Chapter 352: Hashirama and Madara: Reflections on the Ninja World!

The meeting of Hashirama and Madara naturally led to endless conversation.

Even so, right after that.

The two still fought inside the ice-and-snow space, while Black Zetsu ignored it all, his eyes vacant and fixed on the sky in utter despair.

Clearly.

After completely losing hope of saving his mother, he no longer knew what to do—after all, saving Kaguya had been his entire reason for existing.

Half an hour later.

Only after thoroughly exhausting himself in his dance did Madara sit down to chat leisurely with Hashirama.

“By the way, Hashirama.”

“Isn’t that kid Uchiha Jin part of that faction? How did he end up locked in this otherworldly space too?”

“Did Itachi also have a conflict with him?”

Madara’s face was full of confusion—he clearly couldn’t make sense of it.

He’d been too absorbed in showing off his dance and suffering to ask earlier; now that he was idle, he couldn’t help but inquire.

Hashirama quickly waved his hand and said, “Of course I wasn’t imprisoned—I just wanted to come find Itachi quickly, so I had Uchiha Jin bring me in.”

“Oh, right!”

“I got so caught up chatting with Itachi, I forgot to tell Itachi the real matter.”

“Since Itachi’ve been resurrected by Impure World Reincarnation, don’t break the technique on your own for now. In Jin’s words, the Pure Land is controlled by the Sage of Six Paths, and right now, Konoha and the Sage are enemies.”

“If Itachi return to the Pure Land, Itachi’ll easily be controlled by the Sage of Six Paths!”

“Jin will move quickly to kill the Sage of Six Paths; once that’s done, Itachi can do as Itachi please—but for now, absolutely do not return to the Pure Land!”

As he spoke these words, Hashirama was extremely serious.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

In terms of being absent-minded, Uchiha Madara was much like Hashirama.

He showed no reaction to Hashirama’s distraction and forgetfulness—he was instead immediately curious about the state of the Pure Land, the Sage of Six Paths’ situation, and why Uchiha Jin had clashed with the Sage.

No way around it!

Back when we were alive, Itachi and I were practically the strongest in the ninja world.

But now?

How did all these demons and monsters suddenly appear?

Hashirama didn’t hide anything—he told Madara everything he knew.

The relationships between the Sage of Six Paths, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, Hagoromo’s brother Hamura, Kaguya, and others; the origins of the Ōtsutsuki clan; the past histories of the Senju and Uchiha clans.

And Uchiha Jin’s theories—that the ninja world is merely a nursery, that the millennia-long feud between Asura and Indra was deliberately engineered by the Sage of Six Paths to keep the ninja world in constant warfare and thus mass-produce strong warriors…

The ultimate goal: to prepare for battle against the Ōtsutsuki.

This was why the ninja world had never known peace for a thousand years—and why, after Uchiha Jin unified the ninja world, the Sannin Mountain and Hagoromo in the Pure Land could no longer sit idle, leading to the previous battle with Jiraiya.

Uchiha Madara stared in shock.

He simply could not believe the truth was this absurd.

The reason the ninja world could never know peace was simply because of Hagoromo’s family—and their goal was to deliberately cultivate the ninja world to prepare for the coming Ōtsutsuki clan.

“Hah, how ridiculous!”

“I never thought our old dream of peace wasn’t beyond our ability—but that someone actively refused to let us achieve it!”

“I can’t accept this!”

“I understand the need to train warriors to fight the Ōtsutsuki—I know strength requires bloodshed—but I can’t accept turning the ninja world into a so-called nursery!”

“After all, according to Itachi, Hashirama, the Ōtsutsuki plant God Trees on planets across the universe—so if they want to train warriors, why not conquer other planets?”

“Just ensure overall peace in the ninja world, then select those willing to fight and grow stronger, and send them batch by batch into the boundless stars to battle.”

“Don’t tell me it’s impossible!”

“He’s Kaguya’s child, a born Ōtsutsuki, and he mastered Senjutsu…”

“If after a thousand years of cultivation he still can’t manage this, then the Sage of Six Paths is nothing but a worthless fool!”

His words were utterly commanding.

Yes!

Upon learning of the Ōtsutsuki clan’s existence, Uchiha Madara knew warriors needed training for the possible future battle.

But equally.

There were many ways to train warriors—why choose the most bloody, cruel, and dehumanizing one?

In essence, that’s arrogance.

It was an arrogance greater than even the Uchiha’s—Hagoromo and Hamura, those so-called sages, may talk endlessly of love and such nonsense, but their actions revealed a supreme superiority—they never regarded themselves or humanity as the same species.

“Exactly!”

“Madara, Itachi’re absolutely right!”

“Since the Ōtsutsuki plant God Trees on countless planets, it proves the universe holds far more than just the ninja world.”

“I’ve decided!”

“When Uchiha Jin’s resurrection slot comes for me, I’ll revive immediately and head into the stars to fight.”

“Madara, will Itachi come with me?”

Uchiha Madara smiled proudly.

Fight?

Of course he loved it!

Especially fighting alongside Hashirama—but after his excitement faded, he fell silent: “Hashirama, don’t get too excited yet!”

“Though the Rinnegan can revive, the conditions are extremely strict.”

“The host of my Rinnegan, Nagato, has a strong body by Uzumaki standards—but even consuming all his so-called life force, he still lacks the power to fully revive me.”

“Only when he gathers all nine Tailed Beasts and becomes the true jinchuriki of the Ten-Tails can he barely qualify to revive me alone.”

“Uchiha Jin is strong, yes—but he’s still a Rinnegan user like me. Are Itachi truly certain he can revive us all?”

Upon hearing Hashirama’s words, Uchiha Madara was the first to refuse to believe it.

After all, both were Rinnegan users; even if he’d lost the match, he couldn’t believe Uchiha Jin could accomplish such a feat.

As for this.

Hashirama scratched his head, thought for a moment, then shook his head: “I don’t fully understand the details, but I’m willing to trust Uchiha Jin.”

“That kid doesn’t make empty boasts, and everything he promises, he’s always delivered.”

“I trust my own judgment—just believe me, Madara.”

“Jin’s returning to Konoha to handle some matters; once he’s done, he’ll come here. We can ask him then.”

“Don’t rush—wait…”

Hearing this, Uchiha Madara froze.

Yet.

Though he didn’t believe Uchiha Jin could achieve this, he still trusted Hashirama—after all, their decades-long friendship meant he knew Hashirama’s judgment was razor-sharp.

For all his seeming simplicity, Hashirama was a man of profound wisdom.