HSU: Ch. 320

White and blue chakra collided fiercely.

The transformative force and mass granted by the pinnacle of Yin Release were on full display in this clash.

The scattered chakra retained its power to alter the natural environment, leveling the surroundings with destructive force that surpassed even the fiercest hurricanes in nature.

White and blue, two fully-formed Susanoo faced each other. Though they differed in size, the power they emanated was nearly equal.

"Hahahaha!" Madara didn't get angry, instead, he laughed heartily. "Hashirama, looking at you now, even the younger generation surpasses you!"

"Watching them grow is a joyful thing." Hashirama laughed as well. "The Uchiha clan has worthy successors. It's worth raising a glass together in the Pure Land."

Madara's laughter cut off abruptly.

"You think you can bring me back to the Pure Land? Think again. Blame your brother. This jutsu can only be undone by the caster or the target."

"Yeah, now that we've both broken free of the caster's control, only we can end it."

Hashirama scratched his head, this was the most troublesome part.

"So let's skip the nonsense. If you want to go back, go ahead. I'll leave a place for you in the new world," Madara said with his hands behind his back. "Or stay and watch. Eventually, you'll understand what I meant all those years ago."

"Oh?" Hashirama's expression turned serious. "The Uchiha clan is thriving now, and you still won't give up?"

"Have you ever seen me give up?" Madara snorted heavily. "I only played along with your village-building game because I was foolish enough to believe in you."

"Nonsense! You were the one laughing the loudest when the village was founded!"

"Which eye of yours saw me laugh?"

"The whole village saw it. We can ask Tobirama to testify!"

"The fact that I didn't beat him to death back then was already me being nice to you, Hashirama!"

"Madara!"

"Hashirama!"

Hearing this all-too-familiar argument, Masashi and Minato had the urge to cover their ears.

Not this again.

And seriously, wouldn't it make more sense to cancel the jutsu first before arguing? One's still inside a Susanoo, and just because he's Edo Tensei, he's throwing chakra around like it's free?

Even putting Masashi aside, Minato was beginning to feel that... The legendary First Hokage really wasn't that impressive after all. This wasn't any different from Naruto and Sasuke bickering over their differences. Just as he was lost in thought, someone suddenly landed beside him with a whoosh.

"They're still not done fighting?"

It was Tobirama.

Before Minato could answer, the next round of shouting between Madara and Hashirama began.

Minato: "..."

Should he say the fight wasn't over, or that the shouting wasn't over? If he said the shouting wasn't done, would that sound too disrespectful?

Tobirama's face twitched slightly at the yelling match.

He had expected this. But this really was his brother at his silliest. He glanced at Minato and decided he needed to protect his brother's image in front of the younger generation.

"Don't take it to heart. They've always had this habit. Think of it as their way of relieving stress. You'll get used to it."

"I'll do my best..."

Tobirama's face darkened. He gave up on maintaining the image. He wasn't like Kagami, he couldn't come up with elaborate, half-logical excuses on the fly.

And look at Minato, he clearly didn't believe a word of it!

Madara spotted Tobirama as well. His eyesight was as sharp as ever.

"Boring."

He stopped shouting, and his Susanoo began to shrink and quickly dissipated. He had no desire to see that person.

But now wasn't the time to clash with them again.

Landing back on the ground, he looked toward Tobirama, who was squatting on a tree in the distance. His gaze was as sharp as a blade.

Tobirama met his gaze with his usual calm.

One day I'll twist this guy's head off and toss it into a latrine, Madara thought as he looked away and walked toward Masashi.

"That look from Madara... terrifying," Minato commented, cautiously watching Tobirama's expression.

"Come help me fetch my brother."

"Madara?"

"Leave him. That's Masashi's problem. If you go over, you'll just get hit."

Minato instantly dropped the subject. Getting hit like that was so not worth it. They headed toward Hashirama.

The sparring match was now over.

In the distance, the white Susanoo also vanished at about the same time.

Halfway toward his destination, Madara found Masashi already waiting on the ground.

He stopped.

Very typical of Madara.

Masashi had no choice but to use Lightning Release Body Flicker to appear at his side.

"Use your jutsu," Madara said, still striking his usual cool, dramatic pose.

That was the most showy part of Susanoo, others came out of battle covered in dust, but those who used Susanoo walked away spotless.

"Where are we headed?"

"Where else? Back to where those two kids were sparring."

Nodding in acknowledgment, Masashi placed a hand on Madara's armor, and the two vanished from their spot. When they reappeared, they were back at the arena.

In front of them, Tobirama had also just brought Hashirama back.

Minato arrived shortly after.

Madara ignored everyone, leapt up to the stands, and took his seat with exaggerated flair, maxing out his intimidation level.

Masashi gave a polite nod to the other three, then turned to jump back as well.

"Masashi, wait a moment." Minato called out, "Let's not head up yet."

Masashi paused, looked at Minato, then at the two Hokage brothers, who suddenly seemed serious. He had a good idea what was coming.

After thinking it over, he waved toward Itachi in the stands, signaling him to come down.

Minato also waved at Kakashi, who had returned to the stands.

Both Itachi and Kakashi understood the situation well and promptly jumped down.

They weren't stupid, they knew a decision was about to be made.

At this point, the stands were nearly empty, with only a few jonin remaining.

It was, in fact, a good setting for resolving things.

Compared to Itachi, Kakashi's emotions were much more complicated. He wasn't clueless, he knew that the outcome likely wouldn't be in his favor. Even if he had won the spar.

After all, a spar was just that, a spar.

Its real purpose had been to justify returning the Mangekyō Sharingan.

But he didn't blame anyone, because it was a legitimate request from the Uchiha clan. Still, he wanted to make one last effort.

Obito was from the Uchiha clan. Returning his eye to the clan was, in itself, a reasonable thing.

Once inside, Kakashi and Itachi quickly stood before the Hokage.

"Kakashi," Minato began, looking at his only remaining student, "after a friendly discussion among the First Hokage, Second Hokage, and Madara, and after further consultation with Masashi, we've come to a conclusion. While Obito's eye carries special meaning, especially to you, given the current external situation facing the village, the best outcome is for it to return to the clan where it originated. I hope you can understand this decision, and move forward from it."

He was genuinely worried about Kakashi's mental state. But precisely because this was his only student left, he had always been extra cautious, too cautious, perhaps, fearing he'd push too hard.

Now, however, he realized he'd been overly conservative in the past, failing to help Kakashi move on sooner.

He hoped that through this, Kakashi could once again become that confident and exceptional child he once knew.

"Kakashi," Itachi suddenly spoke, "an eye is just an eye. You've already done more than enough. Even without it, everything you've seen and done has lived up to the hopes Obito entrusted to you."

Everyone turned to look at him.

Up in the stands, the remaining jonin were shocked.

Itachi said something so kind?

He was never like this before. He used to lecture people about the Will of Fire every chance he got. Sure, he was polite, but his ideology gave people chills.

He was like a walking handbook on total elimination, complete with practical killing techniques.

Who wanted to hear that when slacking off during guard duty?

Everyone would chat idly, and then he'd jump in with something like, "What's the most efficient angle to incinerate someone with Fire Release?"

Or: "Exactly how many explosive tags are enough to ensure a clean kill without waste?"

This kind of warm, emotional talk? Never heard it from him. The guy was always rigid and serious.

Had he developed feelings? A new mutual understanding?

Even Kakashi was caught off guard. He never imagined hearing such words from Itachi.

"Is that... how your clan sees me?"

From his perspective, the Uchiha should hate him.

"More or less. Everyone respects you," Itachi replied. "You kept your promise to your fallen comrade for over a decade. Not many can say the same."

Kakashi immediately felt a lot better.

Not because the Uchiha didn't hate him, but because Uchiha who thought like that must have understood Obito.

Obito, you weren't as alone as you thought.

Your family, your clan, would've acknowledged you.

"I understand, Sensei," Kakashi bowed to Minato. "Please help return Obito's eye to the Uchiha clan. If possible, I hope he can go home with dignity."

He knew, one of Obito's final wishes was to gain recognition from his clan.

"As it should be," Masashi said. "Although we never recovered his body, he's a hero of our clan. That eye is the only relic he left behind. It will be well preserved."

He wasn't lying.

The Uchiha had a dedicated facility for preserving deceased clan members' Sharingan.

Where do you think all those eyes on the wall came from in the original timeline?

The Uchiha Massacre couldn't have provided that many, by then, the clan was already very weak, and Sharingan users were rare.

Those were eyes the Uchiha themselves had collected over generations.

"Then I'm relieved." Kakashi bowed to Masashi again. "Though this may be unnecessary to say, please take good care of this eye. Obito awakened it by surpassing his limits, for the sake of the village."

Masashi said nothing more. He simply nodded solemnly.

What a good kid, he thought. Too bad Jiraiya's new book isn't out yet, he should definitely get a copy.

The sooner the better.

"Alright, I'm glad you understand. Then the matter is settled." Minato looked toward the stands. "Though this was decided a bit hastily, considering the Mangekyō Sharingan is a highly classified secret of the Uchiha clan, the Hokage Office will archive this case. From now on, let's not discuss it any further."

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" the jonin in the stands replied in unison.

No one was surprised by the result. It was expected.

But in this moment, they all felt more deeply the difference between the Fourth Hokage's administration and that of the Third Hokage.

Under Hiruzen, the Hokage Building never would've handled it this way.

Yes, the contributions were undeniable, but the issues were just as real.

Even the best policies and institutions, if left unchanged too long, would inevitably become problems.

The Sarutobi faction, originally founded to unify the village, was a textbook case.

Once a unifying force, by the time of the Third Great Ninja War, most already saw it as rotten.

Tragically, by then, Konoha had no means to reform it.

There was no Uchiha-Hyūga Alliance back then, no Police Force to balance power. As the Sarutobi faction's negative impact grew, everyone just pretended not to see it.

Worse still, once people got used to the rot, even knowing it, they kept following the same path.

Fortunately, the village didn't fall that far.

The rise of the Uchiha-Hyūga Alliance stopped that monster from draining the village further and helped restore balance. Hiruzen himself hadn't been completely senile either.

Minato took a scroll from his robes and handed it to Masashi.

"Masashi, Obito's eye is inside. Keep it safe."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Masashi said, receiving the scroll with solemn care.

He was slightly emotional. The eye had come home. There was no more "debt" now, and Fugaku's sinister schemes could no longer go anywhere.

Maybe he could even suggest some kind of early retirement program. Though, come to think of it, no such thing existed yet.

He'd propose it at the next meeting.

Well, he'd bring it up at the next meeting.

For the first time in a long while, he felt like a peaceful retirement wasn't just a dream, it was within reach.