Leon stood on the riverbank, his eyes following the two children's repeated attempts to throw stones across the surface of the water. Then Leon lowered his head, clear signs of disappointment appearing on his face, and said in a sarcastic tone:
"Your skills are complete garbage. You're still far from achieving anything resembling the perfect throw, as if you're trying to throw stones with your eyes closed."
Madara trembled with anger upon hearing these words and raised his voice in response:
"Just wait, you bastard. I'll be able to perform the perfect throw. Just give me some time, and you'll see what I can do!"
He then returned to his attempts, picking up one stone after another and throwing them with all his strength, trying to imitate Leon's movements, but to no avail. At the same time, Hashirama beside him continued trying as well, and he seemed to be slightly better than Madara, as his stones bounced more times across the water, which only increased the excitement of their competition.
The two children continued challenging each other, each trying to outperform the other, and amid this enthusiastic atmosphere, as though the entire world had been reduced to this simple moment, they forgot all their worries and immersed themselves in an innocent childhood game, while Leon watched them with a faint smile, enjoying the sight.
But suddenly, a floating corpse appeared on the small river, slowly drifting with the current. This unexpected sight quickly changed the atmosphere and brought everything to a halt.
Instead of laughter and competition, a heavy silence descended, and the two children stared in astonishment at the corpse as it passed before them, as though it were a cruel reminder of the world they lived in, where death lurked around every corner.
Without any hesitation, Hashirama rushed toward the corpse, running across the surface of the water as though he were walking on solid ground.
This surprised Madara, and he understood at that moment that the other child he had been competing with in stone skipping was not an ordinary child, but must be a shinobi like himself, someone trained to use chakra. This caused him to look at Hashirama seriously.
The two stared at each other, and without any unnecessary words, they introduced themselves, but without mentioning their family names, as though there were an unspoken agreement between them to do so.
At that moment, while tension filled the area, they heard Leon's voice from behind them. He spoke in an indifferent tone, as though the scene had not affected him at all and did not concern him in the slightest:
"What a pair of troublesome children you two are."
Madara turned toward him angrily and shouted in his face, as though he wanted to unleash all the frustration he was feeling:
"What did you say, you bastard? Can't you see what's happening here? There's a corpse in the river! This isn't the time for jokes or sarcasm!"
"Fine. You're just two troublesome children. Why don't you act like children appropriate for your age instead of trying to appear like adults and carrying the burdens of the world on your shoulders? You're far too young for these things. Leave them to the adults."
Hashirama and Madara stared at him in confusion. They could not understand the way this person thought, someone who seemed completely free of worries, as though he did not live in this dark age of wars and bloodshed, where children as young as six were sent onto battlefields to fight and kill, as though he lived in another world, far removed from all these tragedies.
But at the same time, there was something about his carefree mood, his indifference, and his way of dealing with things that seemed strangely appealing to them, as though he were offering them a model completely different from everything they had ever known.
It was as though he were telling them that life was not entirely about wars and bloodshed, and that there could still be a place for play and joy even in the darkest of times, and this was something they had never experienced before.
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P*atreo*n :Aaron4dicard
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