"Grandmother Mito, please take a look at Aomi!"
Tsunade burst open the door of the Hokage Office, speaking anxiously.
At that moment, Uzumaki Mito was sitting at the head of the table, with Sarutobi Hiruzen beside her, and a familiar crystal ball placed on the desk.
"Don't rush, little Tsuna..."
Uzumaki Mito gestured with her hand, indicating for her to place Aomi on the Hokage's desk.
Sarutobi Hiruzen hesitated, watching the scene unfold.
Since he became Hokage, this desk had at most been patted by him and Shimura Danzo; no one had ever lain on it...
Uzumaki Mito placed her hand on top of Aomi's head, sensing the chakra of Senju Tobirama drifting within him, and started to smile.
At this moment, although Aomi was unconscious, Senju Tobirama was still very much protecting Aomi, continually using his chakra to heal Aomi slowly, while being on guard against another outburst from Uchiha Izuna.
"Aomi is fine, it's just that his body can't handle such power and is a bit too exhausted..."
Uzumaki Mito glanced at Sarutobi Hiruzen: "Go get a blanket, this child needs to rest."
Sarutobi Hiruzen paused, was this really going to be a nap on his desk?
He wasn't particularly bothered by it, but Uzumaki Mito's fondness for Aomi piqued Sarutobi Hiruzen's curiosity. What exactly was the reason?
With the Anbu scattered, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage himself, walked into the inner room, took out a blanket from his resting room, and gently covered it over Aomi.
Tsunade stared blankly at this scene.
She had a premonition that her great-grandmother Uzumaki Mito seemed to have long known about Aomi's unusual condition...
"Little Tsuna, Hiruzen..."
Uzumaki Mito signaled for both of them to sit down, her expression turned serious, and she said in a deep voice, "What I'm about to say, you must remember to keep absolutely confidential!"
"Hiruzen, as Hokage, you should be aware of all of Konoha's secrets, and your son Asuma is also connected to Aomi."
"Little Tsuna, you are Aomi's teacher and the one who can help Aomi control his power, so you should also know the inside story."
"But aside from you two, remember not to let a third person know..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Tsunade's expressions became solemn.
Uzumaki Mito's words were extremely formal and serious, almost on par with discussions about the Nine-tails.
"I understand, Lady Mito!"
"I understand, Grandmother!"
Uzumaki Mito nodded, then looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen and smiled wistfully, raising a confusing question:
"Monkey, what do you think of your teacher Senju Tobirama as a person?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen blinked. How did they start talking about his mentor, wasn't this supposed to be about Aomi?
At this moment, Senju Tobirama, who was inside Aomi, also perked up his ears.
Oh, isn't this the apprentice Hiruzen who gave me a failing grade, the respected Third Hokage?
I'm curious to hear how this kid will evaluate me in front of my sister-in-law!
But since it was Uzumaki Mito who asked, Sarutobi Hiruzen pondered for a moment and then replied:
"Teacher Tobirama was a perfect Hokage, one with the Will of Fire burning in his heart, a mighty and wise leader with great strength and intelligence!"
"He founded the Ninja School, the Anbu system, established the mentorship tradition, supported civilian ninja, and controlled the village's unstable elements. In the First Ninja World War, he defended the future of Konoha against four opponents..."
"Compared to Teacher Tobirama, I'm still far, far behind as the Third Hokage."
Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke fluently, as if he didn't need to think about it.
On one hand, it was true, and on the other hand, in their time, Sarutobi Hiruzen was also quite adept at exams on the Will of Fire, genuinely having a talent for articulate writing.
Tsunade listened in a daze to this peculiar conversation, watching as Uzumaki Mito turned her gaze to her and nodded:
"I feel the same as the old man, Second Grandfather was a good Hokage and a good elder. I miss him a lot."
Senju Tobirama listened with great appreciation.
Isn't this splendid!
Little Tsuna has always been his adorable granddaughter, and Monkey's response was quite fair.
At this moment, the small-minded Senju Tobirama's dissatisfaction with Sarutobi Hiruzen for giving him a failing grade slightly dissipated.
"Good..."
Uzumaki Mito chuckled softly and asked a second question:
"Let's not talk about Tobirama's achievements as Hokage, just purely as a Ninjutsu developer, Monkey, how would you rate the scope of his research?"
"I heard, recently, you've had conflicts with Danzo and your apprentice over the issue of human experiments, right?"
"You know, Tobirama also loved conducting human experiments and developed many kinjutsu..."
"Monkey, there's no one else here, feel free to evaluate boldly, won't you?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen broke into a sweat.
Did he know that Senju Tobirama conducted human experiments?
Of course, he knew!
Did he know just how far Senju Tobirama's kinjutsu extensions went?
He certainly knew!
After becoming Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen read Senju Tobirama's previous research records many times, as well as those semi-finished products, and deeply believed that what the First Hokage did was indeed very correct.
These kinjutsu, indeed, should be sealed!
"Boundless imagination falls short of describing Tobirama's ideas; if you want a fair evaluation, it should be considered as defying life and death, wholly without boundaries…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen even used Senju Tobirama as an example in private, advising Orochimaru not to be so extreme, to learn from his scientific thinking but not to follow his reckless ways, for if that were the case, it would be disastrous...