Madara and Hashirama look like Lovers

(bonus)

— — — — — — —

"I see."

Uchiha Madara nodded, though the thought of Black Zetsu's sneaky survival tactics gave him a headache.

In the past, Madara appreciated Black Zetsu's skills, thinking of him as an ally. Such talents had been a pleasant surprise and something he valued.

Now, though, Black Zetsu had turned into a thorn in his side—an enemy. Madara found himself disgusted by the very abilities he once admired.

Humans are fickle, after all.

"Alright, Madara! There's no need to rush these things," Hashirama said, noticing the shift in Madara's demeanor. He gave Madara a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Trust Kaito and the others. Black Zetsu will definitely fall into our trap sooner or later. When the time comes, we'll squeeze every last drop of usefulness out of him. After that, I'll hand him over to you to deal with however you see fit!"

"Besides," Hashirama continued with a grin, "we've got plenty of time ahead of us. Come on, let's take a stroll around Konoha together!"

"It's been ages since we've done something like this. And let me tell you, the village has changed so much—it's practically unrecognizable!"

Without waiting for a response, Hashirama threw an arm around Madara's shoulder, infused a bit of chakra to help him regain some strength, and pulled him along. He nodded to Kaito and the others before cheerfully dragging Madara away.

"Hashirama, stop pulling me! I can walk on my own!" Madara growled, clearly annoyed.

"And who said I wanted to go sightseeing in Konoha with you?!"

"What's there to see in that damned village anyway? Don't you know how much I hate it here?"

Madara's protests continued as Hashirama pulled him along.

"Ah, don't be so stubborn, Madara! Deep down, you still love Konoha, don't you? No need to act all tough—I know you too well!"

"I know you the best! Hahaha!" Hashirama chuckled.

Madara: "..."

Uzumaki Mito: "..."

Uchiha Naori: "..."

In the end, despite his grumbling, Madara let Hashirama drag him into Konoha.

For all his fiery personality, Madara seemed to have resigned himself to reality.

"Hah! It's true—Hashirama's the only one who can handle Madara," Kaito said, shaking his head in amazement at the scene.

Thunk!

Before Kaito could say more, Mito smacked him on the head, frowning. "If you can't say something sensible, don't say anything at all! You're making it sound like they're lovers!"

Kaito rubbed his head, looking at Mito with a bewildered expression. His gaze seemed to ask, Aren't they, though?

"Hm?"

Mito's eyes narrowed, and she raised her hand threateningly.

"Alright, I surrender!" Kaito quickly raised his hands in mock defeat.

Arguing with a woman—even one who's no longer young—was a losing battle, after all.

"Pfft!"

Naori, watching the entire exchange, couldn't help but laugh. "You know, there's definitely something unusual about the bond between Hashirama and Madara. It's not your typical friendship, don't you think, Mito?"

"Shut it, you!" Mito snapped, her face darkening. She glared at Naori before abruptly changing the subject. Pulling out an old book, she said, "Didn't you two want information on Uchiha Hikari from the Senju archives? Well, here it is!"

"What?!"

Both Kaito and Naori were stunned. They immediately took the ancient text from Mito, eagerly flipping through its pages.

"It's true!" Naori exclaimed. "She's sealed in Mount Qianmu. I remember that place—it used to be a Senju outpost, right?"

"That's correct," Mito confirmed with a nod. "The Senju and Sarutobi clans used the outpost to lay a trap. They lured Uchiha Hikari there, who was known as Uchiha Nanashi, and successfully ambushed her, sealing her away."

(A/N: Hikari means light while Nanashi means nameless. Her birth name was Hikari before being treated as a weapon and named Nanashi.)

"So, what's the plan? Are you going to try to free her?"

"Of course!" Kaito and Naori exchanged a determined glance and nodded in unison.

"Alright," Mito said. "We can go tomorrow afternoon. It's not far—only about 200 kilometers from here. We can teleport directly, so it shouldn't take long."

"But," Mito added, her expression serious, "there's something you need to know. According to the records, Uchiha Hikari was betrayed by her clan. Combined with everything she endured before her sealing, it's highly likely she holds a deep grudge against the Uchiha."

"You'll need to tread carefully. She might not be willing to cooperate. Be prepared to change her perspective on the Uchiha—and maybe even life itself."

"Understood," Kaito and Naori replied, their expressions solemn.

Kaito nodded thoughtfully. "We'll figure something out. First, let's get her out of there and bring her back."

"Alright, then it's settled," Mito said, wrapping up the discussion.

With that, Kaito headed off to train with Mikoto and the others.

— — —

Meanwhile, on the Iwa frontlines a few days earlier

"Lord Tsuchikage, it's confirmed—Kazekage is dead. The Sand Village has suffered heavy losses, with at least two to three thousand elite shinobi killed."

"Their camp is in disarray, and morale is low," the scout, Kitsuchi, reported.

"Although Chiyo and Ebizo are holding things together, for now, there's internal division. Some want revenge against Konoha, but the majority seem inclined to negotiate for peace and withdraw their troops."

"We can take this opportunity while they're negotiating with Konoha to launch a surprise attack on them! Catch them completely off guard!"

"We could recover the losses we suffered from Konoha by taking it out on the Sand Ninja. What do you think?"

As Kitsuchi returned from scouting the Sand Ninja's camp, he quickly reported everything he had learned to his father, Onoki, along with his suggestion.

"No!"

After listening, Onoki pondered for a moment before decisively rejecting the idea.

"We'll wait until they finish negotiating with Konoha and withdraw from the frontlines to return to their village. Then we'll ambush them on their way back!"

"Understood!"

"And make sure not to drag Konoha into this matter," Onoki added. "The last thing we need is Konoha taking this chance to extort us again! That's not a scenario I want to see."

Once was more than enough humiliation.

Until they could counter the mass Flying Thunder God Technique used by Konoha's forces, Onoki knew he had no choice but to tread carefully around them, lest they face even greater disgrace.

"Is that so?" Kitsuchi frowned slightly. "But if we wait until the Sand Ninja finalize their treaty with Konoha…"

"You know how Konoha operates. Once they sign a treaty, they'll probably form an alliance with the Sand Ninja too!"

"By then, attacking the Sand Ninja will be far more complicated, won't it?"

"Wouldn't it make more sense to strike now, before they renew their alliance? That way, Konoha wouldn't have any grounds to interfere, don't you think?"

"Things aren't that simple," Onoki replied, shaking his head. "If we attack the Sand Ninja while they're negotiating with Konoha, it'll be a blatant slap in Konoha's face."

"They'll definitely find an excuse to retaliate!"

"But if we wait until their treaty and alliance are finalized, then attack the Sand Ninja, Konoha won't have a leg to stand on if they try to interfere."

"After all, we're Konoha's allies too. We've signed the same treaty!"

"This would just be an internal matter between us and the Sand Ninja."

"Plus, Konoha wouldn't gain much from stepping in, and they're unlikely to do so just for the Sand Ninja."

"You're absolutely right!"

Kitsuchi's face lit up with realization as he looked at his father with admiration.

It was clear he still had much to learn.

"Alright, that's settled then. Start preparing!" Onoki said with a wave of his hand, finalizing the decision.

"Yes, sir!"

— — —

Meanwhile, on the Sand Ninja's side, things were unfolding just as Onoki had predicted. In the end, they chose to negotiate with Konoha.

The simple truth was that they couldn't afford to keep fighting.

And they saw no hope of winning.

Konoha, on the other hand, was just as eager to end the conflict, return home in triumph, and prepare for Kaito's ascension as the Fourth Hokage.

The negotiations progressed smoothly.

Within two days, they had reached an agreement, signed a peace treaty, and even renewed their alliance.

Of course, as the losing side, the Sand Ninja were required to pay reparations worth ten billion.

Despite their reluctance, Chiyo and the others ultimately agreed after assessing their dire situation and the unshakable resolve of Konoha.

However, they made a small request—to pay in minerals and gold sand instead of money and other resources.

Orochimaru saw no reason to refuse.

Konoha had a high demand for minerals, making this a win-win situation.

The Sand Ninja could settle their debt with fewer losses, and Konoha would gain a substantial amount of high-quality resources.

"Phew! It's finally done! Time to pack up and head back to the village," Tsunade said with a stretch after the treaties were signed.

"Yeah," Orochimaru nodded with a rare smile. "It's finally over."

"I hear the preparations for Kaito's ascension are already underway in the village."

"We need to wrap things up here quickly and head back to Konoha!"

"We can't afford to delay things on his end."

Orochimaru was eager to return, not just for the village's affairs but also for his research. He could hardly wait to get back to his lab.

"Um…"

At that moment, Jiraiya hesitated before speaking. "Since the war's over, I was thinking… maybe I won't head back to the village right away."

"I'd like to travel for a while, see the world a bit. What do you think?"

He was unsure how to face his teacher back in the village.

By now, Jiraiya was well aware that his teacher and his clan had been exposed and were awaiting public trial after Kaito's ascension.

Most of the front-line ninjas already knew about it too.

He dreaded the possibility of being asked to plead on his teacher's behalf.

At the same time, he couldn't bear the thought of witnessing his teacher's downfall.

Part of him wanted to help, to plead for mercy.

After all, Hiruzen was like both a teacher and a father to him.

But after learning about the extent of his teacher's actions—the corruption, the resources embezzled from Konoha—he couldn't bring himself to ignore it either.

In short, he was deeply conflicted.

.

.

.

90 advanced chapters at: patreon.com/_Coreal