It wasn't surprising that Tobirama didn't recognize Tsunade right away. When he died back then, she was only ten years old. Now, ten years had passed, and her appearance and temperament had changed greatly.
"Yes, it's me!" Tsunade felt a warmth in her heart and immediately stepped forward.
But just as he was feeling emotional and preparing to take a good look at his grandniece, she suddenly grabbed him by the collar and snarled, "Do you even know what you did back then?!"
Seeing this, Tobirama was stunned. But then a familiar feeling washed over him.
Wasn't this exactly like the act he and Tsunade had once put on, back when he implemented reforms to civilianize the Senju clan and upset Mito?
Yes, no doubt about it, this was Tsunade!
Tobirama, known for his iron will and stern demeanor, rarely showed warmth to anyone and always wore a cold expression. But few knew that when it came to her, he had a softer side. And when dealing with his widowed sister-in-law, he was also willing to lower himself.
Seeing Tsunade sneak a glance at Shin's reaction, Tobirama felt deeply gratified, and immediately understood her intent.
This girl was clearly pretending to be mad at him just to show Shin. With that kind of emotional intelligence, she was leagues ahead of Hiruzen.
Watching Shin's helpless expression and twitching facial muscles, Tobirama felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off his heart. Back when Hiruzen told him about Tsunade's relationship with Shin, he hadn't said anything out loud, but he had been deeply conflicted and worried.
With his years of research, he knew that once a member of the Uchiha clan decided to take revenge, they were incredibly patient and calculating.
So he couldn't be sure whether Shin being with his grandniece was truly out of love, or just a part of some long-term revenge plot.
If it were the latter, even if he had wronged Shin in the past, even if the chances of success were slim, he would have to find a way to eliminate him, or the consequences could be disastrous.
But if it were the former, that would be a different story.
Seeing Shin instantly catch on to Tsunade's ploy and turn his head with an exasperated expression, Tobirama made his judgment.
"Sigh, it's all my fault," he said, immediately playing along. "Shin, I know I caused you great pain. At this point, anything I say is too late. Even an apology now feels meaningless. I just hope that what I did won't affect your relationship with Tsunade."
"Save your act," Shin said. "Whatever's between me and Tsunade has absolutely nothing to do with you. Don't bother sticking your nose in."
"That's right! You talk too much!" Tsunade quickly added, pretending to be angry.
"It's all my fault," Tobirama said again, looking regretful. "But as a former Hokage, it's hard not to worry about the younger generation."
Watching this little performance between granduncle and grandniece as they used the conversation to build rapport, Shin rolled his eyes at Tsunade in annoyance.
What else could he do?
Truthfully, the moment Tsunade appeared, it was clear he couldn't do anything to Tobirama anymore. Letting a dead man ruin a living relationship just wasn't worth it.
And that was fine. In fact, his hatred for Tobirama had been steadily fading ever since his death, and after getting together with Tsunade, it had all but disappeared.
This time, he resurrected Tobirama through Edo Tensei more to deal with Hiruzen than for personal revenge, and also to bring some closure to the past.
After witnessing Tobirama's pain and despair while hearing Hiruzen recount all that had happened, he had pretty much let go of his resentment. He had originally planned to let Tobirama execute Hiruzen himself, and then release the Edo Tensei, sending him back to the Pure Land.
Who would've thought that Tsunade would show up at that very moment?
He felt rather regretful, the script was just one step away from its grand finale. Hiruzen was moments from dying at Tobirama's hands, and then... it all got interrupted.
Seeing that Shin had truly calmed down, Tobirama let out a sigh of relief. At the same time, he began asking Tsunade for more details about the things he'd just heard from Hiruzen, and wanted to understand how she viewed those events.
It wasn't that he didn't believe Hiruzen's account, he just needed more information to make a comprehensive analysis and judgment about Konoha's future. Without that, he couldn't rest easy.
After personally hearing about the great victories at the front lines, and how richly talented Konoha's new generation was, his heart was finally at ease.
There was only one thing that left him speechless, the matter of Tsunade becoming Hokage.
From the earlier conversation, he had noticed that while she was completely devoted to Konoha, her rise to this position was essentially like being pushed onto the stage, forced into the role with no choice. She was relying almost entirely on Shin's full support.
In truth, she had almost no plan for how to be a good Hokage, and she was unfamiliar with many of the responsibilities that came with the position.
In other words, even though she was about to take the seat of Hokage, she wasn't ready to become one.
From what he could tell so far, it was Shin, not Tsunade, who seemed more suited for the role of Hokage.
But the moment that thought came up, he quickly rejected it.
Not only had Tsunade made it very clear that Shin had no desire to become Hokage, and wouldn't agree even if they begged him, but more importantly, Tobirama still had lingering concerns about the instability of the Uchiha clan's nature. Someone like that becoming Hokage would be a potential threat to Konoha.
The one he had truly taken an interest in was someone else entirely.
"Minato, right?" Tobirama approached the blond kid who was currently being scolded by Shin.
"What do you want?" Minato replied rudely. Couldn't he see he was getting chewed out?
He hadn't just learned Shin's strategic thinking, he'd also picked up his loyalty and protectiveness.
To the person who had been the root cause of his brother's tragic fate, he couldn't be bothered to put on a friendly face. The fact that he even acknowledged Tobirama was already a favor, mostly for Tsunade's sake.
Tobirama didn't get angry at all. He continued on calmly, "Tsunade told me quite a bit about you. I heard your dream is to become Hokage?"
"So what if it is?" Minato answered grumpily.
"Then do you know what it takes to become an excellent Hokage?" Tobirama asked again.
"Heh, that's none of your concern." Minato glanced at Tobirama, then cast a look at Hiruzen, still kneeling on the ground. He added, "But I'll tell you this, if I do become Hokage, I'd never be as blind to people's true nature as you were. And I definitely wouldn't be like him, corrupt, selfish, abusing his power, and a disgrace of a human being."
Tobirama's expression didn't change at all. On the contrary, he even nodded in satisfaction, but beneath the surface, his foot had already dug a hole into the floor of the Hokage building.
Being looked down on like this by a kid he had actually taken a liking to and hoped to guide, it really stung. And the worst part was, he couldn't even refute it.