"I know this is hard for you to accept…"
"Child, this isn't your fault. This is that bastard Senju Tobirama's—"
"No, it's also my fault. The problem lies heavily with me!"
Izuna was somewhat at a loss. In truth, he wasn't that old himself—suddenly becoming a grandfather was a challenge even for him.
'This must be one of the side effects of having things flipped like this…' Izuna sighed inwardly in helpless reflection.
That thought was quite similar to what Tobirama had felt when he saw that Hiruzen was now the same age as him…
Izuna looked at Tobirama's utterly shocked, completely unfeigned expression, and couldn't help but feel a dull heaviness in his chest.
'No matter which Uchiha it is, learning they have Senju Tobirama's bloodline would be hard to accept…'
Izuna sighed. 'There's no helping it. There's really no helping it!'
"I don't accept it."
Tobirama's face darkened. "You're talking complete nonsense! I don't know where you came to such a conclusion…"
"I'm starting to suspect that you and Isshin are setting me up—trying to harm me!"
"He must have awakened the Mangekyō long ago, and you've already communicated with him, haven't you? Listen to what you're saying—on what basis do you claim to be my grandfather, and that Senju Tobirama is my maternal grandfather?"
"You've exposed yourself!"
"Are you trying to take over this body of mine? Using the name of Senju Tobirama to make me feel guilty about some bloodline?"
"Let me tell you—I don't care! If you think you can help the Uchiha, then take it if you have the ability—but that depends on whether you're capable!"
Tobirama vented all the irritation in his heart in one smooth burst, flipping the accusation back on him!
At that moment, Tobirama revealed his ferocity.
He looked exactly like an enraged Uchiha!
Who wants to be your grandson?
Although… if he could trick Izuna into lending him his power, it wouldn't be completely unacceptable.
But chances to berate Izuna were rare… he had to make good use of this fleeting emotional moment!
After all, wasn't it just about constructing a chain of logic and then extrapolating upward?
Who couldn't do that!
"Calm down, Seisui, calm down!" Izuna said in a fluster, "That's absolutely impossible…"
"How could I harm my own clansman? Think about it—the control over this dōjutsu lies in your hands!"
"You have the Mangekyō, I only have three tomoe…"
Izuna really wanted to say: you look like me, so of course you're my grandson, not my grandson-in-law…
Tobirama crossed his arms, deliberately adopting one of his old signature postures. Revealing a bit at this moment instead worked as a preemptive measure: "So-called dōjutsu can also be broken by superior ocular power!"
Izuna looked at this boy who had the exact same face as him, yet was making Tobirama's posture and expressions.
He felt utterly uncomfortable…
His confidence in his own outrageous guess actually increased a little…
There might be some discrepancies, but overall, it was probably close enough.
And Tobirama didn't press him further. Instead, he let out a long sigh and fell silent.
Only after a long while did Tobirama speak in a hoarse voice: "No matter what, I have no father and no mother. And I will never acknowledge you or Senju Tobirama!"
"The village is my father, and the clan is my mother. That will never change—even in death!"
The three tomoe in the boy's eyes spun, his ocular power cold and immense.
Izuna silently savored those words.
Now he understood why this Uchiha boy was loyal to Konoha…
The clan had indeed failed to give him a good childhood.
But Konoha had truly saved him.
From that perspective, even Izuna couldn't help but develop a bit of goodwill toward Konoha…
They had actually done something.
A youth may have talent, but without opportunity, he cannot advance.
No matter how gifted a genius is, they are still weak in their youth.
If he had died in Kusagakure, it would have been meaningless.
A dead genius is not a genius—just a passing joke.
"You're right, Seisui…"
Izuna steadied his emotions and spoke with a bitter smile: "I was too rash. That was an irresponsible guess…"
"Please believe me—I had no prior communication with Isshin, and I have absolutely no intention of harming you…"
Only now did Izuna recall who Isshin was, a vague impression forming in his mind.
There were too many Uchiha— even he couldn't remember every single one.
Tobirama didn't respond immediately.
Only after a long pause did he nod, speaking with a hint of apology: "I'm sorry. I overreacted."
Izuna waved his hands repeatedly. "No… I was the reckless one!"
At this moment, Izuna's evaluation of 'Seisui's' character had skyrocketed!
With such a terrible background, and yet after returning to the clan, he could still contribute to the Uchiha…
Being loyal to Konoha was only natural—given Seisui's experiences, there was nothing strange about it.
If it were another Uchiha…
It wasn't that Izuna liked to criticize his own clan, but they would probably have gone berserk long ago.
Not just seeking revenge against the clan or Konoha—even wanting to destroy the world wouldn't surprise him…
He had seen too many such cases…
What's more, Seisui had managed to adjust his mindset in such a short time.
He could even reflect on himself—and apologize!
That was truly remarkable…
This level of character was already comparable to his own!
"Seisui, from now on, just call me Izuna."
Izuna said cautiously, "Look, I wasn't that old when I died. Let's just consider ourselves brothers…"
Tobirama raised an eyebrow and reluctantly nodded, tacitly agreeing.
"I'll continue…"
"Using 'Yata Spirit Invocation' to summon you here also consumes ocular power."
However, Tobirama realized…
Perhaps because the amount of Izuna's cells within his body was quite high…
It wasn't as Isshin had warned—that he could only summon a few times.
At least so far, Tobirama hadn't felt any depletion of the ocular power within the mark…
"I believe that although the Uchiha clan has historical issues brought about by the Great Clan Head…"
"The Great Clan Head's actions were indeed reckless, but not entirely without reason…"
Next, Tobirama explained his plan to Izuna.
First, he would gain fame by fighting Namikaze Minato, using that opportunity to come into contact with the Hokage, and expose the dark dealings of the Hokage's advisors to test the Hokage's stance toward the Uchiha.
Then, he would lead the clan in improving their reputation within Konoha and building bonds with ninjas from all sides.
Finally—and most importantly—
After the Uchiha achieved military merit, he would negotiate with the Hokage, reassessing Madara's contributions and historical standing within Konoha, and thoroughly settle the issue.
He would completely remove the burden from the Uchiha!
He would merge Madara's will with the Will of Fire, leaving the Uchiha with no weaknesses—
Allowing them to proudly declare themselves inheritors of Madara's will!
After hearing all this, if Izuna had still harbored even the slightest instinctive doubt about 'Seisui's' identity before—at this moment, it completely vanished.
Speaking for Madara, acting for Madara—and doing so for someone dead, someone so sensitive within Konoha…
No matter what the truth of Seisui's background was, one thing was certain:
Only an Uchiha truly loyal to the clan—just as he said, treating the clan as his mother—
Could possibly do something like this!
This was something done at the risk of execution!
"I will definitely help you, Seisui!"
"You don't need to worry about countering the Flying Thunder God—I have plenty of ways…"
Izuna let out a cold laugh. "That bastard—no, that guy—only got me once by trickery. If I run into him again, that move won't work on me!"
"I'll lend you my dōjutsu—use it against that so-called Minato!"
Thinking about Seisui's background, Izuna didn't even feel like calling Senju Tobirama a bastard anymore…
No matter what, they might have become in-laws…
Even if that possibility wasn't certain, it wasn't far off.
Tobirama's heart stirred.
Izuna also had a dōjutsu? He had never heard of it…
But then Tobirama quickly understood—it was probably the result of the overwhelming shock from being instantly killed by him…
After all, their previous battles had always been evenly matched.
Being taken down in a single move—if it were him, Tobirama would also find it hard to accept for a while…
'Good thing you died,' Tobirama muttered inwardly once again.
If Izuna had survived, who knew what would have happened?
He now had plenty of authority to speak on just how domineering the Mangekyō was.
Izuna, on the other hand, had no such qualification…
How many times had he used the Mangekyō? Zero!
Meanwhile, Tobirama had already exhausted a complete Mangekyō—repairing his body!
And he had gained another dōjutsu…
Sensing Tobirama's expression, Izuna coughed lightly, his face slightly red: "Everyone makes mistakes… It was just that guy being lucky, and I was in a hurry to make my brother stronger!"
"Listen carefully, Seisui… My two dōjutsu combined are called 'Ankotsu no Mikoto!'"
Izuna raised his brows, speaking proudly: "Once 'Ankotsu no Mikoto' is activated, a violent aura wraps around your body, greatly enhancing your speed, strength, and neural response!"
"As long as that aura has passed through a space—that is, along your movement path—you can condense invisible clones anywhere along it using ocular power."
"These clones cannot attack, but any living being they touch will fall into a brief state of paralysis, as if possessed by a vengeful spirit! And you can expend the clones at any time to swap positions with them…"
"With that aura enhancing your body, your neural response speed is greatly increased, making your swaps with the clones extremely smooth!"
Tobirama's heart jolted.
As expected—this bastard's dōjutsu was born from being stabbed by him!
Isn't this just copying his Flying Thunder God?!
The Mangekyō really doesn't respect intellectual property, huh?
"And the cost?" Tobirama asked, feigning excitement, as if trying to suppress his joy.
In reality, what Tobirama was asking was:
What's the weakness?
Izuna nodded in satisfaction.
This was what a good Uchiha should be like!
Upon seeing the power that was about to become his, he didn't rush into wild ecstasy, but calmly looked for its shortcomings…
No wonder he was a boy who claimed he would inherit his brother's will!
But when he thought of that, Izuna suddenly felt just a little uncomfortable inside…
He loved his brother deeply—there was no doubt about that.
But Izuna felt that what 'Seisui' ought to inherit was his will, not his brother's…
How was this calmness anything like his brother? And besides, this was clearly his own descendant…
Izuna gave a light cough, planning to talk to 'Seisui' about it later.
It was naturally a good thing to bring up his brother all the time, but every now and then, he also had to face up to how similar he was to him…
It could only be said that Izuna's thinking at this moment was very much like how Hiruzen was always bringing up Hashirama and not Tobirama…
"'Ankotsu no Mikoto' requires a quick battle."
Izuna said seriously, "During the first minute after that aura initially wraps around your body, the ocular power consumption isn't too high. But once that time passes, the rate of consumption increases rapidly…"
"The number of aura-based clones and the number of swaps are also limiting factors."
"One clone and one swap already consume a great deal of ocular power. After using it once, it's best to rest for a while… If you use clones and swaps continuously, the consumption multiplies. It's the kind of drain that can wring your ocular power dry in an instant!"
Only then did Tobirama feel a bit better.
There had to be at least some restrictions. Otherwise, this dōjutsu would practically be an unrestricted version of Flying Thunder God…
But it still made Tobirama feel pressured.
In his view, the one-minute limit on the aura wrapping around the body hardly counted as a drawback at all…
With Izuna's mad-dog style of fighting—every strike carrying oppressive force—if the opponent couldn't defend for even an instant, the battle was over.
And if the enemy could hold on, then if you still couldn't take them down within a minute, you should have changed methods already.
If a markless, delayless Flying Thunder God could be used without consequence, that would be absolutely terrifying…
In Tobirama's view, 'Ankotsu no Mikoto' suited Izuna extremely well.
Not just in terms of fighting style.
This technique also required the user to calculate their own movement trajectory in order to place clones.
To seize a split-second opening and behead the enemy!
Used well, this move was comparable to a version of Flying Thunder God Slash with no startup at all…
Used poorly, then it wasn't even as simple or efficient as just using Flying Thunder God.
The backlash from ocular power would affect battle.
"I understand…"
Tobirama fell into thought. It seemed like he and this move were actually quite compatible?
After all, he had used Flying Thunder God for so many years…
"The First Hokage really was absurdly powerful. Even with such a dōjutsu, and after obtaining the Eternal Mangekyō, he still couldn't win?"
Tobirama marveled at his brother's combat strength. Even he sometimes found it hard to believe.
Tobirama knew that Madara did not have Izuna's dōjutsu.
He simply wanted to hear the view of the person involved.
"Hashirama really was a ninja so strong it bordered on the unreasonable, but my brother may not necessarily have had my dōjutsu. There are too few precedents…"
Izuna shook his head.
Mangekyō transplantation, fusion…
What was recorded in the Uchiha archives was basically all failure cases.
Who could say for sure?
Tobirama grew thoughtful.
The subject of Mangekyō fusion was a very good one…
But right now was not the time to dig deeper.
"Konoha… it's been built up fairly well by now, hasn't it?"
Izuna said hesitantly: "You said you want to impeach that Danzō's Root. Isn't that going a bit too far? I just feel like the ninja won't approve of it, and it doesn't really conflict with the ninja code either…"
"When he formed Root, he forcibly seized some ninja from other ninja clans, but he used that organization to do things for Konoha, didn't he? If he had been using it entirely for his own purposes, then naturally that would be an unforgivable crime…"
"The ninja world is incomparably cruel. Someone always has to do the dark things. Surviving is far more important than talking about morality!"
Tobirama looked at Izuna in surprise.
Why was he even speaking up for that unruly disciple of his?
Then, after another thought, Tobirama understood a little…
There was no getting through to these old fossils steeped in the Warring States Era and the idea that ninja were tools!
Too backward!
They didn't understand the advancement of the Will of Fire at all…
Though to tell the truth, Tobirama also felt that Hiruzen had pushed things a bit too far ahead…
He himself had stood staring at the village bulletin boards for a long time.
That was also one of the reasons Tobirama felt bad for his disciple.
How much pressure must Hiruzen have been under to, like an Uchiha opening his eyes, break and rebuild himself overnight, then carry out such sweeping reforms with a heavy blade…
Tobirama himself hadn't even realized it.
He was now very fond of using the Uchiha as examples when making comparisons…
Perhaps the ninja world itself was just one enormous Uchiha…
"Actually, the Hokage hasn't done everything perfectly either. I'll explain it to you briefly—it's not flawless." Tobirama gave a light cough and began to recount Hiruzen's achievements one by one.
It would be a shame not to subtly show off a little!
Subsidies for orphans and widowed mothers, pensions for ninja killed in battle…
Completely free ninja school and open classes, official condolence visits to the families of fallen comrades…
Public notices for ninjutsu improvements, prosthetic limbs for disabled ninja, recuperation hot springs and other public facilities…
"I also heard this, though I'm not sure—supposedly the Hokage plans to further expand various subsidies…"
"They say he wants to put in real hard work on the medical side, to lower the disability rate among ninja. But I can't confirm that either. Clan Head Isshin mentioned it—maybe it's just a pie in the sky?"
Tobirama went on and on, listing a whole string of things.
Izuna's mouth gradually fell open without him realizing it. He was stunned.
Was this still the ninja world?
"Do the Uchiha get these too?" Izuna asked instinctively.
"They do. And the wages for the Police Force and patrol units were even raised—what they called a hardship-post subsidy."
Tobirama answered at once, smiling like a boy: "En-ojisan even said he'd gotten too close to Namikaze Minato and had given him a few ideas, so he felt a bit bad about it. When salaries were paid last month, he even slipped me a generous bonus…"
Now that Uchiha En had been mentioned again, Izuna finally remembered him completely.
Once a fierce general, always killing on the front line—and he was still alive?
And from the sound of it, he seemed to be living pretty well?
No—more than well. Compared to the Warring States Era, it was practically like living in heaven!
At this moment, Izuna finally understood why 'Seisui' couldn't tolerate Danzō anymore…
These good days seemed to have gone on a little too long!
"Don't push Danzō too hard…"
"You can strike first and seize the initiative, then help him back up afterward and get some tangible benefits out of it…"
Izuna tried to persuade him earnestly.
He felt that 'Seisui' was being a little too extreme… why did he have to insist on pursuing perfection?
"Izuna, you're too weak!" Tobirama said with a frown.
"Seisui, I am the Young Clan Head!" Izuna said sternly, "This isn't a joke. You need to think it over carefully!"
If the Uchiha's good life collapsed because of this, that would be a major matter…
Izuna was naturally not weak. He was simply afraid that his clansmen would not live well.
He had a weak spot.
"Then I… then I'll think about it some more!"
Tobirama said noncommittally, but inwardly he felt a strange sort of sensation.
Why did this bastard keep ending up on the same wavelength as him? Something was off…
"This Sarutobi Hiruzen, to have managed Konoha in such an orderly way—he's no ordinary figure…"
Izuna murmured.
Tobirama smiled proudly inside. Well, whose disciple did he think he was?
Tobirama likewise highly approved of Hiruzen's ability to develop the economy and integrate internal resources.
They each had their own strengths!
"Seisui, you absolutely must not look at Sarutobi Hiruzen through the identity of being Senju Tobirama's disciple. That will give you an inborn hostility toward him, and it will interfere with your judgment!"
"This Sarutobi Hiruzen really does seem like the inheritor of Senju Hashirama."
"He sounds very decent, but I still need to verify it further. I hope you'll help me."
Izuna said this with utmost seriousness.
Tobirama rolled his eyes hugely in his heart.
You don't know shit!
"All right, time's almost up…"
Tobirama released 'Yata Spirit Invocation' and said flatly, "I'll rest for a few days, then come find you again…"
"When that time comes, take me to see the clan!" Izuna was extremely reluctant, but there was nothing he could do.
"Oh, right…"
"Izuna, you're so wary of Mito-sama…"
"Is it because back then you were flirting with girls from the Uzumaki clan, and after Mito-sama found out, she nearly ruined your face with Adamantine Sealing Chains? Clan Head Isshin told me that. I don't know whether it's true…"
After being disgusted by Izuna on an unconscious level, Tobirama decided to get his revenge.
"No—"
"How could that be? Hey, listen to me!"
Izuna nearly failed to hold it together. Since when was Isshin even telling Seisui gossip like this?!
But at that moment, his spirit body dispersed, returning from the mental space to the Pure Land.
"Hmph, trying to fight me!"
Tobirama chuckled. Today, he really had enjoyed himself, and his gains had been considerable.
Not only had he learned Izuna's dōjutsu, he had also spun him around like a top!
Feeling the depletion of ocular power within the mark, Tobirama was confident he could still summon Izuna many more times…
'So this is what Hiruzen meant by living a second life?'
'It feels pretty good…'
'But I am Hiruzen's sensei!'
Tobirama stressed once again in his heart, though of course no one could hear it.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Konoha,
Hiruzen was cleaning up this mess in Root for his old friend Danzō…
To control the intensity and keep the incident within manageable bounds, he first had to pacify the Root members.
First address the root of the problem and resolve the conflict at its source. After that, it'll be much easier to put rules in place and keep things under control.
Inside the Senju ancestral residence,
the original Root ninja had all gathered within, standing in a line.
Uzumaki Mito stood in the center, her expression kind and compassionate.
Hiruzen stood directly before the front of the line, stepped forward slowly, and firmly took the hand of the first Root ninja in his palm.
In a heavy, earnest voice, he said: "You've worked hard."
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