"Hmph! Fine, you little punk!" Madara Uchiha barked. "I admit it! I do want to see Hashirama! So what?! Is that a problem?!"
Hirofumi Ito gave Madara a sly, knowing look. "No problem at all! I mean, Hashirama's the God of Shinobi, and you're the guy who's called the God of Shinobi's man. Totally makes sense!"
"What the—?! Nonsense! What are you blabbing about, kid?! I'm the Shura of the Ninja World! Not some 'God of Shinobi's man'!" Madara roared.
Hirofumi dug at his ear, wincing. "Jeez, Madara, chill with the yelling! Ever hear the saying, 'Explaining is just covering up, and covering up means it's true'? I get it, you're eager, but hold your horses! I'm almost home. Once I'm there, I'll start the summoning. But I can't promise it'll be Hashirama. There are a few Kage-level shinobi who've died in Konoha, so it's a bit of a gamble. Who knows, maybe we'll get Tobirama Senju instead!"
At the mention of Tobirama's name, Madara spat on the ground. "Tch! That evil Tobirama Senju! Just hearing his name pisses me off!"
Chatting and bantering with Madara in the summoning space, Hirofumi made it back home. Lying on his small bed, he reached out to his system.
"System!"
[I'm here!]
Hirofumi couldn't shake the feeling that the system sounded a bit like a certain AI classmate. "Can I perform a summoning in the summoning space, or does it have to be in the real world?"
[The summoning space was created specifically for the host to perform summonings! Summoned beings can also exist within it. So, the host can absolutely perform summonings in the summoning space!]
Relieved, Hirofumi nodded. Summoning in the real world could cause a huge scene—especially if a Kage-level shinobi's chakra flared up. The whole village would feel it, and the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, would probably lose sleep over it!
Inside the summoning space, Hirofumi and Madara faced each other. Madara's eyes gleamed with anticipation.
"Hurry up already! What're you waiting for?!" Madara snapped.
"See? So impatient!" Hirofumi teased, giving Madara a smug look. For some reason, Madara's eagerness reminded him of someone desperate to improve…
His thoughts wandered. If he became Hokage someday, maybe he'd take on a few students. He could picture them, all eager and saying, "Sensei, I really want to get stronger!" Heh, what's this, some kind of motivational speech?
Snapping back, Hirofumi didn't hesitate. "System! Activate one gold-tier summoning!"
[Please form the summoning array!]
Having summoned Madara before, Hirofumi was familiar with the process. He wove the hand signs in sequence, then slammed his hand onto the ground.
Just like last time, golden runes appeared on the summoning space's floor, glowing with dazzling light.
Even though he'd seen it before, Hirofumi's heart raced. This was it—another Kage-level summoned being! Well… "summoned being" might not be the best term.
Madara, meanwhile, stared intensely at the array, his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan activated. The pinwheel pattern in his eyes spun wildly as he tried to unravel the secrets of the summoning array.
But after watching for a while, he got nothing. Not even a trace of the usual chakra fluctuations associated with summoning jutsu!
A flame of soul energy began to rise from the golden array.
Hirofumi's heart screamed, Hashirama! Hashirama! Hashirama! It's gotta be Hashirama!
It made sense. Hashirama Senju was Konoha's strongest shinobi ever—well, except for Madara with his Rinnegan.
Madara was a bit nervous too. From what Hirofumi had said, a Kage-level summoning required a hundred million ryo. With Hirofumi's five hundred million, he had five shots at this. The odds of getting Hashirama were pretty good…
But you never know with these things!
Madara's heart echoed, Hashirama! Hashirama! Hashirama! Please, let it be Hashirama! Not that evil Tobirama!
But the universe has a funny way of giving you exactly what you don't want.
The soul flame in the golden array slowly took human form. A figure with spiky white hair, clad in blue armor, emerged—straight out of the Warring States era, not unlike Madara's own armor.
Madara's face twisted like he'd just bitten into something rotten. This wasn't his beloved Hashirama—it was Tobirama Senju, the guy who never shut up about "evil Uchihas," spouting it eight hundred times a day!
As the golden light faded, Tobirama's eyes flickered with confusion. But the moment he spotted the figure in front of him, his gaze sharpened.
"Evil Uchiha!" he bellowed.
Tobirama didn't fully grasp his situation, but he instantly recognized Madara Uchiha standing nearby. What was this evil Uchiha plotting now?!
And that kid next to him? Based on looks alone, probably another evil Uchiha!
What were these two—one big, one small—evil Uchihas planning by summoning him?!
Madara, hearing "evil Uchiha" as Tobirama's first words, completely lost it.