Just as Hashirama was about to deal with the other scattered rocks, a chill emanated from his back.
"Ice Release: Extreme Cold Ice Prison."
A blue-white light flashed, and the entire ground was covered in a layer of ice. Immediately, countless colossal ice spikes shot out from the ice surface, encasing and freezing all the remaining shattered rocks. The temperature in the valley plummeted abruptly; even the hot springs couldn't withstand the cold of this Ice Release. Some of the weaker individuals even began to shiver.
Torifū slowly melted and released the ice spikes, allowing the encased shattered rocks to fall steadily to the ground without causing any casualties. Seeing this, Hashirama finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was a good thing no one was hurt; otherwise, he truly would have become a living Grim Reaper.
The Oyashirō clan members didn't recognize Hashirama and were quite bewildered by his arrival. Some clan members tugged on Tsuki's sleeve, asking if this was the lord he spoke of. But Tsuki wasn't entirely sure if this was the helper the lord had found. Not until he saw the two familiar figures.
"Long time no see, Oyashirō Tsuki. Naori and I have fulfilled our promise. We've come to take you back to Konoha Village."
Seeing Torifū, Tsuki finally smiled: "So, the Hokage has agreed!"
Torifū smiled, then pointed to Hashirama: "Do you know who this is?"
Oyashirō Tsuki shook his head. How could someone who had been isolated from the world for half his life know this strong man in front of him? Torifū didn't keep him in suspense and continued: "This is the Shodaime Hokage of Konoha Village, and also Naori's and my teacger. Do you think the Hokage would agree or not?"
Not just Tsuki, but all the Oyashirō clan members present were stunned, frozen in place. They had thought that Konoha Village might reject them, and they had imagined life if they joined Konoha Village, but they had absolutely never imagined that the Shodaime Hokage would personally come to rescue them! They might not know much else, but they certainly knew the Shodaime Hokage's name! The strongest ninja in the ninja world! The God of Shinobi! For such a small clan as theirs to alarm the Shodaime Hokage and even receive his personal welcome? What an honor!
"Shodaime, Shodaime Hokage-sama! I am Oyashirō Tsuki, the head of the Oyashirō clan. I hope to lead my clan to join Konoha Village and serve the village." Hashirama laughed heartily and walked towards Tsuki, patting him on the shoulder. But just a few light pats nearly ended Tsuki's life. He felt as if all his bones were about to shatter. Yet, he still forced a smile, silently sighing in his heart that he was indeed the God of Shinobi.
"Torifū has already told me and the Nidaime Hokage about your clan's information. After my rigorous review, discussion, and analysis, we have finally decided to allow your clan to join Konoha Village." Torifū didn't realize his teacher had a talent for fabricating stories. It was clearly all rehearsed in Tobirama's mind, so how did it become a joint effort between them both when it came from his teacher's mouth? And "review, discussion, analysis" – he had agreed in less than half an hour; there weren't that many twists and turns.
But Tsuki knew nothing of this. He only felt that his clan had received immense attention. His heart no longer felt humble about his identity.
"From this moment on, you are all members of Konoha Village. Upon returning to the village, all of you must learn Konoha Village's rules."
"If you violate the village rules, you will be punished." The Oyashirō clan members all nodded upon hearing this. Even their own clan had clan rules, so Konoha Village, as one of the Five Great Villages, certainly had rules. Without rules, there could be no order.
"Please rest assured, you will not betray your trust, Shodaime Hokage-sama." Hashirama laughed heartily again, seemingly confirming that this clan was indeed as Torifū described. Although they had been imprisoned and tormented for so long, their hearts were at least still good. Of course, it was also possible that they hadn't been pushed to their absolute limit yet.
"Alright, don't just stand here. Go home and pack your things, then we'll depart."
"Shodaime Hokage-sama, are we leaving now? It's almost dark."
Hashirama confirmed: "That's right, we're leaving now. You have over a hundred people, so moving in broad daylight would make you too big of a target and easy to be discovered. If Kumogakure discovered your clan's Kekkei Genkai, it would take a lot of time to leave. So, we'll depart under the cover of night, and once we're out of the Land of Lightning, we'll be worry-free."
After hearing Hashirama's words, Tsuki understood that there was another reason involved. In that case, they indeed had to travel at night. Although the clan members were physically weaker, they were still ninja; an overnight journey wouldn't be too much of a problem.
"Alright, I'll take them back to pack their luggage now."
"Mhm, just take the essentials. Konoha Village will cover your family's expenses and subsequent resettlement fees; you can pay us back in the future." With this, Tsuki had nothing more to worry about. The Hokage had already taken care of everything. A warm feeling arose in the hearts of every Oyashirō clan member. They hadn't felt this way in who knew how long, or perhaps never before?
After everyone went back to pack their luggage, Hashirama finally took a serious look at the environment within the valley. What met his eyes were endless skeletons. There must have been thousands of them, a skeleton lying every few meters. They practically occupied half the valley. Hashirama sighed after seeing this. Life was the most fragile thing. He didn't want his followers to suffer such a fate, which was why Hashirama had always sought the right path to peace. But it seemed that wherever there were people, there would be war; true peace seemed hard to achieve.
Torifū also perceived Hashirama's thoughts and comforted him: "Sensei, don't be too sad. The Oyashirō clan will surely have a better future after joining Konoha Village."
Hashirama sighed: "I hope so."
Not long after, Tsuki returned with his clan members, each carrying a bulging parcel. Hashirama pointed to the scattered bones: "Aren't you bringing them along?"
"We actually wanted to, but we feared it would take too much time. So, we had to let our ancestors rest here." Oyashirō Tsuki had struggled with this for a long time, eventually discussing it with his clan members and deciding to leave the ancestors' remains for now. They would bring them home once they had established themselves in Konoha Village.
Torifū walked up to Tsuki, a smile on his face: "Leave it to me." Torifū tossed a perfectly round crystal sphere into the air. It then shattered, and its fragments perfectly covered the entire holy ground.
"Crystal Release: Crystal Creation."