"Big Brother, you must be careful on this trip."
At the gates of Konoha, Senju Tobirama couldn't help but remind him.
In truth, he didn't want his brother to leave the village at all.
What if something happened to him?
But he couldn't go against Hashirama's firm insistence, and in the end, he had no choice but to agree.
Even though he knew that in the current shinobi world, there was hardly anyone who could pose a threat to his brother, he still couldn't shake the worry.
His brother's body wasn't what it used to be.
What if he really did run into danger?
The chances were extremely slim, sure...
Tobirama hadn't found a concrete solution to Hashirama's condition.
It wasn't just physical—much of it was psychological.
He had asked his brother about it more than once, but the answers were always vague and evasive.
There was nothing more he could do—his brother clearly didn't want to talk about it...
"I know, Tobirama." Senju Hashirama waved his hand.
"You should head back. Renya is with me."
Renya: "..."
Tobirama looked at Renya.
"Kid, take care of Hashirama. If anything happens, report back to me right away."
"Got it." Renya nodded.
He wanted to say Tobirama's concern was unnecessary. How could someone like Senju Hashirama possibly be in danger?
No one would be stupid enough to try and assassinate the God of Shinobi, right?
Renya was treating this trip as more of a vacation than a mission...
After all, with the God of Shinobi by his side, this was when he felt the safest.
Tobirama gave his final reminder, then turned to Hashirama again.
"Big Brother, please be careful."
He paused, then added, "The village can't afford to lose you..."
Those words carried an undeniable weight.
"I understand, Tobirama." Hashirama's expression was serious.
But he quickly returned to his usual cheerful demeanor.
"No need to see us off. Renya and I are leaving now."
With that, he called for Renya, and the two left together.
"Where are we going?"
"No idea. Just wandering."
Tobirama stood at the village gates, watching their silhouettes gradually disappear into the distance, until they were out of sight.
"Big Brother, please hold on..."
...
Hashirama and Renya walked side by side along a winding path.
Far from the noise of Konoha, they entered a land of silence and desolation.
Hashirama didn't say much on the way, as though lost in thought.
Renya, on the other hand, curiously observed their surroundings.
He didn't think Hashirama was wandering aimlessly—rather, he seemed to be heading here on purpose.
When the ruins of a settlement appeared ahead, Hashirama suddenly stopped.
The area was overgrown with weeds and scattered with rubble.
The splendor of the past had long been devoured by time.
Among the broken bricks and tiles, stubborn wild grass swayed in the wind, as if telling the stories of old.
A faded mural leaned against a crumbling wall, its images too blurred to make out, leaving only indistinct patches of color.
Renya stared at the design on the wall. Most likely, it had once displayed the crest of some clan, but it was too worn to recognize now.
He didn't understand why Hashirama had brought him to such a place.
Just as confusion was rising in his mind, Hashirama explained,
"This was the territory of the Senju clan during the Warring States period."
At those words, Renya suddenly understood.
Looking around at the ruins, it was hard to imagine this place once belonged to the Senju.
Hashirama slowly walked forward and gently placed his hand on a piece of broken wall. The rough, cold texture pressed against his palm.
Memories surged like a tide.
Back then, this place was bustling with life, full of energy and hope.
Young Hashirama would run and play in the streets, chasing his younger brothers through the village.
The clanspeople bustled about—some training diligently on the practice fields, others tending to flowers and gardens in the courtyards...
Laughter echoed through every corner of the clan grounds.
It had been one of the few truly happy times of his life.
But then, the conflict between the Senju and Uchiha clans intensified.
This territory became a brutal battlefield.
War broke out, smoke filled the air, and the once-beautiful buildings were reduced to rubble in the flames. Clansmen perished in the fighting.
Hashirama remembered clearly—it was a night drenched in blood. The Uchiha launched a sudden assault, and the Senju fought back with all their might. The shouts and screams echoed through the entire night.
He had fought side by side with his brother Tobirama, weapons in hand, drenched in blood.
But the Uchiha's assault was too fierce. The clan grounds suffered catastrophic damage, and many familiar faces were lost forever that night.
Renya stood quietly by his side, watching Hashirama lost in his memories.
He could feel the weight and sorrow in Hashirama's heart. These were scars etched deep into his soul—memories of endless suffering and sacrifice.
Renya couldn't help but be thankful he was born in the early days of Konoha. If he'd been born during the Warring States period, that would've been true despair...
That era was marked by clan warfare. Entire medium-sized clans were sometimes wiped out overnight.
The wars between the Uchiha and Senju, being the largest clans, were especially savage.
Even children who hadn't become genin yet were routinely sent to the battlefield.
"Back then, we had no choice but to pick up weapons and fight to the death—for our survival, for our clans, for our homes." Hashirama finally spoke, his voice slow and steady. "But war only brings pain and hatred. Countless lives lost, families shattered..."
His voice gradually choked with emotion, as though he had returned to that burning era.
Renya moved beside Hashirama and softly asked,
"Hashirama-san... was that the reason you wanted to build Konoha?"
"The reason for founding the village..." Hashirama looked up at the sky, lost in memory. "It was a promise I made with Madara..."
He went on to tell Renya the full story—from meeting Madara, to ending the war, to founding the village together.
Renya listened intently.
Though he already knew the general story, he'd never heard the details.
Hearing it directly from someone who lived through it gave it a whole new weight.
Hashirama sat amidst the ruined walls, his voice low.
"We had seen so much death together... we swore in the middle of a mountain of corpses and sea of blood to end the wars..."
Suddenly, he let out a bitter laugh. It was a laugh filled with sorrow.
"Madara said that only strength can bring order, that we must use absolute power to crush the other nations." Hashirama looked up at the darkening sky. "He always said I was too naïve—that peace couldn't be achieved like this."
His fingernails dug into his palms, his eyes bloodshot.
"I treated Madara as my closest friend. But that day, at the Valley of the End, for the sake of the village... I had no choice but to kill him..."
The atmosphere fell into silence. Renya didn't interrupt Hashirama.
He knew that saying these things out loud might bring some relief.
As dusk fully settled over the ruins, Hashirama stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes.
"Renya..."
He turned and looked in the direction of Konoha, then suddenly smiled.
"I know... peace isn't the norm in the shinobi world. But someone has to take the first step and plant the seed of an ideal into a towering tree."
Renya stared blankly at Senju Hashirama.
So Hashirama-san had always known that this couldn't bring true peace.
But he still chose to do it, without hesitation...
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(Chapter for the review)