?"
"I bet that casino owner just used the God of Shinobi's name to advertise his place!"
"Damn it, if I knew where that is, I'd go smash his casino right now!"
"Count me in!"
The unlucky casino owner could only watch helplessly as the angry crowd rushed in and wrecked his establishment.
Those furious people were all former fans of Senju Hashirama—they couldn't stand anyone spreading lies about their deceased idol.
"I'm not lying! I really did see the God of Shinobi!" the casino owner shouted desperately.
Back when he ran a casino in the Land of Fire, he had personally seen Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara visit his place...
Hashirama had lost all his money at the tables, and Madara, unable to watch any longer, activated his Sharingan and joined the game. In less than half a day, he made the casino lose everything it had.
It was precisely because of Uchiha Madara that his casino went bankrupt, forcing him to bring what little money he had left to the Land of Iron to start over.
Who would've thought that decades later, he would see those two dead men again? The casino owner would never mistake Madara's face—never!
He was only telling the truth, yet he still suffered for it...
...
The casino owner collapsed to his knees in despair, staring at the wreckage of his business, nearly in tears.
Although those people had destroyed his casino, they hadn't taken any of his money—one could at least say they had professional ethics.
If it were anyone else, all the money would've been gone by now.
...
"Is it handled?" Uchiha Madara asked as Renya hurried over.
"All handled, Madara-sama." Renya smiled. "I had someone smash his casino."
After all these years of pretending to be dead, how could they possibly still have loyal fans?
As for those angry "fans," they were just people Renya had paid to act the part.
He honestly hadn't expected that anyone in the current shinobi world could still recognize Hashirama and Madara. That casino owner was just unlucky.
"That was close, Madara." Senju Hashirama sighed in relief. "Our identities were almost exposed."
If the news of their fake deaths ever reached Tobirama, his younger brother would definitely drag him back to the village by force.
And if that happened, he wouldn't be able to stay by Madara's side to dissuade him from pursuing the "Eye of the Moon" plan.
If Madara really completed that plan, the shinobi world would be doomed!
Madara gave Hashirama a sidelong glance. In the past, he might have worried about being exposed—but now, it didn't matter anymore.
No one could stop him from realizing his dream. All that remained was to awaken the legendary Rinnegan. Once he did, the "Eye of the Moon" plan could begin, and true peace would come to the shinobi world.
When that time came, he would be the savior of all shinobi!
...
"Kid, how much time do you have left on your vacation?" Madara suddenly asked.
If he remembered correctly, the boy had said that Tobirama had given him half a year off. Judging by the time, it should be almost over.
Hashirama looked toward Renya as well. He couldn't wait for the boy to go back, rather than hanging around Madara every day.
After all, Renya was the hope of the village. He couldn't let Madara corrupt him!
"Just over a week," Renya estimated.
Without realizing it, so much time had passed since he'd left the village.
He wondered if that old man Tobirama was still eating properly at home...
And how were Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya doing? Were they studying hard and getting along well?
It had been a long time since he'd enjoyed the lazy days back in the village—he really missed them.
These past months, he'd been following the two of them nonstop, with no chance to travel or relax on his own.
And most importantly, Madara still hadn't invited him to join the "Eye of the Moon" plan, which confused him deeply.
Before, Madara had often invited him to form a team, but he'd never taken it seriously. Now that he actually wanted to join, Madara hadn't extended the invitation again.
It made him so anxious he could barely stand it. Without joining Madara's side, his companions could end up in grave danger at any time.
He didn't want to awaken his Mangekyō Sharingan in tears like Uchiha Obito had.
"One week, huh?" Madara murmured softly, a hint of nostalgia flickering in his eyes. Time truly flew by.
In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.
If he had already awakened the Rinnegan, he might have invited Renya to join the "Eye of the Moon" plan once again.
He believed Renya's refusal came only from not yet understanding the benefits of the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Once Madara gained that power, the boy would agree without hesitation.
"Renya, when you get back to the village, please give my regards to Mito," said Hashirama, patting Renya's shoulder. "I probably won't have time to visit her myself."
Hearing that, Renya froze. Mito-san's words before he left suddenly came to mind.
[Remember to send him my regards, and tell him to spend more time with his family.]
"Renya, what's wrong?" Hashirama looked at him curiously, not realizing the gravity of the situation.
"Hashirama-san, I forgot to tell you," Renya said, swallowing nervously. "Mito-san told me to remind you to go home more often when you can."
That was close—he'd nearly forgotten her message entirely.
"Huh?" Hashirama scratched his head. "Why didn't you say that earlier?"
If Renya had told him sooner, he would've gone back to visit long ago. But now, it had been half a year. If he went back now, would Mito kill him?
She might look gentle on the surface, but when she got angry, everyone stayed out of her way.
"Sorry, I forgot before," Renya said with an awkward cough.
He'd been too focused on joining Madara's camp and had completely forgotten about it. If Hashirama hadn't brought up Mito just now, he wouldn't have remembered at all.
Hashirama: "..."
He could already picture the scene of himself getting beaten up the moment he returned to the village.
"In that case, let's head back to the Land of Fire," said Uchiha Madara, glancing at the pale-faced Hashirama.
That guy hadn't changed a bit—still terrified of his wife.
Honestly, if you never got married, you'd never have that problem.
Having too many attachments... isn't always a good thing.