Gamamaru would absolutely never use the Immortal Sage Talisman to revive Uzumaki Heiyan—that point was nonnegotiable.
But with Impure World Reincarnation, things were different.
His plan was to resurrect Uzumaki Heiyan using that technique—on one hand, it served as a way to explain things to the people of Konoha.
On the other hand, the revived Heiyan would certainly not be as strong as he once was in life, and furthermore, he'd remain under Gamamaru's control as the caster, thus posing no further threat to Mount Myoboku.
It was quite simply the perfect solution.
After some discussion, the high-ranking elders of Konoha—including Tsunade—finally agreed to Gamamaru's suggestion.
There was really no other choice if they wanted to bring Heiyan back.
...
Two travelers clad in black cloaks, wearing straw hats over their heads, walked along Ichiraku Street—the busiest thoroughfare in Konoha.
"Who could have imagined," said Hashirama Senju with furrowed brows, "that Uzumaki Heiyan, someone even Madara himself acknowledged, would fall so far within just a few short years after his death—to now be condemned as a criminal by the entire village? It looks like there's something really off about the village now."
"The change in how people view Uzumaki Heiyan seems to have been orchestrated by the Great Toad Sage from Mount Myoboku. Why would this frog suddenly appear in Konoha and become an Honorary Elder? What exactly are his intentions?" Tobirama Senju muttered thoughtfully.
Since entering Konoha, the two brothers had listened carefully to the villagers' idle gossip and gathered information from various sources such as newspapers and television, giving them a general understanding of what had happened.
As former Hokages, they quickly realized that Konoha was slowly being infiltrated by forces from Mount Myoboku.
They avoided the crowds and turned into a quiet alleyway where no one else stood.
Tobirama squatted down, closed his eyes, and pressed one finger against the ground, activating his Sensor abilities. Instantly, countless chakra signals lit up in his mind, like flickering candles glowing in the dark.
The brighter and higher the flame burned, the greater the chakra reserves—and often, the strength—of the ninja it represented.
"The number of powerful shinobi in Konoha today is much greater than during our time alive."
Tobirama murmured softly.
With so many strong shinobi now residing in the village, even the two of them might struggle to complete their mission of capturing the jinchuriki.
No wonder Madara, who had awakened the Rinnegan, was hiding in the basement of Kiri's Hidden Village and dared not approach Konoha directly.
After some searching, Tobirama successfully pinpointed the locations of the two jinchuriki based on the differences between tailed beast chakra and normal human chakra.
One of them—the Two-Tails' chakra—was clearly coming from Naka Shrine, the Uchiha clan's restricted area. Obviously, the Two-Tails jinchuriki Fugaku Uchiha was located there.
What worried Tobirama a bit was that Fugaku wasn't alone. Beside him was another powerful source of chakra—one unknown but extremely strong—likely his companion.
As for the Nine-Tails' chakra, it was even closer to their current location—at the residence of the First Hokage. The Nine-Tails jinchuriki Kushina Uzumaki seemed to be living in Mito Uzumaki's former residence.
Beside Kushina, there was also a massive chakra, shining like the sun, radiating a unique aura belonging only to the Senju Clan.
"It's Tsunade. She's with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."
Tobirama Senju opened his eyes and stated firmly.
Hearing that, Hashirama's eyes lit up with joy. Thinking about soon meeting his granddaughter again, he felt both excited and nervous inside.
But now was not the time for sentimentality. It was time to focus on the mission at hand.
"The two Jinchuriki are indeed separated. No matter which one we decide to capture first, once we make our move, it will alert Konoha ninjas, making it difficult to capture the other. To complete this mission, we must each take one side and meet outside the village after completing the captures."
Tobirama thought deeply and formulated the battle plan.
"That seems to be the only way," Hashirama nodded. When Tobirama, his younger brother, was around, he usually didn't bother thinking himself.
"Aniki, you go capture the Nine-Tails. That guy is too dangerous; only your Wood Release can handle him. Besides, you could also take the chance to see Tsunade. This time, I, her great-uncle, won't be meeting her."
After a moment's thought, Tobirama spoke again to Hashirama.
As for himself, naturally he would go after Fugaku Uchiha, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki.
After all, no one understood the Uchiha better than Tobirama Senju. His entire life's studies were devoted to countering the Uchiha clan, accumulating extensive experience in this area.
"Got it."
Hashirama gave his younger brother a thumbs-up. With a tacit understanding glance, they turned and departed separately.
Their plan was to wait until both sides were in position, then strike simultaneously, ending the battles as quickly as possible. Both knew that if things escalated too much, the entire Leaf Village might be destroyed.
As the two Hokages split up to capture the Jinchuriki,
Another unexpected visitor silently arrived at the Leaf Village.
On top of a clock tower within the Leaf Village, space suddenly twisted into a vortex shape. Soon after, Obito Uchiha appeared on the spot.
Although he had fled severely injured from the last battle, Obito now seemed perfectly fine.
His chest wound had already healed thanks to the Hashirama cells previously transplanted into him. His body now possessed incredible regenerative abilities.
However, the ninja who ambushed him left an indelible impression on Obito, causing lingering fear whenever he recalled the incident.
That ninja was a formidable Ice Release user who instantly created an Ice Barrier upon attacking, freezing everything within a hundred-meter radius.
Absolutely terrifying.
In Obito's memory, there had never been such a powerful Ice Release user in his world.
"Huh?"
Just then, Obito uttered a soft "Huh?" because looking down from atop the clock tower, he immediately became captivated by the spectacular cityscape filled with high-rise buildings.
"This Konoha in the parallel world is beyond imagination—so thriving, so full of life."
Obito murmured, scanning the surroundings with sincere admiration.
He leapt down from the clock tower and eagerly wandered through the village. Passing by hospitals, commercial streets, the Konoha River, the Konoha News Agency, the police force headquarters, and more, he kept getting impressed by the sights along the way.
Like Hashirama, Obito also used this time to learn about Konoha's history over the past few years.
He was shocked to find out that for the past thirty years, every major change in this village could be traced back to one well-known name—Uzumaki Heiyan.
"Uzumaki Heiyan... Sounds like an even worse villain than Madara Uchiha. To take down so many Kage and Daimyo single-handedly? What a total madman. This guy actually suits my taste pretty well."
Obito murmured to himself, strangely appreciating and admiring Heiyan despite never having met him.
He found this parallel world more and more fascinating.
While touring Konoha, Obito also spotted many familiar Konoha ninja, yet everyone's path in life seemed to have shifted to some extent.
Overall, everything here—people included—was far superior to that rotten place he came from.
Therefore, Obito became even more determined to use the Infinite Tsukuyomi after returning home to create a perfect new world.
Time was running out. It was time to get down to real business.
At that moment, without realizing it, Obito had walked right in front of the Ninja Academy's gates.
I'm coming for you, Rin.
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