Sensing the tense atmosphere, Hirofumi Ito had no choice but to introduce Madara Uchiha to Minato Namikaze.
"Fourth Hokage, this is Madara Uchiha!
Back in the Warring States period, he was known alongside the First Hokage as one of the two titans of the ninja world. He also helped establish the Hidden Leaf Village.
And he's the man known as the… Shinobi Shura…"
Hirofumi nearly slipped and called Madara the "God of Shinobi," but one icy glance from Madara made him quickly correct himself.
At the mention of Madara Uchiha's name, a surge of boundless hatred flashed through Minato's eyes!!!
"Heh… I never thought we'd meet again like this!
Madara… Uchiha!!!"
Madara raised an eyebrow at Minato's words.
"Fourth Hokage, what's that supposed to mean?! I've never even met you!! And don't even start with that nonsense about me attacking the Leaf Village and releasing the Nine-Tails!!!"
Minato's expression grew even colder…
This was the man responsible for the deaths of him and his wife, the true culprit who kept him from ever meeting his son!
"Heh!
The great Shinobi Shura, reduced to a coward who can't own up to his actions?!
You invaded the Hidden Leaf Village!
You released the Nine-Tails while my wife was giving birth!
You even used my newborn son to threaten me!!!
I, Minato Namikaze, will never forget what happened that night!!!"
At this point, Madara started to piece things together…
Back then, he'd let Uchiha Obito operate under his name!
It must've been Obito who did it. But why would that guy go after the Fourth Hokage?!
Couldn't he have just stuck to collecting the Tailed Beasts to complete the plan?!
Why cause all this extra trouble?!!
Nearby, Hashirama and Tobirama Senju were utterly confused!
Both frowned deeply. It seemed the Hidden Leaf Village hadn't been peaceful after their time!
Someone had the audacity to openly attack the Leaf Village!!!
And even threatened the Hokage with his own son!!!
Hashirama noticed Madara's initial confusion and realized that the "Madara Uchiha" Minato was talking about couldn't be the real Madara!
Tobirama, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes at Madara, as if trying to figure something out.
"Tch!!! I, Madara Uchiha, have always acted with honor!
If I did it, I'd admit it!
But don't you dare pin that garbage on me!!!
Do you really think the great Shinobi Shura would resort to such pathetic tactics to deal with you?!
You're not even on my level! Not even Tobirama Senju would dare talk that big!"
Minato frowned at Madara's words.
It was true—the person back then had felt completely different from the Madara standing before him now!
This Madara exuded arrogance and dominance, while that masked guy…
His strength wasn't even that impressive, and he came off as kind of sleazy!
He kept claiming to be Madara Uchiha but never showed his face.
Could it really not have been Madara?!!
But those Sharingan eyes couldn't be faked!!!
"That guy claimed he was Madara Uchiha! And the Uchiha clan's Sharingan doesn't lie!!!"
"I told you, it wasn't me!!!"
"If it wasn't you, then who was it?!!"
The pain of being separated from his family surged within Minato, and instinctively, he activated Sage Mode in an instant!
His pupils turned into horizontal bars, and the distinctive Sage Mode eyeshadow appeared around his eyes.
Seeing this, Hirofumi's mouth twitched…
Oh, come on!!!
Didn't you say your Sage Arts weren't that great? That it took a ton of time to gather chakra, that you could only maintain it for a short time, and that you basically never used it in actual combat?!
That's what Minato said in the original story!
And yet?!
He just popped into Sage Mode in seconds!!!
Right on cue, the system's voice chimed in Hirofumi's mind:
[Congratulations, Host, for successfully summoning the spirit Minato Namikaze!
Now extracting a random ability from the summoned spirit!
Congratulations, Host, you have acquired Mount Myoboku Sage Arts!
The Host has fully learned and mastered Mount Myoboku Sage Arts!]
Hirofumi hadn't expected to gain Mount Myoboku's Sage Arts from Minato—a massive boost to his strength!
Honestly, Hirofumi felt like he was becoming a second Minato Namikaze!
He'd already got the Flying Thunder God Technique, and now the Mount Myoboku Sage Arts. All he needed was to learn the Rasengan, and he could fight just like Minato!
Zip in with Flying Thunder God, hit with a Rasengan.
Follow up with Flying Thunder God Stage Two, another Rasengan.
Then Flying Thunder God Stage Three, and a Great Ball Rasengan!
And if that didn't cut it, a Sage Art: Massive Rasengan!!!
I'm just too good!!!
Heh heh heh heh heh…
Meanwhile, Madara was at a loss for how to explain himself… and frankly, he didn't feel like bothering!
This Fourth Hokage was acting all high and mighty, daring to yell at him!
Popping into Sage Mode and thinking he's tough, huh?!
Hirofumi wasn't about to let the two of them fight. If Minato got killed by accident, that'd be a disaster…
"Fourth Hokage! The person who attacked the Leaf Village back then really wasn't Madara Uchiha. Deep down, you must've noticed the difference, right? There's no way that guy was Madara!"
Hearing this, Minato calmed down a bit…
"Then who was it?!"
"Heh… You know his name all too well! It was your beloved student, Uchiha… Obito!"
"WHAT?!?!"
Minato couldn't accept it. The one responsible for his and his wife's deaths, the one who kept him from his son… was Uchiha Obito?!
"No way! Absolutely impossible!!! Obito was already dead back then! How could it be him?! And Obito was such an obedient kid! There's no way he'd attack me!!!"
Hirofumi didn't rush to explain. Instead, he turned to Madara…
"Madara! Isn't it time you explained your plan to everyone?
The First Hokage's here now, so spill the beans!
You're already revived, so you don't need Uchiha Obito anymore, right?!"
Seeing everyone's eyes on him, Madara gave a slight nod…