When Fūmori Masaki woke up, it was already evening. He stared blankly at the ceiling, his expression dull, as if he had not fully woken up yet.
Just then, Satomi happened to enter from outside. Seeing Fūmori Masaki on the bed with his eyes open, she paused for a moment, then involuntarily broke into a joyful smile. She hurried to the bedside and said, "Masaki, you're awake! Lord Hashirama is truly amazing; he said you would wake up soon, and you really did."
Fūmori Masaki slowly turned his head and stared at Satomi's face without saying a word. This demeanor made Satomi feel somewhat uneasy, so she called out, "Masaki?"
"...Satomi?" After a while, these words finally came from Fūmori Masaki's mouth, and the look in his eyes became the same as the one Satomi remembered.
"Yes, it's me, Satomi." Satomi breathed a sigh of relief. The Fūmori Masaki from just a moment ago had given her a strange feeling, but it was gone now.
"I'm a bit thirsty, Satomi. Could you help me get some water?" Fūmori Masaki's voice was a bit hoarse.
Satomi nodded and went to pour water for Fūmori Masaki. Meanwhile, Fūmori Masaki silently watched her back, his mind in complete turmoil at this moment.
During this coma, Fūmori Masaki had a dream. In the dream, he seemed to have another life, living not in this world, but in another world where there were no Ninja and some things he could not understand.
In that world, he lived as another person with another name. If that were all, his heart would not have been shaken, but in that world, he saw something.
It was a book called manga. In a certain manga, Fūmori Masaki saw familiar names: a place called Konohagakure, a First Hokage named Senju Hashirama, a Second Hokage named Senju Tobirama, and later, the heir to the Sarutobi Clan he knew, who was the Third Hokage.
Everything that followed left him even more bewildered. The Akatsuki Organization, the Rinnegan, the Ten-Tails, the Ōtsutsuki... all of this was beyond his imagination, making Fūmori Masaki ask himself if none of this was real, but merely a delusion produced during his coma.
But what kind of delusion could feel so real that it made him feel as if he had lived another life? Fūmori Masaki even thought that he was not the Fūmori Masaki of before, but the person from the dream.
However, Fūmori Masaki's past experiences were also exceptionally real, which made him increasingly confused. Was he Fūmori Masaki here now, or was he that person?
While Fūmori Masaki was lost in thought, Satomi came over with a glass of water. She handed the glass to Fūmori Masaki and said, "Drink."
Fūmori Masaki rose from the bed and reached out to take the glass. Just as he was about to bring it to his mouth, the glass was suddenly crushed, and the water inside splashed all over his chest.
Satomi let out a soft cry and chided, "What are you doing? You're using so much strength just to drink water, and you were just running a fever earlier."
As she spoke, she went to change Fūmori Masaki's clothes, as wearing wet clothes was bad for his health. Although she was Fūmori Masaki's fiancée, she still felt a bit shy. When she took off his clothes, her body stiffened slightly, and she stared in disbelief at Fūmori Masaki's chest.
Fūmori Masaki frowned slightly and followed her gaze, only to see strange patterns on the left side of his body. He had never seen these before; he was certain of that. Seeing Satomi's expression, she seemed to know something, so he asked, "Satomi, what is this?"
"I, I don't know. I heard Lord Hashirama say it's called a senmon or something. Lord Tobirama said it seems to appear when one reaches the Sage Mode Realm." Satomi shook her head, feeling a bit scared. She had seen Hashirama remove these strange patterns with his own hands earlier; how could they have appeared again now?
—senmon? Sage Mode Realm? Although the terms were somewhat obscure, Fūmori Masaki had a realization. In that manga book of his, there was a form called Sage Mode, and once one entered Sage Mode, some markings would appear on the face, but he had never heard of Sage Mode markings appearing on the body.
Wait, that's not entirely true. The Cursed Seal created by that guy named Orochimaru was itself a form of Sage transformation, and its Cursed Seal did indeed form patterns on the body. But Orochimaru probably hadn't even been born yet; how could this thing appear on him?
Fūmori Masaki was equally confused. He unconsciously pressed his hand against the edge of the bed, and with a soft sound, the surface of the wooden bed shattered instantly. This scene made Fūmori Masaki afraid to move carelessly again. His mind had been somewhat numb before, but now he was completely awake and felt that his body's strength exceeded his imagination, to the point where he was completely unable to control it.
"Satomi, you said Lord Hashirama cured me, so can you go ask Lord Hashirama to come over now?" Fūmori Masaki didn't know how to solve this and could only turn to Senju Hashirama for help.
Satomi shook her head and said, "Lord Hashirama and Lord Tobirama have gone to summon the heads of the Ninja Clans in the Village to discuss some matters, so they are busy right now. However, Lord Hashirama said he would come over immediately after he finishes handling things; it seems he has something to say to you."
"Is that so? Then I'll have to wait." Fūmori Masaki sighed, looked at Satomi, and said, "Satomi, can you feed me water? In my current state, I'm afraid I can't easily hold things."
Although Fūmori Masaki's senses were not very sharp, he vaguely felt some changes within his body. His strength seemed to be growing, and at the same time, the patterns on his body were gradually spreading. Fūmori Masaki had some guesses about his current situation, but as he had said earlier, he had no way to deal with it and it could only be solved by Senju Hashirama.
"I suppose I can." Satomi did not refuse. She went to pour another glass of water, sat by the head of the bed, and held the glass, feeling both nervous and shy. Even though they were engaged, she and Fūmori Masaki had never been this intimate before; back then, they were more like childhood sweethearts.
Satomi was, after all, a composed girl. After taking a few breaths, she calmed down, brought the glass to Fūmori Masaki's lips, and watched him drink slowly.
Satomi looked up at Fūmori Masaki's calm expression and muttered to herself, *When did he suddenly become so calm? The Fūmori Masaki from before used to be even more nervous than I was. For some things that I didn't think were a big deal, Fūmori Masaki would be incredibly nervous.*
When Senju Hashirama finished his meeting, he hurried to Fūmori Masaki's room, only to see Satomi feeding Fūmori Masaki porridge. He paused for a moment, then laughed, "Haha, I didn't expect you two to be so intimate while I was away. Seeing how close you are, it's time to consider getting married. At your age, dragging it out until now isn't appropriate."
"That's not it at all!" Satomi's cheeks immediately flushed red, and she defended herself, "Because Masaki is having some issues, he can't move easily, so I'm just helping him."
"Hmm? What kind of issues again?" Hashirama asked hurriedly.
Satomi hurriedly explained what had happened earlier, then unbuttoned Fūmori Masaki's shirt to show Hashirama the patterns. By this time, the patterns had almost reached his neck. For Fūmori Masaki, while he felt his strength growing, a feeling of discomfort was also quietly growing.
"Lord Hashirama." Fūmori Masaki looked at Senju Hashirama, feeling a bit strange. In that life in his dream, although he admired Senju Hashirama, he didn't have any real respect for him. But as the Fūmori Masaki of this world, he still held those feelings for Senju Hashirama. Although he couldn't distinguish between Fūmori Masaki and that other person, he still addressed Senju Hashirama by his old title.
Hashirama said with a solemn expression, "Although I knew your condition was somewhat serious, I didn't expect it to be this severe. If I had come any later, it would have been troublesome."
After speaking, Senju Hashirama reached out and tapped Fūmori Masaki's body, and a powerful surge of Chakra was instantly injected. Fūmori Masaki felt as if something inside him had been dispersed. The patterns also retreated at an astonishing speed, and Fūmori Masaki felt his own strength wane, but at the same time, his physical condition gradually improved and was no longer as uncomfortable as before.
"That's great, as expected of Lord Hashirama." Seeing this, Satomi said happily.
Senju Hashirama let out a breath and said to Satomi, "Satomi, could you step out for a moment? I have some things to discuss with Masaki, okay?"
Satomi looked at Fūmori Masaki, then at Senju Hashirama. She knew that Senju Hashirama must want to talk about those patterns, and it didn't look like a small matter, so she nodded, bowed to Senju Hashirama, and exited the room.
"Now, Masaki, let me explain the situation that is appearing on your body." Senju Hashirama looked at Fūmori Masaki and said.