— — — — — — —
Uchiha Madara immediately gave Izuna a rough rundown of the major events that had occurred in the ninja world since his death. At the same time, he also explained their current situation and introduced Kaito's identity.
"What?! It's been over thirty years since I died?"
Hearing this, Uchiha Izuna looked utterly shocked. He glanced at Madara, then at Hashirama, and asked in disbelief, "Then why is Senju Hashirama still so young? And why are you dead while looking like a walking corpse, just like me?"
"Uh..." Madara sighed helplessly. "I haven't had the chance to explain yet. Hashirama was recently resurrected in his peak condition! Didn't I just say earlier that he had died before?"
Izuna was speechless. "I thought you were joking... I can't believe so many years have passed! Did you and Senju Hashirama ever manage to fulfill your dream?"
Madara shook his head. "Hashirama might think he did, but in reality, we both failed. Our methods never brought true peace to the ninja world; instead, they only escalated the intensity of future wars."
"What used to be chaotic battles between small ninja clans turned into full-scale national wars led by the Five Great Ninja Villages."
"The number of wars did decrease significantly, but their brutality increased countless times over. Since the establishment of Konoha, two Ninja World Wars have already taken place—countless lives lost!"
In fact, both wars had traces of Madara's influence behind the scenes. However, he knew that even without his meddling, they would have happened anyway. Wars were inevitable, driven by the pursuit of resources and power. He had merely pushed things along.
"That was expected!" Izuna nodded knowingly. "As long as the ninja world remains divided and lacks a unified system—a common interest that binds all—wars will never end. Division always leads to conflict!"
"Big Brother, you and Hashirama failed to see this, but how did that old bastard Senju Tobirama miss it too? Why didn't he convince you two to eliminate the other villages and unify the ninja world?"
Izuna couldn't understand it at all.
"I tried and failed!"
Suddenly, Senju Tobirama teleported right next to Uchiha Izuna and spoke in a low, eerie tone.
"Huh?!"
Seeing Tobirama appear out of nowhere, Izuna instinctively prepared to attack. But the moment he realized that Tobirama was also in a state of undeath, he reluctantly stopped himself.
Glaring at Tobirama with pure disdain, he sneered, "What are you doing here? And the Flying Thunder God seal you left on me still exists? You really are a sneaky bastard!"
Just thinking about how Tobirama had used the Flying Thunder God technique to ambush and kill him made Izuna clench his teeth in frustration.
"I just happened to notice an old marker of mine had suddenly reappeared and felt a familiar presence, so I came to take a look." Tobirama shrugged. "Besides, we're both dead now—does it really matter whether I was 'sneaky' or not?"
He walked over to stand beside Hashirama, folding his arms as he looked at Izuna. Despite their history, he didn't mock him. In Tobirama's eyes, Izuna was his true rival, not Madara.
Sure, Madara was overwhelmingly powerful, but when it came to intelligence and strategic thinking, Tobirama considered Izuna his real equal.
"Hah!"
Izuna scoffed and walked to stand beside Madara, his eyes coldly locking onto Tobirama. "If you hadn't ambushed me back then, the ninja world wouldn't be in this state. It might have been unified already. True peace could've been achieved!"
He knew all too well—if things had gone on as they were, even he wouldn't have been able to stop Madara and Hashirama from forming a village together. He just hadn't expected to die right before the final stages of that plan.
"You know... you might be right."
Izuna had expected Tobirama to argue, but to his surprise, Tobirama actually nodded in agreement, sighing. "If I had known things would turn out this way, maybe I really wouldn't have killed you."
"After your death, my chance to persuade my brother to unify the ninja world was gone."
"Back then, he didn't agree with that idea, while Madara was strongly in favor of it. But since Madara and I were bitter enemies, there was no way I could go to him and convince him to change my brother's mind."
"In the end, it was all just fate."
Fate was a strange thing indeed.
If Izuna hadn't died, with both of them influencing their respective brothers, they might have actually reached a consensus and created a unified ninja world.
"Tch!" Izuna scoffed, unimpressed. "What's the point of talking about it now?"
Then, shifting his gaze, he suddenly noticed something. "Wait, the current Hokage is actually from the Uchiha clan? Kid, whose descendant are you?"
"My mother is Uchiha Naori. You might know her, Izuna-senpai?"
While speaking, Kaito also connected with his mother through their communication space.
"Oh? Naori?"
Izuna raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Of course, I know her. She's the granddaughter of the Great Elder. The last time I saw her, she was just a little girl."
"I never thought her son would grow up so strong and even become the leader of Konoha."
"Not bad!"
A pleased smile appeared on Izuna's face. "Can you tell me more about what happened after Konoha was founded?"
"What my brother said earlier was too vague, a lot of things weren't clear."
Kaito shook his head. "It's too much to explain in words. I'll just transfer the information to you."
Saying that, he raised a hand and pointed at Izuna's forehead, directly transmitting information about the events in Konoha and the Ninja world after the village was established.
Izuna immediately closed his eyes to process the influx of information.
Meanwhile, Tobirama looked at Kaito and the others, frowning. "So, why did you revive this guy?"
Before anyone else could respond, Hashirama spoke up. "It was my idea! It's to help Madara fulfill the conditions of Kaito's contract sooner."
"That way, we can truly revive him in the future and have him as an ally for Kaito and Konoha!"
"Tobirama, you should work hard too! Kaito told me you're close to fulfilling the contract conditions."
"When that happens, you'll be able to come back to life completely!"
"Don't slack off, or Madara and Izuna might beat you to it. Don't say I didn't warn you!"
Tobirama narrowed his eyes slightly, looking speechless at his brother.
He wanted to reprimand Hashirama, but considering the looming threat of the Otsutsuki clan, he suppressed the urge.
He understood that his brother's strategy was necessary for the future.
Madara was indeed a formidable asset, worth reviving.
"Don't worry, I know what to do." Tobirama finally nodded.
At that moment, Uchiha Naori suddenly teleported over, appearing next to Kaito.
Seeing Izuna still absorbing the information with his eyes closed, she was briefly taken aback before sighing. "I didn't expect you all to revive Izuna-senpai. But it's a good thing."
She had a rough idea of the reason behind Kaito's actions—it was undoubtedly to gain Madara's favor and contract him as soon as possible.
That worked well for them.
After a moment, Izuna finished processing the information and opened his eyes. Spotting Naori, he was momentarily stunned before smiling. "So, it really is you! It's been a long time, Naori!"
"You've worked hard all these years. You've done well!"
"And you've given birth to an exceptional son!"
After reviewing Konoha's history, he understood just how much Naori had contributed to the Uchiha clan over the years.
Without her, the Uchiha clan wouldn't have reached its current status.
He knew very well that his brother was never the best leader.
"Not at all!"
Naori shook her head with a smile. "I only gave birth to a great son."
"If not for Kaito, I probably would have died years ago due to illness or injuries."
"If that had happened, Konoha wouldn't be in the state it is today."
"The Uchiha clan might have been slowly eradicated under Sarutobi Hiruzen's oppression."
She paused, then glanced at Tobirama. "The same goes for the Senju and Uzumaki clans."
Tobirama's face darkened instantly, his fists clenching as he muttered, "Must you bring that up?"
Even if what she said was true, couldn't she just let it go?
At this moment, he truly wished he could go back in time and stop himself from ever taking Sarutobi Hiruzen as a student.
Damn students.
"Oh?"
Izuna glanced between Tobirama and Naori before recalling the information Kaito had just transmitted to him.
Piecing everything together, he came to a realization and sneered. "So if Kaito hadn't appeared, everything she said would have actually happened?"
Turning to Tobirama with a mocking expression, he continued, "I never thought I'd see the day when you, Senju Tobirama, would miscalculate so badly."
"You actually took in a bunch of ungrateful trash who ended up destroying the Senju and nearly wiping out the Uzumaki."
"Pfft! What a disgrace!"
Tobirama's fists clenched even tighter, veins bulging on his forehead as he glared at Izuna. "What does this have to do with you? You didn't even live to see the village's founding! What right do you have to comment on this?"
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