"You know who I am?" Tobirama Senju said, while announcing his name, carefully observing the subtle changes in Haseo Yu's expression. The latter initially showed shock and surprise upon hearing the introduction, but within that reaction was a hint of "so it really is you."
"Ah… anyone who's been following the big war would naturally know the name of the Fire Country's Hokage. As for people like us, you're one of the main culprits behind our lives being thrown into chaos and forced to wander without a home," Haseo quickly regained his composure. Even though long-dormant memories were rising to the surface of his mind, he absolutely couldn't show it too clearly… and he was already crafting what seemed like a reasonable explanation for that brief emotional slip.
As he spoke, he raised his hand and pointed to the center of his forehead, indicating there was a ninja symbol in that spot. Although ninjas were considered mysterious figures, for ordinary people, recognizing such a mark on a forehead protector wasn't impossible… it belonged to a hidden village known as Konoha.
Fire Country, Konoha, The Second Hokage—in truth, for an ordinary civilian like Haseo to accurately identify the speaker's identity after his introduction was perfectly understandable…
In fact, if not for half of Tobirama's face being smeared with blood and dirt, Haseo should have recognized him much earlier. But of course, he couldn't possibly let that thought show on his face.
"Big shot…" Haseo could only feign admiration while going over his own memories. Comparing them with current events, the details became increasingly clear—he now knew the dying man before him was none other than The Second Hokage. As for the two corpses lying there a moment ago, they must've been Kinkaku and Ginkaku of Kumo.
"War?" Under normal circumstances, such an accusation might have prompted Tobirama to reply, "War is rarely started by one side alone—no one truly wants it." However, right now, there was no point in saying all that… even though in this particular war, Konoha had indeed suffered invasion, making their counterattacks justified defensive actions. Still, did any of this really matter to a homeless orphan?
In fact, Tobirama himself acknowledged being the "main culprit" Haseo referred to.
"How old are you?" Tobirama asked Haseo—perhaps it was just a momentary surge from dying embers, a kind of deathbed revival, but at that moment he did feel a little stronger.
"Thirteen? Probably around that age—I can't remember clearly… why do you ask?" Without thinking too hard about it, Haseo instinctively replied.
"No reason. Just felt your behavior and speech don't quite match those of a child your age. But… nothing wrong with that."
Whether from his clear articulation, calm demeanor, or logical actions, Haseo simply didn't act like someone his age… children usually displayed impulsive emotional outbursts, something completely absent here.
For a child his age, if he wasn't a ninja, merely facing someone like Tobirama Senju—clearly on the brink of death—it would already be impressive if he didn't scream in terror, let alone remain composed enough to converse calmly.
The Second Hokage was puzzled by Haseo's "precociousness," but this wasn't actually something worth praising, boasting about, or even specifically mentioning. After all, although Haseo appeared young, this was already his second life.
Unfortunately, it seemed he had been born into a chaotic era. The only slight advantage was that if he dug hard through his memories, Haseo could recall some information about this chaotic world—also known as the "Ninjutsu World," the dangerous realm of shinobi and hidden villages.
"Once you've experienced enough, people naturally start to act more maturely," Haseo replied ambiguously. By now, he had sorted out his memories and refocused his attention on the current situation.
One was a Kage—among those most capable of shaking the world—while the other was merely a "wanderer." The disparity in their statuses alone was staggering. What set them even further apart, though, was that one stood at death's doorstep, while the other had just begun a new life.
"Can I ask a favor?" For the current Tobirama Senju, there was neither time nor reason left to dwell on trivialities. "Please handle my remains afterward. A person like me carries too many secrets; we must prevent my corpse from falling into enemy hands. The best method is simple—burn me completely, erase my entire existence."
"Can't you take care of such a serious posthumous matter yourself?" Haseo hadn't expected the other party to make such a request.
"I originally had the energy and means to do so, but after healing your wounds, I no longer have strength to spare for myself… As you can see, I can't even stand right now. Besides, asking someone to destroy their own remains—that's quite unreasonable, don't you think?" At this moment, Tobirama rarely revealed a touch of black humor.
Yes, black humor indeed… For ninjas determined to protect secrets, destroying their own bodies after death was actually quite common.
Without giving Haseo a chance to refuse, Tobirama continued, "From our brief conversation, I can tell you desire peace. And in today's world, there's no place safer than a ninja village. So if you bring word of me back to Konoha, they will accept you."
Ninja villages were relatively stable strongholds—but—"Would a ninja village casually allow ordinary outsiders to settle within? Especially during wartime…"
Haseo was intrigued, yet skeptical.
"Konoha will accept you—as long as you're not a spy from another village. Just give them this, and everything will work out." Tobirama said firmly, placing a piece of paper atop his knee.
Haseo was naturally no spy, but he couldn't understand why the other person would trust him—a complete stranger. After all, the man before him was The Second. He couldn't help asking, "If you really are a major figure from Konoha Village, wouldn't handing me over to another village bring you many benefits?"
"No, you won't."
"Why do you say that?"
"This place is nearer to the Land of Fire's border than any other country."
"I see..."
For safety's sake, Haseo had no intention of taking unnecessary detours.
"Then everything regarding me is settled," Tobirama Senju sighed, unclear whether it expressed regret or relief. After speaking those words, he remained silent.
Haseo simply sat quietly. He had no intention of pondering the title of Hokage for now, focusing instead on suppressing his sense of pain and slowly restoring his strength.
"Hey."
About two hours later, he tried calling out to the other person.
There was no response; the tree hollow remained silent.
Thus, Haseo understood it was time he started working.
With effort, he stood up and approached the body. First, he picked up the piece of paper and found it covered in coded writing he couldn't decipher. Not worrying too much about its contents, he carefully tucked the paper into his robe.
Next, he reached out and checked Tobirama Senju's breath, confirming he had indeed stopped breathing.
Under normal circumstances, considering Haseo's injuries, there was no way he should have regained mobility so soon. The fact that he could move freely right now showed that this man must have somehow healed him.
The interior of the tree hollow was filled with fallen leaves and dry twigs. Without moving the body, Haseo gathered these materials around it. Then, he turned around and walked out of the hollow entrance, searching through light rain for damp firewood still flammable enough to burn. Spending most of the day going back and forth, he finally filled half the hollow with combustible material.
Making a fire posed no challenge to someone accustomed to a wandering life like Haseo. However, just before igniting the flames, he paused briefly, then once again approached Tobirama, reaching out to remove the forehead protector from his brow.
Only then did he ignite the fire, and after confirming the flames took hold, quickly withdrew from the hollow.
Smoke began pouring out rapidly. The autumn chill from the rain was banished by the fire's warmth. Yet considering the ongoing rainfall and the mere wooden fuel, Haseo remained doubtful whether such flames could achieve what the other had requested—"burn me completely into ashes."
However, the next moment, his worries vanished as several popping sounds came from within the flames. The fire suddenly roared upwards like gasoline had been poured onto it, rapidly engulfing even the entire tree itself.
It must have been something carried by the ninja bursting into flames, causing a chain reaction.
To avoid being caught in the blaze, Haseo had no choice but to retreat further.
Seeing a tree so huge it took ten people to wrap their arms around, you couldn't help but think how many decades—or even centuries—it took to grow like this. Yet in just the time of a few breaths, it had already become a blazing torch... Death always strikes faster and harder than life can grow.
Under the scorching heat, fine raindrops falling from the sky quickly evaporated into mist, shrouding the area in haze.
I wonder if it'll lead to a forest fire—but for Haseo, this hardly seemed worth worrying about. What concerned him more was that he now appeared able to fulfill his promise to his opponent. As he pondered this, he glanced again into the flames... only for the scene before him to make his hair stand on end.
Inside the fire, Tobirama Senju's silhouette flickered like a ghost, yet at that moment, Haseo clearly saw one of the man's hands raising a single thumb upward.
It seemed like praise, applauding Haseo's act of keeping their agreement.
In other words, even while engulfed by flames, right until this very moment, Tobirama Senju had not only remained alive, but conscious too.
"Truly worthy of being… a ninja."
Ninjas rarely trust others easily, especially someone like The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
Witnessing it in person, Haseo was at a loss for words.
Born into a time of endless war, and helping his elder brother bring order to a world torn by strife, brilliant in strategy and unhesitating in employing schemes, always presuming the worst intentions about enemies—ruthless, bloodstained hands waging endless wars abroad and ruling harshly within, Tobirama Senju's life had been steeped in killing.
Yet even for such a person, slaughter has always merely been a means to an end, never an end in itself. He saved Haseo, someone unintentionally injured, not out of compassion, but simply to affirm one plain truth:
He was Konoha's Hokage—not a bloodthirsty criminal or a terrorist waging war on humanity.
Sixteen years after the founding of the Hidden Leaf Village, the First Great Ninja War had entered a phase of strategic stalemate. Konoha and its chief enemy, the Hidden Cloud Village, were even preparing to sign a peace and alliance treaty. However, during the very ceremony marking their alliance, rogue ninjas from Kumo launched a surprise attack, assassinating both the Second Raikage and the Second Hokage, rendering all previous joint efforts utterly meaningless.
The figure within the flames quickly vanished, though the "torch" kept burning through the night. By then, Haseo had already left this place.
Not long afterward, as dawn approached, the rain ceased falling. Faint morning light illuminated the rain-washed blue sky. Looking back at where he had been the previous night, rolling hills and dense vegetation naturally blocked his view. What happened there was no longer any of his concern. And yet... as far as his eyes could reach, the landscape of the post-rain world shimmered beautifully.
"Konoha..."
Compared to wandering endlessly, perhaps Konoha offered Haseo a better choice.
One rainfall ended—while another surely poured beyond the horizon unseen.
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