**Chapter 337: Parallel Space-Time Timeline — A Different Senju Hashirama!**
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What the hell?
Loki couldn't help but doubt his own eyes. What was he looking at?
Thor? A dog?
In this parallel timeline, Thor was actually a dog?
Beyond the brief shock, Loki couldn't help but burst out laughing.
In his mind, Thor's face was immediately replaced with a dog's.
**Ordinary Group Leader:** "Your other-world self also turned into a woman in some worlds."
**Ordinary Group Leader:** "Different worlds, anything can happen."
The smile on Loki's face suddenly froze. He pulled his lips back.
A woman?
*Him?*
Now he kind of wished this chat group was fake after all.
He could easily accept Thor being a dog, but he couldn't easily accept that in another world, *he* was a woman.
**Ordinary Group Leader:** "The rest you can see in the memory replica yourself."
**Ordinary Group Leader:** "@Uchiha Dance King, I totally forgot because of the new arrival — what's the parallel timeline Naruto world like?"
**Uchiha Dance King:** "Konoha has just been founded."
**Uchiha Dance King:** "Saw something interesting."
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Naruto world — parallel timeline.
Uchiha Madara looked at the familiar-yet-strange village before him, a trace of nostalgia flickering in his eyes.
The dream he and Hashirama shared surfaced in his mind.
Their dream was the same — to ensure the world of shinobi would never again know war.
Konoha was an extension of that dream.
But because of their differing ideals, the two eventually walked different paths.
Time validated both their roads.
There was no question — Hashirama's approach was wrong!
He never made this world of shinobi peaceful. On the contrary, because of the village system, the death toll in war only grew larger.
The tailed beasts distributed out became the firepower of warfare.
They couldeffortlessly cause horrific casualties with ease.
The reason peace could be maintained during his lifetime was simply — he was still alive.
His strength made others willing to sit down and follow his ideals.
So-called peace was built on a foundation of overwhelming power.
As for Uchiha Madara's own philosophy?
Though the process had its complications, he really did create an absolute peace through the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
No war, no slaughter.
The world they and Hashirama had dreamed of.
"From this standpoint, you lost, Hashirama."
A faint smile spread across Madara's face.
But the smile didn't last long — Madara's expression settled back into calm stillness.
A parallel world and his own world ultimately were different.
Following the original trajectory, when he asked the Uchiha clan if anyone wished to follow him away, no one chose to go with him — so he departed alone.
That was how it should have been.
But in this world, Senju Hashirama stopped him, and convinced this world's version of himself with words that even surprised Hashirama — with a promise to become the Second Hokage.
"You and the village — which side will you stand on?"
This world's Uchiha Madara looked at Senju Hashirama, and said flatly:
"I know you, Hashirama."
"You cannot make this choice."
"These eyes have already seen the future. Your character and ideals mean this world of shinobi can only maintain fragile peace *while you are alive*."
"Once you die, war will erupt again."
"This kind of make-believe peace is not what I want."
"I have already seen a new road."
"Next, I will be leaving the village."
Madara was about to continue speaking, but Senju Hashirama cut him off directly.
"Do you *really* know me, Madara?"
"I will not abandon either side — the village or you."
"I know my thinking is simplistic. The current peace exists only because your strength and mine far exceed anything else in this world."
"But precisely for that reason — you should stay, Madara."
"I had a dream. In the dream, I came to a new world."
"A world with no war, no slaughter, no poverty, no suffering."
"Everything was so beautiful, so beautiful I didn't want to wake up."
"In the dream, I saw many interesting things, and it made me think about the current shinobi world."
"Why is peace seemingly impossible in this world?"
Hashirama posed this question, and then — in Madara's gaze, calm yet increasingly startled — answered it himself:
"Because there are too many nations in this world of shinobi!"
"Every nation holds a piece of land, but not every piece of land is as fertile as Konoha's."
"Take the Land of Wind — the land is barren, full of deserts. How could such a nation ever prosper?"
"They want a better life, so naturally they want to seize better land."
"Resources — every nation faces this problem. When existing resources can't satisfy what they want, they'll naturally want to claim more resources."
"Furthermore, in the dream I saw many extraordinary things. They had no chakra, couldn't use ninjutsu, yet could accomplish great things through these means."
"From those things, I began to doubt the shinobi system."
"Why must *we*, who learned chakra and created various ninjutsu, use this power for war?"
"Why can't we use this power to make our own lives better?"
"My Wood Release can make soil more fertile, turn deserts into green land, accelerate plant growth."
"Wind Release can speed up harvesting, Water Release can irrigate crops, Earth Release can be used for construction…"
"Relying on chakra and ninjutsu, we can accomplish far more than this — and these things are far more meaningful than war."
"So, Madara — I need you."
"This world needs to change. The shinobi system needs to change too."
"We need someone with the ability, the qualification, and the will to change this world."
"It can't be me — I already have Konoha, and I'm prone to settling for what I have."
"It can't be Tobirama either. He lacks the resolve and courage to change everything, let alone the will and strength."
"It's only you, Madara!"
"Only you can change this broken world!"
Senju Hashirama looked at Madara and extended his hand toward him.
"Konoha no longer needs a First Hokage. I can't do more for this village."
"You can do more."
"Come back, Madara. Become Konoha's Second Hokage."
"Start from Konoha — change this world."
As Hashirama's words deepened, Madara grew increasingly unable to stay composed.
He stared at Hashirama and even felt a flash of suspicion — was this person really Hashirama?
But whether it was a transformation jutsu or a genjutsu, nothing could fool him.
*(End of Chapter)*
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