Inside the quiet ward of Konoha Hospital, the atmosphere felt unusually heavy.
Senju Tobirama stood silently beside the hospital bed, his expression gloomy as he looked at the unconscious man lying before him.
On the bed lay Senju Hashirama, the First Hokage.
His face was pale, and his breathing was weak. His normally powerful chakra presence had become faint, almost imperceptible.
For Tobirama, this sight felt deeply unfamiliar.
Ever since he could remember, his older brother had always been a figure full of vitality. In Tobirama's memories, Hashirama was the same as always—carefree, sometimes foolish in appearance, yet possessing strength so terrifying that even the most powerful shinobi feared him.
But now, that seemingly invincible brother looked fragile and powerless.
Tobirama frowned deeply.
"How did my brother's injuries become this severe?"
His voice carried a hint of anger and disbelief.
"It has already been several days. Under normal circumstances, his body should have healed itself by now."
Hashirama's regenerative ability was famous throughout the ninja world.
Even extremely severe injuries usually recovered quickly under his extraordinary vitality.
Yet this time, the situation was completely different.
Standing beside the bed, the attending doctor looked nervous under Tobirama's intense gaze.
He carefully organized his words before speaking.
"Hokage-sama… the First Hokage's injuries are not ordinary wounds."
Tobirama's eyes narrowed slightly.
The doctor continued cautiously.
"During the battle, the First Hokage forced his body to undergo multiple rapid cell divisions within a very short period of time."
"This allowed him to heal and maintain combat effectiveness during the fight, but it also caused severe damage to his life force."
The doctor paused briefly before adding the final explanation.
"Furthermore, his chakra reserves have been almost completely exhausted."
The ward became silent.
Tobirama lowered his gaze slightly.
"I see."
As someone who frequently conducted research and experiments himself, Tobirama understood the implications immediately.
Multiple rapid cell divisions.
That meant Hashirama had essentially burned through his own vitality to sustain the battle.
A normal person might not even survive such a strain.
Hashirama had survived—but the price was devastating.
After a long pause, Tobirama asked another question.
"When my brother wakes up this time…"
His voice became slightly hoarse.
"...how much time does he have left?"
Even Tobirama himself did not realize that his voice was trembling slightly.
The doctor hesitated.
Then he spoke quietly.
"At most… three months."
The words felt heavy as they fell into the silent room.
The doctor's voice became quieter and quieter.
The pressure inside the ward seemed to drop drastically.
Tobirama stared at the doctor expressionlessly.
The doctor felt cold sweat forming on his back.
"Hokage-sama…"
he said nervously.
Tobirama closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath.
"I understand."
He waved his hand calmly.
"You've worked hard. You may go and rest."
The doctor quickly bowed and left the ward.
Soon, only two people remained in the room.
Tobirama.
And the unconscious Hashirama.
The silence felt overwhelming.
Tobirama sat down slowly beside the bed.
Originally, he had intended to complain to his unconscious brother about all the frustrations he had been carrying recently.
But just as he was about to speak—
Hashirama suddenly muttered faintly.
"Madara… Madara…"
Tobirama froze.
His face immediately darkened.
"Madara? You're still talking about Madara?"
Tobirama's temper exploded instantly.
"He beat you into the hospital, and you're still thinking about him?!"
His voice carried a mixture of anger and helplessness.
Recently, Tobirama had been under enormous pressure.
The entire responsibility of managing Konoha Village had fallen onto his shoulders.
He had barely slept.
His hair had practically turned white from stress—
Well… it had already been white from the start.
But everything he was doing now—
Wasn't it all for the sake of the village his brother had created?
Konoha was no longer simply the dream shared by Hashirama and Madara.
Now, it was the dream of every ninja in Konoha.
Yet the man who created that dream was lying here unconscious, still calling out the name of his former friend.
Just then—
"Great-Grandfather!"
A clear and energetic voice suddenly sounded from the doorway.
Before the Anbu guards outside could react, a young girl with blonde twin-tails rushed into the room.
"Granduncle, you're here too!"
Seeing Tobirama, the girl's voice immediately softened.
She scratched her head awkwardly.
It was Tsunade.
Tobirama blinked slightly.
Then a rare smile appeared on his face.
"Oh, it's little Tsunade."
"Did you come to visit your great-grandfather?"
Tobirama tried his best to soften his tone.
However, in Tsunade's eyes, Tobirama still looked as stern and intimidating as ever.
"Yes, Granduncle."
Tsunade nodded.
"I heard that Great-Grandfather was injured by Uchiha Madara."
Her small fists clenched tightly.
"When I grow up, I'm definitely going to beat Madara up!"
She waved her tiny fist in the air with a serious expression.
Tobirama raised an eyebrow.
"Madara is already dead."
"There's no need for little Tsunade to seek revenge."
Then he smiled slightly.
"However, Madara still has a relative…"
"And that person seems to be your classmate."
"How about you deal with him when you grow up?"
Tsunade froze.
For a moment, she didn't know how to respond.
Then she suddenly looked toward the window.
"Oh! The weather is really nice today!"
She laughed awkwardly.
"Granduncle, you should stay here and accompany Great-Grandfather."
"Jiraiya and Orochimaru are still waiting for me to go play with them!"
Before Tobirama could respond—
Tsunade had already dashed out of the ward.
In an instant, she disappeared from sight.
The ward fell silent once again.
At that moment, Hashirama muttered again in his sleep.
"Madara… this is all for the village…"
"Madara… why did you abandon our dream…"
"Madara… I'm sorry…"
One murmur after another escaped from Hashirama's lips.
Tobirama looked at his brother with an extremely complicated expression.
A strange thought suddenly appeared in his mind.
Could it be…
Does the Uchiha clan possess some kind of strange charm?
The older one was so obsessed that he couldn't even distinguish directions anymore.
And judging from the younger generation…
It seemed the same problem might continue.
For a brief moment, Tobirama even wondered whether something was wrong with the Senju clan's ancestral graves.
After staying in the hospital for a short while, Tobirama finally stood up and left.
Hokage Building
Back inside the Hokage Building, Tobirama immediately returned to work.
The situation in the Ninja World had already become extremely dangerous.
War could erupt at any moment.
Under these circumstances, Konoha had to take immediate strategic actions.
Tobirama sat at his desk and began analyzing the political landscape.
After some thought, he reached a decision.
"Konoha should form an alliance with the Land of Lightning."
Among the five great nations, the Land of Lightning possessed one of the strongest ninja villages.
If Konoha could establish an alliance with them, the benefits would be enormous.
After carefully organizing the details of the alliance proposal, Tobirama called for an Anbu member.
"Deliver this letter to the Land of Lightning immediately."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
The Anbu disappeared instantly.
Hidden Mist Village
Inside the Mizukage Office Building, the office had once again been transformed into a large conference room.
Just like two months earlier during the meeting about the village's development.
At the head of the table sat Hōzuki Gengetsu, the Second Mizukage.
Around the room sat many of the most influential figures in the Hidden Mist Village.
These included:
The head of the Kaguya Clan, Kaguya Yūsuke
Renowned ninja such as Gen'shi
Various leaders of powerful ninja clans
Even the wealthiest merchant in the Hidden Mist Village
The merchant looked extremely uncomfortable sitting among so many powerful shinobi.
He clearly felt out of place.
Standing before them all was Uchiha Su.
Su calmly scanned the room.
Most clan leaders wore indifferent expressions.
Meanwhile, figures like Gengetsu and Gen'shi looked far more serious.
Finally, Su began speaking.
"I'm very grateful that everyone could come here today."
"I invited you here to discuss an extremely important matter regarding the future of the Hidden Mist Village."
Before he could continue—
A man with pale skin and sharp teeth interrupted impatiently.
"Alright, our future Third Mizukage."
"Skip the pleasantries and get to the point."
The man grinned slightly.
His name was Hoshigaki Hayato, the leader of the Hoshigaki Clan.
Although the Hoshigaki clan did not possess a bloodline limit, they were known for their unusually large chakra reserves.
Su nodded calmly.
"Very well."
He looked around the room.
"Recently, many of you may have heard a piece of news."
"My uncle… Uchiha Madara."
"Died in battle while fighting the First Hokage."
Immediately, Uchiha Setsuna slammed his hand on the table.
"That news must be fake!"
"How could Lord Madara die so easily?!"
He was a devoted admirer of Madara.
In his eyes, Madara was practically invincible.
Hōzuki Gengetsu frowned thoughtfully.
His own intelligence sources had reported the same news.
Yet even he found it difficult to believe.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Hikari leaned lazily against her chair.
She didn't care about the discussion.
Her eyes simply followed Su quietly.
Su spoke again.
"However…"
"I did not call everyone here to deny this rumor."
His voice became colder.
"My uncle…"
"Did indeed die at the hands of Senju Hashirama."
The room instantly fell silent.
Hōzuki Gengetsu felt his throat go dry.
He had personally experienced the terrifying power of Uchiha Madara.
The despair of facing one of the legendary Heroes of the Warring States Era was unforgettable.
It was a power so overwhelming that resisting it felt impossible.
And now—
Su was telling them that such a legendary figure…
Had died.
Just like that.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)