After much discussion...
Both the slightly uncomfortable Hashirama Senju and the deeply traumatized Shizune had to accept the harsh reality.
There would no longer be awkward situations where the Fire Country Daimyo asked, "Who's really in charge of the Fire Country—you or me?"
This problem had been solved at its fundamental source.
With explosive tags.
...
At the Village Gate.
Makoto's group prepared to head to the Land of Water according to the plan.
Kushina said she had activated the chakra imprint within Naruto, waiting for it to trigger in his dreams while he slept.
She would remain in Konoha to search the old Uzumaki Clan ruins for any method to undo the Reaper Death Seal and retrieve the other half of the Nine-Tails.
Rin would definitely travel with Makoto's group.
After all, the core objective was to make Rin the Three-Tails Jinchuriki again.
Hiruzen Sarutobi would also stay in Konoha to help deal with the mountain of administrative nightmares arising after the Fire Daimyo's "sudden" death.
Tobirama would return to the Amegakure laboratory with Orochimaru to begin his anti-Otsutsuki research.
Only the prestigious "God of Shinobi," First Hokage Hashirama Senju, found himself jobless.
Going to Amegakure wouldn't help with research.
The most useful thing about Hashirama for science was his cells, not his brain.
Staying in Konoha wouldn't be useful either.
While some unrest might occur in the Land of Fire, the combined strength of the reanimated Third Hokage and Tsunade would be overkill to handle it.
There wasn't much extra work he could help with.
If they let Hashirama "help," everyone worried he might just depressingly bow and apologize to random people whenever a problem arose.
So, the thoroughly unwanted Hashirama could only be assigned to Makoto's group to capture the Three-Tails in the Land of Water.
At least when it came to finding and capturing Tailed Beasts, Hashirama was highly professional.
Though Hashirama wasn't a Pokémon trainer who loved his partners.
He was more like an evil Pokémon Hunter from Team Rocket—capturing cute Tailed Beasts only to cruelly distribute them to other evil organizations for warfare.
"Here's some advice—you can rest and entertain yourself, but don't slack off. Even though you've turned Creation Rebirth into a passive ability, your actual offensive strength hasn't increased much. Work hard to develop it further."
"Also, when I asked you earlier if you'd seen your aged state, you said no. I want to tell you that your previous condition was seriously problematic. Even without seeing your front side, I could confirm that your body's reverted state was absolutely not normal for someone in their fifties."
"That condition was probably more like someone in their nineties."
"As for the reason, you'll have to figure that out yourself. Anyway, now that you've truly reversed aging and become young again through my energy, there's no need to worry about this."
Before leaving, Makoto spoke to Tsunade with sincere concern.
After the experiment concluded, Makoto adjusted the energy flow within the stone, allowing Tsunade to try again.
This time she didn't have to endure the tearing pain, entering Makoto's "Sun Sage Mode" completely normally.
In this state, Tsunade possessed terrifying regenerative abilities that might even surpass Hashirama's legendary passive recovery.
This level of regeneration seemed miraculous in the current ninja world.
But by the Boruto era, even Orochimaru—who was supposedly being "monitored and suppressed" by Konoha—could accomplish it easily.
When a villain's Lightning Release blasted Orochimaru's arm to pieces, he grew a new one in just one second like it was nothing.
One could reasonably infer that even if the villain destroyed Orochimaru's heart or head, he would recover instantly.
Compared to Orochimaru twenty years later, the current Tsunade only has slightly stronger Taijutsu power.
She needed to step up her game.
"..."
After hearing Makoto's words, Tsunade remained frozen in place, lost in thought for a long time.
Even after Makoto's group had departed, she still stood at the main gate of the Hidden Leaf like a statue.
Her aged state looked like someone in their nineties?
Tsunade believed Makoto wasn't just trying to scare her with exaggerated claims.
Then, why was that?
As a Medical Ninja, Tsunade began to reflect.
There must have been multiple factors at play—stress, alcohol, genetic quirks of the Senju bloodline?
But as Makoto said, she had now truly reversed aging through his power and didn't need to worry excessively.
Still, Tsunade feared repeating the same mistakes.
So...
"I have been wounded by gambling and drinking, reduced to such haggardness... From today onward, I quit drinking!"
Tsunade suddenly clenched her fist, making this resolution with firm determination.
(We'll see how long that lasts.)
...
At the Border of the Land of Fire.
Makoto's group boarded a ship bound for the Land of Water.
Though the Land of Water appeared somewhat small compared to the other Four Great Nations on the map, its territory actually included all the scattered islands throughout the entire surrounding sea.
These islands were technically Land of Water territory, but being islands made them extremely difficult to administer.
Many rogue ninjas from the Hidden Mist Village (like Zabuza or Kisame) could easily hide on any of these islands to escape pursuit.
On their way to the main island, Hashirama once again worriedly raised a question.
"Won't the Mizukage have objections about us going to capture the Three-Tails in their territory? After all, it's their Tailed Beast."
"Don't worry, we'll give the Mizukage plenty of respect. Given her relationship with me, she'll agree." Makoto waved his hand dismissively.
At that moment, Makoto's gaze was fixed on a small island they were approaching.
The mountain on the island was strangely flashing with lightning and thunder, despite the clear sky.
As someone who had mastered Natural Energy and could command elemental forces, Makoto immediately sensed that someone was playing with something similar to a low-grade Kirin over there.
"How do we give enough respect?" Hashirama asked curiously.
"Do you see that lightning on the island? I bet that's the 'Kiba'."
"...What's the 'Kiba'?"
"It's one of the Seven Ninja Swords. The blades themselves aren't particularly powerful strategic weapons compared to Tailed Beasts, but their symbolic significance to the Hidden Mist Village is extremely important—almost equivalent to the Hokage Rock in the Leaf or the Stone monuments of Iwagakure."
"Oh." Hashirama stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Is returning their important item to the Hidden Mist enough to smooth things over?"
"Of course not."
"You'll also need to kowtow twice to Mei Terumi in front of the entire Hidden Mist Village. That should suffice." Makoto smiled faintly.
Hashirama Senju: "..."
"Didn't I come here to capture Tailed Beasts? How about assigning me the Three-Tails capture mission instead? Just give the order! I guarantee I'll find the Three-Tails, subdue it, and deliver it to you packaged in a box within three hours..."
Hashirama slumped his shoulders with a dejected expression, pressing his palms together in plea to Makoto.
The way he clapped his palms together was terrifying—anyone unaware might think he was about to use Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands to destroy the boat.
"Didn't you bow your head to the other Four Kage during the first Five Kage Summit? For the sake of peace, it's not such a big deal, right?" Makoto retorted.
"True enough."
Reminded by Makoto of his past "diplomacy," Hashirama's expression instantly brightened!
He stroked his chin contemplatively.
"Maybe I should use a Wood Clone with a Transformation Technique to make it look like Tobirama is kowtowing next to me? That would be more effective and less embarrassing for me."
Somewhere in Amegakure, Tobirama felt a sudden chill.
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