15: The So-Called Dream
Seeing that Masahiro truly seemed to harbor no killing intent toward them anymore, Hashirama immediately squatted down and tightly hugged his weak self.
He touched the scrape on his cheek caused by the Rasengan, his tone low and aggrieved: "That's great, I really survived. I thought I was going to the Sanzu River to see Grandpa today."
"I'm still so young, I haven't lived enough yet. I still have so many things I want to do."
Madara, glaring with his crimson Sharingan, gritted his teeth and said, "You bastard, you start fighting whenever you want, and stop whenever you want? Who do you think we are---mmph."
Hearing Madara issuing threats, Hashirama quickly covered his mouth: "Don't say another word! What if you piss him off again? I don't want to die right now, and I don't want you to die either."
Madara, who hadn't been killed by Masahiro but was nearly suffocated by Hashirama, struggled to pry open Hashirama's hand: "Let go of me! You're the one who wants to kill me!"
"How could I? I'm doing this for your own good," Hashirama, squatting down again, muttered while drawing circles on the ground.
Madara, whose face was flushed crimson from being held, angrily retorted, "You better be!"
"Hahahahaha."
These two are really interesting! Masahiro burst into laughter, watching the real-life bromance between the god of shinobi and the asura of the shinobi world right before him.
Hearing Masahiro's laughter, Hashirama and Madara stopped arguing and stared at him warily and cautiously, making Masahiro feel awkward.
"Why are you looking at me?"
Madara frowned tightly and whispered, "Who exactly are you? You tried to kill us for no reason the moment we met."
"It wasn't for no reason, though," Hashirama quietly tugged Madara's sleeve. "You were the one who hit him with a rock first."
Madara launched into a furious retort aimed at Hashirama: "Who kills someone over a reason like that?!"
"Exactly, who tries to kill someone for that reason?" Hearing Madara's words, Masahiro nodded. "Besides, when did I try to kill you?"
The two simultaneously looked at the massive crater, over five meters in diameter, created by the Rasengan, and remained silently speechless.
"Ahem," Masahiro gave an awkward laugh. "I was just happy to see you guys!"
"I just wanted to test your skill level."
"Ahem," Masahiro cleared his throat, looked seriously at Hashirama, and said, "I, Hagoromo Masahiro, declare you, Hashirama, to be the second strongest."
He then looked at Madara: "And I declare you, Madara, to be the third strongest."
Masahiro had heard every word they said just now about sharing their deepest feelings and being willing to die for each other, so saying their names now was perfectly logical.
Although Madara was slightly displeased that Masahiro ranked him below Hashirama, he also knew that his current strength was indeed the lowest among the three of them.
Moreover, for some reason, Madara felt that this statement resonated with him. He secretly decided that once his Sharingan evolved to the Three Tomoe stage, he would defeat Masahiro and personally say those exact words to him.
"That's too dangerous, Masahiro!" Hashirama's focus was entirely different. He looked at Masahiro in surprise: "Ninjas meeting shouldn't reveal their surnames!"
"Dangerous?" Masahiro raised an eyebrow, smiling as he spoke. "Where is the danger here? I only see two defeated opponents."
"You—"
"Calm down, calm down,"
Hashirama didn't have time to feel dejected. Seeing that Madara was about to attack again, he quickly embraced him: "Masahiro is right, isn't he? Madara, do you not even have the courage to admit you're inferior?"
"Even if I didn't say it, anyone who isn't blind can see it, right? This clan crest."
Masahiro pointed to the clan crest on his arm, looked toward the distant lush forest, and said with an imposing tone, "Moreover, I am the man who will lead the Hagoromo Clan to the pinnacle of the Ninja World. Hiding my identity is not my style!"
"I admit your strength far surpasses mine," Madara scoffed upon hearing this. "But you want to lead the Hagoromo Clan to compete with the Uchiha and Senju for supremacy in the Ninja World? Even Hyuga Tennin back then wouldn't dare say that."
The Hagoromo Clan, with just over a thousand members, relied on their innate mastery of the Five Elements Ninjutsu and astonishing amounts of Chakra, making them a major Ninja Clan in the Sengoku Period.
However, this supposedly 'astonishing' amount of Chakra was completely insignificant compared to the monstrous constitutions of the Senju Clan and the Uzumaki Clan.
As for their signature Five Elements Ninjutsu, they held no secrets before the Uchiha; they could be copied with a single glance.
Madara truly couldn't figure out how a Ninja Clan that lacked Kekkei Genkai and didn't possess exclusive secret techniques like the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi Clans, was qualified to compete with the Uchiha and Senju.
"Heh," Masahiro heard the unspoken meaning behind Madara's words but didn't care. "It doesn't matter. I will grow to the height of the Six Paths Sage and suppress every rebellious Ninja Clan one by one."
How arrogant! How domineering!
Hashirama and Madara looked at this peer before them; his eyes shone with unshakeable determination and ambition. It was as if no matter how outrageous his words were, he would surely achieve them once spoken.
Hashirama scratched his head in agreement: "I believe you! Masahiro, you can definitely do it!"
"You're right. How can someone who doesn't even dare tell others their name achieve their own dream!"
Hashirama looked seriously at Madara and Masahiro and declared, "I am Senju Hashirama. It's a pleasure to meet you!"
"You guys are hopeless," although his identity had long been seen through, Madara still responded seriously, "I am Uchiha Madara."
Madara paused here, then looked at Masahiro provocatively: "And I will definitely be the biggest obstacle on your path to achieving your dream."
"Madara, is your dream to stop Masahiro from achieving his dream?" Hashirama started muttering again. "How can you do something so detrimental to others and yourself? Is this really worthy of an Uchiha?"
"Whose dream is that sort of thing!" Hashirama could always easily provoke Madara's emotions. "My dream is to create a Ninja World where children won't die young!"
After blurting it out, Madara suddenly calmed down and gave a self-deprecating laugh: "You must think I'm ridiculous for having an idea like that, right?"
"No way!" Hashirama's eyes sparkled as he grabbed Madara's shoulders, his voice filled with extreme excitement: "Did you know, my dream is the same as yours!"
"Masahiro, Madara, once we all become Clan Heads, let's form an alliance! Then we can jointly establish a Village,"
Hashirama smiled, as if he could already see his dream realized: "A Village where children won't have to go to the battlefield, where they can enjoy their childhood and safely live to adulthood!"
"You and Madara can do that yourselves, why drag me into it?"
"Just join us, Masahiro." Hashirama pulled on Masahiro's sleeve, blinking his eyes at him. "It doesn't conflict with your dream."
"You can lead your Hagoromo Clan to become the number one major clan in the Ninja World, and then bring the Hagoromo Clan to establish the Village with us!"
"This guy's clothes look ragged. It's not even certain if he'll become a Clan Head later!" Madara's focus was peculiar.
"Don't focus on irrelevant things!" Hashirama loudly exclaimed. "With Masahiro's talent, he's definitely going to be the Clan Head!"
Masahiro looked at the two noisy people with a face full of helplessness.
Huh?
At almost the exact same moment, the three of them simultaneously looked toward the Naka River.
An adult male corpse, face down, was drifting downstream along the Naka River.
Vaguely seeing a familiar pattern on the corpse's arm, Masahiro rushed over with a grim expression.
Sure enough! After getting closer and seeing the same clan crest on the corpse's arm as his own, Masahiro's heart sank.
Two years ago, the Hagoromo Clan spent a great deal of effort to defeat the Shimura Clan. However, they didn't stay quiet for long. A while ago, they allied with the Sarutobi Clan and jointly declared war on the Hagoromo Clan.
Therefore, this war was more strenuous than the one two years ago.
But Masahiro hadn't expected them to be able to push the battle lines this far. This location was quite close to the Hagoromo Clan's main base.
"This, is he from the Hagoromo Clan?" Madara and Hashirama immediately noticed the clan crest on the corpse and looked at Masahiro worriedly: "Is it someone you know?"
Masahiro shook his head. After sealing the corpse into a scroll, he looked at Hashirama and Madara with a heavy expression: "My apologies, let's stop here for today! If fate allows, we'll meet again."
Without waiting for their response, he activated the Body Flicker Technique and rushed toward his clan territory.
.
.
.