"Monkey, I let you inherit the position of Hokage because I thought you could handle everything in the village."
Edo Tensei Tobirama said with a look of disappointment; he hadn't expected things to turn out like this.
Just as Hiruzen said, it was his failure to properly manage the relationship between the village and the Uchiha that led to the clan's massacre.
Trust isn't something that can be achieved just by talking about it.
Even he himself didn't trust the Uchiha clan, let alone Hiruzen and Danzo.
"I'm sorry to have disappointed you, Tobirama-sensei."
Hiruzen said bitterly.
He was prepared to step down as the Third Hokage to make up for the mistakes of these past years and allow a better leader to guide the village.
Edo Tensei Tobirama said nothing more. At this point, nothing he said would make any difference.
Uchiha Izuna calmed down under Uchiha Madara's reassurance.
After all, this was just a parallel timeline. Although he couldn't accept the destruction of the Uchiha, at least such a thing hadn't happened in their own timeline.
He had simply been blinded by anger just now.
Senju Tobirama looked around but didn't see that kid anywhere, his brows slightly furrowed.
Could it be… that in this timeline, he hadn't adopted that kid?
Or… that kid was already dead!
After arriving in this timeline and seeing a completely different development path, he had already begun to suspect.
It was just that he hadn't received confirmation.
"Where is that kid?"
Senju Tobirama asked the two of them. Seeing the confusion in their eyes, he understood.
It seemed just as he had guessed—they didn't know Renya at all!
"Second-sama, who are you talking about?"
Hiruzen looked puzzled.
Who exactly was "that kid"?!
Edo Tensei Tobirama also looked surprised, not understanding what his other self was talking about.
"You don't know Renya-kun?"
Uchiha Izuna asked in shock upon seeing their reactions.
Edo Tensei Hashirama and Edo Tensei Tobirama: "???"
Renya-kun? Who was that? Was it strange that they didn't know him?
Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo searched their memories but had no impression of such a person.
Uchiha Madara looked at their expressions and suddenly froze.
The last time they crossed through time, those people also didn't seem to know that kid!
Logically speaking, as Tobirama's adopted son, it would be impossible for people in Konoha not to know him.
Unless… in other timelines, Tobirama had never adopted that kid at all!
Combined with the fact that everything from the Warring States Period to the founding of Konoha developed the same way, it could only mean that Renya's appearance had changed everything in their timeline.
Uchiha Madara recalled that kid seemed to know everything, including the truth behind his "Eye of the Moon" plan…
He hadn't thought much of it before, but once connected, the clues became obvious!
That kid absolutely didn't belong to their timeline—otherwise, there was no way to explain what had happened to them.
Uchiha Madara subconsciously clenched his fist but didn't voice his thoughts.
Since that kid hadn't brought it up himself, he wouldn't go asking.
Moreover, this was only his speculation. To know the truth, they would have to travel to other timelines.
If his guess was correct, then Renya's true identity would be very interesting.
"The Renya you're talking about—we really don't know him."
Edo Tensei Hashirama scratched his head awkwardly.
Edo Tensei Tobirama frowned as he observed Uchiha Izuna's reaction, unsure who this Renya person was.
Why did he provoke such a strong reaction from them…
"If you don't know him, then forget it," Senju Tobirama said. "We'll leave once we've understood the situation."
As he spoke, he looked at Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo and sighed inwardly.
Fortunately, they weren't disciples he had trained. It could only be said that the Tobirama of this timeline was lacking.
The Danzo and Hiruzen he trained were both inheritors filled with the Will of Fire.
Even if the Uchiha had attempted a coup, they would have only eliminated the hawkish faction.
They would never do something like leaving only a single child alive!
But the Hiruzen and Danzo here—especially Danzo—were like completely different people.
He saw no guilt in Danzo's eyes, only ambition and desire for power!
It seemed that the timelines reached through the Dragon Vein weren't as he had imagined—traveling to the future of their original timeline.
Rather, they were more like entirely different parallel timelines.
If he had known earlier, he should have brought Orochimaru along. Then they could have researched it together.
As long as they could understand the mechanism behind Dragon Vein time travel, they would be able to freely travel to any timeline they wanted in the future.
There probably wouldn't be another chance this time. They would study it with Orochimaru after returning.
As the group left, Edo Tensei Hashirama and Edo Tensei Tobirama did not choose to release the Edo Tensei.
Instead, they had Hiruzen take them to Konoha's archives.
Every ninja in Konoha had their identity registered. As long as Renya was a Konoha ninja, there would definitely be a record.
"Tobirama, did you find it?"
"I found it."
[Uchiha Renya: died in an ambush during the First Shinobi World War.]
...
Original timeline, the central tower of Rōran.
"Poison Master, Third Hokage, don't go too far!"
The Queen of Rōran looked at the two of them with dissatisfaction.
Right after the First and Second Hokage of Konoha, along with the Uchiha brothers, had just left, Renya and Danzo arrived.
The Dragon Vein's energy was immense and carried the risk of going out of control.
Yet they still insisted on using its power to travel through time!
If the Dragon Vein's energy went berserk and the space-time rift could no longer be opened, wouldn't they be trapped with no way back?
"Don't worry. This time I brought two Uzumaki clan members proficient in sealing techniques."
Renya said with a smile.
He had roughly guessed the Queen's concerns. As long as the Dragon Vein's energy could be kept stable, she likely wouldn't object further.
And that was indeed the case.
Seeing Renya say this, the Queen of Rōran could only turn a blind eye.
"You really shouldn't keep traveling through time so casually in the future."
She didn't understand why the Dragon Vein could enable time travel, nor did she know whether this property might disappear.
All she could do was remind them that the Dragon Vein wasn't a tool for freely traveling through time.
"No problem, we'll try to travel less in the future."
Renya said cheerfully. It would be enough for him and Danzo to occasionally visit other timelines.
The Queen of Rōran: "..."
She knew these people wouldn't listen. They'd only learn their lesson when something actually went wrong.
Danzo looked at his good friend helplessly. This guy just loved stirring up trouble.
This time, he had to hide his identity well—otherwise he'd end up getting beaten again.
After all, his recovery ability wasn't as monstrous as Renya's!
"I wonder which timeline those uncles went to?"
Renya asked curiously.
As long as they didn't end up in the later stages of Boruto or the era of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, having Madara around meant they wouldn't run into much danger.
Otherwise, things would get troublesome.
The Queen of Rōran skillfully opened the Dragon Vein seal, and after the two disappeared, she skillfully sealed it again.
"Strange. Clearly, the number of times I've undone the seal is limited, but it feels like I've done it dozens of times."