Chapter 536: I Am Uchiha Madara Too
"GRAAAAH—!"
With a sharp cry from Shukaku, the Tailed Beast chakra overflowing from Hōichi condensed into a mud-like version of Shukaku.
Meanwhile, Gaara "passed out."
In Hōichi's eyes, this meant he had successfully seized Shukaku's power.
Looking down arrogantly at Gaara, who was now being protected behind the others, Hōichi made no move to finish him off. Instead, he shifted his gaze toward Naruto, who had already been sent flying twice by Temari.
"I have to thank you people from Konoha for bringing the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki here too. Damn you, Gaara! For the sake of your personal friendship, you actually forgot the blood feud between Sunagakure and Konoha! Today, I will—"
Controlling the crude Shukaku, Hōichi slowly walked toward Naruto.
---
At that moment, Shukaku was complaining to Gaara, who was still pretending to be unconscious.
If Naruto hadn't acted as a relay, allowing Shukaku to borrow some power from the other Tailed Beasts, then the tiny portion of power Shukaku had cut off and given Hōichi would never have been enough to support a transformation this close to a complete Tailed Beast.
At best, it could have formed a chakra cloak.
Hōichi was genuinely enjoying a level of power that even Gaara himself had never experienced.
"Today, I will shatter this fake peace in the ninja world! I will make Sunagakure great again!"
With his blood boiling with excitement, Hōichi shouted out his ambition.
His hands rapidly formed seals as he prepared to launch chains at Naruto as well.
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!!!"
Suddenly, an angry roar came from behind him.
Hōichi sneered in disdain.
He had already taken control of Shukaku.
Who could possibly stop him now?
But Hōichi overlooked one detail.
The person had shouted, "Shut your mouth," not "Stop."
Because there was no need for Hōichi to stop.
"Hm?"
Just as Hōichi tried to continue forward, he discovered that Shukaku could no longer move.
Looking down, he saw that Shukaku's body had somehow been bound by countless tree branches that resembled giant tentacles.
At the same time, from the direction where the shout had come, dramatic background music began to play.
"Can we ever meet again? Before the Buddha, I've prayed for thousands of years~"
After watching movies in Amegakure and noticing that powerful characters always entered with their own background music, Senju Hashirama had asked Shiromo to help him design one as well.
From then on, whenever he made an entrance, one of his Wood Clones could stand nearby holding a giant speaker and play the music.
That way, his entrances would look much cooler.
This time, however, Hashirama wasn't appearing as himself.
Using a Wood Clone and the Transformation Technique, he had disguised himself as Uchiha Madara.
Hashirama's reasoning was simple.
If he wanted to change Madara's way of thinking, then he first had to prepare a way out for him.
Otherwise, even if Madara changed his mind, he would look behind himself and find no one standing with him.
In the end, he'd still walk down the same lonely road.
Besides, this was also a way of forcing things into place.
With Madara's prideful personality, he would never bother explaining himself.
He would simply let people assume whatever they wanted.
So Hashirama had made up his mind.
He would do good deeds under Madara's name.
The inspiration came from Obito using Madara's identity to commit countless crimes, leaving Madara with the infamous reputation of a complete scumbag.
If Obito could ruin Madara's reputation...
Then why couldn't he improve it instead?
Everything will begin now!
Personally stopping someone trying to destroy peace in the ninja world and capture a Tailed Beast!
"Shut your mouth! For you, I'll put on a thick layer of Majestic Attire Susanoo~"
The instant Hōichi turned around, the Wood Golem's gigantic fist smashed straight into him.
Fortunately, Shukaku's Tailed Beast chakra was protecting him.
Otherwise, that single punch would have turned him into minced meat.
After all, the Wood Golem was an existence capable of matching Susanoo.
"Wood Release? Who are you?"
Hōichi was dazed after taking punch after punch.
When he finally recovered and tried to struggle free, he realized he still couldn't move.
It wasn't that the Tailed Beast's power had been sealed.
Rather, even with the Tailed Beast's strength, he simply couldn't break free from the restraints.
"My name is Uchiha Madara."
The cloaked figure pulled off his black robe, revealing the person beneath.
It was indeed Madara's appearance.
"Uchiha Madara? Then why do you have the First Hokage's—"
Hōichi started asking the question, but suddenly noticed something and stopped himself.
The Madara that Hashirama had transformed into wasn't the classic Warring States armor version.
Instead, it was a battle-damaged Madara.
Half of the armor on his upper body had been deliberately shattered, exposing a face embedded in his chest.
"I transplanted Hashirama's cells. His Wood Release is quite useful. When dealing with Tailed Beasts, I prefer subduing them with raw power rather than taking the easy route of controlling them with the Mangekyō."
As Madara's closest friend, Hashirama naturally knew exactly how Madara would speak.
"Damn it... Why? Why could Konoha's Jinchūriki marry the Hokage, while the Jinchūriki of Sunagakure could only be locked away until they died?!"
Hōichi struggled desperately a few more times.
When he realized he still couldn't move, his mentality completely collapsed.
He burst into tears.
He thought of his master, Bunpuku, who had been imprisoned until his death.
Then he thought of Uzumaki Mito and Uzumaki Kushina of Konoha.
The unfairness was unbearable.
Why had his kind-hearted master Bunpuku been imprisoned his entire life...
While Gaara had become the Kazekage?
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't go saying weird things!"
Naruto hurriedly shouted.
"My dream is to become Hokage not Hokage's Man!"
"Uchiha Madara! Wasn't your goal to destroy Konoha and defeat the First Hokage? Why? Why are you helping them?"
Hōichi shouted.
"Hmph. That's exactly why I look down on insects like you. You people always underestimate me, Uchiha Madara."
"You think my goal is destruction."
"You think the Uchiha Clan is the embodiment of madness."
"But my goal has always been to bring everlasting peace to the ninja world!"
"Now, I finally see signs that the ninja world is moving toward peace. And yet a worthless fool like you dares to come out and destroy it?"
"If that isn't looking death, then what is?"
As those words fell, Hōichi felt an overwhelming killing intent descend upon him.
Cold sweat instantly poured down his back.
That killing intent wasn't something Hashirama was pretending to release.
As fellow reincarnations of Asura, there was a fundamental difference between Senju Hashirama, Naruto, and the previous incarnations of Asura.
Strength was only one aspect.
Personality was the real key.
Hashirama also possessed a darkness within his will.
For the sake of his beliefs, he was capable of doing things that he himself believed were wrong.
Things he believed should never be done.
Such as killing his closest friend, Uchiha Madara.
If it had been Naruto instead… Could he truly have killed Sasuke?
Perhaps.
But judging from Naruto's heartfelt confession, he had intended to kill himself immediately after killing Sasuke. He wanted to go to another world—one without Jinchūriki, without the Uchiha—and be together with Sasuke there.
In other words, in Naruto's heart, Sasuke came first.
The village and everything else came after that.
In Hashirama's heart, however, the village and the peace of the ninja world came first.
That was why, even after killing Uchiha Madara, he was still able to continue protecting the village.
(End of this chapter)