Chapter 1603 Wherever the leaves are flying, the fire is endless

Chapter 1603 Wherever the leaves are flying, the fire is endless

The night was as dark as water, and the moonlight shone on the Hokage Rock in Konoha Village. Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama stood side by side, overlooking the brightly lit village below.

Ten years have passed, and Konoha is no longer the small ninja village it used to be. It has become the center of the entire ninja world. The streets are bustling with people, ninjas and civilians walk side by side, children play and fight in the square, and the air is filled with the atmosphere of peace and prosperity.

"Ban, look, this is the world we once dreamed of."

There was an undisguised pride and relief in Senju Hashirama's voice. His eyes swept across the ninja school in the distance. Although it was already night, there was a group of children of civilian origin practicing basic ninjutsu there with determination on their faces.

Uchiha Madara didn't say anything, but his gaze lingered on the children for a long time. His eyes were less sharp than before and more gentle.

Ten years later, he witnessed with his own eyes the ninja world's transition from division to unity, from fighting to peace. All of this was exactly what he and Hashirama had once fought for.

"Hashirama, do you still remember the promise we made when we were kids?"

Uchiha Madara suddenly spoke, his voice low and calm.

Senju Hashirama was stunned for a moment, then started laughing.

"Of course you remember, we said that we want to build a world without war and let all children grow up in peace."

"Yes, we were ridiculously naive back then."

The corners of Uchiha Madara's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a rare smile.

“But now it seems that maybe it was that naivety that brought us to where we are today.”

Senju Hashirama nodded, a hint of emotion flashing in his eyes.

"Ban, I've always been grateful to you. If you and I didn't have the same dream and support each other, I might have given up long ago."

Uchiha Madara was silent for a moment, then said calmly:

"Hashirama, you are wrong."

"If it weren't for you, I might have taken another path a long time ago, a path that is absolutely wrong compared to the one I'm on now."

The two smiled at each other as they spoke, as if they had returned to their youth, when they were just two children with dreams, standing by the Nanhe River and vowing to change the world.

"Madara, do you think we did it?"

After laughing for a while, Hashirama Senju asked Uchiha Madara.

The ninja world today is certainly much better than before, but compared with the countries in his memory, there are still many gaps.

It seems that he should be satisfied with what he has achieved now in just ten years.

But this is not enough. What he wants to build is a world that is better than the country in his memory.

Uchiha Madara did not answer Senju Hashirama's question immediately. His eyes swept across the Ninja World United Parliament Building in the distance. The lights were on there, and the ninjas and civilian representatives were busy preparing for the future of the Ninja World.

His eyes swept across the Ninjutsu Library again. Although he didn't like that guy Senju Tobirama, he did have wisdom in the research and development of Ninjutsu that was unimaginable to ordinary people.

If he didn't exist, the development of the ninja world might be much slower.

He shook his head slightly, and finally, his gaze fell on the Hokage Rock, where his and Hashirama's faces were engraved, symbolizing everything they had done for the ninja world.

“We did it, but we didn’t quite get there.”

Uchiha Madara said slowly.

"We have changed the ninja world and made it peaceful and prosperous, but this world still has many imperfections."

"The influence of the nobility has been weakened, but it has not completely disappeared; the gap between ninja and commoners has narrowed, but it still exists."

"We have only opened a new chapter for this world. The rest of the way will require not only us, but also future generations to inherit our will and make this world a better place."

Where the leaves dance, the fire lives on; the flames will continue to illuminate the village and allow new leaves to sprout.

Young people are the hope of the future. The older generation should trust and protect them. The sacrifices of the older generation are not meaningless, but will inspire young people to become the pillars of the future.

People say that he and Hashirama are the strongest ninjas of all time, and that even in the future there will be no one stronger than them.

If it were in the past, Uchiha Madara might have thought so too, and even felt that it should be so.

But now, he hopes that in the future there will be more and more people like him and Hashirama, or even better than them.

Each generation should be better than the previous one, otherwise what is the point of what they do?

Although he and Hashirama can still live for a long time, the world they dream of can only be built in a few decades or a hundred years, and it requires the efforts of generations.

Moreover, when people get old, they will become conservative and mediocre. They will lose their pioneering and enterprising spirit and only want to maintain the status quo. At that time, they are no longer suitable to lead the development of the ninja world. What is needed are young people.

He once saw three Genins leading more than twenty civilians, using a modified version of earth escape and chakra farm tools to reclaim a hundred acres of fertile land in the Gobi Desert; when they were covered in mud and raised ears of wheat, the light in their eyes was more dazzling than the Uchiha flames.

He had also seen a rescue team composed of Chunins and Genins organize the evacuation of six thousand people just three days before the flood.

Times are changing, many people and things are being eliminated, and a new generation is rising.

This is a good thing.

"Speaking of which, we also have to thank you from another world. If it weren't for your appearance, the ninja world wouldn't be able to unite in such a short time."

Senju Hashirama said to Uchiha Madara with a smile.

"Thank him?"

Uchiha Madara sneered, but there was no real sarcasm in his tone.

"At the end of the day, that's just speculation on our part."

"Neither you nor I can be sure of what the me in the other world thinks."

"But no matter what his purpose is, the guy who calls himself the savior is only used to forcing others with force."

“Don’t underestimate yourself in another world.”

"I know you, Madara, so I will believe you even if it's you from another world."

"With his strength, if he really wanted to kill us, we wouldn't have been able to resist from the beginning, right?"

Senju Hashirama smiled and shook his head, looking up at the sky.

When Uchiha Madara from another world arrived, he did not give them any chance to communicate. He just talked about his own purpose. Based on his understanding of him, he should have been able to see something.

But Uchiha Madara from another world did not give him any time at all and directly declared war on them, so he could only go up with Madara to stop him.

During the battle, he had no time to think because he had no power to resist. Only after the battle did he gradually realize that something was wrong.

Just as he said, he understood Uchiha Madara, so he knew what kind of personality he had; even if it was Uchiha Madara from another world, he didn't think it would be much different from the Madara from his own world.

They are all the same, they all seek peace, maybe in different ways, but they all have the same dream.

Moreover, Uchiha Madara in another world clearly had the ability to kill them at the beginning, but he always held back. The "clone" revealed at the end and the opening of the door to another world after "thirty years" also seemed deliberate; it was obvious that not telling them this information would be more beneficial to the other party, but he told them without hesitation.

Rather than being simply arrogant, it is more like first showing absolute force to make them realize their own weakness, and then in the name of war, creating an image of a powerful invader in their world, giving them an excuse to unite the entire ninja world, break down class barriers, and realize the world of their dreams.

This is not just their guess. Even Tobirama Senju, who has always hated Uchiha Madara, believes that this is the true purpose of Uchiha Madara from another world.

"Without his 'threat', would Reito of Sunagakure agree to open up the mineral veins in the desert? Would Byakuren of Kirigakure be willing to make the water escape technique public? Even Ishigawa of Iwagakure... that old guy has been hiding even the scraps of the sealing technique for half his life."

"Although Tobirama's water jutsu and the Uzumaki clan's sealing technique are stronger."

Uchiha Madara was silent for a moment, and he had to admit that Hashirama was right.

At the Five Kage Conference ten years ago, when his other-worldly self crushed the entire audience with an almost godly demeanor, those stubborn Kages showed real fear for the first time in their eyes—a despair that they had never experienced even when facing him and Hashirama.

Because they knew that he and Hashirama would not kill them, or rather, they knew that Hashirama would not kill him. Although he had the ability and the idea, out of consideration for Hashirama, he would not take action against them and the ninja village behind them.

But he in another world is different. He in another world really wants to kill all of them.

But even such fear did not tear apart their last bit of hope. If it were not for his and Hashirama's decisiveness, forcing them to accept the change, they would probably still be arguing there.

Although they guessed their own thoughts in another world, it was just a guess after all. No one was sure what Uchiha Madara in another world was thinking. Maybe he really wanted to unify the entire ninja world as he said.

Or give them a test. If they can develop the ninja world to the satisfaction of the other party within 30 years, there will be no final battle. But if the ninja world after 30 years does not satisfy him, what will greet them at that time is a war involving the entire ninja world.

Senju Hashirama couldn't afford to take the risk of this possibility, and neither could he. Therefore, they had to abandon their past kindness and decisively change everything.

"I once thought about how I, in another world, conquered the world and built an empire."

"I don't believe that the me in another world can do better than us, so the answer I thought of is Infinite Tsukuyomi."

"In that world, I possessed a power that surpassed everything. I chose to weave peace with lies and built an empire in a fantasy world."

"If you hadn't changed, maybe I would have done the same."

"Perhaps that is why, after coming to our world, he wanted to give us a new possibility."

“He puts the real choice in our hands.”

Senju Hashirama did not answer, but just looked quietly at the bustling street below. In a newly opened ninja tool shop, several children were standing on tiptoe to watch the chakra-conducting metal on the counter. The owner - a retired ninja who had lost his right arm - patiently explained the principle.

Ten years ago, such shops would only exist in the territories of large families.

“But he won the bet.”

After a long time, Senju Hashirama said softly.

"He bet that humanity would shine in desperate situations, and that fear would give rise to a unity that is more resilient than ideals."

He suddenly laughed and patted Madara's shoulder.

"That sounds like a bet you'd make."

Uchiha Madara sneered.

"I wouldn't do that."

"Real change does not require external threats, but rather--"

“An awakening from within.”

...............

A gust of night wind blew up the flying leaves. Hashirama Senju reached out to catch a spinning fallen leaf. The emerald green veins glowed faintly in the moonlight.

The two people quietly enjoyed the coolness brought by the breeze, and felt calm in their hearts.

"Hashirama, tell me...what would the me in that world be thinking about right now?"

After a long time, Uchiha Madara seemed to have thought of something and asked.

Senju Hashirama looked up at the starry sky. The stars were twinkling with soft light. He was silent for a moment, then laughed softly, with a hint of emotion and relief in his laughter.

"Maybe he's laughing at us."

"Laughing at us?"

"Yes."

Senju Hashirama nodded, with a hint of teasing in his tone.

"Laugh at us for actually believing that mortals can create miracles that even gods cannot."

Uchiha Madara was stunned for a moment, then the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, revealing a rare smile. He turned around and swept his eyes across the brightly lit Konoha Village in the distance. On the streets, ninjas and civilians walked side by side, children were playing in the square, and the air was filled with the atmosphere of peace and prosperity.

"maybe."

He whispered, a hint of mixed emotions in his voice.

"But I in that world would probably envy us, too."

"envious?"

Senju Hashirama looked at Uchiha Madara with some surprise.

"He can only pin his dreams on false illusions, but we can truly bring peace to this world."

"Ten years have passed, and there are still twenty years to go before the thirty years he mentioned."

"In these twenty years, we will make this world a better place."

"In the future, when the door to another world is opened, and when I from another world step into our world with my real body, he will see that the ninja world is no longer the world of division and conflict it once was. It is a world where everyone is united and moving towards the future together."

"He will see that the ninjas have put aside their past hatreds and face the hardships of the future together."

"He will see that commoners, ninjas, and nobles live together as equals, and that chakra makes life better for the people instead of being used for war."

"He will see the perfect world he once dreamed of."