HSU: Ch. 318

The massive stadium was utterly silent. All eyes were fixed on the figure clad in red armor standing in the center. The spectators were deathly still.

In the Hokage's seats, Hashirama looked deeply troubled, a frown etched on his face.

"It's over. Madara's angry again because the fight wasn't exciting enough."

But this was Hashirama's uniquely skewed perspective, no one else saw it that way.

Tobirama's expression was like he had swallowed something foul. As for Hiruzen and Minato, they both looked extremely uneasy.

If the man before them were an enemy, neither of them would hesitate, just fight. If they lost, they'd die trying. If they couldn't take him with them, they'd at least strike one final blow.

But he wasn't an enemy, at least, not right now.

And that uncertainty was precisely why these two former Hokage still hadn't left. They were staying, braced for the worst.

In theory, Konoha currently had several Kage-level fighters, and even Masashi with the Rinnegan. But things weren't that simple.

Relying on a single clan to protect the village was dangerous in itself.

Before this generation grew old, Konoha's position as the leader among the villages would remain unshakable, but Madara was like a ticking time bomb. Until his true purpose for staying in this world was revealed, no one could relax.

Standing in the middle of the arena, Madara wasn't in any rush.

Angry? No, he was just putting on a show.

Well... maybe slightly pissed off at that idiot Hashirama.

But never mind. He wasn't really angry.

He had only stepped out of the Uchiha compound today, and the excuse was Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan.

But if he'd really wanted that eye, he would've taken it by force already. What could they do to stop him?

What he needed was a stage, a chance to get a clear look at today's Konoha and its ninjas.

As one of Konoha's founders, he instinctively believed Konoha was the strongest force in the world. If anyone could stand in his way, it had to be Konoha.

Madara hadn't left Konoha empty-handed. His pride lingered in every subconscious of its ninjas.

Even someone like Orochimaru, who supposedly severed all ties with the past, still instinctively believed Konoha was the strongest.

Otherwise, why launch the Konoha Crush Plan? Why not attack another village? He could've teamed up with Iwa to hit Suna instead, same impact, less trouble.

Obito thought the same way. He took it further, not only did he believe Konoha was the only real obstacle, but that only the Uchiha clan could stand against him.

The towering stadium walls blocked all wind, and yet Madara standing there felt like a storm had risen from the earth.

Brought back by Edo Tensei, his blood-red armor told the story of a lifetime of bloodshed and battle.

That armor bore the marks of countless weapons, all on the front.

On the back, there was only one puncture wound. Everything else was pristine.

Only Hashirama had ever successfully stood behind him and struck a fatal blow.

This wasn't a tale from a storybook, nor a picture in a history text. This was a warrior who had clawed his way to the peak of the shinobi world, only ever losing to one man, and now, he stood on the dusty ground in the center of the arena.

The Uchiha clan would never challenge their former clan leader, not because they couldn't win, but because he was fighting to reclaim their lost Mangekyō Sharingan.

And those who were neutral in this matter? They weren't foolish enough to go head-to-head with Madara.

The Sarutobi faction's ninjas were silent.

They knew full well: anyone who stepped up now would become the darling of the village's power structure, given the best resources, but...

The resources wouldn't arrive before the person was dead.

Stepping up required capital.

"No one?" Madara finally spoke.

His feelings were mixed. On one hand, the lack of challengers proved these people couldn't stand in his way.

But on the other... What kind of trash was this village raising now?

Hashirama, this is the village you gave your life to protect!

"I'll face you," said Tobirama, rising to his feet.

Tobirama knew he shouldn't be standing. He was supposed to be a "referee," not a "contestant."

He was disappointed too, but now that Madara had gone full public broadcast, he couldn't ignore it.

"In our current states, how exactly do you plan to judge who wins?" Madara smirked.

So it was Tobirama who stepped forward. Just as he expected. A bunch of living ninjas, and it takes a dead man to represent them.

And he had actually expected this pathetic bunch to stand in his way?

Still, damn you, Tobirama. You brought this on yourself!

"Tobirama!" Hashirama grabbed his brother's hand, his expression deadly serious. "Sit down."

"This isn't just about the Mangekyō Sharingan."

"I know. But that's still no reason for you to stand up," Hashirama said firmly. "Be good. Sit."

Tobirama: "…"

Why are you saying that in front of everyone?

Hiruzen left too soon, should've stayed around a little longer!

Under the strange stares around him, Tobirama sat back down with a darkened face.

Seeing Tobirama sit back down, Hashirama finally relaxed.

Tobirama was still obedient and sensible, he still listened to him.

Just now, he'd simply had a moment of poor judgment.

Why did you try to step up? Just to get beaten up?

You of all people should know, Madara dreams of beating you up every day.

Why do you think I used to drag him out to stroll through the village the moment I saw him? I was just afraid he'd jump you!

"Madara," Hashirama stood up, saying, "this is a matter for the younger generation. Let's not interfere. Come over here and sit, we'll have a talk."

Hashirama was very confident in his conversational skills.

Tobirama looked at him like, Can you act normal for once?

"I'm not talking to you," Madara replied coldly. "If the children can't handle it, then we adults will. Either you come down, or they hand over the eye."

Hashirama looked like he had just discovered a new continent. "See? You called us adults yourself. Adults don't pick on children."

Around him, the top officials in the Hokage Building turned to look at the First Hokage. Their feelings were... complicated.

In the end, they managed a polite but clearly awkward smile.

"Are you coming down or not?" Madara demanded. "If not, sit back down!"

"Ah…" Hashirama scratched his head awkwardly. "But if we fight here, the place won't hold up. How about…"

Suddenly, he thought of a suitable candidate.

"Minato, you're that boy's teacher. Why don't you give it a try?"

Minato's awkwardness doubled. "But I'm the Hokage. If I step in, it'll change the whole situation."

"It doesn't matter," Madara clearly overheard him and responded. "I've fought all Five Kage. I don't mind your title."

"No helping it then. Don't take it personally," Hashirama sighed. He could tell, Madara was just dying for a fight, stirring up trouble wherever he went.

Honestly, that Madara… so immature.

"I… I don't take it personally…" Minato realized once again, conversation really was a skill.

Kushina felt a twinge of sympathy for her husband.

A moment later, she looked at the First Hokage with starry-eyed admiration.

So this was Mito's lifelong love. That relaxed, effortless confidence, so cool. She wished Minato could be like that one day too.

"I understand, Madara," Hashirama said. "I'll spar with you. This matter does need a resolution, we can't keep putting it off."

"Good. Come down then." Madara nodded.

As expected, only Hashirama could be his opponent.

Then he waited a bit…

"You bastard! Get down here already!" Madara finally lost it. "If you don't come down, I'll tear this wall apart!"

"Alright, I'm coming," Hashirama sighed, realizing he couldn't stall any longer, and jumped down obediently.

Several others jumped down with him.

Tobirama, Minato, Kushina, Fugaku, Masashi, and Shisui.

"Madara," Hashirama jogged over and said cheerfully, "You know we're all a bit rough, so let's set some ground rules. How about we activate the Six Red Yang Formation?"

Madara calmed his anger a little. Not worth getting mad at a guy like this.

"Hurry up."

"On it!"

Hashirama was satisfied and waved at the six who had jumped down with him.

Tobirama, Minato, Kushina, Fugaku, Masashi, and Shisui each took a corner. The six moved in unison and cast their jutsu.

A crimson barrier spread out, enveloping the arena.

Due to the differences in their strength, it wouldn't match the original timeline's version used by Obito, but its strength was still not inferior to the Four Red Yang Formation used to trap the Ten-Tails in that timeline.

Masashi withdrew his hand, glanced at the huffing Madara inside the barrier, and thought of the Ten-Tails jinchūriki again.

Up in the stands, everyone instinctively held their breath.

Inside the barrier, Madara looked around at the red curtain and the six people maintaining it.

"Not bad," he sneered.

He gave a cold laugh.

"Back then, you never should've listened to your brother. That ridiculous democracy... The shinobi world would've been in Konoha's hands long ago."

"That's not what we wanted, Madara. Did you forget our original intention?" Hashirama replied seriously.

"Then don't forget either, Izuna was killed by Tobirama." Blue light surged from Madara's body. "It's been a long time, Hashirama. Let's reminisce a little, shall we?"

The blue light transformed into a massive arm in the blink of an eye.

The wooden dragon wrapped around that massive arm was pierced and burned through by a fire jutsu in the next instant.

From the very beginning, the "sparring match" between Madara and Hashirama completely displayed a style that belonged to another dimension entirely.

This same "style" still existed in today's shinobi world, with Masashi as a prime example.

The two were so familiar with each other that even just the initial warm-up moves escalated into the enormous forms of Susanoo and woodedn golem emerging halfway out of the open-air stadium.

For most regular ninjas, the suppressive power of the Six Red Yang Formation at this level was barely perceptible.

But the six Kage-level ninjas, including Masashi, had not held back when using this technique. Against Madara and Hashirama, the Six Red Yang Formation did indeed reduce the effectiveness of their jutsu.

Their maximum chakra output was less than half of what it would be without the formation.

Unfortunately, to outsiders, whether their power was suppressed or not made little difference, to these two, it was still only a matter of a few moves.

Madara could still use a weakened version of Susanoo, and Hashirama could still manipulate his wooden golem, it was just that with the same chakra, the constructs were much smaller.

Otherwise, it wouldn't just be half their bodies sticking out of the stadium.

Fortunately, the Six Red Yang Formation looked quite impressive, it inspired a strong sense of reassurance just by being there. And with the most powerful people in the village maintaining it, the ninjas in the audience hadn't completely fled the scene.

By "not completely," it meant that the jonin had stayed.

The genin and chunin, on the other hand, had to run. If anything came crashing down, the jonin might dodge it, but they probably wouldn't.

Masashi activated his Sharingan and carefully observed the situation on the field.

If things started to spiral out of control, he'd have to act immediately to teleport the two combatants elsewhere.

He glanced over at Minato in the distance.

Minato's behavior made him very suspicious.

Just like Kakashi wouldn't covet the Mangekyō Sharingan, neither would Minato.

When it came to sensitive issues like bloodline limits among ninja clans, following proper procedures was very important, that way, there was a record, and nothing was left behind as a hidden risk.

But the things Minato had said... sounded off. It was like he was deliberately stirring things up.

BOOM!

A thunderous sound rang out again.

That was Susanoo and the wooden golem sumo wrestling.

"Hashirama, doesn't fighting like this in our Edo Tensei forms feel unsatisfying?" Madara stood atop Susanoo's chest, laughing heartily. "Without real flesh and blood, neither of us bleed, neither of us feel pain. These bodies don't tire, but we also can't access our full power. Don't you want to come back to life for real?"

"Not really. We're already dead, we shouldn't be troubling the living," Hashirama replied, standing on the wooden golem's shoulder. "The Mangekyō Sharingan belongs to the Uchiha. Reopening this case is just to make sure there's no trouble left behind. Don't get the wrong idea."

"No one here is acting for the sake of that eye." Madara responded coldly. "You can stop pretending. If you want me to go back, then show me your power."

"Madara!"

"Hashirama!"

And just like that, they started up again, Susanoo and the wooden golem swung their arms, engaging in an explosive and fierce battle.

Suddenly, Madara raised both hands, summoning two more Susanoo avatars.

Hashirama wasn't slow to react either, his Wood Release techniques expanded seamlessly.

The arena instantly became cramped.

"Hey! You're going too far!" Tobirama couldn't help but shout.

But the two inside seemed not to hear him at all.

"If things start going wrong, we'll jump in together and teleport them to the Forest of Death."

Tobirama turned to Minato and Masashi as he spoke.

"Understood," Minato responded.

"Masashi, you handle Madara," Tobirama added.

"...Alright then."

Damny, always giving him the most troublesome part.

He looked back toward the arena, six giant chakra-powered bruisers were now tangled up in a chaotic brawl.

To be fair, even Madara was clearly holding back. Otherwise, the fight wouldn't look like this.

The way they were fighting now really resembled dormmates arguing, noisy, exaggerated, but ultimately harmless.

While this was still a huge spectacle for most modern ninjas, to be honest, this wasn't anywhere near the level those two were truly capable of.

So what was Madara really trying to do?

One thing Masashi could be certain of, this wasn't about reclaiming the Mangekyō Sharingan for the Uchiha clan ahead of schedule.

He decided: better to strike first.

"I think it's best we move them now," he said. "This place isn't going to hold much longer."

Damage from a fight like this meant another budgeting meeting, a painful process. And although the funding came from other villages, his own time and mental energy were on the line during those meetings.

Konoha's project approval process had gotten very meticulous, especially for construction funds. The downside? He got dragged into meetings all the time.

Tobirama and Minato looked at the mess in the arena and nodded in full agreement.

The three of them acted simultaneously, each opening a gateway in the Six Red Yang Formation they controlled, and jumped in.

Masashi headed straight for Madara.

"Can't wait, huh?" Madara didn't try to stop him, he just snorted.

He allowed Masashi to leap up onto Susanoo's shoulder.

"Let's move this party elsewhere, yeah?"

"No problem, but if Hashirama doesn't follow, I'm not going along with it."

"Don't worry, he'll come."

As soon as Masashi finished speaking, he placed a hand on Susanoo and activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.

The world spun, and the scenery shifted dramatically, Susanoo now stood in a forest.

"Oh, there've been some changes here," Madara remarked.

Freed from the Six Red Yang Formation, his Susanoo immediately began to grow rapidly, poking its head above the forest canopy. "I remember this place was turned into a training field."

"Yeah, it's actually one of the exam sites for this year's Chunin Exams," Masashi said, a bit nostalgic.

He had thought Madara might get a little sentimental with him, but that was wishful thinking.

Madara shot him a sidelong glance.

"You're trying to chat with me now? I have no interest in you. Get lost."

"Alright, enjoy yourself." Masashi quickly hopped off to the side without protest.

He knew better than to linger. Madara's reaction to Hashirama was like clockwork, like a menstrual cycle gone haywire. Better not to get caught in the fallout.

BOOM!

A cloud of dust kicked up ahead as a round wooden head emerged from the smoke, the wooden golem.

"Hashirama!!" Madara shouted immediately, and Susanoo charged forward with massive strides.

What could Masashi even say at that point?

You two just have fun.

As he was thinking that, another tremor shook the ground behind him.

He turned around, two more Susanoo had appeared, brought over by Minato.

These two, remotely controlled by Madara, also started running, following the lead Susanoo up ahead.

Minato appeared next to Masashi in a flash.

"Let's keep up with them."

"Sure," Masashi replied. "But... you've been acting pretty strange today. Mind explaining what's going on?"

"We'll talk on the way, talk on the way," Minato replied with a dry laugh. "Let's stay close, just in case anything happens."

Masashi gave Minato a suspicious side glance, but didn't argue. He followed alongside him, tailing the charging Susanoo forms up ahead.