Inside the Hokage Tower of Konoha.
Upon receiving the news, Hashirama immediately rushed back from the Uchiha District and burst into the Hokage's office.
He shouted,
"Tobirama! Did you say Xiao Gang was hurt?!!"
Xiao Gang was not only his most cherished loved one but also the last hope for the revival of the Senju Clan.
How could Hashirama stay calm?
"Hey, calm down, brother!" Tobirama urged.
"Xiao Gang's condition is stable now. She's resting at the Medical Facility."
Frowning, Tobirama pressed his frantic older brother down onto a chair.
This was the administrative center of the entire village.
If his elder brother kept causing such scenes here, it would damage the Hokage's image!
Hashirama exhaled in relief. "As long as she's alright, that's all that matters."
"You're here too, Jiraiya? What exactly happened on the road? How did Xiao Gang get injured?"
Hearing that Tsunade's condition was stable, Hashirama finally felt reassured and quickly turned to Jiraiya for details.
"It's my fault... I failed to protect Tsunade properly..."
Jiraiya stood before Hashirama, full of shame and guilt.
"This isn't your fault," Tobirama replied solemnly, trying to comfort him.
Although he too felt deeply about Xiao Gang's injury, he wouldn't stoop so low as to blame Jiraiya for it.
Turning to his older brother, he continued,
"This is the mission report Jiraiya compiled. Brother, read this to understand what happened. If you have any questions, just ask Jiraiya later."
"Oh right!" Hashirama grabbed the report and flipped through it eagerly.
...
Over ten minutes later, Hashirama had the full story.
He let out a low whistle of disbelief.
Who would've thought such a routine mission could lead to such chaos?
Nobody saw this coming — absolutely nobody!
"To go through so many unexpected twists... Jiraiya, thank you for your effort," Hashirama sighed with emotion.
Without Jiraiya risking his life, Xiao Gang would have truly been in danger this time.
"Not at all. It was my duty," Jiraiya responded.
"I just never expected the Hidden Grass Village and others would actually send so many assassins in the end… We barely made it out."
Jiraiya sighed again, still shaken.
He never imagined that *he*, one of the Legendary Sannin, would nearly fall to mere pursuers from minor ninja villages — how utterly embarrassing...
"Hmph!"
"These minor villages are getting more brazen by the day."
"Daring to conspire against us was bad enough; now they even dare to assassinate our people?"
"Absolutely reckless!"
"Brother, what do you think?"
Tobirama frowned angrily.
Clearly, he despised the Hidden Grass Village's actions.
Hashirama hesitated. "Well, I believe that mysterious figure who defeated the monster might very well be Madara..."
Tobirama: "..."
"Brother, can you stop obsessing over Madara for once!"
"That's not even what we're discussing here!"
"Could you, for once, treat this like an actual problem?"
Hashirama scratched his head sheepishly. "Oh right, right. Sorry, sorry."
Tobirama gave up with a sigh.
"Never mind."
"No matter who that man truly is—if he really is Madara, both the cursed Divine Treasure Chest and that monster should no longer be within Hozuki Castle."
"Just to be safe though."
"Let's dispatch some ninja squads again to scout the situation in the Land of Grass."
Hashirama: "Hmm? Tobirama, aren't you planning to hold the Hidden Grass Village accountable?"
Tobirama: "Brother, please think this through carefully."
"Even if we must act, now is *not* the time!"
"The smaller hidden villages are clinging together out of fear. Although they haven't formally allied yet, they're clearly leaning that way."
"If we strike the Hidden Grass Village first, it will set off a domino effect—possibly forcing all smaller villages to band together against us!"
"In ordinary times, we wouldn't fear such a thing."
"But look at our village's current weakened state. Where would we find any spare strength left?"
"If those small villages make a desperate counterattack and invade the Land of Fire from multiple directions, we might not even manage to gather enough forces to resist them!"
"How on earth would we even defend ourselves?!"
"Therefore, even if we must seek retribution, we must wait until our village recovers its breath before settling accounts!"
Compared to Hashirama, Tobirama had a far clearer grasp of the overall situation.
He understood precisely what needed to be done—and what absolutely shouldn't be touched.
Even though he too deeply resented the actions of the Hidden Grass Village and others,
given Konoha's current vulnerable situation, swallowing this bitterness temporarily was unavoidable.
Of course, Tobirama had even deeper concerns he hadn't voiced outright.
Because even Tobirama couldn't confirm for certain
whether the alliance formation among these minor villages wasn't secretly manipulated by those two sinister forces, Madara or Shimoku.
If it truly was their machinations behind this event,
then rushing forward hastily to attack the Hidden Grass Village would undoubtedly be walking straight into a trap—to self-destruct recklessly.
After all, in Tobirama's eyes,
Lord Madara had already evolved from a battle-hardened warrior into a master manipulator.
He must never lower his guard!
"Fine, fine, I'll go along with your plans."
Hashirama waved his hand, fully agreeing:
"Oh right, this time around, the Fire Temple and Jigen also offered tremendous assistance."
"It's thanks to them that Xiao Gang safely returned to Konoha. We must definitely express our gratitude!"
Tobirama: "I know, this much needn't concern you, brother."
"Afterward, I'll specially send people to deliver gifts and offer our appreciation."
"As for this ascetic monk Jigen whom Jiraiya encountered—Jigen indeed possesses remarkable skills."
"Unraveling such a complex Sealing Formula in such a short time is no easy feat!"
"Jigen's strength may far surpass that of ordinary ninja."
"Tobirama, what exactly do you mean?"
Hashirama asked curiously.
"Brother, currently, facing both Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Shimoku alone already places immense pressure upon us."
"Our alliance with Sunagakure and Iwagakure still fails to resolve our lack of elite-level battle strength."
"It's entirely up to you alone, which has become extremely strenuous..."
"If Jigen indeed possesses outstanding power and holds favorable views toward Konoha, he'd certainly be worth pursuing as an ally."
"At the very least, it would give our side a much-needed confidence boost."
"Things need to be analyzed rationally," Tobirama said reasonably.
"What can I do!"
"Even though both me and my older brother Hashirama have been resurrected, the pressure on the Village right now is unprecedented."
"And since my brother keeps that goofy expression all the time, it's up to me to think through countermeasures carefully."
"That's why I inevitably turned my attention toward hidden strong experts like this one."
Upon hearing this reasoning, Hashirama suddenly saw the logic behind it.
He chuckled and said cheerfully, "That makes sense! What a great idea!"
"A hermit sage like this one definitely deserves a visit."
"If we could persuade him to join the Village, that would be even better!"
"By the way, who should handle this assignment?"
Tobirama gave Hashirama an annoyed glance.
"Once I finish handling all current administrative duties..."
"I'll go myself in a few days."
This was too significant a matter for Tobirama to entrust to anyone else.
Especially not his silly older brother.
Besides, Hashirama needed to stay in the Village as commander-in-chief to guard against any enemy attacks.
"All right, all right, I'll leave it to you then."
"I'll go check on Xiao Gang first."
Saying this, Hashirama bolted out of the office toward the [Medical Department] like a man on fire.
Seeing this, Tobirama could only shake his head.
He kept going through various reports while giving instructions at the same time.
At the same time, he asked Jiraiya to describe again in detail the background and personality of Master Jigen.
To prepare strategies for the next visit and recruitment attempt.
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