"Hahaha, come on, Madara, it's been decades since we last saw each other. But what's going on here?"
Hashirama continued to laugh heartily. Although the situation was confusing, it didn't dampen his joy at seeing his old friend again.
"Idiot! Can't you tell we've been reincarnated through Edo Tensei?"
Madara snorted coldly, crossing his arms and looking disdainfully at Pain and Konan.
"Looks like they're the enemies. But I wonder who's the one who reincarnated us."
At that moment, Konan felt a chill run down her spine as Madara's gaze fell on her. Even Nagato, who is controlling the Pains from the shadows, felt a cold shiver in his heart.
At the same time, through the Rinnegan, he could sense a strange connection between his eyes and Madara's.
In an instant, the four other Paths of Pain, who had been maintaining the barrier in the shadows, appeared beside Deva Path, ready for battle.
"Huh? How strange, all of you have the exact same eyes."
Hashirama, with his carefree nature, didn't feel the slightest bit of tension despite the enemies in front of him. Or perhaps, with his strength, even at only half his power, there were few in the Ninja World who could challenge him.
As for Edo Tensei, he was already dead. While he was a bit annoyed, there was nothing he could do about it now that he was here.
"Stupid Hashirama, these are the Rinnegan!"
Madara scolded again, and Hashirama's expression turned sheepish.
"Come on, Madara, there are outsiders here. Can't you stop insulting me?"
"Hmph!"
Madara's only reply was another cold snort.
On the other side, the Six Paths of Pain and Konan, who were standing ready for battle, were dumbfounded by the sight of the legendary God of Ninja and Uchiha Madara bickering like this. It didn't quite match the image they had of these two in the legends.
However, Nagato quickly regained his composure. He controlled Deva Path to step forward, standing at the forefront.
"Senju Hashirama, Uchiha Madara, let me see the extent of your power now."
Although he now knew that these Sage Eyes didn't truly belong to him, he still had his own pride. If someone dared to use him as a pawn, he would flip the entire board.
"Haha, we're not at our full strength now, and we're already dead. We were forcibly summoned to this world, and we bear no grudge against you. Even if we fight, it's not our intention. Please forgive us."
Hashirama continued to laugh heartily. He had never been fond of fighting, especially not when he was being forced to fight after being dragged back to the world of the living.
He was already trying to break free from the control of Edo Tensei. But with only half his strength and infinite Chakra, he couldn't quite manage it. If he were just a bit stronger, he could have broken free.
Deva Path remained silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head: "There is a grudge between us. My closest friend died because of Konoha's schemes, and my nation has suffered greatly because of Konoha's wars."
"Ah, this..."
Hashirama was at a loss for words. As a dead man, he had no knowledge of the current state of the Ninja World. But judging by the condition of the people in front of him, he knew things didn't seem to be going well.
He couldn't help but sigh.
"Alas, it seems that even after my death, war has broken out again."
When he had established the 'one nation, one village' system and distributed the Tailed Beasts, his intention had been to create a balance of power among the nations and reduce war.
But now, he was face-to-face with someone who had suffered because of Konoha's wars.
"Hmph, I told you long ago that your weak ideals could never bring true peace. The Village System you killed me to protect is the true source of war."
Madara's eyes were filled with mockery and anger. He thought back to how Hashirama had betrayed him for the sake of Konoha. Even in this reincarnated body, he felt his temper rising.
"Uh..." Hashirama couldn't bring himself to meet Madara's gaze.
Deva Path, growing impatient with these two old friends' bickering, turned his cold gaze to Madara and asked, "Uchiha Madara, tell me, who do these eyes truly belong to?"
Madara raised an eyebrow at the question, then glanced at Black Zetsu, who had now shrunk into a small black form. His eyes held a silent question.
Black Zetsu could only shake his head helplessly, indicating that he had no idea how things had come to this. He had always believed his plan was flawless and that he had hidden himself perfectly.
Although he had been researching Edo Tensei with Hiruko during this period, he had still been diligently searching for new members for the Akatsuki across the Ninja World.
He also wondered how had Nagato discovered the truth? It was just like when Obito's Mangekyo ability had been leaked.
'Could it be that the Sage of Six Paths was secretly sabotaging me?'
'If that were the case, then that bastard Hagoromo truly deserved to die. Not only had he sealed away Mother, but he was also secretly undermining my efforts to rescue her!'
Seeing that Black Zetsu remained silent and looked completely innocent, Madara frowned but quickly relaxed.
Although the plan had been disrupted, he showed no signs of frustration. If a pawn wanted to jump off the board, he could always replace it with another.
"Hmph, I don't know how you found out, but it seems you've lost the right to use those eyes."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sound of rocket launchers suddenly echoed through the air.
In an instant, Asura Path's arm split open like machinery, revealing rocket launchers that fired a barrage of missiles toward Hashirama and Madara.
As the rockets were about to hit, both men simply leaped into the air, effortlessly dodging the probing attack. The missiles exploded with a deafening roar, leaving a massive crater nearly eight meters wide where they had stood moments before.
"Such boring attacks won't interest me!"
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
In mid-air, Madara quickly formed hand seals, leaning back slightly before unleashing a tsunami-like wave of fire from his mouth.
Boom!
The entire research facility was engulfed in a sea of flames. The air grew thick and acrid, and the scorching fire devoured everything in its path. The ground turned to ash, and the heat caused rocks to crack and explode.
The Six Paths of Pain and Konan watched in shock as the inferno surged toward them. They had never seen a Fire Release Ninjutsu of this scale before.
Then, the sturdy Preta Path leaped to the front of the group, spreading its arms wide and facing the oncoming flames.
"Blocking Technique Absorption Seal!"
A barrier formed in front of it, blocking the firestorm and absorbing the flames into its body.
"Wow! That's amazing! You actually blocked Madara's Fire Release Ninjutsu. Is this the power of the Rinnegan?"
Hashirama, who had just landed, couldn't help but exclaim in awe when he saw this.
Hashirama knew better than anyone how powerful Madara's Fire Release Ninjutsu is. He was surprised that someone in the current Ninja World could actually counter them.
Hashirama's voice was loud enough for everyone to hear.
While his words were meant to praise the Rinnegan's power, to Madara, they sounded more like mockery.
"Damn it!"
Madara cursed under his breath. Only Hashirama could ruffle his composure like this.
He hadn't expected this attack to finish them off. He knew the abilities of the Rinnegan and had already analyzed the capabilities of the six puppets with a single glance.
Madara's figure darted into the flames, using the fire as cover to evade the Six Paths' line of sight. He reappeared in front of Preta Path, which was still absorbing the flames.
The fire burned his skin, turning it to ash, but it quickly regenerated. As an Edo Tensei body, he was immortal and felt no pain, so he had no qualms about charging through the inferno to eliminate Preta Path in the simplest way possible.
Madara's hand transformed into a palm knife as he slashed at Preta Path's neck. Preta Path, still absorbing the Fire Release Ninjutsu, couldn't react in time.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Deva Path, who is a few steps behind, raised his right hand and unleashed his power toward Madara.
But it was too late. By the time the repulsive force hit Madara, Madara's palm knife had already severed Preta Path's neck.
The powerful force sent Madara's body flying, scattering the sea of flames behind him.
However, Madara seized another opportunity mid-air. He knew Shinra Tensei had a five-second cooldown.
Madara adjusted his posture in the air and quickly formed hand seals.
Drawing on his limitless Chakra, he unleashed an even more concentrated and scorching wave of fire from his mouth, aiming it at the group.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Destruction!"
A more intense and concentrated inferno erupted from Madara's mouth.
Seeing this, Animal Path quickly formed hand seals and slammed his hands on the ground.
"Summoning Technique: Hell Crab!"
"Summoning Technique: Stone Panda!"
Two massive summoned creatures appeared, blocking the path of the raging fire.
At the same time, the Hell Crab sprayed a torrent of foam.
"Water Release: Foam Wave!"
However, these defenses couldn't completely stop Madara's Fire Release Ninjutsu.
The sea of flame rapidly consumed the two summoned creatures.
But at that moment, a loud shout rang out.
"Water Release: Great Water Colliding Wave!"
A massive tidal wave rose from the flat ground nearby, crashing down on the sea of flames from the side.