Naruto: The Beautiful Uchiha is Actually Me?

Chapter 31 Is this what friends are?

"Um...you..."

Ban was a little embarrassed. What was this kid's name again...?

"My name is Hashirama! Why can't you remember other people's names properly..."

Hashirama bent down, picked up a stone, weighed it in his hand a couple of times, and nodded with a satisfied expression.

"Watch closely, Ban. To skip stones, you need this kind of stone, then apply pressure with your hand slightly downwards..."

Hashirama took a deep breath, his eyes fixed intently on his right hand...

After two breaths, Hashirama flipped his wrist, and with his index and middle fingers exerting force at the same time, he flung the flat stone toward the river.

call out!call out!call out!

The pebble bounced on the water's surface seven or eight times before finally landing perfectly on the stone path on the opposite bank.

Ban raised an eyebrow. This guy... to be fair, although he looks like a fool, his skipping stones are actually pretty impressive...

"Hmph, what's so difficult about that? I can do it too!"

Madara was not convinced. It must be because Hashirama was standing behind him that he couldn't throw it!

Ban picked up another stone with a serious expression, his grip on the stone tightening.

This time it will definitely be...

huh~

The pebble flew out quickly, but perhaps due to a lack of practice, it only bounced five times on the surface of the water before sinking to the bottom...

"Uh..."

Ban was a bit skeptical, so he picked up several more stones and threw them repeatedly at the water's surface, but as expected... none of them flew across.

"Pfft~ Hahaha..."

Hashirama covered his mouth, watching Madara's flustered and furious expression, but he couldn't help but burst out laughing...

"Damn it... how could this happen?"

Ban's face was covered in writing, and he looked particularly annoyed! It's just a pebble, but it felt harder to throw than a shuriken...

"Stop laughing. You've managed to throw a stone in so many different ways; you must be really bored..."

Ban didn't understand; how much free time would someone have to spend every day researching how to throw this thing away?

Hashirama suppressed a laugh upon hearing this, walked up to Madara, patted him on the shoulder, and stuck out his tongue at him with an innocent expression.

"Don't rush, I'll teach you! Watch carefully... like this first..."

After selecting the pebbles, Hashirama placed them in Madara's palm, gently adjusting Madara's hand position by holding his fingers...

Madara was stunned the whole time. Logically speaking, the other party was also a ninja. Although he didn't know their clan... it was necessary to remain vigilant, right?

This kid is a bit too familiar with people, grabbing my hand without any warning and looking very serious... The most important thing is that I actually forgot to be on guard?

"Ban, that's good! Hmm? Are you listening...?"

Hashirama waved his hand in front of Madara's eyes, finally bringing Madara back to his senses.

"Oh...I see! This time it will definitely work."

The two started chatting as they threw pebbles into the river.

Quite tacitly, neither of them mentioned anything about their families. They were both ninjas, and although they were still young, hiding one's surname was perfectly normal in this era...

When they got tired of throwing, they simply sat side by side on the riverbank and started enjoying the breeze...

"Tell me, why do adults keep starting wars... what's the point of all this?"

Madara stared ahead, looking somewhat bewildered after hearing Hashirama's question...

Yeah, why?

Madara glanced at Hashirama sideways, and his heart skipped a beat...

The boy with the watermelon-head haircut who had just been playing with him was now hugging his knees, silently shedding tears.

"Hashirama? What... what's wrong with you?"

Hashirama simply shook his head, looking as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

When Madara saw Hashirama suddenly burst into tears, he felt a little sad too... It turns out that this seemingly sunny and cheerful, yet somewhat naive and silly guy also has this side to him.

He didn't press further; he roughly understood. What could possibly happen in this ninja world...?

War, hatred, and various other factors combined to create repeated, pointless battles, which must have caused Hashirama to lose people important to him...

And what about yourself?

Does it also possess the power to protect one's closest and dearest loved ones?

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to convey any negative emotions to you... I just remembered some things, so I'm a little sad."

"..."

Ban didn't reply, but just stared quietly at the river. He didn't know what to say, so he could only listen silently.

Hashirama's faint voice came again: "I often come to this river, just sit here and watch quietly... As long as I see this river, it seems to take away my troubles..."

"Ban... do you think it's possible for everyone to lay down their weapons and stop fighting, and create a paradise where everyone can live happily and children don't have to go to the battlefield?"

Hashirama rambled on about his ideals, and the more Madara listened, the more he felt... Although the guy's ideas were naive, ridiculously naive, Madara had to admit... he admired and agreed with them.

"I think it's possible... If everyone works together to build a village, we definitely won't have to keep hurting each other!"

Madara thought a lot about it; he desperately hoped that Hashirama's ideals could become reality. If only that day could truly come...

Yan Yi wouldn't have to be forced to such extremes anymore, wouldn't have to suffer from bleeding hands and feet to the point of difficulty eating... Such a lovely and sensible younger brother should have been protected and given the best care.

When Hashirama heard Madara's reply of agreement, his eyes immediately lit up.

"Ban, do you really think I'm right? Everyone treats war as a habit, but I think that's wrong..."

With a smile on his face, he replied, "Of course, if I have the chance, I will definitely make it happen!"

Hashirama's heart skipped a beat. This seemingly awkward young boy actually shared the same thoughts as him...

For the first time, Hashirama felt a strong urge to be good friends with Madara, a feeling that only Madara could understand his feelings.

confidant!

Hashirama seemed to have found a kindred spirit, and a bright, silly smile immediately appeared on his face. He grabbed Madara's hand and jumped up.

"That's great, thank you for understanding! From now on, we're good friends! Come visit me at the riverbank anytime you have time!"

Madara was a little taken aback by Hashirama's sudden enthusiasm, but he still nodded in agreement...

After all, friends of the same age, or even confidants, are so rare. Who knows, maybe I really will be able to realize those dreams someday?

After his initial excitement subsided, Hashirama looked at the sky with some surprise, scratched his head apologetically, and said, "It's getting late, I should go home. See you again sometime!"

Spot nodded: "Indeed, I need to go back and pick up my brother too..."

"I'll be going now!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Hashirama took two or three steps across the water and disappeared into the depths of the dense forest on the opposite bank.

Madara watched Hashirama's departing figure, a small sense of joy welling up inside him...

Is this what good friends are like...? It definitely feels different from family and brothers!

"It's getting late, Yan Yi's cultivation should be over soon. Sigh... I really hope he loses less blood today..."

Ban sighed and turned to leave in the direction of the clan's territory.