Chapter 509: We Can't Go Back

Madara Uchiha looked at Senju Hashirama, who had come before him with sincere emotion, then glanced at Lian Ye, whose face showed guilt.

Suddenly, he threw his head back and laughed loudly, the laughter filled with desolation.

"Hahaha... Make amends? Hashirama, you're still so naive. And you, Lian Ye, you did indeed fulfill what you once promised..."

As he spoke, he violently coughed up several mouthfuls of fresh blood, his aura rapidly wilting.

But Madara's gaze remained sharp; his eyes swept over the Konoha Ninja present, whose faces showed joy, and finally fixed on Qianshou Feijian.

The latter met Madara's gaze, his face expressionless.

"Do you think this is the end? Stopping me, will this Ninja World usher in the peace you hope for?"

Madara Uchiha's voice carried mockery, yet it seemed to see through the essence of this world.

"Hatred will never disappear. As long as conflict exists in this world, my ideals will eventually be understood by the people..."

Senju Hashirama looked at his friend, who remained stubbornly deluded even at this point, and spoke with deep anguish.

"Madara, we can be like before..."

He wanted to persuade Madara to abandon the "Moon's Eye" plan, and the matter of achieving true peace in the Ninja World.

In the future, they could work together, and eventually think of a better way.

Just like back then when they joined hands to end the war and pioneered the era of Ninja Villages.

He believed that as long as everyone worked together, they would eventually realize their ideals.

"We can't go back, Hashirama."

Madara Uchiha raised his hand to cut him off, his gaze complex as he looked at this lifelong best friend and rival.

"From the moment you chose the Village, from the moment you swung your blade at me from behind, we had already set off on completely different paths."

The Hashirama of the past had put the cart before the horse, forgetting the original intention of founding Konoha Village.

Hashirama originally built the Village to protect his family, clan, and comrades, but later it became a place where, to protect the Village, he would not hesitate to kill his family, clan, and comrades!

Such a path was undoubtedly wrong...

Madara always firmly believed that only the "Infinite Moon Reading" could bring true peace to the corrupt Ninja World!

Unfortunately, due to various reasons, he ultimately failed.

But he never regretted his choice; the road to success was always fraught with difficulties.

Nothing ever goes smoothly.

Fortunately, Madara had anticipated that this trip would be fraught with peril and had long made thorough preparations.

His body began to sway slightly; the Tachi in his abdomen prevented the wound from healing, and blood stained a large area of the ground.

If not treated in time, he would soon be on the verge of death.

"Madara, don't talk first. I'll have someone treat you!"

Seeing this, Senju Hashirama was about to call a Medical Ninja to treat his friend, but the latter raised a hand to stop him.

"No need, Hashirama." Madara Uchiha looked at his former friend's panicked expression and said coldly, "Saving me is useless. I won't give up the 'Moon's Eye' plan because of this!"

If only Hashirama hadn't been so stubbornly deluded, he wouldn't have been disappointed in Konoha Village and left the Village.

Now, the past no longer matters.

"Madara!"

Senju Hashirama was about to continue persuading him, but the latter no longer looked at him.

Seeing this, he knew his friend could not be persuaded by him, so he could only clench his fists in frustration and slowly lower his head.

Lian Ye, enduring the severe pain in his abdomen and the dizziness from blood loss, pulled out the black rod that had pierced him and casually stuck it into the ground.

He knew that for someone like Ban Daye, normal persuasion was utterly useless.

Such people often only believe what they see with their own eyes; no amount of persuasion from anyone would have any effect.

They simply refuse to learn until they hit a wall.

Even if he summoned the dead Yuzhibo Quannai right now, given the nature of the Uchiha brotherly bond.

Quan Nai might even help Madara realize his ideals.

In any case, persuading Madara to abandon the "Moon's Eye" plan was impossible.

Although he didn't want to see Ban Daye die like this, there was no other way at the moment.

At worst, he would capture Heijue later and use Reincarnation Born to revive him.

After all, with the Rinnegan, resurrection from the dead was hardly a difficult matter.

"The 'Moon's Eye' plan is the only salvation... You will understand eventually..." Madara Uchiha's voice grew weaker and weaker, and the light of the Rinnegan gradually dimmed. "But before that... Lian Ye..."

His gaze focused on Lian Ye once more, the look no longer one of cold killing intent.

Instead, it carried an indescribable expectation.

Or perhaps... an entrustment?

"Use those eyes of yours to see the truth of this world... See what will become of everything you claim to protect in the future?"

The current peace of the Ninja World is false; it is a peace maintained by Konoha's overwhelming military force.

As long as Konoha declines, war will break out again!

Just like when Hashirama faked his death and left Konoha back then.

One day, Lian Ye will realize how ridiculous his actions were in stopping him from realizing the "Moon's Eye" plan!

Madara Uchiha's body could no longer hold on, and he slowly fell backward.

"Madara!" Senju Hashirama stepped forward in a flash, catching his falling body, his face filled with sorrow.

No matter how different their ideals were, the man before him was still his closest friend.

It could be said that the two were not brothers, but more than brothers.

Lian Ye stood in place, clutching his wound, silent.

The current scene is completely different from what he once imagined; he failed to let Ban Daye enjoy his old age in peace.

On the contrary, he caused him to go down early.

If Ban Daye hadn't been tricked by Heijue into becoming crippled, if Ban Daye hadn't been so obsessive.

The course of events wouldn't have turned out like this.

He didn't complain about Ban Daye's ideas; everyone's beliefs and positions differ.

In Lian Ye's view, the Moon's Eye project is merely Heijue's plot to revive Kaguya Otsutsuki, and Ban Daye was deceived.

But in Madara Uchiha's eyes, the Moon's Eye project is the only way to achieve Ninja World Peace!

And Lian Ye's obstruction, to Madara Uchiha, is just preventing the realization of peace.

The two's ideas are completely opposite; a clash of contradictions is inevitable.

Just like the Shuukyoku no Tani between Senju Hashirama and Madara Uchiha back then, irreconcilable and inevitable.

In the end, the victor fulfills the ideal, while the loser can only die with regret.

But this time, unlike Shuukyoku no Tani, Madara Uchiha truly died, killed by his own hand.

Lian Ye looked at Madara Uchiha's corpse, and the scene of their first meeting flashed before his eyes.

That was, in the true sense, his first meeting with Ban Daye.

And later, under the pretense of a mission, he went to a cave to see the two. During that period, Ban Daye, with his great strength, helped him complete many S-rank Missions.

Later, there was the scene of them sunbathing in the Iron Country manor.

Lian Ye originally thought that from now on he could let Ban Daye live the same kind of days in Konoha Village.

Sunbathing daily with Uncle Hashirama, enjoying a flavorful retirement life.

But things turned out contrary to his wishes.