HSU: Ch. 326

The great forest of Konoha once again welcomed the morning.

Yet, this was a noisy morning.

Although Earth and the world of the ninjas had taken completely different paths, there was still one similarity.

With the development of technology, the destructive power of mankind's military actions toward the natural environment had risen sharply, constantly testing the limits of nature's ability to adjust.

In the era of warring states, the effect of concentration also extended to wars, the consumption of resources and destruction of the environment far exceeded that period.

But unlike Earth, this world still had gods.

Godlike beings could, through their own strength, accomplish what armies could not.

And what made gods "gods" was that even if they were reincarnated through Edo Tensei, they remained gods.

As the sun rose, the sky was still dim, yet crimson flames surged from afar to near, igniting the outer edge of Konoha's forest.

With a thunderous roar, a swath of trees was blasted away by a Fire Release.

A colossal blue giant strode out from the sea of flames.

"Madara!"

With a shout, wooden dragons burst forth from the burning land. Flames clung to their bodies, but that only increased their destructive power.

The wooden dragons slammed fiercely toward the Susanoo ahead.

But the massive Susanoo swung its blade in return, the materialized chakra cleaving the wooden dragons in an instant, and without losing momentum, the slash roared toward the giant wooden man behind them.

With agility defying its size, the wooden man leapt to the side.

The chakra blade vanished into the depths of the forest, leaving chaos and debris in its wake.

"Madara, stop this at once!" Hashirama stood upon the wooden man's shoulder, cupping his hands like a horn. "Come back with me now! We can talk things out properly!"

Madara had left Konoha late at night, after Setsuna's burial.

Hashirama, who had been watching him closely, immediately gave chase.

The two had already been locked in standoff through the night.

At first, it was only a clash of fists and kicks. Then came fire and trees. Now, their blows grew heavier and heavier.

"Hashirama, you're wasting your time. Don't forget, both you and I are in Edo Tensei now." Madara's voice was unmoved within Susanoo. "You think you can wear down my chakra like before? That's impossible for you now."

"You won't even attend the funeral of your old subordinate? That's too heartless, Madara." Hashirama couldn't understand what had gotten into his old friend.

If Madara had left the village back then, at least there had been reasons Hashirama could grasp. But now? He couldn't understand at all.

Things had been fine, and suddenly, he just walked away.

In fact, Hashirama had even prepared a written speech, intending to have a long, heartfelt talk with Madara by candlelight.

But the draft went unused, and Madara left.

Hashirama himself had rushed out too quickly to bring it.

Now he had no choice but to improvise!

"Setsuna was an Uchiha. He didn't need a hypocritical ceremony." Madara said coldly. "All of you harbor your own schemes. The so-called rites do nothing but disturb his rest. In the end, to this village, he was nothing more than a convenient tool."

The tip of Susanoo's blade swung, not toward Hashirama, but in the opposite direction.

"This world no longer has anyone whose opinion I care about. Hashirama, you'd best stop pestering me. I won't hesitate to start destroying every city I see."

"How can you say that? There are still so many children of the Uchiha clan. How can you abandon them? Don't you worry for them?" Hashirama argued in desperation.

At the moment, it was the only argument he could come up with.

Besides, last time he visited, hadn't Madara been carrying several children with him?

Sure, Madara's face had been arrogant as ever, but he hadn't shaken the children off, had he?

That was progress! In the past, would children even get close to him?

"What is there to worry about? Do you think Konoha still would treat the Uchiha as it once did?"

To Madara, Hashirama's words sounded laughably childish.

To show his utter disdain, he decided to turn his back on Hashirama, presenting only his lofty, solitary figure as silent mockery.

Be proud, Hashirama! You're the only one who gets to see my back!

Susanoo turned away from the wooden man, and suddenly bolted.

The wooden man had its advantages in versatility, but it had one flaw: it couldn't maintain continuous movement.

A complete Susanoo, however, could do whatever its wielder could do. And there were things Susanoo could do that its wielder could not.

This sudden move left Hashirama utterly dumbfounded.

He had never once imagined Madara would turn his back on him and run.

Hadn't they always clashed head-on?

If something so abnormal happened, then surely something was wrong.

"Madara! Don't run!" Hashirama roared, abandoning the wooden man and giving chase himself.

But truth be told, without a running wooden man, his body's constant Body Flicker wasn't nearly enough to match a sprinting Susanoo.

And the sheer difference in stride length between them decided the outcome. The farther he ran, the farther Susanoo got, until Hashirama realized he could never catch up.

He had no choice but to stop, trying to digest this explosive revelation.

Madara had actually turned his back on his opponent, and run away?

Hashirama was completely unable to process it.

Stunned, he could only watch as Susanoo vanished into the horizon in a cloud of dust.

Since the two had already fought their way to the edge of the forest, there were no longer enough obstacles to slow Susanoo's movement. Seeing this new ability of Susanoo for the first time, Hashirama found himself completely thrown off.

With things as they were, Hashirama could only sigh helplessly and begin the journey back.

Left with no choice, he had to go find his younger brother.

He wasn't the kind of older brother who liked troubling his younger siblings, unless he truly had no other option.

Fortunately, they had always been understanding of him.

Edo Tensei Tobirama was not quite convenient to turn to. But Hiruzen, ah, he was doing quite well these days! He'd go find him!

Thinking this, anxious at being unable to figure out what was going on in Madara's head, Hashirama sped back toward Konoha.

After a long while, from a broken tree trunk blasted far away, Black Zetsu cautiously poked out his head.

After making sure there was no danger, he slithered out from the log and dropped swiftly to the ground.

"What monsters..." Looking at the wreckage all around, he shook his head, exasperated.

Although both men were weaker than they had been in life, he had spent decades getting used to the tactics of ordinary ninjas. For a moment he had forgotten to adjust, and nearly got sent flying to the sky by the stray blows of the two legends.

Truly reckless, those two.

Masashi was far more reasonable. Whenever he saw it, he always held back.

Why couldn't these two learn from the younger generation?

Still...

He glanced in the direction Madara had disappeared.

It seemed it was time to work under that man again. But caution was necessary, Madara was no Obito.

Obito had been irritating, but at least he was easy to manipulate, a little push here, a little coaxing there, and he would go along.

But Madara? If Black Zetsu weren't literally a creation of Yin–Yang Release, he would constantly have to fear being obliterated for a single wrong word.

Fortunately, Madara was an idealist. That was the crack through which he had wedged himself.

He slipped back underground, trailing after Madara.

During this period, he had placed many White Zetsu clones throughout Konoha's forests and the surrounding regions. With those in place, finding Madara wasn't difficult, after all, in Madara's eyes, White Zetsu were nothing more than tools.

Using the feedback transmitted from the White Zetsu, he pushed himself to the limit, rushing desperately until finally, as the sun rose higher, he caught up to Madara.

By then, Madara had dismissed Susanoo, striding forward with cold, aloof steps.

Black Zetsu surfaced from the ground, jogged forward, and came alongside him.

"Madara-sama."

"Mm." Madara's voice was cool. "Lead the way. To Nagato."

"Yes, Madara-sama."

Black Zetsu knew his role perfectly when dealing with Madara, no unnecessary words.

Too much chatter, and he would no longer be the will incarnate. That would be a problem.

Even though he had a lot of questions. But unexpectedness always came when least expected.

"Zetsu, you've become rather spirited in my absence," Madara suddenly remarked.

Black Zetsu looked up. Madara's gaze was fixed on him, calm on the surface.

Damn. He's suspicious.

In an instant, Black Zetsu's mind spun with possibilities, uncertain of where he had slipped.

"...That's not necessarily a bad thing. Being too stiff makes it hard to get things done." Madara added one more line, then fell silent.

So, no suspicion?

Black Zetsu wouldn't test it. Without Obito here to draw Madara's attention, he had to tread carefully.

He kept his mouth shut and simply led Madara onward toward the Land of Rain.

Neither of them needed food or rest. Whenever they encountered a town, they didn't pause. They walked in a straight line the whole way.

By that very day, they had already crossed into the Land of Rain.

During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Konoha had shone with overwhelming power. The Land of Earth had suffered the most devastation, Kumo the most losses as a village. By contrast, the Land of Rain, though once the great battlefield of nations, had emerged untouched by flames of war.

At most, some refugees had trickled in from the Land of Earth.

The Land of Rain had gladly accepted them. Though the country had stabilized from its long chaos, the years of turmoil had left it short on manpower.

As soon as Madara stepped into the Land of Rain, he began to observe its scenery, so different from the Land of Fire.

This was no longer the Land of Rain of his memory.

"Nagato has joined Ame?" Madara asked.

"Nagato rules Ame."

"Mm. That does show some mettle."

Madara was genuinely pleased.

To realize the Eye of the Moon Plan, the ninja villages were enemies, but also the best tools.

That was why he had once struck at Kiri.

He had never expected Obito to be so inept, letting slip the foundation he had built so easily.

But Nagato as a vessel... it seemed his eyes were being put to decent use.

Ame was not one of the Five Great Villages, but it was by no means a place one could just seize at will.

For this vessel of his, he began to feel some anticipation.

If he wasn't a fool, perhaps he could be cultivated into a second Obito.

Dark clouds churned across the sky like raging waves. A storm howled and roared, lashing the earth. Rain whipped down in torrents, water splashing wildly, mist and spray filling the air.