Play To Win || Naruto Fanfic

War

And so, Hashirama spent quite a long time explaining his childhood, his eyes fading as he recalled his first meeting with Madara—talking about him as if he were an innocent gone wrong.

Well, he isn't wrong.

He recollected his thoughts on the Uchiha-Senju Wars with a solemn mood, his rise as a Shinobi not long before becoming the Head of the Senju, Madara doing the same. How they clashed their weapons together, rallying their members behind them as they split blood again, again and again.

Then, he finally got to Izuna. The battle that inflicted a fatal wound— Izuna had not lasted the night and passed.

From there, Tobirama closed his eyes as if he were sensing guiltiness before covering up with sheer patience.

Hashirama briefed the unstable treaty between the two clans, creating a Village that attracted many other clans that sought asylum and safety— which brought in manpower. However, Madara wasn't satisfied with everything— the curse affecting him as he spiraled down from there.

"Tobi told me that the Uchiha Clan pressured Madara to form a treaty with Senju..." Sasuke muttered, a frown forming on his face as he crossed his arms with deep thought.

Hashirama shook his head, "Madara had asked me to show my guts if he wanted me to trust him, and I could not allow my otouto to die, so I decided to sacrifice myself by committing seppuku. However, Madara stopped me at the last second."

"Tobi is not above using manipulation." Tamako shrugged, "He wants your power and he'll do almost anything to ensure it."

Sasuke's frown deepened, "Tch."

Hashirama continued to speak of the short peaceful days, mentioning how Madara and himself had finally reverted to their childhood relationship. But nothing lasts for long.

"So I became the Shodaime." The entire room stood in dead silence, the tale of the seedling of a village that grew into something that cannot be ignored. Hashirama broke the silence, "From the Era of Warring States... where shinobi clans fought and killed each other... the Uchiha and Senju joined together to create the ideal shinobi village... a shinobi village born from the hope of peace... that is the Village Hidden in the Leaves"

Hashirama didn't stop from there, speaking of the Uchiha Tablet that stood in silence behind them, the interpretation that seeded the doubt into Madara.

Tamako leaned against the wall, glaring at the stone tablet. "That's where the problem relies." Her fingers traced over each letter undecipherable without the Sharingan. "Do you understand now, Sasuke? Black Zetsu's machinations have ruined everything. His tampering of the tablet all those years ago." She left the other meaning unsaid. He would understand.

"The Uchiha Tablet was tampered with?" Hashirama's eyebrows rose before it settled with venom. "Then..!"

Tamako nodded. "Your Madara has been misled, his Curse of Hatred misled and guided."

"My final battle with Madara never truly came to an end then. I thought I had definitely killed my friend for the sake of the village."

"Izanagi." Sasuke offered, "An ultimate genjutsu that lets the user rewrite death."

Hashirama shook his head, almost hesitant to continue. "What Madara and I first envisioned is something that joined one clan to another. It was an invaluable cornerstone that created order out of chaos, and then maintained it— protected it even. However, it gave rise to despair, the kind that your aniki, Itachi, was forced to bear." Hashirama finally opened his eyes, "I am the shinobi who created these circumstances. Furthermore, I am also the one who considered them acceptable."