Sarutobi Hiruzen: "Lord Second, let me explain. At that time, Konoha was nearly besieged by the other Four Great Ninja Villages, and Wood Release was too important for Konoha, so..."
But Sarutobi Hiruzen's explanation clearly failed to satisfy Senju Tobirama.
Meanwhile, Senju Hashirama was already considering whether he should just kill this old fellow.
After all, both he and Tobirama had already been summoned; with them presiding over the overall situation, reorganizing Konoha would only be a matter of time.
While he was still thinking, Senju Tobirama had already moved!
"Lord Second, you..."
Dodging Senju Tobirama's Flying Raijin Slash at the critical moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen had a face full of disbelief.
He could not believe that his own teacher would actually attack him.
One must know that the Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation (Edo Tensei) used to summon them was a jutsu he had released. Was he not afraid that he would simply release the jutsu?
"Monkey, you truly disappoint me."
Through the gazes of the surrounding ninja and the various events on the Sky Screen, Senju Tobirama already knew that among his several students—except for Akimichi Torifu, who had gone into seclusion early—the rest had all become politicians.
They only thought about stealing Konoha's resources to fatten themselves up without wanting to make any sacrifices.
If the Sky Screen and the First Herrscher had not appeared, their true faces might never have been discovered. But once exposed, they would be loathed by all the ninja and residents of Konoha.
Especially in this state of public distress, it could be said that almost every ninja believed the reason Konoha faced destruction was due to the Third Hokage and the others targeting the Uchiha.
Even if they didn't say it out loud, that was what they thought deep down!
Therefore, to unite the people's hearts, he could only kill them as a sacrifice to the flag.
As for the loss of Konoha's already scarce combat power if they died...
Wasn't there still the Reanimation Jutsu (Edo Tensei)?
Once dead and summoned back, they would be much more useful than when they were alive!
Seeing the killing intent in Senju Tobirama's eyes, Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately realized the reason behind his teacher's actions.
He was, after all, the Third Hokage who had ruled for decades.
Perhaps his methods weren't particularly brilliant, but he wasn't a fool.
He could understand certain things with just a little thought.
For an event as massive as the destruction of Konoha, someone had to stand up and take responsibility.
Now that Danzo was gone, wasn't his turn come?
Damn it, Danzo, you bastard, you aren't even here, where on earth are you?
While complaining about the unreliable Danzo in his heart, Sarutobi Hiruzen did not stay idle. He immediately formed hand signs, intending to first release the Summoning Jutsu.
"Summoning Jutsu, release!"
However, when he formed the signs to release the Summoning Jutsu, he discovered that the First Hokage and Lord Second had not disappeared at all!
"How is this possible? Why haven't you disappeared?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression became even uglier. He gradually realized that he would most likely not see the sun tomorrow.
"The Reanimation Jutsu (Edo Tensei) was originally developed by me. Monkey, you should have erased our consciousness the moment you summoned us."
A flash of regret crossed Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes.
"Teacher, do you think I still have a chance?"
"Enough idle talk, die!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen died, falling at the hands of his teacher.
Sarutobi Hiruzen might have imagined many endings for himself, but he never could have imagined one like this.
Although Sarutobi Hiruzen was dead, what he left for Senju Tobirama was a massive mess.
A mess that no one knew when it could be cleaned up.
If it were only that, it would be fine, but the key was that he had also provoked an enemy they simply could not afford to offend right now—Uchiha Hoshi!
"It seems I must find a way for us to achieve resurrection. At the very least, I must bring big brother back to life."
Otherwise, he could not think of any other means to maintain the current situation.
...
Above the ruins of Konoha, Uchiha Hoshi let out a long sigh of relief as she looked at the Sky Screen, which no longer displayed any images.
"So far, everything is going smoothly."
She felt the vast Honkai Energy within her body and the newly opened Imaginary Space.
Of course, the most important thing was the Honkai Energy within that Imaginary Space!
That was the top priority.
With this Honkai Energy, her core would not become like drifting duckweed, and she wouldn't face the awkward situation of having no Honkai Energy to use.
Now, let alone her Core of the Herrscher of Reason, she could easily supply even three or four more Herrscher cores!
It could be said that the effect of the Sky Screen this time was even better than she had imagined.
"By all rights, I already possess the power to destroy the world, but it would be a bit of a waste to destroy the world at this moment."
Uchiha Hoshi looked at the Sky Screen, which had turned black again, as a thought surfaced in her mind.
"Should I try to see if I can create a cocoon of finality, a cocoon of finality that belongs to me?"
Uchiha Hoshi's heart pounded wildly.
Perhaps, it could work!
But before that, she had one more thing to do.
That was to find a way to fish out her parents' souls.
Although her parents seemed fine for now, who knew what that old man Sage of Six Paths was plotting, or if he would use her parents' souls to blackmail her!
"Scroll of Seals, where is the Scroll of Seals? I hope it wasn't destroyed under the breath of the Star Eater."
Uchiha Hoshi began to feel nervous. She started searching for the Scroll of Seals among the ruins of the Hokage Building and the Sarutobi Clan's compound.
Compared to the Scroll of Seals, her parents' relics were not that difficult to find.
Soon, Uchiha Hoshi found the Scroll of Seals in the underground treasury of the Sarutobi Clan.
That old fellow had simply treated this thing as his own.
Besides the Scroll of Seals, there were many gold and silver treasures, explosive tags, ninja tools, and various documents.
Uchiha Hoshi was not interested in the other things; she only wanted the Scroll of Seals.
"If it's chakra, that's easy to solve. If it's ninjutsu, that's also simple."
No matter how many traps this treasury had, she understood them all with a single glance and dismantled them in reverse.
As for the ninjutsu on the Scroll of Seals, she understood seventy to eighty percent of their principles with one look and had learned them after a second look.
"Simple, I can do it, I understand!"
Uchiha Hoshi projected chakra, then simulated the flow for the Reanimation Jutsu (Edo Tensei) and clapped her hands.
"Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation!"
Puff, puff—
The two corpses she had casually projected gradually changed shape. Finally, two familiar figures appeared before Uchiha Hoshi.
"Dad, Mom?" Uchiha Hoshi's voice trembled slightly.
Although she had awakened memories of her past life, these feelings were definitely not fake.
Her parents' unreserved love moved her.
"Hoshi?"
Uchiha Hoshi's parents opened their eyes and saw Uchiha Hoshi wearing Herrscher Armor. She didn't look like the fourteen or fifteen-year-old on the Sky Screen; she was still just a tiny little thing.