Senju Hashirama woke up from his unconsciousness.
While he had been asleep just now, he vaguely heard Renya's voice, and it seemed he even heard Renya agreeing to join the "Eye of the Moon" plan.
It was precisely hearing those words that pulled him out of his unconscious state—he needed to confirm whether it had been a hallucination.
But when he saw Renya beside Madara, the color in his cheeks, which had just returned, instantly paled.
Renya was really here!
Which meant he hadn't misheard—Renya had joined the "Eye of the Moon" plan!
For a moment, he felt as if the sky itself was collapsing.
The very thing he had feared most had happened!
"Renya, how could you agree to Madara?" Hashirama muttered, pressing his lips together, as if he could not bear to believe it.
Renya was a child he had watched grow up; logically, he shouldn't have agreed to Madara's invitation!
Could it be that something had happened in the village?
"Hashirama-san, I believe only Madara-sama can bring true peace to the ninja world," Renya said earnestly. "I don't want to see wars erupt again, nor do I want the people of the ninja world to continue living in misery and suffering."
Those words sounded so righteous that Hashirama almost believed them.
"Sorry, Hashirama-san, I have no other choice!"
Only by joining Madara's side could he ensure the safety of his comrades.
These were words he couldn't possibly tell Hashirama, so he could only make him suffer for the time being.
Mainly, he knew the plot. So agreeing for now was perfectly fine.
It stabilized Uchiha Madara while protecting his comrades. Why wouldn't he do it?
Hashirama's face showed pain.
"Peace in the ninja world isn't something the 'Eye of the Moon' alone can achieve. You could have chosen other ways…"
Madara's plan was too extreme; peace achieved this way was fundamentally unreliable!
He didn't want Renya to participate with Madara. Such actions were, simply put, the enemy of the entire ninja world!
If others knew, they would definitely unite to resist the two of them.
"You're too naive, Hashirama," Uchiha Madara said coldly. "Only I can achieve peace in the ninja world. The other methods you speak of can never change this decayed world."
Back then, he had held illusions of establishing a village with Hashirama, only to realize that such methods could never achieve peace in the ninja world.
Hashirama had only wanted a temporary peace for Konoha.
He sneered at such methods.
"Madara…"
Hashirama still wanted to persuade him but was cut off by Madara.
"Just watch quietly as Renya and I achieve peace in the ninja world!"
"You don't need to concern yourself with anything else."
"Hashirama, I'll make sure you live to see that day!"
Uchiha Madara was brimming with confidence, his eyes shining with anticipation.
Hashirama opened his mouth but didn't know what to say. He simply could not stop Madara from realizing his ideals, no matter how much he tried.
Renya looked at Hashirama-san's despondent expression and felt a twinge of guilt.
It must feel terrible for Hashirama to watch a dear friend go down the wrong path without the power to change anything, right?
And now that he had joined Madara's side, Hashirama-san would feel even worse.
Though he was only pretending to join Madara, he couldn't reveal the truth.
When the time was right, Hashirama would naturally find out.
For now, he could only temporarily make Hashirama suffer.
"Renya, I respect your choice," Hashirama said with a bitter smile as he looked at Renya. "I hope to see the day you achieve your ideals."
He couldn't understand why the obedient Renya would agree to Madara.
What exactly had happened here…
"Thank you, Hashirama-san," Renya said with a slight nod.
Seeing Hashirama's saddened expression, Uchiha Madara snorted coldly.
This guy has no idea about the benefits of the "Eye of the Moon" plan.
He's still obsessed with naive ideas of achieving peace. Little does he know, Hashirama's philosophy was already overturned the moment war broke out.
"Kid, when do you plan to leave the village?" Uchiha Madara asked.
Hashirama instinctively looked at Renya. At first, he had thought Renya had defected from the village, but now it seemed not as he imagined…
Renya had joined Madara's plan but had not chosen to defect—it was, in a way, a blessing in disguise.
Looking at it this way, Renya was still in the village.
Hashirama felt a wave of relief.
Now it seemed that Renya might have had his own reasons for agreeing to Madara's invitation.
"Madara-sama, my mission lasts one month," Renya said, taking out a mission scroll.
"I'll help you complete it. You stay behind and cook," Uchiha Madara said as he took the scroll and left the cave.
This sort of arrangement had been done frequently in past years; he was very experienced at it.
"Thank you, Madara-sama," Renya said with some emotion.
Having Uchiha Madara help complete a mission—he must be the only one in the ninja world with such a privilege.
With a ninja-world Asura around, what worry is there that the mission won't be completed?
As Uchiha Madara left, Hashirama could no longer suppress his curiosity.
"Renya, why did you agree to join Madara?!"
From what he knew of Renya, he didn't think Renya was the kind of person who cared about the world.
This kid usually lazed around and never concerned himself with the lives of others.
Except for those close to him…
"That's a secret," Renya said, not intending to tell Hashirama the truth. "Hashirama-san, you just need to know I won't harm the village."
He knew that as long as he stated his position, Hashirama-san wouldn't ask further.
After all, the thing he cared about most was Konoha.
Sure enough, Hashirama heard this and sensibly didn't press further.
As long as he knew Renya wouldn't harm the village, the rest was up to them.
Though he didn't know Renya's reasons for joining Madara, Renya was still the child he had watched grow up…
"Hashirama-san, how's your body?" Renya asked with concern.
How long could Madara's flesh sustain Hashirama's body?
"My body is much better," Hashirama said with a smile. "I wonder how Madara repaired my body."
Renya looked at the blood at the corner of Hashirama's mouth but chose not to reveal the truth. Since Madara hadn't told him, he wouldn't volunteer the information…
"Renya, how has the village developed over these years?" Hashirama asked.
Even after being away from the village for several years, he always cared about its development.
After all, Konoha was the work of his life!
"Hashirama-san, under your governance, the village has flourished."
"Haha, I knew Tobirama could handle it!"
The two chatted casually, completely unaware of Zetsu lurking in the shadows.
"Renya has joined the 'Eye of the Moon' plan?!"
Ever since learning about Renya's illness, it had stayed close to him, worried that he might run into trouble.
And now it had stumbled upon this situation…