A suffocating weight pressed down on Ishiki's chest as the horrifying realisation set in.
Fifteen ninjas.
Fifteen trained killers.
Fifteen Avengers are coming for his village, all because of him.
He felt his breath catch.
His legs trembled.
His fists clenched so tightly his nails dug into his palms.
"I should've killed that ninja…" he whispered, voice cracking under the strain. "My weakness… my hesitation… It's now a danger to everyone."
His lip quivered.Blood seeped from the bite he didn't even notice he'd inflicted on himself.
His heart twisted painfully.
My village… my people… they could all die because of my mistake.
Hashirama's expression softened the moment he saw the anguish.Madara's eyes narrowed with sharp, discerning focus.
Madara stepped forward, voice blunt and cold:
"Ishiki. Did you do something?"
Ishiki swallowed hard.
And then, unable to hold the guilt any longer, he confessed everything.
The arrogant Sarutobi ninja.The threat to the Village Chief.The ambush.The fight.The escape.
And the brutal consequence is now heading toward the innocent villagers.
As he spoke, tears blurred his vision. His voice shook uncontrollably.
"It's my fault," he whispered. "I shouldn't have let him escape. Because of me… my village is in danger."
Madara didn't hesitate.
His tone was merciless, but honest.
"Yes. It is your fault. You should have killed him. Letting an enemy escape is an unforgivable mistake."
Ishiki flinched as if struck.
But Madara hadn't said it to hurt him.He said it because it was the truth.
Hashirama stepped forward immediately, placing a large, reassuring hand on Ishiki's shoulder.
"Don't worry," Hashirama said gently. "We're going to help you."
He looked at Madara, eyes fierce with determination.
"You need to get back to the village right now," he instructed Ishiki. "Help them hide. Madara and I will buy time. We'll take down as many of those attackers as we can before they reach the village."
Ishiki shook his head in panic.
"I don't want to drag you into this! I can't let you be in danger because of me!"
Before he could say another word,
Madara appeared in front of him in a blur.
SMACK!
The slap echoed through the clearing.
Ishiki froze, stunned beyond words.
Madara grabbed his collar, eyes burning with an intensity Ishiki had never seen before, not anger, but something deeper.
"Ishiki!" Madara roared, voice trembling with fury. "We are not strangers! We are brothers!"
Ishiki's breath hitched.
"You idiot," Madara continued, shaking him once. "Brothers help each other. You don't get to push us away."
Hashirama stepped beside them, his warm smile tinged with fond exasperation.
"Exactly. You're part of us, Ishiki. We'll handle the dangerous part. Now go, your village needs you."
The last wall inside Ishiki broke.
Tears streamed freely, no longer from guilt, but raw, overwhelming gratitude.
"Thank you…" He whispered, voice quivering. "Thank you both. I'll never forget this."
Without another word, he turned and sprinted toward the village with everything he had.
Hashirama & Madara: Into the Lion's Den
The moment Ishiki vanished into the forest, Hashirama and Madara exchanged a silent glance, a wordless acknowledgement of the danger ahead.
Then their eyes hardened.
Their chakra flared in unison.
And they vanished into the woods, following the trail of the fleeing ninja.
It didn't take long to find the enemy camp.
Fifteen shinobi.Rugged, armed, and preparing for something violent.
The Sarutobi clan.
Hashirama and Madara crouched in the shadows of the treeline, listening.
The injured ninja, the one who escaped Ishiki, was kneeling beside a hulking man radiating authority.
"Someone dared harm a Sarutobi?!" the leader growled, voice dripping venom.
He glared down at the injured ninja.
"You're sure it wasn't another clan? Not the Senju? Not the Uchiha?"
The injured man winced, clutching his ribs.
"I'm sure. It was just a boy, a novice. He only knows the three basic techniques."
The leader's expression twisted with disgust.
"Then how," he snarled, "did you lose to a twelve-year-old brat?"
The injured ninja leaned closer, lowering his voice.
"He has… a tool."The leader raised an eyebrow.
The injured man continued, voice trembling with the memory."A strange weapon… a cape that bounced my jutsu back at me."
Madara's and Hashirama's eyes sharpened.
"That tool," the injured ninja whispered, "would benefit our Sarutobi clan immensely."
Greed lit up the leader's eyes.
"I'll believe it when I see it," he spat. "But regardless, we're taking the village. We'll force the boy out. Take his tool."
His smile widened into something cold and sadistic.
"And then kill them all."
His laughter echoed through the forest, dark, cruel, triumphant.
Madara's jaw tightened with visible rage.
Hashirama's eyes darkened, a rare storm building beneath his gentle exterior.
They had heard enough.
This wasn't just revenge anymore.
They wanted Ishiki's tool.They wanted Ishiki dead.They wanted the entire village wiped out.
Madara inhaled sharply.
"They're not just after the village," he said quietly. "They're after Ishiki."
Hashirama nodded grimly.
"We have to stop them before they reach civilians. A frontal assault is too risky. There are many."
Madara's lips curled into a dangerous smirk.
"So we divide them."
Hashirama smiled back, the same fierce grin that would one day lead to the founding of Konoha.
"We divide… and crush."
A Plan of Shadows and Thunder
The two prodigies crouched, examining the area.
Fifteen ninjas.Strong enough to devastate a civilian village in minutes.
Hashirama whispered:
"Madara… pull half of them toward you."
Madara nodded.
"And you'll take the other half."
They wouldn't win by charging the entire unit at once.But…
Two geniuses.Two future gods.Two friends fighting to protect one boy.
They could win by splitting the enemy into smaller targets.
"Let's go," Madara said, eyes burning like embers.
Hashirama's chakra surged like a rising tide.
Together, they stepped out of the shadows.
The forest trembled.
The ground cracked.
Wind howled.
Two children faced a small army.
And neither flinched.
Back to the Village
Meanwhile, Ishiki dashed through the woods, lungs burning, heart thundering in his chest.
He didn't know if Hashirama and Madara could stop all fifteen ninjas.
He didn't know if he would reach the village in time.
He only knew one thing,
He wasn't running away.
He was running toward danger.Toward responsibility.Toward protecting everyone he loved.
His thoughts burned:
I won't let my mistake destroy my home.I won't let anyone die because of me again.I will protect them. No matter what.
And with the strength of his brothers behind him,
He sprinted even faster.
Toward the village.Toward war.Toward destiny.