Gento stepped forward and bowed respectfully:
"Lord Hashirama, I resurrected you using the Forbidden Jutsu, Edo Tensei."
Hashirama heard this, and a puzzled expression immediately appeared on his face:
"Hmm? Who are you?"
Tsunade beside him stepped forward and said:
"Grandfather, he is the current head of the Uchiha clan, Gento Uchiha."
Only then did Hashirama realize that his granddaughter Tsunade was actually present.
A look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face right away.
"Oh... it's Tsunade? You've grown so big."
Tsunade walked up to Hashirama.
She opened her mouth to say something, but found herself choking up.
Seeing this, Hashirama hurriedly and clumsily tried to comfort his granddaughter.
"Don't cry, Tsunade."
"It's so good to see you again..."
Once Tsunade's emotions calmed down a bit, Hashirama changed the subject:
"By the way, Tsunade, you should have been married long ago, right?"
"Who is your husband?"
As he spoke, his eyes kept darting toward Gento.
Tsunade could not help but feel a bit embarrassed.
Gento immediately stepped forward to introduce himself:
"Grandfather Hashirama... although for some reasons Tsunade and I aren't married yet, we already have a child!"
Hashirama was stunned.
He first looked at Tsunade, then at Gento, and then suddenly burst into loud laughter.
He sized up Gento carefully once more.
Black hair and black eyes, a calm temperament, and a small pink gourd hanging at his waist.
His body indeed carried the chakra fluctuations of the Uchiha clan.
Furthermore, the intensity of the chakra on his body far surpassed that of any Uchiha he had ever seen.
Even Madara Uchiha might be slightly inferior to him.
"What? You already have a child?"
"Hahaha! Good! Excellent!"
He put his hands on his hips, threw his head back, and laughed exceptionally heartily.
"The marriage of Uchiha and Senju, this is something Madara and I failed to achieve back then! Splendid!"
"Looking at it this way, the relationship between the Uchiha and the Senju is quite good today!"
"With the two clans joining forces, is the Hidden Leaf of today built up exceptionally well?"
"Honestly, that fellow Madara even said my method wouldn't work, claiming that the concept of 'one clan, one village' would fail sooner or later..."
"I think things are quite fine right now."
"Can you also reanimate Madara through Edo Tensei? I must tell him all about this when I see him."
"Let him see that my dream was not wrong!"
The corners of Gento's mouth twitched barely.
The thought process of this God of Shinobi was indeed beyond comparison for ordinary people.
Tsunade hesitated for a moment but still said to Hashirama:
"Grandfather, do not be in a hurry. The shinobi world today might be a little different from what you think."
Subsequently, she recounted the history of the Hidden Leaf after Hashirama's death, detail by detail.
From Tobirama succeeding as the Second Hokage, to the First Great Shinobi War.
From Hiruzen Sarutobi taking over as the Third, to the Second and Third Great Shinobi Wars.
From the Nine-Tails incident and the death of the Fourth Hokage, to the Uchiha being forced out and the death of the Third Hokage.
As Hashirama listened, the smile on his face gradually vanished, replaced by gravity and anger.
Hearing that his younger brother Tobirama had been ambushed and killed by the Hidden Cloud's Kinkaku and Ginkaku Force, Hashirama could not help but sigh with deep regret.
"Tobirama... that fool! He was the most cautious of us, how could he..."
His voice was low, his eyes filled with sorrow.
Hearing that the Third Hokage's administration was full of blunders and that the Fourth died shortly after taking office, Hashirama's face grew so dark it seemed ready to drip water.
Hearing that the Third Hokage had allied with the Hidden Leaf consultants to force out the Uchiha, the killing intent on Hashirama's body suddenly erupted.
"Hiruzen... how could he do such a thing!"
"The Hidden Leaf was established by Madara and me together. The Uchiha are the founding ministers of the Hidden Leaf! How dared he..."
Tsunade did not stop, continuing her narration.
The Third Hokage returned to office and died in battle, and the Hidden Leaf faced siege by three great shinobi villages, hanging in the balance of life and death.
Until she succeeded as the Fifth Hokage.
The Uchiha's Hidden Gento Village cast aside past grudges and extended a helping hand to the Hidden Leaf, which finally brought an end to the war.
Hearing this, Hashirama let out a long breath, the killing intent on his body slowly receding.
He looked at Tsunade, his eyes full of heartache and guilt.
"It has been hard on you, Tsunade. Carrying so much on your own all these years..."
Tsunade shook her head, a trace of a smile curling at the corners of her lips:
"It wasn't hard. Everything has gotten better now."
"By the way!"
Hashirama suddenly remembered something, the smile returning to his face once more.
"Hurry and take me to see my great-grandson!"
Tsunade and Gento exchanged a glance, both seeing helplessness and amusement in each other's eyes.
This God of Shinobi, once he stepped out of the heavy history, instantly recovered his boisterous personality.
The three returned to the Hokage Office.
Shizune was holding Shiva, playing in the corridor.
Seeing Gento and Tsunade return, Shiva reached out his arms for a hug.
The moment Hashirama entered the door, his gaze fell on Shiva.
For no reason at all, he felt a warm, familiar aura from this two-year-old child.
"Kid, come let your great-grandpa hold you!"
Hashirama reached out his hands, his face full of anticipation.
Tsunade smiled on the side and said:
"Shiva, quickly call him great-grandpa!"
Shiva was quite clever.
Though he didn't know who this person was, seeing both his mother and father smiling, he beamed.
He stretched out his hands toward Hashirama and called out in a babyish voice:
"Great-grandpa!"
Hashirama took Shiva from the hands of an utterly horrified Shizune.
"Ah! Good boy!"
Hashirama looked at Shiva, his eyes filled with gratification.
Standing to the side, Tsunade felt a warm current surge in her heart as she watched her grandfather's happy face.
She had not smiled like this in a very, very long time.
Gento watched the interaction between Hashirama and Shiva, his eyes flickering.
He opened the system panel, pulling up Shiva's personal information:
[Name: Shiva Uchiha]
⟩ Father: Gento Uchiha
⟩ Mother: Tsunade Senju
⟩ Bloodline: Uchiha Clan (Yin-Attribute Chakra Talent), Senju Clan (Yang-Attribute Chakra Talent)
⟩ Talent Trait: Natural-Born Sage
The talent trait allowed Shiva to be attuned to natural energy, and also allowed him to automatically awaken Sage Mode at twelve years of age.
However, that was the latest possible point.
If there was someone to guide him, he could even awaken it even earlier!
And in the entire shinobi world, who could understand Sage Mode better than Hashirama?
Furthermore, the child nurturing system could bind a mentor to a child, and the mentor's aptitude would directly affect the child's growth speed.
Who else could be more suitable to be Shiva's mentor than Hashirama?
Although Shiva was not yet of age, letting him come into contact with Hashirama ahead of time was certainly a good thing.
Gento was currently scheming in his heart.
Suddenly, blue light flashed before him, and a scroll manifested out of thin air.
It was precisely an urgent message sent by Mabui using the Heavenly Transfer Jutsu.
He caught the scroll, unfurled it, and saw only a few words written on it:
[There's trouble in the Land of Lightning; return at once.]
Gento's heart stirred.
The situation in the Land of Lightning was progressing according to his plan.
For trouble to arise at this time, it was likely that an unexpected situation had occurred.
He tucked the scroll away and took his leave of Tsunade:
"Tsunade, there's an urgent matter in the Land of Lightning, I must rush back."
"As for the Otsutsuki business, please explain it in detail to grandfather."
Tsunade nodded:
"Don't worry, go on back."
Gento turned to Shiva, reaching out his hand:
"Shiva, let's go, it's time to return."
After a brief period of getting along, Hashirama and Shiva had already become exceptionally familiar with each other.
Hashirama was holding Shiva right now, the two of them playing to their hearts' content.
Hashirama used his chakra to manifest a few leaves, and Shiva reached out to grab them, giggling after catching them.
Hearing Gento's words, Hashirama's smile suddenly froze, his face hardening.
"Hmph! Return where?"
"If you want to return, return by yourself!"
Saying so, Hashirama turned around holding Shiva, his back to Gento, his tone full of stubbornness.
"Our little Shiva is staying in the Hidden Leaf, and going nowhere!"
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