Chapter 39: This Is the Battle of Destiny
The fierce argument brought Uchiha Madara's order to continue the war to a grinding halt.
In the days that followed, the debate raged on. No matter how vehemently Madara and Senju Tobirama insisted, Senju Hashirama refused to yield. He would not sanction the continuation of the war, even demanding that the main army be recalled to Konoha to resume their previous model of internal development.
As for the hatred already sown and the damage inflicted upon the other great nations, Hashirama simply stated that he would handle it.
How could Madara possibly issue such an order? The troops were already deployed, the battle half-won. All they needed was their commander on the field to see it through. To retreat at the final, critical moment? He would rather die.
It was then that Senju Tobirama, who had been one of the most vocal proponents of the war, was the first to be silenced.
Senju Hashirama got serious. He had members of the Uzumaki Clan erect a powerful sealing barrier, specifically designed to disable Tobirama's Flying Thunder God Technique. Then, with his brother's greatest tactical advantage nullified, he attacked.
When an older brother decides to discipline his younger brother, he truly does not hold back.
By the time Uchiha Madara received the news and smashed through the barrier with his Susanoo, it was already too late. Senju Tobirama was pinned to the ground, completely immobilized by the crushing coils of a Wood Dragon, his body battered and bruised.
In a turn of events so outrageous it bordered on farce, Uchiha Madara found himself saving Senju Tobirama from the hands of Senju Hashirama.
The incident drove home the sheer, unyielding depth of Hashirama's conviction.
"Then let's settle this with a formal fight, Hashirama," Madara declared, his voice low and dangerous. "Since neither of us can convince the other, we will abide by the fundamental rule of the ninja world: the strong earn the right to speak."
"I have the same intention!" Hashirama shot back, his own resolve hardening into steel.
And so, the duel that should have been between the First Hokage and his most trusted commander became a battle between the two founders of Konoha.
At first, they exchanged only a few probing blows, pulling back to try and reason with each other one last time. But as the fight escalated, their tempers flared, and the true battle began.
"Hashirama, you stand so high that you've forgotten the view from below!" Madara roared, his voice echoing across the ravaged landscape. "We occupy the Land of Fire, this most fertile of all lands, because of our strength! What if we had started in the Land of Wind? In a place so barren, you would struggle just to feed the village, let alone speak of peace! You only think of launching wars to seize fertile land, but can you guarantee the people of the Land of Wind will willingly remain in that sand-blasted wasteland forever?"
Hashirama's reply was just as blunt, fueled by his unwavering idealism.
"I can help them improve their soil! I can help them change their country! Given enough time, the Hidden Sand Village will not always be buried in sandstorms. Madara, what we need is time!"
Fine. If words were useless, then only fists would suffice.
When Stelle returned from the border, the first thing she saw was Senju Tobirama, his neck wrapped in bandages and his arm bound in a sling. She could hardly believe her eyes. Had Hashirama truly lost his mind? He had beaten his own brother—and so severely that Tobirama was taken down before he could even use the Flying Thunder God. This was his most cherished younger brother.
The battle outside the village raged on. No outsider could dare interfere in a fight of that magnitude. With Senju Tobirama, the only one who might have been able to talk sense into them, now incapacitated, everyone else could only wait anxiously at the edge of the battlefield.
Stelle paced back and forth beneath a large tree, a knot of anxiety tightening in her stomach. She couldn't calm down. This battle would force Madara to see the true, unshakeable nature of Hashirama's persistence. He would likely fake his death to escape, abandon his current plans, and dedicate himself fully to researching the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Knowing Madara's own stubbornness, he probably wanted to witness firsthand what would become of Hashirama's dream. Perhaps he even looked forward to mocking him for it when they met again in the Pure Land.
Seeing her distressed expression, Senju Tobirama offered what little comfort he could. "It's fine. I've taken out every healing scroll in our inventory. We'll treat them properly the moment they finish. Everything will be fine."
Honestly, a part of him hoped Madara would win. Once his older brother was defeated, he would have no choice but to obediently stay and guard Konoha. Then, he and Madara could go and unify the ninja world together. Whatever grand ideas his brother had after that, he would be forced to keep them to himself.
Unfortunately, Tobirama did not understand what a battle of destiny truly was. He especially didn't understand that these two men were the reincarnations of Asura and Indra, carrying within them a fundamental incompatibility that could never be reconciled.
It was fated that both would suffer grievous losses. There was no possibility of a peaceful resolution.
Finally, the battle ended. An unnerving silence fell over the land.
Stelle rushed towards the site. Just as she expected, she saw Senju Hashirama slumped against a large tree, motionless. He was severely injured, looking as though he were on the verge of death.
And on the ground nearby lay Uchiha Madara. He had stopped breathing.
Senju Tobirama, arriving a step behind her, saw the scene clearly. His stride faltered, his usual unflappable composure shattering. This outcome was utterly beyond his expectations.
In the past, he had always believed he understood his brother and Madara. His brother was kind and persistent, but also easily misled; one just needed to follow his line of thinking. As for Madara, though he appeared fierce, he was actually a proud, awkward man with a deep-seated gentleness. Once you were inside his circle, you just had to be direct. You never beat around the bush with him; you stated your purpose plainly. As long as the request wasn't too outrageous, Madara simply didn't know how to refuse—just like with Izuna.
But today, he felt as though he didn't understand them at all.
Stelle carefully lifted Uchiha Madara's body onto her back and turned toward the village. She didn't know when the Izanagi he had set would activate or when he would revive. She certainly wouldn't bury him as Tobirama had in the original story. First, she had to take him home.
Her steps, however, felt leaden.
This was the result she had been waiting for, the climax of her long-laid plans. But now that it had truly arrived, she found she wasn't looking forward to it as much as she'd thought.
'Would you grieve for a role you played?'she wondered.'Would you feel sad for a game character walking toward their inevitable, tragic end?'
Even if you had already arranged a beautiful, happy ending for him—a revival scroll that, once the plot was complete, would let him reappear at the revival point, exactly as he was before—would you still want to stop him from walking that path?
Some people grieved because a hero in a story couldn't be saved. Some were shocked when a character changed their entire identity just to uphold a promise. Some were angered when a protagonist abandoned a crucial battle to chase after love, causing their entire faction to collapse.
And at this moment, Stelle couldn't quite articulate what she was feeling.
Only one image remained burned into her mind: the scene from the original story, where Uchiha Madara had exhausted himself over two lifetimes, only to fall to the ground in defeat, all for the sake of peace.
He wanted peace but caused the Fourth Great Ninja War. He wanted understanding, but no one ever stood by his side. The peace he yearned to create was a dream no one else believed in. And the peace he ultimately envisioned was nothing more than a carefully woven lie.
From beginning to end, the only person he ever had was himself.
No one else.
Plop.
A single drop of water slid from the corner of her eye, splashing onto the dry ground below. A strange light spread outwards from where it fell, as if imbuing the world with a special color.
In her vision, the world was no longer a mechanically fixed game. The black and white lines that defined her reality began to loosen and change, slowly taking on genuine color.
The brown, rocky soil beneath her feet revealed a real, coarse texture. The emerald grass in the distance was no longer a static background; its vibrant blades trembled in the slight breeze. The bright moon overhead cast a soft, gentle glow. Everything became so vivid, living truly and powerfully in her world.
She heard the panicked voices of the Senju clan's medical-nin as they anxiously checked on Hashirama's condition, their words trembling.
She saw Senju Tobirama standing frozen in place. The usually calm and reserved man now wore a rare look of utter bewilderment, as if his mind couldn't process the scene before him.
Thump… thump…
She heard her own heart, beating violently in her chest, clear and strong.
And in that moment, she was struck by a sudden, overwhelming realization: she was actually living in this world.
[System, I should have logged out back there. If I'd logged out, I wouldn't have all these troubles. Why should I have to worry about these things?]
[What's wrong with me? Aren't I just an emotion-collecting machine without feelings? Why do I have to consider any of this?]
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