"In the year 873 of the Ninja Calendar, Konoha launched a war against Iwagakure, and a war that swept across the entire ninja world erupted..."
"Mm... Let's call it the First Great Ninja War!"
Inside the history archive, the toads began discussing among themselves and recording history.
———
On the Sunagakure battlefield, the Konoha army led by the Hatake clan leader clashed with Sunagakure in the desert.
On the Kirigakure battlefield, Hyuga Tennin fought Kirigakure at sea.
On the Kumogakure battlefield, Uchiha Izuna commanded the defense against Kumogakure's invasion.
The fighting was intense, unlike anything before.
Even during the era of chaos, there had never been a war on this scale, one that swept across the ninja world.
For the first time, everyone felt the terror of war.
Large numbers of young adults from the Senju clan and the Uchiha clan were sent to war.
The Kurama clan suffered especially heavy losses in this war.
This war lasted for two full years...
Facing attacks from multiple sides, Konoha was ultimately struggling to hold on.
Kinkaku and Ginkaku of Kumogakure.
Mu and Onoki of Iwagakure.
Shamon and the First Kazekage of Sunagakure.
Gengetsu Hozuki and the first Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist from Kirigakure.
This time, all of them were Kage-level fighters.
And with the tailed beasts joining the war, the outcome became even harder to predict.
On top of that, the unrestricted warfare launched by Uchiha Madara and Senju Tobirama made ordinary Konoha civilians and ninja uncomfortable.
Even members of their own clans felt it had gone too far.
Inside Konoha, people had also begun to resent the war and wonder if what they were doing was wrong.
After all, the pain of war had already spread to them.
They could clearly feel food prices rising.
Their relatives, parents, sons, and others were dying or getting injured on the battlefield.
Even families that had not suffered injuries worried that the continued war would lead to their loved ones getting hurt or killed.
For a time, an anti-war movement rose within Konoha.
There were even several protest marches in Konoha.
Some clan leaders watched their clansmen continuously decrease in number, so they requested the Second Hokage to step down and hand power back.
Some even cried in front of the First Hokage's grave.
———
[Inside Ichiraku Ramen]
"Sigh! When is this war ever going to end..."
"Why... why start a war..."
"If there wasn't a war, my brother and father wouldn't have died..."
"Hmph, Uchiha Madara. I want to see how he'll face the First Hokage after turning Konoha into this!"
Everyone was complaining about the war and wondering when it would end.
'Why did they even start a war?'
Arisu felt it more clearly than anyone.
Before, people happily discussed victories, then talked about how the frontline battles were going.
Now... only complaints remained.
"At last, this war is finally about to end..."
Arisu's brows relaxed as he let out a long breath.
He had already received news from White Zetsu that Senju Hashirama had finally made up his mind to correct Konoha.
———
[Konoha Hokage Office]
Uchiha Madara and Senju Tobirama stared at the battle map with bloodshot eyes.
"Tobirama! Deploy the Edo Tensei corps here!"
"At this position, use Flying Thunder God to release poison gas!"
"Kill those bastards!"
Uchiha Madara ordered in a deep voice.
Senju Tobirama immediately nodded and said in a low voice, "I'm speeding up the production of tandem explosive tags. I'll cover the entire frontline and turn one whole battlefield into an explosion zone!"
Right then... the door burst open.
Senju Hashirama, who had retired many years ago, rushed straight in.
Behind him were the leaders of Konoha's major clans. Their eyes were firm as they followed closely behind Senju Hashirama.
"Hashirama, what are you doing?", Uchiha Madara asked with a dark expression.
Senju Tobirama's pupils trembled, as if he already understood what his elder brother intended to do.
"Enough."
Senju Hashirama painfully closed his eyes. Seeing this scene, he could not help but remember...
Back then, he had also pushed open a door like this and scolded the Senju elders.
"Madara! Tobirama! Stop this!", Senju Hashirama shouted anxiously.
Uchiha Madara showed no intention of turning around and coldly said, "Hashirama, stay out of this! Protect the village properly!"
"I was just planning to send you to the frontline! And Mito has now become the Nine-Tails jinchuriki. Her power can also be used!"
Senju Hashirama looked at Uchiha Madara in disbelief, as if meeting him for the first time.
"Madara! You've changed!", Senju Hashirama said heavily.
"I haven't changed! I've always been like this!"
"As long as we hold on a little longer, we can win this war!"
"At that time, we'll unify the ninja world! Permanent peace!"
"My achievements will far surpass my great-grandfather's!"
Uchiha Madara spoke in an almost obsessive, crazed tone.
"Big brother..."
Senju Tobirama also clenched his fists.
Actually, with his rational mind, he had long sensed that Konoha might not be able to win.
But once the arrow was released, there was no turning back. They could only win.
Senju Tobirama could not accept the fact that everything had gone wrong.
He could not understand why every one of his flawless plans had completely failed.
And those ninja villages seemed almost blessed by heaven, like they were cheating.
The enemy lacked top-level fighters?
Fine, then the Mizukage and Tsuchikage somehow obtained Sage Jutsu.
The enemy had no way to counter the Edo Tensei corps?
Fine, then the legendary Sage of Six Paths treasures appeared in Kumogakure's hands and directly sealed everything with the Amber Purifying Pot.
The enemy's overall strength was weak? They had no large-scale destructive weapons?
Fine, now they weren't even pretending anymore.
All the tailed beasts descended. Every village had two tailed beasts.
"Madara, stop. End the war!", Senju Hashirama shouted.
"Impossible! I, Uchiha Madara, have never failed! Just wait a little longer. The enemy is about to collapse!"
"I, Uchiha Madara, can definitely do this. I, Uchiha Madara, possess this power!!!", Uchiha Madara muttered obsessively.
Seeing that Uchiha Madara was still so stubborn and unwilling to wake up, Senju Hashirama finally could not hold back and shouted, "Uchiha Madara! Have you forgotten the dream we had when we were young!? Back then, you longed for peace and hated war!"
"But now! How did you become a demon who starts wars!?"
Senju Hashirama's scolding made Uchiha Madara freeze for a moment, but he still gritted his teeth and persisted.
"No! I'm doing this for future generations. My war is to solve war once and for all! Using war to stop war!"
"If you want me to stop the war, then first defeat me and Tobirama!"
Uchiha Madara suddenly activated his Mangekyo Sharingan.
But the moment he opened his eyes, intense pain struck him.
The side effects of the Mangekyo made Uchiha Madara unable to stand steady, blood flowing from his eyes.
Drops of blood pattered onto Madara's hands...
The intense pain cleared Uchiha Madara's mind somewhat.
His eyes regained clarity. Trembling, he looked at his hands and recalled everything he had done...
At that moment, Uchiha Madara suddenly remembered that he was a pacifist, a man of absolute justice.
Uchiha Madara suddenly muttered to himself, "Uchiha Madara, what have you done!!"
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