After waiting quietly for several minutes, Senju Mori finally confirmed it — Tobirama Senju's face had completely lost its color, his heartbeat and breathing had stopped entirely, and even his chakra signature had vanished from perception.
Tobirama Senju was truly dead this time.
Mori immediately called out to Uzumaki Chisawa to open the sealing scroll, and with a soft "poof!", Tobirama's corpse was sealed away inside.
Of course, Mori didn't forget to seal up the long-dead Silver Brother and the bisected Gold Brother as well — both were precious experimental materials, after all.
In truth, Mori hadn't been completely lying earlier. Tobirama's accusation that he was "full of nonsense" was a little unfair.
In Senju Mori's eyes, others studying our side's evil white-haired old ghost — unacceptable.
But me studying the enemy's golden-haired and silver-haired old ghosts — completely fine!
After all, the names "Gold" and "Silver" came from the very real horns that grew from the brothers' heads.
In the shinobi world, any unusual physical trait meant one thing — extraordinary bloodline.
Considering that these brothers not only survived eating the flesh of a tailed beast, but could also freely wield the Six Paths Sage's treasured tools, and were rumored to carry the blood of the Sage himself…
Every abnormal aspect of them screamed of immense research value.
"What a haul…"
Mori couldn't help but sigh in satisfaction.
He wondered what the Third Raikage was doing — it had been so long, yet there was still no pursuit.
Even if that man had been dispatched on some mission beforehand, once he learned that a coup had erupted in the village, he should have dropped everything and rushed back immediately.
Unless, of course, the Gold and Silver Brothers had other arrangements in the village, and the Third Raikage was busy personally suppressing the rebellion…
Mori shook his head forcefully, pushing away the jumble of thoughts.
Whatever the reason, the fact that the Kumo shinobi weren't chasing them was great news.
His priority now wasn't to ponder what was happening in Kumogakure— it was to get back to Konoha as fast as possible and compete with Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others for the position of Third Hokage.
...
Two days later—
"The Hokage's returned! The Hokage's back!"
The peaceful tranquility of Konohagakure was suddenly broken by a wave of shouting.
Countless villagers and shinobi stepped out of their homes, watching curiously as a few young genin ran down the street, yelling at the top of their lungs.
"Hey, kid!"
A middle-aged man in a green flak jacket called out, stopping one of the genin.
"The Hokage wasn't supposed to return for another three days. Where did you hear that? Did you see him while you were out on a mission?"
"Uh… not exactly," the genin said, looking a bit confused at first. Then his face lit up with excitement as he added, "But our Jōnin-sensei said he saw members of the Hokage Guard Squad! He told us to hurry back to the village and report!"
"Aren't Hiruzen-senpai and the others supposed to be with the Hokage?"
"Report?"
The middle-aged shinobi's expression darkened with unease.
The Hokage's Guard Squad was made up entirely of elite jōnin — how could their travel speed be slower than a bunch of genin messengers?
Unless… someone in the Guard Squad had been injured.
"Damn those Kumo bastards! So that alliance really was a trap after all! When the Hokage gets back, we should go to war again!"
The man clenched his fists angrily, and the surrounding shinobi all shared the same furious look.
Just then, several figures appeared at the gates of Konoha — leading them was a visibly anxious Sarutobi Hiruzen.
The young Hiruzen looked far more vigorous and spirited than the aged Hokage he would one day become.
Although he lacked some of the aura and authority that came with power and position, his sharp, bright eyes still gleamed with determination, and an unyielding, vigorous spirit seemed to radiate naturally from him.
Beneath his black inner garments, he wore a dark gray cuirass faintly stained with blood and dirt — marks that also appeared across Sarutobi Hiruzen's resolute face.
Looking upward, one could see the Konoha forehead protector engraved with the spiral symbol, and beneath it, his short dark-brown hair swept back in slightly spiky tips.
On his back, he was carrying his blood-soaked and badly injured comrade — Shimura Danzō.
"Quick! Somebody help! Danzō's dying!"
Hiruzen couldn't help but shout.
Danzō didn't just look miserable — his condition truly was dire. The blood covering his face came from a deep slash running across his right eye.
And further down, his entire right arm had been severed at the shoulder. Blood continued to pour from the wound, soaking through the bandages wrapped hastily around it.
Half of Danzō's body was practically drenched in red — a man made of blood.
The horrific sight left everyone near Konoha's village gate stunned. Then, as realization struck, the crowd erupted into shouts and chaos.
"Someone! Help me get the wounded to Konoha Hospital!"
"Where are the medical-nin? Is there a medic here?"
"Hurry! Stop Shimura-senpai's bleeding first!"
Several shinobi immediately rushed forward, scrambling to lift Danzō from Hiruzen's back and carry him away for treatment.
Seeing that Danzō was finally being taken care of, Hiruzen allowed himself a brief moment of relief — only for it to vanish as the surrounding shinobi began to bombard him with questions.
"Sarutobi-senpai! Mitokado-senpai! What happened out there? How did Danzō get hurt so badly?"
"Was it an ambush from Kumokagure?"
"Why don't we see the Hokage? Don't tell me… the Hokage was injured too?"
"Where is the Hokage now? How many enemies are there? Do you need reinforcements—?"
A ring of jōnin closed in, all shouting questions at once.
Hiruzen opened his mouth to answer, but his eyes dimmed further. After a brief silence, he finally spoke in a low, heavy voice:
"The Hokage… may have fallen in battle."
"What?!"
...
Leaving aside the shockwaves that swept through Konoha upon hearing those words…
A day after Sarutobi Hiruzen's return, Senju Mori and Uzumaki Chisawa finally reached the heart of the Land of Fire. Just a little farther ahead lay the Konohagakure.
"We'll part ways here for now, Chisawa," Senju Mori said, stopping in his tracks.
"Take care, Brother Mori," Uzumaki Chisawa replied solemnly, though his expression carried a hint of nervousness.
After all, he was carrying quite a lot of… sensitive items.
Uchiha Kagami's corpse, a pair of preserved Mangekyō Sharingan, several of the Six Paths' Treasured Tools, the body of Silver, and the two halves of Gold…
Even though the Uzumaki clan was famed for their sealing techniques, Mori dared not bring all that directly back into Konoha.
Instead, he had Chisawa take everything back to the Land of Whirlpools, entrusting his more reliable clan head — Chisawa's father — to hide them securely in secret.
Of course, in the upcoming struggle for the Hokage's seat against Sarutobi Hiruzen, Senju Mori had no intention of forgoing the Uzumaki clan's crucial support.
When the time was right, Chisawa would return to Konoha with a small delegation of Uzumaki under the guise of an "ally visit," subtly voicing their political support…
But that was a matter for another time.
After parting ways with Uzumaki Chisawa, Senju Mori carried only a single Bashōsen and a sealing scroll containing Tobirama Senju's corpse as he set off toward Konoha.