Chapter 473: Senju and Uchiha
"Elder brother! He's coming!"
Senju Tobirama's perception locked dead onto that chakra source approaching at astonishing speed. His crimson pupils were full of wariness and gravity.
However, Senju Hashirama showed none of the tension or battle intent one should have when about to face an old enemy. On the contrary, Hashirama's expression was somewhat dazed, his gaze drifting toward the distance, the corners of his mouth unconsciously curving into an arc of nostalgia and emotion.
BOOM!!!
A tremendous sound, wrapped in powerful air currents, violently crashed down not far from the Senju brothers.
Grass debris and dust flew. Two figures appeared in the smoke. At the forefront was precisely Uchiha Madara, clad in red Warring States armor, Rinnegan brilliantly shining, long hair moving without wind.
Beside him was Uchiha Izuna, who had similarly recovered consciousness, his gaze sharp as a blade.
Madara's eyes instantly locked onto Senju Hashirama. Those Rinnegan burst with undisguised excitement, fanatical battle intent, and after crossing the boundary between life and death, an even more fervent sense of destiny.
"Found you! Hashirama!"
His voice was like a thunderous bell, carrying an undeniable declaration.
"Madara... Long time no see."
Senju Hashirama finally put away that bit of daze, showing a complex smile on his face. "It seems... we've all awakened in this strange place. What truly... wondrous fate."
"Elder brother! Don't let your guard down!"
Senju Tobirama sharply called out, stepping forward half a step, subtly blocking in front of Hashirama's side. His gaze simultaneously swept toward the black-haired youth beside Madara. "You are... Uchiha Izuna?"
His appearance identical to when alive allowed Tobirama to rapidly confirm the other party's identity.
"Mm, it's me." Uchiha Izuna coldly responded. "Long time no see, Senju Tobirama. Although I don't know why you would appear here, this time..."
He raised his chin, carrying the Uchiha clan's unique pride and resolution. "I absolutely won't lose to you again."
These brainless battle maniacs! At a time like this!
Senju Tobirama cursed inwardly. Facing this kind of bizarre situation completely beyond reason, where they hadn't even figured out their own state or where they were.
These two evil Uchiha's first reaction was still to fight?!
And elder brother was actually there lamenting "fate"?! Could you first figure out the situation before deciding whether to reminisce or fight!
...Wait.
As thoughts raced, Senju Tobirama's mind rapidly connected all the previous clues for analysis. He was dead. Elder brother was also dead.
Uchiha Madara... had also died. Uchiha Izuna needless to say, died even earlier. And now, all of them appeared in this grassland with strange energy in this "soul body" state between substance and illusion...
He once again cast perception power toward the farther grassland, those scattered everywhere, motionless in posture, blurred in outline "human figures"... Previously he only thought they were some kind of energy bodies or illusions, but now combining his own state with careful sensing...
"...Elder brother," Senju Tobirama's voice suddenly carried clarity after penetrating the truth. He turned his head. "I think... I probably know what our current situation is, and... what exactly this place is."
"Haha! Tobirama! I didn't expect we could still see such a scene!"
Hashirama hadn't fully caught up to his brother's train of thought. Instead, he felt excited by the reunion of brothers, old enemy, and the old enemy's brother. He laughed loudly while patting Tobirama's shoulder.
"As expected, meeting old acquaintances, even in this strange place, makes one's blood boil!"
"Elder brother!!!"
Senju Tobirama's volume suddenly shot up, making Hashirama's ears buzz. "Listen seriously to what people are saying!!"
"Hiss... Alright, alright, I can hear you. No need to be so loud..."
Hashirama was yelled into shrinking his neck, finally restraining that optimistic expression somewhat, looking at his own brother with a wronged expression.
This guy... as expected, still has no dignity whatsoever.
Nearby, Uchiha Madara, who had witnessed the entire Senju brothers' interaction, raised an eyebrow. A trace of already-accustomed helpless emotion flashed through his eyes.
"Hey! Senju Tobirama! Are you ignoring me?!"
Uchiha Izuna saw his provocation casually passed over by the other party, who began analyzing the situation with his brother. He immediately felt slighted. "I said, this time, I absolutely won't lose! Let's settle this!"
Tobirama withdrew his gaze from the sky, landing on Izuna's battle-intent-filled face, sighing. "No, I don't want to fight you."
"What?!" Izuna froze, then anger intensified in his eyes. "What do you mean? Think I'll be like last time?!"
"Don't misunderstand. I'm not afraid, nor do I have any special mercy toward you personally." Tobirama's voice was calm and waveless. "Purely because our fighting now... is completely meaningless."
His gaze swept past Madara, Hashirama, finally refixing on Izuna, throwing out that cruel conclusion.
"Because we're all dead now."
"...Huh?!"
This sentence instantly stirred towering waves among the four. Not just Izunaâ€"even Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama abruptly turned their heads, looking at Senju Tobirama with disbelief, faces written full of shock and suspicion.
"We're all dead? But why would we all..."
Hashirama instinctively looked at his own hands, feeling that realistic sensation, trying to find evidence to refute.
Madara's expression instantly darkened like the sky before a storm. He couldn't accept this conclusion! He clearly felt power, felt his "body," felt the reality of resurrection! How could he be dead?!
"Elder brother, you still haven't seen it?"
Tobirama pointed toward the peaceful yet bizarre grassland around them, then pointed at that small sun in the sky radiating warm light. "This place fundamentally isn't the living world. Though our 'bodies' feel real, they're not flesh and blood, nor is there any feeling of being forcibly bound or polluted desecration, that's not Impure World Reincarnation. At the same time, look around."
He raised his hand, pointing toward those semi-transparent figures in various postures, blurred outlines scattered across the grassland in the distance.
"Those drifting shadows, if I'm not wrong, they're the same as us, all souls of the deceased. Only they seem... still in slumber or not fully manifested state."
"Haven't you noticed? As time passes, those shadows are solidifying. Probably before long, all the souls on this land will gradually awaken like us. This place is the world after death, only... it's been changed by someone, or by some power, into its current appearance."
Tobirama's analysis was clear and logical, combining all existing abnormal phenomena, pointing toward an answer that was hard to believe yet reasonable.
"...I see."
Unexpectedly, after hearing his brother's explanation, Senju Hashirama not only wasn't dejected or fearful, but rather as if a huge stone was lifted from his heart. He let out a long, relieved breath, showing a relieved smile on his face.
"If this is the world after death... that's actually quite good. At least I wasn't forcibly summoned back to the living world to interfere with the current world and trouble the younger generation."
He viewed life and death calmly, caring more about not bringing unnecessary turmoil to the world of the living.
However, Uchiha Madara's expression completely darkened. The world after death... The plan... So it fundamentally didn't succeed? What about the Moon's Eye? What about the Infinite Tsukuyomi? What about Obito and Nagato?!
Although extremely unwilling to admit it internally, rationality told him that this annoying Senju Tobirama's conclusion was most likely the truth.
After all, this guy's brain... was indeed annoyingly effective.
An indescribable violent fury, defeat, and extreme unwillingness about the current situation churned in his chest.
BOOM!!!
To vent this violent emotion, cold yet scorching chakra erupted from Uchiha Madara! Blue chakra shot skyward, rapidly gathering and constructing behind him!
In the blink of an eye, a hundred-meter-tall Perfect Susanoo clad in mighty armor, wielding enormous chakra weapons, stood towering on this newborn grassland!
"Madara! Didn't you hear what Tobirama said?! Our fighting now is completely meaningless!" Hashirama saw this and quickly called out, trying to stop him.
However, Madara stood in the crystal on Susanoo's forehead, Rinnegan flashing with obsessive mad light.
"...Does battle need any reason? Come, Hashirama."
Looking at this familiar yet seemingly even more powerful Susanoo before him, feeling that oncoming pressure mixing anger with endless battle intent, the dissuading color on Senju Hashirama's face gradually faded. Replacing it was similarly ignited excitement and battle intent.
He didn't know why, but he felt Madara... seemed to have become even stronger.
As a lifelong opponent, if it didn't involve war and the village's survival, deep in Hashirama's heart, he actually quite enjoyed having a good fight with Madara.
"Wood Human Jutsu!"
Hashirama said no more. Both hands slammed together! Vast and magnificent chakra surged from within his body like a tsunami, pouring into the earth beneath his feet!
RUMBLE!!!
The earth trembled. A massive quantity of trees broke through the ground as if possessing life. In the blink of an eye, a giant wooden human constructed entirely of solid ancient wood with knotted muscles, only slightly shorter in height than the Perfect Susanoo, rose from the ground, confronting the blue Susanoo across the air!
"Hashirama!!!"
Madara let out a roar. Under his control, the Perfect Susanoo took enormous strides, wielding its chakra greatsword, viciously slashing toward the Wood Human!
"Madara!!!"
Hashirama also let out a great shout. The Wood Human fearlessly met the attack. Its massive wooden arms formed fists, directly bombarding toward the chakra greatsword head-on!
BOOM!!!!!
Blue chakra brilliance and brown wood fragments exploded like an exploding nebula!
An indescribable tremendous sound seemed to shatter this peaceful heaven and earth. The incomparably violent shockwave, with the collision point as center, madly spread in a ring shape! The green grass beneath was uprooted, earth flew, energy chaotic currents swept a range of several hundred meters!
Senju Tobirama on the ground had already rapidly retreated when both sides built up momentum.
He frowned, watching this meaningless yet earth-shattering battle, his heart full of helplessness and annoyance.
He never fought meaningless battles. At this moment, he only wanted to take advantage of these two battle maniacs entangling each other to quickly leave here, go farther to investigate this so-called world after death, gather more information, and figure out what exactly happened here.
However, he had just taken a few steps when a figure abruptly blocked before him.
"Don't think of escaping! Senju Tobirama!" Uchiha Izuna held a long sword, his gaze cold and persistent. "Your opponent is me!"
"Move aside!" Tobirama's voice carried impatience. "The battle between us was already decided decades ago! Repeating meaningless combat is just wasting each other's time!"
"This time... you'll be the one who dies!" Izuna didn't listen at all, killing intent boiling in his eyes. His hands rapidly formed seals. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
An incomparably scorching enormous fireball blasted toward Tobirama head-on!
Watching this oncoming familiar Fire Style, Senju Tobirama agilely Body Flickered to the side to evade while pulling out a kunai from his ninja tool pouch, simultaneously cursing through gritted teeth internally.
So annoying... This brain-diseased, innately evil Uchiha clan!