Standing inside Kamui's Dimension, Kawarama recalled it carelessly. "If grown-up Tobirama-nii-san hadn't arrived in time this time, I really might have been killed!"
"Future Tobirama-nii-san's Water Release is amazing!" He bragged to the brothers and Senju ninjas beside him. "His Water Release is like he signed a Summoning Contract with the ocean. It's like he summoned the entire sea!! He's the strongest Water Release ninja I've ever seen!!"
Thanks to the original Hashirama's cells, Hashirama Senju, who had already recovered to full health, glanced at his white-haired younger brother beside him.
Aside from developing all kinds of Kinjutsu, Tobirama used Water Release the most.
Most Senju Clan ninjas were originally skilled in Water Release and Earth Release.
But Tobirama had trained Water Release so relentlessly because Kawarama had been killed by the Uchiha's Fire Release.
The flames had burned down the forest in that area, and Kawarama's remains had been found there.
"When will this war ever end?!"
"When all our enemies have been wiped out!"
"Creating a world without war isn't easy."
"Even if it means sacrificing children?"
Boom!!
Butsuma Senju's fist slammed hard into his eldest son's face.
Even young Hashirama inside Kamui's Dimension seemed to feel a phantom pain.
Young Madara Uchiha glanced at the mushroom-haired boy beside him. "Our thoughts may be the same, but I'm not as reckless as you. I wouldn't openly defy my own father."
Young Hashirama gave a silly laugh, then asked Minato Namikaze, "Shouldn't we jump out and tell them the truth?"
"Let's wait a moment." Minato Namikaze said, "I suspect this time travel is only meant to show you what would have happened in the future if we hadn't appeared."
Young Obito said, "Minato-sensei, the ancestors' fathers who came with us, Lord First's father and the ancestor's father, are nearby too. Should I pull them in?"
"Ah, I seem to have forgotten those two. Pull them in as well."
The resurrected Butsuma Senju and Tajima Uchiha had already been baffled when they somehow arrived at the Uchiha clan land, only to immediately appear in the Senju clan land.
Now they were dragged into another place by a swirling current of air.
When the two saw another parallel world's version of themselves, the corners of their mouths twitched as they asked Minato Namikaze what was going on.
After he briefly explained what had happened since they parted, the group, still feeling as if everything had become impossibly surreal, began peeking once more at the situation outside Kamui's Dimension, in the Senju clan land.
Outside, after young Hashirama took that punch.
"I won't let you insult Kawarama! He died honorably in battle as a Senju ninja who could stand on his own! He wasn't the little child you're talking about anymore!!"
"But Kawarama wasn't even seven years old!! He wasn't even seven!!"
"What kind of ninja who can stand on his own?! What kind of loving Senju Clan?! Isn't this just you adults ganging up to force a child to his death?!! How are we any different from the Uchiha Clan?!!"
Hiss...
The Senju Clan inside Kamui's Dimension all sucked in a breath.
"Is what you call standing on his own just watching your own child go to his death?! I refuse to accept that kind of independence! I absolutely refuse to watch Itama and Tobirama die in battle for such a wrong ninja system!!"
"Killing people, getting killed! Over and over! Don't you ever get tired of it?!"
"We don't even know when someone starts hating us! We kill our enemies, then their family and friends hate us. Then they kill the people important to us, and we hate them back! What's the point of any of this?!"
"It's all because of these dangerous surnames!"
"That's why ninja clans have a rule saying we can tell others only our given names, but not our surnames!"
"When will this wrong ninja world finally end!!"
Inside Kamui's Dimension, young Madara Uchiha was surprised by Hashirama's thoughts. He was the same. He often thought about this question too.
When would this wrong ninja world finally end?
"So, a brat like you..."
Young Madara was different from young Hashirama. He did not dare openly defy his own father.
Tajima Uchiha was also not like Butsuma Senju, who used his fists to handle everything.
When Butsuma Senju's fist swung toward Hashirama Senju again, Hashirama's younger brother, Tobirama Senju, stepped in front of him.
"Father!"
"Brother is in a bad mood today too. Please forgive him."
"Hmph! Cool your head, Hashirama."
Inside Kamui's Dimension, young Madara glanced at young Hashirama beside him. "You actually need your little brother to protect you. You're useless."
Young Hashirama squatted on the ground, his mushroom head pressed against young Tobirama's thigh.
"I'm a useless older brother."
Young Tobirama sighed. Young Madara Uchiha grinned, then continued.
"But in terms of our ideas, I think the same as you."
The two of them were rather far from their clansmen and fathers, so if they spoke quietly, only the younger brothers beside them could hear.
Just like the "legendary ninja" Madara Uchiha over there, young Uchiha was also extremely grateful to Naruto and the other ninjas from another parallel world.
If they had not helped this time, then just like in the world outside Kamui's Dimension earlier, he would only have arrived in time to see the corpses of his other three younger brothers.
Young Izuna said, "But even though the war between the Senju and Uchiha has temporarily stopped because my future brother suddenly appeared, they'll definitely start fighting again in the future."
"Adults are all idiots. If they want to end the war, can't they just make a ceasefire agreement with the enemy?"
"It isn't that simple," young Madara Uchiha said. "Whether it's our father or your father, all they care about is the clan's honor. Neither side will bow its head first."
Young Tobirama did not speak. They were only children, after all. They truly had no way to make decisions for the adults.
Outside Kamui's Dimension, young Itama asked his brother Tobirama, "If we send the enemy a ceasefire agreement, wouldn't all the parents and brothers they killed have died for nothing?"
"If you keep saying things like that, you'll die too." Young Tobirama's voice was as calm and rational as he was. "You and the adults are all too impulsive."
"Sorry."
"As long as a ceasefire agreement is made, and the ninjas suppress their emotions, establish strict rules, and follow them, we can avoid unnecessary conflict."
Listening to the three brothers' conversation, young Izuna looked at young Tobirama beside him.
The two of them had met on the battlefield today, and because they were close in age, they had naturally ended up fighting each other.
He was stronger than Tobirama, but Tobirama was faster and more agile. Each had their own strengths and weaknesses. Until the unexpected change happened, neither of them had gotten the better of the other.
As for hating him, he did not seem to hate this opponent all that much.
"But suppressing emotions isn't easy for the Uchiha." Young Izuna said, "The adults in our clan all say that once an Uchiha awakens the Sharingan, their mind becomes even more sensitive. It's hard to not take things to heart like you said..."
Young Hashirama and young Madara both looked troubled.
"An alliance, huh..."
"Even our future selves seem unable to truly dissolve the grudge between us after establishing Konohagakure."
"And the only way to achieve lasting peace turned out to be a scam."
Myoko Uchiha said, "But didn't the people from the future say our two clans are brother clans? Although we've been killing each other for so many years under the manipulation of that guy called Black Zetsu."
"After they awaken the Sharingan, the Uchiha's emotions become hard to control?" young Tobirama asked.
Young Madara said, "In serious cases, their personality changes drastically. I've seen clansmen like that before. Even my father's orders couldn't restrain them. They acted on their own and ended up dying on the battlefield."
Young Tobirama looked at the pebbles on the ground in thought. "If drastic personality changes are a kind of Uchiha Kekkei Genkai disease, I wonder whether the method the future people mentioned can treat this condition."
"Kekkei Genkai disease?"
"Treat it?"
Young Hashirama and young Madara both looked at the white-haired boy standing between them.
Young Izuna said, "You mean using Senju chakra?"
"It's only an idea. We can ask the future people about the specifics later."
Mushroom-headed Hashirama hugged his younger brother's leg. "Tobirama! You really are the best strategist I've ever seen!"
"Brother, let go!"
"Let your brother hug you a little longer!!"
Kawarama and Itama were already used to this, and gave the Uchiha brothers, whose faces were full of disgust, an awkward but polite smile.
The resurrected future Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju were immersed in their memories of childhood. The warnings given to this world were all history they had personally lived through back then.
The time, place, and scene outside Kamui's Dimension changed again.
...
Five Uchiha clansmen were surrounding Itama Senju!!
The God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, instinctively took half a step forward!!!
"Itama!!"
He still remembered...
When he rushed over to support him, even though he had gone as fast as he could, all he found was Itama's body, forced back against a rock.
That tearing pain in his heart had been sharper than any wound he had ever suffered on the battlefield.
The backs of the five Uchiha, with the red-and-white fan crests, were right in front of his eyes.
They held weapons in their hands, forcing a young ninja not yet seven into a corner.
They used Sharingan and kunai to toy with Itama Senju, whose hair had been cut unevenly, half long and half short.
Naruto and the others inside Kamui's Dimension were watching too.
Seeing the moment of his own death, Itama's face turned deathly pale.
Hashirama, Tobirama, and Kawarama all felt their scalps go numb. They wanted Obito to let them out so they could save the Itama of that parallel world.
"Wait! Even if you go over, it'll probably be hard to protect your brother from five adult ninjas immediately, right?"
As he spoke, young Obito Uchiha opened a door in front of the God of Shinobi, who was standing on the rooftop terrace of the Hokage Tower.
Seeing the space before him twist, Hashirama Senju immediately understood young Obito's kindness.
"Thank you, Uchiha boy."
Hashirama Senju let the vortex draw him in, passing from Kamui's Dimension into this parallel world outside.
Feeling the pressure of such a powerful ninja, the five Uchiha ninjas who had been surrounding Itama Senju and forcing him back against the rock immediately turned around and stared warily at the man across from them.
The Warring States Period Uchiha clansmen who were still unable to leave Kamui's Dimension were naturally unhappy, but Obito chose to ignore them.
Itama, who had already been sentenced to death, looked through the gaps between the five Uchiha ninjas preparing to attack him. In that dazed moment, he thought the brother he had been waiting for so long had finally arrived.
His voice trembled with a sob as he called out, "Hashirama-nii-san, you finally made it."
The God of Shinobi nearly lost control.
It was as if he had only arrived a little too late...
"Yeah. Sorry."
The Uchiha ninja snapped, "Who are you?! A Senju ninja?!"
The instincts the five of them had honed on the battlefield told them this long-haired man in black was not someone to provoke.
"I won't hurt you. I only ask that you let the child in the middle go."
When Itama heard that the voice was not his brother's, the illusion faded. Only then did he realize that the man who had saved him and answered his "Hashirama-nii-san" looked at least in his twenties.
"Which clan are you from?! There's absolutely no one like you in the Senju! Do you want to make an enemy of the Uchiha?!"
Hashirama said, "I have never wanted to be enemies with the Uchiha. On the contrary, I hope this war can end as soon as possible, so children won't have to die in the whirlpool of adults' hatred."
As he spoke, the Uchiha had already taken attacking stances and activated their Sharingan.
Unfortunately, perhaps because Ashura was Indra's biological younger brother, Hashirama Senju had an innate immunity buff against the Sharingan.
"The Sharingan isn't working on him?!!"
"Who is that guy?!!"
"We can't let someone like this leave! Before his reinforcements show up..."
The five Uchiha let go of Itama Senju and charged toward the black-haired man they had never seen before, wielding twin blades, a giant shuriken, and kunai.
How could they have known that in later generations, this man would light the flame of peace in the chaotic era and be known as...
The God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju!