"You all stay with Hashirama-sama. I'll head back to the village first and check on logistics."
"Hashirama-sama, I'll be waiting for you in Konoha..."
Hiruzen smiled at Hashirama.
"Of course, of course! Hiruzen, go take care of your work. The Uchiha can keep me company here!"
Hashirama hurriedly added, "Leave this to me!"
His excellent student had important business to handle. As his teacher, how could Hashirama possibly make things harder for him?
He had to help lighten Hiruzen's burden!
After Hiruzen left, Hashirama wrapped an arm around Tobirama's neck and sighed emotionally.
"Kid, you've suffered! But don't worry. Even if the person who wronged you was the Second Hokage, I'll make sure you get justice!"
"I'm his older brother and the First Hokage. Once I get back to the Pure Land, I'll beat him up for you!"
"He won't dare fight back!"
Tobirama was silent for a long moment before forcing his expression to remain composed.
"Then... thank you very much, First Hokage-sama."
"No need to thank me! It's only right!"
Hashirama burst out laughing and even reached over to pinch 'Seisui's' cheek, looking immensely satisfied.
For some reason...
Ever since learning that Seisui was supposedly descended from both Tobirama and Izuna...
Hashirama found the boy much more pleasant to look at.
His one-sided Tobirama warning radar had somehow transformed into the combined affection he felt for his brother and the Uchiha. Add in the guilt inspired by Seisui's tragic background...
And Tobirama had the strange feeling that the familial affection in Hashirama's eyes was even stronger now than it had been in their previous lives...
Was this really how things were supposed to work?
Hashirama headed toward the Iwa and Kumo formations with the Uchiha and Danzō, the group chatting and laughing along the way.
The atmosphere was remarkably cordial as they prepared for a pleasant round of negotiations.
There weren't many of them, yet no one worried about an enemy ambush or a sudden attack...
Even though the opposing side had former Kage from several villages, each with formidable abilities of their own...
Konoha had the shinobi world's most infamous walking mass of absurd stats.
An enraged plant man was no joke. This was someone who could even take down the Shura of the Shinobi World.
"Hashirama-sama, technically, I'm also a Senju now."
Isshin smiled and rolled up his sleeve, revealing the scar from his Hashirama-cell transplant on his shoulder.
"Most Uchiha have received transplants of your cells by now..."
"Thanks to you, my Mangekyō, which had once gone blind, is gradually recovering its sight. Most members of the Uchiha Clan have seen their Sharingan's ocular power increase, and their bodies have grown stronger as well."
"And it's not just the Uchiha. Many shinobi throughout the village have received your cells. Everyone has become more efficient on missions, and their quality of life has improved tremendously!"
"We all have your blood flowing through us now!"
Hashirama felt warmth surge through his heart.
Back then, he had repeatedly declared that 'Konoha was a part of his own body'...
He had never expected that metaphor to one day become literal!
"Wait..."
"Did anyone get hurt? My cells are actually rather unusual. Even I don't completely understand them sometimes. The vitality inside them isn't exactly easy to control..."
Hashirama suddenly became worried.
"Early on, there were indeed some failed transplant attempts."
"But the Third Hokage-sama quickly learned from those failures. First, he made sure the families were properly taken care of. Then he ordered the Research Department to reduce the aggressiveness of your cells."
Tomie explained, "After round after round of testing, transplanting your cells no longer poses a safety risk. The appropriate potency is selected according to each shinobi's individual compatibility..."
"At first, many people opposed that approach because they believed obtaining Wood Release was what really mattered."
"But the Third Hokage-sama overruled those objections. Looking at the results now, he was absolutely right. The grades and physical data of the children at the Academy all show that establishing a strong foundation is more important than obtaining a single ability like Wood Release..."
After spending so long in the Research Department, Tomie had picked up some knowledge of data analysis and the underlying principles behind their work. It was also something she genuinely needed in order to develop her Mangekyō abilities.
The stronger her understanding and analytical ability became, the more powerful her ocular abilities could become.
Fugaku followed up with the universal formula: "This is also an expression of the Will of Fire. Hokage-sama once said that power exists to bring about peace. Pursuing power in a way that destroys peace defeats the entire purpose..."
Tobirama listened without expression and said nothing.
The Uchiha these days were terrifying.
They could talk about the Will of Fire all day without missing a beat...
They were even better at it than he'd been when he was Hokage!
Every one of them had a few Hiruzen quotes ready to go. How was Hashirama supposed to withstand this?
They were practically reducing his big brother to a puddle...
Hashirama took a deep breath as he listened to the Uchiha discussing the Will of Fire.
Hiruzen really was something else!
If he'd managed to guide the Uchiha to this extent, then Hiruzen must have done an extraordinary job...
Tobirama was his brother, of course.
They had fought side by side and defeated countless opponents together. The two brothers had always worked exceptionally well together...
But Hiruzen was simply unbelievable!
Hashirama had decided to bring his talents over to Hiruzen's Will of Fire.
As for Tobirama...
Hashirama wished him all the best, whether he was in the Pure Land or wherever else he might be...
Though whether he would actually continue wishing Tobirama well was another matter.
After all, Mito was currently convinced that Uchiha Madara was Tobirama...
Once they returned to the village and Mito had a few words with him in private, Hashirama might suddenly find the soles of his sandals itching to hit someone!
With Hashirama at the center of the negotiations, accompanied by Isshin, Danzō, Tobirama, Fugaku, and Tomie, the Crimson Organization did not interfere in Konoha's negotiations with Kumogakure and Iwagakure over reparations.
Madara silently watched Hashirama through Hi-kun and sighed.
That man always left him feeling so helpless...
Even Madara himself couldn't quite understand how he felt.
If Hashirama hadn't thought he looked familiar at first, Madara might have been unhappy.
But if Hashirama had actually recognized him, Madara wasn't sure he could have handled that either...
His feelings were complicated.
'With Hiruzen as powerful as he is, and now Hashirama revived as well...'
Madara stared at his own hands, a thought stirring in his mind.
'Fortunately, I've found a way to control the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. I'll gradually drain its vitality like this!'
'The Will of Fire influences people by changing their environment, and its effects ultimately manifest through the material force of power.'
'But when one will comes into conflict with another, in the end, it still comes down to force...'
Madara had mistakenly interpreted the Kāma Isshiki had implanted in him as a method he'd discovered for using the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to restore what his body had lost.
'Two or three years should be enough...'
'During that time, I'll repair my body. And if I get the opportunity, I'll test Konoha's younger generation as well...'
Madara contemplated what he needed to do.
At that very moment, Isshiki sighed inside him.
What a shame.
They hadn't ended up fighting...
'Kaguya's son certainly knows how to choose his vessels...'
Isshiki thought from within Madara's body.
'I thought I sensed a Kāma on Sarutobi Hiruzen as well, but when I tried to probe more deeply, that unusual body of his blocked my perception.'
While Isshiki had been observing Sarutobi Hiruzen's battle, he had sensed the presence of another of his kind the moment Kaguya descended.
But the sensation had been faint.
Hiruzen's physical body had been constructed through Fūinjutsu. On one hand, it prevented his aura from leaking out; on the other, it filtered and blurred whatever traces did escape...
As a result, Isshiki had mistaken Kaguya for the Sage of Six Paths.
Or perhaps the two simply felt that similar.
'Since Uchiha Madara intends to assimilate the power of the Kāma, I'll give him a hand...'
A cold gleam flashed through Isshiki's eyes as he accelerated the transfer of his power into Madara.
As a vessel, Madara was vastly superior to Jigen.
Both in compatibility and in the efficiency of the transfer...
Meanwhile...
Far away in Konoha, the Sage of Six Paths had fallen into deep thought.
The situation in the shinobi world was becoming a little unfair!
'Was that presence I sensed on Hiruzen just my imagination? I'll observe him carefully once he's back in Konoha...'
'Probably one of Hamura's descendants, right? They're the only ones left on the moon. My Six Paths — Chibaku Tensei is still solid enough, and without the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, combining the tailed beasts' chakra is extremely difficult. It shouldn't have much to do with Hiruzen...'
'I'll add a little more to the stone tablet later. Then we'll see whether Hiruzen can figure it out.'
The Sage of Six Paths continued thinking.
Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't a reincarnation of Indra or Asura, after all, so there was no special connection between them.
Combined with the shielding properties of the Ten Thousand Seals Body Integration Seal...
If he wanted to clearly examine Hiruzen's condition, he would have to use the power of his true body.
Not only would that cause quite a disturbance, it also went against the Sage of Six Paths' longstanding educational philosophy, which happened to be rather similar to Fugaku's.
When it came to raising the shinobi world, his approach was hands-off.
'Indra's reincarnation... Madara...'
'I can at least confirm that he's become a vessel for Mother's enemy.'
The Sage of Six Paths was still thinking when he noticed Sasuke staring adorably at him with puffed cheeks.
"Ichiraku-ojichan, we still haven't settled our forehead battle from earlier!"
The Sage of Six Paths froze for a moment, then burst out laughing.
Their so-called 'forehead battle' was simply a little game between the old man and the boy, pressing their foreheads together and trying to push the other back...
"All right, all right! I'll play with you now!"
The Sage of Six Paths played with Sasuke for a while longer.
Once they were finished, the well-behaved Sasuke went back to helping with the ramen shop, working as a kitchen assistant.
He didn't even ask for wages...
Sasuke simply liked being around Uncle Ichiraku.
He always felt relaxed around him, and somehow, without even noticing, he would pick up little tricks for using chakra.
In a way, the fatherly affection he'd been missing from Fugaku, who was too busy obsessively studying magnetic combat arts, was being supplied by the Sage of Six Paths instead...
'That should do it...'
With a thought from the Sage of Six Paths, his true body in the Pure Land exerted its power.
First, through a special connection, he reached the Six Paths chakra within Uchiha Madara—the chakra that had allowed him to awaken the Rinnegan and was extremely similar to his own—and quietly planted a safeguard.
It reinforced Madara's sense of self.
As for whether that small amount of help would be enough for Madara to withstand Isshiki's erosion...
Even the Sage of Six Paths didn't know.
And when it came to Hashirama, who was happily mingling with the Uchiha, the Sage of Six Paths was equally fair.
He couldn't favor one over the other!
Since he'd given Madara a little help, it was only right to give Hashirama some as well.
After all, the situation in the shinobi world was no longer what it had once been. More and more hidden players were beginning to emerge...
At that moment...
Hashirama, who was negotiating with Iwagakure and Kumogakure, suddenly began glowing with a soft green light.
Tobirama and the Uchiha couldn't help but turn toward him.
Hashirama's Impure World body seemed to become even more lifelike!
Ōnoki, who was in the middle of drafting the reparations agreement, immediately tensed. Almost instinctively, he increased both the monetary compensation and the number of secret techniques being offered...
The Third Raikage did the same.
"What's going on with me?"
Hashirama exclaimed in shock.
"Wait, don't mind me! I don't know what's happening either!"
Ōnoki and the Third Raikage forced smiles onto their faces.
As Kage, they understood things differently from the ordinary shinobi beneath them...
They had long heard that although the God of Shinobi might look like a simpleton, his favorite negotiating tactic was to flatten a mountain first, then sit down at the table and dramatically bang his head against it while pleading for compromise...
That way, he got both the moral high ground and the respect he wanted.
'He's using that trick again? As expected of Big Brother...'
Tobirama nodded inwardly.
Izuna gave a dry laugh. This was exactly why he'd opposed peace between the Senju and Uchiha back then...
This trick had even fooled his big brother into looking like an idiot!
Of course, watching it from Hashirama's side was actually quite enjoyable...
Isshin and Fugaku exchanged glances, unable to keep themselves from admiring the First Hokage's negotiating skills.
The moment he released some vitality, the other side immediately became cooperative!
Hashirama scratched his head and grinned foolishly. His body felt a little warmer, but he didn't pay much attention to it.
After all, this sort of thing had happened to him all the time when he was young. He'd go to sleep, wake up, and somehow discover that his vitality had increased dramatically.
It was almost as though his body trained itself...
Even the Sage of Six Paths, when observing Hashirama—Asura's reincarnation whose traits had reverted toward those of the Divine Tree—sometimes couldn't quite understand how Hashirama's cells actually worked...
His younger son certainly hadn't been like this!
After returning to Konoha, Hiruzen picked up his pipe and prepared to think through how he should negotiate with Kaguya.
Suddenly, a spiraling spatial distortion appeared in front of him.
Obito, wearing a mask, stepped out of the Kamui dimension.
Strictly speaking, Obito shouldn't have been wearing a mask.
Appearing without warning in the Hokage's office looking like this, while concealing his identity, could very easily be interpreted as a hostile act.
But even after Fool Number Two had somehow evolved into Fool Number Three or Four, he still hadn't thought that far ahead.
Obito and Hi-kun had been watching Hiruzen's battle from the sidelines the entire time. To avoid being spotted by any passing shinobi, Obito had played it safe and kept on the mask he usually wore while training outdoors...
Then, the moment Hiruzen returned to the village, Obito rushed over in such a hurry that he completely forgot to take it off.
As soon as he entered the Hokage's office, the familiar surroundings washed over him, and he abruptly realized how inappropriate his entrance looked.
Hiruzen, however, was staring at Obito's Sharingan with great interest...
A spatial Mangekyō ability?
Long ago, when he'd been looking for a way to spar with Tobirama without being completely outclassed by his teacher, Hiruzen had specifically consulted Mito about the structure of space-related Fūinjutsu...
Now that he had developed the Ten Thousand Seals Body Integration Seal this far, he could finally incorporate that module into it, using it to reinforce his own stability within the surrounding space.
It wouldn't allow him to freely teleport like Kamui or the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Instead, it would create a field around Hiruzen that prevented space-based movement through sealing.
That would keep higher-level enemies from constantly keeping their distance from him and, at the very least, give him a fair chance to fight them in close combat.
"Hok—"
Obito had just begun to speak and reached up to remove his mask.
But Hiruzen raised a hand to stop him. He stared at Obito's Kamui Mangekyō for another moment, seemingly trying to identify something, then slowly walked up to him.
And pulled Obito into a warm embrace.
Obito's eyes immediately widened.
His entire body froze...
Wait...
Was happiness really allowed to come this suddenly?
"You little brat. I knew you were still alive!"
"Now tell me—what happened to those eyes of yours?"
Hiruzen vigorously ruffled Obito's spiky hair, then returned to his seat. He motioned for Obito to sit across from him and poured him a cup of hot tea.
Obito hurried over and sat down, removing his mask.
What he didn't realize was that his face had gone completely red with emotion...
Hiruzen had recognized him the moment he saw his Sharingan.
For an ordinary Uchiha, identifying Obito solely through eye contact and the ocular power contained within his eyes would have been extremely difficult...
But Hiruzen was different.
The Evil Sealing Method module within his Ten Thousand Seals Body Integration Seal had been rapidly completed with Seisui's family and Izuna serving as the main contributors, assisted by three-tomoe Sharingan users from throughout the Uchiha Clan...
Hiruzen had records of the ocular power of the entire Uchiha Clan.
When it came to understanding Uchiha ocular power, Hiruzen could rightfully call himself the true head of the Uchiha Clan...
"Have some tea. Take a moment to settle down..."
"I'm very glad to see you again, Obito."
Hiruzen smiled warmly. His expression carried all the gentle affection of an elder, though there was also a trace of sorrow in his voice.
"Those eyes of yours..."
"Awakening the Mangekyō means you must have suffered terribly these past few months, didn't you?"
"Come back to the village and get some proper rest. It isn't just me. Your grandmother, your teammates, Minato and Kushina... so many people have missed you. Those old folks are always going to clean your memorial stone..."
Hiruzen didn't rush to ask about Obito's Mangekyō ability.
Obito had returned to Konoha of his own accord and removed his mask.
The questions could wait.
Winning back his heart came first.
As Obito listened to Hiruzen, the scalding tea in his hands couldn't compare to the warmth surging through his chest. Tears streamed uncontrollably from his cold Mangekyō eyes...
He had been thinking...
After disappearing for so long, he'd suddenly returned with a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan and a body filled with Tobi's cells. Then, in another fit of stupidity, he'd barged recklessly into Hokage-sama's office...
Being scolded would have been perfectly understandable.
Even being attacked wouldn't have surprised him!
But Hokage-sama hadn't said any of that.
He had simply hugged him.
He hadn't asked about anything else...
He'd asked whether Obito was tired and told him to rest...
Obito tried to speak, but the tears burst forth like a broken dam, and he could only continue sobbing.
It was so good to be back in Konoha...
At that moment, Kaguya stared at the scene in utter disbelief, suddenly feeling that her vessel was impossibly profound.
Wait...
You could communicate with people like this?!
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