A few days later, in the Hokage's office:
"No, I don't agree."
Senju Hashirama rejected Koharu Utatane's proposal about whether to send people to speak with the Daimyō of the Land of Rain regarding missions. Then he said, "Those who are dead shouldn't interfere in the world of the living.
"I'm happy to see the village is still here, but I don't want to infringe on others for the sake of profit."
"Brother—" Tobirama started to speak.
"You keep quiet." Hashirama silenced his younger brother. "When I founded this village, the goal was to tear down barriers between clans. I wanted to establish order in a world where there was none, so that children could grow up without worries…"
If Konoha extended its reach into the Land of Rain—already a battleground in all four great wars—it would definitely provoke a huge reaction from Iwagakure. It might even ignite a war.
His expression grew stern. "In today's world, it's no longer about clan vs. clan. It's become hatred and conflict among villages, among nations."
"I don't know how to change or rebuild this order, but I do believe that a war in which the strong prey on the weak won't bring about peace."
From the bottom of his heart, that was what he believed. That was why at the First Five Kage Summit, he had practically begged the other leaders, hoping to achieve peace.
Of course, that didn't mean he thought his own actions alone would bring peace. Rather, he hoped his actions and attitude would spread a yearning for peace.
If he'd believed the future was guaranteed to be peaceful, then after being summoned back he wouldn't have felt so relieved just to see Konoha still standing.
Let the future be handled by future generations. Every generation has its own challenges to face.
"Brother," Tobirama said, waiting until Hashirama had finished, "once you're fully resurrected, doesn't that, in a way, make you part of the new generation?"
He knew his older brother better than anyone. Chances were, those fine-sounding words just now were already the result of serious contemplation—yet they were based on the assumption that there'd be no resurrection at all.
"Oh, right!" Hashirama smacked his palm against his head, an expression of shock on his face.
He hadn't thought about the fact that he himself would have to tackle new problems and find a way to achieve a new kind of peace in this new era.
"… …" x5
"Ahem," the Third Hokage spoke up. "I don't support taking over the missions in the Land of Rain either."
"But if the destruction of Amegakure isn't addressed soon, it'll only lead to more chaos," argued Koharu, not swayed by the First Hokage's rejection. "Even if we don't seize the opportunity for profit while there's a vacuum, Iwagakure and Kusagakure won't abandon their interests in the Land of Rain."
"The village is stronger now than any other. Even if war breaks out, with Link's jutsu, we could easily defeat any of the other Villages."
"Once we unify the ninja world, true peace will arrive."
"And if war is needed along the way, then it's all for peace."
Previously, she hadn't agreed with Danzō's idea of unifying the ninja world because she'd thought it was hopeless. But now that they had the First Hokage at hand—and could summon all of Konoha's powerful shinobi from the Pure Land whenever they wanted—unifying the ninja world no longer seemed like an extreme notion. It felt like something entirely within reach.
Peace, war—call it what you will; it was really just about strengthening the village. After all, the shinobi profession was never that honorable to begin with. If they did unify the ninja world, they could slowly manage the path to peace. As for sacrifices made along the way—who cares? With Link around, they wouldn't be sacrificing Konoha's own people, anyway.
Homura Mitokado said nothing, which made his stance clear enough.
Meanwhile, Tsunade was lost in thought—wondering what kind of expression she should have when she eventually saw her deceased lover, reincarnated as a small child.
Nawaki? She had pretty much watched him grow up; he wasn't that old when he died, and if he came back at three or four years old, oh well.
Jiraiya looked uneasy. According to his prophecy, one of his disciples would bring change to the entire world. From the way things were shaping up, it seemed like Link might be the prophesied child.
But he had barely spent any time with Link at all!
"The mission in the Land of Rain isn't something we must have," the Third Hokage said firmly. "The Land of Rivers is still unsettled, and we're still having friction with Iwagakure. If we get involved in the Land of Rain, it'll definitely spark a war."
"We can't be the ones to start a war."
He didn't deny that peace might require war. No one knew how to achieve true, lasting peace; arguing about right or wrong was a waste of breath. But he was opposed to actively igniting conflict.
Link's jutsu wasn't omnipotent. What if something else emerged that could neutralize it? Konoha's location meant that if it triggered a ninja world war, all the other villages would turn against them.
As for revived individuals, if they were a concern, you could seal them to stop further re-summoning. If resurrection was possible, then all the more reason not to kill—just capture and seal.
No such thing as an invincible jutsu.
Missions from the Land of Fire, the Land of Rivers, the Land of Waves, and a few allied nations were enough to keep Konoha thriving. Actively starting a war brought too many unknowns.
By that point, they were barely talking about the Land of Rain itself; the discussion had shifted to the village's future direction. It was practically a debate among Konoha's leadership on what path the village should take.
Hashirama nodded repeatedly. "Sarutobi's right."
"I think we could coordinate with Iwagakure regarding missions in the Land of Rain," said Homura calmly. "That way we could resolve the turmoil in the Land of Rain and still get part of the missions. It wouldn't necessarily trigger war. We could solve it all peacefully."
"Yes, that sounds good," Hashirama chimed in again, nodding approvingly.
[That's nonsense, though. Konoha's already stuffed from missions in the Land of Rivers; no way would Iwagakure willingly give up the Land of Rain missions. Homura's just talking about 'peace' as an excuse for grabbing a slice of that pie.]
"Brother, stop making things difficult." Tobirama pressed a hand to his forehead in exasperation and directed, "Go find Link, see if he needs any help, and while you're at it, figure out when exactly you want to be resurrected."
"Oh." Hashirama scratched the back of his head. "Tobirama, no matter what happens, we can't start a war," he reminded him.
He usually couldn't be bothered with politics and exerted almost no sense of authority, yet he understood perfectly well that nobody in this room had as much sway over people as his younger brother did.
Tobirama nodded, his childish face set in a tight expression. "Understood."
"Pfft—haha! Tobirama, your face is priceless," Hashirama exclaimed with a laugh.
Tobirama felt the vein on his forehead throb. Expressionless, he said, "Yes, yes, Brother. You can go now."
Once Hashirama left, his translucent, half-summoned body looking more relaxed than ever, Tobirama said, "The Land of Rain missions aren't important."
In truth, he didn't care about those meager profits at all.
The Land of Rain was a small country, had been at war for years, closed off, and was basically in ruins thanks to the previous battle between Hashirama and Madara—totally impoverished.
Those three subordinates had thrown out their opinions so he could hear them. In essence, they wanted a plan for the future that they could get from the mouth of the two previous Hokage. Hashirama was still spouting his usual "peace" mindset, which was a bit out of step with the current global situation.
"Sarutobi, have the Anbu seal off all information about resurrection," Tobirama said—none of that lofty talk about unifying the world or ultimate peace, just straightforward orders.
"Koharu, Homura—head to the Daimyō of the Land of Fire and have him negotiate with the Daimyō of the Land of Rain."
"Jiraiya, between you and Tsunade, one of you has to take over as the Fifth Hokage within one month."
He delivered one directive after another, smoothly and efficiently.
All the village really needed was to keep growing stronger before the other villages caught on.
Once he and Hashirama were fully resurrected and restored to their prime, and once Link grew, they could foster another one or two powerhouses of that caliber.
Then they wouldn't need any war to bring about peace. As long as those top-tier fighters lived, there'd be no war at all.
This was a world where being strong enough let you dominate.
Tobirama knew all about his brother's strength and understood the world's basic logic. Link's reincarnation plus Hashirama's power meant nearly limitless peace. Fancy political maneuvers and resource grabs were meaningless in comparison.
"I won't be Hokage!"
The moment Tobirama finished assigning tasks, Jiraiya was the first to protest, practically in a panic.
Tsunade hesitated briefly, then accepted. "I'll do it."
The village needed a respected, still-in-her-prime shinobi to take the role. The old man had aged too far; it was time for him to retire comfortably. With her younger brother, boyfriend, and even her grandfather all back, the knot in Tsunade's heart had loosened. Her concern for the village prevailed.
"You're not leaving the village, either," Tobirama said, nodding at Tsunade's choice and pointing at Jiraiya. "We need every fighter right now. You'll stay to assist Sarutobi and Tsunade."
Tsunade smiled.
"—" Jiraiya hesitated. "I want to go to Mount Myoboku first, then…"
He wanted to see if Link truly was the Child of Prophecy—and whether he still had any chance to serve as the kid's teacher. It was starting to seem very unlikely.
Ugh, his head was spinning. How on earth had the world ended up like this?
"A reverse summoning, then. You get one day," Tobirama said crisply, shutting the topic down. "That's all."
Then he hopped off the desk and left the Hokage building at a measured pace, heading back to his laboratory.
Were it not for today's truly significant matters—and the village needing someone to make decisions—he wouldn't have bothered coming.
Before heading off to capture Uchiha Madara, he had nearly completed his research on the Edo Tensei formula. Just a bit more, and he'd have it.
He wanted to prove that the technique he'd developed was no weaker than Link's "mutated ninjutsu." Probably because he was stuck in a child's body, his competitive drive had ticked up slightly.
[That part of the space-time formula should lead to—…]
Banishing all distractions, Tobirama threw himself back into his research, flipping open his notes, carefully recording every idea as he delved deeper.
~~~
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