Orochimaru's golden eyes gleamed with excitement as realization dawned upon him.
"Yes... why didn't I think of that before?! Damn it!" Orochimaru clenched his fists in frustration. "I, the great genius of Konoha, failed to consider such a simple yet crucial detail?!" He shook his head in disbelief. "As expected of you, Souta!"
Souta Kazuki merely crossed his arms, observing the snake-like man with an impassive expression. To him, the solution had been obvious from the beginning. The reason Uchiha Madara had been able to awaken the Rinnegan was likely due to his Uchiha bloodline combined with Hashirama's cells. If that were the case, then reversing the process—giving Hashirama the Sharingan—should theoretically yield the same result.
Orochimaru wasted no time. His long fingers swiftly moved through a set of scrolls and petri dishes. Thanks to the late Danzo Shimura's "contributions," there were plenty of Sharingan eyes at his disposal. He retrieved two pristine three-tomoe Sharingan, their crimson glow spinning hypnotically. Even the shinobi around him felt uneasy at the sight. The raw power trapped in those eyes was undeniable.
With Senju Tobirama's assistance, the First Hokage was prepared for the procedure. The process itself was eerily simple—remove Hashirama's original eyes, replace them with the transplanted Sharingan, and let his monstrous vitality take care of the rest.
In mere minutes, Hashirama Senju blinked as he adjusted to his new vision.
"Whoa!!" Hashirama grinned like an excited child. "Is this the fabled dynamic vision of the Uchiha?! Madara, I can see you so clearly now!"
Bang!
"Shut up, you fool!" Madara smacked him across the back of the head. "Focus on your damn eyes first before blabbering like an idiot."
Hashirama pouted but did as he was told, closing his eyes and concentrating on the unfamiliar sensation. The onlookers—Souta, Orochimaru, Tobirama, and the rest—held their breath.
Moments later, Hashirama's eyelids snapped open.
The three-tomoe Sharingan spun wildly in his pupils before shifting into something more intricate—more evolved.
A massive windmill pattern appeared in his irises.
Tobirama inhaled sharply. "Is that… a Mangekyō Sharingan? That fast?!"
Uchiha Izuna, who had been silently observing, scoffed. "This is ridiculous… He just closed his eyes once and awakened the Mangekyō?! That's just absurd!"
The younger shinobi, including the Twelve Guardian Ninja, were left dumbfounded. Souta, though not entirely surprised, found himself intrigued nonetheless. If Hashirama's evolution had been this easy, then the next step—the Rinnegan—was within reach.
However, Hashirama frowned slightly.
"Madara… does the Mangekyō Sharingan always consume this much chakra?"
Madara snorted. "Of course! Unlike us, you're not an Uchiha, so your chakra loss is bound to be greater."
Hashirama scratched his chin in thought before casually remarking, "Hmm… this isn't so bad. About the same chakra as when I fart."
Silence.
A vein twitched on Madara's forehead. "You bastard…"
Orochimaru and the others resisted the urge to facepalm. Even in the most groundbreaking moments, Hashirama's carefree nature remained unchanged.
The younger generation, however, felt a little betrayed.
Kakashi Hatake, for instance, had spent years suffering from chakra exhaustion just from maintaining a single Sharingan. Meanwhile, Hashirama had two Mangekyō and was comparing the chakra drain to passing gas.
It was unfair.
Orochimaru shook his head, bringing the focus back to the experiment. "First Hokage-sama, can you feel a new energy forming in your eyes?"
Hashirama's expression turned serious as he closed his eyes once more. "Yes… the Yin and Yang chakra within me is merging… something is changing…"
Orochimaru smirked. "Then it's only a matter of time before you awaken the Rinnegan."
Excitement buzzed through the group. If their hypothesis was correct, Hashirama would soon possess the same divine power that Uchiha Madara had once wielded.
But before they could revel in their success, Hashirama's face lit up with joy.
"Madara!! Now we have matching tattoos and matching eyes!!!" He leaped onto Madara's back, rubbing his face against the Uchiha's shoulder.
Madara's eye twitched.
"Get off me, you lunatic!"
"No way, no way!"
Boom!
A powerful punch sent Hashirama flying.
Hashirama sat on the ground, rubbing the new bump on his head with a pitiful look. His vibrant energy dimmed as the entire scene turned gray, the atmosphere somber for just a moment.
Orochimaru, unfazed by the chaos, began tidying up the medical instruments.
Before he could finish, Souta spoke up.
"Hold on, Uncle Snake. Now that we've tested the First Hokage, let's move on to Naruto and Sasuke."
Naruto blinked. "Wait, what?"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "What are you implying?"
Everyone turned to Souta, their curiosity piqued.
Souta leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "Think about it. The First Hokage and Madara were rivals—yet bound by fate. Naruto and Sasuke have the same kind of relationship. Doesn't that sound familiar?"
A heavy silence filled the room.
Madara's sharp gaze shifted between Naruto and Sasuke. He had sensed something off about the boy named Sasuke since the moment they met. And Naruto…
Madara's frown deepened. He had initially dismissed the idea, but now, as he analyzed the two young shinobi, realization struck him like a thunderbolt.
Hashirama, too, finally caught on. "Wait… are you saying—"
Souta nodded. "A long time ago, the Sage of Six Paths had two sons—Indra and Asura. After their deaths, their chakras were reincarnated into new hosts, destined to fight through the ages. In the previous generation, the reincarnations were Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama. In this era, the cycle continues with Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto's jaw nearly dropped. "Wait, wait, wait! You mean I'm some reincarnation of this Asura guy?!"
Sasuke clenched his fists, his mind racing. If this were true, then everything—their rivalry, their inevitable clashes—it had all been written in destiny before they were even born.
Tension filled the room as the weight of Souta's words settled over everyone.
For once, even Hashirama was speechless.