Naruto, Vol. 65: Hashirama and Madara

Naruto [ナルト] #65

by Masashi Kishimoto

As the battle against Obito and Madara continues to heat up, Sasuke has Orochimaru revive the previous four Hokage! In order to learn the truth, Sasuke will listen to First Hokage Hashirama's tale of how the village was founded. But what will Sasuke's next move be once he gets what he wants?!

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Comics, Fiction, Shonen, Comics Manga, Graphic Novels

192 pages, Paperback

First published July 4, 2013

About the author

Masashi Kishimoto (岸本斉史 Kishimoto Masashi) is a Japanese manga artist, well known for creating the manga series Naruto. His younger twin brother, Seishi Kishimoto, is also a manga artist and creator of the manga series O-Parts Hunter (666 Satan) and Blazer Drive. Two of his former assistants, Osamu Kajisa (Tattoo Hearts) and Yuuichi Itakura (Hand's), have also gone on to moderate success following their work on Naruto.

Kishimoto's first work as a manga artist was Karakuri (カラクリ?), which he submitted to Shueisha in 1995. This earned him the Weekly Shōnen Jump's monthly "Hop Step Award" in 1996, granted to promising new manga artists. This was followed in 1997 by a pilot version of Naruto (NARUTO－ナルト－), published in Akamaru Jump Summer. In 1998, Kishimoto premiered as a Weekly Shōnen Jump artist with a serialized version of Karakuri in Weekly Shōnen Jump, but it proved unpopular and was canceled soon after. In 1999, a serialized version of Naruto began publication in Weekly Shōnen Jump and quickly became a hit.

Reviews

[Ola G · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/10 stars

Okay, that's one I'm pretty mixed about. Hashirama is freaking cool. One of my favorites, easy. Edgelord Madara - still an enigma, nothing in his story or embitterment really strikes me as psychologically realistic, but then, it's Kishimoto, so why am I surprised. Looks like Uchihas are genetically a little bit unhinged, and that's the secret to their ocular powers as well. Color me unimpressed, that explanation of sharingan was just laughable.

And yet, and yet, I loved that backstory. Too little, too late to make an emotional impact, but at least it's there, and it explains how fraught and hard-won the balance between the clans really is. This is the missing piece that sets up the stage to show how each subsequent generation of shinobis strives to make their world a better place, and why Naruto is such a worthy inheritor of the will of fire. It is heartwarming and deeply satisfying. It doesn't really gel with the technological progress of the ninja culture/civilization, but since not much in Kishimoto's world makes sense, I'm very happy that at least this bit of logic wormed its way in :)

The whole setup for this, with special snowflake Sasuke holding the fate of Konoha in balance is super cheesy and I rolled my eyes so hard I strained a muscle. But I guess Kishimoto wrote himself into a corner and had to do something like this to get Sasuke back into the main plot. Sasuke finally realises that he loves Naruto, so there is a solid-ish outcome. Imagine, the two ride away into the sunset and live happily ever after, and no Boruto is ever made... Alas.

Lastly, I cannot remain silent about Kishimoto's treatment of females. After Sakura, now Karin gets shafted so bad in here it's really unbelievable. Mindless misogyny doesn't even start to cover it.

[Christian Savin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The four former Hokage are back, so it's story time. Once again. In the middle of a goddamn war.

We finally learn about Konoha's history and how, and why, it was influenced by a long list of unfortunate events caused by Uchihas being special little snowflakes, Madara being the edgier of them all, and Senjus mishandling them, Hashirama and his students being too soft on them, and Tobirama and his students being too harsh on them.

We also learn about Hashi and Madara's forbidden love story and its fated ending, in the form of an epic battle between an armored kaiju and a massive wooden mecha (a vicious power scaling cycle where Kishi needed something even more powerful than an already ridiculously overpowered element). It was alright, but there was such a missed opportunity to show us some of Mito's abilities, since we know from Kushina that she stepped into the battle and sealed Kurama inside her. In fact, she's suspiciously absent from Hashirama's flashbacks. Kinda fuels the possibility that their marriage was most likely political and Hashi was indeed enamored with Madara. Guess we'll never know.

Anyways, Sasuke was finally able to comprehend what a clan, a village, and a shinobi are (lol?) and decided where he wants to move from here on (kindly reminder that he was still into his homicidal phase at the beginning of the war, which was less than 48 hrs ago). And with that, Oro and the others just followed suit for some contrived reasons, except for Suigetsu who is literally being held hostage at this point. However, Karin's the one who really drew the short end of the stick here. After being used, abused, and almost killed by Sasuke, she still forgives him and goes back to being inexplicably obsessed with him. I'm frankly disgusted by how clueless Kishimoto is towards abusive behavior and relationships. Disgusted and disturbed, 'cause this is not going to be the last instance it'll happen.


With that being, I'm still going to give this volume one extra star just for Tobirama the GOAT Uchiha hater and how much could have been avoided if Hashi allowed him to stab Madara to death.

[Insomnolent Reader °ㅠ_ㅠ° · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adore Hashirama and Madara's story.

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

More backstory, and some would say it's ancient history, but getting the scoop on Madara's history with the first hokoge is still rather necessary, even if it is taking us away from the big battle waged elsewhere. Sasuke had a major question that needed answering, and the entire volume was dedicated to it.

I wondered if that was really necessary, but in the end, I believe it was.

[T.R. Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another deeply homoerotic rivalry is thrown into the mix. I'm not complaining.

Guys, it's literally Romeo and Juliet. Kishimoto is the queerbating king of the universe. He's the final boss of queerbating.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume is filled with some heavy backstory about how Hashirama and Madara first met and how these two enemies created the village Hidden in the Leaves. Sasuke also comes to a decision about how best to continue on with his mission.

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This turned out to be a frustrating volume that still had some pretty good moments. Most of it is dedicated to a Konoha origin story through a mythologized tale of the Senju and Uchiha clash.

Once the story-telling is over, the rest of it lies on Sasuke's shoulder as he decides what he plans to do next and, honestly, it's a tough sale. Especially when you've Orochimaru not batting an eye at it all.

You know there's got to be more to all this than what we got here.

[clea · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really like hashirama. the only hokage i despise is sarutobi lmao but damn this volume VERY LIFE GIVING!!!! theyre all so adorable

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was fascinating to get the backstory about how it all started.

[Blake the Book Eater · Rating 4 out of 5]

An emotional backstory that reinforces my favorite aspect about this series: the cyclical nature of war and the parallels between generations!

[Kurtis Burkhardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome volume!!! The 4 hokages head to war after being brought back by Orochimaru and Sasuke makes his long awaited decision....🤔😁⚔️💕💕

[Subham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably one of the greatest volumes ever holy shit its so good. We have Orochimaru resurrect the first 4 Hokages and like Sasuke tells them of whats going on and then Hashirama the first hokage spills the entire history of the Senjus and Uchiha and how they were enemies and fought and why it was how things were, his friendship with Madara, their common dream but them continuing fighting just because and clashing again and again until one day there was a peaceful resolution and they formed their village and it was Madara who named the village Konoha but then discord happened he segregated and then they fought again in the "Valley of the end" and that battle was epic, and so he leaves it upto Sasuke to make his decision and he does and he says HE WILL PROTECT KONOHA and like that page where all his memories with Itachi's is just so emotional and mesmerizing to look at and shows his evolution and the scene where the 4 Hokages come alive and go to battle Madara is just wow! This is just too epic, what an amazing build up to one of the greatest sagas and ending and just wow! Masashi Kishimoto may have written one of the greatest literary masterpieces of all time easily!

[n · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bravo. This shit was amazing. 10/5 stars. This is definitely one of the best parts of the whole series.

It opens with Orochimaru saying “Let’s go… to where all the secrets are kept.” He is bringing Sasuke, tagging along are Jugo and Suigetsu, to find answers yo his questions of “what does it mean to be a village? And what does it mean to be a Shinobi?”

Orochimaru leads them first to the Uzumaki clan’s Noh Mask Hall, where they grab the Death God’s mask. They then go to the Uchiha’s Nakano Shrine and Orochimaru uses Edo Tensei to bring back the 4 previously dead Hokages.

We are shown Madara and Hashirama’s backstory. Where, how and why they became acquainted with one another. Finding out that they were friends and Madara used to be a kind boy with dreams of peace and living in harmony.

I really do feel bad for Madara, and Hashirama. Madara finally achieved his dream with Hashirama but got slighted because of prejudice against the clan and towards him because Madara was so powerful that he was deemed too dangerous. That’s not fair. That’s wrong. Hashirama tried his best. He basically promised Madara the seat of Hokage and let Madara name the village. Basically, everyone was like nahh I’m not having Madara rule me, I want Hashirama. Madara overheard the conversation and disappeared. When he pops up again he has new dreams, “dreams of the far future.” Hashirama had to fight and kill his friend, which was very hard on him.

The Uchiha clan is said to love deeper than all other clans. When they grieve in agony for someone they lost, they get the sharingan “eyes that reflect the heart.” Although it seems Madara, when awakening the Mangekyo sharingan, fully abandoned his prior dreams and resolved to fully erase his friend, Hashirama, from his mind.

The Hagoromo clan was introduced very softly. That’s important later into the story.

Off they go, to the battlefield! I forget how Minato and Naruto react to each other…
Shit only gets better from here and I’m super excited.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh man this is just so awesome. I can’t wait to see Naruto and Minato fight together. I am glad Sasuke is switching back. Is it bad of me to say was he really strong character throughout the whole series like did we really need him? He was just in background doing his own thing. I guess now he’s decided to save the village since he knows the truth. I guess he’s hoping all can be forgiven now

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 2 page spread of Sasuke returning to Konoha, which mirrors the spread of Naruto returning to Konoha back in volume 28 is sooooo great. And the Hashirama/Madara backstory being kinda like the fox and the hound but with a ninja war backdrop. Oh I’m having a ball!!!

[Aaryn Flott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don’t really care for Sasuke’s epiphany, but I’m loving the reunion between all the past Kage

[Iv∠n · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't expect that ending, it gets interesting again. Next pleeeeease!

[Téyo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vous reprendrez bien une petite dose de lore Uchiwa ? A part ça orochimaru avec le masque du dieu de la mort c’est un slay absolu.

[☆.｡.:* addy .｡.:*☆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

maybe I do like sasuke

[Yue4405 · Rating 5 out of 5]

No m’esperava que la història d’aquests dos personatges m’agrades tant

[Ambia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Volume 65: The Blame Game. In some ways… it was kind of all Tobirama's fault, Hashirama I suppose you could say started it all, Hiruzen was definitely the last straw and Minato has absolutely nothing to apologise for in regards to the Uchiha fate. You can't be blamed for dying. Must also say that no matter what, everyone's actions are their own, especially Madara. He chose to follow his path.

Why would Tobirama not be able to break out of the jutsu he created like Madara could? Even if Orochimaru was enhanced, so was Kabuto. He should be able to break out, it's a pretty simple jutsu and getting out of it is even simpler. Orochimaru is right at least in that he shouldn't have created it, but I understand that during his time, they were at constant war and that facilitates military invention. I also wondered how the previous Hokage, especially the first and second, could be so much stronger than people of the current age, their chakra is immense and can be felt physically like a bijuu's. I think this could also be due to the fact that they were born and raised in an era of war. They naturally had more power because humans needed it at that time, less so as time went on a relative peace settled. They're also the survivors of such an era so of course they'd be the strongest. 

I've also come to a conclusion about Hashirama's power specifically. His power, which only he had. Born into him like a genetic mutation at a time when it was needed so his clan and species could be propagated, is the power to create life. Wind, fire, earth, lightning and water manipulate existing elements or they can create them but these are natural phenomena of the world. Wood style is not an element, Hashirama can grow trees which are a living thing. His power is the power to create life so of course his own body is abundant with the power of nature and life itself. So how did he die? The only thing I can think of is that it was su*cide out of despair because it certainly wasn't old age. Or maybe he just became one with nature. That'd be good.

What happened to Orochimaru? He's undergone a drastic change and is no longer out for anything evil. He's just Sasuke's lapdog. What a downgrade from a guy who was such an interesting villain in the beginning. The beloved student who turned bad in the Village full of secrets who couldn't be stopped by his teacher because he never stopped loving him. Now what is he? He says he saw inside Kabuto that his own goals don't really lead to anywhere good so he's going to watch Sasuke's path now because he took a different route to Orochimaru. All I get from this is, poor Kabuto. He was always second best.

I really love Hashirama and Madara's story. Two boys who watched their LITTLE brothers die, it's different being an older sibling, who really truly wanted a different world but at the time they were two kids with no power to effect such a change, all they had were dreams. I personally love Hashirama's haircut and outfit, he looks like a Studio Ghibli character so inevitably, he is quite endearing. They both have very strong quirky personalities as kids, which compliment each other well. They're both kind of goofy, Hashirama more so and their friendship and banter was really cute and natural, it read like a real friendship even when they were older. I can't believe it was Madara's self-inflicted neurosis and the running joke about him not being able to pee whilst being watched is what finally did him in.

Madara is a conundrum. The village is THE conundrum. Madara lost his siblings, then his partner and friend, his final little brother who wanted to protect above all else and then his clan. Madara, like everyone else at the time, had to bear the burden of watching children die and accepting it as normal. With Hashirama, there was an out, a dream place where children could play, not fight. Where the little brothers they had left could be safe. But, they were Senju and Uchiha, the killers of each other's kin. They couldn't put that aside. It wasn't until Tobirama killed Izuna and Madara had to face Hashirama alone, that he finally acquiesced to that dream. Izuna was so cute as a child and he really is the spitting image of Sasuke. It was truly kind of Madara to give Hashirama the option to kill himself instead of Tobirama because it was going to be hard to work with Izuna's killer. The looks they gave each other, they were never going to have mutual trust. They were all the killer's of each other's kin and it wasn't as easy as it seemed to let that go. Madara could see that the Uchiha would be pushed out when Tobirama came to power, but the Uchiha wouldn't support him either. They gave in to the Senju in the first place because the Senju were winning and they were done dying. So Madara lost his entire extended family. Over time this felt like betrayal and fed his hatred. That is not to say that his revenge on Konoha or tyranny is justified. When he realised he had nothing else, he found scripture and interpreted in a way where he could have everything. Now he's the enemy again.

I do not believe that Tobirama truly hated the Uchiha or desired to destroy them. He planned out the infrastructure of the village in a way to utilise everyone's strengths. Being so strong, he knew the Uchiha were one of the only clans that physically could police other shinobi. Obviously, this put them in a bit of a pickle because everyone hated them for it, which was manipulated by Danzo later. Danzo, Hiruzen's greatest failure. His soft-hearted ways allowed Danzo, who in his way loved the village above all else, to act in the darkness. If he was the strategist behind the Village's founding, he should have been able to see this. Wouldn't it have been better to have a mixed force anyway so that people stopped thinking in clan lines, which is what they wanted? Tobirama had an Uchiha student he respected and he could see goodness in many other Uchiha, so he wasn't entirely prejudiced against them. But he sure did hold prejudice against them. The curse of hatred he said was a "rumour" and he chose to believe in it. He may have acknowledged their great capacity for love, but he chose to see the way love drives then "crazy." He may have tried to be fair but his judgement was wrong in the end and it did lead the way to the Uchiha's disillusionment and opened the way for others with more malevolent intentions to manipulate the situation. 

Hashirama and Madara's dream was a great one. No more dead kids. Different clans working together. But haven't they just swapped the clan for a village? "You're mistaking the cause for the end… it shall someday lead the village to darkness." And it did. There were people who took to the village as a clan. Which made clan the enemy if clan did not put village first. That's why the Uchiha were massacred. That is why the protection of children was overturned in favour of protecting the village with more bodies. That's why a kid could be left to fend for himself and bear the hatred of the entire village to save it from itself. The solution really is what Naruto wants to achieve, international cooperation. The village is part of the world where everyone is one (bound by chakra). I guess that's also the consequence of Madara's true dream, if only his wasn't fueled by a hunger for power. The village's heroes and villains had the same issue. They were so immersed in the village, there wasn't much room for the individual. In the new world of oneness, a spiritual and moral oneness, the individual must also be able to thrive.

Madara and Hashirama's fight is something else. The moves they pull out. Hashirama's jutsu are all very spiritual and religious. No wonder he's the god of shinobi, he might actually have God on his side. The final strike was fantastic. Somebody, obviously not Madara or Hashirama, decided to carve their likeness into the rocks there. Who and why? Hashirama's had changed. He also put the village first. He would kill the brother he was fighting for, for the village- but he couldn't do it before. His face in the end, that scary look, the first time we've seen that and it was cool to finally see him really getting serious.

Why did the Hokage stand in their stone faces? Was Minato gearing up his coolness to impress his son who he'll finally get to see properly? It was cool. I don't care if it was all ego nonsense. I can't wait to see Naruto meet his father again.

A good volume that really tries to delve into the moral fibre of this world. With a couple of world building and character holes thrown in though.

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a review of the entire series.

Once upon a time, the spirit of an evil Nine Tailed Fox wreaked havoc on Konohagakure; the Village Hidden in the Leaves, killing hundreds of honorable ninja in the skirmish and leaving many children without homes or parents. The Fourth Hokage (leader of the village) unleashes a forbidden jutsu (magic spell/ninja ability) to seal the spirit of the evil fox into the body of a newborn baby named Naruto at the cost of his own life. He did this in the hopes that the boy could one day learn to master the power of the demonic spirit and use it to protect the village and become a great hero of the people.

Unknown to the citizens of the Leaf, the Nine Tailed Fox was being controlled by an even more powerful adversary, a legendary rogue ninja that plans to wage war against the entire world from the shadows. The identity of the mysterious ninja that attacked the Leaf Village using the Nine Tails died with the Fourth Hokage, and he used what remained of his life to gift Naruto with the power of one day being able to stop this evil ninja and a clan of outlawed S-rank criminals called the Akatsuki from committing mass genocide against the many hidden villages and clans of the world.

Because of the evil spirit sealed inside him, Naruto grew up hated by the other children of the village because they believe him and the Nine Tails to be one and the same. They believe he’s a ticking time bomb waiting to go off, waiting for the perfect moment to kill them all just like the Nine Tails killed their parents and families. Shunned, dehumanized and treated like dirt, Naruto vows to become the greatest hokage the world has ever seen so that he can receive the love and acknowledgement he never got as a child.

On top of the Nine Tails power and the will to never quit, Naruto also possesses the uncanny ability to turn everyone he meets into a potential comrade. He brings out the best in his peers and tries his hardest to make his enemies see the errors of their ways. He disobeys the rules and ignores cultural traditions to try and make changes to the world and break the eternal cycle of war and hatred through his own methods. His determination is infectious to friend and foe alike. He earns himself the respect he deserves by overcoming one impossible obstacle at a time.

Naruto encounters many fascinating and terrifying ninja over the course of his journey to become hokage. Among them are Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto’s best friend and rival who is driven by the vengeful lust to murder his elder brother after he wiped out their own clan in cold blood. Sasuke warms up to Naruto, but his hatred and trauma are dangerous forces that threaten to break his moral code as a ninja and destroy his reputation among his peers.

Kakashi Hatake is a notorious copycat ninja that survived one of the most brutal and devastating wars in history as well as the Nine Tails attack on the Leaf Village. He becomes Naruto and Sasuke’s mentor and teaches them a great number of valuable lessons about surviving in the dangerous world of rogue ninja, bloodthirsty assassins and clans ruled by corruption.

Jiraiya is a perverted yet wise sage who taught the Fourth Hokage everything he knew and he’s regarded as a god among shinobi that’s famous for his heroic actions in the second great ninja war. He takes an interest in Naruto and raises him as a father figure to carry on the legacy of the Fourth Hokage to prepare him for the many dangerous people that want to use his power for their own nefarious purposes.

The Akatsuki is one such group of wicked ninja. Among them are Sasuke’s brother Itachi who murdered his clan and possesses many dangerous techniques involving illusions, psychological torture and elemental manipulation. Sasori who controls poisonous puppets with magical threads, Orochimaru who mastered the forbidden arts of reanimation and quasi-immortality, Deidara who fights from afar using detonating clay and many other deadly foes.

The entire series chronicles Naruto and his fellow ninja comrades growing through countless trials and tragedies. There are hundreds of unique jutsus, clans, and techniques which lead to some very intense, creative and strategic battles between skilled ninja with diverse abilities that don’t always match up evenly. There are clan based abilities such as the Aburame clan’s ability to control insects, the Yamanaka clan’s ability to jump into other people’s minds and control their bodies and the Inuzuka clan’s ability to bond with wolves that learn to mimic their master’s battle skills. Then there’s ocular genetic abilities such as the sharingan which allows the user to create psychological illusions, copy their enemy’s abilities and manipulate elemental energy. The byakugan allows the user to read their enemies vital points and detect their spiritual energy from faraway. The rinnegan grants control over space and gravity and so on.

On top of having countless unique abilities, nearly every character has a tragic backstory that makes them sympathetic and relatable, even the nastiest of the villains have well-explored reasons for following the paths they do and becoming the way they are. One of my favorite aspects of the series is how well it explores the physical, emotional and psychological effects war can have on society and culture as well as the survivors and future generations that are forced to live in them. How it breeds racism and cultural disputes, how it inspires hatred in orphaned children and war veterans robbed of their homes toward foreign nations, as well as how this eventually leads to further death, war, poverty and destruction. Learning to forgive the ones you hate to prevent further conflict and damaging the world for future generations even further is a major theme throughout the story.

Being a massive 700 chapter series, it’s not too surprising that there’s some plot holes and consistency issues. A rule might be stated regarding the requirements and usage of a certain jutsu or ability only for that rule to be repeatedly broken 400 chapters later. Sometimes the characters and rules contradict themselves, sometimes the chronology of certain events and historical facts don’t match up perfectly, the lore and general backstory go through several retcons that change the philosophy and power scaling of the characters and the scope of world-building; the final arc especially drags on and breaks a lot of the logic and rules that the story spent the whole series setting up, etc...

Naruto’s far from perfect, but I remember it very fondly for being one of the first series that introduced me to things like manga and Japanese entertainment in general. It was one of those childhood classics like Dragon Ball, Inuyasha, Yu Yu Hakusho and Rurouni Kenshin. The series grew up with me and I can’t help but feel grateful to it for introducing me to hundreds of other franchises that I’m still a huge fan of to this day and I continue to find many new ones on the regular. Naruto's journey from a clownish, disrespected outcast into a talented, well-loved and admired hero is a memorable one.

[Hasnain Bahleem]

We can see the history in the making,
Tobi has become the jinchuriki of thismall powerful 10 tails biju and is the most powerful minja i have ever seen, i think he is not a ninja at all he is something even darker even more powerful.
While mandara and haroshmina fight out their differences, naruto and the fourth and sasuke fight this unatural being.
I mean. That unatural being, is he even more powerful than the sage of the six paths, well all question will be awnsered when this bloody war ends,
So fingrescrossed ewwwp

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

These chapters can not come out any faster I tell ya. Bring it on!!!

[Aja: The Narcoleptic Ninja · Rating 5 out of 5]

And Sasuke finally gets a little more sense. Don't get me wrong, his logic and his means are still pretty demented but he's finally coming back around a little bit.

[Josema Alemañy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite. Amazing. Perfect. Must have.

[Nonah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE IT!! And omg the four hokages!!! <3<3 This is amazing!! And still sad from the last book ;(

[Hafeez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Volume 65: Chapter 618-627
Arc 16: Fourth Shinobi World War - Climax

- Sasuke, Orochimaru, Suigetsu and Juugo arrived at the Uzumaki clan's mask temple at the outskirt of Konoha to retrieve the Reaper's mask.
- Then, they go Konoha or to be precise to the Uchiha's Nakano shrine.
- Orochimaru will undo the Shiki Fuujin. He need to slice his belly to do so. Then, he recovered his arms so he can performed ninjutsu again.
- Juugo puts some of his Cursed Seal chakra to Sasuke. Six White Zetsus who acts as Obito's spies come out from Sasuke's body.
- Orochimaru used four of the White Zetsus used as a sacrifice for him to do Edo Tensei. Orochimaru transferrrd to another White Zetsu.
- The past Hokages were revived; Hashirama, Tobirama, Hiruzen and Minato.
- Sasuke asked the truth about Itachi and Uchiha clan. Hiruzen said that Konoha ordered Itachi to kill his entire clan in order to prevent the coup d'etat. Then, Itachi served Akatsuki and act as a spy for Konoha. For Itachi, the love for the village is greater than the familial ties. So, he will do anything for his beloved villages.
- Then, Tobirama said about Uchiha clan which is a cursed clan. They valued love and friendship above all else. That feelings will turn into hatred. The anguish and despair of losing someone will make their brain release some special chakra that will affect their optic nerves. Sharingan is the eye that reflects their feelings. Those strong feelings will make them fall into depraved path. The deeper they go, the stronger they get.
- Sasuke then asked Hashirama about the village legacy and the purpose of the shinobi. Hashirama tells about his story between him and Madara since they were a kid. Their first meeting is at the river where they played rock skipping.
- Senju clan and Uchiha clan already at war for a long time. Hashirama didn't like the idea of sending the kids to a war. He didn't like the hate and revenge being repeated over and over. He wants to change the clan and end the war. He share the same vision with Madara
- Hashirama and Madara keep meeting and they training together. They shared a dream to build a village. One day, their meeting being hijacked by their fathers.
- Hashirama and Madara stopped them from fighting. From now on, they parted ways. They often seem in battle. After few years, both of them become the head of the clan.
- In a battle, Tobirama kills Madara's younger brother Izuna. Izuna died a few days after. Madara takes Izuna's eyes and awakened Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. Madara fights Hashirama.
- After 24 houra fighting non-stop, Madara lost the battle. Hashirama offers a truce between Senju and Uchiha. Madara give a condition whether he kills his brother Tobirama or kills himself. Hashirama choose to kill himself but stopped by Madara.
- The truce agreed. They formed a new village named Konohagakure. Hashirama wants Madara to be appointed as a Hokage but he is appointed instead.
- Madara starting to lose to lose his clan's faith toward him. He make a decision to leave Konoha. Hashirama and Madara have their final battle in order to stop Madara. Madara lose the battle and presumed dead.
- All the Hokages gave their words about what have they done during their reign and what the meaning of the village for them.
- Finally, Sasuke come to realization and wants to join the war.
- Sasuke, Orochimaru, Suigetsu, Juugo, Karin, Hashirama, Tobirama, Hiruzen and Minato will join the war.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, remember how I said in my last review that we were finally getting to the meat of the battle after getting two whole volumes of flashback exposition? Well, it seems that I have been proven a fool because this entire volume was exclusively flashback exposition. That doesn't necessarily make it a bad thing; getting to see the history of this world we're in and seeing how certain characters have changed is very rewarding and has made for some of my favorite chapters in this series, I just can't believe we're taking a step back from the final battle once again. We finally get to see what Orochimaru and Sasuke have been plotting since the last time we saw them and I'm quite pleased with the direction it went. Sasuke and friends travel back to Konoha four years after he defected to bring Orochimaru back to full power, but more importantly, to summon the previous Hokage with the Edotensei Jutsu. Seeing all of the Hokage interact was so funny, it was like watching an Abbott and Costello routine. I was not expecting Hashirama to be the way he is, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. We get some Uchiha lore that involves their power being connected to how deeply they feel love and after reading Madara and Hashirama's backstory, it is getting harder and harder to deny that this series is actually a BL disguised as a battle shonen. The whole point of bringing back the previous Hokage was for Sasuke decide what he was going to do to Konoha, whether he would join the Allied Shinobi Forces and help defeat Madara, or destroy Konoha during the chaos of war with the very men that created and led the village. We get to see Madara and Hashirama as children, trying to find respite during tumultuous era they grew up in. Though there are dark themes in this volume, it's a lot more light-hearted than the last volume. We get to see children with their entire lives ahead of them, dreaming for a future where they can be at peace. It's a lot more hopeful, but still bittersweet since we already know the fate of these two kids that just want a better future already knowing how their paths will diverge. They weren't allowed to be children and skip rocks across the pond together. They were forced to fight each other, kill each other's brethren and cursed to die young. We get to see the start of Konohagakure and how Hashirama was able to unite the warring clans, but it was already too late for Madara, for everyone that he fought for was gone. At their final battle, we get to see how powerful Hashirama is. I really hope to see some parallels the next time Madara and Hashirama fight. After hearing Hashirama's tale, Sasuke decides that his brother's sacrifice won't be in vain and heads off to the battlefield to fight Madara along with the previous Hokage and Orochimaru. We also get a reunion of the Taka, which was fun. I really enjoyed this volume, I'm excited to see what comes next.

[Not Your Book Boyfriend · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume was so good! We finally get a more detailed backstory for both Hashirama and Madara. There conflict really reminded me of Anakin and kenobi from starwars. They start out as friends and even become best friends just to find out they are both on opposite sides of a war that is happening between their clans.

The fight scenes are incredible, and also amazing drawn! I really liked seeing madara put the susano on the 9 tails like armor. Crazy to think that madara the main villain at one point was a good guy and helped create the hidden leaf village.

Basically everything is tobiramas fault. Ok not really, I think madara would have left the village eventually but he definitely sped things up and pushed madara further into darkness.

At this point I totally understand madara doing what he’s doing. He’s pretty much only known hate and darkness. And even when he does good and becomes a good guy literally everyone still sees him as a villain, minus Hashirama. Do I agree with him enslaving everyone’s mind? No, but I can’t really argue against his reasoning.

Also I don’t buy the whole story Tobirama was saying about the whole extreme love/hate thing that makes Uchiha’s prone to going evil. I think that’s a load of B.S. and that Tobirama was just saying that to justify his EXTREME HATRED for the Uchiha clan. Like even Hashirama several times was like bro you need to chill.

Book ends with Sasuke deciding to honor Itachi and go and help fight Madara. The 4 koge also come, and as much as I want the good guys to win I hope Madara at least gives Tobirama a good beat down. Can’t wait to jump into the next volume! Highly recommend the entire series so far!