Hashirama Senju let out a long sigh. His face, once always bearing a gentle smile, was now left with nothing but disappointment and sorrow.
Compared to his older brother's restrained emotions, Tobirama Senju's fury was entirely unconcealed.
The chilling aura faintly radiating from his body seemed to drop the temperature of the entire office.
He slowly turned around, his crimson eyes staring straight at Jiraiya.
"Where is Hiruzen Sarutobi right now?"
"I want to ask him myself."
"Just what exactly has he turned the village I personally entrusted to him into."
Jiraiya's heart trembled, but facing the legendary Second Hokage, he did not dare refuse.
He gave a difficult nod.
"Sensei is... at the Sarutobi clan compound."
"Good."
Tobirama said no more, turning on his heel and heading for the door.
"I'm going too," Tsunade's voice rang out.
"The Sarutobi compound is too large now. You probably won't be able to find him, Second Grandfather."
Orochimaru remained silent, merely extending his long tongue to lick his lips, his golden snake-like eyes flickering with intense interest.
He was also curious to see what kind of expression his sensei would make.
Madara Uchiha, who had been watching with his arms crossed, couldn't help but curl his lips into a smirk.
"Hmph, going to clean house now?"
"Isn't it a little late for that?"
Beside him, Izuna's eyes were also filled with vindictive pleasure. Although he didn't understand the affairs of the Hidden Leaf Village, seeing Tobirama Senju suffer a setback made him happy.
Meanwhile, deep within the Sarutobi clan compound.
Inside a dim little room, Hiruzen Sarutobi stayed all by himself.
He curled up in the corner of the room, as if doing so could bring him a meager sense of security.
The room was filled with the thick, choking smell of tobacco, mixed with a faint scent of old age and decay.
In just a few short days, his hair had turned completely white, and his cloudy eyes were sunken deep into their sockets, bloodshot.
He looked like a piece of dead wood on the verge of rotting away.
He continuously took deep drags from his pipe, as if only the temporary numbness brought by the tobacco could grant his anxious, chaotic heart a moment of peace.
Suddenly.
An inexplicable chill rose from his back.
Hiruzen's body violently shuddered, nearly dropping the pipe in his hand.
"What's going on?"
He looked around the empty room in bewilderment, his heart accelerating uncontrollably.
'Could it be... another scandal has been exposed?'
Countless faces flashed through his mind.
The White Fang he had driven to death, the Uzumaki clan he had abandoned, the orphans he had tacitly allowed to be used for human experiments...
"Stop guessing, old timer," a somewhat mocking voice suddenly rang out behind him.
"You've done more evil deeds than the number of cigarettes you've smoked in your entire life. You wouldn't finish recalling them even if you thought until tomorrow."
'That voice! It's him!'
Hiruzen's pupils abruptly shrank. Every muscle in his body instantly tensed as he violently spun around.
Ian Uchiha!
Ian was sitting there casually, as if this wasn't the Sarutobi compound in the Hidden Leaf, but his own backyard.
"What are you doing here?"
'Why didn't anyone sound the alarm?'
Suddenly, a crazy idea flashed through Hiruzen's mind.
'Mutual destruction!'
'That's right!'
'I'll use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to seal Ian's soul right now!'
'This might be the last thing I can do for the village and for my clan!'
'As long as I kill him, all the crises will be resolved, and I can salvage some of my reputation!'
Absolute resolve instantly burst forth from Hiruzen's cloudy eyes.
However, Ian merely glanced at him and saw through all his thoughts.
He waved his hand dismissively.
"Don't be in such a rush to die."
"The good show is about to start. It would be no fun if the main character exited the stage early."
"I suggest you think about how you're going to explain yourself in a moment."
"Explain?"
Hiruzen was taken aback. Explain what? Was there even a need for him to explain anymore?
Before he could figure out the meaning behind Ian's words.
The next second.
"Boom—!!!"
A loud crash echoed as the heavy wooden door to the room was kicked to pieces!
Wood splinters shot into the room.
Then, a tall figure appeared in the shattered doorway.
Hiruzen first saw Tsunade's icy face, followed closely by Jiraiya's complicated expression and Orochimaru's mocking smile.
There were others behind them. Who were they?
Hiruzen focused his eyes, only to discover two faces that made him feel as if he had plunged into an icy abyss!
Hashirama Senju.
Tobirama Senju.
The two of them were staring fixedly at him with incomparably cold gazes.
Those gazes were like two knives, as if they wanted to skin him alive.
"Clatter."
The pipe in Hiruzen's hand fell to the floor, letting out a crisp sound.
His mind went completely blank, entirely losing the ability to think.
'A hallucination... This must be a hallucination!'
'It must be because I haven't gone out in so long, my old eyes are playing tricks on me!'
As if using all the strength in his body, he raised his hand, which was trembling incessantly from fear, and rubbed his eyes.
However, when he opened his eyes again, those two figures, resembling Yama himself, were still standing there.
'I'm doomed! It's real! Someone used the Edo Tensei!'
Hiruzen tried to squeeze out a smile, wanting to say something to break the awkward atmosphere, but his facial muscles refused to obey. In the end, he only managed to force a smile that looked uglier than crying.
Not daring to meet the eyes of the two Hokage, Hiruzen looked at the Sannin behind them.
"Tsunade, Jiraiya... Orochimaru, you're here."
"Look at me, I haven't left the house in so many days that I'm hallucinating."
"I actually saw... saw Sensei and the First Hokage behind you, haha..."
His laughter was filled with awkwardness.
However, before he could finish, Orochimaru helpfully reminded him directly.
"Sensei, you aren't seeing things. It really is the First and Second Hokage!"
"I'm the one who resurrected them."
That sentence completely shattered Hiruzen's psychological defenses.
Suddenly, he noticed that everyone's gaze had bypassed him, staring in astonishment at what was behind him.
'What's back there?'
Hiruzen stiffly turned his head.
He saw that, at some unknown point, Ian was already standing behind him, holding three conscious heads in his hands.
"Th-This is..."
Tsunade's pupils shrank.
They couldn't be more familiar with those three faces, twisted by fear and anger.
Danzo Shimura!
Koharu Utatane!
Homura Mitokado!
Completely ignoring everyone's shocked expressions, Ian planted the three bodies into the potted plants inside the room.
He even secretly used Wood Release, allowing the soil and roots to perfectly fuse with the severed stumps at their waists.
After finishing all this, Ian dusted the dirt off his hands and sat back down on the chair.
He made a "please" gesture toward the shocked crowd at the door.
"Don't mind me."
"I'm just setting up the venue."
"Please, continue."
After saying that, he gently patted the cheeks of Danzo and the other two.
"Stop playing dead, you old geezers."
"Hurry up and open your eyes to take a look."
"Your old friend and your sensei have all come to see you."
Stimulated by Ian's chakra, the unconscious trio of Danzo opened their eyes.
They then saw Hiruzen's ashen face.
As well as Tobirama Senju standing behind him.
"Hiruzen, are you dead too? Is this the afterlife?"
"Hahaha! Well done, Hiruzen! You actually managed to kill this damn Uchiha brat!"