"Madara, why are you here?!"
Edo Hashirama looked at Madara walking toward him and spoke excitedly.
He even temporarily ignored the existence of another version of himself!
Edo Tobirama looked at the group in confusion, unable to understand why such a situation had occurred.
In the years he had been gone, how had the ninja world become like this?
He originally wanted to ask the monkey, but seeing the same disbelief on the other party's face, he swallowed the words back down.
It seemed the monkey didn't know what had happened either…
"Uchiha Madara… Uchiha Izuna… as well as the First Hokage… the Second Hokage…"
Orochimaru wore a ghost-like expression, staring dumbfounded at the four who had suddenly appeared.
Although he had never met Madara or Izuna, he guessed their identities from Edo Hashirama's words.
"Impossible, I must have fallen under a genjutsu!"
Those powerful figures who should have been dead were now standing before him, making him begin to suspect he had unknowingly fallen under a genjutsu.
Otherwise, there was no way to explain the scene before his eyes!
"This kid is the Jinchūriki of Sunagakure?"
Uchiha Madara ignored Edo Hashirama and tossed the unconscious Gaara he was holding onto the ground.
Under normal circumstances, Shukaku would never miss such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
But at this moment, it was behaving obediently, showing no intention of seizing control of the body.
Inside the sealed space.
Normally, Shukaku loved to shout and release chakra to interfere with Gaara, trying to seize control of his body when his will was weak or when he was asleep, thereby breaking the seal and gaining freedom.
But now, it was clutching its head with both hands, lying on the ground and trembling.
"Senju Hashirama, Uchiha Madara!"
Weren't these two already dead?
Why had they suddenly appeared again?!
It had just come out of the sealed space, intending to destroy Konoha to vent its anger.
But then it saw a pair of crimson Sharingan.
And then… there was nothing after that.
By the time it realized that the one controlling it was Uchiha Madara, it didn't dare act recklessly at all.
Back then, that stinking fox had been controlled by Madara and used as a tool to destroy Konoha.
Later, they were defeated by Senju Hashirama, which led to the tragic fate of the tailed beasts being captured and sealed…
And that Senju Hashirama was standing right beside Uchiha Madara.
Edo Tobirama immediately understood upon seeing this.
So it was the monkey's disciple joining forces with Sunagakure, attempting to launch a devastating attack on Konoha.
It was just unknown for what reason they had been stopped by these suddenly appearing figures.
"Orochimaru, I'll give you a chance to leave."
Uchiha Madara's gaze fell on Orochimaru, and at the same time, a powerful surge of chakra erupted.
In their timeline, Orochimaru was that kid's disciple, so he did not intend to act directly.
The people present were instantly suppressed by the overwhelming power, barely able to breathe.
"Madara is really strong!"
Edo Hashirama said in shock.
In his view, the power Madara displayed far exceeded what he had shown during their battle at the Valley of the End!
Orochimaru's already pale face turned even paler, and large beads of sweat slid down his cheeks.
This feeling of being on the verge of death at any moment… wasn't a genjutsu?
It seemed he had truly encountered the legendary Uchiha Madara—and a living one at that!
Originally, he had planned to use Edo Tensei to summon Madara, but he had been unable to find his grave.
Thus, he had no choice but to abandon the idea.
Who would have thought he would run into him while destroying Konoha…
"I understand."
Without any hesitation, Orochimaru immediately turned and left.
With the One-Tail Jinchūriki captured, the plan to collapse Konoha had failed, and there was no need to stay.
Besides, he couldn't afford to provoke any of those people—staying would be no different from waiting for death.
Hiruzen Sarutobi originally wanted to step forward to stop Orochimaru, but after glancing at Uchiha Madara, he ultimately gave up the idea.
Since the other party had already agreed to let Orochimaru leave, stepping in to stop him would be disrespectful.
And that was Uchiha Madara, after all!
As Orochimaru left, Edo Hashirama and Edo Tobirama were able to move freely again.
"Who exactly are you?" Edo Tobirama demanded. "And why have you appeared here?!"
Even now, he still couldn't understand how these people had appeared.
"Senju Tobirama, you're just as annoying as ever!"
Uchiha Izuna said irritably.
"How we appeared here has nothing to do with a dead man like you."
This guy was really irritating!
Even after dying, he was still so infuriating!
Senju Tobirama: "…"
He felt that the inherently evil Uchiha Izuna was insulting him indirectly, but he had no evidence.
Edo Tobirama: "…"
Case closed—this guy really was Uchiha Izuna.
Although he didn't understand what method they had used, the people before him really did seem to be their original selves.
He looked toward Senju Hashirama, remained silent for a moment, then asked,
"Big brother, what exactly is going on?"
Compared to asking others, he felt that asking his usually unreliable big brother was somehow more reliable…
"Haha, the situation is—"
Just as Senju Hashirama was about to explain, he was simultaneously stopped by Uchiha Madara and Senju Tobirama.
The matter of using the Dragon Vein to travel through time was best not told to anyone.
Otherwise, those with ill intent might recklessly use the Dragon Vein's power, leading to irreversible consequences!
"See, they won't let me say it."
Senju Hashirama shrank his neck slightly, an awkward smile appearing on his face.
Seeing this, Edo Tobirama did not press further.
Since "he himself" didn't allow it, it meant the matter was confidential and couldn't be disclosed casually.
"Madara, why are you ignoring me?"
Edo Hashirama looked at his former close friend and asked expectantly.
Uchiha Madara: "…"
He glanced at the Hashirama beside him, then at the expectant Edo Hashirama across from him.
For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
He could only turn his head away, pretending not to hear.
As expected, no matter which timeline it was, Hashirama was always so persistent.
Seeing that Madara ignored him, Edo Hashirama looked heartbroken.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood in place at a loss, not even daring to speak.
With the battle over, the ninjas of Konoha all gathered in the plaza.
They looked at the group in the center and began whispering among themselves.
A long time had passed since the era of Hashirama and Madara, and being a high-risk profession, ninjas were replaced quickly.
But with the massive Hokage Rock standing there, the ninjas quickly recognized the First and Second Hokage.
"Why are there two First Hokage and two Second Hokage-sama?"
"Look at those two—they seem to be Uchiha…"
Uchiha Izuna scanned the surroundings, then suddenly frowned.
"Brother, why haven't I seen any Uchiha clan members?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's attention was drawn, and they began observing the ninjas in the plaza.
Logically speaking, for something like the destruction of Konoha, all of the village's ninjas should have come to stop the enemy.
But even after the battle had ended, not a single Uchiha clan member could be seen.
That was somewhat strange…
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face showed a trace of unnaturalness upon hearing this.