In the courtyard of the Senju mansion.
Three White Zetsu stood in a row on the open ground, with a crowd gathered not far in front of them.
Kawaki Hatake and Tsunade stood at the very front, alongside Ginji and Ritsukimi.
Nawaki and Misaki held Hanami's hands slightly behind them, followed by Kushina and Minato.
They were arranged roughly by closeness to the family—each person's position had been carefully chosen.
"Begin."
Tsunade addressed Orochimaru.
"Alright."
Orochimaru started moving once he received Tsunade's command.
He quickly formed several hand seals and slammed his palm hard onto the ground.
A massive array spread rapidly from where his palm touched, extending toward the three White Zetsu.
[Impure World Reincarnation].
As the four words left Orochimaru's mouth, the three White Zetsu let out cries filled with despair.
Three beams of white light shone brightly. The White Zetsu twisted, shattered, and then reformed. In no time, three familiar faces appeared before everyone.
"Grandfather."
Before the three could even open their eyes, Tsunade rushed toward Hashirama Senju.
Her tears had already spilled over as she tightly embraced him, though she felt no warmth in return.
"Li...little Tsun?"
Hashirama was stunned the moment he opened his eyes. Where exactly was he?
"Grandfather, it's me."
Hearing Hashirama's voice, Tsunade loosened her grip and looked up, already wearing a smile.
"You've come back, so does that mean you don't need Grandma anymore?"
"Oh ho! Good grandson."
Mito hadn't even finished speaking before Nawaki picked her up and spun her around several times.
Misaki and Kushina also crowded over, lips pressed tight while tears kept falling.
"How could I ever forget you?"
"It's just been too long since we last saw Grandfather."
Tsunade shyly wiped her face, still the same child at heart.
"It seems I've been forgotten."
"Who used the [Impure World Reincarnation] technique I created?"
Looking at the large group and the happy reunion between his older brother and others, Tobirama couldn't help but feel slightly ignored.
Was he really that low in respect?
"Teacher, it was my disciple Orochimaru who summoned you all."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the youthful-looking Tobirama, tears streaming down his aged face. There was no doubt about the sincerity in his expression.
"Sarutobi, you've grown old."
A slight smirk appeared on Tobirama's lips. Hiruzen was his most favored student.
He hadn't expected they'd meet again after all these years.
"You've been gone for decades—of course your disciple would grow old too."
Hiruzen pulled himself together and wiped away his tears.
"Did something happen that requires summoning us?"
"Is Konoha facing a problem it can't solve?"
Without being controlled, appearing in Konoha, right at home.
Tobirama had already figured out the answer without much thought.
"Second Grandfather, let me explain everything."
At this moment Kawaki stepped forward. His call of "Second Grandfather" momentarily confused Hashirama.
He definitely didn't remember his elder brother having such a grandson.
Hashirama's gaze was drawn to Kawaki, and he looked questioningly at Tsunade afterward.
"This is Tsunade's husband, Kawaki Hatake."
Mito led the group closer to Hashirama, beginning the introductions one by one.
Even though she'd never met Hanami and Ritsukimi before, she managed to guess their identities just by looking at their faces.
Hearing everyone call him "Grandpa" and "Great-Grandpa," Hashirama burst into laughter.
He never expected that upon returning to the Ninja World, he'd get to witness such a warm scene.
"Hey, try toning down the laughter a bit."
"Let's get down to business first."
Tobirama shot Hashirama a disapproving look. As expected, his reckless older brother still couldn't tell what really mattered.
The moment Tobirama spoke, Hashirama's laughter died, and the dignity of the so-called "God of the Ninja World" crumbled in an instant.
"Tsundere."
"Go say hello to your Ikeda Nidaime."
Mito gave her disappointing husband a glance before pushing Nawaki forward slightly on his back.
Nawaki stumbled ahead, followed closely by Misaki and the kids who then surrounded Tobirama.
"Hello Ikeda Nidaime. I'm Senju Nawaki."
"Hello Ikeda Nidaime. I'm Nawaki's wife, Senju Misaki."
"Hello Great-Grandfather. I'm Hatake Ginji."
"..."
Trapped in the crowd, Tobirama—who rarely showed any emotion—found himself blushing.
"Nice to meet you all. Nice to meet you all."
He hurriedly responded, glancing from one face to another, completely forgetting about the urgent matter he had come to discuss.
Once all the introductions were done, Hashirama and the rest finally followed Kawaki into the living room and took a seat.
"You're Kawaki, right?"
"Now, let me hear the situation directly from you."
The moment Tobirama sat down, he seized control of the conversation.
Hashirama didn't even have a chance to speak, simply watching Kawaki warmly.
"I'll keep it brief."
"The Ninja World has already been unified under our Hidden Leaf Village."
"Huh?"
Kawaki hadn't even finished speaking before being interrupted.
"Wait, wait a second."
"The Ninja World has been unified by our Hidden Leaf?"
Tobirama looked utterly shocked yet strangely excited. This was something even he and his older brother had failed to accomplish.
"Yes, sir. You heard correctly."
"The Will of Fire now spreads across the entire Ninja World."
Clearly, Hiruzen Sarutobi's words carried a lot of weight with Tobirama.
"Good job. Very good indeed."
"But this doesn't feel like something the monkey could pull off."
"Who is the current Hokage? They deserve recognition."
Tobirama naturally knew the kind of mess he had left behind for his disciple. And frankly, he didn't think Hiruzen could unify the ninja world either.
"Uh... At the time, Tsunade was in office. She was the Fourth Hokage."
"Oh! Ohhh!"
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"Currently, the Fifth Hokage is Minato Namikaze, Kawaki Hatake's disciple."
Hiruzen hesitated slightly as he spoke. He knew full well how Tsunade was viewed by Hashirama and Tobirama.
"Eh?"
Upon hearing this, Hashirama's mouth fell open wide in shock as he stared at Tsunade.
"Did you seriously pull that off, you little gambler?"
"Don't underestimate your granddaughter."
"Though, of course, Kawaki helped quite a bit."
Without hesitation, Mito smacked Hashirama on the back of the head. She wholeheartedly approved of how Tsunade had handled herself during her time in office.
"Good kid. Impressive indeed."
"Go on."
The more Tobirama observed Kawaki, the more impressed he became. He credited every success solely to Kawaki.
As for Tsunade, he didn't think she was even as good as Hiruzen.
"Madara Uchiha wasn't truly dead."
Before Kawaki could finish his first sentence, he was interrupted again.
"How is that possible? I killed him with my own hands."
Hashirama's expression turned serious. Could Madara have faked his death under his very nose?
"He had prepared a Transcription Seal beforehand, to seal Izanagi within his right eye."
"That's how he evaded your sensing ability."
"And after obtaining your flesh and fused with it for decades, he awakened the [Rinnegan]."
"During the war, he was like a candle flame flickering in the wind, clinging to life by relying on the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path."
"I killed him and brought his corpse back."
"But recently, someone reincarnated him through the Impure World Reincarnation, and he used the Rinnegan's power to fully resurrect."
Kawaki explained all of this about Madara, while Hashirama and Tobirama grew grimmer with each word.
No one knew the true nature of Madara better than these two brothers.
There was no doubt that Madara's resurrection would surely spell immense calamity for the Ninja World.
...
Naruto: Starting from Pursuing Tsunade — please bookmark: (m.