Seeing the stunned look in the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju's eyes, Uchiha Fugaku, for some reason, felt a surge of satisfaction deep inside!
On the other side, Uchiha Madara was feeling pretty darn pleased too!
Sure, the Uchiha clan is gone, but your Senju clan fell apart even earlier!!
"Heh…" Madara sneered. "Lord Second Hokage, if we're being real here, your Senju clan's got it way worse than us Uchihas!
At least after our clan was wiped out, two of us survived. But your Senju clan? Down to just one person! And it's a woman!!!"
"What did you say?!!
Impossible!!
Absolutely impossible!!
How could the Senju clan not have a single bloodline left?!?!"
Tobirama was in disbelief. If you looked at it that way, the Senju clan really was gone—after all, a woman takes her husband's name upon marriage, and her kids take his name too. That meant the Senju family was done!!!
Across the room, Hashirama Senju gazed at Fugaku with an eerily calm expression. But that calm stare carried an overwhelming pressure that made Fugaku feel like he was under a mountain.
"Lord Second Hokage, nothing's impossible!" Fugaku continued. "Right now, the only surviving Senju is Lord First's granddaughter, Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin! But even she's not in the Hidden Leaf anymore—she left the village a long time ago…"
BAM!!
Tobirama slammed his fist on the table!
"Damn it!!! That idiot Hiruzen Sarutobi!! That idiot Danzo Shimura!! What the hell are those two doing?! Evil Sarutobi!! Evil Shimura!!!!"
Tobirama was seething, the veins on his forehead bulging.
Hashirama, standing nearby, stayed silent for a long time before letting out a heavy sigh…
"Tobirama, enough. Since it's already happened, all we can do is accept it…"
"Big brother!!! What kind of nonsense are you spouting?!
That's our clan!! Those are your descendants!!!
They're gone!! Completely freaking gone!!!
All that's left is little Tsunade!! How much pain has she been through?! Why else would she leave the Hidden Leaf?!!
We don't have a clan anymore, big brother!!!"
Tobirama felt like he couldn't breathe, especially when he thought about how his granddaughter must have suffered. Her clan wiped out, all alone in the world, and finally leaving the Hidden Leaf—the home she grew up in—out of despair!
Since Tobirama had no descendants of his own, Hashirama's were as good as his own. Tsunade was Hashirama's granddaughter, but she was just as much Tobirama's too!!!
Hashirama, who'd been so lively before, fell into a heavy silence. After a long pause, he spoke.
"Tobirama, I just remembered something Hirofumi said: The past can't be undone, but the future can be changed! Maybe, in the hands of these kids, the Hidden Leaf's future will be different!
And now we have the chance to see it with our own eyes—shouldn't we feel lucky for that?!
Also… I've got some questions nagging at me now.
Those things Hirofumi mentioned…
What's the deal with Sakumo Hatake's suicide? And using Hizashi Hyuga's death to appease the Land of Lightning's anger? And what about the treatment of the Fourth Hokage's orphan…?
Compared to our clan's fate… I want answers to these questions!
Brother, it seems your disciple… was a failure as Hokage!"
Hashirama's voice grew quieter, heavier.
Those who knew him well—like Madara, Mito Uzumaki, or Tobirama—could tell: Hashirama was angry!
He wasn't angry about the Senju clan's destruction. He was furious that the Hidden Leaf, their village, would use their own people's deaths to appease others!
Furious that the son of the Fourth Hokage was being treated unfairly!!!
Sweat beaded on Tobirama's forehead…
For Hashirama to say that Hiruzen Sarutobi was a failure as Hokage? That was a heavy statement!
"Wow, sounds lively in here! What're we all talking about?!"
Hirofumi Ito appeared in the summoning space, his chakra coalescing.
After his speech outside, the group of young ninjas was fired up, a seed of change firmly planted in their hearts!
Hirofumi had taken a moment during dinner to check on things in the summoning space and overheard what everyone was discussing. His speech had clearly shaken things up in here too.
So, he figured it was time to clear some things up…
At the sound of Hirofumi's voice, all eyes turned to him.
Especially Minato Namikaze! In a flash, the Fourth Hokage was right in front of Hirofumi.
"Hirofumi!!! What you said earlier! What's going on with Naruto?!"
"Lord Fourth, no matter how much I explain, it's better for you to see it for yourself…
Since you're my summoned beast now, I can summon you out later. You can use the Transformation Jutsu to look like Naruto and take a walk around the Hidden Leaf.
By then, you'll understand what I meant!
Just… I hope you can keep your emotions in check, Lord Fourth. A Hokage-level chakra outburst in the village would cause a huge mess!"
Minato nodded at Hirofumi's words.
"I understand… Thank you, Hirofumi!!!"
Hirofumi had no intention of explaining Naruto's struggles over the years. It'd be better for Minato to experience it himself…
After dealing with Minato, Tobirama spoke up quickly from the side.
"Hirofumi Ito!!! What's the deal with everything you mentioned earlier?! Can you explain it in detail?!!"
"No problem! It's just some of the dirty stuff the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Danzo Shimura have been up to!
First off, I heard your conversation earlier. The Senju clan was wiped out. Now, Tsunade-senpai, heartbroken, has left the Hidden Leaf.
As for what I mentioned about Sakumo Hatake—this senior was incredibly powerful. I'm sure the Fourth Hokage and Fugaku-senpai know a bit about him…
But Sakumo didn't meet a good end. He was too strong, had too many accomplishments.
That threatened Hiruzen and Danzo's power and control. So, rumors started spreading in the village—saying Sakumo failed a mission because he chose to save someone. In the end, even the person he saved turned on him!
And ultimately, that senior took his own life amidst all the rumors…"