Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 526 "Brothers"

The battle on the Jinchuriki's side was already quite massive, but on the other side of the battlefield, just two people were creating an aura that even a thousand troops couldn't match.

"Hashirama! Your combat awareness seems a bit rusty!"

"Aren't you the same, Madara!"

Across a scorched sea of ​​trees, the two were shouting to each other. Although the reanimated bodies could regenerate, both sides were ninjas who were well aware of the weaknesses of the reanimated bodies. One second they were good brothers embracing and reminiscing happily, and the next second they were fighting more and more fiercely, each move aimed at vital points.

Hashirama had his chakra-generating pressure points punctured by black rods, and he hadn't had time to remove them. As a result, he had to carry a dozen black rods on his back while maintaining the seal of the Myojin Gate and fighting against Madara's control.

Is he truly worthy of being called the God of Shinobi? Even with his chakra points sealed, he can still maintain such a powerful barrier, and it doesn't even look like it's crumbling.

Madara's situation didn't look as dramatic as Hashirama's, but he was being pressed down under several layers of Myōjin Gate while kneeling, and was already crumbling into pieces.

The sun had long since set, and the moon had climbed high in the sky, casting a flawless white light upon the ground. Under that light, all colors would be shrouded in gray and black, such as their bright red armor, and the deep red markings on Hashirama's face.

Most Uchiha are perceptive, but Madara is a rather oblivious type. He didn't notice the difference between Hashirama and their last fight until the excitement had passed.

Hashirama lowered his hand seals and approached Madara, who appeared trapped but could break free at any moment. His joy was so genuine, yet Madara could see a heavy weariness through Madara's slumped shoulders.

"That's about enough, Madara."

"...Hashirama, what's wrong with you? You shouldn't feel tired in your Edo Tensei body, so it can't be that you're too old and useless, right?" Madara made a harmless joke, of course he knew that Hashirama hadn't lived to be "too old" at all.

"I just feel that we've wasted most of our lives. There are so many beautiful landscapes to see, we could never get enough of them, but all we thought about was fighting each other. What a waste!"

Hashirama had fantasized many times about reuniting with his old friends.

The initial plan was to fight in a sacred place, where Madara would likely be itching for a fight after so long. They would fight from sunrise to sunset, only collapsing from exhaustion when the moon and stars were fading. Their animosity would have been worn away by battle and time, and in the end, they would probably exchange a smile, help each other back to their lodgings, and get thoroughly drunk on fine wine.

Later, after discovering the guy who was swaggering around using the name "Ban", he began to look forward to reuniting with Ban in the human world.

Their differences will likely be greater than in the Pure Land, because they still possess the power to influence the human world. If Madara answers the summons, it's highly probable that he still has something he wants to accomplish personally. In that case, their battle will inevitably transform from a friendly spar into a life-or-death struggle, just like it is now.

After rediscovering the world, Hashirama seemed to be the quickest to accept it, but in his heart, he had also suffered a long period of pain and confusion.

If ninjas never fought for themselves, if they could have had a peaceful and happy life, then what is the history of ninjas written in blood and tears?

"History has its limitations; we cannot judge history in isolation from its time." Naruto once told him this. "Ninjas are born with fighting power stronger than ordinary people. In times of scarcity, in order to survive, we would inevitably become the ones responsible for fighting in order to compete for resources."

"But we are a minority in the world, and we are naturally excluded, making it difficult to gain the recognition of the masses. So the original ninjas banded together in the form of families for mutual support, which was then exploited by those with ulterior motives who constantly instigated us to fight each other and weaken our strength."

Madara was stunned by Hashirama's感慨 (sentiments/reflections). He didn't recall Hashirama being the kind of person who cared about romance and poetry. This guy shared his overflowing compassion with everyone, but reserved cruelty for himself alone. That's why he stabbed that sure-kill knife, killing his best friend for the sake of the village. That's why he died young, also for the sake of the village, ruining his own health.

Dying in bed is hardly worthy of the invincible ninja god.

"Do you regret it, Hashirama? Is it because Konoha has deviated from your ideals and is no longer worth looking forward to?" Madara really didn't understand why he had become so long-winded. Shouldn't he be trying to find a way out of this state?

Upon his return, the plans had completely changed. Madara was barely aware of the current situation and couldn't contact Black Zetsu. Nagato seemed to be dead, so where was his Rinnegan? How exactly was he supposed to be resurrected? How far along were they in collecting the Tailed Beasts? That brat wouldn't be trying to beat him to it, would he?

He had a whole host of questions that needed to be addressed, but when he saw Hashirama, all his troubles vanished, and his mind was once again filled only with that person and a thrilling battle.

He hadn't seen Hashirama so vibrant in a long time.

Hashirama shook his head, revealing his signature silly grin once again, and said, "That's not quite right. Konoha is still worth looking forward to, but the direction of that looking forward is a little different."

"Ban, are you still willing to pursue true peace with me? In a better way."

Before Hashirama could explain the advantages of the other method in detail, a voice came swiftly from afar, interrupting the two old friends' reminiscing.

"Hashirama Senju! Let go of my brother!"

For the first time, Ban's face showed shock. His purple eyes widened as he stared intently at the source of the sound. His expression held shock, nostalgia, but also melancholy and anger.

"Izuna? I clearly buried his remains in a place where they would never be disturbed. What have you done?!"

The gate to Myojin shattered under Madara's fury. Images of corpses used as experimental subjects flashed through his mind—he'd seen it all before! Hashirama Senju had appeared; would Tobirama Senju follow suit? That guy almost dissected his corpse; did he really think he'd let Izuna go?!

"But we didn't find Izuna's body!" With fate in his grasp, Hashirama dared not add fuel to the fire. Reassembling a severed head is a slow process, and missing something could lead to lifelong regret! He didn't want to experience that again.

"elder brother!"

Izuna didn't care that his appearance caused Madara to misunderstand something. He leaped into his brother's arms, just like when they were little.

"Welcome home!"