In the center of the river valley, the dust had not yet completely settled.
Senju Tobirama's figure instantly appeared beside Madara using Flying Thunder God. The long blade flashed with cold light, already raised high, its tip pointed directly at Madara's throat.
"It's over, Uchiha Madara!"
The blade carried a fierce killing intent and was about to fall.
"Tobirama, stop!", Senju Hashirama's low shout stopped Senju Tobirama from delivering the finishing blow.
Tobirama's movements suddenly froze. His brows drew tightly together as he turned his face and urgently lowered his voice. "Big Brother! This is the best opportunity!"
"He's exhausted, and even his Sharingan can't hold on anymore! As long as this blade falls, the Uchiha will no longer be a threat..."
Hashirama did not turn around.
"I said, stop!"
He merely slowly turned around, his heavy gaze falling on Tobirama's face.
That gaze was sharp as a blade, leaving no room for discussion.
Tobirama's words came to an abrupt stop.
He opened his mouth, but in the end, he forcibly swallowed the rest of his persuasion. He slowly lowered his long blade, yet his eyes remained fixed on Madara on the ground, the killing intent still lingering in them.
Hashirama looked back at Madara.
Hashirama's outstretched hand was still suspended in midair, palm facing upward. His voice was calm but firm. "Madara. Join me."
"Together, we'll build a village. A place where children no longer die on the battlefield, and family members no longer slaughter each other."
"Let's put an end to all of this."
Madara lay among the rubble, blood still lingering at the corner of his mouth.
He raised his head and coldly stared at Hashirama, then suddenly let out a low laugh.
"Build a village?"
"You think I'll believe you?"
Madara slowly raised one hand and pointed at Tobirama beside Hashirama, then pointed at Hashirama himself.
"Unless..."
"You kill that gloomy bastard beside you right now."
"Or..."
Madara paused, his crimson pupils narrowing slightly.
"You kill yourself."
As soon as those words were spoken, the air seemed to freeze.
Senju Tobirama's expression changed drastically, and he could not help speaking coldly, "You're dreaming."
"Uchiha Madara, you think my big brother would just because of a single word from you..."
Before he could finish, he saw Hashirama already beginning to move.
Hashirama did not argue or hesitate.
He simply silently raised both hands and undid the straps of his chest armor.
The heavy armor fell to the ground piece by piece, making dull metallic clanging sounds.
A moment later, he stood in the wind wearing only his thin underclothes.
Then he turned around to face the elite warriors of the two clans watching from a distance behind him, his voice clear and heavy. "Listen carefully."
"After I die..."
"The Senju clan must absolutely never fight the Uchiha clan again."
"The two clans should put down their hatred, come together, and create a village."
"This is my final order."
The words fell.
The entire river valley instantly fell silent.
The Senju clan members looked at one another. Some opened their mouths wide, while others instinctively took half a step back.
The Uchiha side was also in an uproar. Low exclamations rose one after another, and they could not help feeling a trace of admiration for the man before them...
"Big Brother?! What are you talking about?"
Senju Tobirama's entire body froze.
He had never imagined that his big brother would actually go this far.
"Big Brother... you..."
Tobirama's voice trembled. He could hardly believe his eyes.
As for Madara, the mocking look in his eyes completely froze at this moment.
He stared at Hashirama's figure after removing his armor, and after hearing those forceful words, genuine astonishment finally flashed deep in his eyes.
Hashirama did not look at anyone again.
He drew a kunai from his waist and gripped it in reverse, the tip pointed at his own chest.
His knuckles turned slightly white, but there was not the slightest hesitation.
Just as the kunai was about to pierce in...
A black shadow flashed over like lightning.
Madara had somehow already gotten up. He tightly grabbed Hashirama's wrist with one hand, the force so great it nearly crushed his bones.
"Enough."
Madara's voice was low, carrying suppressed anger, yet mixed with some complicated emotion.
He raised his head, looked directly at Hashirama, and slowly spoke. "I agree."
"We'll build the village together."
In the center of the river valley, the dust and smoke had not yet completely dispersed.
Madara's hand still tightly gripped Hashirama's wrist. The string between the two that had been pulled taut for decades finally loosened at this moment.
Among the shadows of the trees in the distance, a figure dressed in ordinary Uchiha clan clothing stood quietly.
Uchiha Katsu.
Uchiha Katsu did not approach or make any sound. He simply looked silently at the scene in the center of the river valley through the layers of branches and leaves.
Madara and Hashirama stood facing each other. One had just crawled back from a death match, while the other had just been about to stab a kunai into his own chest.
Yet now, they had reached a reconciliation.
A complicated light flashed through Katsu's eyes.
Uchiha Katsu muttered softly, his voice so quiet it was almost scattered by the wind. "Things really have... changed so much."
In his previous life.
The alliance between the Uchiha and Senju was not a dramatic reconciliation after a life-and-death battle like this.
Instead, that lord had personally directed them, with the banner divided into five parts, bringing down the Land of Fire and unifying the various shinobi clans. Only then was Konoha established.
The Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Izuna of his previous life were both grandchildren of that lord.
But now...
Everything was completely different.
Katsu slowly shook his head, suppressing that trace of emotion in his eyes.
He straightened his sleeves and once again returned to the appearance of an ordinary Uchiha clan member.
His gaze was calm, and his figure silently retreated deeper into the shadows.
Continue to lie low.
Continue using this identity to blend into the Konoha Shinobi Village that was about to be established.
———
Above the void, Arisu's gaze passed through the barrier, taking in everything in the river valley.
Madara and Hashirama's reconciliation, Tobirama's suppressed anger, the shock and whispers of the elites of the two clans...
All of it fell into his eyes.
Arisu nodded slightly.
Finally... it was the same as the original story.
Arisu clasped his hands behind his back and stood in the void, his gaze carrying a trace of emotion.
"That was fast."
"Even the second round... is almost over."
"Now, there are only two hundred years left until Naruto ends."
"Two hundred years from now, it'll probably be time to start the third round."
Arisu slowly closed his eyes.
In his mind appeared those familiar figures from this second round...
Madara, Hashirama, Tobirama, Izuna... and those whose traces he had quietly erased.
All of their memories would be erased.
Then, a new round would begin.
The corners of Arisu's mouth curved into a faint, unreadable smile.
The void once again fell silent.
———
[On The Moon]
Inside the luxurious and silent prison, Yumeko was leaning boredly against a soft chair, her fingers lightly tapping the armrest.
The next second, the void trembled slightly.
Arisu's figure silently appeared before her.
"Huh?!"
Yumeko raised her head, and her eyes instantly lit up.
Arisu's tone was flat as he directly told Yumeko, "Hashirama and Madara have reconciled."
As soon as these words came out, Yumeko's eyes widened.
Her entire body sprang up from the chair, unable to suppress the happiness on her face, and her voice rose several pitches. "Hashirama and Madara reconciled and are building the village together?! Konoha is going to be established?!"