Hikaru had expected his battle with Ōtsutsuki Urashiki to shake the entire shinobi world.
But he had not expected there to be so many complicated undercurrents behind it.
For example, the changes in Kumogakure.
He truly had not thought much about that, nor did he know Killer B had changed so drastically.
He knew Killer B had been pushed into becoming the Fifth Raikage to take responsibility and face Konoha's pressure.
But he really did not know what Killer B had experienced after sitting in that position, or what kind of person he had become.
After all, as Konoha's Hokage, Hikaru could not place all his attention elsewhere.
What he cared about most was still his own village.
Just like now.
Although Hikaru could visibly see his progress bar climb by a full one percent during this period, he only nodded silently in satisfaction and then stopped paying attention to it.
To him, that kind of thing was important, but there was no need to obsess over it.
His mission was extremely important, but given its current growth, paying too much attention would not help. It was better to let it develop naturally.
After all, with Hikaru's policy toward smaller countries, even though it had taken three years to fully settle the Land of Hot Water, he had gained five percent progress from it.
And in the Land of Hot Water, they had also accumulated enough experience.
Under such circumstances, Hikaru was certain that reforms in other smaller villages would proceed much faster.
So these unexpected gains were pleasant surprises, but Hikaru did not place special importance on them.
What he valued more were things that could bring him long-term, sustainable growth and influence.
After resting in Konoha for a few days, Hikaru experienced Konoha's powerful self-regulation ability, as well as the excellent execution ability of his subordinates.
He was also forced to experience what it felt like to be treated as an invalid.
And not just any invalid.
One being cared for very comfortably.
Because of work, saya and ayame naturally could not spend too much time with him, but the two of them still took turns coming over to look after Hikaru.
That was something Hikaru had not expected.
Although he had always felt it was unnecessary, he had no intention of objecting.
And during this period of "recovery," he often went to the basement beneath the Hokage building to check on Hashirama and Tobirama's situation.
Hashirama had little interest in experiments.
After all, he was completely unsuited for that field.
However, he was still very interested in the results.
With Ōtsutsuki Urashiki's identity and strength, it was impossible for anyone not to be interested.
So over the past few days, he had basically stayed in the laboratory with his younger brother, Tobirama.
As for Konoha's situation, after understanding it, he no longer paid too much attention.
After all, Konoha's losses truly were not serious.
Most reconstruction work was concentrated around the outer areas, and he believed Konoha's shinobi could handle it easily.
Reality was more or less the same.
Although Hikaru was currently slacking off, under the cooperation of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shikaku Nara, everything was proceeding in an orderly manner.
It was also said that after learning about Konoha's current situation, the other shinobi villages had chosen to provide a certain amount of material support and send craftsman shinobi to help.
One could say this was a perfect reflection of Konoha's position in the shinobi world.
And all of it had been brought by Hikaru.
Today, Hikaru felt somewhat bored. There was also not much political work that required his personal attention.
So he simply went to the laboratory beneath the Hokage building.
When he entered, he saw Tobirama recording something, while Hashirama was leaning over to watch.
"Any new discoveries?"
Seeing this, Hikaru could not help asking curiously. At the same time, his gaze fell on Ōtsutsuki Urashiki, who lay on the experimental table.
This unlucky bastard had already been cut open by Tobirama, and his abdominal cavity was completely empty.
On a nearby table sat a pile of bottles. Inside them were various organs soaked in formalin.
Hikaru also noticed several bottles filled with bright red blood.
Clearly, Tobirama had not wasted even a drop.
The sight made Hikaru feel slightly nauseous.
It reminded him of his previous life, when he had visited a classmate studying medicine and gone to the basement of that school.
He still remembered how that guy had said, with bad intentions, that he would take Hikaru to meet their "teacher."
Hikaru had actually believed him.
In the end, he discovered that the "teacher" was a cadaver used for anatomy.
Of course, Hikaru knew such donors deserved the greatest respect.
But back then, his tolerance had really not been good.
Now, his condition was much better.
Even though the scene before him still made him somewhat nauseous, he could control himself.
"There are many discoveries. You could even say they exceeded our imagination."
Tobirama glanced at Hikaru and directly handed him a report.
After Hikaru took it, Tobirama continued.
"This records some of my current views. More detailed data will require further testing.
"But even this information alone has already exceeded our imagination. Calling these people gods would not be an exaggeration."
Tobirama's tone was full of emotion.
It was clear he had genuinely been shocked.
Even though he still maintained his composure, his voice had changed.
Seeing this, Hikaru became even more curious and began reading Tobirama's report seriously.
It was one thing not to look closely.
But as he read carefully, his expression changed slightly.
In Tobirama's data, Hashirama had tragically become a unit of measurement.
Perhaps to Tobirama, there really was no better comparison target than Hashirama.
According to his data, Ōtsutsuki Urashiki's physical strength was at least five to ten times greater than Hashirama's.
In addition, even after death, this man's cells still maintained unimaginable activity. They were even more active than those of many living people.
More importantly, even after being dissected, his body still seemed to retain a powerful aura of life.
His chakra was also so vast it was almost impossible to imagine.
That chakra was bound to his cells, and it was extremely invasive.
Most importantly, his chakra had already exceeded Tobirama's understanding.
It seemed to have reached a level beyond imagination.
Hikaru knew a little about that.
After all, this man had reached the realm of a Kekkei Mōra.
…
Hikaru was certain Ōtsutsuki Urashiki possessed a Kekkei Mōra.
After all, Hikaru could not possibly mistake that terrifying Yomotsu Hirasaka, the same kind of ability used by Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
Although Urashiki had possessed that power, his performance with it had been disgracefully ugly.
But Hikaru did not find that strange.
Kaguya had already set the precedent, and Urashiki's personality was indeed speechless.
That arrogance and pride was something even Kaguya had not possessed, yet this man displayed it just by standing there.
To put it bluntly, he was almost comparable to the future Sasuke.
Though perhaps not worse than Sasuke.
After all, Sasuke only had to stand there and enemies would instinctively want to jump out and beat him up.
But Urashiki was not far behind.
The moment he stood there, he gave off the feeling that he was high above everyone and looked down on all others, naturally making people feel uncomfortable.
That kind of arrogance had determined many things.
Combat was never only about raw strength.
It was like chakra volume.
Many people believed the more chakra a shinobi had, the stronger that shinobi was.
But that was not true.
Having more chakra only meant that a shinobi could unleash a higher upper limit. It did not mean they were truly strong.
It was not rare for someone to possess vast chakra but be poor at using it.
Likewise, even if someone possessed overwhelming power, their combat performance could still be badly affected by personality, tactics, fighting style, and experience.
Ōtsutsuki Urashiki was exactly such a case.
His strength was suffocatingly powerful, but his personality, combat experience, and related traits were also suffocatingly foolish.
Therefore, his defeat truly could not be called unexpected.
And after that defeat, whatever others did to his body was no longer his concern.
"What a terrifying body."
Hikaru silently put down the report and could not help sighing inwardly at how powerful these people were.
Even in death, this man was constantly reminding the world of his strength.
But this man had still been killed by Hikaru.
That made something stir in Hikaru's heart.
Of course, that was not the main point.
The main point was that if this man was so powerful, then what kind of things could be cultivated from him as nutrients for Hikaru's seeds?
That was what Hikaru cared about most.
That was also what he valued most.
"Even if I can separate only a tiny bit of power from someone like this, it will be enough to give me an enormous improvement.
"And I have his complete corpse. As long as I have enough time, I can definitely obtain everything I want.
"This man's entire body is treasure."
This idea had already begun forming in Hikaru's mind when he first encountered Urashiki.
But only after seeing this report did it fully mature into something intense and almost greedy.
Now, when Hikaru looked at the dissected Ōtsutsuki Urashiki again, he no longer felt disgusted.
After all, in his eyes, every part of this man was now material.
How could he feel disgusted when thinking that way?
"He is indeed absurdly powerful, but that is good for us."
Tobirama continued recording as he slowly spoke.
"Most importantly, I discovered certain things in this man's body that have very high compatibility with you and my elder brother.
"That means once enough experiments are done to ensure there will be no problems, I can try using his power to strengthen you.
"And after obtaining this man's power, your strength will definitely rise to another level."
At this point, Tobirama's eyes shone faintly.
It was clear he was looking forward to this.
However, Hashirama showed little interest in that result.
He seemed more concerned about why this man's physique and strength were so powerful.
He already knew this man had major flaws in personality, tactics, and actual combat experience.
But knowing that did not mean those problems could be easily solved.
Moreover, no one knew whether such monsters would descend upon the shinobi world again.
And no one could guarantee whether the next one would be like this one.
As one of the shinobi world's strongest people, Hashirama knew he would inevitably face such enemies.
Understanding their abilities and characteristics naturally became one of the most important things for him.
But understanding was one thing.
That did not mean Hashirama had to transplant parts of their bodies into himself and turn into something neither human nor ghost.
It was not that he approved of human experimentation.
In truth, he did oppose it.
Even toward enemies, he would not necessarily do something that insulted the dead.
But the beings before them were not merely enemies.
That was why Hashirama had abandoned his usual principles and cooperated with Tobirama in examining this body.
Even so, there were certain lines he would not cross.
Besides, in his view, was his own potential so poor that he had to transplant something from this person's body into himself?
Hashirama was a proud man.
Although he often appeared somewhat lacking in confidence in daily life, deep down, he was still confident.
If he truly lacked confidence, how could he have stood at the summit of the shinobi world beside someone like Uchiha Madara?
In past battles, he had even held a certain advantage against Madara.
"I don't need it. I believe I can handle things myself."
Hashirama looked over Tobirama's notes while speaking calmly.
"I admit he is very strong, but I still have confidence. So using something from his body is unnecessary for me."
"Brother?"
Tobirama frowned when he heard Hashirama's words.
Clearly, he was not satisfied with this result.
"This is not the time to be stubborn. Our priority is increasing our strength to deal with their threat.
"Of course I know your ability, but these people are, to put it bluntly, beyond our dimension.
"Hikaru was able to deal with this one because this one was careless. But if the next one doesn't have such a strange personality, then…"
"I don't think there is any need to continue arguing about this."
Before Tobirama could finish, Hikaru interrupted directly.
As he spoke slowly, he raised his head and looked at Hashirama and Tobirama before continuing.
"Admittedly, we truly don't know what kind of opponent we may face in the future. But there is one thing Tobirama-senpai has mistaken.
"Everyone develops along a different path. Forcing others to develop according to your own expectations often only creates tragedy.
"Hashirama-senpai has his own thoughts and his own path. There is no need for us to change that.
"After all, Hashirama-senpai already possesses the power to injure, or even kill, those enemies."
…
Forcing others to act according to your own ideas might sometimes produce positive results.
But most of the time, the outcome was unsatisfactory.
That was not a joke.
In Hikaru's previous life, one of his classmates had used the first half of his life to prove that conclusion.
Hikaru's childhood family environment had been decent, but his parents had never forced him to do this or that.
They mostly allowed him to choose according to his own personality.
So Hikaru had not joined many extra tutoring classes as a child. He had enjoyed a fairly free childhood worth remembering.
But one of his classmates who had studied with him since childhood had been different.
That boy's schedule had been packed since he was young.
Weekends were supposed to be holidays, but in reality, they were just days when he started new lessons elsewhere.
Hikaru admitted that this person had always studied well.
He had always ranked near the top of the class.
He had earned awards like "Outstanding Student" and "Excellent Study Representative" until his hands went soft.
Hikaru and his other friends had envied him when they were young.
After all, that guy had always been the model of "someone else's child."
One could say that from primary school to high school, he had always been a representative of excellence.
He later scored highly enough to enter a good university.
As for Hikaru, he had fought desperately just to enter a lower-tier second-rate university.
But several years after graduating and working, when Hikaru saw that classmate again, he suddenly discovered that the man seemed to have aged more than ten years.
They randomly found a small bar and chatted.
Only then did Hikaru learn how terrible the situation of that once outstanding person had become.
Because he had only known how to study since childhood, his interpersonal skills were practically negative.
After graduating from university and joining a company, he had never received promotion or importance.
That had left him extremely lost.
Most importantly, he had once argued with his superior, worsening his situation even further.
After so many years of frustration, he finally understood that society was still built on human relationships.
It was not enough to simply be excellent.
Only after being excellent, while also handling all kinds of relationships well and making others know and remember you, could you gain opportunities to be valued.
But since childhood, he had only known how to memorize textbooks and bury his head in study.
He had always been indifferent to the people around him.
As a result, he simply did not know how to deal with those things.
As for his family, years of high-pressure life had filled him with dissatisfaction toward his parents, and their relationship had become extremely poor.
Perhaps because he had grown up, the gentle persuasion his parents had constantly whispered into his ear when he was young became something he found deeply repulsive.
He felt he should have independent thoughts.
But none of his ideas received any recognition.
In the end, the two sides even fought to the point where they nearly cut ties forever.
Even now, Hikaru remembered what he had said.
He said that when he was studying, he had already felt very tired.
So tired he could barely breathe.
He said he felt he was not living for himself, but for the person his parents had shaped from the regrets they once had.
He also said that when he was studying, he had once thought about jumping off a building.
There had been quite a few such cases back then.
But he had never dared to do it.
Especially at the end, he said he had actually envied Hikaru.
Although his parents used to say all day that Hikaru only knew how to play and never studied, and that Hikaru would have no future, he still envied him.
Deep down, he had never believed his parents were right.
Of course, reality had also proven that Hikaru had done much better than him.
At least before transmigrating, Hikaru had indeed been doing better than him.
One could say that this person, who had been outstanding since childhood and had always moved forward according to his parents' blueprint, had become a massive tragedy.
He had been placed inside a circle drawn by others.
Inside that circle, he could wander, be shaped, and receive all kinds of praise and encouragement.
But the moment he stepped outside that circle, or even touched its edge, he would receive the harshest reprimand and be pushed back without hesitation.
As for how that person was doing now, Hikaru did not know.
After that meeting, he had left the city and returned to the place where he worked, continuing that endless, repetitive life.
Until Hikaru transmigrated, they never contacted each other again.
Tobirama was naturally not Hashirama's parent, nor could he cause damage to that degree.
But their situation still made Hikaru instinctively remember this matter.
In Hikaru's view, sometimes personal growth truly required guidance, not forced demands.
No matter how good the starting point was, if it did not suit the person, then it did not suit the person.
Look at how Uchiha Itachi treated Sasuke in the future, trapping him like a fool inside a circle and forcing him to walk a predetermined path.
It seemed like he was helping Sasuke and trying to make him a great hero of Konoha.
But every person was an independent individual.
Their thoughts and ideas were different.
So Itachi's actions ultimately brewed a complete tragedy all the same.
Hikaru's words made Tobirama frown.
Hashirama, on the other hand, showed a happy smile.
It was obvious their moods were completely different.
Tobirama truly had not expected Hikaru to support his brother's childish idea.
In his view, this was completely irrational.
How could Hikaru, someone extremely rational, support something like this?
However, Tobirama did notice something in Hikaru's words.
Hashirama had mastered a method that could injure or even kill those Ōtsutsuki.
That made him curious.
Did those Ōtsutsuki have a fatal weakness that could be used?
Thinking of this, he could not help asking,
"What ability are you talking about? Is it senjutsu?"
"Senjutsu is definitely effective. Senjutsu has always been a power beyond imagination, and those people basically do not possess it."
Hikaru nodded directly, because that was reality.
Before encountering these Ōtsutsuki, he had not thought deeply about this issue.
He had even believed the power these Ōtsutsuki used might all be senjutsu.
After all, those people controlled the Ten-Tails.
They used the Ten-Tails to form the God Tree.
If they sealed the Ten-Tails inside themselves, wouldn't that be equivalent to possessing senjutsu?
After all, when Naruto sensed the Ten-Tails, what he sensed was an endless, unimaginably vast mass of natural energy.
The Ten-Tails could absolutely be called an aggregate of senjutsu power.
But after truly fighting, Hikaru understood that his thoughts had been too simple.
These Ōtsutsuki did not have senjutsu.
The power they used was Kekkei Mōra, something that surpassed the level of ordinary chakra and stood at the peak of power.
That power could suppress and analyze all chakra, or rather, all powers formed from chakra.
But it did not truly suppress senjutsu or Yin-Yang Release.
It could even be harmed by those two powers, and those powers could produce fatal effects.
Hashirama already knew senjutsu.
And now he was also studying Yin-Yang Release, with decent results.
Even though he had not fused Yin Release and Yang Release yet, the things he had mastered could still create enormous destructive power.
"So that is it. Senjutsu and Yin-Yang Release actually have that effect. You killed him using those powers…"
After hearing Hikaru's explanation, Tobirama nodded with a complicated expression.
This was indeed good news.
Although Tobirama did not know senjutsu, he had made decent progress in Yin Release.
Especially after reading the records left by the Ōtsutsuki on the moon, he had gained some understanding of both powers.
His grasp of Yin Release in particular was quite good.
This meant that if he faced such terrifying enemies and handled things properly, avoiding a fatal blow from the opponent, then if they became careless, he would not be entirely without a chance to deliver a deadly strike.
However, having a method of attack was one thing.
The gap in fundamentals was still huge.
Tobirama was very clear about that.
It was like a child holding a knife.
The knife could be fatal to anyone.
But the child needed both the chance and the ability to send the blade into the enemy's body.
Facing those Ōtsutsuki, Tobirama was certain he was the child.
Actually achieving such a result would be far too difficult.
"It seems we need to go to the moon again."
Thinking of this, Tobirama no longer focused on using this corpse's cells to strengthen Hikaru and his brother.
He began considering something else.
Experiments would still continue, but they did not necessarily need to be completed in the shinobi world.
After all, if something went wrong, it would be difficult to predict the consequences.
The moon was in space, far from the shinobi world.
After Hikaru's last purge, the Ōtsutsuki on the moon had basically been wiped out.
At least during these three years, whether they used clones to rebuild the moon's interior or went there in person, they had not discovered any other life.
Therefore, in the quiet environment of the moon where no one else existed, Tobirama felt it would be a better experimental site.
Of course, if that were the only reason, it would not be enough.
The most important reason was that he hoped to improve himself further.
After understanding that his strength was insufficient, he was unwilling to remain this way.
Although his brother and Hikaru did not seem to intend to use this man's cells to strengthen themselves, Tobirama did not care that much.
As long as it was necessary and safe, he could absolutely try using this power.
His goal was also to protect the shinobi world.
His methods were merely more "flexible."
Therefore, such experiments might easily cause others to misunderstand.
The moon, where no one else existed, was perfect.
In addition, the moon still had books left by the vanished Ōtsutsuki.
Those would also greatly help him improve his strength.
Although the moon's Ōtsutsuki were vastly different from true Ōtsutsuki, their ancestor was the younger brother of the Sage of Six Paths.
These two reasons were already enough for him to make this decision.
Moreover, he had another thought he did not want to say.
He could not determine whether this corpse would attract the attention of other Ōtsutsuki.
If it did, it would be a disaster.
If this corpse truly acted as a locator, then it would be better to let it locate the moon.
That would reduce trouble for the shinobi world.
"To the moon?"
Hikaru nodded seriously when he heard this.
"That is a good idea. I can feel my eyes are about to improve further.
"Going to the moon and using that giant Tenseigan's power for the next attempt is definitely a good idea."
"Your eyes are about to improve?"
Hikaru's words immediately caught Hashirama and Tobirama's attention.
They naturally knew what Hikaru's eyes meant.
According to Hikaru, if he had not relied on the power provided by those eyes, he might not have lasted until the final moment, nor completed the kill against Ōtsutsuki Urashiki.
Although Hikaru had never explained exactly how his eyes would improve, nor what they would become after improvement, both of them had faced the Sharingan constantly during the Warring States era.
To put it bluntly, they understood dōjutsu very well.
What they were uncertain about now was whether Hikaru's improvement would be comparable to the leap from three-tomoe Sharingan to Mangekyō.
But they would not ask such a boring question.
Every shinobi had secrets of their own.
"If that is the case, then we really do need to go to the moon."
Hashirama also spoke very seriously.
At this moment, he no longer looked as lazy as before.
Instead, he seemed full of fighting spirit.
"We must temper ourselves properly. Only then can we face those people. Only then can we protect our shinobi world."
"Indeed."
Hikaru nodded lightly and smiled.
"Only with enough strength can we deal with them. After all, none of us want our home destroyed by bastards like that."
Although Hikaru had not been born in the shinobi world, and to the shinobi world he was technically an outsider, after so many years of development, his perspective had grown higher and farther.
One could say he had already treated the entire shinobi world as his own backyard.
How could he allow others to run wild in his backyard?
And based on Hikaru's guesses and understanding, those people intended to tear the entire garden apart.
"Right."
At that moment, Hashirama spoke again.
"I have an immature idea. I wonder what you think of it."
"Go ahead."
Hikaru came back to himself and asked curiously.
"I believe Hashirama-senpai's ideas are still quite constructive."
"The people we need to deal with now are extremely troublesome and difficult. Since that is the case, why don't we find more people who can help?"
"Uh. You mean…"
"Mm. What do you think about reviving Uchiha Madara?"
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