Chapter 496: Hashirama, I

Lian Ye, I'm A Fei, the one who moves with you!

A Fei, whose throat Lian Ye had a death‑grip on, his survival instinct overwhelming, quickly spoke to declare his identity.

Lian Ye, hearing that, eased his grip slightly, but had no intention of letting go, furrowed his brows and asked.

"A Fei, what are you doing here?"

This guy is Ban Daye's faithful little sidekick; his appearing here can only mean trouble.

He is very likely ordered to cause trouble.

"Lian Ye, I have no ill intent; I'm just here to convey Lord Ban's words…"

At those words, Qianshou Feijian's gaze turned slightly cold, and he looked at A Fei, speaking in a deep voice.

"What does Madara Uchiha want to tell us?"

"Lord Ban tells you to abandon resistance, not to attempt futile struggles, and to honestly hand over the Nine‑Tails Jinchuriki."

A Fei immediately relayed Madara Uchiha's words.

"Lord Ban can promise you that he'll only extract half of the Nine‑Tailed Chakra, sparing the life of Xuanwo Mizuto."

Lian Ye raised an eyebrow at the words, not expecting Ban Daye to still retain some humanity.

Perhaps because Mizuto Ayi is the wife of Uncle Hashirama, they plan to take only half of the Nine‑Tailed Chakra.

One can only say the two truly are good brothers.

Having reached such a relentless stage, they still need to care about Uncle Hashirama's thoughts.

"Do you have anything else to add?" Lian Ye stared into A Fei's eyes, prompting, "For example, when will Lord Ban attack Konoha?"

A Fei, made hair stand on his whole body by Lian Ye's stare, subconsciously swallowed.

"Lian Ye, I don't know…"

He was almost on the verge of crying, truly not knowing the exact time Lord Ban would attack Konoha.

At most, he's just a messenger.

"Really don't know?"

Lian Ye, Unrelenting, kept probing, suspecting the guy hadn't spoken truthfully.

He was just overthinking; A Fei truly knows nothing.

Seeing the inquiry fruitless, Lian Ye uninterestingly released his grip.

The moment A Fei broke free, he immediately slipped underground, only after a while daring to poke his head out from afar.

Afraid of being seized by Lian Ye again.

"Lian Ye, I've delivered the message, hope you consider it carefully…"

Before the words finished, the angry Qianshou Feijian cut him off.

"Go back and tell Madara Uchiha to give up that thought; we will never let him run amok!"

The "Moon's Eye" plan is nothing short of a mad World Destruction Plan.

In any case, they must stop Madara!

A Fei finally glanced at the three, his head slowly sinking back into the ground.

The Laboratory fell silent again.

"Uncle, the time left for us isn't much."

Lian Ye's expression grew serious, and he instinctively looked at the pair of eyes in the culture dish.

If the experiment succeeds, he is confident he can stop Ban Daye, make him abandon unrealistic fantasies, and peacefully return to the village to retire.

But if it fails, they'll have to resort to a human‑wave tactic to wear him out.

"Kid, even if the experiment fails, it won't matter much to us."

Qianshou Feijian assumed Lian Ye thought they couldn't stand against Madara Uchiha, and offered comfort.

"With Konoha Village's combat power, trying to stop Madara Uchiha's plan isn't as hard as you imagine."

The worst‑case scenario is merely that more people will be sacrificed in this battle.

Including himself.

But as long as they can stop Madara Uchiha's World Destruction Plan, these losses mean nothing.

"Lian Ye Teacher, the victory of this war will ultimately belong to Konoha," Orochimaru said calmly.

Madara Uchiha, however strong, cannot simultaneously defeat Konoha's many strong ones.

As long as they can delay until Madara's condition wanes, that counts as success for them.

Lian Ye gave no explanation, merely nodded silently in agreement.

He glanced at the eyes in the culture dish, then turned and left the Laboratory.

He will inform Tuan Cang of what just happened, so he can prepare for battle in advance.

Ban Daye will launch the offensive in this period.

Hashirama Residence.

"Will Madara finally have to go this far?"

Senju Hashirama sat on the doorstep, hands supporting his chin, sorrowfully gazing at the distant Hokage Rock.

Clearly the two were best friends, yet because of differing ideals they walked completely opposite paths.

He once, to stop Madara, personally killed his friend.

And this time Madara returns, yet he lacks the power to stop his friend.

"Lian Ye, do you think I can persuade him to abandon the plan?"

Senju Hashirama turned his head, looking at Lian Ye also seated on the doorstep, asking with expectation.

Hoping to get the answer he desired from his mouth.

Lian Ye gave Hashirama no hope, merely remaining silent and shaking his head.

If Uncle Hashirama could persuade Ban Daye with Mouth Ninjutsu, the situation wouldn't have escalated to this point.

Since awakening the Rinnegan, Lord Ban is no longer the Ban Daye they were familiar with.

Senju Hashirama, seeing this, couldn't help feeling a bit down.

After a moment of silence, he asked again with hope, "Will we be able to spare Ban a life then?"

Back then he personally killed Ban, and that is his greatest regret in this life.

Even though later he learned that Ban used Izanagi to Fake Death, the regret never faded, merely lingering silently in his heart.

He does not wish, in his remaining years, to witness a friend's tragic death again.

"Uncle Hashirama, I'll do my best."

Without the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, Lian Ye truly has little confidence.

In battle, capturing an enemy alive is often harder than killing them.

This would require Konoha to possess overwhelming strength, enabling it to defeat Madara Uchiha with ease.

But it is clear that Konoha lacks such power.

Or rather, Ban Daye is too powerful, making it difficult for Konoha Village.

"Please, Lian Ye."

Iron Country, in a cave.

"Lord Ban, I have already conveyed your instructions to Lord Lian Ye."

"What does that kid say?"

"Lord Lian Ye said nothing; Qianshou Feijian stated that they could never agree."

A Fei will recount in full detail what he witnessed in the Laboratory.

Including Qianshou Feijian's remarks.

"Feijian, what a detestable fellow."

The disdain in Madara Uchiha's eyes vanished in an instant, and he said coldly,

"Since they are unwilling, we have no choice but to suppress them with force."

If it weren't for Hashirama's face, he would never have let A Fei go to report.

In the Ninja World, the fist is the only truth.

And Madara Uchiha's fist happens to be both huge and hard!

He gently closed his eyes, feeling the surging power within his body, and subconsciously clenched his fist.

"The body has almost fully recovered; preparing to execute the Nine-Tails Retrieval Plan."

"Roger!"

A Fei immediately summoned the White Zetsu Army, ordering the upcoming invasion of Konoha.

Three days later, Madara Uchiha slowly rose and snapped the Chakra Transmission Tube attached to his back.

He looked toward Konoha Village and muttered to himself.

"Hashirama, I'm coming."

Immediately after, countless White Zetsu Army units slipped underground, continuously rushing toward Konoha Village.