"Hahahahaha\~\~ Come, come, Tobirama, hurry over! Look—this is our new home! This village, our new Hidden Leaf, was built by me, young Nawaki, and young Tsunade! How is it? Doesn't it feel familiar? Hahahahaha\~\~\~"
"Second Grandpa, Second Grandpa, look! This new Senju estate was built exactly like our old clan compound! Isn't it great? I did a good job, right?!"
In the grand mental network world, New Hidden Leaf Village, Nawaki and Hashirama Senju were excitedly circling a stunned and speechless Tobirama Senju, bombarding him with chatter and proudly showing off their achievements within the "Great Genjutsu World."
Tsunade stood nearby, smiling as well, though with a hint of awkwardness. After all, she knew Tobirama had already been revived some time ago—only to be locked into a new game world by Uchiha Kei due to their conflict.
As his granddaughter, the guilt of not rescuing him sooner made this reunion awkward. Thankfully, Tsunade had prepared herself mentally, so she managed to stay composed.
But to Tobirama, this all felt very different.
Among these three, he was, of course, familiar with his elder brother Hashirama, and felt a sense of closeness with Tsunade. But to Nawaki, he was a stranger.
After all, when Tobirama died, Nawaki hadn't even been born.
Only after Hashirama introduced Tsunade and Nawaki did Tobirama begin to understand the situation.
Even so…
Was everything he was seeing just an illusion? A carefully crafted fake?
After all, his elder brother had long been dead. The Tsunade he remembered was still a little girl. And Nawaki? He had never even heard of him.
Doubt ran deep.
Tobirama's first instinct was disbelief, and that was precisely what he was known for.
Unlike Hashirama, he didn't trust easily. He couldn't believe what he saw—he always questioned everything.
After a moment of silence, Tobirama suddenly shunshined away from his family, leaving them stunned.
Having regained his icy demeanor, he now looked colder than ever. In his eyes burned a terrifying aura—like that of a Lord of Cinder.
Indeed, this was Tobirama Senju who had returned from *Dark Souls*.
After a kun-year of being the Ashen Undead, he had witnessed too much madness, distortion, and illusion. He had even experienced enemies using illusion-based attacks to manifest his memories of the ninja world into weapons against him.
Having been through that, there was no way Tobirama would trust what he saw now.
In fact, an extreme suspicion formed in his mind—perhaps he was still trapped in *Dark Souls III*, caught in some foul sorcery that made him see distorted visions of his deepest memories.
With that in mind, Tobirama tried to forcefully break the illusion using his inner power.
But then came another shock—his vast soul energy from the *Dark Souls III* system was gone. In its place, his long-lost chakra had returned.
This familiar yet alien force surged forth—and Tobirama, unable to control it well, accidentally unleashed a burst of strength and chakra, shattering the ground beneath him with spiderweb-like cracks.
The sudden tremor startled everyone. None could grasp what Tobirama was doing.
Hashirama immediately scowled and flashed to Tobirama's side. He placed a hand on his brother's shoulder—his overwhelming power surging forth to suppress him.
A stern voice followed: "Tobirama, calm down! Whatever you're thinking—this is real. It's not a genjutsu, not an illusion, and definitely not a disguise!"
That powerful force, together with Hashirama's voice, made Tobirama recall how his brother used to restrain him. That long-forgotten sensation flooded back, shaking his very soul.
Yet, moments later, Tobirama's expression turned cold again. Fury rose in his eyes as though he intended to burn everything to ash.
Just like…
Back in *Dark Souls III*.
Without a word, Tobirama attacked.
His brutal assault caught Hashirama off guard—he hadn't expected his brother to be so unhesitatingly violent.
Though Tobirama had always been a man of action, he had never been this silent. In the past, even with a tough persona, he had plenty to say—he had to, in order to support his impulsive brother and later govern as Hokage.
So this new Tobirama felt foreign to both Hashirama and Tsunade.
But to Uchiha Kei, this behavior made perfect sense—after all, spending years in the *Dark Souls* world came with serious PTSD.
In that chaotic, decaying world, the early stages were still livable—with towns, villages, and NPCs to speak with.
But over time, the Abyss consumed everything. Beings vanished, and even conversation became a luxury.
What could Tobirama do in such a world? He had been pushed to despair.
Eventually, the Fire Keeper became his white moonlight. She was the only one he could truly converse with. Gentle, wise, and nurturing—she struck his deepest weakness. The conditions were perfect.
Now, having just returned from that world, Tobirama had brought all of that back with him.
His core mindset: fight first, think later.
And so… Hashirama promptly smacked him down.
Yes. Tobirama was iron-fistedly subdued by Hashirama.
Though Tobirama was a master of forbidden jutsu, with techniques that once shook the ninja world, against Hashirama, they were child's play.
And now, having reverted from the Ashen Undead to his former self, Tobirama was still adjusting to chakra again.
As a bystander, Uchiha Kei could tell Tobirama was struggling with his jutsu. There were delays—he had to consciously recall how to use them.
In contrast, Tobirama's taijutsu was sharp—refined through countless battles in the *Dark Souls* world.
Undeniably, his current taijutsu was top-tier—even stronger than Hashirama and Madara Uchiha.
Put simply: Tobirama's physical combat was now *Boruto*-level.
But it didn't help much. As is well known, ninja power levels were never determined by taijutsu alone—especially before *Boruto*, where taijutsu played a minor role.
So once Hashirama unleashed Wood Style and sealing techniques, Tobirama's defeat was inevitable.
And for Tobirama, once he saw his brother use Wood Style, he realized… this really might be his big brother.
That suffocating feeling—chakra being drained and entangled by Wood Style—was too familiar.
It was the pain of past beatings, and also one of the reasons he revered his brother.
"This feeling… this invincible presence… this Wood Style that pacified the ninja world… So it's true. You really are my brother…"
Tobirama murmured.
For Hashirama, seeing his brother finally calm down and acknowledge him was a relief.
Honestly, he didn't know how to react to Tobirama attacking without warning. He realized his brother had become extremely volatile.
Without knowing the full story, Hashirama assumed this was due to trauma from being revived—perhaps psychological scars from dying in the ninja war.
This thought weighed heavily on him.
After all, Hashirama—the First Hokage—had only ever wanted peace. That's why he created the Hidden Village system and struck down Madara during their final battle.
Everything was for the dream of peace, so his family and village would no longer suffer from war.
But the ninja world had betrayed him cruelly. Though he had feared the peace wouldn't last, he hadn't expected the world to unravel so quickly after his death.
The Hidden Leaf was drawn into war again. His brother had died in the ensuing conflict.
He never showed it. But when alone, he couldn't stop thinking about it—especially after spending time undercover with Madara.
Madara once said: if Hashirama had joined him in uniting the ninja world by force, though many would've died, there would've been no future wars. The Hidden Leaf's descendants wouldn't have had to suffer. They would've had a better, brighter future.
Hashirama had no comeback.
He wanted to say he believed in future generations, but now… it felt like passing the blame.
Especially after seeing Nawaki dead. After bonding with Tsunade and seeing her pain during the two great wars… Hashirama felt like he truly deserved death.
Why hadn't he listened to Madara back then?
Even if it meant sacrificing some, even if the village had to fall—once unified, they could rebuild. His granddaughter could've lived happily. His grandson wouldn't have died. His brother, son, daughter-in-law, and even the Uzumaki clan might still be alive.
Children like Minato Namikaze would never have become orphans. They would've had warm, loving families.
All of it—ruined by his indecisiveness.
Now, looking at his brother—fresh from countless death battles, exuding murderous intent—it was impossible not to think of these things. It dulled the joy of their reunion.
It wouldn't be surprising if Hashirama woke up at night, slapped himself, and cried, "I truly deserve to die!"
So he fell into gloom right then and there, entering full emo mode in front of Tobirama.
His reaction stunned Tobirama. And then, long-buried memories assaulted him—memories of his brother's old embarrassing behavior.
That triggered his instinctive reaction.
"You idiot big brother! Quit embarrassing yourself—we've got other people here!"
With that shout, Tobirama calmed down.
Now, he truly believed the man before him was his brother.
After being yelled at, Hashirama shrank his neck, looking sheepish—but the depression quickly vanished.
Just then, Tsunade and Nawaki hurried over, watching with deep concern.
Tobirama glanced at the two younger ones, then at his brother, sighed, regained his composure, and turned to Uchiha Kei.
"This is all your doing, isn't it? I've mostly figured things out. Tell me—what exactly is going on? Why are my brother and I—both dead—standing here? Is this… the world of the dead?"
His tone grew heavy. Because if this *was* the world of the dead… then Tsunade and Nawaki must have died too.
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