The golden light dissipated, revealing a tall, muscular man stretching as if he had just woken up from a deep slumber.
"Ahhh! That was such a comfortable nap! But wait... what's going on?!" Senju Hashirama suddenly exclaimed, his voice filled with confusion. His sharp brown eyes darted around as he took in his surroundings. "I was dead, wasn't I? How am I alive again?! What is this place?!"
Madara Uchiha, who had been standing nearby, had a rare complicated expression on his face. He stared at his old rival—no, his old friend—for a long moment before speaking in a voice that was barely above a whisper.
"Hasi hot mom..."
As soon as Hashirama locked eyes with him, his face lit up with joy. "Madara?! What in the world?! We actually get to see each other again even after death?!" His excitement was overwhelming, and before anyone could stop him, he lunged at Madara, wrapping his arms around him like a child clinging to a beloved toy.
The loud bang that followed was inevitable.
"YOU IDIOT! Let go of me!" Madara growled, slamming his fist down onto Hashirama's head.
Hashirama, rubbing his head in pain, looked up at Madara with a pitiful expression. "Madaraaa~ why are you so cold?! We haven't seen each other in so long! Let me enjoy the moment!"
Watching the absurd scene unfold, Shouta Kazuki—who had just finished the terrifying ordeal of summoning yet another legendary figure—couldn't help but twitch.
Beside him, Senju Tobirama's face was the definition of despair. His lips were tightly pressed together, his fists clenched at his sides, and his entire body seemed to be trembling.
The first words his brother had spoken after his resurrection were directed at Madara Uchiha instead of him.
Not a single glance in his direction. Not even a simple, "Tobirama, I missed you!"
No. The first thing Hashirama did was scream Madara's name and throw himself at him like an overly affectionate housewife.
Shouta noticed the subtle shift in Tobirama's aura and couldn't help but make a mental note: This man may have spent his whole life developing ways to counter the Uchiha, but it looks like his true enemy... was Madara himself.
Still rubbing his aching head, Hashirama turned and finally noticed his younger brother standing off to the side.
"Ah, Tobirama! You're here too?"
At that moment, something inside Tobirama shattered.
His jaw tightened, and for a split second, his usual composed demeanor wavered. Then, without a word, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as if trying to suppress an unbearable pain.
Shouta felt a chill. Damn... Tobirama just took emotional damage. Critical hit.
Meanwhile, Hashirama seemed entirely unaware of his younger brother's suffering. He turned back to Madara with a huge grin. "So, tell me! What exactly happened? This feels like some kind of crazy dream!"
Madara, still looking annoyed, let out a deep sigh. "Hn. If you had listened earlier instead of acting like an overgrown child, you would already know the situation."
Despite his words, the corners of his lips twitched ever so slightly.
It had been so long since he had last seen this fool. And even though he would never say it out loud, he had missed this ridiculous, larger-than-life idiot.
Being forced by Hashirama's insistence, Madara begrudgingly explained the situation. He gave a rough overview of how they had been brought back, how they had become "psychic beasts," and how this strange young man, Shouta Kazuki, was the one responsible for it all.
Hashirama's reaction was exactly as expected.
"Wait, wait, wait—hold on! So you're saying this little guy over here can just... summon people from the dead?! Just like that?!"
The sheer amazement in Hashirama's voice was almost childlike. His attention snapped to Shouta in an instant.
"Si guoyi!!!"
Shouta barely had time to react before Hashirama was crouching directly in front of him, his face mere inches away. His deep brown eyes sparkled with unfiltered curiosity, and his grin stretched from ear to ear.
"You must be Shouta Kazuki, right?! Oh man, this is so exciting! A living ninja who can summon the dead as psychic beasts?! I never thought I'd see the day!"
Shouta felt his scalp go numb. This guy... he's just as crazy as Naruto.
Still, out of basic respect, Shouta gave a polite nod. "First Hokage-sama, it's an honor to meet you."
"Haha! No need to be so formal!" Hashirama laughed, slapping Shouta on the back so hard that he nearly coughed up blood.
But before the conversation could continue, Hashirama's expression suddenly became serious. He stared intently at Shouta as if deep in thought.
Shouta froze. Crap. Is he about to start interrogating me like Tobirama did?
Tobirama himself also straightened, silently nodding. Finally, my brother is acting like a proper leader. He's going to question this boy's motives and investigate his powers—
"Shouta-kun!" Hashirama suddenly leaned forward, eyes full of excitement. "Madara told me you still have three summons left! You HAVE to show me!!! Please, please, pleeeaaase—!"
Tobirama choked.
Shouta's eye twitched.
And across from them, Madara's face darkened.
Because the way Hashirama was whining... was exactly the same tone he used when begging Madara for something.
Shouta was utterly speechless. Is this really the guy known as the "God of Shinobi"?!
Madara, however, had had enough.
"Hashirama," he said, his voice dangerously low. "Stop acting like a child. You're embarrassing yourself."
Hashirama turned to him with an innocent look. "But Madaraaa~ I really wanna see it! C'mon, Shouta-kun, just one more summon—"
BOOM!
Before he could finish, Madara's fist came down on his head yet again.
Shouta, witnessing this ridiculous display, could only sigh. This is my life now, huh?
The Power of the Sage
While the ritual proceeded, Shouta suddenly felt a surge of heat coursing through his body. His breath hitched as a strange energy settled deep within his core.
[Congratulations to the host for successfully summoning Senju Hashirama!]
[A random ability from the summoned individual is now being extracted…]
[You have obtained: Asura's Chakra!]
Shouta's eyes widened. Asura's Chakra? Wasn't that the legendary power inherited by Hashirama himself? The very same force that had allowed him to rival Madara, the reincarnation of Indra?
The realization hit him like a thunderbolt. First, he had gained Indra's Chakra from Madara, and now he had Asura's Chakra from Hashirama.
What was the system planning?
"Wait a minute…" Shouta muttered to himself, suddenly feeling his stomach churn. "Indra's and Asura's Chakra in one body… This… this is how the Sage of Six Paths was born!"
A terrifying thought struck him.
Was the system trying to push him toward the power of the Six Paths?
If so… what did that mean for his future?
As he struggled to process this revelation, his mind wandered toward another unsettling thought. With both Indra's and Asura's Chakra inside him, wouldn't that mean Madara and Hashirama—who had been bitter rivals for centuries—would be unconsciously drawn to him?
The idea of those two constantly hovering around him was not appealing.
"Great…" Shouta groaned. "Just what I needed—two overpowered grandpas babysitting me."
Trying to shake the weird thoughts from his mind, Shouta refocused on the summoning. The next individual was about to emerge, and he had a feeling this one would shake the very foundations of the battlefield.
As the golden flames swirled, forming into another towering figure, Hashirama and Madara both inhaled sharply.
Shouta gritted his teeth.
"This… is going to be interesting."