HSU: Ch. 279

When Setsuna went to the entrance to open the door, his mind was actually a bit of a mess.

The First Hokage is knocking on my door. What should I say after I open it?

As soon as the door opened, a face appeared before him, one so familiar it seemed to awaken memories just by looking at it.

His eyes widened.

"Hashirama-sama..."

"Hmm? And you are?" Hashirama had initially looked quite serious, but Setsuna's reaction made him realize this was someone he knew. "Sorry, you look too old, I didn't recognize you."

"...You're still as blunt as ever. I'm Setsuna. You probably wouldn't know me." Setsuna didn't mind being called old.

He stepped aside.

"Madara-sama is already waiting for you."

"Yes, that's exactly why I've come. It's been a long time since I've seen him, I'll make sure to have a good talk with him this time." Hashirama clenched his fist.

He was confident, this time, they definitely wouldn't fight. Then he thought about it and realized he truly didn't remember anyone named Setsuna.

Setsuna gave a strained smile that didn't reach his eyes. He figured that Madara and this Hashirama probably didn't have much in common anymore. Never mind the Second Hokage, even those from the Third Hokage's era were nearly ready to draw their blades.

He didn't actually have much of a problem with Hiruzen. He also understood what inertia meant. Everyone had their own standpoint.

"It's probably best if you avoid talking about village matters," he said sincerely. "Since neither of you need to worry about things from your lifetimes anymore, why not just talk like ordinary people? Wouldn't that be nicer?"

Just as Hashirama was stepping through the doorway, his foot paused. He looked seriously at Setsuna, and then he saw Setsuna's wife, who had walked out after hearing the commotion.

She was staring at the First Hokage standing in her home, equally shocked.

"Ah, sorry to intrude." Hashirama quickly dropped his solemn expression and replaced it with an apologetic smile. "I didn't disturb your rest, did I?"

"...Please, come in."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony." Despite saying that, Hashirama really didn't stand on ceremony, he walked into the living room without even taking off his shoes.

He left a trail of footprints.

Setsuna pretended not to see, but he noticed Hashirama was about to head straight for the backyard, so he hurried after him.

Madara had told him to welcome the guest properly, so he had to do it right.

"Hashirama-sama, please follow me," he said. If he hadn't said that, he feared he wouldn't catch up to Hashirama.

Fortunately, Hashirama was indeed a good person. Seeing the old man struggling to keep up with his aged limbs, he actually stopped walking and politely waited for him. Then, he courteously followed along. Setsuna's wife, meanwhile, looked at the trail of footprints Hashirama had left, thought for a moment, then turned back to fetch a broom.

Hashirama followed Setsuna all the way to the backyard. As soon as they entered, he saw Madara rocking rhythmically on a lounge chair.

His eyes narrowed.

At the same time, Madara stopped playing with the rocking chair and turned his head.

The two, meeting again after decades, didn't show much excitement. They simply looked at each other in silence.

Setsuna stepped forward respectfully.

"I've brought Hashirama-sama."

"Thank you, Setsuna," Madara nodded. His gaze seemed to have softened a little.

Hashirama, too, subtly adjusted the intensity of his gaze to match that of his old friend. Setsuna could feel it, he was totally unnecessary here…

"Go ahead and talk. I won't intrude."

Seeing Madara give a nod, Setsuna tactfully withdrew, and soon, the courtyard was left with only the two of them.

The moment he left, Madara's expression turned arrogant again. Hashirama puffed out his chest, and his gaze sharpened once more.

"Madara, you made yourself hard to find."

Madara's mouth twitched as he lay back down in the rocking chair.

I've been here the whole time, what do you mean, 'hard to find'?

Clearly, it was Hashirama who didn't come to him.

Obito? Control Hashirama? Don't make him laugh.

Seeing Madara ignore him, Hashirama decided to act a little more arrogant himself. He stepped forward.

"A friend comes to visit and you're just sitting there? Have you become an old man?"

"And what do you expect me to do?" Madara asked impatiently.

"At the very least, stand up, right?" Hashirama replied self-righteously. "Have you forgotten the good times we had patrolling the village together?"

"That was patrolling?" At the mention of that, Madara looked annoyed. "Also, don't mention the word 'village' in front of me!"

"Madara!" Hashirama couldn't tolerate that attitude and shouted his friend's name with a clenched fist.

"Hashirama!" Hearing that familiar tone, Madara couldn't pretend anymore either. He reflexively jumped up from the rocking chair and shouted back.

"Madara!"

"Hashirama!"

The two shouted each other's names back and forth, louder each time. Inside the house, Setsuna and his wife, who had been sweeping, looked at each other in confusion as the shouting echoed from the courtyard.

"What are they doing?"Setsuna's wife asked her husband in a bewildered tone.

Setsuna was at a complete loss for words. Mainly because he himself had no idea what Madara was doing either.

These two... why did it look now like… They were bickering like bratty kids in the clan?

Fortunately, after a while of shouting in the courtyard, they finally stopped. Otherwise, the back-and-forth rhythm might've brainwashed someone.

"Forget it. They have been friends for many years. A few little quirks in private… that's normal," Setsuna reassured his wife. "Let's just pretend we didn't hear anything."

"Got it." Thinking of how childish her husband could be at home, she accepted this explanation with ease.

In the courtyard, after their shouting match, Madara and Hashirama were locked in a stare-down.

"Why are you glaring at me?" Madara said coldly. "Going to preach at me again? Why don't you start by cleaning up after your brother? The Uchiha clan even surviving to this point is already considered lucky."

"…"

Hashirama suddenly realized he had a big weak spot in facing his old friend this time. That was: after his death, Tobirama had started targeting the Uchiha, and Hiruzen had inherited Tobirama's policies, making things even worse for them.

Still, he wasn't worried about losing to him in a verbal exchange, after all, he was a great talker.

He was sure he could turn the tables.

"Listen to me." Hashirama decided to start with an impassioned speech. He understood Madara, his heart had always been full of passion.

"I don't want to hear it," Madara bluntly cut off Hashirama's overly confident tone. "I'm sick of your naivety. If you've got nothing else to say, you can leave."

Just hearing Hashirama speak got him riled up. If it weren't for the fact they were in Setsuna's house, he would've summoned Susanoo already.

"No, you have to listen." Hashirama insisted, determined not to watch him become Konoha's enemy again. "Do you know that Tobirama and Muzo want to seal you away? I stopped them because I believe you love this village."

"Seal me? Let them come and try!" Madara snapped, furious.

What a joke. They really think they're that capable?

He decided: he was going to go seal Tobirama and Muzo right now and hang them on the Hokage Rock.

Seeing the murderous intent in Madara's eyes and how he was about to leap out of the courtyard, Hashirama realized he might've said the wrong thing.

Why does it always come to this...?

Why is he always so quick to anger? He was clearly siding with him this time!

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to seal them right now, see if they're as tough as they think they are," Madara glared coldly at Hashirama. "If you don't know how to talk properly, then talk less."

With that, he leapt out of the courtyard.

"Don't do anything rash!" Hashirama yelled, jumping out after him. He knew full well, Madara was as stubborn as a bull. Once fired up, nothing could stop him.

"Rash?" Madara landed and immediately saw Hashirama following him. That only made him angrier. "I've never minded people challenging me!"

Hashirama always had a way of pissing him off. He had to admit, once again, Hashirama had successfully pushed all his buttons.

Ignoring Hashirama's nagging from behind, he used the Body Flicker Technique and whooshed far ahead. He didn't use anything overly destructive. After all, this was a place Setsuna had protected for a lifetime. He would show respect for that kind of conviction.

"Madara! Madara! Listen to me!" Hashirama gave chase as well. In the blink of an eye, the two of them had covered a considerable distance.

Suddenly, Madara stopped. Hashirama, who had been tailing him, didn't crash into him, he gracefully landed right beside Madara.

"You're finally willing to listen to me." He said happily.

Madara didn't respond, he was looking ahead, where three people stood.

A silver-haired woman holding the hands of two children. All of them were wearing Uchiha clan clothing. The woman seemed startled and stood frozen in the middle of the road, not saying anything at first. But as she looked at Madara and Hashirama, she noticed the Uchiha crest on Madara's armor.

Her expression changed to one of realization.

"Greetings. I'm Hikari, newly joined to the Uchiha clan. This is Saeko and Yosuke."

"..."

"What polite children! Madara, don't you think so?"

Madara didn't want to talk to Hashirama.

"If you've got nothing to do, then move aside," he said coldly. With one glance, he could tell that this woman wasn't a true-born member of the Uchiha clan. But since she had joined the clan and taken on the Uchiha surname, he saw no need to comment further.

"You need to be gentler," Hashirama, beside him, pleaded earnestly. "If you were just a bit gentler, you wouldn't scare the kids into crying."

"When have I ever made kids cry?!" Madara was beyond furious. "Do you think every kid who sees me just bursts into tears!?"

"You see? You're getting agitated again," Hashirama pointed at him confidently. "Even if you won't let me speak, you can't change the fact that you have made kids cry before."

Madara clenched his fists. Should he remind this guy who was stronger now? He forced his anger down. He decided not to stoop to Hashirama's level. Instead, he would settle things with Tobirama. If it weren't for him, Setsuna wouldn't have suffered so much.

He took a step forward, ready to continue walking.

"Yosuke! What are you doing?" Hikari's anxious voice rang out. "That's very rude! Come back here!"

Madara frowned.

Even before Hikari spoke, he had already stopped, because he noticed that the younger of the two children had wandered over to him in a daze and stopped right at his side.

The little boy was biting his finger, staring wide-eyed at Madara's red armor with a look of admiration.

Madara looked down at him.

Even Uchiha children were usually afraid of him. All it took was one glance and, suddenly, the little boy reached out and touched the hem of his armored skirt.

Hikari fell silent, her mouth agape. Of course she knew who the two before her were. But she had to pretend not to recognize them. Even though she was born in the distant Kiri, she had still heard the legendary names: Hashirama and Madara.

But when it came to facing big names like that, not everyone was qualified to approach them casually. She really hadn't expected Yosuke to wander over on his own and even try to touch Madara's armor.

This silly kid! This isn't home! That's not some toy your dad brought back for you to play with!

Hashirama's mouth was wide open too.

Unbelievable, he had actually seen a child not cry in front of Madara. Was it that today's children were different… or that Madara's bloodlust wasn't as scary as before?

Yosuke didn't care about any of that. He gave the skirt armor a few tugs and realized it didn't feel like the toy dummies at home. He looked disappointed.

He was already four years old this year. Like most clan children his age, he wasn't a babbling toddler anymore. But he was still very much a child. Unlike many kids his age, he wasn't hyperactive. Though he had learned to speak, he was quiet and reserved.

Yosuke was the kind of child who liked to think deeply and build an imaginary "little world" inside his mind. He had his own hobbies, especially an interest in armor and blades.

Masashi knew of his interests but didn't give him real weapons, he only let him play with toy versions. Naturally, those couldn't compare to the real thing Madara was wearing.

Yosuke looked up at Madara, whose gaze was fixed on him, his eyes full of big confusion.

Why does this strange man's clothing look so heavy?