As the door was gently pushed open, the two slowly entered the room. Tsunade's originally restless heart gradually calmed down, like a stone sinking into a lake.
She did not ask what had happened, but obediently walked to the table and began skillfully preparing tea.
At this time, Uzumaki Mito was chatting with Uchiha Ryun about trivial daily matters.
Uchiha Ryun wore a smile, responding fluently to every sentence, never letting the conversation break.
Not only that, his humorous words often made Uzumaki Mito laugh heartily, filling the entire room with a joyful and harmonious atmosphere.
Meanwhile, Tsunade stood quietly by the side, focusing on brewing the tea.
The corners of her lips curled slightly into a faint smile, and her gentle gaze rested on Uzumaki Mito and Uchiha Ryun, who were chatting happily, as if she was completely immersed in this warmth.
However, just as this peaceful moment settled in, a sudden shout shattered the tranquility. With a "bang," the door was pushed open violently, and a figure rushed in excitedly, shouting, "Grandma! Sister! This time, Master finally agreed to let me go to the front lines to fight!"
As this shout rang out, the expressions of those present instantly changed.
Uchiha Ryun raised his eyebrows with interest, a faint smile on his lips. Tsunade, however, frowned, her face showing clear worry. Uzumaki Mito's expression darkened immediately, clearly displeased with this news.
At the same time, Uchiha Ryun turned his gaze to the child—Senju Nawaki.
He had once met Senju Nawaki briefly at the camp in the Land of Rain, but he hadn't taken a close look at him then. Now, upon closer inspection, he couldn't help but silently praise, "Hmm, he really is a lively and spirited young boy!"
Tsunade tightly furrowed her brows, her heart filled with anxiety. Although her younger brother Nawaki was already twelve years old and had become a genin, in her eyes, Nawaki was still just a child.
Even though Nawaki had now become a disciple of Orochimaru, Tsunade still deeply worried whether he could survive the brutal battlefield.
Meanwhile, Uzumaki Mito's face was as dark as storm clouds. After all, their family's descendants only consisted of Tsunade and Nawaki.
Now that Tsunade was heading to the battlefield, as a disciple of the Hokage, this was her duty, and Uzumaki Mito wouldn't say much about it.
But her precious grandson—the grandson of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama—was only twelve years old! At such a young age, he was being sent to the chaotic front lines. What kind of reasoning was this?
If something were to happen to him, who would take responsibility? Would it be Orochimaru? The answer was obviously no.
Orochimaru knew full well how special Nawaki's identity was and would never easily allow him to go to the dangerous front lines.
Yet this time, Orochimaru unexpectedly agreed to it.
If there wasn't someone else with ulterior motives behind this, Uzumaki Mito would never believe it.
Uchiha Ryun understood Uzumaki Mito's worries, so he chuckled and said, "Nawaki, do you remember me?"
Senju Nawaki looked at Uchiha Ryun, then his eyes lit up. "It's you! The God of War! Last time we met in a hurry, and I didn't get to chat properly. Why are you at my house today?"
Uchiha Ryun—among those who participated in the Second Shinobi World War in the Land of Rain, there wasn't a single shinobi who didn't know him. Even within Konoha, there was a faint voice calling him the God of War.
Uchiha Ryun was stunned. God of War? What was this about? But he shook his head and smiled. "Nawaki, I came to your house to discuss important matters with your sister and your grandmother, so that's why I'm here."
"Oh!" Nawaki nodded.
"Nawaki, I want to ask you something. Did you beg Orochimaru to let you go to the front lines?" Uchiha Ryun asked, puzzled. Why did the grandson of the First Hokage die in such a bizarre way?
Struck by explosive tags and his internal organs hollowed out—when he died, he didn't even have a complete corpse. It was truly baffling.
Nawaki nodded. "Yes! Because I'm the grandson of the First Hokage, and I will become Hokage in the future, I must experience the trials of the battlefield to grow stronger!"
Uchiha Ryun froze, then said coldly, "Who told you these words?"
He finally understood. Someone must have lured Nawaki into going to the battlefield.
Because although he had always had the desire to grow stronger and the dream of becoming Hokage, he didn't have such an understanding before. So the truth could only be one thing—someone had manipulated Senju Nawaki.
Nawaki was taken aback. Seeing Uchiha Ryun's cold expression, he couldn't help but shiver. "It was... an old man. He..."
He then tried hard to recall before looking at Uchiha Ryun, his pupils shrinking. "He looked just like you, God of War, just older!"
Uchiha Ryun froze, then slumped into his chair with a thud. His reaction startled Uzumaki Mito and Tsunade.
Especially Tsunade, who quickly asked, "Ryun, are you okay?"
Uchiha Ryun shook his head. "I'm fine."
He had only lost his composure for a moment. He had seen his own appearance—it was 80% similar to Madara Uchiha. And when Nawaki said that person looked like him, just an older version, the identity of that person was obvious.
The Warring States Rose, the Shinobi Demon, Madara Uchiha.
Uchiha Ryun never expected that traces of Madara would still appear during these years. And Madara's actions were likely not his own will but instigated by that Black Zetsu.
Otherwise, given his relationship with Hashirama, why would he provoke Nawaki into going to the battlefield?
Uzumaki Mito sensed something was wrong. "Ryun, did you figure something out?" She had a feeling that Ryun had guessed some secret—a huge secret.
Otherwise, someone as composed as Ryun wouldn't have lost his composure like this.
Uchiha Ryun raised his head, about to say something, but then swallowed his words. He didn't know how to explain it to Uzumaki Mito.
Uzumaki Mito, however, seemed to see through Uchiha Ryun's thoughts and forced a smile. "It's okay, Ryun. If you have any guesses, you can say them."
Uchiha Ryun nodded. "If I'm not mistaken, the person Nawaki met was Madara Uchiha."
"Madara Uchiha? That's impossible! Didn't Great-Grandfather..." Tsunade exclaimed in disbelief. She couldn't believe that a shinobi who had been dead for over a decade would suddenly appear in Konoha.
Uzumaki Mito's gaze sharpened. "Ryun, what evidence do you have that the person was Madara?"
She had always suspected that Madara wouldn't die so easily, but on the day of his burial, she had seen his corpse and believed that Madara was truly dead.
"Have you heard of Izanagi?" Uchiha Ryun asked solemnly.
Uzumaki Mito's gaze froze, her pupils shrinking. As a veteran of the Warring States era and a member of a prominent shinobi clan, she had naturally heard of the Uchiha Clan's Izanagi.