After leaving his house, Fūmori Masaki didn't know where to go. Thinking for a moment, he decided to follow what he had casually said and walked towards Hashirama's house.
After stepping down, Hashirama spent his days at home recuperating, playing with his grandchildren, living just like an ordinary old man.
As a disciple of Tobirama, Fūmori Masaki was a familiar face within the Senju Clan. He greeted the Senju Clan Members he knew as he made his way to the house, and led by a maid, he arrived at the room where Hashirama was recuperating.
Before the door was even opened, Fūmori Masaki heard the sound of Hashirama teasing a child, and the happy laughter of a little girl coming from inside.
Soon after, the maid opened the door, and he saw Hashirama holding and playing with a blonde girl, looking quite happy.
"Oh, Masaki." Seeing that the person visiting him was Fūmori Masaki, Hashirama said with a smile, "Look, this is my granddaughter, Tsunade."
Fūmori Masaki knew at a glance that this girl was Tsunade; only Tsunade could be doted on so much by Hashirama.
He had heard that Hashirama's granddaughter had been born a few months ago, but due to his training, he hadn't met her yet. Now, he was seeing what this future Fifth Generation Hokage looked like as a child.
"Lord Hashirama, how is your health?" After taking a look at young Tsunade, Fūmori Masaki asked about Hashirama's physical condition.
"Hmm, I can't say it's good, but I can't say it's bad either," Hashirama said nonchalantly. "Based on how I feel, I should still be able to live for another year or two."
At this time, Konohagakure did not yet have a Medical Department, and Medical Ninjas had not been systematically organized; they relied entirely on their own unique Secret Technique, which appeared very disorganized.
At this time, the person best at Medical Ninjutsu was Hashirama himself. If even he said so, it was likely quite accurate.
Fūmori Masaki was also very sad, but he had no way to help. Looking at Fūmori Masaki's expression, Hashirama seemed to guess his thoughts and said, "It's alright, I've already prepared myself."
"I've spent half my life in war; being able to enjoy my final years in peace is already very fortunate. Like my father, he never had a day of leisure from the time he was born until he died."
For someone like Hashirama who was born in an era of war, being able to die in peaceful times could be called a kind of happiness. However, Fūmori Masaki was a bit worried; if the Land of Lightning started a war before Hashirama died, wouldn't Hashirama's death be less peaceful?
At this moment, Tsunade started wailing, seemingly blaming Hashirama for ignoring her. Hashirama hurriedly went to coax his granddaughter. It seemed Hashirama was quite good at coaxing children, and soon, Tsunade was all smiles again.
Hashirama held Tsunade in his arms and said, "You seem to have something on your mind."
Fūmori Masaki naturally wouldn't talk about the war, so he mentioned the conflict with Satomi, sighed, and said, "I just didn't want her to face danger, but she got angry. Come to think of it, this is also my fault; I didn't expect her to be so dedicated to being a Ninja."
"Why would you think that?" Hashirama asked curiously, "That child, Satomi, is indeed a Ninja. Isn't it natural for a Ninja to fulfill their duties?"
Fūmori Masaki was silent for a moment. He had carelessly brought the mindset of another world here, forgetting that the environment here was different. Ninjas all accepted their duties. Even Hashirama only believed that children shouldn't step onto the battlefield, but he didn't feel that adults shouldn't either. And at this time, Satomi was already an adult woman, so naturally, she should shoulder the duties of a Ninja.
"This is my fault. I should understand her." Fūmori Masaki did not try to argue. Since he lived in such a world, before others' perceptions changed, he shouldn't deny them.
"Masaki, if you really don't want Satomi to encounter danger, then just protect her, so she doesn't encounter danger. Wouldn't that be better?" Hashirama said.
"I understand, Lord Hashirama." Fūmori Masaki nodded, feeling that this was the only way. He had no reason to stop Satomi, so the only thing he could do was to protect Satomi himself.
Hashirama said with satisfaction, "Good. Anyway, I don't have anything to do right now. If you have anything you don't understand about your training, feel free to tell me."
Upon hearing this, Fūmori Masaki, who happened to have a question to ask Hashirama, inquired about Sage Art. Hashirama did not learn Sage Art from Shikkotsu Forest, so what was Hashirama's line of thinking when using Sage Art?
"Oh, you want to ask about that. Hmm..." Hashirama gently rubbed his chin and said, "Let's play a game. While we play, I'll tell you."
"Huh?" Fūmori Masaki said in surprise. When he saw Hashirama take a stack of things out of the cabinet in the room, he remembered that this person was very fond of gambling; Tsunade's interest was led astray by Hashirama.
"Lord Hashirama, isn't this bad for a child's education?" Looking at the curious little Tsunade, Fūmori Masaki couldn't help but say.
"You don't even have children, yet you want to talk to me about child education?" Hashirama laughed, "Don't worry, this isn't a bad thing. Playing will make you very happy."
No, no, if you knew that your granddaughter always loses when gambling, and that something bad would happen if she won, you wouldn't think that. Fūmori Masaki glanced at the little Tsunade who was clapping her hands happily and thought to himself, "Looks like she's already been led astray."
The game Hashirama brought out was a popular one in the capital. To Fūmori Masaki, it seemed somewhat similar to cards from his other world. Although the rules were different, the principle was similar: it was about comparing sizes.
Fūmori Masaki listened to Hashirama explain the rules and started playing with him. Honestly, Hashirama and his granddaughter were about the same; although he wasn't as unlucky, he wasn't good either. Fūmori Masaki, a beginner, even beat Hashirama many times.
However, Hashirama didn't care much about winning or losing. What he liked was the feeling of playing the game. When he lost, he would just say it was a pity; when he won, he would be very happy. If it was just for fun and nothing was being gambled, this mindset was actually quite good.
While playing, the two talked about Sage Art. Hashirama said that although he didn't learn Sage Art from Shikkotsu Forest, in terms of his approach, he had borrowed a bit from Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Art. Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Art involves incorporating Natural Energy into the body and injecting life, similar to the effects of Yang Release. The reason Hashirama's Wood Release was so powerful was because his Yang Release was extraordinarily astonishing, and after using Sage Art, its strength reached an unbelievable level.
Fūmori Masaki knew the power of the True Several Thousand Hands, and Hashirama's answer made his heart stir. Hashirama had never learned Shikkotsu Forest Sage Art, yet he could imitate the effects of Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Art. Perhaps his guess was correct: Sage Art learned purely on one's own, without any Sage Art lineage, had high plasticity.
At this time, Fūmori Masaki thought of another person and asked, "Lord Hashirama, since the ancestor of Sage Art is called a Sage, did the Six Paths Sage also learn it from Shikkotsu Forest, Ryūchi Cave, or Mount Myōboku?"
"Of course not." Hashirama shook his head. "When I first came to Shikkotsu Forest, I asked the same question. The Slug Sage told me personally that the Six Paths Sage did not learn from the places where Sage Art is inherited, but learned Sage Art on his own. Moreover, to some extent, he even guided the three places of Sage Art inheritance."
Hearing this, Fūmori Masaki calculated in his mind that the Six Paths Sage was in the same situation as him and Hashirama: they had all mastered Natural Energy on their own. That meant the Six Paths Sage should also have a Sage Art lineage. After all, current rumors about Secret Techniques all originated from the Shinobi Sect's secret scriptures, so Ninjas viewed the Shinobi Sect as their source and revered the Six Paths Sage as the ancestor of Ninjutsu.
Indra was not the heir to the Shinobi Sect. Those who recorded Secret Techniques in the secret scriptures were either the Six Paths Sage or Ashura and his successors. As the heir, Ashura should also have recorded the Secret Technique concerning Sage Art in the secret scriptures.
It seems I should also try to collect some records of the Shinobi Sect. Perhaps in them, I can find clues about the Six Paths Sage's Sage Art, Fūmori Masaki thought.