Thanks to Tobirama's appearance, the village's mood quickly calmed down. Afterward, not much was kept secret. Soon, everyone in the village knew that last night, the Hokage confronted Madara Uchiha and the Nine-Tails Fox, ultimately achieving victory and killing Madara on the spot.
However, Madara was, after all, a shinobi on par with the Hokage, and he was accompanied by a Tailed Beast. Thus, the Hokage also sustained some injuries and was currently undergoing treatment, which prevented him from appearing before everyone.
However, they believed that in a while, once the Hokage's injuries stabilized, he would be able to meet everyone.
No further details were revealed, such as the whereabouts of the Nine-Tails Fox or the severity of the injuries. These were classified secrets, known only to a limited few.
But overall, this general explanation was acceptable to the people. No matter how strong the Hokage was, he was still human. Humans get injured, right? And when injured, they naturally need to rest.
Therefore, the villagers quickly accepted this explanation and returned to their peaceful routines. Many even hung prayer origami in front of their homes, wishing for Hashirama Senju, the Hokage who was injured protecting the village, a speedy recovery.
It had to be said that although Hashirama was somewhat carefree on a daily basis, his reputation in the village was truly extraordinary.
At this moment, in the Senju clan's residence, Hibari sat in a medical chair. His bandaged wrist had been unbound. Tobirama was cutting open his wrist, and blood continuously flowed from it, dripping into a tray.
"I say, Tobirama-jiisan, I had no external injuries to begin with. You deliberately cut a wound into me... Can't you use some conventional treatment methods?" Hibari said helplessly, watching the blood flow freely from his hand.
"What do you know? This is the most perfect treatment plan. Although this... well, let's call it 'surgery,' although this surgery hasn't had much practical application yet, the theory is very mature. Your injury... the fragmented bone shards are obstructing a lot. They must be thoroughly cleaned, and then combined with medical ninjutsu to regenerate the bone, only then can you fully recover. Otherwise, you'll have latent problems later, and if you get injured again, this hand might be crippled..." Tobirama said softly, as he used small tweezers to pick out bone fragments from Hibari's wound.
"I actually think that with my regenerative abilities, giving me ten-odd days would be enough for me to fully recover on my own," Hibari mumbled.
"Hmph, perhaps, but if it's cleaned thoroughly, you'll recover even faster. Maybe three to five days?" Tobirama snorted.
Hibari thought there was some truth to that, so he didn't say anything more. The two were silent for a moment, then Tobirama asked again, "I heard from Hiruzen that you seemed to have helped your Ojiisan a great deal?"
Upon hearing Tobirama's question, Hibari immediately became excited and said with a beaming expression, "Isn't that right? You could even say I completely turned the tide of the stalemated battle and successfully laid the groundwork for Hashirama-jiisan's decisive blow!"
"Tell me, what was the situation like?" Tobirama seemed interested as well.
"Hahahahaha, well then, I'll tell you. When I saw the Nine-Tails Fox at that time, I already wanted to help Hashirama-jiisan..." The brat Hibari quickly began to exaggerate his bravery.
Tobirama nodded occasionally, while still cleaning the bone fragments from Hibari's wrist.
"No sooner said than done, being captured by Madara was also within my expectations, or rather, I intentionally allowed myself to be captured. Why? To create an opportunity for Hashirama-jiisan to deliver that decisive blow! He underestimated me too much, so to teach him a lesson, I countered with a Rasengan directly to his stomach, and then Hashirama-jiisan struck him from behind with his sword..." Hibari stopped there, not saying anything more, his expression somewhat emotional.
Seeing Hibari's expression, Tobirama didn't ask further. After all, when Madara was in the village, he was quite good to Hibari. It was understandable for Hibari to feel some emotion when bringing up the matter.
"Sigh, in any case, that's what happened. Afterward, we sealed the Nine-Tails Fox and returned together. I really didn't expect Hashirama-jiisan's injuries to be so severe, even though he seemed fine earlier," Hibari sighed.
Tobirama then said, "Actually, before this, I was prepared for even worse. After all, Madara Uchiha... he's our old rival. Although I don't like him, I'm very aware of how capable he is. Plus, with the Nine-Tails assisting him... To have this outcome now is already quite good."
"Yes, at least Hashirama-jiisan is the one who's alive..." Hibari also forced a smile.
Tobirama picked out the last bone fragment from Hibari's wrist. Before he could even speak, the door to the medical room was pushed open frantically. It was Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Sensei! Sensei!!! Hokage-sama has woken up!!!" Hiruzen shouted excitedly.
His shouting excited both Hibari and Tobirama. As Hibari moved, his wrist naturally moved with him. Tobirama, hearing that his older brother had woken up, unconsciously trembled a bit.
There was a 'sizzle' sound as the tweezers in his hand accidentally snagged Hibari's artery. A spray of blood instantly splattered onto his face, and Hibari was completely stunned.
"What the hell!!!" Hibari cursed loudly in frustration.
But Tobirama didn't even bother to acknowledge him. He tossed the tweezers aside and said, "Stop the bleeding yourself. I'm going to see your Ojiisan!"
After saying that, he didn't give Hibari another chance to speak and quickly walked out the door. Hiruzen didn't even bother to glance at Hibari, who was 'bleeding profusely,' and just as nimbly followed Tobirama out.
Pinching his constantly bleeding wrist with one hand, while looking at the various bone fragments in the tray, Hibari muttered in great dissatisfaction, "What kind of quack doctors are these? Causing medical malpractice and being the first to run away? So his brother counts, but his grandson doesn't? How does that work? Do any of them have any humanity left?"
Although he said this, Hibari himself wasn't slow to act. He also really wanted to check on Hashirama's condition. Thus, the chakra energy in his hand quickly reconnected the blood vessel, and his powerful vitality caused Hibari's wound to quickly stop bleeding.
"Good thing I'm good at stopping bleeding..." Hibari mumbled, then casually grabbed some gauze and haphazardly wrapped it around his wrist. He then jumped off the medical chair and bolted out of the room...
When Hibari arrived at Hashirama's hospital room, many people were already inside, and a large group of Senju clan members were standing outside the door.
Taking advantage of his junior status, and also being a patient currently 'bleeding profusely,' Hibari forcibly squeezed into the room.
He then saw Tobirama examining Hashirama, who had already regained consciousness. Mito stood to the side, holding little Tsunade's hand, and Toka stood quietly beside Hiruzen.
Hibari quietly walked up to Hiruzen and asked, "What's the situation?"
"Sensei hasn't figured it out yet..." Hiruzen whispered.
Hashirama also saw Hibari at this moment, and a weak smile appeared on his lips as he said, "Hibari, why is your wrist bleeding?"
Hibari looked down. The wound, which had been stopped earlier, probably reopened due to his running, and the gauze was already stained with blood.
However, Hibari didn't mind it. He smiled and said, "I've been a bit overheated lately, so I thought I'd let some blood out to cool down..."
"Hahahaha, is that so?" Hashirama chuckled weakly, then asked again, "Your wrist isn't seriously injured, is it?"
"No worries, don't you worry," Hibari said with great confidence.
"Mm, that's good. This time, it's all thanks to you. Otherwise, it would have been hard to say who would win..." Hashirama said with a smile.
As soon as his words fell, everyone in the room turned their attention to the little brat Hibari. Although Hibari had claimed earlier that he had helped a great deal, at that time, it was just him and Hashirama. By the time Hiruzen arrived, Madara was already out of commission.
Afterward, Hashirama was sent for treatment. Once he relaxed, he fell unconscious, so it was naturally impossible for him to vouch for Hibari. Therefore, even Tobirama believed that Hibari was exaggerating to some extent.
It wasn't until this moment, when Hashirama personally admitted it, that everyone finally believed that Hibari had actually been of great help.
Hibari said with some pride, "It's all what I should do. I am a shinobi, after all, aren't I? Hahahaha..."
Just then, Tobirama said, "The general situation has stabilized. Perhaps he'll be able to get out of bed and walk in a few days, but Anija..."
"I understand my own physical condition. There's no need to say more," Hashirama smiled very freely, seemingly not saddened by his injuries at all.
Tobirama nodded at this, not saying anything more. After all, even though everyone here was family, some things were better known by fewer people.
Just then, Sasuke's figure rushed in from outside the room. Upon seeing that Hashirama had woken up and Tobirama was also there, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he quickly said, "Hokage-sama, Tobirama, something major has happened!"
As his words fell, everyone's gaze was fixed on him. Toka reacted quickly, swiftly beginning to clear out the common clan members from the room.
Seeing that the people around had been asked to leave, Sasuke didn't wait for them to ask and directly said, "According to the latest intelligence... The First Mizukage, Byakuren, of Kirigakure in the Land of Water... passed away yesterday."
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