Chapter 421: Just How Beautiful Was Chiyo, Really?
"Um, Ōnoki… actually, Madara has also been revived through Impure World Reincarnation."
After coming up with an idea, Hashirama immediately began probing cautiously.
"What?!"
Ōnoki was utterly shocked, "Who did it? Who did this?! Don't they understand Uchiha Madara's ambitions? The ninja world has only just managed to settle into peace, why would anyone revive him with Impure World Reincarnation? Who exactly…"
"Uh, calm down first."
Seeing Ōnoki pacing back and forth, repeating the same lines over and over, completely losing his earlier composure, Hashirama became even more certain that this old man had been deeply traumatized by Madara.
"Madara, he actually…"
Hashirama went on to tell him about how Madara was currently in Sunagakure, pursuing Granny Chiyo.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Uchiha Madara is cold-hearted, there's no way he would like a woman! And not to mention an old lady!"
The more Ōnoki listened, the more shocked he looked. In the end, he clenched his fists tightly and loudly denied it.
"Well… in a sense, Chiyo is actually like a little girl to Madara."
Hashirama corrected him.
"…."
Ōnoki's expression froze for a moment.
Thinking about it carefully… that was actually true.
But was that really the point here?
"Whether she's an old lady or a little girl, there's no way Madara would like a woman, let alone 'pursue' one!"
Ōnoki insisted firmly once again.
"You're making it sound like Madara would prefer men instead."
Hashirama curled his lips, "Besides, who understands Madara better, you or me? A person might not change even until death, but Madara has already died once. So it's not strange for him to change."
"This…"
Ōnoki found himself momentarily speechless.
After all, what Hashirama said did make sense.
However, Hashirama overlooked one thing: Madara's previous "death" hadn't truly been a final death. He had died believing he would eventually return.
The death that truly changed Madara was the one after the Fourth Great Ninja War in the original timeline.
"Hashirama-sama, are you certain?" Ōnoki asked after a moment of silence.
"Of course. I saw it with my own eyes. Not long ago, I even carried bags for the two of them for a few days."
"So, Ōnoki, since Madara has already turned out like this, it's time for you to move past your psychological shadow."
Hashirama spoke with confidence, using this as reassurance.
"Hashirama-sama, I believe you wouldn't lie to me, but…"
Ōnoki opened his mouth, looked at Hashirama's "innocent" eyes, and ultimately swallowed his words.
Once Hashirama confirmed it, Ōnoki immediately believed him.
But he didn't believe that Madara had truly changed, he believed that Madara must be plotting something.
However, he couldn't say that to Hashirama.
This was the kind of experience Ōnoki had accumulated over decades as Tsuchikage.
Given the current situation, Hashirama clearly trusted Madara more.
If he mentioned that Madara might be scheming, Hashirama would surely alert him prematurely, making it much harder to uncover any flaws later.
"But what? Have you still not let it go?"
Hashirama sighed. "How about this, I'll take you to meet Madara. You can witness his changes for yourself. That should work, right?"
"That works. I was planning to go to Sunagakure anyway. But Hashirama-sama, after hearing what you said, I've already let go of half of it. It's just that…"
Ōnoki paused, then gritted his teeth and decided to bear everything, to once again pick up the Will of Stone.
For the sake of protecting peace in the ninja world, sacrificing a bit of dignity was nothing!
"It's just that… Granny Chiyo is the love of my life. Uchiha Madara is a man long dead, how could he possibly be worthy of someone as peerless as Chiyo?"
"I must go to Sunagakure and take Chiyo back from Uchiha Madara!"
"…Huh?"
Senju Hashirama was stunned.
Another one of Granny Chiyo's admirers?
Wait… could it be that Chiyo really was an unparalleled beauty in her youth? Some kind of "white moonlight" in everyone's heart?
But if that was the case, he could understand why Ōnoki suddenly claimed to have overcome his fear.
So it was for love.
That made sense.
"Alright… but don't bully Madara. You two should compete fairly."
Hashirama's lips twitched as he reminded him.
Bully?
Ōnoki, who had been feeling embarrassed by his own shameless declaration and had his eyes shut, froze when he heard this.
He… bully Madara?
What exactly did Hashirama think Madara was, a harmless pet?
Or was it that Madara, in order to carry out some scheme, had to disguise himself as a good person and couldn't act openly?
That… actually seemed possible.
Ōnoki nodded to himself, affirming his own guess.
"Hashirama-sama, let's set off."
"Mm… well, you go ahead. I still need to buy some local specialties here, and then I'll head back to Amegakure."
Faced with Ōnoki's invitation to travel together, Hashirama waved his hand awkwardly.
Ever since he learned that Ōnoki was going to compete with Madara for Chiyo, he had no desire to go back.
A chaotic love triangle drama like that, he really couldn't handle it.
He'd rather go read those novels by Hatake Kakashi and Jiraiya.
In any case, Madara currently didn't have much power and posed no real threat.
As for Ōnoki, after interacting with him for a while, Hashirama found him to be a decent person who would likely keep his promise not to use his strength to bully Madara.
So there was nothing to worry about.
And so, Ōnoki was sent off to Sunagakure via the Flying Thunder God Formation.
Hashirama remained where he was, waiting for the four-man Flying Thunder God team to return and take him back to Amegakure.
As for what he had said earlier about "buying local specialties", that was just an excuse to brush Ōnoki off.
"Huh? Didn't they say Grandpa came this way? Where is he?"
A voice came from the sky.
Before Hashirama could even look up, the speaker had already landed.
The person who arrived was the Fourth Tsuchikage, Kurotsuchi.
"The First Hokage?"
Kurotsuchi looked at him suspiciously.
She was aware of figures like the reanimated First Hokage.
But why would he be here?
"You didn't turn my grandpa into dust, did you?"
Kurotsuchi glanced around at the ground, as if trying to figure out which patch of dirt might be her grandfather's ashes.
"No, your grandpa was taken away by the Flying Thunder God Formation. He went to Sunagakure. He…"
Hashirama hesitated for a moment, then thought it over.
As Ōnoki's family, Kurotsuchi had the right to know where he had gone and why.
Besides, this was a good thing.
If Kurotsuchi didn't support Ōnoki's twilight romance, he could even try to persuade her as a helpful bystander.
"Your grandpa went to find Granny Chiyo."
"Huh?"
"In fact, your grandmother wasn't your grandpa Ōnoki's first love. Back then, he was captivated by Granny Chiyo's peerless beauty, that's what he said himself. In the past, he was too busy with work and devoted his entire life to the village, so he never pursued it."
"Now that you've taken over his position and he has time to rest, he plans to make up for the regrets of his life before he dies. That includes his first love, Granny Chiyo."
Hashirama explained earnestly.
(End of this chapter)