“You carry the burden, I’ll lead the horse, walking down the country road…” Since leaving the Uzumaki cn, the entire group had been silent.

  Noticing the awkward atmosphere, Masahiko couldn’t help but hum a medley of songs. However, the silence only seemed to grow thicker.

  Tobirama couldn’t take it anymore and interrupted him, bluntly changing the subject, “Masahiko, you must have some unique sensory abilities, being from the Uzumaki cn. Stay alert, the Senju have many enemies. There might be an ambush.”

  Masahiko immediately took advantage of the situation, “I’m Mito’s second grandfather. By seniority, you should call me ‘Second Grandpa,’ not ‘uncle.’ Are you trying to take advantage of Mito?”

  Tobirama twitched his mouth slightly. “Second… Grandpa, please stay alert.”

  “I feel like you’re emphasizing the ‘second’ part too much. Fine, fine, I won’t argue with you younger ones. If anyone shows up within a kilometer radius, I’ll let you know,” Masahiko replied, brushing it off.

  Tobirama’s mind echoed with the words “I won’t argue with you younger ones.” He had nothing more to say, and Masahiko successfully killed the conversation.

  After a while, Masahiko started humming another tune, “Look at the iron hooves marching, crossing ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers, I can still live for five hundred more years…”

  In the panquin, Mito couldn’t help but speak up, “Second Grandpa, you seem different today. Did something happy happen?”

  Masahiko answered, “Didn’t I just sing it? I can live for five hundred more years. Isn’t that worth celebrating?” Everyone, except for Masahiko, rolled their eyes. And just like that, the conversation died again.

  The group fell into another awkward silence. Forget about the confusing words; it was better to hurry along the road.

  Unconsciously, they had already walked halfway when they found themselves passing through a valley.

  “This pce is perfect for an ambush. Tobirama, this wouldn’t happen to be called Fallen Geese Slope, would it? Am I destined to be buried here?” Masahiko couldn’t stand the quiet anymore and cracked a dark joke.

  Unfortunately, in the world of Hokage, no one understood the joke. Tobirama, however, responded seriously, “In that case, Second Grandpa, be extra cautious.”

  Masahiko was momentarily speechless.

  “An ambush, huh? Why not surround us inside the valley? Instead, they’re waiting outside,” Masahiko said, blocking Tobirama's path as they neared the edge of the valley.

  Tobirama immediately became alert. “Get ready for a fight!” He knew that anyone who dared to attack a group like theirs was no ordinary foe.

  “Wait a second, this chakra…” Masahiko murmured. “You deal with them. I’ll protect Mito.” He then hid behind the panquin.

  Tobirama was speechless but gestured for everyone to proceed carefully, slowly stepping out of the valley. They saw seven figures standing on the right side of the road, not even bothering to hide. Two stood at the front, and five were in the back. A familiar voice called out, “Long time no see, Tobirama.”

  “It’s Uchiha Izuna… and… Madara!” Tobirama’s eyes scanned the group. Besides Izuna and Madara, the other five were all elite Jonin.

  “This is bad. Without big brother here, we can’t stop Madara,” Tobirama thought, but spoke aloud, “Madara, why aren’t you and your brother celebrating the New Year with your cn? Why come to such a desote pce?”

  “We came to congratute Hashirama on his wedding!” Madara said, grinning.

  Tobirama mentally scoffed but didn’t know whether to fight or flee.

  “Thank you for the congratutions, Madara,” just then, a familiar voice came from behind the panquin. Tobirama’s eyes widened as he saw the figure stepping out, “Big brother, what are you doing here?!”

  “How could I get married to a beautiful, wealthy woman without making sure everything was safe? You foolish little brother,” the figure of Hashirama whispered to Tobirama.

  Hearing that familiar voice, Tobirama almost couldn’t stop himself from grimacing.

  “It’s impossible! You should be preparing for the wedding at the Senju cn’s headquarters! How can you be here?!” Izuna shouted, his Sharingan spinning, trying to spot a fw.

  Madara also activated his Sharingan, but couldn’t find anything suspicious. However, having known Hashirama for years—both rivals and comrades—he couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

  Thinking quickly, he formed a series of hand seals and shouted, “Fire Style: Great Fire Annihition!” A massive fireball shot toward Tobirama.

  “Hashirama” quickly responded by forming hand seals. “Wood Style: Wood Barrier!” A massive wooden wall blocked the fmes.

  “Madara, thanks for the fireworks, haha.”

  “Since the gift has been delivered, let’s go, Izuna!” Madara said, slowly closing his eyes. When he opened them again, his usual eyes had returned.

  “Yes, Big Brother!” Izuna replied reluctantly.

  A moment ter, the fake Hashirama turned back into Masahiko. “They’ve gone far enough. They’re out of my sensory range now.”

  Tobirama, still in shock, couldn’t help but ask, “It really was you, Big—uh, Second Grandpa! How could you know Wood Style?”

  Masahiko smirked. “It wasn’t Wood Style. What I used earlier was Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall, but I applied the transformation technique to the earth wall. It’s a little trick I learned after reaching Lv10 in Transformation Technique. Want to learn it? I’ll teach you for just 9.8 bucks. No need for 998!”

  Tobirama fell silent again. Maybe he just didn’t understand.

  “Now that the danger has passed, let’s continue,” Tobirama finally said.

  “Oh no, here they come again…” Masahiko muttered.

  The same group of seven appeared again, standing silently ahead of them.

  “I didn’t think of this earlier, Hashirama, since you’re here, let’s fight! Perfect opportunity to test my new technique! Uh, Hashirama? Where did he go?” Madara spoke up.

  The atmosphere became extremely awkward. After a long pause, Masahiko finally spoke. “Thanks again for the congratutions, Madara.”

  Madara, experiencing the most awkward moment of his life, mechanically turned to face him. “It was you? Old man! It’s a Transformation Technique? How did you fool my Sharingan?”

  “At this point, you should be saying, ‘Masahiko, of all the opponents I’ve faced, your transformation technique is the strongest. No one does it better than you. I, Madara, will call you the best!’” Masahiko continued.

  Madara felt even more embarrassed and lost his patience. He quickly began forming hand seals. But out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shuriken flying in at a tricky angle. He had no choice but to stop and dodge. When he looked up, he saw two more shurikens: one at his current position and the other blocking his retreat. He raised his arm and blocked one with his forearm guard.

  “My shuriken throwing technique is also at Lv10,” Masahiko said.

  “Madara, just like with Clone Jutsu and Shuriken techniques, when you max them out, you get unexpected surprises. Earlier, my Transformation Technique made Earth Style look like Wood Style.”

  “So, what do you think my shuriken throwing technique will surprise you with?”

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