"Whoosh—"
Shimoku activated the [Flying Thunder God Technique] and instantly vanished into the dense thicket.
He returned to Homuragakure.
Safely storing the two scrolls containing one hundred million ryo.
Then, as if recalling something else,
He activated the [Flying Thunder God] once more.
This time, he reappeared just outside Konoha Village after leaving Homuragakure.
It suddenly occurred to him that while seizing the main body of the [Demonic Statue of the Outer Path] might be difficult, collecting some fragments could still prove valuable.
Those broken pieces still contained immense [Ten-Tails] life force.
Even in his old age, Lord Madara prolonged his life thanks to the life force of the [Demonic Statue of the Outer Path].
And without the power provided by the statue, those White Zetsus wouldn't have been possible either.
If he could bring back a few fragments...
That certain 'Master Snake' would probably be overjoyed, no?
Moreover, given Master Snake's research capabilities, surely he wouldn't disappoint!
Thus decided.
After returning outside Konoha Village, Shimoku no longer hid his presence.
He leapt forward directly,
Stepping calmly into the heart of the battlefield, standing before the Konoha ninjas.
...
Shimoku's sudden appearance startled everyone from Konoha.
Especially Tobirama.
Busy frantically collecting fragments of the statue, he looked like an enraged black cat, immediately becoming alert and glaring sharply at Shimoku.
In his mind,
this evil little Uchiha brat must've come here with ulterior motives!
Certainly plotting to reap the benefits without effort!
Damn it!
The timing of this kid's arrival is too perfect! He's even more annoying than that bastard Madara!
"You evil little Uchiha brat, why are you here?!"
"Have you already colluded with that bastard Madara?!"
Tobirama roared out accusations.
He wore his hatred plain as day.
As for Shimoku,
he ignored everything, acting as if he heard nothing at all.
Didn't even glance toward Tobirama once.
Instead, he kept staring at Hashirama and approached casually step by step.
'Don't ignore me! You dare ignore me?!'
This greatly angered the Second Hokage.
Similarly,
Shimoku's sudden appearance also shocked Jiraiya, Tsunade, and the others.
Everyone tensed up and silently prepared for battle.
Fearing that this 'ferocious' little Uchiha brat might suddenly attack again.
Fortunately, Naruto was still at Mount Myōboku, which gave Jiraiya some peace of mind.
...
"My child, what do you want to do?"
Hashirama asked solemnly.
Compared to Tobirama, facing this formidable young foe, Hashirama maintained composure.
He politely questioned Shimoku instead of reacting violently.
Of course,
he wasn't foolish either. Just to be safe.
Hashirama of the Impure World Reincarnation quietly placed his left hand on Tsunade's shoulders, standing behind her like a guardian.
Ensuring he could instantly possess her body again, regaining enough strength to rival Shimoku!
Although,
deep down, he truly hoped there wouldn't be another battle...
Better safe than sorry.
At this moment, neither he nor Konoha could afford another major battle.
Shimoku stepped forward one by one until stopping in front of the massive body of the [Demonic Statue of the Outer Path].
Then he pointed toward the piece of the statue held by Tobirama not far away,
showing a calm and confident expression.
"What?"
"You want the fragment I have?"
"No way! You're dreaming!"
"There's absolutely no chance I'd hand it over to a wicked brat like you!"
Tobirama twitched his lips and rejected immediately.
Even if he died, he wouldn't bow to the Uchiha's ruthless rule!
Hashirama: "Give it to him."
Tobirama: "Big brother!"
Hashirama: "Give it to him!"
Tobirama: "..."
Faced with his older brother's overwhelming authority, Tobirama had no choice but to give in.
He tossed the Sealing Scroll containing the fragments directly at Shimoku.
Inside were already packed more than ten of the largest pieces from the statue, all freshly collected. That should be plenty for research purposes.
Obviously, what Shimoku wanted was an open and honest acquisition.
Certainly not a robbery!
When it's a fair deal, how can you call that stealing?
That would be something only barbarians would do...
"Thank you for Second's generous gift!"
Shimoku accepted the scroll with a cheerful grin, clearly enjoying the moment.
This made Tobirama visibly furious, his brows knotted with anger,
wishing he could rip that brat limb from limb with his own hands.
Once Shimoku got what he wanted, he instinctively turned his gaze toward Hashirama beside the other person—
more precisely, at Hashirama's remains—completely drained of all life energy.
Seeing this, Tobirama's scalp prickled.
In the blink of an eye, using the Flying Thunder God technique, he reappeared beside Hashirama, quickly blocking access to the corpse.
He then shouted furiously:
"Wicked brat! You're dreaming! I'll never let you take my big brother's body!"
"Big brother, please stop being deceived by this kid!"
"If he gets your body, who knows what kind of Ninjutsu targeting you personally he might develop! That would severely threaten the entire village!"
"We can't let him push us around any longer!"
Hashirama frowned slightly and nodded slowly.
Clearly, his own remains were fundamentally different from those statue fragments.
Handing them over casually was indeed extremely dangerous!
Some interests could be sacrificed to avoid war;
but some red lines must never be crossed...
Otherwise, it would cause even bigger disasters.
"Kid, I really can't give you my remains!"
"So don't be greedy..."
Hashirama responded firmly, calming Tobirama slightly.
"Don't worry, I didn't really want your body anyway."
Shimoku smiled lightly, waving his hand dismissively.
If the body still possessed abundant vitality, it would certainly be worth fighting over.
After all, even turning it into a puppet crafted by Sasori would result in an incredible creation!
However, a corpse of Hashirama that had already exhausted its life energy had significantly diminished value.
It wasn't worth provoking yet another deadly conflict with Konoha.
Besides, he already had a perfect [Sage Body] himself.
Though not fully developed yet, its potential wasn't inferior to Hashirama's Sage Body. There was no point in throwing away the root for just a few leaves.
"Such a massive body of the Demonic Statue... there's no way to take it with us."
Shimoku stepped forward and deliberately patted the torso of the Outer Path's Demonic Statue.
He feigned a look of regret.
At the same time, he secretly left a tiny 'Flying Thunder God Mark' on the statue's torso.
...
Hashirama: "Kid, what's your relationship with Madara?"
Shimoku: "We're not related at all. Besides, I didn't resurrect him either."
"After all, unless facing life or death circumstances, who would willingly resurrect their ancestor just to place a Daibutsu above themselves, right?"
Hashirama nodded slightly.
From his perspective, this kid Shimoku indeed didn't seem like someone who would voluntarily resurrect his ancestors.
After all, his power was already strong enough as it was.
Resurrecting an ancestor would only risk dividing the Uchiha Clan and bring unnecessary suffering.
"What about him then?..."
"First Hokage, don't you think that back then, Uchiha Madara changed too quickly?"
"They had just jointly established Konoha, yet within less than a year, he deviated from their original purpose and betrayed the village..."
Shimoku lowered his voice, his eyes flickering mysteriously, intentionally hinting.
Hashirama: "You mean?"
Shimoku: "Isn't there a possibility that there exists an even more deeply hidden faction in the Ninja World, with greater ambitions, manipulating Madara from the shadows?"
"And sowing discord between you two, leading to his betrayal of the original ideals."
"Even now, his resurrection might have been orchestrated by them entirely."
Upon hearing this, Hashirama was stunned, his heart shaken.
He silently contemplated this shocking hypothesis.
Beside him, Tobirama grew anxious and immediately retorted:
"Brother, don't fall for this brat's nonsense!"
"All these words are groundless fabrications without any evidence..."
"You can never trust the evil Uchiha!"
Shimoku shrugged with both hands, showing no intention to argue:
"Call it speculation or truth..."
"Even if I had proof, why should I share it freely with you anyway?"
"After all, whether it's Madara himself or the force behind him—so long as they can destroy Konoha, I'd be more than happy to watch."
"Alright, that's enough talking."
"Honorable Hashirama, devious Tobirama, I'll take my leave first!"
Shimoku waved his hand casually and gave his butt a playful pat.
With one leap, he swiftly withdrew.
Soon disappearing from the sight of everyone from Konoha.
As for why Shimoku suddenly revealed such information to Konoha,
Well, that was all intentional.
Once suspicion is planted like a seed,
Someone will inevitably become curious and seek verification.
Especially when it involved Hashirama himself, who had once been so close with Lord Madara.
If Hashirama and his group could uncover even the slightest traces of Black Zetsu and Isshiki Otsutsuki,
That would be absolutely perfect!
In short, diverting Hashirama's and Konoha's attention
Toward Black Zetsu, Jigen, and those sneaky old schemers would definitely be beneficial without any downsides.
It would not only disrupt their plans but also relieve the pressure on my own Hidden Village.
So why wouldn't Shimoku do it?
Just a few more words—that's all it took.
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