HASHIRAMA POV
The sight that was presented left me stunned, so bizarre that it took a full minute for my mind to process it and for me to recover my wits. And know this, I have witnessed many shocking and grand scenes in my life; I've faced the might of the Uchiha clan, fought alongside the greatest shinobi, and even seen Madara smile fondly—a sight so rare and disconcerting it could rival any battlefield shock—but even that didn't unnerve me as much as this scene did.
When the sea of summoned beasts parted, opening a path to the center, I saw what resembled a bizarre, human-made crib. It was built upon a rustic box about the height of my waist with small wooden wheels like a cart and a high backrest seat next to a soft futon. The small, raised bars like a fence made it clear it was a crib, but its construction gave off an odd, almost regal feeling. It looked less like a simple bed and more like a miniature throne, and a small child was sitting on it, holding a wooden shogi piece in their tiny hand, surrounded by the majestic beasts of the forest. It was like seeing a daimyo surrounded by his army, but on a scale so small and with beings so powerful that the absurdity of it all was simply too much for my mind to handle.
As soon as the shock wore off and I recovered, I did the one thing I thought most appropriate. I made a hand seal and disrupted my chakra flow, the familiar Kai jutsu that breaks illusions. The scene in front of me immediately changed, and the child and the bizarre crib disappeared from my view, replaced by a simple group of summoned beasts. I breathed a deep sigh of relief.
Then, I heard Lady Katsuyu's chiding voice.
"What are you doing, Hashirama-sama!" said Lady Katsuyu as she sensed the sudden surge and disruption of my chakra.
"I was just put under a genjutsu and had to disrupt my chakra to recover, my apologies." Hearing her chiding, I bowed my head and apologized.
"What genjutsu?" Katsuyu's voice was filled with a mix of genuine confusion and a hint of suppressed amusement.
"Ha ha ha ha. It was an amazing genjutsu. I just saw a child sitting on a throne-like crib in the center of your gathering. I don't know who cast the jutsu, but he must be incredibly strong; even Madara wasn't able to catch me so off guard," I said, a little breathlessly, as I wiped the sweat from my forehead.
"... " Katsuyu fell silent, a stillness that was even more ominous than a loud protest.
Then, a new voice rang out, a small, childish giggle that I recognized with a jolt. "Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha... He is so funny."
"KU KU KU KU KU. What a funny human," a Sage Monkey Uncle chortled, slapping a tree with his tail.
"I haven't had such a laugh in a long time," another Sage Monkey Grandpa said, clutching his belly as he patted his thighs.
"Heh, he seems stupid to me," a Mr. Wolf grumbled, his tail thumping the ground.
"Must've hit his head in childhood... poor child," a Sage Monkey Grandma said, shaking her head in mock pity.
"hahahahahahahahahahaha," all the other animals erupted in laughter, rolling on the ground and creating a whirlwind of dust and hilarity around the child I had just seen.
I stood there, looking at the child who was now visible again in the grand crib, my reality now in serious question. Then I looked at the summoned animals that kept laughing at me, and I felt the deep malice of the world toward me. I turned to Lady Katsuyu for consolation, only to see her entire slug body trembling like a water balloon, trying desperately to keep her own laughter to herself.
[[[[[So Hashirama and Madara decided to work together for INFINITE TSUKUYOMI ;) JUST Kidding. ]]]]]
And thus was the first meeting between the current Shinobi God and the future Sage.
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SIDE STORY
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Years later in an underground cave
Two old men, connected to a giant golem by a thousand threads of their own will, sat facing each other in the silent, oppressive darkness.
"Why did you join me, Hashirama?" Madara's voice was a low, dry rasp, cutting through the heavy silence. "The dream of peace... the village... you abandoned it all."
"Because I realized that the only things that truly exist in this reality are pain, suffering, and futility," Hashirama replied, his voice a low whisper, hollow and devoid of the easy-going nature he was once known for. "The world... it's a cold, unforgiving place. It laughs at your ideals, at your hopes, at your every moment of vulnerability. It laughed at me, Madara. On that day in the forest, when I, the God of Shinobi, the man who built a village with his own hands, was reduced to a joke for a child and a pack of talking animals."
His eyes, once bright with the fire of optimism, were now dead and full of despair. "All the world does is laugh at your pain, so I will make this world forget all its laughter, And now this world, too, shall know pain."