Tobirama just shouted, then relaxed, because the people appearing before him were Fūmori Masaki and Uchiha Kagami. But he immediately frowned and asked, "Why did you come here? Why aren't you staying in the Village?"
"I'm sorry, Teacher Tobirama." Fūmori Masaki apologized first; after all, they had indeed violated Tobirama's orders by sneaking out of Konohagakure on their own. Uchiha Kagami did the same.
Seeing Tobirama's expression soften, Fūmori Masaki then said, "I saw the signal Teacher Tobirama sent out. However, I was worried about Hashirama's condition, so I couldn't help but come out to take a look. Please forgive me."
Uchiha Kagami continued, "Teacher Tobirama, I wanted to see how Uchiha Madara is doing now."
Tobirama knew that due to Sage Mode, the relationship between Hashirama and Fūmori Masaki was closer to that of master and apprentice than with others. Fūmori Masaki usually showed respect for his teachers, so coming out due to concern for Hashirama was understandable. As for Uchiha Kagami, he had been raised by Uchiha Madara since childhood, and Uchiha Madara held an extraordinary place in his heart, so this action was also reasonable.
However, in Tobirama's view, violating orders was still unacceptable. It was manageable for now, but if they violated orders in future missions, it would bring trouble to himself and even the Village.
"Alright, Tobirama. It's enough that Fūmori Masaki has this heart; there's no need to blame him." Hashirama understood his younger brother's personality and spoke up with a smile.
Tobirama looked at Hashirama helplessly and handed over the floor to him. Hashirama looked at the two of them and said, "Fūmori Masaki, Uchiha Kagami, I already know your intentions. Thank you, Fūmori Masaki. And... Uchiha Kagami, go take a final look at Uchiha Madara."
Uchiha Kagami immediately understood that Uchiha Madara was indeed dead; otherwise, Hashirama would not have said that. He immediately began searching for Uchiha Madara's body. Although it was night, he quickly saw the figure lying in the water.
Uchiha Kagami rushed over and turned the body over. Looking at that familiar face that would never open its eyes again, a sour emotion welled up from the bottom of his heart, and he couldn't help but tightly embrace Uchiha Madara's body.
Hashirama looked at Uchiha Kagami's back, feeling equally sad. He turned his head and asked Tobirama to check on his wife's condition. Then, he slowly straightened up, but his legs went weak, and he almost fell again. Fūmori Masaki was quick to help steady Hashirama. Hashirama thanked him and asked Fūmori Masaki to take him over to Uchiha Kagami.
When they reached Uchiha Kagami, Hashirama looked at Uchiha Madara's remains and sighed, saying, "Uchiha Kagami, you should take charge of Uchiha Madara's remains and bury him in the Uchiha Clan's ancestral grave."
Uchiha Kagami shook his head slightly and said, "No, Hashirama. The sins committed by Uchiha Madara this time are too great. The Uchiha Clan will not accept him. If we bury Uchiha Madara's remains in the ancestral grave, I'm afraid it will meet with everyone's opposition."
"Then, find a place to bury him. At least don't let his body be exposed to the wilderness." Hashirama thought this made some sense, so he thought for a moment and said.
"No." Uchiha Kagami still refused. He said, "If we bury Uchiha Madara, I'm afraid someone will still have designs on Uchiha Madara. Therefore, I hope to cremate Uchiha Madara's remains so that Uchiha Madara can find peace."
"What!" Not only Hashirama, but Tobirama was also startled and quickly turned his head. He had not expected Uchiha Kagami to have this idea.
Fūmori Masaki noticed Tobirama's expression and thought to himself, "It is as I thought."
On their way here, they had run into Sarutobi Sasuke and the others. This matter was originally nothing strange, but to Fūmori Masaki, who knew the future, there were some suspicious aspects to it.
Tobirama's explanation made sense, but on the other hand, it had excluded Sarutobi Sasuke and the others. Fūmori Masaki had been wondering when Tobirama had replaced Uchiha Madara's body. The journey from the Valley of the End to Konohagakure was the most likely time, because once they returned to Konohagakure, Uchiha Madara's body would immediately be demanded back by the Uchiha Clan, and stealing the body from the Uchiha Clan would not be an easy task.
Thinking about it this way, Tobirama's insistence on having the others return had another underlying meaning. Even for Tobirama, it would be impossible to secretly swap Uchiha Madara's body in full view of everyone—especially since these people were experts from Konohagakure. But if it were just Tobirama, Hashirama, and Uzumaki Mito, the possibility would be much higher. Hashirama was severely injured, and Uzumaki Mito would be distracted by sealing the Nine-Tailed. Tobirama had the highest success rate of replacing Uchiha Madara's body at that time.
In fact, Fūmori Masaki had no objection to Tobirama wanting to study Uchiha Madara's body. In the Ninja tradition, there was a custom of destroying corpses because Ninja corpses had great value, not just for Secret Techniques, but also for Bloodline Limits, and so on.
For an expert like Uchiha Madara, the value of his remains was ridiculously high. Not to mention Tobirama, even others would not let him go in vain. After all, that was the only pair of Mangekyo Sharingan in the world that would never lose its light, not to mention the Secret Technique knowledge within the Uchiha Clan.
It was completely normal for Tobirama to have such thoughts. If there were no other reasons, Fūmori Masaki would not have stopped Tobirama from acting this way. Unfortunately, because of Izanagi, Tobirama's plans had to fall through.
Uchiha Kagami's decision was not just his own idea. Back on the way here, Fūmori Masaki had asked Uchiha Kagami how he planned to lay Uchiha Madara's remains to rest. Initially, Uchiha Kagami's idea was the same as Hashirama's: to find another piece of land to bury Uchiha Madara, so he wouldn't have to face opposition from other members of the clan.
Fūmori Masaki then asked what would happen if someone, greedy for the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan, tried to plot to take Uchiha Madara's eyes? Given Uchiha Kagami's character, he would not do such a thing, but others in the Uchiha Clan could not be guaranteed. In the history of the Uchiha Clan, there were many examples of people taking the eyes of blood relatives for power.
A long time ago, there were people in the Uchiha Clan who, due to abusing the power of Izanagi, constantly took the eyes of their fellow clansmen. Fortunately, a Female Ninja created a Dōjutsu that countered Izanagi, preventing such incidents of fratricide from spreading further.
After receiving the reminder from Fūmori Masaki, Uchiha Kagami realized that it was impossible to just lay Uchiha Madara's remains to rest like that; surely someone would want to obtain the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan. But they didn't stop to think that even if the Uchiha Clan could adapt to someone else's Sharingan, it wasn't their own eyes, so it could not achieve true, complete unity. Like Uchiha Madara's Mangekyo Sharingan, its power was not something that ordinary people could withstand.
At the very least, Uchiha Kagami himself did not have the confidence to withstand the power of Uchiha Madara's Mangekyo Sharingan, and he did not want to use Uchiha Madara's eyes; he felt it was an insult to Uchiha Madara.
Uchiha Kagami and Fūmori Masaki discussed it and unanimously agreed to adopt cremation. This was also a traditional custom, and Uchiha Kagami could accept this method. Therefore, when Hashirama asked how to lay Uchiha Madara's remains to rest, Uchiha Kagami proposed this method.
Hashirama came back to his senses and asked, "Uchiha Kagami, do you really want to do this?"
"Yes, Hashirama." Uchiha Kagami nodded, looked at Uchiha Madara's remains, and said, "I do not want anyone to disturb Uchiha Madara's peace in the future. Presumably, Uchiha Madara would not want that either."
Hashirama was silent. He didn't know what Uchiha Madara's thoughts were, but Uchiha Kagami was Uchiha Madara's successor. Since Uchiha Kagami had made such a decision, as the Hokage, he had no need to refuse. Moreover, he thought that perhaps it was for the best.
"It is for the best," Hashirama said. "In that case, after cremation, let's place his ashes in a location so we can pay our respects."
Uchiha Kagami nodded.
Seeing this, Tobirama understood that Uchiha Madara's remains were destined to be cremated. He felt very regretful; Uchiha Madara's remains were of great value, and he really didn't want to give up easily. But since both Uchiha Kagami and Hashirama thought so, he couldn't say anything and had to choose to accept it. He couldn't hide Uchiha Madara's body immediately either.
Sigh, if I had known, I should have hidden Uchiha Madara's remains before sealing the Nine-Tailed. Now that it's dragged on to this point, Tobirama sighed in his heart.
Uchiha Madara could not be cremated formally, and the Uchiha Clan would not agree to it anyway. All rituals were simplified. The five people present witnessed with their own eyes as Uchiha Madara's remains slowly disappeared into the flames—
The firelight shone on Fūmori Masaki's face, and he breathed a sigh of relief. With the disappearance of the Mangekyo Sharingan, Uchiha Madara could never be resurrected, and Black Zetsu's plan would once again fall into stagnation. Originally, according to Uchiha Madara's plan, he should have been able to survive, but unfortunately, he encountered Fūmori Masaki. However, Fūmori Masaki felt that this might also be a form of happiness for Uchiha Madara; after all, dying unknowingly was far better than seeing the ideals he had insisted upon for so long shattered before his eyes.