"I only know the rough outline of what happened to her."
Uchiha Seiji didn't bother stringing Tobirama along. The former Second Hokage's anxiety was written all over his face, and Seiji wasn't in the mood to play games.
"Her younger brother, Nawaki, died in the Second Shinobi World War. She also had someone she… cared about. He died too. That war was brutal—Hanzo of the Salamander fought against Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya, and after that he gave them the title of the Sannin. Their names spread all across Konoha."
Seiji's tone darkened. "But word is, those three aren't on such good terms anymore. Even their relationship with the Third Hokage is fractured. And—rumor has it—Tsunade developed hemophobia. Blood makes her faint. Can't confirm if it's true."
Tobirama frowned sharply. Nawaki, dead too?
Then again, what else was new? War chewed through lives without mercy. Even he—the Second Hokage himself—had fallen. How could Nawaki have survived?
Still, it stung. The thought of his granddaughter suffering like this made his chest tighten.
"There wasn't much she could do, Tobirama," Seiji said softly, settling down beside him. "Tsunade's childhood looked enviable from the outside. Prestige, the Senju name, elders who adored her. But the reversal came too fast."
"Loss after loss, war after war. Add to that the way you dismantled the Senju clan's power, and suddenly she had no family left to rely on. Even her old teammates drifted off in their own directions. That kind of isolation? For anyone, let alone a woman—it's lethal."
Seiji didn't say the rest. He didn't tell Tobirama about Jiraiya turning into Mount Myōboku's personal errand boy, forehead protector swapped out. He didn't mention Orochimaru drowning in twisted human experiments, snatching up Konoha's own children, with Danzō and Hiruzen's fingerprints smeared all over it.
Better for Tobirama to watch the truth unfold with his own eyes. That way, his rage would be real.
And oh, there would be rage.
Tobirama fell silent, but he didn't doubt Seiji's words. This was the shinobi world. Once people found their own goals, bonds and friendships snapped like brittle twine. Best friends became enemies. Teachers and students killed each other without blinking.
It wasn't rare. It was the rule.
Hashirama and Madara.Orochimaru and the Third Hokage.Obito and Minato.Jiraiya and Nagato.
Countless others, nameless but just as tragic.
But none of that was what broke Tobirama.
What shattered him was seeing Tsunade—his bright, bold granddaughter—look at the Hokage seat with nothing but contempt. What tore him apart was the grief smoldering in her eyes.
Konoha was supposed to be the village that protected everyone. Yet it hadn't even protected the Hokage's own kin.
In his own timeline, Tobirama had only ever seen Tsunade after she'd climbed out of her darkness—scarred, but strong, carrying the will to lead again.
Here, though? He was watching her at her weakest.
"Little Tsuna…" Tobirama whispered, shaking his head. Fear for Konoha's future gnawed at him.
If even the granddaughter of two Hokage wanted nothing to do with the Hokage seat—what future did the village really have?
Was Tsunade's despair just personal tragedy… or was it proof that something was rotting in Konoha itself, under Hiruzen and Danzō's rule?
Tobirama's thoughts tangled, heavy with dread.
Seiji, meanwhile, was on a different track entirely.
The Hokage line of inheritance wasn't just about blood. Teacher and student, mentor and disciple—those bonds mattered too.
As a descendant of Uchiha Kagami, Seiji technically had a foot in the door already. But when it came to training opportunities? His options boiled down to three: Orochimaru, Tsunade, or Minato. Jiraiya was basically off the table.
Originally, Seiji had considered sliding into Obito's spot as Minato's student. But honestly? Tsunade was the better play.
Minato's strengths weren't bad, but they overlapped too much with Tobirama's. Seiji didn't need a duplicate tutor.
Tsunade, though? She carried the blood of both Hashirama and Uzumaki Mito. She had sealing jutsu, medical expertise, raw power—and let's be real, Seiji had eyes. The looks didn't hurt either.
Sometimes, to become Hokage, step one was becoming the Hokage's man.
"Tobirama, this is why I pulled your soul into me," Seiji finally said, tilting his head up. His gaze synced with Tobirama's, both staring at the blue sky above. "The village system you built… it won't bring peace. Not to Konoha, not to the shinobi world. That's not on you—but someone has to fix it."
"Maybe someday there'll be real peace. But until then, there'll be countless more people like Tsunade—or worse, suffering a thousand times more. I don't want to wait that long."
Tobirama gave a slow, heavy nod. He understood better than anyone the reality of the shinobi world. Hashirama never could. Madara never cared. But Tobirama? He saw it all, sharp and merciless.
Seiji's next words, though, broke his solemnity in half.
"Still, kind of disappointing, honestly. I dragged you back for your genius, but turns out, I'm better off relying on myself."
[From Duel Target: Tobirama Senju – Swordsmanship (Uchiha Izuna – Tobirama Senju Analytical Version)!]
"You little brat!" Tobirama's jaw clenched as he spun toward him, fury blazing.
"Shh," Seiji cut him off smoothly. "The Will of Fire test results come out tomorrow. Save your arguments until you see the scores, Second Hokage-sama."
"Hah! If I lose to you on some childish exam, they can rip my face off the Hokage Monument and carve yours in its place!" Tobirama snapped, confident as ever.
Seiji just shrugged. Good Hokage, good leader, fine mentor. But as a student? Tobirama was doomed.
No matter how perfect his answers were, if he started off lecturing and criticizing like an old man scolding kids, there was no way the grader would give him high marks.
The Will of Fire test wasn't about understanding. It was about obedience.
The next day.
Ninja Academy.
Seiji glanced at the perfect score on his test paper and the thoughtful remarks scribbled by Hiruzen. He gave a casual nod. For him, it was no harder than writing an elementary school essay.
Tobirama, on the other hand, looked at Seiji's perfect score and froze. "So what? A tie at best!" he snapped, though his eyes already betrayed unease.
And then a loud wail split the air.
"Waaaah! What did I even write? Why would I answer like this?!"
Inada Kojiro sobbed like his world had ended, clutching his exam and Hiruzen's scathing comments.
Tobirama went rigid.
Wait. Don't tell him—
He didn't get a perfect score?!