A translation of [Naruto]「Uchiha Madara, Senju Hashirama」Ngày Mười Tháng Hai by Konoha1126
Disclaimer (from the authors): Characters and setting belong to Masashi Kishimoto, with only a few characters created by the writers. The story is written for non-profit purposes.
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Chapter 1: fog and darkness absorb
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THE 10TH OF FEBRUARY
"The tenth of February." Madara closed his eyes, leaning back on the couch, the half-read book draped over his chest. "Izuna's birthday."
A wave of sorrow welled up in his chest, the gentle, youthful, and beautiful face of his younger brother who had died young softly crept into his mind. Those round, jet-black eyes, those slightly blinking eyes- like distant stars, sending him the purest and gentlest gaze. Not a single moment in Madara's life had passed without him cherishing those eyes and yearning to see them again. With each passing day, everything became meaningless without his younger brother by his side, every breath he took, every bite of food he swallowed, and every step he walked was a painful reminder of his loss. He just longed for the night to quickly fall so that he could escape into the realm of dreams. There were both beautiful dreams and countless nightmares- but Izuna would always be there. Izuna's eyes would soon appear, and he would look at him, always with a direct and unwavering gaze filled with love. Then, Madara would embrace him and declare that they would never be apart again. But when dawn broke, Madara awoke from his deep slumber, only to find himself once again with nothing. With Izuna gone, and no family left, he became meaningless once more. If he could only bring Izuna back, if he could only gaze into his eyes once more, he would do anything- even if it meant extinguishing the sun's light forever, plunging the world into darkness, so that Madara could forever slumber, forever lost in the realm of dreams.
"Izuna..."
Lately, however, he had noticed that his dreams were no longer solely populated by his beloved younger brother. There was another face, another pair of eyes, and another smile, this person rushed into his consciousness, smiled at him, and then quickly vanished. A man would often appear when he was embracing Izuna in his dreams. He had a powerfully built, muscular physique, sun-kissed skin, and a smile that resembled the warmth of autumn sunlight. Gazing into his eyes, Madara was transported to a vision of a serene forest, where life teemed in abundance, thatched-roof houses peeked out from a distance, a crystal-clear lake shimmered, songbirds chirped their melodies, and his long hair, flowing down to his waist, resembled an eternal stream cascading through the woods. He had never seen anyone as lively and fierce as that, and it didn't take him even a second to remember who this man was...
"Hashirama..." Madara whispered. "Senju... Hashirama."
Then he woke up abruptly, dropping the whole book, his feet slipping off the couch, discovering that he had bitten his tongue at some point. The faint, metallic scent of blood spread gently across his mouth.
The tenth of February, he was deep in thought, it was not only his younger brother's birthday, but also the day Senju Hashirama had left this world.
Uchiha Madara led a straightforward life, his relationships were uncomplicated, and his approach to the world was equally simple. He was the patriarch of the Uchiha clan, a shinobi clan renowned for their prowess and considered one of the strongest in the world. Managing the clan, heading out to battle, and returning home to train in ninjutsu with his younger brother. What he cherished, he dedicated his heart and soul to protect and was confident that he had the ability to do so. If he hated something, he would go to any lengths to eradicate it from the world, for his eyes could not tolerate even the slightest speck of sand. There seemed to be no middle ground in his world. His parents had passed away long ago, and three of his four brothers had fallen in battle, like leaves falling from a tree. In the end, only one younger brother, Izuna, remained by his side. He loved this younger brother the most and gave him everything that is best, even if Izuna asked him to pick stars from the sky, he would be willing to do it if that was what his brother wanted. His life was not filled with many things that he considered important or enjoyable. The most important thing to him was Izuna, second was the Uchiha clan, who always revered him as a skilled leader. Third came his power, and fourth, his hawks... how many more could one list? The things Madara detested and considered trash were just as few, only the Senju clan and Senju Tobirama.
The Senjus and Uchihas fought to exhaustion for many years. Standing as the two most powerful clans in the world, they were perpetually consumed by an insatiable thirst for power and ambition. A cycle of bloodshed and vengeance spiraled endlessly, each act of retribution fueling a new wave of hatred- ensnaring both clans in an inescapable vortex of animosity. The enmity between the Senjus and Uchihas ran so deep that even in the depths of hell, they would surely continue their battle until one side was utterly vanquished. As the leader of the Uchihas, Madara's hatred for the Senjus was inevitable. However, a man from the Senjus emerged, complicating Madara's life and profoundly influencing his perceptions and emotions. Senju Hashirama, the head of the Senjus. Their paths first crossed on the banks of the Nakano River, where they found common ground as young boys, sharing dreams of peace and noble aspirations. Bound by duty to protect their clans, they found themselves on opposing sides of the battlefield, formidable adversaries worthy of each other's strength. In Madara's eyes, he was both friend and foe, brother and the one he most desired to vanquish. This tumultuous whirlwind of conflicting emotions left him reeling... even when the Senjus and Uchihas ceased their hostilities. Even when his younger brother - the demon Senju Tobirama - had taken Izuna from him, Madara still didn't regard Hashirama as trash, even though Tobirama and Hashirama were blood brothers on the same side who had killed his clan members for many years. Even when the Senjus and Uchihas formed an alliance, shaking hands to create this mess called Konoha, even when Hashirama disagreed with him... he still did not hate him. He still remembered him, at least as a lifelong rival, or a friend - Madara admitted that he had respected and esteemed Hashirama since they were children, when they could still understand each other's hearts, when they were still innocent, pure, and naive boys dreaming of a peaceful future, when they were unguarded, didn't lie to each other, and weren't so far apart like this...
Hashirama, the only one who ever truly understood him...
Senju Hashirama, the invincible God of Shinobi, Konoha's First Hokage...
Was dead.
In his arms.
Because of him.
Right at the moment he was about to betray him.
On the 10th of February, in some year.
"Hashirama, with you gone, how can I find my True Dream?" Madara buried his face in his hands, his body curled up on the couch, his teeth clenched tightly to rein in the surge of emotions that threatened to overwhelm him.
A year has passed, yet Uchiha Madara remained in Konoha, his quest for his True Dream put on hold.
Madara found himself standing amidst a sea of people - or were they maggots crawling over each other? He could no longer tell. Their laughter echoed, their voices clashed, their eyes darted towards him with a mix of contempt, envy, and disgust. They brushed past him, deliberately bumping into his shoulder and muttering "excuse me"... it all meant nothing anymore. As if he had lost all sensation and reflexes, his mind was now a blank white storm, raging and swirling, and nothing more. Apart from the deafening sound of the pouring rain, the thunder's booming roar, and the earth's groaning and buckling under the flood's onslaught, nothing else remained in his mind. He had no thoughts whatsoever as he stared at the names of the three Second Hokage candidates on the board.
SENJU TOBIRAMA
SARUTOBI SASUKE
UCHIHA MADARA
The relentless flood and torrential downpour continued to rage within Madara's mind. His mind was as if asleep, and his ears automatically filtered out the voices of the Konoha maggots who kept saying something to him. He found himself standing on the podium in the Konoha Council hall. He holded a ballot in his hand. The Hokage election ballot.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we now have the final ballots from the candidates themselves!"
"The Second Hokage will be inaugurated immediately upon the announcement of the election results."
"Lord Uchiha- you first!"
He wished he had cut off his ears. The sound of the maggots was so annoying.
"Uchiha-sama, are you alright?"
They were urging him on. Not even bothering to open his mouth to reply to the maggots, Madara picked up his pen and scribbled a few lines haphazardly. The storm in his mind was giving him a terrible headache, and he just wanted to go home and take a nap.
"Anyone but me." He wrote.
Madara's head throbbed in waves.
He pressed the pen onto each letter on the ballot, crumpled the paper into a ball, threw it into the ballot box. Madara had no interest in becoming Hokage, and it had always been that way.
"The voting has concluded, ladies and gentlemen. We will be announcing the results shortly!" The maggot standing next to him spoke loudly. "The Second Hokage will be inaugurated immediately following the ceremony. Long live Konoha!"
The whole hall said in unison. "Long live Konoha!"
Madara was suffering from a splitting headache, and standing amidst this heap of waste made him nauseous and short of breath. He just wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible, but seeing Hikaku sitting below glaring at him, he had no choice but to stand there like a statue. Hokage? Anyone but him. Who cared who the Hokage was anyway?
Madara's attitude was also a result of his clear understanding of the final outcome.
The maggot Tobirama would ascend the throne.
And he would go down in history as the candidate with the fewest votes. No one paid attention to him- they ostracized him, isolated him, gossiped about him behind his back with all sorts of insults, and hated him so much that Madara felt like they only wished they could physically remove him from the Village.
No one wanted the demon Uchiha Madara to become Hokage. No one would vote for him, not even the Uchihas.
"We are now ready to announce the results. The one with the most votes, our Second Hokage, is--"
Madara blinked, staring blankly into space.
"Sarutobi Sasuke-sama."
He was wrong.
"Congratulations, Lord Sarutobi! You have been selected as Konoha's Hokage with four hundred votes from the council."
The gibbon stood up with his mouth wide open. Not only Sarutobi, but the entire Council room looked at each other in such shock as if the sun had risen in the west today, and it was raining in the desert.
The droning rain in Madara's head stopped, and he looked towards the seats where the Senju trash sat. Only one woman sat there, Senju Toka, he remembered her name, a kunoichi who used genjutsu. Strange! The Senju clan only sent their deputy clan head to the Hokage election. Madara didn't see that hateful head of white hair, those red eyes, and that moss green kimono anywhere.
The Second Hokage was Sarutobi?
Not Senju?
"The person with the second-highest number of votes - with one hundred votes - is Uchiha Madara-sama, the current head of the Uchiha clan."
The entire room was as silent as a grave. The faces of the maggots were a jumble of emotions, ranging from surprise and bewilderment to panic. Madara was no different from them: he was genuinely clueless about what was happening.
"This... isn't right at all. It doesn't make sense." He mumbles to himself.
Senju Tobirama received fewer votes than Uchiha Madara? Impossible, that Senju bastard held so much power in Konoha under Hashirama's era. His foundation was too solid, it should be easy for him to gain the support of all the representatives, clan heads, elders... and he had more than enough qualifications to become Hokage.
And what's more, where in the middle of nowhere is that maggot, that he let this opportunity slip right out of his grasp and into the hands of the Sarutobi clan?
"And finally, there's Senju Tobirama-sama, the leader of the Senju clan and the strategist for the First Hokage. Oh..." The announcer hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and made the announcement, his eyes darting nervously towards Toka, the Senju clan representative. "In this election, Senju-sama has received one ballot..."
Madara opened his eyes wide. What the fuck--
"WHAT?" Sarutobi leaped to his feet and couldn't help but let out a loud shout. "ONLY ONE BALLOT?"
"Yes... Yes, sir..." The announcer trembled uncontrollably as he looked at the new Hokage. "Only one single ballot."
Madara's mind was reeling, everything had gone beyond his expectations. Senju Tobirama, without anyone's support? The cunning and opportunistic Senju ninja, overly knowledgeable in political maneuvering and charismatic enough to attract those maggots to seek his patronage, could not become Hokage and only received one vote.
Ridiculous.
"I can't understand!" Unable to contain his composure any longer, Sarutobi Sasuke turned his gaze towards the entire council hall. "Among the over 500 people here, 18 clan heads, 50 representatives, and 10 elders - five hundred people in total - and I'm the only one who voted for Senju Tobirama? The man we all know is the most suitable to become Hokage? Are you all joking with me?"
No one could utter a single word. Those maggots exchanged intricate glances, rendering the once boisterous commotion of arguments and protests in the large room into a silent battleground of gazes and unspoken cues. Senju Toka's face was filled with terrible rage, she stood up, said nothing, and walked out, slamming the door behind her. The whole hall swallowed hard at Toka's evident displeasure before she left.
This was unpredictable time filled with storms and turbulence.
Madara also fell silent for a while.
"This is so bizarre..." Sasuke sat down, staring blankly at his name highlighted in yellow on the board, so shocked that his hands automatically rumpled his brown hair. "No, no, no...!"
Year two of Konoha. The First Hokage Senju Hashirama passed away. The Second Hokage election was held.
The victor of the election: Sarutobi Sasuke, the current head of the Sarutobi clan, the new Second Hokage.
The runner-up: Uchiha Madara, the head of the Uchiha clan, was appointed as the first high advisor to the new Hokage.
Senju Tobirama set a new election record by finishing in third place with the lowest number of votes ever recorded: one.
The single vote came from none other than the newly elected Hokage, Sasuke.
Uchiha Madara closed his eyes, this storm, truly was spectacular.
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T/N: While I did not create this story, I am merely a humble admirer seeking to share this wonderful tale with a wider audience. The original work is a masterpiece that deserves to be recognized and appreciated by many.
English isn't my first language, so excuse me if I make any grammar or punctiation mistakes. You can point them out.