At this moment, the remnant soul of Senju Hashirama was also observing the illusion. A trace of joy appeared between his brows.
"I didn't expect to meet Madara again like this… it truly makes me happy."
But immediately, doubt followed.
How could this youth know so many details from back then?
These were things he had never told anyone.
Secrets that belonged only to him and Uchiha Madara—yet now, someone else knew them.
Wait.
Hashirama's soul suddenly stared at Uchiha Ran, his pupils shrinking.
"My Madara… why does this Uchiha Ran look so much like him? Could this child be Madara's descendant?"
The scene continued.
"What's the difference between that and the title Hokage? And you still haven't fixed your habit of getting gloomy at the slightest thing!" Madara snapped impatiently.
Hashirama paused, then smiled.
"The village construction is about to enter its main phase. The Hokage will be very busy."
"So, we'll carve your huge face onto the cliff below," Hashirama said solemnly. "As a symbol of protecting the village."
Madara's heart skipped a beat. The corner of his mouth twitched, though joy rose within him.
"A-Are you joking?!"
Hashirama chuckled, even closing one eye exaggeratedly as if acting cute.
"But your face is too fierce. It needs a bit of adjustment."
Madara's brow twitched violently.
"That's still better than your pathetic, depressed expression!"
Hashirama instantly switched expressions, looking utterly dejected.
"Is it really that embarrassing?"
Seeing Hashirama like this, Madara burst out laughing.
"Yes. Absolutely disgraceful!"
At this moment, Madara no longer looked like the cold, ruthless, bloodthirsty figure of legend. Instead, he seemed like a free-spirited, charismatic young man.
"Is that so?" Hashirama laughed as well.
The two figures gradually walked away together.
The illusion ended.
Ran withdrew his chakra, and everyone awoke from the genjutsu.
Hiashi Hyūga stared in shock.
"Lord Fifth Hokage… is this truly the situation when Konoha was founded, and the origin of the title Hokage?"
Ran nodded calmly.
"That's correct."
With this confirmation, many doubts were resolved—but a deeper one emerged.
"Then why wasn't Uchiha Madara the First Hokage instead of Senju Hashirama?"
"Yes! From what we saw, there was nothing wrong with Madara becoming Hokage. If it was agreed upon, why did Hashirama end up taking the position?"
Something clearly didn't add up.
All eyes turned to Ran.
"For this," Ran said coldly, "we must mention someone who mastered open schemes to perfection."
"Our Second Hokage—Senju Tobirama."
"Compared to the First Hokage, Hashirama, his life was lacking in one thing: he spent nearly all of it targeting the Uchiha Clan."
Ran sneered.
Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer hold back.
Ran had just openly insulted his teacher.
As Tobirama's most prized disciple and successor, how could he tolerate this?
"Uchiha Ran, you are outrageous!" Hiruzen snapped.
"Do you know that Lord Tobirama established a department with authority second only to the Hokage for the Uchiha? Was that not enough?!"
Ran glanced at him without answering.
Instead, he released the illusion once more.
This time, Uchiha Madara stood hidden outside a room, lips pressed tight, as heated voices erupted inside.
"Big brother, do you even understand what you're doing?!"
Tobirama's voice was stern and sharp.
"Your strength is clearly no weaker than Madara's! Why give the Hokage position to such an emotionally unstable man?!"
"Tobirama, enough!" Hashirama rose to his feet.
"I promised Madara that once village affairs stabilized, he would become Hokage and I would assist him!"
"Even if someone tries to stop me, it's impossible!"
He turned to leave.
At that moment, Sasuke Sarutobi—Hiruzen's father—entered the room, exchanging a subtle glance with Tobirama.
Hashirama sensed nothing unusual and greeted him, preparing to leave.
Then Sasuke spoke.
"Lord First Hokage, this is the will of the people of Konoha."
Hashirama paused and turned back.
"What do you mean?"
Sasuke smiled gently.
"I once conducted a survey regarding the candidate for First Hokage. Over ninety percent of the ninja clans and shinobi wish for you, Lord Hashirama, to inherit the position."
As he spoke, he produced a prepared document.
Hashirama didn't want to take it.
Tobirama snatched it away instead.
His white hair and mocking expression made his stance unmistakable.
After skimming it, he handed it to Hashirama.
"Big brother, you don't have to listen to me," Tobirama said calmly.
"But you can't ignore the will of the villagers."
"Don't forget how many people died to exchange for this peace."
"If you act arbitrarily and disregard the people, Konoha will be destroyed sooner or later."
He struck Hashirama's weakest point.
By wielding the village's will and morality as weapons, Tobirama left him no choice.
Hashirama had to take the Hokage position.
And abandon Uchiha Madara.
This time, Hashirama didn't argue.
His expression darkened.
After a long silence, he spoke softly.
"I understand."
A heavy pressure radiated from him as he walked toward the door.
He glanced back once at Sasuke Sarutobi and Tobirama.
Then—
Bang!
The door slammed shut.
Sasuke Sarutobi shuddered and looked toward Tobirama, who stared silently at the closed door.
Outside the window, Madara clenched his teeth.
In the end, he chose not to reveal himself.
But he understood clearly—
With Tobirama and these methods, he was unlikely to ever sit in the position of First Hokage.
Still… it didn't matter.
If Hashirama was Hokage and he assisted from the shadows, that wasn't a bad outcome.
Thus, Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama experienced their first rift—
And began walking down two diverging paths.
Inside the room.
Tobirama sat down and said calmly, "Sasuke, well done."
"This public opinion report… it's fake, isn't it?"
Sasuke froze, glanced at the door, and after confirming Hashirama was gone, laughed.
"As expected of Lord Tobirama. Yes—it's fake."
Tobirama narrowed his eyes.
"You handled it well."
"If not for this, my brother wouldn't have abandoned Madara so easily."