Jiraiya was left speechless, and Hashirama Senju continued, "Let me tell you a story."
"The chaos of the Warring States period is something I'm sure you're both familiar with."
Deidara and Jiraiya both nodded.
"Actually, when I was in my early twenties, my strength had already reached the pinnacle of the ninja world," Hashirama said, folding his arms as if recounting an ordinary tale.
"At that time, I was constantly pursuing peace, but I never succeeded. Do you know why?"
"Because of another person—Madara Uchiha, right?" Deidara answered.
"Exactly," Hashirama nodded.
"Madara's strength was equally formidable. Over the course of my life, I fought him over a hundred times, and only during two brief periods did I manage to gain the upper hand."
"The first time was when his Mangekyō Sharingan's power was exhausted. The second was later, after I mastered Sage Mode."
"With Sage Mode, I could extend the duration of our battles and barely manage to defeat him."
As Hashirama spoke, a nostalgic look appeared on his face, followed by an embarrassed smile. "Of course, I'm digressing a bit here."
"In short, I reached the peak of the ninja world at the age of twenty, but it wasn't until I was thirty-five that I managed to establish the Hidden Leaf Village. I couldn't even protect my own son."
"All of this was because I was constantly facing the formidable threat of Madara. He and the Uchiha Clan he led were always able to oppose me, preventing my vision of peace from being realized."
"Until one day..."
At this point, even Jiraiya, who had been somewhat dazed due to Hashirama's earlier call for a truce, understood what he meant.
Jiraiya continued, "Until you and Madara Uchiha reached a reconciliation and established the Hidden Leaf Village. From then on, the ninja world entered a new stage of development and experienced a precious period of peace."
Hashirama clapped his hands. "Exactly, you see?"
"Doesn't your current situation resemble the one I had with Madara back then?"
"Why must both sides be enemies, fighting to the death?"
"Why can't you join forces instead?"
"Deidara, from the situation in the Hidden Rain Village, I've already seen your determination to pursue peace. You've taken in so many ninjas from different villages, showing remarkable openness."
"So, taking in a few ninjas from the Hidden Leaf Village now shouldn't be a problem, right?" Hashirama asked.
Deidara nodded. After all, his goal was to unify the ninja world, so he welcomed anyone who wished to join—especially powerful individuals like Jiraiya and Tsunade.
Hashirama then turned to Jiraiya. "Jiraiya, if you think their chances of creating a miracle are low, wouldn't adding yourself to their side increase the probability of success?"
"Isn't that also a way to save the ninja world?"
Jiraiya was silent once again. Hashirama's reasoning was sound, but his proposal was so shocking that Jiraiya couldn't accept it immediately. Not to mention, this would mean the complete dissolution of the Hidden Leaf Village. Moreover, Jiraiya had spent his life pursuing the destiny foretold by the Great Toad Sage—this was his spiritual foundation, something he couldn't easily abandon.
However, silence often signifies ambiguity, and ambiguity is a form of partial agreement—it's just that the person isn't ready to express it outright.
The situation had taken an unexpected turn for the better, and Deidara sighed in relief.
The ninja world was still a dangerous place! Even though his strength was now at a quasi-Six Paths level, he could still face life-and-death crises.
He descended on his Clay Bird, trusting in Hashirama's character. If it were anyone else, Deidara wouldn't have let his guard down so easily.
But suddenly, a series of farewells echoed in his mind.
"Deidara, I'm heading out first. Don't forget to have Orochimaru use Edo Tensei to bring me back," said Sasori's voice.
"And me. Even though I'm old, I haven't had enough of life yet," said Kakuzu's voice.
"Me too! Don't forget to bring me back with Edo Tensei!" Hidan's voice chimed in.
Damn it!
Caught up in the conversation here, he had completely forgotten about the fierce battle happening over there.
"Hey! You three, don't do anything rash! Tell the Hidden Leaf guys to hold off! This fight is unnecessary now!" Deidara shouted.
It would be ridiculous if they reconciled here, only for people to die over there.
On another battlefield, Hidan stared blankly at the explosive tags plastered all over his body, yet he still held onto Hiruzen Sarutobi tightly.
"Itachi, hurry up and use the Totsuka Blade..."
"Uh, wait! Everyone, hold on! Deidara said we don't need to fight anymore! Both sides have reconciled!" he suddenly shouted, changing his tone.
This left Tobirama Senju, who was just about to detonate the explosive tags, momentarily stunned.
Reconciled mid-battle? Was such an absurd thing even possible? He didn't believe it for a second.
"It's true!" Hidan, seeing Tobirama's disbelief, was nearly in tears.
Meanwhile, Sasori and Kakuzu also released their grips on Minato Namikaze and Tsunade. Throughout the battle, they had found no way to win other than trading lives.
"If you don't believe me, put on this ring and let your brother explain," Hidan said, tossing his ring to Tobirama.
Initially skeptical, Tobirama reconsidered—it was his elder brother, after all.
Fine, then. This absurdity actually seemed like something his brother would do.
He put on the ring, and immediately, Hashirama's voice echoed in his mind.
"Hey! Tobirama! Can you hear me?"
"Hey! Hey! Tobirama! Little Tobirama!"
Tobirama's face darkened. "Big brother, what's going on?"
"Ah, we just reconciled mid-battle!" Hashirama replied matter-of-factly.
"Why does this keep happening?" Tobirama muttered. This wasn't the first time. In the past, Hashirama had often let defeated enemies go, sometimes even bowing to them on their way out. It was absurd, and it had brought great embarrassment to the Senju Clan.
"Hey! I'm your big brother! Can't you just listen to me for once?" Hashirama asked.
"You're only two years older than me! Back when the Senju Clan and the Hidden Leaf Village were being established, wasn't I the one handling everything?"
"If anyone should be listening, it's you listening to me!" Tobirama retorted, clearly annoyed.
"You're too fixated on all that stuff. That's why you're so busy all the time—you didn't even get married, and you have no descendants."
"Back then, Mito introduced so many girls from the Uzumaki Clan to you. Father gave you so much grief over it, and who was the one who helped you deal with him every time?"
"Hmph!"
"And you did get married, but after the Hidden Leaf was established, you spent more time with Madara Uchiha than with Sister-in-law Mito."
"She gave you plenty of grief over that, and who was the one who helped you deal with her every time?"
"You two just wandered around the village all day while I handled all the major and minor affairs. Do you think I enjoyed it? And let's not even talk about Tsunade. Other than taking her gambling, what did you ever do for her?"
"Even her diapers were changed by me!" Tobirama's voice grew more agitated as he spoke.
Suddenly, another voice interrupted. "Ahem! Ahem!"
"Gentlemen, I must remind you that everyone wearing a ring can hear your conversation."
What?!
What?!
Deidara pouted unhappily, and the others all glared at Itachi.
Why did you have to say that?
Couldn't you just let us eavesdrop in peace?
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