Seeing this scene, Hirofumi Ito finally confirmed it—Uchiha Madara really couldn't lay a finger on him!
A grin spread across his face, one corner of his mouth tilting upward in a smug smirk. Watching Madara stand there, hand outstretched, looking utterly baffled, Hirofumi felt his smirk practically reach the heavens.
"Uchiha Madara, didn't I just tell you?" Hirofumi said, barely containing his amusement. "I signed a contract with the Spirit Realm. After paying a certain price, I can turn spirits into my summoning beasts! And you, my friend, are now my summoning beast!"
Madara's face darkened at those words, his expression twisting with rage.
"Arrogant brat!" he roared. "Do you even know who I am?! Calling me a summoning beast? No one in this world has ever dared speak to me like that!"
Hirofumi shrugged, feigning innocence. "Of course I know who you are! Uchiha Madara, former head of the Uchiha clan, the Asura of the Ninja World, the Dancing King of Konoha, master of Fire Style ninjutsu, who stood side by side with the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, to end the Warring States era and found the Hidden Leaf Village! A man hailed as the God of Shinobi…"
Madara had been nodding along, somewhat pleased that this kid knew his legendary reputation. But the more he listened, the more something felt… off.
Asura of the Ninja World? Fine, that checked out. But Dancing King of Konoha? What the hell was that?! And the God of Shinobi? That was Hashirama, not him!
"Kid!" Madara snapped. "You clearly didn't study your history properly. The God of Shinobi is Hashirama Senju!"
"Oh, I know!" Hirofumi replied cheerfully. "Hashirama's the God of Shinobi, the First Hokage. But you're his man, right? Doesn't sound like I got anything wrong!"
"Uh…" Madara faltered.
Was it just his imagination, or did Madara's face flush slightly after Hirofumi's words? No way. No way. Was there actually something going on between those two?
Hirofumi had just been messing around, throwing out a playful jab. In his past life, fans loved pairing up characters like Hashirama and Madara, or Tobirama Senju and Izuna Uchiha, or even Minato Namikaze and Fugaku Uchiha. Heck, Naruto and Sasuke were the poster boys for "best buds" in Konoha. The village was practically overflowing with bromance vibes! Oh, and don't forget Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura.
Hirofumi found it hilarious and had only said it to tease, but Madara's reaction? Oh, there was definitely a story here.
"No way!" Hirofumi gasped, eyes wide. "You and the First Hokage actually had something going on?!"
Madara's face turned beet red. "What are you talking about?! What kind of nonsense is that?! Me and that idiot Hashirama? He's got a screw loose! Always dragging me out at night to skip stones on the water! What could I possibly have with him?! Kid, I'm warning you—stop spouting nonsense!"
The more Madara frantically tried to explain, the more Hirofumi was convinced there was some serious bromance energy between them.
"Holy crap," Hirofumi said, grinning wider. "You two were going on dates at night?!"
"Argh! Kid, I'm gonna kill you!" Madara bellowed.
"Yeah, right!" Hirofumi shot back. "You know you can't do a thing to me! I've got a contract with the Spirit Realm, and you're my summoning beast now. You literally can't touch me! Plus, you're basically revived in this state, aren't you? If I die, the contract with the Spirit Realm breaks, and you'll go back to being a flicker in the flames of the afterlife. Don't tell me you'd rather go back to that than enjoy a second shot at life, Madara."
"Damn it!" Madara growled, seething but helpless. "Why do I want to punch you so bad?!"
Madara was furious, but he couldn't deny the truth. He really couldn't attack this kid. He'd sensed it himself—there was a genuine summoning contract binding his chakra to Hirofumi's. The great Asura of the Ninja World had become… a summoning beast. A summoning beast!
Cursing internally, Madara lowered his hand and crossed his arms over his chest. To his surprise, the moment he stopped wanting to kill the kid, he felt his body return to his control.
Damn it! The humiliation stung. What the hell is Obito doing?! Why hasn't he revived me yet? And now, here he was, reduced to a summoning beast!
"Kid," Madara said, his voice low and dangerous. "I don't know how this so-called summoning contract happened, or why I'm your… summoning beast. But if you think you can order me around, you're dreaming!"
"No worries!" Hirofumi replied with a grin. "I know I can't boss you around. You're the Asura of the Ninja World, the man of the God of Shinobi, after all!"
"Shut up, kid!" Madara snapped, his irritation spiking. Every time Hirofumi called him "the man of the God of Shinobi," it hit a nerve, conjuring images of Hashirama's goofy grin in his mind.
Hirofumi's smirk grew even more lopsided. "What's wrong with your mouth, kid?" Madara growled. "You look like you're begging for a slap. If I could touch you, I'd smack that smirk right off your face!"
"Chill, Madara!" Hirofumi laughed. "Sure, you're my summoning beast now, but you're revived! That's a big deal! What, you'd rather wait for that flake Obito to bring you back? At least with me, you get to head back to the ninja world and check things out."
"What did you just say?!" Madara's eyes narrowed, his tone sharp. This kid, Hirofumi Ito, had just mentioned his plan—his reliance on Obito to revive him. How did he know that?!
"Huh? What'd I say?" Hirofumi asked, playing dumb. "Which part?"
"Don't play stupid!" Madara barked. "How do you know about Obito?!"
"Oh, that?" Hirofumi said casually. "I know a ton of stuff. Not only do I know you're counting on Obito to revive you, but I also know you've been playing him like a fiddle. Oh, and I know about your Moon's Eye Plan. And get this—you and Obito? You're both being played by someone else!"