One day in the eighth year of Konohagakure, Senju Satomi learned that the two Senju brothers, who had been away visiting the Daimyo's palace, had returned. She hurriedly left her home and rushed to where Senju Hashirama lived to pay him a visit.
Senju Hashirama had always been kind to others. Although Satomi was only from a branch family, Senju Hashirama did not treat her coldly; on the contrary, he was very fond of energetic girls like her. In Hashirama's view, girls like Satomi were proof of the peaceful era. During his childhood, the people around him had never known laughter; everyone was constantly worried about battles or partings that might happen the next day.
Therefore, Hashirama enjoyed spending time with the children of Satomi's generation. When he entrusted the government affairs to his brother, Senju Tobirama, he would put on casual clothes and come to the clan to play with the children. If outsiders saw him, they would never believe that this man was the First Hokage who had single-handedly established Konohagakure.
Satomi hurried to Senju Hashirama's house and knocked on the door. After a while, a maid came out to open the door. Recognizing Satomi, she asked, "May I ask what you need?"
"I would like to see Lord Hashirama. Could you please let him know?" Satomi said anxiously.
Seeing Satomi's expression, the maid felt that it might be an urgent matter, so she took Satomi into the house to meet Senju Hashirama. At this moment, Hashirama was talking with his wife, Uzumaki Mito, while his brother, Senju Tobirama, waited outside. Once his brother and sister-in-law finished their conversation, he would take his brother to the Hokage Residence to discuss government affairs.
Just then, Senju Tobirama saw Satomi coming into the room with the maid and was slightly taken aback. He recognized the girl, but he did not know why she had come here. If she just wanted to see his brother, Hashirama, there was no need to choose this time.
Seeing Senju Tobirama, Satomi said somewhat nervously, "Hello, Lord Tobirama."
Unlike the kind-hearted Hashirama, Senju Tobirama's demeanor always made it difficult for people to feel close to him. Although Satomi knew that Senju Tobirama was a person with a cold exterior but a warm heart—and that beneath his cold appearance, he cared for the people in the Village just as much as his brother, Hashirama—every time she looked at his indifferent face, she couldn't help but feel nervous, and she couldn't speak as naturally as she did when meeting Hashirama.
"Satomi, is something the matter?" Senju Tobirama asked.
"Fūmori Masaki is sick, and no one in the Village can cure him, so I came to ask Lord Hashirama for help." Hearing Senju Tobirama ask for her purpose, Satomi said hurriedly.
Senju Hashirama was a powerful Ninja, and at the same time, he was very skilled in using Medical Ninjutsu; he could treat physical injuries without the need for hand seals. Satomi had personally witnessed this before: when a child accidentally fell and started bleeding, Hashirama just rubbed the area of the wound, and it vanished without a trace, leaving not even a scar.
"Hmm?" At this moment, Hashirama also heard the commotion outside. He stood up, opened the door, and saw Satomi in front of his brother. He laughed and said, "Isn't this Satomi? What brings you here?"
Although Hashirama was in his early forties, he still laughed like a big boy. His appearance was also very youthful; standing with people of the same age, one could not tell they were of the same generation.
"I think it's about that boy, Fūmori Masaki." Behind Hashirama, a woman with an equally youthful appearance walked out. She was his wife, Uzumaki Mito. She smiled gently at Satomi, telling her not to be nervous.
"Fūmori Masaki?" Hashirama looked at his wife and asked, "Did something happen to Fūmori Masaki while we were away?"
Uzumaki Mito said, "I heard he got injured while out hunting and became sick after returning. It was thought to be just a common minor illness, but unexpectedly, he developed a high fever that wouldn't go away. Satomi rushed to find help, but everyone was at a loss. I went to check on him as well and was also unable to do anything. However, if it were you, you might have a chance to cure him. That's what I told this child, Satomi, so she came to find you immediately upon hearing the news of your return."
"Oh—so it's an illness that even you can't handle." Hashirama's expression became somewhat serious. An illness that even Uzumaki Mito couldn't cure must be extremely tricky; it seemed he would indeed have to step in.
"Don't worry, Satomi." Hashirama smiled at Satomi, "We will go see Fūmori Masaki right away."
Then, Hashirama looked at Senju Tobirama. Just as he was about to speak, Senju Tobirama shook his head and said, "Go ahead, brother. We cannot sit idly by and ignore a person's life. His illness has not been going on for just a day or two, and he is the one who needs you more right now."
"Sorry, Senju Tobirama. It's really too much trouble for you." Hashirama felt a bit apologetic toward Senju Tobirama. He was not without self-awareness; he knew that because of his own willfulness, he had caused Senju Tobirama a great deal of trouble.
"It's fine. Besides, I am also a bit curious about this matter. What kind of illness could stump even my sister-in-law?" Senju Tobirama said. He was a person with a strong spirit of inquiry. He felt it was necessary to figure out the situation with Fūmori Masaki, as this might help improve the medical standards within the Village.
Hashirama apologized to his wife and then left the Senju Clan with Satomi and Senju Tobirama, heading toward a place in Konohagakure where Fūmori Masaki lived.
The Fūmori Clan was an ordinary Ninja Clan during the Warring States Period. The clan members were lean and light, and they were skilled at using Wind Release Chakra. Their fighting style was based on speed, relying on sharp Wind Release Chakra blades to defeat their opponents.
The Fūmori Clan and the Senju Clan once had an experience of fighting side by side. After Hashirama planned to establish Konohagakure, he went to seek out the Fūmori Clan to be a member of the allied Ninja Clans. However, when Hashirama arrived at the Fūmori Clan's location, the clan had already been wiped out in a clan conflict. If not for Hashirama's timely arrival, Fūmori Masaki, as the orphan of the Fūmori Clan, would not have been able to survive.
Regarding this situation, Hashirama could only sigh helplessly. In the Warring States Period, such things were common. He had originally thought that although the Fūmori Clan could not be called powerful, it was not weak either, yet at such a critical time, it had become one of the victims.
This incident made Hashirama even more determined to establish Konohagakure. Afterward, he took the young Fūmori Masaki with him when he left. After Konohagakure was established, the eight-year-old Fūmori Masaki represented the Fūmori Clan and became one of the allied Ninja Clans of Konohagakure.
Hashirama personally paid close attention to Fūmori Masaki's situation and gave him certain preferential treatment. After Konohagakure was established, Hashirama pondered how to make the Ninja Clans abandon their prejudices against each other, view one another as their own family, and realize the ideal Village in his heart. After a period of thought, Hashirama decided to abandon the old customs of the Warring States Period and let the Ninja Clans intermarry to deepen their mutual understanding, thereby changing the situation of mutual suspicion and distrust among the Ninja Clans in the early days of the Village's establishment.
As the founder of Konohagakure, the Senju Clan, where Hashirama belonged, naturally had to lead by example. To give other clans confidence, Hashirama had women from the branch families marry into the various Ninja Clans of Konohagakure. Although the Ninja Clans were worried that intermarriage might lead to the leakage of their own Secret Techniques, they did not refuse the marriage alliances initiated by the Senju Clan—every clan knew of the Senju Clan's powerful bloodline. If the Senju Clan's bloodline were mixed into their own, it would naturally be beneficial and harmless to their descendants. Considering everything, out of trust in Hashirama and Hashirama's act of leading by example, basically every clan agreed to let women from the Senju Clan marry into their families. If there was one exception, it was only the Uchiha Clan.
The Fūmori Clan, which had only one person left, naturally agreed to this as well. Not only could it strengthen their own bloodline, but it could also be used to revive the clan. What reason would there be to refuse?
The girl from the branch family who was prepared to marry into the Fūmori Clan was Senju Satomi. Of course, at that time, both of them were only eight or nine-year-old children and could not get married then. So, under Hashirama's witness, the two became engaged, to be married after they came of age.
As an engaged couple, Fūmori Masaki and Senju Satomi had spent their time together since they were young. Fūmori Masaki was hot-blooded and easily impulsive, and Senju Satomi also had an impatient temperament. They were naturally happy at the beginning, but when conflicts arose, both agreed not to easily admit their mistakes. For this reason, Hashirama had served as a peacemaker between the two more than once.
Eight years later, although Fūmori Masaki and Senju Satomi still bickered from time to time, their feelings for each other were also very deep. Originally, they should have been married by now, but the young and ambitious Fūmori Masaki intended to achieve better results before coming to marry Senju Satomi, so it had been dragged out until now.
Regarding Fūmori Masaki's persistence, Satomi was somewhat unhappy, but she also felt a trace of joy. After all, this proved that Fūmori Masaki was a person with ambition; she did not want her husband to be a person without motivation.
During the previous hunting trip, Fūmori Masaki had unexpectedly fallen ill, and Satomi was so anxious she didn't know what to do. With Uzumaki Mito's help, Fūmori Masaki had managed to hold on until Hashirama returned. On the way over, Satomi prayed in her heart, hoping that Hashirama could cure the illness Fūmori Masaki was suffering from.
Arriving at Fūmori Masaki's house, Satomi opened the door, and Hashirama and Senju Tobirama immediately stepped into the house. In the bedroom, a thin young man was lying on the bed, breathing somewhat rapidly, his face covered in sweat. Surprisingly, there was a strange pattern on his neck, and this pattern was still slowly spreading upward.
"What is this? A Cursed Seal?" Senju Tobirama noticed this at first glance and frowned slightly. In the Ninja World, a Cursed Seal was a Secret Technique with a binding effect. Generally speaking, it was used to keep one's own secrets from being leaked or to restrict an enemy's movements. Why would Fūmori Masaki have this on him?
"I don't know either; it appeared suddenly." Satomi stared nervously at Fūmori Masaki.
"No, this is not a Cursed Seal." After watching for a while, Hashirama's expression tightened slightly. He reached out and touched it lightly. Convinced of his judgment, he said to the two people beside him, "This is a Sage Mark."
Not only Satomi, but Senju Tobirama also had a look of surprise. Regarding the term his elder brother used, Senju Tobirama said in disbelief, "Brother, are you talking about the mark that appears when one reaches the Sage Mode Realm?"
Hashirama nodded slightly. Immediately after, he performed a few hand seals, reached out his finger, and touched Fūmori Masaki's neck, slowly injecting his own Chakra. Under the gaze of Senju Tobirama and Satomi, the strange pattern faded rapidly at an astonishing speed.
After the pattern disappeared, Fūmori Masaki's breathing gradually became steady, and the high fever that had never subsided also gradually faded at this moment.