"Shichuro no jutsu!"

One shot after another, he continued to fire at me. Any technique from A to S class, none lower than B, he was determined to win.

"Suiton Suiryuudan no jutsu!"

I wonder whether or not he's noticed…

"Doton Doryuuheki!"

…that I have yet to attack him.

"Aaaaah!"

That I'd been waiting….

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"Where—where am I?"

"You mean you don't know?" I asked him, a smirk playing at my lips.

The black and white figure of the great Hashirama Senju all but squirmed under the force of my gaze.

"Don't—Don't play with me, Uchiha! What is this place?"

I folded my arms to my chest and took a step forward.

He took a step back. The confusion that swam in his eyes could almost pass as fear.

"Do you really have no clue? Not even a guess" Even I could hear the disappointment in my own voice.

"No," he growled out, trying to cover fear with annoyance.

"Please," I took another step forward. "Humor me?"

He could only look at me a moment before his eyes began to move around. What looked like an endless, black abyss was nothing more than the darkest recesses of my mind.

But, would he figure it out?

"I…I know it's an illusion…."

"Do you now?"

His harsher eyes met mine again. I almost smiled.

"An illusion…?" I turned so that I was no longer facing him. Pondering over a question I already knew the answer to.

He growled again.

"Not only do you mock me and play with my head in this…this place! But you dare to turn your back to me! Do you really think so little of my clan!"

I looked at him over my shoulder, making sure not to turn my whole body. His eyes narrowed and his mouth opened as if to speak again, but all words died on his lips when he was suddenly bound to a post in the middle of the room that only he could see and feel.

"What are you doing to me!" His breathing was getting ragged. His eyes were going wide with fear. "Is this it…? Is this the power of the great Uchiha clan…? A power so great that only a few have ever survived and none have ever found words strong enough to describe? Is this such a power!"

I pivoted on my heel and faced him now. He had my full attention.

"Will…What are you going to do now? What's going to happen to me?" His eyes were begging me now; pleading with me to let him go free.

I knew who he was fighting for: his clan, his family. I even knew of the wife who would surely be waiting by her doorstep—rubbing her stomach to reassure her growing son that his father would be home soon. Safe and sound.

The thought alone pulled at my heartstrings. If I were a lesser man I…

"I would have let you go…."

His eyes widened at the unexpected response. He stared up into my calculating eyes only to look away again.

"What do you mean?" He finally asked.

What did I mean?

"If I was to let you go…what would you have done?"

He looked back up at me. I could tell that he was thinking about whether or not he should answer me. What he would say if he did.

"You can be honest with me…." I could feel the false metal as it materialized into my left hand. "It won't change anything…."

"I…" He began, his eyes darting from mine to the sword forming in my fist. "I don't—"

"—you don't know?" I felt my hand tightening around the grip. He started to sweat.

"I…"

"You? You what?" My voice was rising against my will. "What would you have done?"

"I…"

"Answer the question!" I raised my sword and slashed his arm. He winced, trying his best not to anger me more by screaming.

It didn't work. I raised the blade once more, "Answer—!"

"—I would have killed you!" was his rushed reply. I lowered my weapon slowly. "I…If you had set me free of this illusion, I-I would have killed you."

I did nothing but stare at him, his eyes not meeting mine.

"Why?" I found myself asking. I unconsciously lifted the tip of my sword to his chest; the illusion was beginning to fade around us.

"My clan…my family—they don't trust you…." He still didn't look at me. "They heard about your brother…."

…And that's when the blade went through.

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His unconscious body now lay before me. The pain from my now faded illusion was enough to bring him to the edge of death. The only thing left for me to decide now was how to finish him off.

I held two items—one in each hand.

A knife in the left…

And a paper bomb in the right.

Do I simply slit his throat and leave him for his family to find and then bury…

Or leave him unrecognizable, forever floating down the river below this endless waterfall?

My answer came when I saw him twitch. I needed to get this over with.

I slipped the tag back into my pocket as brought the blade down upon his neck.

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To be continued…

A/N: The real question I had to ask myself in that last part of this chapter was, "do I want to be able to bring Yamato into this story later on?" I haven't actually figured it out yet, but I'd like to have the option of doing so when the time comes.

For any readers who might get confused, I have a few things to point out:

1. Hashirama Senju is the First Hokage's name.

2. In this chapter, the narrator is Madara Uchiha.

3. The two of them are fighting at the Valley of the End.

Hey, I've decided to have a little contest. The first person to figure out why I chose the title that I did, wins!

Tacokato, you are not allowed to play!