Chapter 176: Oh, I've Become the Villain?
The deep blue Susanoo stood tall. Inside the hundred-meter-tall chakra colossus, Uchiha Madara stood at its head, arms crossed, his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan spinning in his eyes.
Senju Hashirama stood atop the massive wooden golem. His red armor gleamed with a dull luster under the sunlight, and his long black hair whipped back in the wind.
He also had his arms crossed. His stance was casual, but beneath that relaxed posture lay an imposing aura that demanded respect.
He stood there like a mountain—not overwhelmingly towering, but undeniably immovable.
Uchiha Madara's laughter ceased. His gaze swept past Uchiha Taiga before landing on Senju Hashirama.
Hashirama tilted his head, studying the young man suspended in midair.
His eyes narrowed slightly, and the corners of his mouth turned up, looking like a child who had just discovered something new. After observing for a few seconds, he spoke. "Madara, this child is the Uchiha Taiga you mentioned, right?"
Madara looked away from him, his eyes locking onto Taiga. He raised his chin slightly, his voice carrying its usual arrogant edge.
"That's right."
He paused for a moment before adding, "He is a threat to the entire ninja world."
Uchiha Taiga was dumbfounded.
Hovering in midair, his expression turned peculiar upon hearing this, and his mouth twitched.
*Hold on, do you hear yourself right now?*
*You are Uchiha Madara, the Asura of the Ninja World. How can you just sling mud at someone else like that?*
Taiga truly hadn't expected Madara to say such a thing. From the moment he debuted until now, aside from asking for some Tailed Beast chakra and beating up a few blind fools, he hadn't exactly committed any heinous atrocities, had he?
*So how did I suddenly become a threat to the entire ninja world in Madara's mouth?*
Hearing Madara's words, Senju Hashirama didn't respond immediately.
He looked at Taiga, his gaze lingering on the youth for a moment as if he were sensing something, or perhaps evaluating him.
Then, he shook his head.
"Madara, you shouldn't be so quick to judge."
His tone was calm but earnest. "I can feel that this child's heart is very peaceful."
He spoke with absolute certainty, as if he could see something others couldn't. He uncrossed his arms, letting them hang by his sides, and his entire demeanor seemed much more relaxed.
Uchiha Madara scoffed coldly, the sound heavy, like a burst of fire snorted from his nose.
"You've always been like this. Too quick to trust others."
He glared at Hashirama, his eyes filled with a sense of exasperation at his rival's naivety.
"This brat is nowhere near as simple as he looks."
He turned his head slightly, his gaze falling back onto Taiga.
"Do you know what he's been doing?"
Hashirama shook his head, his expression showing genuine curiosity.
"What has he done?"
The corners of Madara's mouth curled up into a mocking smirk.
"He is collecting Tailed Beast chakra."
Hearing this, Taiga immediately raised an eyebrow.
*Oh, so I've become the villain?*
Hashirama nodded in sudden realization, his expression shifting from curiosity to serious contemplation.
"I see."
Madara looked at him, the light in his eyes gleaming brighter.
"Don't tell me you don't know the importance of the Tailed Beasts."
He lowered his voice, but his tone grew heavier. "Can't you figure out why this brat is collecting the Tailed Beasts?"
Hashirama looked up at Taiga hovering in the distance, his expression growing somewhat complicated.
"Indeed."
His voice was soft, as if muttering to himself.
"Collecting the Tailed Beasts... that's far too dangerous."
Hovering in midair, Taiga watched the two of them echo each other, his expression growing increasingly bizarre.
Madara was clearly taking things out of context.
He had started by saying it was Tailed Beast chakra, but then he immediately twisted it into collecting the Tailed Beasts themselves. Collecting Tailed Beasts and collecting their chakra were two entirely different things.
The worst part was that Hashirama actually looked like he bought the lie.
There was no hint of doubt on his face; he was just nodding along in complete seriousness.
Taiga took a deep breath before speaking up. "Aren't you going to investigate that first?"
Hashirama froze for a moment. Then he raised a hand and scratched his head, a sheepish smile breaking out on his face.
"Ahaha, sorry about that."
His laugh was loud and hearty, like an overgrown child who had just been caught doing something silly. "I'm a dead man, you see. I don't exactly have the means to investigate."
He said this in a very relaxed tone, seemingly unbothered by Taiga's remark. Then, his smile faded, and he looked at Taiga with a serious expression.
"However, child, could you stop what you're doing? The Tailed Beasts are tied to the peace of the ninja world. They cannot be controlled by a single individual. It's far too dangerous."
He spoke with utmost sincerity, his eyes filled with expectation, like an elder imparting a crucial lesson to the younger generation.
Taiga looked at him and remained silent for a few seconds. Then, he sighed and shook his head.
"I truly never expected the First Hokage to be so naive."
There was no mockery in his tone, only a sense of lament.
Ever since being reborn into the ninja world, he had heard countless legends about Senju Hashirama—the God of Shinobi, the man who quelled the warring era and founded Konoha.
But seeing the man in person today, he finally realized just how massive the gap between legend and reality truly was.
Hashirama didn't care in the slightest about how others judged him. His expression remained unchanged, his smile just as sheepish, and his gaze just as sincere.
He looked at Taiga, the hope on his face undiminished by being called naive.
"So, will you stop?"
He pressed the question again, his tone just as earnest, as if he were genuinely waiting for an answer.
Taiga met his eyes and flatly shook his head.
"No."
A single word, crisp and decisive, without a shred of hesitation or any intention to explain himself.
The smile on Hashirama's face stiffened before slowly fading away.
His expression shifted from hopeful to disappointed, and his shoulders slumped slightly.
"I see."
Standing at the head of his Susanoo, Madara watched the exchange and scoffed, the corners of his mouth curling up.
"See?"
He looked at Hashirama. "Then there's nothing more to say."
He leaned forward slightly inside the Susanoo, dropping his arms from his chest to his sides.
His Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan spun rapidly, the crimson glow growing brighter as if accumulating power.
"You and I merely have a difference in ideals."
He looked at Hashirama, his voice deep and powerful. "But this brat will truly threaten the entire ninja world."
He raised a hand, pointing at Taiga hovering in the air.
"Let's put our business on hold for now."
Madara's gaze shifted from Hashirama to Taiga, his eyes brimming with uncontainable excitement.
"We take down this brat first."
Standing atop the wooden golem, Hashirama looked troubled, as if struggling with a difficult decision.
"That... doesn't seem right."
Madara ignored him. He leaned forward completely inside the Susanoo, and the deep blue avatar mirrored his movement, leaning forward like a wild beast ready to pounce.
Watching this unfold, Taiga grinned.
"Hahaha..."
His laughter echoed down from midair. It wasn't loud, but everyone on the battlefield heard it clearly.
Immediately after, Taiga lowered his center of gravity, stepping against the empty air to adjust his posture. The chakra flames around his body flared brighter, the pale golden light illuminating his face.
"Don't worry about the details."
Taiga declared, "Come on! Show me the combined power of the God of Shinobi and the Asura of the Ninja World!"
He raised his hands, bringing them together in front of him with a light clap.
*Clap.*
Then, an overwhelmingly powerful aura erupted from his body. It was like a bomb had detonated inside him, violently pushing the surrounding air outward.
That aura was a mixture of chakra and his own sheer willpower—a pure, suffocating pressure, as if something ancient had awakened within him.
The air around him seemed to stagnate under the crushing weight, only to return to normal the next instant as the wind howled past him.
Hashirama's eyes widened slightly. He looked at Taiga in the air, his troubled expression shifting into one of serious scrutiny.
"Such an imposing aura... even during the Warring States period, this would be rare!"
The crimson light in Madara's eyes burned even brighter, and his lips curled into an expectant smile.
"Indeed. Even in our era, this brat would undoubtedly be a troublesome opponent."
The gazes of the three men clashed in midair.
The wind swept across the battlefield, kicking up dust that drifted between them.