Madara, Madara, Madara! What was so great about that evil Madara Uchiha? Brother, why are you still thinking about him at a time like this?
Senju Tobirama secretly berated his brother a few more times in his head, but in front of the outsider, he had to preserve Hashirama's dignity.
"Brother!" Tobirama placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to pull him from the lingering panic of his nightmare. "Calm down."
"Who—" Hashirama looked up, his eyes wide with fear. "Oh, it's you, Tobirama." The panic on his face gradually subsided as he recognized his younger brother. The memory of the nightmare, however, lingered with a chilling clarity. "Tobirama," he began, looking at his own hands as if he couldn't believe they had been covered in his old friend's blood. "I dreamed... that I killed Madara."
"Brother!" Tobirama's expression shifted.
"No," Hashirama whispered, his body seeming to collapse inward. "That wasn't a dream."
His hands fell limply to his sides, his face a mask of unspeakable pain. "Tobirama, I think I..." He spoke slowly, his hand rising laboriously to his forehead as two lines of hot tears streamed down his face. "I really killed Madara."
Tobirama was silent. Though he was satisfied with his brother's decision, he knew how much it would hurt him. He had personally witnessed the bond Hashirama had forged with that man amidst their clans' feud, a bond his brother had been willing to die for.
Unfortunately, that bond was now severed. And it was Hashirama himself who had done the severing.
"Brother," Tobirama said, patting his shoulder. "Don't forget, that man wanted to use the Nine-Tails to destroy Konoha. Your choice was to protect the village we all built together."
"To protect the village..." Hashirama's gaze turned vacant. It was precisely that thought that had led him to kill his best friend. Konoha, the village they founded together.
The name "Konoha" had been Madara's idea. And in that final battle, Madara had no real conviction to kill him. He had been as carefree as ever, thinking he could win Hashirama over with a childish temper tantrum.
But Hashirama knew his attachment to Konoha had surpassed his friendship. The determination to kill anyone to protect the village had already taken root in his heart. That determination led him to kill Madara. And that was precisely what caused him so much pain.
To protect Konoha, he had killed his own friend, abandoning a bond forged over many painful years. The pain was unbearable. His hands clutched the blanket as he sat dazed, tears streaming down his face, his mind replaying his past with Madara.
"Let the patient rest," Emiya Shirou said, standing up. "He's distraught. It would be better to let him be alone for a while. Also, for now, don't let him use chakra to recover. It's not good for his body."
"Okay." Tobirama helped his brother lie down again. Hashirama complied in a daze, not even noticing the third person in the room.
"Brother, rest for a little longer," Tobirama instructed, covering him with a blanket. "Don't use your chakra."
"Wait," Hashirama said suddenly, grabbing his brother's arm. "Tobirama, was Madara's body also brought back?"
"The body has been dealt with and buried," Tobirama lied, a slight flicker in his eyes. He had hidden Madara's body in the mountains. Madara was the strongest of the Uchiha, possessing their highest kekkei genkai. His body held immense research value.
Tobirama wanted to dissect it, to study the Sharingan and find a solution to the Uchiha problem. He had disliked Madara since childhood and felt no qualms about desecrating his corpse. But he had to hide this from his brother.
He did not, however, hide it from Emiya Shirou. The transmigrator had been observing the exchange, and he noticed the strange look in Tobirama's eyes.
He recalled a very interesting detail from his past life's memories about the outcome of Tobirama hiding Madara's body. The corners of Shirou's mouth curved up. If nothing unexpected happened, he knew exactly where his ally from a thousand years ago was hiding.
My pawn... no, my ally.
My ally's pawn is also my pawn.
I hope my ally, Mr. Black Zetsu, can forgive my betrayal back then. In this era, I will have a change of heart.
Deep in the mountains of Konoha, in a hidden cave, a pitch-black creature quietly emerged from the ground.
This was the ally Shirou had just remembered: Black Zetsu.
Its unique life essence had allowed it to live for over a thousand years. It stood in the secret chamber, staring blankly at the coffin before it, unable to believe its eyes.
How did Madara Uchiha die? What is going on?
This was the most suitable pawn he had found in a millennium. The last one had been Emiya Shirou, whose genius and grand dream made him even more suitable than Indra. But that pawn had been too simple, believing Asura's nonsense about a paradise on earth.
Too naive. To actually believe that chakra was a power that brings happiness! Humans were too short-sighted. They fundamentally didn't understand their own nature. Any powerful force would inevitably become a weapon.
What a pity. Emiya Shirou's mind had been so brilliant.
Why was Emiya Shirou such a good-hearted person?
Black Zetsu couldn't help but miss that pawn.
In that crude ancient era, Shirou had used his slug summons to conduct human experiments on his own body, obtaining a part of the God Tree's and the Sage's power.
They could have succeeded! They could have crushed everything the Sage of Six Paths stood for!
But Shirou was too obsessed with his naive dream. Of course, if he hadn't been, he wouldn't have been usable in the first place.
Unfortunately, it was also that dream that led him to be persuaded by that idiot Asura to betray him. He even entrusted his dream to Asura! Hmph. If he were still alive, he would definitely regret believing that fool.
That Emiya Shirou, with his world-shaking wisdom, so naive and kind-hearted to the point of foolishness... he was his favorite pawn.
In comparison, this Madara Uchiha was a bit too arrogant. And now, his plan seemed to have been forced to an early end.
Madara is dead.
Do I have to keep waiting?
Should I just take out his eyes?
At least they're a pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
As Black Zetsu was lamenting his bleak future, he suddenly sensed movement from the sealed coffin. Startled, he quickly submerged back into the ground, his body passing through the earth like water.
He didn't leave, however. He re-hid himself in a secret corner of the chamber, carefully observing the tightly sealed coffin.