When Mizuna opened his eyes again, the first thing he saw were Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama standing protectively in front of him, while he was cradled tightly in the arms of Uzumaki Mito.
Mito was crying her eyes out. She thought Mizuna was dead. She thought the little brother who had been by her side for so long was gone forever.
Even though Mizuna didn't have a single open wound on him, he was covered head-to-toe in blood. Anyone looking at him would assume he was a corpse.
"Sis..." A weak call escaped Mizuna's lips. But it didn't feel like he was saying it; it felt like a biological instinct of the body, a residual reflex of the "Original Mizuna."
Hearing her brother's voice, Mito wept tears of joy and hugged him even tighter. Feeling her trembling body, Mizuna felt a warmth in his heart and hugged her back.
In his past life, he also had an older sister who loved him dearly, but she had passed away from illness. Since then, Mizuna had never felt that kind of sisterly love again.
Seeing that Mizuna was awake and okay, Hashirama finally let out a sigh of relief. He turned his head to face Madara.
"Madara! Why did you attack a child?!" Hashirama demanded sternly.
He thought to himself: Even if my marriage to Mito made me neglect our friendship a bit, you shouldn't take it out on a kid, right?
If Mito could hear Hashirama's inner thoughts, she would definitely have some questions. Specifically: Who is the one constantly ditching his wife to go hang out with his best bro and staying out all night, leaving me alone in an empty room?!
"Hashi..." Madara started to speak, but another voice cut him off.
"Anija! I told you this naturally evil Uchiha is no good! Back then, you should have let me turn him into a sliced watermelon with my Flying Raijin Slash!"
Madara was already annoyed at being interrupted, but hearing this dog of a man mention the Flying Raijin Slash made his face darken several shades.
"Senju Tobirama! Do you want to die?!" Madara asked coldly.
"You naturally evil Uchiha Madara! I'm going to personally—"
"Don't move! Tobirama! This is between me and Madara!"
Seeing the situation heating up, Mizuna couldn't sit still anymore.
"Sis, let me go first. They misunderstood Big Bro Madara. It was my fault..."
Mito released Mizuna. It wasn't that she wasn't worried, but she trusted him. She trusted her only remaining family.
"Brother-in-law, leave the rest to me. This is my fault. And you, White-Haired Mid-Tier Scrub, move aside!"
Why was Mizuna so hostile toward Tobirama? Because when he first arrived in this world three months ago, his habits were very different from the original host. Mito just thought her brother had matured, and Hashirama praised him for becoming a "real man."
But Tobirama, this suspicious old boomer, doubted him at every turn. Once, when Mizuna brought back a wild deer after chakra training, Tobirama insisted Mizuna was an enemy spy in disguise. If Hashirama and Mito hadn't stopped him, Mizuna would have gotten a Water Dragon Bullet to the face for a haircut.
Mizuna swore that if he ever got the chance, he would make the Evil Senju Tobirama pay!
Hashirama looked at Mizuna and sighed with admiration. Mizuna has become a responsible man. He wasn't worried Madara would hurt the boy. He trusted his best friend wouldn't stoop that low.
But Tobirama didn't care about trust. Seeing Mizuna walking toward Madara, he shouted:
"Mizuna! Don't go over there! The Evil Uchiha Madara will chop you into meatloaf and eat you!"
Mizuna ignored him and kept walking.
Seeing this, Tobirama reached for a kunai, ready to Flying Raijin over there and "rescue" Mizuna from the clutches of the Evil Uchiha.
But Hashirama grabbed Tobirama's hand.
"Tobirama! Do not interfere with Mizuna's decision..." Hashirama said seriously.
"But! Anija!"
"Enough! Tobirama! I am the Hokage!"
Tobirama stared blankly at his brother's wise, serious face.
Is he sick? Who asked him that?
That was what Tobirama thought. But what came out of his mouth, completely uncontrolled, was:
"You will regret this! Anija!"
Tobirama snapped back to reality. Wait, why did I just say that line? He wanted to say more, but looking at his brother's determined eyes, he gave up. He stayed ready to launch a Flying Raijin rescue mission at a moment's notice.
Madara looked at the brat walking toward him with curiosity, wondering what his next move would be.
Mizuna stopped in front of Madara. Madara had already deactivated his Sharingan.
Suddenly, Mizuna remembered something from his past life. A great man once said: To apologize with sincerity, you must apologize with your eyes!
So, Mizuna's eyes started twitching like he was being electrocuted. He tried to give Madara what he thought was a "Melancholic and Deep" look.
In Mizuna's mind, he looked cool and mysterious.
In everyone else's eyes, it looked like the kid had brain damage from the beating.
Finally, Mizuna spoke.
"Big Bro Madara. First, I apologize for insulting your brother. I shouldn't have said that. But I really respect you. You are a good brother and a good clan leader. I just hope you can stay. I don't want to see you leave the village alone, living a life of solitude and hatred..."
These words were genuine. They were Mizuna's feelings as a fan who knew Madara's tragic future: tricked into leaving, living alone, killed by his best friend, and finally backstabbed by Black Zetsu to revive Kaguya. A miserable life.
Madara was actually touched. He decided to let the kid off the hook. He adjusted his Gunbai fan and prepared to leave.
Hashirama panicked.
"Madara! Wait!"
"Enough! Hashirama! Our paths are different... The Stone Tablet says only the Infinite Tsukuyomi can save the Uchiha and the Ninja World! Only that can create a perfect world. So..."
"Big Bro Madara, that thing is untrustworthy. 'Creating a perfect world'? That sounds like a total scam!" A childish voice interrupted him.
"Brat! You know nothing! You just spout nonsense and use ridiculous jutsu, just like that dead white-haired guy!"
Tobirama: You motherf—!
Mizuna shook his head. "There has to be a better choice, right? After all, Big Bro Madara, you don't really want to be enemies with Broth—I mean, Brother-in-law, right?"
Hashirama immediately jumped in. "I don't want to be enemies! Madara! Come back with me! Let's live a good life together!"
Madara looked at this chaotic scene and honestly didn't know what to say.
But years later, when Madara recalled this moment, he would sigh and wonder if, perhaps back then, he really did see a glimpse of the Ninja World's ethereal future in that boy's eyes.
"Heh... Why should I believe the words of a strange brat like you?" Madara looked at Mizuna with disdain.
Mizuna whispered quietly, "Big Bro Madara, actually... I have a way to bring your brother back to life."
Veins popped out on Madara's forehead. He couldn't believe this kid was using his dead brother as a shield again.
Seeing Madara about to rage, and not wanting to experience "Susanoo Dismemberment Part 2," Mizuna waved his hands frantically.
"Wait wait wait! Madara-bro, listen to me! I'm serious! You saw those weird jutsu I used earlier, right? I really have the confidence to revive your brother!"
Madara paused. He recalled the "sweaty-foot Hashirama" from earlier. Honestly, for a kid his age to invent a Genjutsu that could hard-crowd-control him... that was indeed genius territory.
Madara crossed his arms and asked coldly, "And if you can't do it?"
"Then I will cut off my own ding-dong right in front of you!" Mizuna said an abstract sentence with absolute determination.
Everyone froze. They were shocked a child could say something so... bold.
Hashirama was happy about Mizuna's resolve. Mito was worried her brother really did have brain damage. Only Tobirama looked bitter.
"No! I disagree! How can Mizuna make such a decision?! Making a deal with the Evil Uchiha Madara is too dangerous! Anija! This is ridiculous!"
Obviously, no one listened to him.
"Heh... I take back my insults. You're interesting. Honestly, your talent for Ninjutsu might actually surpass that dead white-haired guy," Madara said seriously.
Tobirama: "???"
Mizuna scratched his head shyly. "Oh... I'm not that amazing~"
Madara looked him in the eye. "Hmph! That wasn't really a compliment. You better keep your word and revive Izuna. Otherwise... well, if you can't bring yourself to do the cutting, I can help you with that."
Mizuna nodded furiously, feeling a phantom chill in his nether regions. For a kid like me, Big Bro Madara is really brutal...
In the distance, Tobirama hadn't heard clearly because he was standing too far away. He shouted:
"What happened to Izuna?!"
"SENJU TOBIRAMA! I'M GOING TO F YOUR M UP YOUR A!"
"UCHIHA MADARA! DON'T THINK YOU'RE SO SPECIAL! I'LL F YOUR WITH A FORK!"
The two of them started screaming profanities and immediately threw hands.
Eventually, Hashirama had to break them up.
The result: Tobirama's forehead protector was half-shattered, and half his face was swollen like a pig.
"Damn Uchiha Madara..." Tobirama muttered.
Mizuna stood next to Mito, watching this scene helplessly.
[Ding! Host has completed the mission! Reward: 1000 Dignity Points, One Black-Tier Lottery Draw!]
"Ooh! Not bad~ The reward is solid! Worth losing half my life for!"
Mizuna was happy until he glanced at his balance.
Balance: 750 Dignity Points.
"WHAT?! System, explain yourself! What happened to my points?!" Mizuna roared in rage.
"Bruh, are you for real? The Healing Pill to fix your injuries cost 50 points. And the Resurrection Pill? That was 700 points! If you hadn't tried to sword-fight a Susanoo and almost died, I wouldn't have spent that! If you die, I disappear! I didn't save you for fun!"
Hearing the System's logic, Mizuna blushed.
"Aiyaya! We're all bros here! Come on, System-bro, give me a kiss~ Don't be mad~ And hey, let's never mention the sword-fighting Susanoo thing again..." Mizuna said shamelessly.
"Get lost!" The System cursed.
This seemed like a happy ending, but not everyone wanted it.
Far away, in the dark shadows of the forest, a black blob was seething.
"Damn that Uzumaki Mizuna! My perfect plan has been completely ruined! Mother, don't worry, I will definitely save you!"
The black unidentified object roared silently into the void.
......
---