Chapter 393: The Second Hokage Learns the Truth
"What? It's actually the Second Hokage?!"
When everyone saw Akamaru run up to Senju Tobirama and start barking at him, their faces filled with disbelief.
Before, they hadn't known much. But ever since the Impure World Reincarnation revival, everyone had learned about the First and Second Hokage.
If they had to rank them, the Second Hokage would undoubtedly be the most serious one, without question.
And yet, unexpectedly, he turned out to be the key figure in this incident!
Various images flashed through their minds.
The Second Hokage, due to his prejudice against the Uchiha, had a conflict with Sasuke.
Sasuke awakened a space-time dōjutsu and cut off a certain part of Tobirama… then threw it away…
Speaking of that…
Everyone's gaze shifted at the same time.
They all looked over with intense curiosity.
"It's recovered."
"Based on what that Akatsuki member said earlier, it should've just recovered this morning, right?"
"Mm-hmm."
"..."
"What exactly are you all trying to do? This isn't a place you should be."
Senju Tobirama frowned and scolded them.
These youngsters whispering things he couldn't understand was one thing, but why were they all staring behind him?
Wait!
Suddenly, Tobirama thought of the greatest enemy he had encountered after being revived through Impure World Reincarnation, Uchiha Hikari.
Why did Uchiha Hikari hate both the Senju and Uchiha so much?
Aside from being sealed and tormented by both clans, the most crucial reason was that Hashirama and Madara's bond had created the current ninja world, a world full of tangled "bonds."
Hikari despised Konoha because it was the center of such bonds, where bond-type shinobi were the most common.
Although Tobirama didn't get along with Hikari, he agreed with her on this point.
Bond-type shinobi were indeed harmful to the ninja world.
If everyone focused on "bonds", the population would decline, and the number of high-quality shinobi would also decrease.
So Tobirama paid attention to this issue as well.
In the new generation, there should only be Naruto and Sasuke as a pair of bond-type shinobi.
Could it be that they had influenced others?
These youngsters… their gazes were very improperly directed behind him…
That wasn't right.
It was one thing for the boys to look, but why were the girls looking too?
Oh, right.
Tobirama suddenly recalled another type of relationship described in Kakashi's books… something like "Ai."
"..."
Tobirama felt a chill run down his spine.
"Second Hokage-sama, have you had any conflicts with Sasuke in the past few days?"
Shikamaru stepped forward and asked.
Shikamaru prided himself on his intelligence, but due to limited information, he overlooked one thing, the Second Hokage's intellect was no less than that of the Nara clan.
The question itself was already valuable information.
The moment Shikamaru asked it, Tobirama became alert.
A conflict with Sasuke?
After being freed from chakra absorption by the Yachihoko technique, Tobirama regained mobility because his elder brother had personally gone to Shiromo to plead for him.
Hashirama had also asked for Madara's release, prompting Sasuke to undo the Chibaku Tensei.
But after Tobirama recovered and stood up again, he noticed something strange.
His brother looked at him oddly.
And Sasuke avoided his gaze, as if he didn't dare meet his eyes.
Tobirama had quietly taken note of these abnormalities.
He had planned to investigate them slowly over the next few days, but now, clues had appeared immediately.
"Yes, there was some conflict."
Tobirama nodded calmly.
"Second Hokage-sama, did Uchiha Sasuke awaken some kind of space-time type dōjutsu?"
Shigaraki Tanuki stepped forward and asked.
Tobirama glanced at him. He didn't recognize this man, and he clearly wasn't part of the younger generation.
Sasuke's Rinnegan ability was key intelligence…
"Second Hokage-sama, I used to be one of Danzō's subordinates. I came here today to hand over the research task he assigned me to Orochimaru-sama. This is proof."
Tanuki sensed Tobirama's distrust and took out his contribution card.
"No need to show it to me. I can tell you, but in exchange, you must tell me why you're here."
Tobirama's gaze sharpened as it swept across the group.
Under that stare, everyone broke out in cold sweat.
Given the current state of the ninja world, it didn't really matter whether the Five Great Nations knew about Sasuke's abilities. The only real enemy was Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, lurking somewhere, and other Ōtsutsuki who hadn't yet arrived.
At most, they only needed to prevent Isshiki's faction from finding out.
But since they were already here, they might as well use Sasuke's abilities as bait.
If Isshiki learned about it, he would surely try to seize the Rinnegan or eliminate Sasuke.
That would expose him and force him into action.
Of course, the original plan to have Sasuke use his ability to directly search for Isshiki would still remain.
"O-Okay… but please don't get angry, Second Hokage-sama."
With Shikamaru's signal, everyone began recounting the entire incident, each adding their part.
"Wait here. I'll be back shortly."
After listening, Tobirama's face turned ashen.
Just thinking about how that part of his body had been seen by all these juniors made him want to dismember that "inherently evil Uchiha" Sasuke.
But before that, he needed to confirm something.
Tobirama returned to the monitoring room where he had previously stayed and accessed the surveillance footage.
Finally, he saw what had happened.
Because Sasuke had used Chibaku Tensei to flip the house, the external surveillance had captured everything clearly.
Sasuke used Amenotejikara to swap places with Naruto mid-flight…
Tobirama couldn't bear to watch and fast-forwarded.
Eventually, he saw the moment when a part of his body suddenly disappeared. That must be what the younger generation had been talking about.
Then came this morning.
Sasuke returned, knocked Naruto out again, and approached him nervously. After pretending to chat casually, Sasuke's expression suddenly changed when Tobirama wasn't looking.
Then he clutched his eye and collapsed weakly.
At the time, Tobirama hadn't noticed.
Clearly, Sasuke had used his ability again, but on whom, it was unclear.
At that moment, Hashirama returned.
Unlike Tobirama, Hashirama hadn't had his chakra drained, nor was he a "damaged body" like Madara. His sensory abilities were extremely sharp.
Facing the mysterious object flying toward him, Hashirama clapped his hands, causing trees to surge from the ground and bind the flying object, preventing it from returning to its owner.
After seeing what it was, Hashirama scratched his head in confusion.
He muttered, "This doesn't look like Madara's, though…"
Clearly, Hashirama had seen Madara's before, but not his younger brother's.
Or perhaps he had, when they were children, and simply didn't remember anymore.
(End of this chapter)