Fukashi reached the battlefield.
And saw him
Madara with a sword through his heart
"NNOOOOooooooooooo~!!!!!!"
Fukashi's scream echoed through the valley – raw, broken, and filled with sorrow unlike before.
"Dad?"
Shinichi, still clinging to his father's back, felt the shift. The air thickened. Chakra surged.
A massive wave of Yin chakra erupted from Fukashi's body, laced with tiny threads of Yang. Shinichi's Sharingan flared, instinctively analyzing the flow. He recognized the origin of the Yang chakra; it came from the same organs that had catalyzed his own awakening.
But the Yin chakra.. it flooded from every corner of Fukashi's body. Every part of his cell contributed a portion of Yin chakra toward Fukashi's eyes.
It passed through the hypothalamus, then the optic chiasm.
Shinichi quickly withdrew his own chakra, careful not to interfere.
He didn't see the final transformation.
But Fukashi's eyes began to weep crimson.
Red tears streaked down his cheeks.
His Irises now bore a new pattern; six black spiral curves encircling his red pupils.
---
Senju Hashirama, battered and bloodied, sensed their arrival. He rose to his feet, warily watching Fukashi.
"Fukashi…"
Then Fukashi closed his left eye.
His right eye began to bleed violently.
NORO (祝女)! *Priestess of Okinawan religion*
Hashirama braced himself for the worse.
But Fukashi did not attack.
Instead, two ethereal forms shimmered into existence, light grey and blue apparitions. One flickered and vanished. The other solidified.
Between them stood a man.
---
Fukashi's chakra destabilized rapidly until one of the apparitions vanished. His chakra then stabilized again.
"SENSEI!!!!!"
Uchiha Madara stood before them, clad in his red armor and combat robes.
He instinctively scanned the battlefield.
A man with a child on his back.
'Fukashi… this idiot.. is that his son?'
Madara calmly analyzed his condition, worried that his plan failed.
'izanagi hasn't triggered yet… will this disrupt my plan?'
But then he saw Fukashi's eyes.
'Mangekyo…'
Madara's thoughts raced.
'He awakened it from my death… and summoned me with it?'
Strange sense of pride, shock, and worry filled Madara's mind.
Madara was deeply moved. His disciple had grown. Awakened the Mangakyo through sheer grief and moreover a dojutsu that can summon the dead. The depth of Fukashi's devotion was staggering.
But time was short
Madara knew he had to speak quickly; for Fukashi's sake and for his own plan.
Then another voice broke the silence.
"Madara…"
Madara turned.
'Hashirama'
The two legend locked eyes.
A moment passed.
Then Madara smirked.
"… I guess you were right. There were still people left in the Uchiha with backbone who came looking to avenge me."
Hashirama's eyes widened.
He remembered.
He had said those exact word to Madara once before.
"…Madara…you…"
Hashirama tried to speak but Fukashi interrupted.
"Sensei! There's so much I wanted to share with you. So many stories to drink over! Thanks to you, I married Minami and have two sons! Shinichi here, he's a genius like you! Baba said he will save us, like you have before!"
Tears mixed with blood streamed down Fukashi's face, as he let his raw emotion loose against Madara.
"With family… I started to understand you more. To lose all of this.... What have you gone through Sensei!"
Madara opened his mouth, then closed it.
He understood.
His disciple had glimpsed into his despair. And... Had tried to save him.
But it was too late.
He found a path that he can no longer turn his back on.
"I know what you are trying to do Fukashi…. But I told you before. And I am sure you know it in your heart too…."
Madara's gaze sharpened.
"I've found my own path!"
Fukashi stared, dumbfounded. He knew. He had always known. Madara could not be turned back.
---
Hashirama stepped forward.
"Madara… if you had truly defeated me… would you have destroyed Konoha?"
Madara paused.
"Hashirama. There is no point in 'if's. You won again. I lost, just like before. Control Konoha? Destroy it? What's the point of asking. You know it won't happen... at least when you're alive…"
Hashirama's expression darkened.
"…Madara…"
"If I had defeated you? Hng! Let Konoha be."
Madara then silently mused to himself. 'after all, What I needed was your biological material.'
Hashirama flinched.
Madara's voice grew colder.
"Hashirama. You just cannot see it. This one country and one village system – it's a failure! Having two voices in a country is ridiculous in itself. Does clan have two clan heads? Did Konoha have two Hokage?"
"Small clan wars were brutal enough. Now, with hidden villages in every country? Do you know how many ninjas the Land of Fire can mobilize? Thirty thousand. And the other great nations? No less. Just as many."
"If they go to war… it'll make our Uchiha-Senju war look like child's play. I've seen it."
Madara said his last sentence meaningfully as he glared at Hashirama with his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
"No one dares to attack Konoha not because of Senju and Uchiha, but because of you! Hashirama. What do you think will happen after you die?
Not to mention, now, the Daimyo only needs to please one hidden village, or threaten with funds, to start wars. Before, they had to negotiate with multiple clans. Not every clans would agree and conflicts were smaller. But Now? Ten thousand against ten thousand."
His voice darkened.
"Moreover, these Daimyos know nothing about War. It's atrocities. Its pain. Devastation. They consider civilians and ninjas as chess pieces. Do you think it's right for them to decide our fate? This is why I said we should unite the Ninja world. Only then can we can all live without war!"
Hashirama clenched his fists.
"...You may be right Madara, but future is no set in stone! I won't let that happen!
I still believe the village is the best way to protect our children and families. A bridge between clans. I am sure that we can find peaceful solution with other nations; like we have done when creating Konoha!"
Madara's voice rose, bitter and resolute.
"And how much blood did we shed before Konoha? Creation of Konoha… IT WAS ANYTHING BUT PEACEFUL!"
Madara clenched his fist and raised it before him.
"Only Power can deter war, Hashirama. But our lives aren't endless. And Senju's Mokuton… it never appears in two Senju of the same era. What happens during that gap?"
Madara shook his head.
Hashirama fell silent, troubled.
Madara's thought churned.
'Perhaps the Senju never felt the loss like the Uchiha did. Just before Konoha… the Uchiha clan was devastated. To build a system that connects nations… If Konoha plays the role of Senju… maybe it's not so bad. But that's exactly what I proposed before. One ultimate conflict to bring peace.
Whatever Hashirama decides, war is inevitable. Something must be lost for people to understand the importance of peace.
Look at Konoha. So content with local peace. They don't even realize the scale of international war that may come.'
Madara did not speak but coldly glared at Hashirama as he pondered.
'How ironic… that bloodshed is needed to value peace.'
---
Shinichi watched quietly.
'Wasn't it Dad who summoned Madara-sama? Why does it feel like the Hokage was the one who summoned him now…?'
"Sensei."
Fukashi finally spoke
Madara turned, flustered.
"Ahem. I see… hm hm."
He had forgotten; he was summoned by his disciple, not Hashirama.
If he were alive, his face might have flushed in slight embarrassment.
'Damn Hashirama! This is all Hashirama's fault… making me talk too much.'
Madara couldn't control his emotions around Hashirama. He never could.
Fukashi smiled knowingly.
"You're strange, Fukashi. You remind me of Izuna in looks… and Hashirama in behavior."
Madara continued to lecture Fukashi; just like back in early days of Konoha.
"And stop calling Himiko-sama 'Baba.' You're a father now. Act like one."
"But Sensei.. you never were a father. How can you lecture me on fath– "
"Just Shut up and listen to your Sensei!"
"Ha ha ha…."
Madara's tone softened.
"You awakened the Mangekyo… and this ability. I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse. But be careful. Don't use it again. Especially, Not in front of others. No– In fact, don't use it at all. Too many will covet it.
And remember… unrestrained Mangekyo use leads to blindness. Always be mindful."
Fukashi nodded solemnly.
Madara exhaled.
"I've said all I wanted to say. But one last thing…
Thank you, Fukashi. For becoming my disciple."
He then turned to Hashirama.
"And Hashirama. As your old friend, I have a request."
"!...?!!!"
Hashirama pointed at himself, perplexed.
"Don't tell anyone about Fukashi's Mangekyo or his ability to summon the dead."
Madara's eyes gleamed in cold light as he emphasized his next words.
"Especially not Tobirama."
"..."
"I think you know why."
Hashirama nodded.
"…I will, Madara."
Madara smirked.
"Hng. I guess this is it..."
His form began to fade.
Fukashi collapsed to his knees, clutching his bleeding eye. Shinichi knelt beside him, channeling some Yang chakra to stabilize him.
Madara looked at Shinichi as he faded away.
'His chakra control is exceptional… at such a young age too.
And this feeling… why does his chakra feel… so, nostalgic?'
With that Madara's ethereal figure dispersed into the night.
All that remained were two grieving men. And a child.