Outside the ward of Konoha Hospital, Senju Tobirama earnestly requested Lord Emiya not to leak the secrets of the ancient era to anyone else, especially his elder brother, Senju Hashirama.
Because he knew what kind of man his brother was.
Once his brother learned that the ancestors of the Senju and Uchiha clans were brothers, and even descendants of the Sage of Six Paths alike, he would treat the Uchiha clan with even greater leniency.
This would interfere with his own plans to suppress the Uchiha clan in the future.
In truth, if possible, Senju Tobirama would have preferred Lord Emiya to expose only the evil Uchiha ancestor, Indra, as that would make it much more convenient for him to suppress the Uchiha clan.
However, Senju Tobirama knew that Lord Emiya was a man of integrity and would certainly recognize that such rhetoric was specifically designed to put down the Uchiha clan, making it unlikely he would agree to it.
Therefore...
Senju Tobirama's choice of words was extremely cautious.
"Lord Emiya."
"The current situation in Konoha is very unstable."
Senju Tobirama's voice was somewhat heavy as he unblinkingly began to talk utter nonsense: "If these secrets from the ancient era are leaked, it will inevitably arouse public discussion..."
"Although that fellow Uchiha Madara wanted to destroy Konoha, we still intend to regard the Uchiha clan members who joined Konoha as our companions..."
"Once the people in the village learn the story of Indra, they will surely suspect that the Uchiha clan are evil by nature, and they will undoubtedly ostracize them even more."
"..."
Lord Emiya's expression turned somewhat peculiar.
What's this?
Trying to bully me just because I'm from the old days?
I'm only dead, not senile.
Konohagakure's Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, hoping that the village wouldn't ostracize the Uchiha—how did something like that sound like a joke?
Besides...
Wasn't it you, fellow, who took the lead in ostracizing the Uchiha!
Yet...
Senju Tobirama was exceptionally skilled at rationalizing his actions.
The Hokage's advisor's arguments were simply flawless.
"In order to help the Uchiha integrate into Konoha, my brother has always treated the Uchiha clan with great favor. Once he learns that the ancestors of the Senju and Uchiha clans were brothers—coupled with the fact that he previously had to kill his former friend Uchiha Madara to protect the village, leaving him with a sense of guilt toward his friend—he will undoubtedly feel even closer to the Uchiha clan."
"Under these circumstances..."
"The other shinobi clans in the village will feel it's unfair..."
"If the people in the village learn that our ancestors Asura and Indra were brothers, they will inevitably begin to question my brother's fairness..."
"My brother is the First Hokage of Konoha."
"Relations among the various shinobi clans within Konoha are extremely fragile right now. If someone questions the Hokage's impartiality, it could easily cause the peace we achieved through such bitter toil to collapse completely..."
Senju Tobirama circled around and around in his speech, finally winding back to his starting point: "Lord Emiya, for the peace of Konoha and the Shinobi World, I can only ask you to seal away these ancient secrets of the shinobi clans..."
"..."
Lord Emiya truly could not find a reason to refuse the other man.
After all, Senju Tobirama spoke so eloquently, casting himself from every angle onto the moral high ground. His words were a blatant moral challenge, as if to ask: surely a good-natured man from antiquity wouldn't want to see the Shinobi World plunge into chaotic warfare once again, right?
These days...
Being a good person was truly difficult!
If you wanted to be a good person, you had to be prepared for moral blackmail.
Fortunately.
Lord Emiya was even better at moral blackmailing others.
"I can only try my best not to say the wrong thing."
Lord Emiya shook his head, explaining with some hesitation: "Because in our era, people often communicated using chakra during spiritual cultivation, and we rarely concealed our thoughts or lied to our companions..."
"I am truly sorry."
"I can only do my best."
A hint of apology appeared on Lord Emiya's face, hoping that Senju Tobirama would understand his noble character: "After all, I'm not very good at hiding the true thoughts in my heart..."
"The one who should apologize is me."
Senju Tobirama felt no dissatisfaction toward Lord Emiya. He let out a long sigh, feeling a sense of leisurely yearning for the ancient era of which Lord Emiya spoke.
"I have also heard some legends left behind by the Sage of Six Paths. It is said that in the era when he founded the Ninjutsu Sect, people respected one another and understood each other..."
"To think..."
"Those legends actually turned out to be true..."
"Actually, it wasn't absolute."
Lord Emiya rubbed his brow in mild embarrassment, tossing out a casual explanation: "For instance, the people of the Ninjutsu Sect could not understand the ideology of the Uchiha ancestor, Indra, to the point that he eventually chose to leave the sect and attempted to use the power of the Sharingan to destroy its villages, until Asura finally united everyone's chakra to defeat him..."
"What!"
Hearing this somewhat familiar pattern, Senju Tobirama instinctively disparaged Indra: "That inherently evil Uchiha ancestor!"
Such behavior!
It was identical to Uchiha Madara!
Uchiha Madara had left the Konoha he helped found and also wanted to destroy it, and in the end, he too was killed by his elder brother, shattering his evil conspiracy.
Uchiha Madara and his ancestor were neither of them any good!
"Speaking of which..."
Lord Emiya changed the subject smoothly, offering a word of praise to Senju Tobirama: "You and your older brother get along so well. Such harmonious fraternal relations are truly rare..."
"That is only natural."
A trace of emotion stirred inevitably in Senju Tobirama's heart, recalling his elder brother's earnest protection of him when they were young: "After all, my big brother has been taking care of me ever since I was a child..."
Lord Emiya...
This good man was really quite decent.
At least Senju Tobirama felt that his conversation with him had been extremely pleasant.
Based on Lord Emiya's account, ninjas from the ancient era were all good people, and that era must have been a true earthly paradise.
Mm...
Except for that inherently evil Uchiha ancestor.
"Let's go inside."
Senju Tobirama pushed open the door of the ward, his attitude toward Lord Emiya growing more modest: "There is nothing we can do about my brother's injuries. We can only entrust him to Lord Emiya."
"There's no need for that."
Lord Emiya waved his hand, turned, and walked into the ward, his back straightening with an air of professional focus: "Rest assured, I am a medical ninja and will not fail my patient."
A faint floral fragrance lingered in the ward.
Lord Emiya's gaze fell upon the person lying on the hospital bed.
The man had long black hair and was wrapped tightly in bandages from head to toe. He lay motionless on the bed with his eyes closed, yet his breathing remained remarkably steady.
The First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.
Without a doubt, the most powerful ninja of this era.
"Big brother has never been this weak before."
Standing beside Lord Emiya, Senju Tobirama wore an exceptionally grim expression: "The battle with Uchiha Madara a few days ago exhausted almost all of his chakra..."
"Let me see..."
Lord Emiya's fingers instinctively came to rest upon the patient's wrist.
"A Wood Release ninja?"
Lord Emiya seemed somewhat surprised, falling into deep thought: "In theory, the source of Wood Release is the power of the God Tree. Back then, Asura only awakened Wood Release after receiving chakra bestowed by the Sage of Six Paths. It's unlikely that such power could be inherited by later generations..."
"Big brother awakened Wood Release after reaching adulthood."
Senju Tobirama immediately noted down the secret mentioned by Lord Emiya before proactively drawing his attention back to the patient: "Lord Emiya, how is his condition...?"
"No need to worry."
Lord Emiya looked at Senju Tobirama, offering a reassuring word: "The patient's self-healing ability is extraordinarily strong. It's simply because his chakra is nearly depleted that his injuries haven't healed yet. Once his chakra recovers, he'll be fine..."
"..."
Senju Tobirama felt that the other man was stating the obvious.
Because even he could tell that much about his brother's condition.
"However..."
Lord Emiya paused, broaching the issue that concerned Senju Tobirama most: "The patient overused his self-healing ability, which caused his cells to accelerate division and regeneration, thereby damaging his life span. Coupled with the fact that he expended too much of his vital energy to boost the power of his Wood Release, this situation is rather troublesome..."
"Rather troublesome?"
Far from looking nervous, Senju Tobirama actually relaxed slightly: "In other words, Lord Emiya can resolve it?"
"In the ancient era, this would be a minor issue."
"I would simply need to treat him with the Power of Yang."
Lord Emiya narrowed his eyes slightly, a note of regret in his voice: "However, in my current state, I am no different from a dead man, and I have no way to use the Power of Yang at all..."
If only...
He could achieve a true and perfect resurrection.