"My death won't change the alliance between Amegakure and Konoha."
"Nor will the will of peace ever be interrupted because of someone's death."
Hanzo spoke calmly.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen is the Hokage, and he is also my Big Brother. The Will of Fire isn't inherited only in Konoha."
"It will be inherited in Amegakure as well."
Those words left both Madara and Yahiko completely dumbfounded.
Since when was Amegakure talking about the Will of Fire?
"The Will of Fire? In Amegakure?"
Even Madara couldn't help asking.
"What exactly are you talking about?"
"If something is right, why should the name matter?"
Hanzo smiled lightly.
"As long as it allows everyone to have enough food and warm clothes, and frees them from the suffering of war, that's enough."
"I believe the Will of Fire can accomplish that."
"Especially under Big Brother's leadership."
At that moment, Yahiko found himself staring in awe.
Hanzo sat cross-legged on the ground.
Behind him stood that incomparably powerful man in black robes.
Yet he remained completely composed, speaking eloquently without a trace of fear, steadfastly defending his ideals and convictions.
Too cool!
Although the ideal and conviction he was talking about happened to be the Will of Fire, which made things a little complicated...
But so what?
Just as Hanzo had said, if something was right, then it was right. Why obsess over the name?
Madara fell silent for a moment.
When it came to those who genuinely sought peace, even if their methods were clumsy and their ideas imperfect, Madara would still regard them more favorably.
Especially those who could stand before him, speak freely, and show no fear of death...
"Interesting..."
Madara didn't say anything more to Hanzo.
He simply waited quietly for Hiruzen's arrival.
'Hiruzen is a smart man...'
'I probably won't be able to persuade him this time, but I can at least make him realize the flaws in his understanding of peace.'
'When he eventually realizes that the chain of hatred cannot be severed, he'll begin searching for another path.'
'And then I can arrange things so that he learns the contents of the stone tablet left behind by the Sage of Six Paths...'
Madara pondered how he would speak with Hiruzen when the time came.
...
Konoha.
Training Ground.
Hiruzen stared intently at the massive fireball he had just created.
He raised a hand.
Invisible chakra surged outward, striking the "core" of the ninjutsu with perfect precision.
In an instant, the fireball dissolved into a chaotic stream of azure chakra.
Hiruzen extended his hand once more and absorbed the chakra current back into his body.
He himself was essentially a walking master of Fūinjutsu.
Sealing techniques naturally possessed powerful restraining and absorbing properties toward chakra, especially pure chakra that had already separated from its nature transformation.
'What's going on here?'
Hiruzen stared at his hands in disbelief.
He had always been accustomed to making steady, methodical progress.
Expanding the limits of his talent at a consistent pace and then converting that growth into actual strength.
After all, his own development and Konoha's development were, in a sense, linked together.
In Hiruzen's view, Konoha's current growth had not yet reached the point where a quantitative accumulation would trigger a qualitative leap.
Therefore, his own growth should still be progressing at a steady rate as well.
'This situation...'
'Could some Konoha shinobi have awakened some extraordinary talent?'
'Has another genius like Minato appeared?'
Naturally, Hiruzen could never have imagined that under the astonishing wisdom of Izuna and Tobirama, the bond between the Uzumaki and Uchiha clans had been activated ahead of schedule within Konoha.
At this point, it was no longer a matter of romance or affection.
It had become a matter of competing through training for the sake of the Will of Fire, proving whose ninja way and ideals were superior!
'Then again, it might not be some talented shinobi.'
'It could also be that Orochimaru and the others achieved another breakthrough.'
'Or perhaps Hanzo's assimilation efforts in Amegakure are progressing exceptionally well...'
Hiruzen had no idea where this massive surge in "talent performance" was coming from.
There were simply too many possible sources.
Sometimes having too much prosperity made it impossible to keep track of the accounts.
Especially when those performance rewards came with neither detailed reports nor a regular payday.
'But no matter what, this is a good thing!'
Hiruzen continued releasing one Fire Release technique after another.
Using the fire-attribute chakra he was most familiar with, he trained his Spirit Release to develop the muscle memory needed to detect a technique's core.
Fire Release techniques rose across the training ground.
They burst apart into invisible currents of chakra.
Then flowed back into Hiruzen's body.
The cycle repeated endlessly.
The Hokage was grinding the upper limit of today's Spirit Release proficiency with astonishing efficiency and almost no expenditure whatsoever.
'Now it's not just Fire Release.'
'I can already begin detecting the cores of other elemental techniques as well...'
'One step at a time. The only problem is the method of release. I still can't do it remotely.'
'I can only project tangible chakra externally. The limitations are still too great.'
Hiruzen reflected on his shortcomings.
He needed to find an opportunity to have a friendly discussion with the Uchiha.
Fugaku.
Isshin.
Yashiro.
Shisui.
Obito.
And, of course, the not-so-famous Uchiha Tobirama.
The more Hiruzen studied the records left behind by Senju Tobirama and the man's collection of ideas and theories, the more he felt his own inadequacies.
Ninjutsu was simply too terrifying.
There was always someone capable of creating some utterly unreasonable "mechanic-kill."
By digging up an obscure transformation from some forgotten corner, they could exploit an information gap and defeat a stronger opponent.
Hiruzen had a dream.
A world where battles between shinobi were no longer decided by all these fancy tricks.
A world where both sides openly laid their cards on the table and settled things through straightforward combat with their stats displayed for all to see.
Of course, Hokage-sama had failed to realize one thing...
Making sure nobody had mechanics was itself the greatest mechanic of all.
And even if Hiruzen did realize it, he would never admit it.
Instead, he would insist:
'That's completely different!'
A short while later—
A flash of golden light appeared.
Minato materialized before Hiruzen, his expression extremely serious.
With Hiruzen's permission, Minato had left special Flying Thunder God markers both in the Hokage Building and at the training ground Hiruzen frequently visited.
That way, any urgent situation could be reported to him as quickly as possible.
After all, one had to maximize the advantages of a Flying Thunder God user.
"Hokage-sama, something has happened in Amegakure!"
Minato reported the situation to Hiruzen at top speed.
Hiruzen was startled.
Wasn't the incident with Uchiha Yashiro enough?
Now another unknown powerhouse had appeared?
Was the shinobi world a little too deep?
But without question, Hiruzen intended to save Hanzo.
Just as Hanzo had predicted.
A personal rescue by the Hokage would be the perfect stage to firmly draw the hearts of Amegakure's shinobi into his embrace.
"Hokage-sama, who else are we bringing?" Minato asked quickly. "The distance is too great—we can't take too many people!"
"How is Seisui's Flying Thunder God training progressing?" Hiruzen asked, despite already knowing the answer.
"He's extremely talented!" Minato replied immediately.
Minato and Tobirama had developed a very good relationship.
One was sunny, naturally airheaded, yet secretly a little scheming.
The other was straightforward but exceptionally quick-witted.
Their personalities created a strangely effective chemistry.
Combined with Flying Thunder God as a shared topic of interest, the two often spent time together.
"Go bring Seisui!"
Hiruzen made the decision immediately.
"Also gather whichever Konoha committee members are currently on village duty."
"Keep the number limited to what you and Seisui can transport and return with as quickly as possible."
"Move out immediately!"
"Understood, Hokage-sama!"
Minato sprang into action at once.
Hiruzen pulled out a scroll.
As the smoke dispersed, he was already wearing the Warring States-era armor that Mito had given him—armor that had once belonged to Hashirama.
'Based on the intelligence Minato provided, the unknown powerhouse who attacked Hanzo shares a remarkably high number of characteristics with the one who encountered Uchiha Yashiro.'
'A textbook Warring States lunatic.'
Hiruzen adjusted the plate armor on his body.
This had once been Senju Hashirama's battle gear.
If the opponent truly was someone from the Warring States Era, then it would undoubtedly have a deterrent effect.
It would seize the initiative through sheer presence alone.
Sometimes, seemingly meaningless details in battle could influence far more than people realized.
A moment later, another flash of golden light appeared.
Minato arrived with Fugaku, Seisui, and Hizashi.
"Hokage-sama, Seisui and I can alternate the use of Flying Thunder God."
"With the two of us taking turns, we can transport Committee Members Hizashi and Fugaku without interruption and make multiple return trips if necessary."
"I've already notified ANBU and Root. They'll head toward Amegakure as quickly as possible."
Minato reported in a firm voice.
Hiruzen nodded.
This was only because Minato and Tobirama had not yet fully matured.
One had only recently reached adulthood.
The other was still in a teenager's body.
If it were Tobirama at his peak, with his chakra reserves and teleportation capabilities, he alone would have been sufficient.
Still, with the two of them working together now, it was more than enough.
Seisui and Minato were like two fine steeds.
The moment one grew tired, the other immediately took over, allowing their mobility to remain at maximum efficiency at all times.
"Move out!"
Hiruzen commanded.
The group placed their hands on Minato's shoulder as the Flying Thunder God Technique activated.
Throughout the journey, Minato and Seisui alternated use of Flying Thunder God, moving in a perfectly straight line toward Amegakure at tremendous speed.
In mere moments, they arrived at Hanzo's battlefield.
"They're here!"
When Hiruzen and the others appeared, Yahiko couldn't help crying out in surprise.
They had arrived far too quickly.
At that moment, Yahiko finally understood why Kusagakure, despite not being a weak village, had been crushed by Konoha within a single hour.
The Flying Thunder God Technique's application in one-on-one combat was only a small part of its value.
Its strategic significance on a large scale was simply immense.
It could completely overturn many of the conventional rules of warfare.
"This..."
The moment Madara saw Hiruzen, he had intended to speak from a lofty and mysterious position.
Instead, he froze.
Wait...
Why are you wearing Hashirama's armor?
Ordinary people might not be able to identify the owner of a classic Warring States armor design.
But Madara could recognize countless details.
This was unmistakably the very armor Hashirama had worn during the Battle at the Valley of the End, albeit repaired afterward.
After all, both of their armors had been battered to pieces in that battle.
"Hiss..."
As much as Madara hated to admit it...
Hiruzen, after years of training, possessed a tall and powerful physique that filled out the armor perfectly.
Combined with the commanding aura he had cultivated through years of serving as Hokage during wartime...
Compared to the carefree, grinning Hashirama from Madara's memories, he actually looked more like Madara's image of what a Hokage should be.
'How could I think something like that?'
Madara immediately discarded the bizarre thought.
During this time, Madara had not been idle.
Hidden within Tobi's armor, he had secretly swapped his Rinnegan and reclaimed his complete power.
And this sort of plug-and-play operation was not something just anyone could accomplish.
It required overwhelming life force and extraordinary medical ninjutsu expertise.
As someone who had mastered Yin-Yang Release, Madara practically possessed the ability to create life itself.