Chapter 54: I Approve of You.
"Ah, hahahaha..."
"Sorry, sorry, I misunderstood the situation."
Hashirama Senju scratched his head and apologized to Uchiha Nan.
"So, Third Hokage, has Konoha encountered an unsolvable crisis?"
Hashirama Senju's expression turned serious. For the living Third Hokage to disturb the soul of a dead person like him, Konoha must have encountered a great calamity.
Hashirama Senju sensed his current state, which was exceptionally poor.
He felt like he was carrying a giant mountain on his back, and in a battle with an enemy, he would barely be able to use Wood Style, let alone a large-scale technique like True Several Thousand Hands.
But if it was for Konoha, he would fight with all his might, no matter how difficult it was.
"No, Konoha is relatively stable right now."
"Currently, Konoha..."
Uchiha Nan recounted Konoha's recent situation. Tobirama Senju's death was probably the most dangerous period for Konoha recently, with the risk of internal strife, but with Uchiha Nan's ascension, internal strife was unlikely to occur.
"Tobirama also sacrificed himself for Konoha?"
Upon hearing Tobirama Senju's sacrifice, Hashirama Senju's expression turned sorrowful. His younger brother had ultimately died for Konoha.
Hashirama Senju knew that Tobirama's contribution to Konoha was no less than his own. He himself was a hands-off leader, and Tobirama had handled almost all of Konoha's affairs.
"Alas, it was all to protect Konoha. Tobirama's spirit in heaven won't regret his choice."
Hashirama Senju sighed slightly. Having been through countless battles in the Warring States period, he was accustomed to the deaths of loved ones in war, which was what drove him to establish Konoha.
"Huh?"
"Then why did you summon me?"
Hashirama Senju finally remembered to ask. If nothing was wrong in Konoha, why disturb his soul?
"Tobirama-sama was attacked and killed during negotiations. The guards who were supposed to protect the Hokage fled back to Konoha, one of whom claimed to have Tobirama's approval and was to be the next Third Hokage..."
"However, Konoha's ninja clans didn't recognize him. Eventually, they recognized me for my virtue and elected me as Hokage."
"I was just an ordinary Uchiha ninja. What did the Hokage position have to do with me? But since everyone entrusted me with the Hokage position, I will dedicate myself to Konoha!"
Uchiha Nan spoke with a passionate tone, recounting his path to becoming Hokage, albeit with a bit of artistic embellishment.
After all, martial virtue was also virtue!
Uchiha Nan, wearing the Hokage robes, spoke righteously, looking like he would go through fire and water for Konoha, leaving Hashirama Senju without a shred of doubt.
Hashirama Senju didn't have the racial prejudice against the Uchiha that Tobirama Senju had, and instead had a positive view of the Uchiha, which likely stemmed from Madara Uchiha's influence.
Madara Uchiha was an Uchiha, so he extended his affection to the entire clan. How bad could the Uchiha be? They were just blinded by the fate of mutual hatred between clans.
"First Hokage-sama, I know your initial intention in creating Konoha was to eliminate the divisions between ninja clans, especially between the Uchiha and Senju."
"The Will of Fire, where Konoha leaves dance, the fire still burns. That is the ninja way I have come to understand."
"Today, a junior Hokage has disturbed your soul's rest, just to tell you that Konoha's Will of Fire has successors!"
"I hope you can approve of me!"
Uchiha Nan's righteous words stirred Hashirama Senju's heart.
His efforts had not been in vain.
Now, an Uchiha who had transcended clan divisions had finally appeared, and had even gained the approval of Konoha's people through his virtue, becoming Konoha's Hokage.
It was truly gratifying.
Hashirama Senju smiled with relief. His initial intention in establishing Konoha was to eliminate the divisions between ninja clans, allowing them to understand and tolerate each other, ultimately achieving peace in the ninja world.
The seeds he had sown had finally borne fruit.
"Congratulations, Third Hokage!"
"I approve of you!"
Just as Hashirama Senju said this, the system issued a notification sound.
"Hashirama Senju's approval has been obtained."
Long-term task, Senior's Approval: Please obtain the sincere approval of the previous Hokage.
Completion progress (1/2)
The task interface appeared in Uchiha Nan's eyes, the progress bar was half complete, the task was halfway done.
Nice!
Uchiha Nan was secretly delighted, everything was going smoothly!
"I really hope Madara could know all this. If he could see you, he probably wouldn't have left Konoha."
Hashirama Senju's tone was wistful. If Madara could have seen this day earlier, he wouldn't have given up on their shared ideal.
"First Hokage-sama, you and Madara Uchiha were very close!"
Uchiha Nan said, a bit speechless. Shouldn't you be praising me more?
How did you go back to talking about Madara Uchiha after a few words?
"If there were an afterlife, and Madara and I weren't born into opposing clans, we would have been great brothers."
Hashirama Senju's tone was regretful. He was born into the Senju clan, and Madara Uchiha was born into the Uchiha clan, two clans that were natural enemies.
The origin of their hatred was long lost, and they had been fighting for countless generations. From the moment Hashirama Senju was born, his father had warned him:
"The other side of the ninja world is the enemy, and the enemy's surname is Uchiha. If you see anyone with the surname Uchiha, kill them all, regardless of age or gender."
This had almost become a Senju clan precept.
Of course, the same was true for the Uchiha!
When Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju first met, they both concealed their surnames, fearing the other was Uchiha or Senju, and would suddenly attack.
That was how tense the relationship between the Uchiha and Senju was at the time.
"I really want to see Madara again, to tell him I'm truly sorry, I ultimately failed him."
"My brother Tobirama killed his brother Izuna, and I ultimately killed Madara."
Hashirama Senju's tone was full of apology, and Uchiha Nan nodded subconsciously.
Hashirama Senju was right!
The Uchiha brothers had been tricked to death by Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju.
"Madara is probably still holding a grudge against me. I've been dead for so long, and he hasn't come to see me."
"He really holds grudges..."
"I remember the days we ran happily together under the setting sun..."
"..."
"But Madara made the first move..."
Once Hashirama Senju mentioned Madara Uchiha, he became a chatterbox, unable to stop.
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