The Shinobi World.
The familiar Fire Temple.
As night approached, dozens of reanimated corpses stood motionless in the empty temple. No matter how you looked at it, the place gave off an eerie feeling.
But right now, Uchiha Obito and Shimura Danzo had no time to care about that. Compared to everything else, the man in front of them—staring at them with curiosity—was the real problem.
Even without doing anything, the pressure he gave off was suffocating.
Even Obito, who had taken on the name of Uchiha Madara, was sweating nervously. And this time, he couldn't even use the excuse that it was raining.
Once, he had laughed at the so-called "God of Shinobi" just like everyone else.
But now, he finally understood how wrong he was.
Dead wrong.
There was no chakra aura, no killing intent—if anything, the man looked completely harmless. And yet, with just a simple question…
Danzo!
You bastard!
The truth was, deep down, everyone knew their own limits.
And right now, Obito—who hadn't become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki yet—was facing the First Hokage.
He felt so sick with nerves he might actually throw up.
His body trembled slightly as he turned his head, his crimson Sharingan filled with a mess of emotions as he glared at Danzo.
In that brief moment, he didn't say a word—yet it felt like he had screamed a thousand things.
But in the end, it all boiled down to one simple sentence:
This is what you meant when you said you could control the First Hokage?!
Danzo, however, had no time to deal with Obito's silent accusations.
Just being stared at by Hashirama was enough to make him nearly lose control of his bowels.
His mind was racing, trying to figure out where things had gone wrong.
Now that he thought about it, trying to use Hashirama's own cells to control him… yeah, that idea had always sounded a bit ridiculous.
But it had worked before!
No, he had to think of a way out!
Sweat dripped down his forehead. His eyes darted toward Uchiha Obito. Then, without hesitation, he blurted out—
"Uchiha Madara! Yes, Uchiha Madara can answer your question!"
That's right!
Damn it, the one who said he'd destroy Konoha and wipe out the Uchiha Clan was the masked man—not him!
If Hashirama wanted answers, he should be asking "Madara!"
Besides, this masked guy had been calling himself Uchiha Madara the entire time. And everyone knew how obsessed Hashirama was with Madara.
Maybe he could get away with this!
And sure enough, the moment Hashirama heard the name, his head turned sharply toward Obito.
He stared at the mask, then focused as if sensing something.
Slowly, his expression turned thoughtful.
Danzo, you son of a—
Danzo let out a silent sigh of relief, but Obito almost swore out loud.
He hadn't expected to get thrown under the bus like that.
But it was fine!
Now that he remembered he had Kamui as an escape route, he calmed down.
His gaze swept over the reanimated bodies around them.
Alright.
It looked like the only problem was the First Hokage—everyone else was still under Danzo's control.
Even if he was the God of Shinobi, Obito wasn't completely defenseless with these people under his command.
Taking a deep breath, he steadied himself.
Then, forcing himself to stay calm, his crimson Three Tomoe Sharingan locked onto Hashirama.
With the best acting performance of his life, he mimicked Uchiha Madara's voice and spoke slowly—
"My name… is Uchiha Madara."
The night wind rustled through the trees, carrying fallen leaves across the ground.
A few crows flew overhead, their caws echoing ominously in the silent temple.
The atmosphere grew even more silent than before.
In the end, it was the First Hokage who broke the awkward tension. He scratched his head and laughed like he had just heard the funniest joke ever.
"Hahaha! You're hilarious! Are all young people this artistic these days? I wonder what kind of face Madara would make if he knew someone was running around wearing a mask, pretending to be him!"
He's the one who made me wear this mask!
Obito's mouth twitched.
Was that laugh meant to mock him? And why did it feel like this guy had every reason to laugh out loud?
So, in the end, who was the real fool here?
But Obito had underestimated the God of Shinobi.
For high-level ninjas, sensing someone's presence through their chakra was second nature. Recognizing familiar chakra was even easier. Take Danzo, for example—Hashirama had only met him once when he was a child, yet he still remembered his chakra signature. That's why he could instantly tell that Danzo was Tobirama's student and had played along with Danzo's so-called "research."
And when it came to Hashirama, forget just Madara's chakra—he could probably tell what Madara was thinking just from a single glance. Trying to fool him by pretending to be Madara? That was a long shot.
Besides…
"If you're going to go around using Madara's name, at least make sure your power matches up. Your chakra isn't even enough for one of the attacks Madara and I threw at each other in the Valley of the End."
Hashirama gave Obito a long, unimpressed look from head to toe.
"And you… ugh, you have my chakra in you. That's disgusting."
It wasn't that he found his own chakra gross—it was just obvious that Obito had fused with his cells, and that thought alone made his body instinctively uncomfortable.
"If it were Madara doing this, maybe I'd let it slide. But you? Forget it."
So, in the end, he just doesn't think I, Uchiha Obito, am strong enough!
Under the mask, Obito's face twisted in frustration. This feeling of being dismissed was unbearable. Over and over again, Hashirama compared him to Uchiha Madara—where did that leave Obito's pride?
Just because you're the God of Shinobi, you think you can look down on me like this?!
"Alright, enough of the side show. Danzo."
Finally, Hashirama dropped the amused act and completely ignored the masked man pretending to be Uchiha Madara. He turned his attention back to Danzo.
Sure, the one talking about destroying Konoha and wiping out the Uchiha clan was the masked man, but the one who revived him was Shimura Danzo. And since Danzo was technically still part of Konoha, Hashirama wanted to know what had happened.
"Tell me, why did you bring me back? And what exactly did he mean by what he just said?"
With ease, he kicked over a nearby stone pillar and sat down on it, arms crossed, waiting for an answer. To him, this so-called "Uchiha Madara" was nothing more than a clown putting on a performance. The man was too weak to be a real threat.
Danzo exchanged a look with Obito, then gave a small nod before carefully choosing his words.
Had the Edo Tensei gone out of control again?
No problem—he had a backup plan. He had just been too tense earlier and forgotten about it.
But since their original plan to attack Konoha had changed, this second plan needed some adjustments too. The reason he had sent "Uchiha Madara" out there just now was to buy time to think. Now, he had his answer.
At the core of it, he knew what mattered most to the First Hokage. The mention of Konoha's destruction had already struck a nerve. But that didn't mean it wasn't an opportunity.
"There's no time, so I'll keep this brief."
Danzo took a deep breath, his expression turning serious.
"Konoha today is nothing like it was decades ago. In fact, the entire ninja world has changed."
"The Hyuga clan has completely defected from Konoha. With their help, the Uchiha successfully took control of the village. The current Uchiha clan leader, Uchiha Fugaku, is now the Fifth Hokage. And your granddaughter, Tsunade… has been taken as the divine consort by the Hyuga clan's leader."
Uh…
That was a lot to take in.
"The Hyuga clan, known for being so loyal, actually betrayed the village?"
"But Uchiha became Hokage? That doesn't sound too bad! In a way, it makes up for Madara's regret back then."
"As for Tsunade getting married?"
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
"Are they saying Tsunade got married and became someone else's wife? Time really flies—Tsunade's already that old, huh? But hopefully, she didn't gamble away her husband's entire fortune."
The First Hokage listened quietly, nodding as he took it all in. He didn't rush to give his opinion, instead motioning for Danzo to get to the point.
"As for reviving you and the other powerful figures who have passed away, there's a reason for it."
Shimura Danzo spoke with a serious expression.
"As the First Hokage of Konohagakure, a warrior from the Warring States era, and a member of the Senju clan, you must have heard of the legend of Uchiha Hikari."
Uchiha Hikari—a name both familiar and unfamiliar. It seemed like he had overheard his father and the elders discussing it in the past.
The First Hokage frowned, lost in thought. Then suddenly, he recalled a message he had found in the clan's shrine after becoming the leader.
"The Uchiha clan's ultimate weapon—the one who could use the Eight Thousand Spears to link everyone's chakra and control their minds… That girl, who was eventually sealed away by the combined forces of the Senju and Sarutobi clans?"
At this moment, Senju Hashirama's expression grew more serious.
Putting together what Danzo had just said, he started to realize the problem.
"Yes, she has been unsealed and released. The one who did it was none other than the current Fifth Hokage—the leader of the Uchiha clan."
Danzo nodded gravely.
"You know what kind of disaster this could bring to the ninja world and to Konohagakure. If someone with bad intentions takes advantage of her, the consequences could be catastrophic."
"In fact, according to reliable intel, the Fifth Hokage is holding some kind of ritual tonight. Most likely, it's to prepare the engraving for the Eight Thousand Spears."
Words are an art.
Sometimes, mixing truth and lies makes things more believable.
Danzo deliberately left out why he wasn't in the village or why he was with the masked man. Those were questions the First Hokage needed to think about himself.
The issue with Uchiha Hikari? That, too, was something the First Hokage had to decide how to handle.
That was what a competent subordinate should do—know when to hold back and not over-explain. Saying too much could lead to mistakes.
Right now, the best outcome would be to keep quiet and ensure the First Hokage focused all his attention on Konohagakure and the Uchiha Hikari situation.
Of course, some things still needed to be carefully rephrased.
"As for what Uchiha Madara said about destroying Konohagakure… well, rather than destruction, it might be more accurate to call it rebuilding."
Danzo forced a smile. Even though it was strained, he still didn't completely throw Obito under the bus.
"You have no idea what life is like in Konohagakure under the Uchiha's rule. Just to give you a simple example."
After a brief pause, Danzo took out a kunai and began drawing on the ground as he explained:
"Take the Hokage Rock, for instance. His face takes up 90% of the entire cliffside. Sarutobi? He barely gets a spot the size of a nostril. And you? Your carving is about the size of an eyeball at best."
What an interesting Fifth Hokage.
The First Hokage stared at the drawing in shock, unsure how to react to what Fugaku had done.
"Also, under his leadership, two Fire Daimyo have died in Konohagakure. As a result, the Land of Fire's government no longer has any real control—since the country's taxes are now collected directly by Konohagakure. The so-called Daimyo is nothing more than a useless figurehead now."
Danzo clenched his teeth in frustration.
He had originally struck a deal with the Fire Daimyo to fund Root's future expansion. But during the Ninja Tournament, the Fire Daimyo had been placed on a 'disposal list' and was swiftly eliminated.
With the Daimyo gone, Danzo lost his financial backing. And now, the Land of Roots was still struggling in shambles.
This was already the result of the Daimyo's most loyal ninja and samurai working outside the village to earn money through missions, yet things were still terrible.
"He even sold off parts of the Land of Fire. Now, its territory is only half of what it used to be."
Danzo stopped drawing and, in one breath, laid out all the crimes of Fugaku. Then, he looked at the First Hokage with a calm and steady gaze.
Everything he said was true, and anyone could verify it. There was no deception involved. After all these years, Danzo had grown into the man he was today.
He was sure that as long as the First Hokage knew about Uchiha Hikari, there was no way he would ignore how Fugaku was using his dojutsu to manipulate people. This was the same man who once bowed to the other five Kage for the sake of peace—the man who, after defeating Uchiha Madara, felt the Nine-Tails was too dangerous and sealed it to the ground with just one hand.
According to records, ever since the Nine-Tails appeared, from the Warring States period to the early days of Konohagakure, it hadn't actually caused that much harm. But the First Hokage still sealed it away, afraid that another Uchiha Madara might appear and take control of it, endangering the village.
Yet in the end, the Nine-Tails rampaged through the village anyway—and the one responsible was, in fact, the Uchiha standing right next to him.
If the First Hokage found out, he'd probably explode with rage on the spot.
This was Danzo's understanding of the First Hokage after all these years. So when he saw the First finally snap out of deep thought with a sigh, a confident smile crept onto his face.
He thought he had won.
But.
Danzo had always carried a sort of bad luck with him. No matter how carefully he planned, he often failed in ways that seemed almost inevitable. It was like a curse—one even Obito couldn't help him overcome.
And so—
"You want to control me, force me to capture Uchiha Hikari, take down the Fifth Hokage, and accomplish some goal of yours, right? And judging from your tone, you seem to have a grudge against the head of the Hyuga clan too."
With a casual remark, Hashirama saw right through Danzo's intentions.
This was the man who had fought through the Warring States period. The people he had met, the things he had experienced—Danzo and Hiruzen's petty village politics were nothing in comparison.
Back in the Warring States era, entire nations could be wiped out in a single battle, entire clans exterminated overnight. Hashirama had seen more bloodshed than Danzo ever would, and he understood the darkness of the world. He knew how fragile peace was—and had been willing to kneel for it.
That's why, the moment he was revived, he saw straight through Danzo's ambitions.
But that wasn't the strangest thing.
Something felt off. Really off.
Ever since coming back to life, that deep, burning passion inside him—the overwhelming desire to make people understand each other—was fading. The urge to spread his emotions to those around him kept cutting off mid-thought. The feelings that used to cloud his judgment were gone.
It was as if, for the first time, he was truly himself.
And even stranger—
The so-called "saintly fool" Danzo had imagined was still standing here, but now, what drove his actions was responsibility, not emotion.
The Hashirama standing here instinctively knew that everything Danzo was saying had an agenda behind it. He wasn't speaking as some righteous defender of justice—he had his own motives.
But if this were decades ago, when he was still alive, he might have actually appreciated someone like Danzo.
"If I were still alive, I'd probably admire you. I might have even taken you as a student."
The First Hokage let out a complicated sigh and slowly stood up.
But now—
"Forget it. Uchiha Hikari is indeed a threat to the village and the ninja world. In the end, this is a problem caused by the Senju clan, and I should be the one to deal with it."
"But if you're hoping to use me to destroy Konohagakure and eliminate your enemies, you're dead wrong. I'll see the truth with my own eyes."
"You're the one who cast this jutsu, so I'll let you live for now. Once I've investigated everything, I'll decide what to do with you."
With that, he stepped forward, leaving Danzo and the so-called Uchiha Madara untouched.
After all, he was already dead.
All he wanted now was to use whatever strength he had left to protect the village.
The pressure vanished.
As Hashirama's figure disappeared into the distance, Danzo collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air.
Next to him, Uchiha Obito swallowed hard, trying to steady his shaking body. Sweat dripped from his gloves, but he forced himself to keep his composure.
"It's raining."
There was no way he was going to admit that the God of Shinobi had scared him so much he broke out in a cold sweat.
Even if Danzo had practically wet himself beside him.
"So this is what you call controlling the First Hokage?"
Obito, now calm again, looked coldly at Shimura Danzo.
"Using Senju Hashirama's cells to control Senju Hashirama? Damn, you're a real genius! If you had told me earlier that you couldn't control him, I could've given you a real trump card instead. But now that things have turned out like this, what's the plan?"
A real trump card?
Turning to face the reanimated corpses under his control, Danzo changed into clean clothes. After a brief silence, he finally spoke.
"The plan continues. We've come this far."
Neither he nor Obito wanted to give up on Uchiha Hikari, their ultimate weapon.
After a moment of thought, Danzo frowned, already forming a guess in his mind.
"But what is this trump card you're talking about?"
Someone on the same level as Senju Hashirama, someone who could also be considered a trump card…
There was only one possibility.
"The real Uchiha Madara."
Obito, unable to keep up the act any longer in front of Danzo, stated it plainly.
"Prepare ahead of time. If the First Hokage comes for revenge later, we need a backup plan. Senju Hashirama's cells might not be able to control Senju Hashirama, but they should be able to control Uchiha Madara. You'd better add more sacrifices to the ritual."
That made sense.
Danzo nodded slightly. But this wasn't something that could be rushed. The First Hokage was already heading for Konohagakure, and the plan was officially in motion. No matter what, they had to send someone over to check the situation. Better safe than sorry. If they could capture Uchiha Hikari, all their problems would be solved.
Obito thought the same. And with Kamui's unique ability, he had a safety net. He planned to sneak in and observe up close.
The trump card was gone, but the plan had to proceed.
The moonless night was the perfect time for killing.
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