Jiraiya was speechless.
Hashirama continued, "Let me tell you a story first."
"You're all familiar with the chaos of the Warring States Period, right?"
Deidara and Jiraiya both nodded.
"Actually, by the time I was in my early twenties, I had already reached the pinnacle of the ninja world." He crossed his arms, speaking as if recounting something trivial.
"Even then, I was always pursuing peace, but I never succeeded. Do you know why?"
"Because of another man—Uchiha Madara, right?" Deidara answered.
"That's right." Hashirama nodded.
"Madara was equally powerful. Throughout my lifetime, I fought him hundreds of times, yet I only had the upper hand during two brief periods."
"The first was when his Mangekyō Sharingan had been exhausted. The second was after I had mastered Sage Mode."
"With Sage Mode, I could prolong the battle indefinitely and barely manage to defeat him."
As he spoke, a nostalgic look crossed his face before he chuckled sheepishly.
"Of course, I'm getting sidetracked."
"The point is, I reached the peak of the ninja world at twenty, yet I only established Konohagakure at thirty-five—and even then, I couldn't protect my own son."
"All of this was because I was constantly facing a formidable opponent in Madara. He, along with the Uchiha clan he led, always stood against me, preventing my dream of peace from coming to fruition."
"Until one day…"
At this moment, even Jiraiya—who had been somewhat dazed due to Hashirama's sudden ceasefire—understood what he was getting at.
Jiraiya continued, "Until you and Uchiha Madara reached an understanding and established Konohagakure, marking the beginning of a new era in the ninja world and ushering in a precious period of peace."
Hashirama clapped his hands together. "Exactly, you see?"
"Doesn't your current situation mirror mine and Madara's back then?"
"Why must both sides be locked in a life-or-death struggle?"
"Why not unite instead?"
"Deidara, from what I've seen in Amegakure, I can tell that you truly desire peace. You've welcomed ninjas from various villages with open arms."
"So, taking in some Konoha ninjas as well shouldn't be a problem, right?" Hashirama asked.
Deidara nodded. He had always aimed to unite the ninja world, so he welcomed anyone willing to join, especially powerful individuals like Jiraiya and Tsunade.
Hashirama then turned to Jiraiya. "Jiraiya, if you think their chances of creating a miracle are low, wouldn't your involvement increase those chances?"
"Isn't this also a way to save the ninja world?"
Jiraiya fell silent again. Hashirama's words made perfect sense, but his proposal was simply too shocking for Jiraiya to accept so quickly.
Not to mention, this would mean the complete dissolution of Konohagakure. Plus, he had spent his life pursuing the destiny foretold by the Great Toad Sage. That prophecy had been his guiding belief—it wasn't something he could abandon so easily.
However, silence often implies indecision, and indecision often leans towards acceptance. He simply wasn't ready to admit it yet.
The situation was unexpectedly moving toward a peaceful resolution, and Deidara let out a sigh of relief.
The ninja world was still incredibly dangerous! Even with his near-Six Paths-level strength, he could still find himself in a life-or-death crisis.
He landed his clay bird, trusting in Hashirama's character. If it were anyone else, he wouldn't have been so relaxed.
But suddenly, voices echoed in his mind—one after another, bidding their farewells.
"Deidara, I'm heading off first. Make sure to have Orochimaru reanimate me later." It was Sasori's voice.
"Me too. I may be old, but I haven't lived enough yet." That was Kakuzu.
"Hey! Don't forget to reanimate me too!" Hidan chimed in.
Crap!
They had gotten so caught up in their conversation that they forgot there was still a deadly battle happening elsewhere!
"Hey! You three, don't be reckless! Tell the Konoha guys to hold on! This fight is over!" Deidara shouted urgently.
It would be ridiculous if they made peace here only for people to die over there.
On another battlefield, Hidan stood frozen, covered in explosive tags, yet still gripping Sarutobi Hiruzen tightly.
"Itachi, hurry up and use the Totsuka Blade—"
"Uh, wait! Hold on! You all, stop!" Hidan suddenly changed his tone and shouted.
Senju Tobirama, who had been about to detonate the explosive tags, paused in confusion.
A battle ending just like that? Was this some kind of joke?
"It's true!" Seeing Tobirama's skepticism, Hidan was practically on the verge of tears.
Meanwhile, Sasori and Kakuzu also released their grip on Namikaze Minato and Tsunade.
Throughout the entire battle, they had realized that their only path to victory was mutual destruction—something they weren't too keen on.
"If you don't believe me, put on this ring and let your brother explain it to you himself." Hidan tossed his ring to Tobirama.
Tobirama still wasn't convinced. But then again, it was his older brother.
That changed things. This was exactly the kind of absurd stunt his brother would pull.
He put on the ring, and immediately, Hashirama's voice echoed in his mind.
"Hey! Tobirama! Can you hear me?"
"Hey! Hey! Tobirama! Little Tobirama!"
Tobirama's face darkened. "Big brother, what is going on?"
"Oh, you know, just fought a little and then made peace!" Hashirama responded matter-of-factly.
"Why does this keep happening?" Tobirama was exasperated. This wasn't the first time. In the past, Hashirama had a habit of sparing enemies after defeating them—sometimes even bowing before leaving. It was ridiculous. The Senju clan's dignity had suffered greatly because of it.
"Hey! I'm your big brother! Can't you just listen to me for once?" Hashirama asked.
"You're only two years older than me! Back in the day, whether it was the Senju clan or Konohagakure, wasn't I the one handling all the affairs?"
"If anything, you should be listening to me!" Tobirama retorted.
"You see? This is exactly your problem. You get too caught up in these things, which is why you were always too busy to even get married. No descendants, no nothing."
"Back then, Mito introduced you to so many Uzumaki girls, and Father gave you so much grief over it. Who do you think smoothed things over for you every time?"
"Hmph!"
"And you got married, yet after Konohagakure was founded, you spent more time with Uchiha Madara."
"Mito constantly complained about it, and who do you think had to mediate between you two?"
"You two just strolled around the village while I handled everything. Do you think I enjoyed it? And don't even get me started on Tsunade—other than taking her gambling, what else have you done?"
"Even her diapers—I was the one changing them!" The more Tobirama spoke, the more frustrated he became.
Suddenly, another voice cut in.
"Ahem!"
"I should remind you both—everyone wearing a ring can hear this conversation."
What?!
What?!
Deidara frowned, while the others turned to glare at Itachi.
Did you really have to say that?
Couldn't you have just let us listen in silence?
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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