"Big brother!"
"You don't seriously believe that kid's lie, do you?"
Tobirama asked in a flustered tone.
He was truly afraid his thickheaded older brother might actually fall for it.
"But Tobirama, didn't you feel something was off about how suddenly Madara changed back then?"
"After all, we built this village together. Even after you killed Izuna, he let bygones be bygones."
"Yet he suddenly shifted ideals and betrayed the village..."
"And perhaps that ancestral Uchiha stone tablet might also have some issues..."
Hashirama scratched his head, wearing an innocent puzzled look.
"That's just the way of the wicked Uchiha clan; how would I know anything about that?"
"They're a clan whose members must experience the death of a loved one to awaken their Sharingan!"
"A people so easily swayed by emotions, flipping sides overnight wouldn't be out of the ordinary..."
Tobirama retorted passionately.
"Brother, I've told you before not to keep calling them 'wicked'!"
"But that little brat insulted me the same way too!"
"He's still young; besides, I've been dead for decades! You really gonna compare yourself to a child?"
"..."
Brother... you can't play favorites like this!
I'm your actual younger brother!
That kid has nothing to do with you other than being Madara's descendant!
Tobirama really wanted to stubbornly argue back.
But ultimately gave up.
After all, arguing with his single-minded older brother was a lost cause.
Unless it involved official village matters...
"In any case, these baseless guesses must never be trusted!"
"What if it's actually part of some scheme between that brat and Madara?"
"To deliberately distract our attention!"
Hashirama immediately responded:
"I don't think they're working together. Otherwise, why would that boy go through the trouble of stealing those fragments from you?"
"Why not just ask Madara directly for them?"
"And besides, if they attacked the village together, even I'd struggle to resist..."
"..."
At this moment, Tobirama could only stare at his older brother in stunned silence, his words making perfect sense.
He couldn't help but stare at Hashirama with eyes as wide as saucers.
Right now, he really felt like performing a dissection to see if the Impure World body somehow boosted his brother's intellect?
Otherwise, how could his brother suddenly seem so much smarter?
"So what do you say? Do you think this theory might actually be possible?"
"I..."
"Oh! So Madara was tricked too! No wonder he challenged me—it must've been the root cause!"
"Brother..."
"Don't say another word. I'll find a way to uncover the truth behind this. I won't forgive whoever manipulated Madara from the shadows!"
"..."
"Xiao Gang! Come here..."
Tobirama signaled with his eyes to Tsunade standing nearby, hoping she could help persuade her grandfather Hashirama.
Tsunade quickly shook her head.
She understood her grandfather's personality better than anyone.
When it came to Madara, once he made up his mind, not even ten oxen could drag him back!
She couldn't possibly accomplish what Mito hadn't achieved herself—how could she ever talk him into it?
As for Jiraiya standing nearby, he had no right to speak either.
After all, whether or not he could marry into the Senju Clan and finally win the love he desired hinged entirely on Lord Hashirama's will. How could he dare defy Lord Hashirama?
"Lord Tobirama, um... there are still some remaining fragments of the Demonic Statue on the ground!"
"Should we collect them?..."
Of course, Jiraiya wasn't stupid. He quickly switched the topic cleverly.
At this point, Tobirama shook his head helplessly and gave up in despair.
Clearly, he was certain now—he could no longer correct his older brother's beliefs through words alone.
Oh well, let him go mad then...
Once they came up empty-handed, he'd try reasoning with his older brother again.
Besides, just as Jiraiya hinted, quickly collecting the remaining fragments of the Demonic Statue was their top priority!
Without hesitation, Tobirama immediately began directing Jiraiya.
Together, they started gathering the remaining pieces of the Demonic Statue.
However, within merely ten seconds,
they had barely collected less than half—only about thirty small fragments—
when the main body of the [Demonic Statue of the Outer Path] suddenly exploded into a cloud of white mist, vanishing without a trace.
Clearly, Madara, having escaped, had managed to regain some strength.
Using the Summoning Jutsu, he had summoned back the [Demonic Statue of the Outer Path].
Just as the statue disappeared,
Tobirama glanced at the remaining statue fragments in his hand, which didn't even amount to a third of the original pile.
His face darkened further as he gritted his teeth.
"You evil little Uchiha brat, and you damned Madara Uchiha—you'll pay."
"Just wait until I fully analyze these materials and develop new kinjutsu—I'll make you both regret this!"
Tobirama muttered furiously under his breath.
Listening beside him, Jiraiya trembled slightly, feeling uneasy inside.
After all, he knew too well how terrifying Lord Tobirama was when it came to inventing forbidden techniques.
Any single kinjutsu could be enough to completely disrupt the balance of power across the entire Ninja World!
Meanwhile,
north of Konoha, over a hundred miles away,
within a dim, shadowy canyon,
Lord Madara, having narrowly escaped death, was currently recovering here.
Truthfully speaking, the overwhelming power Hashirama unleashed after forcefully opening the [Eight Gates] at the end was indeed too strong—
far beyond expectations!
After all, Madara's understanding of the [Eight Gates] technique was only based on Might Guy's battle against the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.
At most, it should have reached Kage-level, or nearly a Transcendent-level strength.
Who could've guessed that the difference in power would be so dramatic when used by someone else!
Even though weakened multiple times over,
that single punch from Hashirama shattered half of Madara's left arm and a large portion of his left chest...
even shattering Madara's heart and part of Hashirama's face.
In one punch, Madara had nearly died!
After all, this time he wasn't a body from the Impure World, nor a Six Paths form—
he was flesh and blood!
A destroyed heart would mean certain death for any ninja!
If not for the incredible healing abilities of Hashirama's cells, he probably would've died already...
Certainly, dragging his severely wounded body and escaping from Hashirama
was thanks entirely to Black Zetsu.
If it weren't for Black Zetsu quickly wrapping around his entire body, concealing all of Madara's aura and fleeing immediately afterward...
There's no way Madara could've escaped from Hashirama's powerful sensory abilities...
"Cough—"
Madara spat out a mouthful of blood, his breathing weak.
"Lord Madara?"
"Don't worry, I'm not dying."
Madara revealed a trace of sinister grin.
As long as he was alive,
No matter how severe the injury or intense the pain, it meant nothing to him.
Actually, he found Hashirama's overwhelming power exhilarating beyond words!
"Well done, Hashirama! That's the strength I expected from you!"
"To actually wound me this severely... Now things are getting interesting! You're truly worthy of being my rival!"
"Just wait. Next time, I will definitely defeat you!"
Lord Madara muttered excitedly to himself.
Seeing this, Black Zetsu held back his growing frustration.
He almost wished he could slap Madara hard and knock some humility into that arrogant bastard.
What had started as an excellent position had been completely shattered by a single move from Hashirama.
Worse still, they'd let slip the existence of the [Demonic Statue of the Outer Path]...
It was infuriating!
If there weren't a better option available, he wouldn't have bothered rescuing this damn bastard at all.
Of course, outwardly, Black Zetsu maintained his respectful tone as he asked:
"Lord Madara? What should we do next?..."
"Help me up. I must first perform the Summoning Technique to summon the [Demonic Statue of the Outer Path] back."
"If we're to completely defeat Hashirama in the future, that thing must not be lost..."
"As you wish!"
Black Zetsu once again took control of Madara's body, lending him just enough movement to perform the jutsu again.
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