Chapter 313 – Madara and Hashirama
Kaguya's body slowly began to expand, growing larger and larger, until it collided with itself—then, once again, it transformed back into the same colossal monster as before.
From within that massive sphere bearing a Rinne Sharingan with nine tomoe, a woman slowly emerged.
That woman was none other than Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
The two horns on her head had disappeared, and the nine-tomoe Rinne Sharingan on her forehead gradually closed, little by little.
Her clothing was no longer the long, flowing robe of the Sage of Six Paths, and her towering, godlike stature had vanished as well. Now, she looked no different from an ordinary woman.
Step by step, she walked out from within the sphere.
"Mother," Black Zetsu said as he stared at Kaguya.
"Black Zetsu, what is your plan now?" Kaguya asked, her gaze falling on him.
"I am the manifestation of Mother's will. Of course, I will remain by Mother's side," Black Zetsu replied firmly.
On the other side, the gigantic monster began to shrink, its massive form compressing and reshaping itself until it finally returned to a human silhouette.
Uchiha Madara stood there once more.
"Black Zetsu… you really played me for a fool," Madara said coldly.
He had never imagined that he had been manipulated for so many years.
All this time, he believed he was the one moving the pieces on the board, never once considering that, in the end, he himself was nothing more than a pawn. How could someone with pride as high as his possibly accept something like that?
Even though he had returned and obtained power far greater than before, he had no intention of letting the one who had schemed against him walk away unscathed.
But just as Madara was about to strike at Black Zetsu, a strange light flickered through Kaguya's eyes.
In an instant, a violent tremor surged through Madara's body. He couldn't even gather his chakra.
After all, the Ten-Tails and Ōtsutsuki Kaguya were fundamentally one and the same. In his current state, Uchiha Madara had absolutely no way of harming Kaguya.
"Alright, alright, don't take it so seriously," Yusuke said lazily, pointing behind him. "That guy is under my protection. No need to get that angry. Just think of it as a joke. Besides, your Infinite Tsukuyomi worked, didn't it?"
Behind him stood the enormous God Tree.
Its branches were covered in cocoon-like shapes, each one trapping a ninja from a different nation inside.
At this very moment, the reflection of the Rinnegan shimmered in their eyes as they were all submerged in an unimaginably deep dream.
Madara stared at the scene before him, a complicated emotion stirring in his heart.
Was this… really the world he had wanted?
"So, what will you do now, Uchiha Madara?" Yusuke asked.
"I don't know," Madara said, shaking his head as he looked up at the sky.
Right now, he truly didn't know what he should do.
He could feel the world around him. Everything was silent. No voices. No war. No chaos. No clamor.
But a world like this… what meaning did it even have?
"Do you know why I saved you?" Yusuke asked.
Even though Madara's consciousness had once fallen into an endless slumber, when he awoke, he already understood what had happened in the outside world.
"Even now, I'm still no match for you," Madara said, staring at the man in front of him.
At first, he had believed he had given everything he had in that battle.
Even though he lost in the end, he could feel that Hatake Yusuke had also expended an enormous amount of energy. Compared to those who didn't even have the power to resist, his own condition was clearly much better.
He thought it had been a balanced fight.
But he never expected that he hadn't even managed to force his opponent to use one-tenth of his true strength.
From the day he was born until now, Uchiha Madara had never felt such despair when facing someone.
Not even when he had stood against Senju Hashirama, who was stronger than him, did he ever feel like this. The gap between Hashirama's power and his own had never been that vast.
But Hatake Yusuke was different.
Even when the three of them joined forces and fought with everything they had, they still couldn't contend with even one-tenth of his strength. And all of that had come after years of careful planning.
Just thinking about it was enough to make that despair sink even deeper.
Even now, even if Uchiha Madara possessed power equal to Kaguya's—or even if Kaguya herself had to remain cautious when fighting him—that was precisely why Hatake Yusuke allowed Madara to remain alive.
Kaguya's power was simply too overwhelming.
There was practically no one in existence who could truly match her, and because of that, her real combat experience was almost nonexistent. If it weren't for Black Zetsu constantly reminding her, she would have been toyed with and defeated by Naruto, Sasuke, and Toneri long ago.
Uchiha Madara was different.
Whether it was his mentality or his battle experience, he far surpassed Kaguya. His mastery over his own power wasn't something anyone else could compare to.
After all, Uchiha Madara's reputation hadn't been built on riding inside a giant Susanoo alone—it was forged through countless life-and-death battles, wading through seas of blood with his own strength.
"Hatake Yusuke… you really are incredibly strong," Madara said, his expression complicated as he looked at him.
"I didn't save you just to watch you sink into this kind of sorrow," Yusuke replied, sounding helpless as he stared at the Uchiha who now showed no desire to fight at all.
"Madara."
At that moment, a figure appeared beside Hatake Yusuke, gazing toward Madara who stood atop the cliff.
Madara, still looking up at the sky, didn't move at all.
"Hashirama?" Madara said quietly.
"Yes," the figure nodded, his expression gentle.
"The dream you and I longed for but never managed to achieve… I've already made it real," Madara said as he turned his head toward Hashirama.
But there was no joy on his face—only a calm, flat stillness.
"Madara… do you really think so?" Hashirama asked as he looked at his old friend.
"I… was I really wrong, Hashirama?" Madara said, doubt finally creeping into his voice.
Even though Black Zetsu had used him, if Madara himself hadn't wanted it, how could Black Zetsu have forced him?
In the end, even if their goals were different, they didn't truly conflict.
Madara wanted to activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi so the world would no longer be plagued by war.
Black Zetsu wanted to use the Infinite Tsukuyomi to free Kaguya.
"Who knows?" Hashirama replied, looking at Madara without blaming him.
He and Madara had become friends because they both wanted peace for the shinobi world.
When the people closest to them fell on the battlefield, they shared the same dream.
Back then, he and Madara had chosen different paths, and it led to a great battle between them.
He had won that fight.
But the shinobi world still hadn't found peace.
Only after being revived did he realize how naive he had been.
Because of that, he didn't blame Madara, and he didn't believe he had the right to judge Uchiha Madara either.
After all, in the end, he himself was also a failure.
"I see… then why don't I feel happy? Is this really what I wanted?" Madara said softly. "Back then, you and I carried such grand ambitions. We founded Konoha for the sake of peace in the shinobi world. When I saw how peaceful everything was at that time… I was truly happy."
"Wasn't it?" Hashirama said with a smile. "I was happy too. When I was revived and saw everyone wearing different clothes but all wearing the same forehead protectors… I thought that kind of sight was beautiful as well, didn't you?"
The two of them talked like old men reminiscing about the past, their conversation light and casual, as if they were just chatting about everyday life.
Hatake Yusuke didn't interrupt.
He simply stood there quietly, watching the two of them.
"Yeah… I guess I really was the one who was wrong," Madara said with a small smile. "Hashirama, I never thought that, in the end, you'd still be the one who won."
Seeing Madara's expression, Hashirama smiled as well.
For a moment, it was as if the two of them had returned to the past—standing atop the Hokage Rock, looking down at a thriving, growing Konoha.
"No. I was wrong too, Madara," Hashirama said with a gentle smile. "What we can do in our own lifetimes is always limited. That's why we have to entrust everything to the next generation. Maybe they'll be the ones who can truly make it happen."
"Hahaha… Hashirama, you really never change."
"Hahaha."
The two of them looked at each other—and laughed together.
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