After the call ended, Senju Hashirama hung up the communicator with a bewildered expression.
"So what the hell was it? Did you get a clear answer or not?"
By now Madara also came out of the bathroom, using a towel to wipe down his armor and hair.
"I did get a clear answer..." Hashirama still looked deeply dazed.
"If you got the answer, then why are you still standing there looking stupid? Tell me what's going on." Madara frowned impatiently.
"You never believe me anyway, so what's the point of me saying it?" Hashirama came back to his senses, looking thoroughly aggrieved.
Good grief—Hashirama always somehow managed to counterattack without even trying.
And was this really the sort of conversation two grown men were supposed to be having?!
"Just say it first. Whether I believe it or not is for me to judge."
"Alright then. Madara... do you believe in gravity?"
Hashirama very awkwardly began explaining the possible mechanism everyone discovered before regarding the pull of fate.
Starting from the physical principle that greater mass means greater gravitational pull, he extended it into the idea that greater chakra meant a stronger pull of destiny, that the strong were always drawn to one another, and that the strong also more easily attracted large numbers of followers, and so on.
Then he even cited the extreme case from the Limited Tsukuyomi world.
"Tobirama said that in the real shinobi world, the most classic example of chakra attraction is the endless entanglement between Asura's and Indra's chakra. But aside from that, it's normally very hard for any true pulling force to actually change a person's free will. Even the entanglement between the brothers Asura and Indra can be broken, as long as that generation is strong enough to break free of the cycle."
When Hashirama got to that point, his expression turned somewhat complicated.
Because by that logic, he and Madara really should have had a solid chance to break free.
"Tobirama was terrified that after being reanimated, you'd keep making terrible mistakes, so he specially made you a custom body. A very, very weak body. Then he stuffed inside you some bizarre catalysts that can intensify chakra attraction."
"For an ordinary shinobi, that kind of catalyst would barely amount to anything. But for someone as horribly frail as you... and with only me here beside you acting as a massive chakra source... normally, a living shinobi could metabolize it out in time, but since you're in an Edo Tensei body, Tobirama added it twice, before and after! No matter what, you were bound to enter a drawn-in state..."
As Hashirama kept explaining, Uchiha Madara's expression turned worse and worse.
Even though Hashirama's explanation was somewhat disordered, Madara still pieced it together with his own sharp intelligence.
So that was why he suddenly wanted to get close to Hashirama earlier!
Even if his excuse had been wanting to smear the fertilizer onto him, the physical act of sticking his body to Hashirama's still completely violated Madara's own prideful logic.
And no wonder he, as an Edo Tensei body, actually felt heat!
So the thing wasn't acting on the physical body at all. It was acting strictly on chakra.
Which also meant it acted on the very soul.
"Madara, don't blame Tobirama. He really did this for your own good!"
Seeing Madara's horrified expression change, Hashirama quickly tried to console him.
Sure, Tobirama jokingly said at first that he'd put aphrodisiac in Madara's body, but afterward he explained it clearly!
Strictly speaking, it wasn't really an aphrodisiac.
At most, it was something that would heavily increase affinity between him and Madara.
'For my own good?!'
Madara's face looked as though he just swallowed something foul.
If Tobirama were ever sincerely acting for his good, then Madara would willingly serve as Hashirama's mount on the spot!
"Hashirama, don't come any closer! Since you know what this vile thing does, then stay the hell away from me!" Madara took a huge step back.
Now he understood.
The terrifying source of that heat was the catalyst intensifying the gravitational pull of Hashirama's enormous chakra!
Fortunately, no matter how capable Tobirama was, he only increased the attraction by a limited amount.
It wasn't as outrageous as the stories Hashirama just told about the Limited Tsukuyomi world, where the entire shinobi world literally lusted after Tailed Beast bodies.
"No, Madara, I can't leave you all alone anymore!" Hashirama stepped forward and gazed at Madara with intense gaze.
Madara felt his scalp tingle with fear.
If only he could activate the Rinnegan even once—just once—then he could use it to forcibly absorb some of Hashirama's chakra!
Not enough to return to his peak, perhaps, because this Edo Tensei body still imposed massive limits, but at least enough for him to move normally again!
But right now, forget opening the Rinnegan.
The moment he even tried to activate a basic Sharingan, his brittle body immediately began collapsing!
Then it would immediately enter the automatic regeneration phase of Impure World Reincarnation, freezing him in place.
"Even if I have to break all your limbs, I'll drag you back onto the right path!"
'?'
What did "breaking all your limbs" even mean on an Edo Tensei body?!
Where had Hashirama copied that dramatic line from?!
He just picked it up somewhere and used it directly, didn't he?!
"Hashirama, you disgust me. Don't come over here, don't— mmph."
Madara was pulled into Hashirama's arms in one swift, inescapable motion.
The dense, vast chakra making direct contact at zero distance instantly slammed into his consciousness.
Fortunately, Uchiha Madara's will was legendary.
In the end, he still did not fall for the trick.
But Senju Hashirama had absolutely no intention of letting him off.
Hashirama was fully prepared to fight a prolonged battle. He was determined to make Madara turn away from evil and return to the right path.
And so he stayed with Madara in the little house, essentially keeping him completely hidden away in a gilded cage.
Even though Madara was currently extremely weak, Hashirama still specially had sensory barriers placed all around the area, just in case.
The barrier covered a fairly wide stretch of land nearby.
Strictly speaking, it was only a sensory barrier—if someone tried to break through it by force, people would notice.
But for ordinary people, and for Madara, who managed to snap his own leg with one kick to a wooden coffin lid, it definitely served as an absolute obstacle.
...
A few days passed.
On the surface, Uchiha Madara acted compliant.
Secretly, he was fiercely biding his time.
He kept coaxing all sorts of critical information out of Hashirama. Now Madara had no choice but to start believing some of the crazy things Hashirama said earlier.
Because he had to find a way to save himself!
At this point, he didn't care whether Black Zetsu was truly someone else's will, or whether the Infinite Tsukuyomi was really a grand conspiracy.
First, he had to completely regain control over himself!
Once he had that power back, he could judge the truth or falsehood of everything for himself.
And even if it all turned out to be false, that still wouldn't stop him from reviving and guiding the shinobi world toward a new form of true peace!
But the prerequisite for all of that was that he remained the king—not the mount!
One day, Hashirama left the house to go organize various statistics and data on the current state of peace and alliance across the shinobi world, intending to show them to Madara and finally win him over completely.
And Madara, after Hashirama left, slowly made his way out of the small house with the aid of two wooden crutches.
Yes, crutches.
Madara discovered that if he didn't use them, then even walking a little too quickly would cause his brittle body to instantly start entering the automatic repair state of Edo Tensei.
'That bastard Tobirama truly went too far!'
And why was Madara sneaking out now? Naturally, it wasn't to escape.
Hashirama, who couldn't keep a secret to save his life, already told him about the barrier surrounding the area.
What Madara wanted now was something else entirely: to find a certain person—or rather, a certain thing—hidden within the barrier.
Hashirama told him that the emergence of the Rinnegan wasn't about Uchiha plus Senju, but about Indra's chakra and Asura's chakra.
They had been the previous generation.
This generation was Naruto and Sasuke, and they were apparently living not far away.
Madara didn't know what exactly the situation between those two was, but he understood the critical part about Asura's reincarnation.
The thing that could massively increase one's chakra without even needing the Rinnegan to absorb it was called Hashirama cells.
Now that Hashirama was dead, there was no way Madara was getting Hashirama cells out of him.
So the only option left was to set his sights on the cells of Hashirama's next incarnation!