Just as Mito and Shizune were sharing a tender moment, Hashirama and Tobirama were already pointing fingers at each other and trading insults.
"Tobirama, you always say the Uchiha are born evil! But I think you're the one who's truly evil! You didn't even spare your own big brother's corpse!"
"Aniue, don't think I can't tell you're yelling at me because you didn't get to eat earlier. You never cared what happened to your body, did you?"
...
Uchiha Hikaru watched their absurd argument with a twitch at the corner of his mouth, debating whether now was the right time to tell them that Orochimaru could already regrow bodies through cell cloning.
Or maybe... he should just let them argue a bit longer?
Because honestly, this was kind of entertaining.
Only when both brothers finally turned away in a cold standoff did Uchiha Hikaru clear his throat.
"Ahem. You two… I'm not sure if I should say this, but…"
Tobirama squinted at him. "Say it."
"Actually, Orochimaru can already cultivate bodies using cloned cells. So there's no need to worry about, uh… 'preserving' mine."
"Second Lord, you and First Lord are brothers—he should be able to accept a body regrown from your cells, and even access Wood Release through it."
"The only tricky part… is probably Lady Mito. Her case is more complicated…"
Mito turned to look at Uchiha Hikaru with a big question mark on her face.
So… these two quarreled so fiercely, and now you're telling me I'm the difficult one to resurrect, while their process is pretty simple?
What now? I'm annoyed, but you're my future grandson-in-law… I can't smack you the first time we meet.
Little Tsunade's all grown up, she can't throw hands for me anymore...
Guess I'll just find an excuse to beat up Hashirama tonight.
Still, Mito maintained a gentle smile as she looked at Hikaru.
"I appreciate your thoughtfulness. I was already dead to begin with, and I'm more than satisfied just to be alive again this way, reunited with all of you."
"As for resurrection, it's not urgent. We'll talk about it when the world is at peace."
Hashirama's expression suddenly turned somber. He felt a pang of guilt for his wife.
Back then, he passed away early. After marrying him, Mito never had a peaceful day. He owed her far, far too much...
Tobirama also lowered his head in silence.
He could imagine how much his sister-in-law had sacrificed for Konoha after his death. As the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, she was confined to the Senju compound, unable to step outside freely—living as though imprisoned.
And she had to raise Tsunade all by herself...
Even Tsunade and Shizune looked somber, visibly uncomfortable with the heavy atmosphere.
But Uchiha Hikaru scratched his head awkwardly and spoke again.
"Uh… the method is a bit complicated, but… it's not impossible."
The moment Hashirama heard that, his eyes lit up. He dragged his chair next to Hikaru and threw an arm around his shoulders.
"Brother! Tell me! As long as Mito can be resurrected, you can call me 'Uncle,' I'll call you 'Dad,' and we can—"
Bam!
Mito cracked her knuckles and punched Hashirama right on the head.
"You old fool! What are you even saying? Do you want to collapse the entire social structure of this world?!"
Then she sat upright and returned to her dignified posture.
"Ahem. Nothing happened just now. Hikaru, continue. Ignore this buffoon."
Hashirama rubbed his head, thinking maybe the body from Impure World Reincarnation wasn't so bad after all—at least, it didn't hurt.
"I'll have Orochimaru start cultivating bodies for First and Second Lord in the lab now. It should take about three years."
"Grandma Mito, your situation is more complex. It'll take a little longer."
"My Mangekyō is still evolving. In three years or so, it should evolve into the Rinnegan. Once that happens, I'll be able to use it to perform the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique and fully resurrect you."
"As for Second Lord Tobirama, he can simply switch to one of the cloned bodies once they're ready."
Tobirama narrowed his eyes at Hikaru's explanation, skeptical.
"Rinnegan? Isn't that the Sage of Six Paths' eye? The final evolution of the Sharingan is the Rinnegan?"
Uchiha Hikaru nodded and proceeded to explain the truth of the ninja world—the history of the Sage of Six Paths, the origin of chakra, and the bloodline of the Uchiha and Senju clans.
Tobirama, Hashirama, and Mito all looked stunned.
So… the Senju and Uchiha clans really are the direct descendants of the Sage of Six Paths...
At that moment, Hashirama finally understood: Madara's ultimate goal in their final battle wasn't just victory. He wanted Hashirama's flesh and blood… to awaken the Rinnegan.
But Mito looked at Hikaru with concern.
"Hikaru, are you sure using your dōjutsu like this won't damage your eyes?"
Hikaru shook his head confidently.
What side effects? Madara's Rinnegan passed through so many hands and was still plug-and-play—like USB 3.0!
"Don't worry. There won't be any side effects. The Eternal Mangekyō already resolved the blindness issue with the Sharingan. No matter how much chakra I burn, I won't go blind. And once I awaken the Rinnegan, it'll be on an even higher level."
That night, Tobirama quietly left the Senju compound. He said his goodbyes and told them he would stay with Orochimaru for the time being.
Partly because he didn't trust Orochimaru not to mess with his and Hashirama's bodies... but more importantly, as a scientist, he was excited.
Now that he was no longer the Hokage, he could finally focus on the experiments and research he never had time for before.
Deep in his lab, Orochimaru was smearing a mixture of chakra-dampening materials onto the walls of his hidden chamber using a trowel.
He was focused on increasing the room's resistance to chakra detection—when he suddenly felt a cold chill crawl up his spine.
This feeling… no way. He just left. Why is he back already?
No, no, I'm imagining things. It's stress. I'm hallucinating. Back to work...
"Orochimaru. I have a task for you."
The low, familiar voice of Senju Tobirama sent a jolt through Orochimaru's entire body.
His heart dropped.
He turned around, stiff as a corpse, to see Tobirama standing behind him with a perfectly calm smile.
You really are my father. Why did I even think it was a good idea to bring you back to life?!
Now I don't have just one father—I've got three!
"Lord Tobirama… what's the mission?" Orochimaru forced a smile that looked worse than crying.
"For the next three years, we'll be running joint experiments. During that time, I need you to cultivate three bodies using my elder brother's cells."
"When the time comes, Uchiha Hikaru will use his Mangekyō and Rinnegan to revive me, my brother, and my sister-in-law."
Tobirama walked up and patted Orochimaru on the shoulder with a rare, knowing smile.
"Young man, do your best. The three of us are counting on you."
Orochimaru: So… I don't just have one resurrected dad—I have three now?!
…
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