Konohagakure was not a bustling place.
At least, the Konohagakure of this era was still far from prosperous.
Many of the architectural styles looked rather hasty, as though they had been thrown together temporarily by villagers occupied with more pressing matters.
Emiya Shihara did not mind the crudeness of the village. Instead, he looked around with curious eyes, deeply interested in the scenery that greeted him upon his resurrection.
"This is the village we live in."
While signaling the ANBU to maintain strict security, Senju Tobirama chatted with Emiya Shihara about the stories of this era: "It should be over a thousand years since Lord Emiya's time..."
"A thousand years?"
A sense of loss washed over Emiya Shihara, and he let out a soft sigh. "No wonder the architectural style of the houses is so vastly different from what I remember..."
After briefly discussing the village's architecture, Emiya Shihara seemed to suddenly realize something, and his expression lit up with sudden joy: "Come to think of it, if a full millennium has passed, medical ninjutsu must be extraordinarily advanced by now. At the very least, back in our day, we had no jutsu capable of resurrecting the dead! The wisdom of later generations is truly breathtaking."
"..."
Senju Tobirama's expression instantly turned subtle.
"I am quite ashamed..."
Senju Tobirama let out a long sigh, hoping the other man would not be too disappointed by the medical standards of this era: "The Forbidden Jutsu that resurrected Lord Emiya was actually meant for combat. Even then, it was only by sheer luck that I managed to allow Lord Emiya to retain his sanity. The medical ninjutsu and techniques of this era remain just as they were when Lord Emiya first established them..."
"Is that so?"
Emiya Shihara's expression sank visibly, as though his ideals had been shattered: "Did humanity ultimately use the power of chakra solely for combat after all?"
To a medical ninja, war was undoubtedly the most detestable thing in existence.
Because the Senju clan had preserved Emiya Shihara's Crystal Coffin down through the generations, Senju Tobirama had grown up hearing many stories about him. He could easily guess Emiya Shihara's ideals, yet he still had to force this predecessor to face reality.
"It was all for survival."
"To stay alive in the cruel Warring States Period, we had no choice but to continuously utilize chakra to hone our combat capabilities."
Without hiding anything, Senju Tobirama recounted the chaotic Warring States Period, and took the opportunity to praise his older brother before Emiya Shihara, hoping the ancient master would understand just how crucial his brother was to this era.
"Fortunately..."
"The war has finally ended."
"My elder brother, Senju Hashirama, used his immense power to completely bring an end to the turbulent times of the Warring States Period and established a system of peace between nations and Shinobi Villages."
"We invited other shinobi clans to build Konohagakure, allowing ninjas who once slaughtered one another to lay down their mutual hatred and become companions who rely on each other within the same village."
"As for the future..."
Senju Tobirama paused for a moment, taking the opportunity to paint a grand vision for this founding father of medical ninjutsu from a millennium ago: "As long as my eldest brother's injuries heal and his lifespan is unaffected, his prestige will surely allow the Shinobi World to maintain lasting peace, and future medical ninjutsu will undoubtedly make even greater progress."
"..."
Emiya Shihara's gaze also turned subtle.
Yet, in the end, Emiya Shihara did not directly puncture Senju Tobirama's empty promises. He let out a faint, lingering sigh and said, "Rest assured, I have never failed my patients—especially since your surname is Senju..."
"..."
Not a trace of awkwardness appeared on Senju Tobirama's face.
In truth, this Hokage advisor of Konohagakure had never cared much about saving face. As long as he could achieve his goals, he did not care what impact it might have on his reputation.
However...
This saint, who had been elevated to an altar a millennium ago, seemed to have a story to tell.
Remembering the relaxed manner in which Emiya Shihara had mentioned the Senju clan, Senju Tobirama could not resist probing for information: "Lord Emiya must have some deep ties to our Senju clan, because the children of our clan have all grown up listening to your stories..."
"You could say there is a bit of a connection."
"If you happen to be the descendants of Asura..."
"Asura?"
"Indeed."
Walking beside Senju Tobirama, Emiya Shihara casually brought up the history he had personally lived through: "Back then, I had a friend named Asura. He was not permitted to use the surname left behind by his father, so I helped him choose two surnames to use as options for his descendants..."
"One surname was Senju."
"The other surname was Uzumaki."
Emiya Shihara looked at Senju Tobirama and sighed. "It seems Asura's descendants ultimately chose the surname Senju..."
"..."
Senju Tobirama's pupils dilated abruptly!
He had never imagined that his own clan's surname originated from this!
This was no falsehood!
After all, both of these surnames truly existed.
The shinobi clans that developed from these two surnames had survived down to the present day; the Senju clan and the Uzumaki clan happened to be distant relatives sharing the exact same ancestor.
"Actually..."
"Both Senju and Uzumaki were used."
"The Uzumaki clan of the other surname is our distant relative."
Taking a deep breath, Senju Tobirama said in a deep voice, "This is truly unexpected. Both the Senju of the forest and the Uzumaki clan trace their surnames back to Lord Emiya..."
When his older brother woke up, he would undoubtedly nag about this for a while.
He had used the Reanimation Jutsu, a Forbidden Jutsu, to resurrect a deeply respected predecessor—especially one whose relationship with their ancestors was apparently so profound.
"Time flies, and the world changes."
Emiya Shihara's tone was filled with a sense of vicissitudes and nostalgia, as though he were reminiscing about an old friend: "I never imagined that after so much time has passed, Asura's descendants would still exist..."
"..."
Senju Tobirama remained silent.
For he could clearly hear that this Lord Emiya and his ancestor named Asura must have been exceptionally close friends.
This was a good thing.
At least he knew the other party would likely be mostly friendly.
Even though Senju Tobirama believed that a reputation tested by history and time like Emiya Shihara's was more than trustworthy, he remained extremely cautious when dealing with his eldest brother's affairs. This personality trait made it impossible for him to place absolute trust in powers beyond his control.
For instance...
The Uchiha clan within the village.
Although the Uchiha clan was also a part of Konohagakure, Senju Tobirama could never fully trust this clan whose abilities were uncontrollable...
Especially just a few days ago, Uchiha Madara, the former head of the Uchiha who had left Konohagakure for many years, had suddenly manipulated the Nine-Tails to attack Konohagakure and inflicted such severe injuries on his eldest brother.
Because of this exact reason, Senju Tobirama had ordered the ANBU to step up their surveillance of the Uchiha clan.
Even though Uchiha Madara had finally been killed by his eldest brother's resolute decision, and these Uchiha clansmen might be entirely innocent, Senju Tobirama could not guarantee whether another dangerous figure like Uchiha Madara might emerge from among these Uchiha in the future...
After all...
His eldest brother's appearance was a unique exception within the Senju clan...
Yet the birth of another Uchiha Madara within the Uchiha clan was by no means an impossibility.
The Uchiha clan possessed the Sharingan—a Bloodline Limit born from malignant chakra. It could evolve under unpredictable circumstances, and sooner or later, another dangerous and evil person just like Uchiha Madara might be born anew.
This was a hidden hazard.
"I wonder..."
"Are the descendants of Indra still around..."
At that moment, Emiya Shihara abruptly brought up an unfamiliar name. Seeming to worry that Senju Tobirama might not understand, he began to recount the story of Indra.
"Indra and Asura were brothers."
"Back then, Indra and our ideals conflicted."
"Asura and I believed that chakra should be a power used to understand and save the people of the world, while Indra believed that chakra was a power meant to rule over the world..."
"In the end..."
"We parted ways."
"I do not know what surname Indra's descendants took."
At this point, Emiya Shihara seemed entirely unaware of what had become of Indra's descendants, and instead carefully described their distinct characteristics.
"However, his descendants should have also inherited a miraculous and powerful Bloodline Limit. This Bloodline Limit manifests unique chakra within their eyes, and upon evolution, it even allows them to use certain powerful and bizarre dojutsu..."
"That dojutsu is called the Sharingan."
Senju Tobirama proactively supplied the name of this Bloodline Limit.
The Konohagakure advisor's eyes darkened. He truly never expected that Indra and Asura had been brothers, and that that deeply vexing clan shared a direct lineage with the Senju as well...
Yet...
As expected, the Uchiha were born evil!
The very ancestor of the Uchiha clan had harbored such malicious intentions!
Compared to Asura, the righteous ancestor of the Senju clan, Indra—the ancestor of the Uchiha—actually possessed the evil ambition to rule the world through chakra!
Even a medical ninja of such lofty moral character as Emiya Shihara was unwilling to associate with the evil ancestors of the Uchiha clan!