Three days after the great battle.
Inside Konoha Village, chaos still reigned.
Compared to the aftermath of previous wars, although this time the village had suffered severe damage and many ninja had fallen in battle,
Thanks to timely evacuation efforts,
The main civilian population remained largely unharmed.
Moreover, even though Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi had died in combat,
His death had not severely shaken the confidence of Konoha's people.
The reason was simple—the First and Second Hokages had returned!
Just looking at that massive wooden wall outside the village—crafted through Wood Release, towering a hundred meters high, and incredibly thick and solid—was enough to inspire immense confidence.
Therefore, the post-war reconstruction efforts were proceeding quite smoothly.
Everyone was doing their best to help out.
Including all the Anbu and Root ninjas...
As for Danzo.
Two days ago, after personally meeting with Hashirama,
He immediately struggled to jump off his wheelchair, kowtowed on the ground, and tearfully confessed his mistakes,
Placing nearly all blame onto Sarutobi.
After all, he'd heard that Sarutobi was already dead—surely he couldn't come back to refute these accusations?
Unfortunately,
Hashirama might be easy to fool, but Tobirama wasn't.
When Tobirama learned about all the reckless things Danzo and Sarutobi had done over the years,
He flew into an intense rage.
Without hesitation, he strode forward and kicked Danzo hard,
Sending him flying dozens of meters away.
Danzo spat out several mouthfuls of blood. Not daring to resist at all, he quickly crawled back,
Continuing to kneel on the ground and admit his faults.
No matter how much time passed, before Tobirama, he would always be nothing more than a coward...
To be honest, Tobirama never expected it.
Back then, as one of his personal guards,
How could these two—Danzo and the monkey (Sarutobi)—manage to turn such an advantageous position into total failure?
And Homura Mitokado nearby—he was nothing but a complete waste!
Considering such a powerful advisor as nothing more than a rotten apple was unheard of.
As for Koharu Utatane—if she hadn't already died violently,
Tobirama would've wanted to hang her upside down and whip her raw.
She used to look pretty decent when young and didn't seem stupid either—how did she become so unbearably foolish in old age?
Damn it!
What was I thinking back then? Such an idiot!
How could I have handed the village over to a bunch of complete idiots?
Even appointing Kagami Uchiha as successor might have turned out better!
But unfortunately, there was no pill for regret now.
After calming his rage,
Hashirama and Tobirama still had to face reality.
Originally, Tobirama almost wanted to slap Danzo to death.
But considering past camaraderie; considering the current situation;
To avoid provoking rebellion among the remaining Root members,
Plus, seeing as Danzo only had one complete left hand remaining already...
Clearly, despite his misguided methods, his desire to protect Konoha remained genuine...
As Hokage, how could he kill someone just for serving his usefulness?
Thus, in the end, Hashirama could only temporarily forgive him,
Planning to judge his crimes properly once the village's reconstruction was completed.
Of course, all authority and control over Root was immediately stripped from him by Tobirama,
And he remained under strict house arrest.
How could Danzo dare to utter a single complaint? Keeping his dog's life was already more than he deserved...
As for any other ambitions.
So long as Lord Hashirama and Lord Tobirama were still alive.
He'd never even get within striking distance of the Hokage seat.
Dammit, after all these years of hard work, he hadn't gained squat.
He might as well have died gloriously in battle like that monkey Sarutobi.
The reason why Lord Tobirama didn't fully buy Danzo's excuses
was largely because Sarutobi had sacrificed himself fighting for Konoha.
Compared to Danzo hiding in the shadows, Sarutobi looked far more noble.
...
After initially treating all the injured and saving their lives,
Hashirama had fulfilled his mission.
Therefore, he immediately expelled Yamato from inside his body.
This caused Hashirama's power and aura to drop drastically.
At the same time, Yamato's injuries were extremely severe,
leaving him barely clinging to life.
Clearly, back during the great battle, when Shimoku landed that punch on Hashirama, it had dealt devastating damage to Yamato's original body.
Fortunately, there was Hashirama and Tsunade present.
Together, they performed [jutsu] and managed to save Yamato's life.
However, he would still require a very long recovery period afterward.
During which, Hashirama probably wouldn't be able to use Yamato's body again.
After all, covering a living person's body with an [Impure World body] was always completely absurd and extremely dangerous.
Had it not been for Yamato carrying Hashirama's cells, sharing the same origin,
if it had been anyone else,
they'd have dropped dead within moments—there'd be no chance of survival...
"Brother, without that kid's body boosting your strength, your current power has dropped significantly."
"If that damned Uchiha punk comes back again, we're in trouble..."
Tobirama frowned, clearly concerned.
Can't be helped; that Uchiha kid's power is just terrifying.
Already rivaling Madara at his peak, naturally making Tobirama feel quite wary.
"Tobirama, do you remember where my corpse is?"
Hashirama solemnly asked in return.
"Your corpse?"
"Didn't you say back then that to prevent future generations from coveting your [Sage Body], you deliberately stored it in the [Shikkotsu Forest] sanctuary?"
Tobirama scoffed unhappily.
Frankly, he had always suspected his older brother simply didn't want him researching his body—which was why he took the corpse away...
Hashirama: "Correct, though that was only one of the reasons."
"There's another—I entrusted my corpse specifically to [Sage Katsuyu] for safekeeping. With her abilities combined with the vitality of my cells, she can greatly delay the loss of my body's life force..."
Tobirama suddenly realized, a flicker of hope sparking in his chest.
"Brother, are you saying... you plan to—"
"Yes! As long as I retrieve my corpse and control it using the [Impure World body]."
"For a short time before its life force runs out, I can still unleash power close to my prime!"
"Just once."
"If that child dares to return and attack the village again, I'll make sure to give him a proper lesson!"
Hashirama said confidently.
As the perfect Sage Body holder, Hashirama knew very well how valuable his own corpse was.
To prevent others in the future from fighting over it, he had naturally made preparations in advance.
He definitely wouldn't just dig a shallow hole and bury himself randomly.
Otherwise, when Orochimaru deserted back then,
he wouldn't have only taken some Hashirama Cells with him—he would've just carried off Hashirama's entire body instead...
Therefore, Shikkotsu Forest, a place sealed off to outsiders,
naturally became the perfect place to keep his body safe.
And the reason Sage Katsuyu was entrusted with guarding his remains
was one of the contingency plans Hashirama had prepared long ago...
"Hashirama said, "Tobirama, I'm going back to Shikkotsu Forest to retrieve my body."
"You'll take care of the village while I'm away."
"And do me a favor—guide Jiraiya a bit. That kid has decent potential; he could turn into something great..."
Hashirama instructed carefully.
Then immediately, he activated the Summoning Jutsu and headed toward the holy land of Shikkotsu Forest.
...
"Grandpa Tobirama, where did Grandpa go?"
Tsunade came closer and asked curiously.
Her fear of blood, which had bothered her until yesterday,
had already been mostly overcome through Tobirama's 'training.'
Though she still felt nauseous at the sight of blood,
it no longer interfered with her daily life.
"Big Brother went to Shikkotsu Forest. He probably won't be back for some time."
"But if Grandpa isn't here, what if another strong enemy attacks?"
Tsunade asked anxiously.
Without Grandpa around, there was always a strange sense of worry...
"How many enemies could there possibly be in the world?"
"Hmph! Except for that brat, there should be no one else in the Ninja World capable of rivaling Big Brother."
"As if Madara Uchiha, that bastard, would coincidentally come back to life and just happen to attack Konoha!"
"Don't worry!"
"And I'm still here anyway..."
With a wave of his hand, Tobirama tried to reassure her confidently.
But before he could even finish speaking,
"Oh! Then I'll come back after Grandpa returns."
Tsunade gave a quick greeting and hurried off.
Most likely, it was to check on Jiraiya again.
Seeing this, Tobirama's expression stiffened slightly, and he could only shake his head.
Indeed! The young Tsunade used to be cuter—always snuggling up and begging for money...
Now that she's grown up, she doesn't cling anymore!
Hmm?
Could it be because I've got no cash left?
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