The scroll trembled again. A new translucent screen materialized.
BEGINFOOTAGE:UCHIHAMADARA—THEWARRIOR′SBIRTHBEGINFOOTAGE:UCHIHAMADARA—THEWARRIOR′SBIRTH
The footage began.
Black and white at first, then bleeding into color. A world of endless forests and endless bloodshed. Small children armed with kunai. Clans fighting clans. Bodies littering riverbanks.
Before the villages, before peace, there was only war. And in that war, two clans stood above all others: the Senju and the Uchiha.
A young boy appeared on screen—dark hair, fierce eyes, standing over the body of a fallen warrior.
Uchiha Madara was born into battle. By the time he could walk, he could wield a blade. By the time he could speak, he had learned the names of his dead brothers.
The footage showed Madara as a child, standing with three other boys—his brothers. Then, one by one, they fell in battle. Their faces faded from the screen.
Young Madara's expression didn't change. But his eyes... his eyes grew harder. Colder.
War takes everything. It took his brothers. It took his childhood. It almost took his humanity.
Group Chat
UchihaIzuna: Nii-san... I never knew. You lost so many brothers before me.
UchihaMadara: It was a different time, Izuna. We all lost people.
FirstHokageHashiramaSenju: Madara... I remember. My brothers died too. Itama. Kawarama. We were the same.
SecondHokageTobiramaSenju: ...I didn't know you felt that way, Nii-san.
FirstHokageHashiramaSenju: Of course I did. They were our family.
The footage continued.
The scene shifted. A riverbank. Two boys—one with spiky dark hair, one with long flowing locks—skipping stones across the water.
Young Hashirama: "What's your name?"
Young Madara: "Madara. Yours?"
Young Hashirama: "Hashirama! Let's be friends!"
Young Madara: "Friends? Our clans are enemies."
Young Hashirama: "Then let's change that! When we're older, let's build a village where kids don't have to fight! Where little brothers don't have to die!"
Madara stared at him. For the first time in the footage, his eyes softened.
Young Madara: "...You're strange."
Young Hashirama: "I'm visionary!"
They laughed together. For just a moment, they were just children.
Group Chat
FirstHokageHashiramaSenju: Madara! Look! There we are! I remember that day!
UchihaMadara: ...I remember too, Hashirama.
UchihaIzuna: Nii-san, you're smiling! In the footage! You're actually smiling!
SecondHokageTobiramaSenju: Disgusting. Two future gods of war, skipping stones like children.
FirstHokageHashiramaSenju: Tobirama! Don't be jealous!
SecondHokageTobiramaSenju: I'm not jealous! I'm concerned for your sanity!
The footage darkened.
The boys grew. The war intensified.
And then—the moment everyone had been waiting for.
The Battlefield. Tobirama Senju faced Izuna Uchiha. Their battle was swift, brutal, and devastating.
Tobirama threw a kunai—seemingly random, seemingly desperate. Izuna tilted his head to dodge, too confident, too used to Tobirama's patterns.
But the kunai had markings on it. Sealing marks.
Before Izuna could react, Tobirama vanished and reappeared behind him.
Flying Thunder God Slash.
Izuna fell.
Young Madara's scream echoed across the battlefield. He rushed to his brother's side, catching him as he fell.
Izuna's last words: "Nii-san... take my eyes... protect the clan..."
Madara's tears fell on Izuna's face as he closed his brother's eyes.
Then Madara looked up—and his gaze found Tobirama.
In that moment, his Sharingan spun, evolved, transformed.
Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan — Awakened.
Group Chat
The chat was silent.
Then:
UchihaIzuna: ...Nii-san. You cried for me.
UchihaMadara Of course I did. You were my brother.
UchihaIzuna: I... I didn't know. I never saw.
SecondHokageTobiramaSenju: ...I'm not going to apologize. It was war. But... I understand why you hated me, Madara.
UchihaMadara: Hate is a strong word, Tobirama. Let's say... I had reasons to distrust you.
FirstHokageHashiramaSenju: Madara... I'm sorry. If I could have stopped it—
UchihaMadara: You couldn't, Hashirama. Neither of us could. That was the world we lived in.
The footage continued.
Madara's grief was palpable. He carried Izuna's eyes—literally and figuratively—for the rest of his life.
The war dragged on. More deaths. More blood.
Until finally, Hashirama approached him with an offer.
Adult Hashirama: "Madara. Let's end this. Together. A village where our clans can coexist. Where no more brothers have to die."
Adult Madara: "...You really think that's possible?"
Adult Hashirama: "I know it is. Because I believe in you. And I believe in us."
Madara looked at him for a long moment. Then, slowly, he nodded.
The footage showed the founding of Konoha. The two clans laying down their weapons. The monument being built. The first Hokage being chosen.
Narration: For a time, there was peace. For a time, Madara believed.
Narration: But trust is fragile. And the seeds of doubt had already been planted.
Group Chat
FirstHokageHashiramaSenju: Madara... those were the best days.
UchihaMadaraUchihaMadara: They were, Hashirama. They really were.
SecondHokageTobiramaSenju: ...I'll admit. Seeing it like this... I understand why you were so bitter.
UchihaMadaraUchihaMadara: Tobirama. Was that an apology?
SecondHokageTobiramaSenju: It was an acknowledgment. Don't push it.
UchihaIzuna: Tobirama, you're still impossible.
SecondHokageTobiramaSenju: And you're still annoying. Some things never change.
UchihaIzuna: NII-SAN! HE'S BULLYING ME AGAIN!
UchihaMadara: Izuna. Handle it yourself.
UchihaIzuna: But Nii-san!
FirstHokageHashiramaSenju: Hahaha! They're just like us, Madara!
UchihaMadara: ...Unfortunately.
The footage paused on an image of young Madara and young Hashirama, standing together at the river, grinning at each other.
Narration: To be continued...
Konoha — Chūnin Exam Arena
Naruto wiped his eyes furiously. "Stupid allergies..."
Hinata, equally teary, patted his arm. "It's okay, Naruto-kun. It was very moving."
Sasuke stood rigid, his own eyes suspiciously bright. Izuna gave Madara his eyes. Just like Itachi gave me his. The parallel wasn't lost on him.
In the Pure Land:
Madara stood alone, watching the frozen image of his younger self.
Hashirama appeared beside him—not physically, but their chakras could sense each other.
Hashirama: "Madara."
Madara: "Hashirama."
Hashirama: "When this is all over... let's go to that river again. Just once."
Madara was silent for a long moment.
Then, quietly: "...I'd like that."
Meanwhile — Amegakure
The battle had completely stopped. Everyone was watching the footage, even Madara himself—the real, living Madara—stood transfixed.
Obito spoke quietly: "Lord Madara... I never knew."
Madara didn't look at him. "No one did. That was the point."
Nagato, still bleeding from earlier wounds, spoke: "You lost someone too. Just like me. Just like all of us."
Madara finally turned. "Yes. And I let that loss define me. For too long."
Konan, standing protectively near Nagato, asked: "And now?"
Madara looked up at the scroll, at the frozen image of himself as a boy, laughing with Hashirama.
"Now... I'm not sure anymore."
For the first time in decades, Uchiha Madara looked genuinely uncertain.
And somehow, that was more terrifying—and more hopeful—than anything else.
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