"So, the Hidden Leaf has become like this now\..."
In the grand world of the Mental Network, Tobirama Senju spoke.
Today marked the tenth day since Tobirama officially reunited with his elder brother, Hashirama Senju. Days ago, he had already reconnected with the rest of his kin and had adjusted his mindset to accept the fact that he was now resurrected in a "Genjutsu World."
Although Tobirama still did not fully believe this was a Genjutsu world, the lack of evidence meant he couldn't deny it either.
By now, Tobirama had fully adjusted and had come to a new understanding of his experiences in the Dark Souls world.
A Genjutsu? A dream?
Or perhaps the dream of Zhuangzi as a butterfly, or the butterfly dreaming of Zhuangzi?
Maybe it was all of these. Maybe none.
To Tobirama, these experiences were completely real. They were a second life.
Just as Uchiha Kei had said, at least to Tobirama, everything in that world was real—the experiences, the emotions, all of it. And that alone was enough.
With his emotions settled, Tobirama accepted the present situation and prepared to begin his third life in this Genjutsu world.
Then, Tobirama learned a lot. After discovering the existence of the Genjutsu Game, and hearing that his brother spent all his time playing with Madara Uchiha in-game—and that Madara was still alive, having been fooled by some ancient manipulator into enacting a plan to live forever inside a dream world—Tobirama was left speechless, with the expression of an old man on the subway reading something shocking on his phone.
It must be said, such information was extremely advanced for the conservative Tobirama. And that was before learning that his brother used a young girl avatar in-game to interact with Madara. Had he known that, Tobirama's reaction would've been far more dramatic.
Still, Tobirama surprisingly had little reaction to the news that Madara was alive. He was mildly surprised, frowned a bit, but did not display the hatred and disgust he once had.
How could he? After all, his second life had been lived in the hyper-realistic Dark Souls 3 world that Uchiha Kei had designed to be as immersive as possible.
Having witnessed true chaos and darkness, complete corruption of human nature and divinity, and countless conspiracies, Madara's actions seemed petty in comparison.
And he'd been scammed on top of that.
Honestly, Tobirama wanted to laugh more than be angry. Especially after learning his brother was catfishing Madara with a female avatar—and Madara had no idea. There was a strange sense of satisfaction.
So even the naturally evil Madara Uchiha could be tricked by your own brother, huh?
Big brother, well done! Good job, seriously!!!
And with that cheerful mindset, Uchiha Kei approached Tobirama and provided him with comprehensive reports—videos, slideshows, and documents—detailing Konoha's history in recent years and the transformations brought about by the Genjutsu Game.
Especially the past six months of changes, which were thoroughly detailed, making it easy even for an "old fossil" like Tobirama to understand.
Hence the line that began this chapter.
His words were filled with sighs, reflections, and confusion. The world outside had changed so much, even Tobirama could barely recognize it.
But one thing was clear to him: the Leaf was thriving like never before—economically, in prosperity, and in potential. Even more than in the days when he and Hashirama ruled.
Back then, the Hidden Leaf had only military might. Economically, demographically, and developmentally, it was far behind the current state.
If all these achievements had come from the Senju Clan or their successors, Tobirama would be proud and moved. He'd feel validated in his past choices.
But the problem was, all this transformation came from the Uchiha. More precisely, from this infuriating Uchiha boy before him.
As for the successors Tobirama had trained and chosen...
What could he say?
They had maintained the village, yes. But progress? It existed, but it paled compared to recent developments—merely maintaining the status quo.
Which led Tobirama to feel that, if not for the past half-year as a benchmark, the changes might've seemed significant. But with that comparison, he couldn't help but think:
"What the hell were you doing these past few decades? How is six months of progress better than your entire legacy?"
Especially after seeing the documents about Danzo Shimura and the Root organization.
Tobirama, a two-life veteran now living a third, couldn't help but twitch his eye—feeling like he was staring down some scumbag villain from the Dark Souls world again.
The worst part? Everything Danzo had done—he had been given the power to do so by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
As Hokage, he had willingly split his own power and handed Danzo so much authority that Root became Danzo's personal army—and eventually, due to Danzo's madness, it was annihilated by Madara.
Tobirama didn't even know what to say. Everyone might excuse Hiruzen, but as the former Hokage, and Hiruzen's teacher, Tobirama just wanted to slap him.
Sure, Danzo had personal ambition—but who enabled him? Who gave him unchecked freedom?
As Hokage, you have responsibilities. Don't use "I didn't know" as an excuse. Wrong is wrong.
Hiruzen never truly led as Hokage—he was too emotional, dividing power among friends to keep them around. That was the real mistake. In trying to test human nature, he gave Danzo a reason to fall.
But human nature is never meant to be tested!
If you can't bear the burden, why be Hokage at all?
Even Hashirama, when Madara threatened the village, took up arms against his friend for the sake of Konoha. Hiruzen couldn't even match that.
Tobirama was furious.
Yet after that anger came resignation. He had trained those men. He knew their personalities.
And honestly, at the time, there had been no better choices. Hiruzen really had been the best option. Despite his mistakes, he ultimately made the right final choice:
He chose to trust Uchiha Kei and the Uchiha Clan.
He gave everyone a chance.
And when he realized he could no longer lead, he stepped down and entrusted the future to the young.
In that regard, Tobirama was satisfied. He could let go of his grudges and say, "You've done well, Monkey."
Thankfully, Tobirama didn't know the full truth of the "original story." Otherwise, if he knew what had really happened in the canon timeline, he might've broken down despite two lifetimes of emotional endurance.
In the original, he didn't know the details. That's why, during the Fourth Great Ninja War, when he was reincarnated, he still said, "You've done well, Monkey."
If he'd known all the shady operations, indecisiveness, and disasters Hiruzen caused... his tone would've been very different.
Of course, part of the problem was that Jiraiya was off chasing his so-called Child of Prophecy, and Tsunade refused to return to the village due to hemophobia. Because his disciples refused responsibility, Hiruzen had no choice but to die as Hokage.
This isn't a defense of Hiruzen. The canon did show he wanted to hand over the role.
Human nature is complex. Many problems stem from that very complexity.
Danzo, for example. In Tobirama's eyes, he had once been a brave, capable disciple—not as brilliant as Hiruzen, but close.
Who would've thought that, decades later, that once-passionate youth would become such a loathsome old bastard?
After thinking for a while, Tobirama looked at Uchiha Kei and asked:
"So, what do you need me to do?"
He didn't refer to himself as "this old man"—a habit changed after his time in the Dark Souls world. There, facing the Fire Keeper, such a title felt inappropriate. Since his only conversational partner had been the Fire Keeper, his habit from the Hokage days had faded.
And from Kei sharing so much with him, Tobirama knew the boy wanted his help.
He didn't resist. A third life had reshaped his mindset. Besides, his brother and grandnephew were both active here, each playing a role under Kei's guidance. Tobirama understood it was his turn to contribute.
He was ready—as long as it didn't harm Konoha or the Senju Clan.
Kei, of course, would never have Tobirama do anything like that. For a scientific genius like Tobirama, Kei's plan was clear: have him focus on what he excelled at.
"No rush," Kei said. "Before you begin, you'll need some systematic learning. Konoha has evolved rapidly. The knowledge you once mastered isn't useless, but its application is now limited."
With a snap of his fingers, Kei brought Tobirama into a "Small World."
It was a school, a place of learning—with a private table just for Tobirama.
Unlike Orochimaru and Sasori, who were alive in the real world, Tobirama could withstand extreme time acceleration. Two years in the Dark Souls world had equated to just half a month in real time.
Now, he would study in this school under max time acceleration.
At first surprised, Tobirama quickly accepted this setup. After all, he'd seen stranger things in the Dark Souls world.
But he almost lost it when Kei introduced the Fire Keeper—as a "reward" for Tobirama's cooperation.
Yes. That Fire Keeper. And yes, she retained her memories and emotions from the Dark Souls world.
She appeared before him, bowed respectfully, and said with her usual tone:
"I'm glad to see you again, Ashen One. Is this... your world?"
His pupils trembled. His body shook. His throat went dry. He wanted to speak but didn't know what to say.
The Fire Keeper simply smiled faintly, stepped closer, and gently said:
"To meet you again truly brings me joy... Please, allow me to remain by your side forever, free from the burden of kindling the flame... Ashen One."
Tobirama opened his mouth again—but found no words.
Looking at her face, hidden behind her familiar blindfold, he realized... nothing more needed to be said.
Just one word. One answer.
"Yes."
With that one word, the moment became a work of art.
Secretly recording the whole thing, Uchiha Kei nodded in satisfaction and eagerly began editing a highlight reel: Tobirama's Dark Souls battles, his despair, his madness, the apocalyptic atmosphere...
Then his bond with the Fire Keeper—from mistrust, to opening up, to choosing to kindle the flame for her.
And finally, their reunion in the school.
A happy ending.
Kei believed he had the makings of a great director!
As for whether the Fire Keeper's memories and emotions were real...
Tch. Kei could only say this: the Mental Network was true black-tech. Even if the system was kind of dumb, this feature was insanely powerful.
Once fully upgraded, the system could theoretically generate real Digimon—and while Digimon are digital beings, their emotions and thoughts are genuine.
Right now, Kei couldn't achieve that—but making one "real" Fire Keeper? Easy.
Whether others believed it or not didn't matter.
Tobirama believed.
He believed in the Fire Keeper.
And he believed in their feelings.
In fact, one could compare it to those warriors from Kei's previous life who married 2D characters.
They didn't have the real person—just merch and photos.
Tobirama, by contrast, had the real thing: someone he could touch, talk to, even... go further with, if desired. She was no different from a real human.
So how could anyone say his feelings were fake?
No. This would only make people weep with envy.
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