"Hm?"
Tobirama glanced at Orochimaru in confusion.
He understood exactly what Orochimaru was implying...
It was feasible, but it would require a greater supply of life force.
So why was he hesitating so much?
As a researcher of the "Tobirama School," he shouldn't be worrying about how demanding the conditions for success were. He should be thinking about how to meet those conditions and whether the desired results could be achieved!
"Shio, can you provide Tomie with a little more life force?"
"I'd like to solve her problem once and for all," Tobirama said solemnly.
The words sounded more like an order.
Research was like a battlefield.
Without realizing it, Tobirama had unconsciously slipped into the mindset of his days as Hokage.
"..."
Shio fell silent.
What exactly was that attitude supposed to mean?
"Go ahead..." Shio looked at Tomie, unconsciously clenching her other fist.
"I'm fine..."
"Thank you..." The way Tomie looked at Shio became tinged with sympathy.
She didn't refuse.
Instead, she tried biting down harder.
But after losing so much blood, Tomie had very little strength left. Even biting harder, she couldn't absorb much chakra.
Watching this scene, Shio turned her head and glanced at Tobirama, who was completely focused on the machine.
Then she smiled silently once more.
'Let's consider the debt between us completely repaid!'
Shio took a deep breath.
She pulled her arm from Tomie's mouth, swiftly grabbed a nearby scalpel, and sliced a deep wound into her own forearm!
Chakra-rich blood flowed from the wound directly into Tomie's mouth.
If she couldn't bite, she could still swallow, couldn't she?
This was the most efficient method of transferring chakra!
Shio's actions caused Orochimaru to let out a small cry of surprise.
Oh my...
With his deep understanding of human nature, he immediately realized things were about to become very interesting!
At that moment, Izuna covered his face and bared his teeth.
'Oh no...'
'How did they push such a good Uzumaki girl to this point?'
'This, this, this...'
Izuna first examined Tomie, then focused particularly on Shio.
He had a feeling that something unusual had already formed between the two women...
If Seisui and Tomie ended up getting along happily, things might still be manageable.
The problem was that Tobirama and Tomie getting along happily was highly unlikely...
And if Shio and Tomie developed some strange relationship between themselves, the level of trouble involved would increase exponentially!
'Thankfully, if Seisui doesn't get involved with anyone else afterward, this is Konoha, not the Warring States Era. Nothing else should happen... right?'
'But why does this method feel so familiar?'
'Isn't this treating an Uzumaki the same way they'd treat an Uchiha? How can that possibly be right?!'
Izuna's sense of déjà vu grew stronger and stronger.
What Tobirama was doing was actually very similar to what certain elderly Uchiha had done during the Warring States Era.
Although the Uchiha had never studied the Sharingan as systematically as Tobirama had, they still had centuries of accumulated experience.
In short, emotional stimulation made it easier to awaken the Sharingan.
As a result, some senior Uchiha in the Warring States Era would deliberately create special situations to stimulate younger clan members' emotions and force awakenings...
In other words, they staged setups!
Izuna had always strongly opposed such practices.
It might increase a clan member's strength, but methods resembling betrayal and manipulation greatly weakened younger generations' trust in their elders.
Worse still, it stimulated the uncontrollable aspects of the Sharingan.
Talented people who could have contributed to the clan often ended up falling into extreme and unpredictable darkness instead...
That was why, when Izuna held power, he suppressed the practice as much as possible.
Even though Uchiha Madara didn't particularly care, Izuna had forced his elder brother to stop doing it and prohibited everyone else from engaging in such short-sighted, growth-forcing behavior...
What Izuna never expected was that fifty years later, he would witness someone doing it again!
And even more bizarrely, completely unconsciously...
'If Shio were an Uchiha, she'd definitely have awakened her Sharingan by now...'
'Was Seisui accidentally stumbling into the right answer, or is he a natural?'
A bad feeling rose within Izuna.
Tomie and Shio were already in this situation, and that was bad enough.
He absolutely couldn't let Seisui do this to anyone else in the future...
Even accidentally.
It was terrifying!
What Izuna didn't know was that, without his supervision, his brother had been planning something like this for a very long time...
And Tobirama would most likely never run into this sort of problem.
When it came to dealing with men, he was quite skilled...
Watching everything unfold, Tsunade's eyes burned with rage.
She desperately wanted to punch that little Uchiha brat as hard as she could!
Meanwhile, Hiruko nodded secretly.
To some extent, he actually understood Tobirama's actions.
'When you're completely immersed in research and viewing things through pure rationality, it's inevitable that you'll overlook other aspects...' Hiruko understood this very well. He had once been exactly the same.
'Orochimaru was right. This boy is a textbook researcher of the 'Tobirama School.''
'Though it's certainly strange that an Uchiha ended up following the Second Hokage's path. The world really is full of surprises...'
Hiruko smiled to himself.
This matter had nothing to do with him.
He was content to sit back and enjoy the show...
Tomie gulped down mouthful after mouthful of Shio's life-infused blood.
The metallic sweetness in her throat told her that her damaged, weakened body was being repaired at astonishing speed...
'I owe her far too much now.'
Tomie thought silently.
'And I took Seisui away from her too... sigh...'
After Shio did that, the speed of the treatment visibly increased.
The greater flow of life force allowed Tobirama to fully commit, boldly using the nanoscopic poisonous insects as the finest possible filter to completely eliminate every toxin in the blood!
A short while later, Tobirama let out a long breath and nodded in satisfaction.
The operation had been a complete success!
From this day forward, the historical burden he and Izuna carried regarding Tomie could finally be laid to rest...
They no longer owed her anything!
Tobirama turned toward Shio and said seriously: "Thank you for your hard work..."
"Is there anything you'd like me to do for you?"
After healing the wound on her wrist, Shio stared directly at Tobirama.
"Close your eyes."
That was her request.
Tobirama frowned.
"Why?"
"That's what I want."
For perhaps the first time ever, Shio's tone carried a trace of forcefulness.
At that moment, Tobirama belatedly realized something.
Had Shio never accepted his proposal that they regard each other as brother and sister?
"I mean..."
"She wants me to close my eyes. Don't tell me she wants to... you know...?"
Tobirama wanted to say kiss me, but the words caught in his throat.
Especially with Izuna listening, he found the subject difficult to discuss.
"Kiss you? Maybe..."
Izuna twitched at the corner of his mouth.
He couldn't rule it out.
Then again, it could be something else...
He had never encountered a situation like this before. It was difficult to analyze!
"If you ask me, just do as she says. The girl's given enough blood to fill a reservoir. Are you really that precious?"
Izuna offered his rational analysis.
"Come on, enough already!"
Tobirama sighed.
"You have a point. But I don't want a romantic relationship. Even if she does something like that, I'll find an opportunity to explain things clearly afterward..."
That said, Tobirama had his own little scheme.
Back then, he could have been far more decisive with his words.
There was no need to establish a brother-and-sister relationship with Shio. Simple friendship or comradeship would have been enough and would have prevented future complications.
But Shio had value.
As an Uzumaki survivor, Tobirama was certain Mito would personally train her...
And if she proved sufficiently clever and diligent, she could inherit Mito's complete legacy, gaining access to numerous texts and records that even Tobirama had never been allowed to see during his time as Hokage.
He was interested in many secret histories of the Uzumaki Clan.
He also had plenty of ideas concerning Fūinjutsu.
But he didn't dare ask Mito directly...
Doing so would practically be a confession.
If, however, he asked through Shio while acting as Seisui, everything would be different...
So, at Shio's request, Tobirama closed his eyes.
Tomie frowned.
This scene felt strangely familiar...
Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Hiruko all unconsciously held their breath.
Then—
A fierce look flashed through Shio's eyes.
Ignoring her chakra-depleted condition, she gathered every last ounce of strength into her hand and swung it directly at Tobirama's face with all her might!
The moment she struck, the intense surge of emotion triggered the power hidden within her bloodline.
A golden chain wrapped around her palm.
It was none other than Adamantine Sealing Chains!
With his eyes closed, Tobirama immediately sensed something was wrong and prepared to dodge.
But at that exact moment, Izuna poured chakra into him.
The sudden disruption in his chakra pathways prevented Tobirama from moving in time.
The slap landed squarely.
The Uzumaki Clan's strength was clearly no joke.
The blow sent Tobirama spinning like a top...
And because the strike carried sealing chakra, even Izuna inside Tobirama felt as though he'd been slapped as well.
"I don't owe you anything anymore!"
Shio burst into tears, yet her heart felt strangely liberated.
That single slap instantly eased much of the pain inside her.
In her eyes, wasn't the whole reason Seisui had called her here to prove Tomie's innocence?
Fine.
Then she would help him one last time!
After this slap, perhaps it wasn't quite a complete severing of ties...
But they certainly wouldn't be seeing each other again.
"Beautiful!"
Tsunade cheered loudly and immediately turned to chase after Shio as she pushed open the door and left.
Originally, Tsunade had planned to punch Tobirama herself...
But since Shio had already handled it, there was no need anymore.
"What was that for, Izuna?!"
Tobirama shouted angrily.
"You made me stand there and take that hit!"
"You idiot. If you hadn't taken that slap, the consequences would've been even worse."
Izuna spoke with the authority of experience.
"It's better to let emotions out than bottle them up. You need to understand that."
"Understand what? Why did she hit me?"
Holding his cheek, Tobirama grimaced.
Between the sheer force of the strike and the Adamantine Sealing Chains, it genuinely hurt!
The last time someone had slapped him in the face was when he was a child and Senju Butsuma had done it...
Even he and that bastard Uchiha Izuna had maintained an unspoken agreement never to hit each other in the face!
"Think about it."
"You called her here, and Tomie was right beside you..."
"That slap was her way of helping you draw a clear line between things."
Izuna rubbed his own cheek as he spoke.
"Look at this. You got me slapped too. It's been years since a woman hit me!"
Now that Seisui had been slapped, his head should finally start working properly.
Izuna carefully explained what both Shio and Tomie had been thinking, getting surprisingly close to the truth.
"From now on, just interact with Tomie normally. The girl's vented her anger. Given enough time, this whole matter will pass..."
"I think she's extremely talented. Thanks to your stupidity, she awakened Adamantine Sealing Chains. Now she has Mito teaching her too. This might actually be a good thing for her."
Izuna spoke thoughtfully.
"Based on how she kept following you around, Shio clearly never took her own talent seriously. She's not naturally like Mito..."
"But now she's finally awakened to reality. She'll focus on her own path. Who knows? She might even become a second Mito someday."
Shio awakening Adamantine Sealing Chains had genuinely caught Izuna off guard.
How was it that an Uchiha method worked on an Uzumaki too?
Then he quickly understood.
Strong emotions stimulating bloodline abilities was hardly unique to the Sharingan.
The Sharingan was simply unusually sensitive to it.
'What a terrifying natural-born schemer...'
Izuna complained inwardly.
'Especially when it's unconscious. Who could possibly tell what's genuine and what's calculated?'
'It's a good thing Seisui wasn't born during the Warring States Era. Otherwise he'd probably end up just like those old fossils, spending every day figuring out how to manipulate people's emotions and force every clan member into awakening their Sharingan!'
'If that happened, he'd go down with a terrible reputation. Even decades later, the clan would still be cursing his name behind his back...'
What Izuna didn't know was that Seisui was already enjoying that treatment.
"I need to explain things to her!"
To Izuna's surprise, Tobirama spoke up.
"This wasn't my intention. There's been a misunderstanding!"
Things would have been better if Izuna hadn't brought it up...
But now that he had, Tobirama remembered that Shio's talent gave her a real chance of inheriting Mito's legacy.
Just imagine—a miniature Mito who could constantly answer questions.
How much would that help his research?
"Hey, hey! Stop! Stop right there!"
Izuna was dumbfounded.
"What about Tomie?"
Izuna knew Seisui probably wasn't interested in her...
But he couldn't just provoke one woman and then immediately walk away, could he?
There was a certain suicidal elegance to it...
"What about her?"
Tobirama frowned.
"Oh, I understand. She may think I'm trying to court her, but you know the real reason behind everything..."
"I'll explain it to her later."
"If necessary, I'll tell her about my bloodline. I'll explain that I was trying to atone for the past!"
"I don't have time to play pointless romance games."
Izuna took a deep breath.
He genuinely wanted to applaud Seisui.
"Seisui, tell me honestly..."
"Have you been reading books you shouldn't have?"
"I understand wanting a few more Mangekyō Sharingan in the Uchiha Clan. You've experienced my power firsthand, after all..."
"But you can't do it like this! Aren't you deliberately provoking Tomie?!"
If he hadn't spent so much time with Seisui already...
Izuna would have seriously suspected that Seisui was secretly some extremist old-school Uchiha from the Warring States Era.
First he attracted Shio.
Then he upset her and chased after her to explain things...
And now he was preparing to abandon Tomie too!
If emotions were a minefield, and people needed to tread carefully to avoid setting off explosives...
Then in Izuna's eyes, Seisui looked like someone deliberately stomping on every mine he could find.
As if he was afraid of missing even one...
"I'll explain everything clearly to her."
"And besides, one day the truth about my bloodline will become known to the rest of Konoha's shinobi anyway. That will help further integrate the Uchiha Clan with the village. We've already talked about this before, haven't we?"
Tobirama was beginning to get irritated.
The way Izuna was talking made it sound as though he were intentionally trying to create emotionally unstable Mangekyō users!
Izuna chuckled.
That part wasn't wrong...
But he had a strong feeling Seisui wouldn't be able to explain things nearly as clearly as he imagined.
'Trying to persuade him to get together with Tomie won't work either...'
'What a once-in-a-century romantic genius.'
'With just a little effort, he not only awakened a new Adamantine Sealing Chains user, he might even create another pair of Mangekyō Sharingan.'
Izuna thought highly of Tomie's talent as well.
"How about this..."
"Don't rush things."
"Tomie still needs several months to recover anyway. During that time, don't tell her any of this, and don't go looking for Shio either. Let things cool down first."
"During that period, gradually lower Tomie's expectations of you, little by little..."
Izuna was truly out of ideas.
Even he couldn't find a perfect solution to the mess in front of him.
Seisui was simply unbelievable!
The only option left was to find the least emotionally damaging approach possible.
"Alright, I understand..."
Tobirama nodded and rubbed his cheek.
It still hurt...
The problem wasn't that Izuna's plan was wrong.
It was that he had overlooked something.
Deep bonds could form between Uzumaki and Uchiha as well...
After all, the Uzumaki and Senju shared the same roots.
Tomie was absolutely going to seek out Shio.
And when Tobirama eventually turned Tomie down—even if he did so as smoothly as possible—the moment he later went to seek out the now-stronger Shio, Tomie would inevitably be hurt.
The Uchiha were also a clan that instinctively thought about strength before anything else.
At that point, would Tomie start wondering if it was because she was too weak?
Just like Shio was doing now...
Without realizing it, Izuna's well-intentioned advice had also created a trap for Tobirama.
A delay of several months was more than enough time for Mito and the Nine-Tails to completely transform Shio, who was now determined to grow stronger.
At the very least, by then she would be vastly stronger than Tomie, who was only just recovering from a serious illness.
It could only be said that letting things cool off didn't always lead to a happy resolution.
Sometimes, it simply gave problems more time to ferment...
"You should rest."
Tobirama glanced at Tomie.
"I still have things to do."
Tomie froze for a moment before obediently nodding.
Why did that tone feel different?
But after a moment's thought, it made sense.
He had just taken such a heavy slap because of her. Naturally, he wouldn't be in a good mood.
Meanwhile, Izuna covered his face once again.
There it was...
He had just suggested gradually cooling things down, and Tobirama was already putting the plan into practice?
Izuna had made up his mind.
The next time he encountered either Tomie or Shio, his first priority would be protecting himself.
Otherwise, he might get caught in the crossfire while hiding inside Tobirama's body...
A complete disaster he had nothing to do with!
Both the Sharingan and Adamantine Sealing Chains could reach deep enough to affect him, after all...
Beyond Konoha, the rest of the world continued turning at high speed...
In Amegakure, Hanzō was intensively training the village's shinobi in basic etiquette and professionalism.
When dealing with Konoha and the nobles of the Land of Fire, mistakes were absolutely unacceptable!
Otherwise, they would be embarrassing his elder brother in front of others and cutting off Amegakure's path to survival.
Someone was watching him.
That person was Danzō...
Although he and Danzō had cooperated before and shared a certain degree of camaraderie, once he entered Konoha, the two would inevitably become rivals.
Because both of them understood the other's past methods and conduct too well.
Neither could truly trust the other.
They existed in a strange ecosystem of mutual vigilance and supervision, all for the sake of Hiruzen and Konoha.
"I need to find a way to cooperate with those young people from the Akatsuki Organization..."
"That Yahiko doesn't matter much. The important one is Nagato. He carries the bloodline of the Uzumaki Clan..."
"He's the best possible bridge between Amegakure and Konoha."
Hanzō waved a hand.
"Go. Send someone to contact the Akatsuki Organization. I want to talk with them!"
The Ame shinobi known as Heiji of the Rain Shelter, who proudly referred to himself as Hanzō's right-hand man, thought for a moment before asking: "Hanzō-sama, should we lure them over and eliminate them?"
"They're an unstable element within Amegakure."
Hanzō took a deep breath.
"From now on, stop thinking about killing your own people every chance you get!"
"Get out of here! And remember—you are inviting them!"
Heiji immediately scrambled away.
Yet despite being scolded, he wasn't angry.
In fact, he was happy.
Because the Hanzō he admired had once been exactly this kind of man—a hero who embraced talented younger generations within the village instead of constantly obsessing over so-called balance.
"I still need to carry out major reforms. I have to combine my elder brother's Will of Fire with Konoha's regulations and properly educate the village's shinobi. We absolutely cannot afford mistakes..."
Rubbing his temples, Hanzō muttered: "Big Brother said the Hyūga Clan will be sending people over for guidance soon. Good. We can have them help."
Though exhausted, Hanzō was in remarkably good spirits.
Because he knew all of this would make Amegakure better...
Meanwhile, within the Land of Fire—
At the Konoha Orphanage.
Orochimaru arrived with the intention of scouting for talented children.
Unexpectedly, however, he encountered a familiar face he hadn't expected to see.
Standing at the front of a classroom, Hizashi smiled warmly as he addressed the children: "Children, whose food are you eating?"
"Hokage-sama's food!"
"And whose clothes are you wearing?"
"Hokage-sama's clothes!"
"And who will you work for when you grow up?"
"We'll work for Hokage-sama!"
Hizashi nodded in satisfaction.
"Very good..."
"Children, if you need anything, you can coordinate through Director Nonō and me. The village will do its best to take care of you."
"Eat well, study hard, train diligently, and grow up as soon as possible..."
Watching the scene, Orochimaru couldn't help but laugh.
Which genius had assigned Hyūga Hizashi to work at an orphanage doing this?
Then again, perhaps it was simply a personal hobby of his...
"Eh?"
Hizashi's expression shifted slightly as he stepped out of the classroom.
"Councilor Orochimaru, what brings you here?"