"Now..."
"Their surname is Uchiha."
"The Uchiha clan and the Senju clan have been fighting for generations." Feeling as though he had found a kindred spirit, Senju Tobirama voiced his grievances against the Uchiha: "My older brother defeated the Uchiha clan and persuaded them to join Konohagakure together, but among them, there still exist wicked individuals just like their ancestors..."
Senju Tobirama failed to notice one small detail.
As this Hokage advisor had been listening all along to the stories told by Lord Emiya, his trust in Lord Emiya was growing rapidly—these were, after all, tales he thoroughly enjoyed hearing.
Moreover, it was impossible for Senju Tobirama to suspect someone from over a thousand years ago; he only knew that he had found, from the very lips of Lord Emiya, compelling evidence to keep the Uchiha clan under strict surveillance!
"Older brother..."
With a dark look in his eyes, Senju Tobirama brought up a person he detested: "Was also injured by a naturally wicked Uchiha..."
"That fellow... named Uchiha Madara."
When mentioning this name, Senju Tobirama made no effort to conceal the abhorrence and disgust in his voice: "Back then, my older brother invited him to end the turbulent times together, but that fellow betrayed my older brother's trust. Leaving Konohagakure was one thing, but when he returned, he actually attempted to destroy Konohagakure, kill my older brother, and plunge the Shinobi World back into the flames of war of the Warring States Period..."
Fortunately.
Uchiha Madara was finally dead.
And at last, his older brother would no longer be weighed down by that fellow.
Lord Emiya sighed, appearing somewhat sorrowful: "It sounds like this Uchiha Madara you speak of was just as bellicose as his ancestors..."
"Back then..."
"Asura wanted everyone to understand one another."
"Yet Indra wanted to dominate the Shinobi World."
"Though they were biological brothers, they began to fight for their differing ideals, and continued their struggle until death without ever letting go..."
"Hmph!"
"This must be the evil inherited in their blood!"
Senju Tobirama's expression was exceedingly grim as he launched into a fierce critique of the Uchiha clan: "Just like the Sharingan, the wicked Bloodline Limit inherited by the Uchiha clan from generation to generation..."
"The power of the Sharingan..."
Lord Emiya touched upon the history of the Sharingan: "I discovered long ago that the power of the Sharingan gradually drove Indra to extremes..."
"Indeed."
"I, too, have researched the power of the Sharingan."
"This Bloodline Limit is bound to be manipulated by emotions."
Senju Tobirama was well-versed in the Sharingan and poured his knowledge out as sincerely as if meeting a kindred spirit: "Because the evolution of the Sharingan is influenced by chakra born from extreme emotions..."
"This also means..."
"The stronger an Uchiha is, the easier it is for them to head toward extremes."
"And the more extreme an Uchiha is, the easier it tends to become for them to grow strong..."
This was an insoluble dilemma.
If an Uchiha's emotions could not be guided in the right direction, and they refused to live in peace, they would ultimately become extremely dangerous.
They must be placed under surveillance!
They must be kept under strict surveillance!
They must be concentrated and placed under strict surveillance!
Deep down, Senju Tobirama resolved to put his formulated plan into action. Konohagakure's manpower was insufficient to monitor every single Uchiha, so they had to be gathered together for surveillance.
These Uchiha were still comrades for now.
He needed to establish a new department for them.
This department would be managed exclusively by members of the Uchiha clan, and the Uchiha's residential area would be partitioned into one designated zone, where ANBU operatives would secretly be deployed to keep them under close surveillance.
Konohagakure Hospital.
Security here was extremely tight.
Because the battle between First Hokage Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara had been of such staggering magnitude, the shockwaves of their fight had altered the geography of the Shinobi World, carving out a massive gorge right where they clashed.
It was impossible to keep this battle hidden from the other Shinobi Villages.
Shinobi villages from other nations had dispatched agents to infiltrate Konohagakure in attempts to gather news about the First Hokage. Since the First Hokage's safety was tied to the peace of the Shinobi World, Konohagakure had no choice but to place all intelligence regarding him under the strictest seal.
"Sasuke."
Senju Tobirama suddenly called out in a loud voice.
"......"
Lord Emiya's eye twitched.
Wait...
This wasn't right either, was it?
How on earth did Sasuke suddenly pop up?
Wasn't this era supposed to be just a few years after the founding of Konohagakure?
According to the memories of his past life, this timing should have coincided right with the aftermath of the Valley of the End battle between Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. So why was there a Sasuke appearing here?
"Lord Tobirama!"
A young shinobi strode up to meet them.
This young shinobi looked at Lord Emiya standing beside Senju Tobirama, a hint of confusion in his eyes and a trace of wariness mixed into his voice.
"Lord Tobirama, this is..."
"This is Lord Emiya Shihara."
Senju Tobirama placed immense trust in this young shinobi and spoke in a deep voice: "Sasuke, everyone should be able to rest easy now; there's no need to worry about the village's situation."
"I used a Forbidden Jutsu to reanimate Lord Emiya and requested him to treat my older brother's injuries. You must have heard of his name—there will no longer be any problems with my older brother's condition."
"Could this be the greatest medical ninja of all, Lord Emiya?"
A look of astonishment flashed across the young shinobi's face as he stared in disbelief at Lord Emiya before him: "I grew up listening to Lord Emiya's name. I never dreamed that one day I'd actually get to see him in the flesh..."
"This is Sarutobi Sasuke, captain of our Konohagakure Upper Ninja Squad."
Senju Tobirama introduced the young shinobi to Lord Emiya before giving him instructions: "Sasuke, keep Lord Emiya's presence strictly confidential from the villagers..."
Although Senju Tobirama wielded absolute authority in Konohagakure in his capacity as Hokage advisor, he did not practice dictatorship in the absolute sense.
During the period when Konohagakure was reeling from Senju Hashirama's injury, the other ninja clans in the village were also feeling anxious and had a right to be informed about the situation.
If an accident truly happened...
Konohagakure would undoubtedly face hostility from the other Shinobi Villages.
At this juncture, Senju Tobirama had to unite the clans within the village to prevent Konohagakure, newly founded as it was, from collapsing over his older brother's plight.
The Sarutobi clan was a relatively large ninja clan in Konohagakure.
The Ino-Shika-Cho trio—comprising the Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka clans within Konohagakure—had already been led by the Sarutobi clan since the Warring States Period.
Sarutobi Sasuke had consistently stepped forward to help stabilize the other ninja clans, keeping panic from spreading among the villagers. Introducing Lord Emiya was also a way for Senju Tobirama to give Sarutobi Sasuke a measure of reassurance.
Entrusting Sarutobi Sasuke with the protection of his older brother was likewise intended to show them that he placed enough trust in these ninja clans—at least compared to the independently minded Hyuga and Uchiha clans, the Sarutobi clan was genuinely trustworthy.
"I'll take Lord Emiya to the ward first."
Senju Tobirama patted Sarutobi Sasuke on the shoulder, taking the lead to guide the way while praising him to Lord Emiya: "Sarutobi Sasuke is a shinobi of resolute character and also the head of the Sarutobi clan. In many matters, even I fall short of him..."
"Speaking of which, his child Sarutobi Hiruzen is also an exceptionally talented student; at this age, he has already mastered their clan's Summoning Technique..."
As he said this, Senju Tobirama cast a subtle, sideways glance at Lord Emiya, seemingly hoping that Lord Emiya might bring up some stories concerning the ancestors of the Sarutobi clan.
"......"
Lord Emiya looked at Senju Tobirama with a trace of bewilderment.
Did this guy seriously expect him to tell tales about the past of the Sarutobi clan?
He knew nothing of the Sarutobi clan's past; he only knew their future.
Meeting Senju Tobirama's gaze, Lord Emiya gently shook his head: "In my era, the name of the Sarutobi clan did not yet exist..."
"In that era when the Ninjutsu Sect was first established..."
"Only the Sage of Six Paths possessed a surname of his own within the Ninjutsu Sect."
"The Ninjutsu Sect?"
"The Sage of Six Paths?"
Senju Tobirama halted his steps, staring fixedly at Lord Emiya, and instinctively asked: "Could it be that Lord Emiya has actually met the legendary deity?"
"A deity?"
Lord Emiya looked somewhat surprised, studying Senju Tobirama curiously: "Does the Senju clan... really have no records mentioning the Sage of Six Paths?"
"......"
Senju Tobirama shook his head, then nodded: "To our era, the Sage of Six Paths is a mythological creator deity who wielded the Heaven-Conquering Sword to quell the disasters of the Shinobi World, spread chakra throughout the realm, and founded the Ninjutsu Sect of the ancient era..."
"Fair enough."
Lord Emiya was noncommittal regarding the Sage of Six Paths and casually dropped a massive bombshell: "I assumed the Senju clan would have records, seeing as the Sage of Six Paths was the father of Asura, the ancestor of your clan, and Indra, the ancestor of the Uchiha clan..."
"......"
Senju Tobirama's heart pounded uncontrollably.
Such a profound secret...
He had never heard of it before!
The ancestors of both the Senju and Uzumaki clans were actually the Sage of Six Paths!
One could easily imagine what it would mean if this news regarding their primordial progenitor were ever leaked out. It was only a pity that this revelation had arrived far too late.
Of course.
It would have been even better if the other party hadn't also been the ancestor of the Uchiha clan.
The Uchiha clan?
"The Sage of Six Paths was a good man."
Disregarding Senju Tobirama's anxieties, Lord Emiya continued on his own accord: "Back when I first proposed the concept of the medical ninja in this world, the Sage of Six Paths was the very first person to donate his mortal remains after death for human experimentation and medical research..."
Naturally.
Lord Emiya omitted another truth.
The Sage of Six Paths' remains had not been donated voluntarily.
Because the shinobi system had refreshed a task commission to retrieve the remains of the Sage of Six Paths, he had had to make use of an ally to complete that mission.
It was only by acquiring the Sage of Six Paths' remains that he truly gained the power to stand firmly in this world ever since his transmigrations. Unfortunately, the Sage of Six Paths' remains ultimately failed to yield the ability to attain eternal life; otherwise, he would never have needed to cross the threshold of death to reach where he was today...
[Name: Emiya Shihara (Weiyuan)]
[Gender: Male]
[Occupation: Shinobi]
[Chakra Natures: Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Water, Yin, Yang]
[Chakra Energy: (A) Chakra is the fusion of physical and spiritual energy within the human body, capable of enhancing physical strength and influencing lifespan. The host's chakra energy level during life was SSSS+. Currently in the infinite chakra state of the Reanimation Technique, the maximum output of usable chakra energy is restricted by the reanimated vessel to A, approximately equal to one Kakashi (unit of chakra measurement).]
[Bloodline Abilities]
[Wood Release (S): Reward from the commission to recover the God Tree Remnant. A special Bloodline Limit activated by using chakra as the source of life. The jutsu performed can absorb the enemy's chakra to make the technique even more powerful (current Wood Release power is restricted by the reanimated vessel).]
[Born Rinnegan (S): Reward from the commission to recover the Sage of Six Paths' remains. A Bloodline Snare possessing the ability to bridge Yin and Yang and master life and death. Far more powerful than ordinary Rinnegan eyes, capable of using numerous unfathomable ocular jutsu and unleashing a Susanoo even more formidable than the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, rivaling the gods! (Current ability is restricted by the reanimated vessel and cannot use the Rinnegan's ultimate ocular jutsu, Shinjin).]
[Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan (S): Reward from the commission to recover the Sage of Six Paths' remains. Possesses formidable visual observation capabilities, an innate powerful genjutsu aptitude, and nurtures the miraculous ocular jutsu Kamui, capable of activating the ultimate ocular jutsu, Complete Body Susanoo.]
[Combat Modes]
[Cursed Seal Mode (Self-cultivated by utilizing the natural energy-absorbing properties of the God Tree Remnant, used to generate Cursed Seals containing natural energy. When the host's internal chakra energy is depleted, the Cursed Seals on the body will also continuously convert natural energy to supply chakra, and can even transform into Cursed Seal Mode for combat).]
[Sage Mode (Self-cultivated on the basis of Cursed Seal Mode; Sage Mode originates from achieving a perfect balance among physical energy, spiritual energy, and natural energy to generate senjutsu chakra. A shinobi in Sage Mode possesses vastly enhanced sensory and combat capabilities).]
[Six Paths Mode (Reward from the commission to recover the Sage of Six Paths' remains. A combat mode mastering the perfect balance of the Powers of Yin and Yang, capable of enhancing all internal powers and utilizing Truth-Seeking Balls in combat. Utilizing Six Paths Mode currently will immediately break the Reanimation Technique, causing a return to the Underworld or the boundary between the Underworld and the mortal realm).]
[Skills]
[Kenjutsu (S): Self-cultivated.]
[Taijutsu (S): Self-cultivated.]
[Medical Ninjutsu (S): Self-cultivated. Capable of treating patients utilizing internal chakra; mastering the Power of Yang even allows for the cure of any illness (currently unable to use the Power of Yang due to the restriction of the reanimated vessel).]
[Wood Release (S): Reward from the commission to recover the Sage of Six Paths' remains; allows the release of Wood Release techniques without hand seals.]
[Fire Release (S): Reward from the commission to recover the Sage of Six Paths' remains; allows the release of Fire Release techniques without hand seals.]
[Wind Release (S): Reward from the commission to recover the Sage of Six Paths' remains; allows the release of Wind Release techniques without hand seals.]
[Water Release (S): Reward from the commission to recover the Sage of Six Paths' remains; allows the release of Water Release techniques without hand seals.]
[Earth Release (S): Reward from the commission to recover the Sage of Six Paths' remains; allows the release of Earth Release techniques without hand seals.]
[Lightning Release (S): Reward from the commission to recover the Sage of Six Paths' remains; allows the release of Lightning Release techniques without hand seals.]
[Yin-Yang Release (S): Reward from the commission to recover the Sage of Six Paths' remains; enables the use of Yin-Yang Release techniques, with mastery of the Powers of Yin and Yang drastically increasing the potency of all jutsu (currently restricted by the reanimated vessel, unable to use the Powers of Yin and Yang).]
[Summoning Technique (S): Self-cultivated. The summoning blood pact is with the Slugs of Shikkotsu Forest, enabling the remote summoning of the summoned beast to fight alongside him (currently unable to summon the contracted beast due to the restriction of the reanimated vessel).]
[Kamui (S): A space-time ocular jutsu originating from the Mangekyou Sharingan, capable of creating a unique Kamui Dimension, allowing the user's body to instantly enter the Kamui Dimension to evade any attack, as well as remotely and rapidly absorbing objects to launch attacks (currently unable to unleash Kamui's maximum potency due to the restrictions of the reanimated vessel and chakra level).]
[Shinjin (S): The ultimate ocular jutsu originating from the Rinnegan, capable of generating a hidden defensive mirror around the body. All jutsu information encountered by the mirror is perceived by the host, and all incoming jutsu attacks are reflected back, provided the jutsu consumption does not exceed the host's chakra energy upper limit (currently unable to be used due to the restriction of the reanimated vessel).]
On the surface, Lord Emiya's strength was not weak.
In reality, Lord Emiya's strength was indeed quite formidable.
Simply being able to cast any jutsu without hand seals gave him an incomparable advantage in combat, not to mention ultimate Bloodline Limits like the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan and the Rinnegan, and even the Six Paths Mode which surpassed ordinary shinobi.
Still...
The reanimated state still made it impossible to unleash his true power.
It was somewhat a pity.
He had been reanimated a bit too early.
Lord Emiya cast his gaze upon Senju Tobirama walking ahead of him.
This fellow Senju Tobirama...
Was not an easy person to deceive.
The man was accustomed to trying to keep everything under his own control.
Lord Emiya had noticed this the very moment he was reanimated.
Senju Tobirama had attempted to try and control him, only temporarily dismissing the notion because he was a kind and benevolent person.
What a great shame.
If someone with a wicked disposition had reanimated him using the Reanimation Technique, he could have thoroughly deceived them and truly resurrected himself using the Rinnegan he had left behind in this world...
A day reminiscing about Orochimaru...
Seven thousand words today!