Tobirama Senju looked at Hikaru Uchiha with a puzzled expression. The boy, on the other hand, wore a calm smile, as if he had long expected this outcome.
"Kid, what's going on? What did you do to me?"
Hikaru shrugged and replied with a smile,
"Lord Tobirama, no need to panic. I haven't done anything to you. It's just that... my version of Edo Tensei might be a bit different from the one you know."
Looking at the teenage boy in front of him, Tobirama felt a swirl of complicated emotions.
He could hardly believe someone so young had already managed to improve upon his own forbidden technique.
But the more he looked at Hikaru, the stronger a strange feeling of irritation welled up inside him.
He furrowed his brow, trying to suppress his growing frustration.
After taking a deep breath, he slowly asked,
"Kid, what's your name?"
Hikaru was briefly taken aback by the sudden question.
He blinked, then calmly answered,
"Hikaru Uchiha. That's my name."
The moment the word "Uchiha" left his lips, Tobirama's stern face grew even more serious, and his deep-set eyes sharpened like blades.
His fingers unconsciously clenched into a fist, as if barely holding back his emotions.
Hikaru took in the whole reaction, amusement flickering in his eyes.
He raised an eyebrow, lips curling into a playful smirk, and said coolly,
"What's wrong? Is the great Second Hokage really thinking of attacking a fellow villager?"
But Tobirama didn't respond to the remark.
He simply let out a cold snort and spoke in a low voice,
"A naturally evil little Uchiha brat, I—"
Before he could finish, Hikaru cut him off.
"Just a little brat? You'd better not underestimate me, or you might regret it."
The confident grin on Hikaru's face left Tobirama momentarily speechless.
He said nothing more, only examined the boy again, this time with a gaze full of both curiosity and doubt.
For a moment, the two stood in silence, locked in a quiet standoff. The air between them grew tense and heavy.
And then—
"Are you done yet, Hikaru?"
Tsunade's voice rang out from outside the door. A second later, she pushed it open and stepped into the room.
The moment her eyes fell on the scene inside, her expression froze in disbelief.
"Grand-Uncle!? How are you...?"
Her voice trembled with shock as she stared at Tobirama, as if trying to confirm whether what she was seeing was real.
Tobirama Senju—dead for many years—was standing there alive, right before her.
She stood frozen, unable to react.
Tobirama, too, looked slightly dazed at the sight of Tsunade.
In his memory, she had been just a cheerful, innocent little girl.
And now, she had grown into a graceful young woman—though traces of her childhood still lingered faintly on her face.
He opened his mouth slightly, as if trying to speak, but didn't seem to know what to say.
After a long pause, he finally said,
"Little Tsunade… long time no see."
The familiar voice jolted Tsunade out of her daze.
She stepped forward, disbelief in her eyes, and reached out to gently touch his cheek.
"No warmth… Is he a ghost?!"
Her face paled in shock. She quickly stumbled back a few steps, then dashed behind Hikaru to hide.
The absurd sight instantly shattered the tense atmosphere between Hikaru and Tobirama.
Hikaru turned around, gently patted Tsunade's shoulder, and said,
"Relax. I'm not going to fight Lord Tobirama. Promise."
Tobirama nodded in agreement.
"Indeed. He's a part of Konoha, too. Why would I strike my own?"
Tsunade finally smiled.
Truth be told, she'd sensed the tension in the room earlier—and had staged that little scene to break the ice.
Still, seeing Tobirama again truly surprised her.
She looked between the two, curiosity boiling over. Her eyes widened.
"Hikaru, what's going on here?"
Seeing her reaction, Hikaru knew she was dying to understand.
So, without hiding anything, he began explaining everything to Tsunade.
He told her how he used Edo Tensei to summon Tobirama Senju, hoping the Second Hokage could help him with certain pressing issues.
Tobirama listened quietly to Hikaru's explanation, a complex look on his face.
When he heard just how far the technique had been improved, even he—prepared as he was—couldn't help but be surprised.
He gave Hikaru a long, thoughtful look, reassessing the young man before him.
Tsunade, meanwhile, only got more excited as she listened. Once Hikaru finished, she bolted out of the room.
As she ran, she shouted,
"Grandma! Hikaru brought back Grandpa Tobirama! Come quick!"
At that moment, Mito Uzumaki was downstairs chatting with Nonō Yakushi, waiting for Tsunade and Hikaru so they could attend the Ninja Academy's graduation ceremony.
She'd just been teasing Nonō about her relationship with Hikaru when Tsunade's voice cut through.
For a second, Mito wondered if she'd heard wrong.
She knew Hikaru was powerful, unmatched even—but reviving someone? That was something else entirely.
She turned to look in Tsunade's direction, and in the next instant, she froze.
Tobirama Senju was really standing there.
Instinctively, she activated Kagura's Mind Eye to sense his chakra—trying to determine whether this was truly Tobirama.
After scanning several times, she confirmed it.
The chakra was exactly the same as before. No doubt about it.
Tobirama followed Tsunade out of the room and looked down to see Mito.
In a flash, he used Body Flicker to appear before her and said,
"Sister-in-law. It's been a while."
But the moment he finished speaking, Mito punched him square in the chest.
The sheer force of the blow sent Tobirama flying into the wall, smashing a hole in it.
Tobirama climbed up from the floor in a bit of a mess. He looked at Mito and gave a wry smile.
"I told you we should've held the peace talks in Konoha. But nooo…"
Mito's eyes turned red as she walked up to him and gently pulled him into a hug.
"Welcome back, Tobirama."