THIRD PERSON POV
"I have a feeling you're not lying, then tell me what you know and we'll see the authenticity of it maybe it will give us a perspective so that we can trace it back to its source." Hashirama spoke as he looked at the boy. His words, though simple, carried a weight of quiet intensity. It wasn't the interrogation of a suspicious man, but the earnest request of a leader genuinely seeking answers.
"Woah!" came a surprised voice from the child, his eyes widening to an almost comical degree. The shogi piece he was holding slipped from his tiny fingers and clattered softly onto the wooden table.
"What is it?" Hashirama asked, his brow furrowing slightly as he questioned the unexpected reaction he received. The boy's surprise was so genuine, so untainted by artifice, that it made Hashirama feel a flicker of something he hadn't felt in years: pure, unadulterated curiosity.
"How did you suddenly become so smart?" said the child, his voice laced with a raw, unvarnished honesty. He looked at Hashirama with a surprised face, as if he had just witnessed a talking animal, or perhaps a tree walking on its own accord.
"Ha HA HA I have always been this sharp, whatever you go on," said Hashirama, a wide, boisterous laugh escaping his lips. He leaned back, basking in the praise, his chest puffed out with a child-like pride. He didn't notice the truth hidden behind those words—the subtle, round-about manner in which the child had just called him slow-witted.
'He didn't notice being called stupid in a roundabout manner,' mused the MC and Katsuyu in a collective thought. They shared a silent, amused glance, a fleeting moment of shared understanding that transcended words.
"So here's what I know about you: You are Senju Hashirama, born in the Senju clan one of the oldest ninja clans, as the son of the clan head. During the warring states period the Senju clan was one of the strongest clans, unrivalled in combat except for the Uchiha that stood as their equals and you also have a younger sibling named Tobirama. Is everything I said till now correct?" asked the child, his small voice carrying a serious, almost academic tone as he laid out his piece.
Hashirama hearing his question pondered for a moment. He tilted his head, a thoughtful expression gracing his features. He was impressed by the accuracy of the child's knowledge, and he had a feeling he knew who the source of this knowledge was. He replied, "Everything you said is correct, but do you know anything else about my birth family?"
"No, that's all I know."
"Looks like your information is incomplete, my father's name was Butsuma, and apart from Tobirama I had two more siblings, Itama and Kawarama."
"What happened to them?" the child's voice was filled with a subtle, unfeigned curiosity.
"Unfortunately, they died on the battlefield in their youth before the leaf was founded. It was one of the major reasons I decided to put an end to this chaos caused by war. I believe the battlefield is not a place where children should spend their childhood," Hashirama replied, his voice a low, somber tone. His eyes, for a fleeting moment, were filled with a profound sorrow that transcended time.
"I see." The child's simple two words, though lacking in emotion, were filled with a deep understanding that belied his age.
"Enough about the past, tell me what else you know?" Hashirama said, his voice brightening as he tried to shift the mood.
"Okay, While you were born in the Senju clan during the same period as the Uchiha prodigies Madara Uchiha and his brother, who were children of the Uchiha clan head during that period....."
"Wait!" Hashirama interjected, his voice sharp and alert. His easy-going demeanor was replaced by a look of intense focus. The mention of Madara's family had caught his attention like a magnet.
"What?"
"Madara's brother, do you know his name?" Hashirama's voice was a low whisper, almost a plea.
"No, I don't."
"How many siblings you know Madara had?"
"One?"
"No, he had four siblings. Three of them died young and only Izuna was left. Do you know what happened to him?"
"Your younger brother Tobirama fatally wounded Izuna in a battle who later passed away succumbing to the injuries," the child's voice was devoid of emotion as he delivered this cold, hard fact.
'His knowledge while is incomplete, what he knows is completely accurate till now.' Hashirama thought, his head nodding to himself as he spoke, "You can continue."
Giving Hashirama's face a look, the child continued, "You were childhood friends and rivals with Madara Uchiha, born in clans that have opposed each other for as long as their history remembers yet you both shared the same dream to bring peace to the ninja world."
"Oh ho, you even know about our childhood friendship?" Hashirama's smile returned, even wider than before. He felt a profound sense of camaraderie, as if this small child were a kindred spirit who truly understood him.
"I even know you had your outings on a riverside, though I don't know which river, which was later found by your fathers and siblings. Anyways, a few years after the death of Izuna Uchiha, tired of battle, both you and Madara joined hands to establish hidden leaf village to bring peace to the ninja world. Through the battles you fought in the few years, you both were given the moniker Ninja God and Ninja Shura respectively. After the founding of Konoha, you became its First Hokage and Madara Uchiha left the village because of differing ideas."
"Sigh~, you are right but do you know, I never wanted to be the Hokage." Hashirama's voice was soft, filled with a deep, almost melancholic, weariness. He looked down at his hands, as if seeing the immense weight he was carrying.
"Huh, why?" The child's question was simple, yet it held a complexity that Hashirama couldn't help but admire.
"Do you know the will of fire?"
"The brainwashing material?" the child replied with an amused tone in his voice.
"What?" Hashirama's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Nothing, what is it?"
"It says, 'Where tree leaves dance... one shall find flames... the fire's shadow will illuminate the village... and once again tree leaves shall bud anew'."
"And, what does it mean?"
"It means the coming together of the Senju and Uchiha, where Senju represents the tree and leaves, Uchiha represents the fire and the buds represent the future generations. The seat of the Fire's shadow or the Hokage as you call it was made for Madara to sit on, and we the older generation were to dedicate our life so that the future ones could be prosperous."
"I see, but the public opinion of those who joined the village made you assume the position of the Hokage."
"Ha Ha ha, no. The public opinion, I understand what you mean by those words as you call it wasn't something that could make me change my decision. If Madara wanted or if he so decides, the position of the Hokage will always be his. But you have to understand that despite his stern face, he is a man who values happiness of people more than anyone in the village. The only reason I am the Hokage is because he asked me to take his place for the happiness of the villagers."
"I see, I didn't know that."
"Of course you don't, it's something only I have seen, of all people I have seen he is the one who is the most sensitive to the emotions of others. He is the person who wishes for the peace and happiness of the world more than anyone I have seen. If only he could control his facial expressions better or express himself better, I could imagine the number of his female suitors multiplying."
"Is he popular with women?"
"Of course he's popular, he inherited Uchiha's signature good face, Is the clan head of Uchiha clan, he's rich, is on par with the strongest in the shinobi world and single; at least that's what everyone thinks?"
"What!? What do you mean?"
Hashirama looked left and right surreptitiously before he spoke in a low voice, "Don't tell anyone because it's just my speculation. I think Madara didn't leave the village because of the Hokage position. I know him, something like that doesn't bother him. I think he left because of a woman, if I wasn't busy with the Hokage stuff, I would have followed him to find out who it was."
'Is this real!? Did I just hear 'gossip' about the Ghost of the Uchiha!? Why wasn't there any mention of something like this in my memories.'
"Wait, couldn't you just leave a clone in the office, in your place?"
"..."
"..."
"Dammit!? Why didn't I think of that!? Is it too late to go now!?" Hashirama's voice was a frantic whisper, filled with a sudden, devastating regret. The thought of a missed opportunity, a chance to uncover a secret that could change everything, was a bitter pill to swallow.
'This idiot! He missed such an opportunity! Wait! we are getting sidetracked!! So if Madara wasn't mad about the Hokage position and left the village for a woman, who was never brought up in the future, could it be.... .....she died? Then everything would make sense. Going against the world because he lost the woman he loved makes sense. 'Though why do I have a feeling of Déjà vu!?'