Black Zetsu was stunned for a moment, then quickly returned to that sly, shameless expression and nodded.
"Got it, got it. I was planning to do that anyway... After all, in the original story, I followed everything from beginning to end."
Black Zetsu paused, then suddenly narrowed his eyes and asked in an extremely ingratiating yet probing tone, "Um... Lord System, is there any reward after I successfully manipulate Madara?"
"You can't expect me to work for nothing, right? How about giving me some more good stuff? For example... some more Rinnegan fragments? Or some other rare ability?"
The system was silent for a second.
Immediately afterward, that mechanical voice replied without any emotion.
[Rewards will be issued based on the host's performance.]
[If the performance is outstanding, additional high-level rewards may be obtained.]
[If the performance is poor, or causes an irreversible deviation in the plot... the system will confiscate all rewards currently obtained by the host.]
Black Zetsu's smile instantly froze on his face.
"C-confiscate all the rewards?"
Black Zetsu's heart tightened instinctively.
The smugness he had felt moments ago completely disappeared, replaced by deep caution and wariness.
"Understood."
Black Zetsu restrained all his frivolous expressions and nodded solemnly.
"I'll handle it carefully. There definitely won't be any mistakes."
The system gave no further response, as if it had fallen completely silent.
Black Zetsu stood in the shadows. After remaining silent for a moment, he turned his gaze back toward the distant battlefield, where the fierce clash was still continuing.
———
A night of fierce fighting.
The mountains near the Valley of the End had almost been completely reshaped.
The huge Wood Release forest and the destructive power of the Tailed Beasts repeatedly clashed. The earth had been torn open by countless bottomless cracks, rivers had changed course, and mountains had collapsed.
The Nine-Tails wrapped in Susanoo, Hashirama's Wood Golem, and Wood Dragon collided again and again. Every clash made even the sky change color.
At the darkest moment before dawn, the battle finally reached its end.
Uchiha Madara's Susanoo and the Nine-Tails had both disappeared, and his breathing was noticeably heavier than before.
Senju Hashirama was in just as bad a state.
Hashirama's armor was almost torn apart. There were wounds all over his body, and traces of blood remained at the corner of his mouth.
At this moment, Hashirama had completely understood.
Madara would not turn back.
No matter what he said or did, the man who had once fought alongside him and dreamed with him of ending the wars had completely chosen another path.
And at the end of that path was Konoha's destruction.
Hashirama's fingers tightened slightly as he gripped the tachi at his waist that he had never used until now.
"Madara..."
"I can't let you destroy Konoha."
"And I can't let you destroy the peace we once protected together.", Senju Hashirama said seriously.
Madara gave him a cold look, then continued fighting.
The two exchanged blows in taijutsu several times. Uchiha Madara seized an opening and instantly punched through Senju Hashirama!
A trace of hesitation flashed through Uchiha Madara's eyes. At the very moment Madara hesitated, the Senju Hashirama who had been pierced was actually a Wood Clone.
Uchiha Madara's pupils contracted as he realized something was wrong.
At this very moment, Hashirama's figure suddenly disappeared.
The sound of the tachi being drawn was almost drowned out by the wind.
The next second, the sharp blade, carrying a decisive force, pierced precisely into Uchiha Madara's heart from behind.
"Pff!"
Madara's body suddenly stiffened.
He slowly lowered his head and looked at the tip of the blade protruding from his chest, as well as the blood continuously dripping down the blade.
A trace of genuine disbelief flashed through his Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Hashirama... you..."
Hashirama stood behind him, both hands gripping the hilt tightly. His voice trembled slightly from his suppressed emotions.
"I'm sorry, Madara."
"This time... I won't hold back anymore."
The blade was forcefully pulled out.
Uchiha Madara's body swayed before finally falling down.
Several months after the great battle ended.
The flames of war in the Valley of the End had long since died down. At the same time, to warn the world about this war, Konoha built statues of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama.
Within Konoha Village, the news that Uchiha Madara had "died in battle" also spread completely.
Publicly, Senju Hashirama only stated lightly, "The disputes of the past have ended."
But Hashirama himself knew that true peace was still far from coming.
The Nine-Tails had been sealed again by him after that battle, but the other Tailed Beasts were still wandering throughout the ninja world.
If they were left unchecked, sooner or later they would become sparks that caused another great war.
After several months of thought and preparation, Hashirama finally made up his mind.
Capture the Tailed Beasts and distribute them among the various countries.
Use this to exchange for a balance of power and have the countries temporarily lay down their weapons.
The Five Kage Summit was therefore officially put on the agenda.
———
At the border of the Land of Fire, a neutral meeting venue had been temporarily established.
A huge round stone table was placed in the center of an open plateau, with the Anbu of the various countries jointly standing guard around it.
The sky was overcast, and the heavy clouds hung low, as if they too were watching this meeting that was about to determine the structure of the ninja world.
Senju Hashirama took his seat first.
He was still wearing his simple Hokage robes, with his usual gentle yet tired smile on his face.
Standing beside him was Senju Tobirama. The latter had a cold expression, his sharp gaze sweeping across the surroundings. Clearly, he was not optimistic about this meeting.
Afterward, the other four arrived one after another.
The First Kazekage of the Land of Wind, Reto.
The First Mizukage of the Land of Water, Byakuren.
The First Tsuchikage of the Land of Earth, Ishikawa.
The First Raikage of the Land of Lightning, A. (It still has to be said that, apart from Darui, all the other Raikage are called A.)
The five gathered together.
Silence lingered in the air for several breaths.
In the end, Hashirama spoke first.
Senju Hashirama was extremely excited, grateful that they had all shown Konoha enough respect to come here for the Five Kage Summit.
Senju Hashirama even prostrated himself on the spot.
"Everyone, thank you for coming."
"I gathered everyone here today because I want to discuss something concerning the future of the ninja world."
Reto leaned forward slightly. "Hokage, just say it. You wouldn't have called all of us here for no reason."
Hashirama nodded and stopped beating around the bush.
"The Tailed Beasts."
As these two words fell, the eyes of the other four all narrowed slightly at the same time.
"The nine Tailed Beasts currently known to us possess enough power to destroy a city. If we continue to let them wander through the various countries, or allow a single village to monopolize them, sooner or later they will trigger another war."
"I plan to capture all of them and distribute them according to the actual circumstances of each country.", Hashirama's voice became steady as he spoke.
"Not monopolize them, but share them."
"Let every side possess enough power to protect itself, but not enough to easily swallow another country. Use this to maintain balance and exchange it for true peace."
After his words fell, the meeting room fell into a brief silence.
Senju Tobirama showed a helpless expression beside him, but he still agreed with his elder brother's idea.
"But you'll need to pay for them, or exchange land and resources. Konoha won't be giving them away for free."
Senju Tobirama added from the side.