Silver moonlight stretched straight down to the earth, the thick pillar of light illuminating everything around it.
But very soon, the light vanished without a trace, and three figures appeared from within it.
"So we're finally back?"
Hikaru raised his head and sensed his surroundings. Then he looked up at the sky.
It was dusk. The moon was bright, the stars were sparse, and a pure white moon hung high above.
Looking at that moon, Hikaru finally relaxed completely.
Especially after sensing many of his Flying Thunder God marks, he knew he had truly returned to the shinobi world.
He had spent more than a month on the moon.
And during that month, he had either been an invalid or blind. He was starting to wonder if he and the moon were simply incompatible.
Looking back now, Hikaru still felt that his experience on the moon had not been pleasant at all.
Even with all the gains, he still felt that way.
The moment he went up, he fought the natives of the moon. After that battle, he had overexerted himself and needed to recover.
After finally surviving a week with Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama's help, and after obtaining quite a few benefits, something unimaginable happened again when he absorbed the Tenseigan's power.
Perhaps the Tenseigan had been suppressed for too long, or perhaps Hikaru had adjusted the chakra fluctuations of his Pure Eye so well that it felt as if it had met one of its own kind.
And since this "kindred" power was so weak, it chose to help Hikaru properly.
That help nearly stunned Hikaru into silence.
Not only stunned him—it had nearly blinded him.
Hikaru himself did not know how much power he should absorb.
He only knew that once it reached the limit his Pure Eye could accept, that would be enough. Afterward, he could slowly digest it.
But at that time, he had been completely unable to control the influx of power.
Only after that terrifying power completely filled his Pure Eye did it finally stop, as if satisfied.
The result was that after Hikaru woke up, he discovered in shock that his eyes had temporarily gone blind.
Of course, calling it blindness was somewhat excessive.
More accurately, his eyes were fusing with the power granted by the Tenseigan.
His current situation was probably somewhat similar to the future Sasuke fusing Itachi's eyes.
With no other choice, he could only have Tobirama prepare medical bandages and wrap his eyes.
That wrapping lasted an entire month.
It took him a full month to completely absorb the Tenseigan's power and let his eyes regain their light.
However, once his vision returned, he discovered another frustrating matter.
His eyes were currently evolving.
According to the Tenseigan's explanation, they were in a fetal movement phase.
During this period, although he could use the Pure Eye's power, reckless use might delay the evolution process.
In other words, he had no way to check what had happened to his eyes right now.
Even on the system interface, the evolution progress of his eyes was displayed as unknown.
Still, although Hikaru was frustrated, he did not care too much.
After all, the shinobi world was currently quite peaceful. There were no enemies worth him personally taking action against.
Even if a few clowns did jump out, did he not still have Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama at his side?
Even if the two brothers were not at their peak, in this era, they were still first-rate shinobi.
Especially since both of them had returned with Hikaru.
According to them, they wanted to take a proper look at Konoha.
"However, this doesn't seem to be the place I used to go up."
Hikaru glanced around and immediately confirmed that this was definitely not the cave from which he had traveled from the shinobi world to the moon.
But he did not care.
After all, the passage he had used was not the same one.
On the moon, after Hikaru's eyes regained their light, he had tried to restore everything inside the moon.
Unfortunately, he discovered he still could not do that.
Because he had accepted the Tenseigan's power, he could now perform some simple control over the Tenseigan.
However, the amount of chakra needed to mobilize everything inside the moon was far beyond what Hikaru could currently manage.
Still, he had a feeling that once his eyes completed their evolution, he should be able to control the Tenseigan to a greater degree.
Therefore, he simply used the Tenseigan's power to extinguish the flames filling the moon's interior.
After repairing the barrier damaged during the earlier battle, he decided to leave the moon.
While his eyes were adapting to the Tenseigan's power, Hashirama and Tobirama had more or less found the transmission array.
All Hikaru needed to do was simply activate the Tenseigan and pour power into one of the arrays. Then they could leave.
"This is the Land of Fire, right?"
Hashirama and Tobirama also looked around.
Although they were shocked by the experience of being transported from the moon back to the shinobi world, compared to that shock, their minds were more focused on the shinobi world—or rather, Konoha.
After death, their memories had remained at the moment they died.
But so many years had passed since then. They were truly curious about how Konoha had developed.
In the original timeline, after the two of them were summoned, they had not had the chance to learn about Konoha's current situation because of Sasuke and Madara.
Even so, they had still exchanged some information regarding the Hokage.
After all, the succession of Hokage represented Konoha's future development in certain ways.
Now, they had nothing urgent to do, and Hikaru had no intention of releasing the Edo Tensei.
They could release it themselves, but they did not seem inclined to do so either.
Since they still had a certain degree of freedom, they naturally intended to learn what Konoha was like now.
"Yes, the Land of Fire."
Hikaru smiled, then spoke directly.
"According to my sensing, we aren't too far from Konoha.
"But this isn't the transmission point I used to go up. Looks like those Ōtsutsuki really did make quite a few preparations."
"Indeed. Fortunately, you wiped them out."
Hashirama nodded as well. Through interrogation, he had learned what the Ōtsutsuki on the moon had been thinking.
"All right, enough about that. Let's return to Konoha."
Tobirama interrupted the two of them. After sensing carefully, he continued.
"Hikaru, I'm afraid you'll need to take us back.
"I can sense the marks I left behind, but they are too far away. With my current strength, I can't activate them."
"No problem."
Hikaru nodded lightly, then smiled.
"After we return to Konoha, where do you want to take a look?"
"Do you even need to ask?"
Hashirama smiled from the side. He looked somewhat excited.
"Of course, it has to be the place every Hokage is proudest of!"
Indeed, after becoming Hokage, the place one would be proudest of was the high vantage point overlooking all of Konoha.
And that place was naturally the Hokage Rock, which belonged to every Hokage.
Hikaru nodded lightly, then placed his hands on Hashirama and Tobirama's shoulders.
As his chakra surged, the three of them vanished from the spot.
In Konoha, atop the Hokage Rock, pure moonlight spilled down.
In the blink of an eye, three dark silhouettes appeared atop the stone faces.
Their hair and clothes fluttered in the wind as they stood proudly on the Hokage Rock, gazing over Konoha's prosperity…
…
After returning to Konoha, Hikaru also resumed his normal work.
For him, this trip to the moon had produced excellent results.
After all, he had obtained so many things he wanted. He had even brought back two Hokage along the way.
This harvest could not be called anything less than abundant.
Moreover, before leaving, he had already left behind a shadow clone, and he also had Saya and Ayame helping him.
Therefore, his long absence had not caused any chaos in Konoha.
When he voluntarily released the Shadow Clone Technique, the memories from that period fully entered his mind.
However, he also learned something interesting.
He had clearly only been on the moon for a little over a month.
But according to the shinobi world's calculation, he had been gone for three or four months!
Hikaru truly did not know why such a thing had happened.
Perhaps when he went up, the difference in speed caused a time deviation?
After thinking over the many movies he had watched in his previous life, that seemed to be the only explanation.
But no matter what, this was not worth paying too much attention to.
As long as Konoha remained stable, it was fine.
It had to be said that the Shadow Clone Technique was truly useful.
This was not the first time Hikaru had felt this way.
He had always believed that the Second Hokage's greatest ninjutsu invention was neither the Flying Thunder God nor Edo Tensei.
It was this seemingly ordinary technique that could accomplish so many things—the Shadow Clone Technique.
And this time, Hikaru could even praise it in front of its inventor.
That feeling was truly extraordinary.
"Absurd!"
Unfortunately, Tobirama clearly did not approve of Hikaru's words.
Or rather, he was truly furious right now.
He had never imagined, even in his dreams, that his technique would become a tool for a Hokage to slack off.
Although after thinking about it carefully, he discovered that this technique could indeed be used this way.
Moreover, if not for this technique, Hikaru would not have gone to the moon and wiped out those people.
If he had not wiped them out, he would not have fallen into such a poor state, and there would have been no reason to summon the two of them.
Still, seeing Hikaru's eager expression—as if he intended to continue using shadow clones in the future—made Tobirama's anger surge.
Was this how his technique was supposed to be used?
Was this some kind of joke?
"It is a little absurd."
Hashirama also nodded. Then he put down the report in his hand and said,
"But I have to admit, you are indeed better than me. You may even be better than Tobirama. Your method can be said to have truly solved Konoha's clan problem."
"Hmph. Big Brother, you must be joking. This brat hasn't truly solved it."
Tobirama folded his arms and snorted coldly.
It was clear he was still displeased with some of Hikaru's ideas.
"His method appears to give every shinobi an equal opportunity, but in essence, it still preserves the advantage of clan shinobi.
"Of course, there is nothing wrong with doing so. After all, he himself is a member of a shinobi clan.
"But you are still a Hokage. Can you stop being so naive?"
Tobirama was not Hashirama.
He saw through Hikaru's intentions at a glance.
It had to be said, this brat was indeed very clever.
He used the shinobi ranking system created by his elder brother as the foundation and pushed his reforms through it.
Over the past few days after returning, Hashirama and Tobirama had walked around Konoha properly.
Even if they were not at their peak, for shinobi like them, a Transformation Technique was not something ordinary people could see through.
Konoha at this time was extremely prosperous.
Although this prosperity was largely due to Tobirama and Sarutobi Hiruzen, maintaining it after taking office was still quite impressive.
Walking through Konoha and feeling the unique harmony and peace within the village, both Hokage were truly satisfied.
However, this was only the surface.
As Hokage, they knew very well that to judge a village's development, they had to look at the current Hokage's governance and plans for the future.
Hikaru did not hide such matters from them.
After all, every jōnin in Konoha who needed to know already knew. There was no need to hide anything from the two of them.
So they also carefully examined the development path Hikaru had set for Konoha's future.
Once they did, both of them were stunned.
Although Hikaru had not been in office for long, the plans he had formulated were truly somewhat too aggressive.
It was not that these plans were bad.
On the contrary, if these plans succeeded, they would bring Konoha tremendous gains.
Moreover, both of Hikaru's plans focused on the future, and both were strategic plans aimed at a larger direction.
But neither plan was easy to handle, because they involved the interests of countless people.
Even if this brat seemed to have suppressed all dissenting voices, taking too large a step could easily cause problems.
However, they could not say too much about that.
What they could do was support Hikaru, because Hikaru was the current Hokage.
"I admit there are some issues in these reforms that are difficult to handle, but I think some things simply cannot be fully resolved."
Hikaru did not reject Tobirama's assessment. He admitted it directly.
"The shinobi world's combat power is fundamentally built around clans. Even shinobi villages are the same.
"I truly have no way to completely break the structure of the shinobi world. Forcing it would not produce good results. What I can do is make things as fair as possible."
"I know. What I meant is that you did very well."
Hashirama smiled carelessly, and his smile even carried pride.
"For the Senju Clan to produce a Hokage like you is truly something to be proud of.
"I really look forward to seeing what heights you will bring Konoha to in the future."
"You'll have a chance to see it. It's not as though I have no way to make that happen, right?"
Hikaru smiled, then looked up at the time.
"I think Sakumo-senpai should be arriving soon. Are the two of you not going to prepare?"
"He's coming?"
Hashirama and Tobirama's expressions both turned slightly serious.
They truly wanted to see what condition the person Hikaru had revived was in…
…
Hatake Sakumo wore a mask as he quickly walked toward the Hokage's Office.
He already knew Hikaru had returned to Konoha.
However, during this period, that Hokage-sama seemed to have had no time to meet him.
Of course, Sakumo was also a shinobi who followed rules.
Without the Hokage's summons, even as a member of the Hokage Guard, he would not take the initiative to seek Hikaru out.
What he needed to do now was very simple: find ways to properly restore his own strength.
His current strength was still far from what it had been when he died.
Hikaru had revived him and allowed him to enjoy the beauty of the human world once again.
Strictly speaking, his situation was somewhat awkward.
After all, when he died, Kakashi had still been a child. Yet in the blink of an eye, Kakashi was already an adult.
Meanwhile, Sakumo still looked around twenty to thirty years old.
With that age gap, being father and son seemed truly strange. Both he and Kakashi felt somewhat awkward about it.
But no matter what, he truly enjoyed his current life and cherished it deeply.
"It's just that Kakashi keeps muttering strange things all day, saying things like, 'Why are you still so young after coming back to life?'"
Thinking of some of his son's strange behavior, Sakumo felt helpless.
Was Kakashi worried about a generation gap?
After thinking it over, Sakumo could only come to that conclusion.
There was indeed quite a gap between him and his son, but no matter what, such matters could still be overcome.
It was not as though his beloved had died.
Of course, if that were the case, things would be somewhat awkward.
Shaking his head, Sakumo felt it was better not to think too much.
His son had already grown up.
As a father whose biological age differed from his son's by only about ten years, he should interfere less in such matters.
Before long, he arrived at the door of the Hokage's Office.
He immediately adjusted his mindset and made himself look more serious.
No matter why the Hokage had summoned him, he had to show his best state.
Even if this Hokage was the same age as his son, he still had to display the proper attitude.
Knock, knock, knock.
He gently knocked on the door, then stood obediently in place and waited.
"Come in."
Soon, Hikaru's voice came from inside the office.
Only then did Sakumo respectfully open the door and slowly walk in with his head lowered.
However, even with his head lowered, he keenly noticed that all the ANBU inside the office had been withdrawn.
And inside the office were two unfamiliar figures wearing masks, standing to one side.
Who were these two?
Sakumo frowned slightly.
As a once-powerful shinobi, although his strength had not fully recovered, his perception of danger was still present.
He could sense that even though these two people did not emit any chakra fluctuations, their level of danger was unimaginable.
This made him suddenly feel that Konoha was truly full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.
Or rather, Konoha's foundation was truly terrifying.
"Hokage-sama."
However, now was clearly not the time to think about such things.
He immediately knelt on one knee, his expression extremely respectful.
Although he knew Hikaru did not like this formality, and Kakashi no longer did this either, as a shinobi of the old era, he still had his own insistence.
"Sakumo-senpai, please get up."
Seeing this, Hikaru could not help shaking his head.
Although he still did not particularly like people kneeling at every turn, he had become used to it.
As long as he was not the one kneeling, it was fine.
After all, back when he was still serving in his previous position, he had never done such a thing.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Sakumo quickly stood up, then quietly remained in place, waiting for Hikaru to assign a mission.
"I called you here this time partly to check your recovery."
Hikaru wasted no time and spoke directly.
"As for the other reason, someone wants to see your current condition."
Someone wanted to see his condition?
Sakumo was a smart man. His gaze immediately turned to the two masked figures.
Clearly, the people who wanted to see his condition were likely also people brought out through Edo Tensei.
These two concealed themselves completely, and their auras were so dangerous. It was very possible they were people revived through Edo Tensei.
He did not think the two before him could be Orochimaru.
After all, when he was young, he had dealt with Orochimaru and was fairly familiar with him.
Besides, after being revived, he had already met Orochimaru.
So these two definitely could not be him.
"Just who are they?"
He began wondering who these two were.
"Both of you, there are no outsiders here. Remove your disguises."
Hikaru lightly tapped the desk and smiled.
"Since you want to check someone's condition, at least let him know who you are.
"Besides, he is a member of my Hokage Guard."
"Of course. You mentioned that."
One of the two masked figures spoke. He nodded lightly and said casually,
"The Hokage Guard is naturally made up of people worthy of trust.
"Speaking of which, I'm quite familiar with the Hatake Clan. I just wonder how well they have inherited their swordsmanship."
"The Hatake Clan is skilled in swordsmanship. That really brings back memories."
The other masked figure also spoke, his voice full of emotion.
"It really has been a long time since I last saw Hatake swordsmanship. Back then, you secretly learned quite a few things from them."
Hikaru glanced at the two beside him.
Aside from ninjutsu, the Senju Clan was also strong in taijutsu.
Tobirama in particular could be considered outstanding in swordsmanship.
However, he had truly not expected Tobirama's swordsmanship to have been influenced by the Hatake Clan.
Sakumo was now somewhat stunned.
He was even more certain that these two were Edo Tensei.
But who exactly were they?
Their identities were probably not simple.
Sakumo's expression was serious as he slightly raised his head and looked at the two before him.
When the two placed one hand on themselves and released the Transformation Technique, smoke spread around them.
As the smoke slowly dispersed, Sakumo's eyes gradually changed.
First to shock, then to fear, and finally to reverence.
He had naturally seen these two before.
These two were people whose faces stood upon the Hokage Rock!
These two were the First Hokage and the Second Hokage…
…
The First Hokage and Second Hokage probably had not left much of an impression on Konoha's newer generation.
Especially after the Third Hokage's era, the younger generation had barely heard many of their legends.
They only knew these two were great. Beyond that, not much else.
After all, Hiruzen needed to maintain his own rule. There was nothing particularly wrong with doing that.
But he had also dug a pit and buried himself in it.
Because, by coincidence, someone like Hikaru appeared.
Without the glory of the First and Second Hokage overshadowing him, once Hikaru displayed his own strength, he completely surpassed Sarutobi Hiruzen.
But to the older generation of shinobi, people such as the Sannin and Hatake Sakumo, they had grown up listening to the stories of the First and Second Hokage.
In their eyes, these two were truly godlike existences!
Therefore, when these two revealed their true identities, Sakumo was truly frightened.
Then a trace of fanatic reverence appeared in his eyes.
That was the First Hokage and the Second Hokage.
The founders and guardians of Konoha!
Facing these two, Sakumo truly answered every question without concealment.
Hashirama and Tobirama also asked very detailed questions.
From his physical condition to his current strength, and even his bloodline examination, they asked everything.
After all, the technique Hikaru had created was impossible for them not to find miraculous.
Tobirama especially asked about Sakumo's rehabilitation progress and received a relatively satisfying answer.
However, he also understood that Sakumo's recovery was possible because of his combat style.
If it were someone like Tobirama himself, whether it would be that easy was truly hard to say.
"It seems your technique really is very useful."
At dusk, inside Hikaru's home, Tobirama rubbed his chin and spoke seriously.
After conducting a careful and detailed examination of Sakumo, it was already time to leave work.
Clearly, they had many things they wanted to say to Hikaru, so they simply came to Hikaru's home.
This time, neither of them hid their identities.
Their appearance truly gave Ayame, that usually cool woman, a terrible fright.
Clearly, Ayame had also recognized who these two were.
She truly had never imagined that Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama, the two ancestors of the Senju Clan, had suddenly come back to life.
However, she did not ask too much.
She also knew absolutely not to speak carelessly about such matters.
After all, she had followed Hikaru in the ANBU for so long. She was very familiar with confidentiality.
Therefore, she immediately had her mother return to her room and not come out.
She was genuinely worried something might go wrong.
"The effect is indeed extraordinary, though there are certain drawbacks."
Hikaru nodded lightly. Then he glanced at Hashirama before continuing.
"That is the sacrifice needed for resurrection. If the sacrifice is not good enough, everything is pointless.
"You and Sakumo-senpai are different. To revive both of you, we would need something better."
"Indeed. That is somewhat troublesome."
Tobirama nodded seriously.
It was clear he truly did not want to return to the Pure Land.
What he did not know was that Hikaru knew perfectly well what kind of sacrifice could revive them more perfectly.
That would be a White Zetsu body.
In the future, Orochimaru used White Zetsu bodies to bring the two of them back through Edo Tensei in an almost perfect state.
Hikaru remembered this very clearly.
And who held White Zetsu?
That great helpful person, of course.
Hikaru had every intention of continuing to look for them.
What puzzled Hikaru, however, was that while he and Tobirama were discussing this issue, Hashirama's gaze kept moving between him and Ayame.
This gave Hikaru a bad feeling.
After all, once some things happened too often, one could guess them naturally.
Sure enough, Hashirama spoke.
"Let's not talk about resurrection for now. Seeing Konoha develop so well already makes me very happy.
"But I have a question, Hikaru. How long have you been living together?"
"Living together…"
Hearing those words, Hikaru sighed inwardly.
"A few years, I suppose. Ayame is my fiancée."
"A few years?"
Tobirama had initially been somewhat displeased that his conversation with Hikaru had been interrupted, but when he heard Hikaru's answer, he also frowned.
"A few years and you still don't have a child?
"And what is going on between you and that Uchiha?
"Even if you have brought the Uchiha under control, they…"
"What's wrong with the Uchiha? Aren't the Uchiha perfectly fine?"
Before Tobirama could finish, Hashirama interrupted him directly.
"That girl is called Saya, right? I quite like her. She is a very gentle child.
"I also know about your help and reform of the Uchiha. Thank you, Hikaru. You did far better than certain people."
Hashirama's words made Tobirama roll his eyes.
Of course, he knew exactly what kind of relationship his elder brother had with the Uchiha Clan.
Back in the era of constant war, he had dared to be that close with Uchiha Madara. Even their own father had been unable to do much about him.
Now that everyone was part of the same camp, his behavior could be described as even more unrestrained.
Even after Uchiha Madara betrayed the village and caused such a huge incident, had Hashirama not still chosen to forgive him?
Even when he was close to death, he had still warned Tobirama to treat the Uchiha well.
Hikaru's handling of the Uchiha was indeed very good.
However, Tobirama himself still lacked goodwill toward the Uchiha.
Even though he had disciples such as Uchiha Kagami, he always believed that people like Kagami were still a minority.
"This is what I should do. After all, I am the Hokage."
Speaking of this, Hikaru also smiled.
After all, he had indeed handled the Uchiha quite well.
Not to mention anything else, the potential of the Uchiha Clan alone was worth Hikaru doing something.
Moreover, he was now Hokage.
Aside from those who absolutely had to be eliminated, it was naturally better to draw everyone else together.
"Still, why don't you have children yet?"
However, before Hikaru could remain pleased for long, Hashirama's words made his expression darken.
"Two girls, and you haven't let either of them leave you a child?"
"This matter is indeed worth taking seriously."
Tobirama also nodded seriously. His expression was cold as he spoke slowly.
"Although I dislike the Uchiha very much, this is your era now. I will not say too much.
"But the issue of children must be taken seriously. Do you understand?"
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