Two pieces of intelligence regarding the resurrection of Izuna Uchiha lay spread across the table before everyone.
Hashirama glanced at his younger brother beside him, then at Madara across the table. After a moment, he chose to ask his brother first.
"Tobirama, that Edo Tensei…"
"It's a technique I'm still developing. I haven't told anyone about it yet," Tobirama said calmly. "I didn't expect this scroll to have already inferred it, and even given it a name." There was a faint note of admiration in his tone, whether for the scroll itself or for the one behind it.
"In our time," Minato said, "the Second Hokage-sama did indeed develop a very special ninjutsu."
"A special ninjutsu?"
"Yes. For certain reasons, that technique was later recorded by the First Hokage-sama in the Scroll of Seals and designated a kinjutsu."
Naruto exclaimed, "Oh! The Scroll of Seals! I know that, dattebayo!"
"Dad, are you talking about my Shadow Clones?!"
Before Minato could answer, Tobirama snapped back impatiently.
"You two are unbelievable. I developed Shadow Clones long ago. And Shadow Clones and the Flying Thunder God Technique are both my creations. My ninjutsu, all of them."
Hashirama reached out and tugged lightly at his younger brother's collar, trying to calm him down.
"Tobirama, what kind of ninjutsu is it exactly?"
Tobirama sighed. "The plan is to use an object that belonged to the deceased as a medium. Through a Summoning Technique, their soul is summoned from the Pure Land into the living world. Then, using Fūinjutsu, the soul is sealed into a specific vessel. Ideally, the medium should be a part of their body."
He said it as if it were simple, but the sheer audacity of Tobirama coming up with such an idea was almost unimaginable. To push both Summoning Technique and Fūinjutsu to this level was extraordinary in its own right.
Madara recalled Tobirama's earlier words about finding a way for him to meet Izuna again. He hadn't expected Tobirama to already be making preparations.
"I won't allow you to desecrate Izuna's soul, Tobirama," Madara warned, his gaze fixed on Hashirama's white-haired brother.
Tobirama snorted and said nothing.
Minato continued, "According to this intelligence, Tobirama-sama's Edo Tensei technique does indeed seal the soul of the deceased in the living world. But what's more unusual is that it claims your ability, Madara, is the true key to reviving Izuna."
Madara remained silent. He only possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, not the legendary Rinnegan, and he knew nothing about the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique.
Itachi spoke up, "If we could return to our era, we could ask Pain directly."
He believed that if it were the First Hokage and Madara, even confronting Pain face to face wouldn't be a problem.
"I'm still researching this technique together with Minato," Tobirama said.
"How far are you from completing Edo Tensei?" Madara asked.
Tobirama shot him a sideways glance. "Didn't you just say you wouldn't allow me to desecrate Izuna's soul?"
"..."
Two pairs of crimson eyes locked onto each other, as if arcs of Lightning Release crackled in the air between them.
Hashirama quickly stepped in between the two. "Let's first figure out how Madara obtained the Rinnegan according to the scroll. Tobirama, I'll leave it to you and Minato to continue researching the Parallel World Flying Thunder God Technique."
By giving both sides a way out, the tension finally eased.
Naruto picked up the original intelligence scroll and asked Minato, "Are the other two pieces of information completely inaccessible now? The patterns on it look different, dattebayo."
They had all been focused on the newly appeared scroll. Only after Naruto pointed it out did they notice that among the three patterns on the original scroll, one had vanished after its seal was lifted, while the remaining two showed subtle changes compared to before.
Minato, highly skilled in Fūinjutsu, raised his left index and middle fingers before his chest while his right hand hovered over one of the sealing patterns.
A moment later, he remarked, "This one's tougher than the last."
"!!" Sasuke exclaimed, "Can it even be broken?!"
Hashirama immediately stepped forward to try, but after a few minutes, he shook his head. "Truth be told, I'm not particularly skilled at Fūinjutsu. Tobirama, you take a look." He promptly sought help from his younger brother, who excelled in this area.
Tobirama placed his hand on another Fūinjutsu seal next to Minato Namikaze's scroll. After a moment, he asked Minato Namikaze, "What do you think?"
"It might take some time to figure out."
"Yeah, compared to the earlier Fūinjutsu, the difficulty has increased significantly."
The earlier Fūinjutsu had been easily opened by Tobirama and Minato, but this one would likely require both of them to collaborate and study it for a while.
"Is there anything I can do to help, Minato-sensei?"
Adult Kakashi felt useless, as though he couldn't help at all.
Minato, understanding his disciple's feelings, replied, "Of course there is. Tobirama-sama and I need to study the cursed seal of this Fūinjutsu, as well as the Flying Thunder God Technique for parallel worlds. So we hope you can assist Hashirama-sama and Madara-san with their work."
In the early days of Konoha, there were too many things to manage—and these were the areas where Madara and Hashirama were least adept.
Hashirama watched the overly modest young man with palpable anticipation. Madara showed no sign of displeasure either.
Hashirama: "Ah! Speaking of which, the Hatake clan's envoy should arrive around the same time as the Uzumaki clan's. I was just thinking how I can't be in two places at once to receive both groups of ninja envoys!"
It wasn't that he truly couldn't perform the Clone Technique, but he certainly couldn't use clones to receive them. Such an insincere approach would ruin the talks before they even began.
"Eh?!" Kakashi froze. He was being asked to receive his own ancestors??
Not just Adult Kakashi, even Young Kakashi looked somewhat flustered. Obito tried to reassure him.
"It's fine. Worst case, you'll just meet an old ancestor who likes to beat people up! Rin will heal our wounds! Don't worry, Kakashi."
"...Not reassured at all. Thanks." Young Kakashi retorted irritably.
Madara ignored Obito and asked Minato Namikaze instead, "How long will it take roughly?"
Minato estimated the time. "It should be resolved by tomorrow morning at the latest. What do you think, Tobirama-sama?"
"Hmm, about that."
Madara nodded. After all, his Fūinjutsu wasn't as good as that of Hashirama, the quasi-son-in-law of the Uzumaki Clan.
"As for these two remaining... which should we unlock first?"
One held the secret of the Uchiha Stone Monument, the other the correct method to restore the Mangekyō.
Sasuke: "The second one!"
Madara remained silent.
Naruto had just quietly asked Obito, only to discover Obito didn't know what the Uchiha Stone Monument was either.
Hashirama asked directly, "Madara, what exactly is the Uchiha Stone Monument?"
But that object belonged to the Uchiha clan's faith.
Madara Uchiha refused to reveal more, only telling him, "It's a treasure left behind for the Uchiha clan by the Rikudō Sennin."
Hashirama nodded. "Who would've thought the Rikudō Sennin truly existed?"
Tobirama: "Judging by this situation, the third seal will likely be even more difficult."
"..." Madara had also considered this.
Hashirama reassured him, "It's fine. The Uzumaki clan will arrive soon. When it comes to Fūinjutsu, no one in this world can stump them."
Madara nodded.
Yet almost everyone simultaneously pondered the same question, though none voiced it aloud. That is, the mastermind who entrusted them with this astonishing intelligence and enabled their travel between parallel worlds—was this entity even human?
Only Tobirama Senju and Minato Namikaze remained to continue their Fūinjutsu research. The others rose to depart.
Madara suddenly called out to Naruto Uzumaki.
"Hey, kid. Is there anything you want?"
Naruto froze. He blinked. Wasn't that the kind of thing parents say to their children?
Madara stared at Naruto with an expression so stiff it could scare a child to tears.
"As long as it's nothing too excessive, anything is fine."
In truth, Madara wanted to repay Naruto. Even if the three pieces of mission intelligence hadn't been something Naruto could choose himself, the benefits ultimately went to the Uchiha clan, to Madara Uchiha personally. As an adult, and as the head of a top-tier clan from the Warring States era, it would have been unreasonable not to offer a reward of equivalent value to this blond Uzumaki brat.
But Naruto didn't understand what he meant at all, nor had it crossed his mind to ask for any kind of mission pay.
Faced with the unblinking stare of Sasuke's ancient ancestor, Naruto thought for a moment...
"I want to be Hokage."
"Uh—"
Madara's eye twitched. For some reason, he suddenly saw a trace of Hashirama's simple-minded, overly earnest nature in this kid.
"Who doesn't want to be Hokage! I told you not to ask for anything too outrageous!!"
"Oh? So you want to be Hokage too, Uncle Madara?" Naruto grinned and pumped his fist. "Then that makes us rivals from now on! But I won't lose! Because becoming Hokage is my dream!"
That foolishly bright grin overlapped almost perfectly with the image of Hashirama as a child.
So much so that Madara didn't even realize what he'd just said.
By the time he came back to his senses, Hashirama was already looking at him with that knowing expression. Tobirama, of course, remained calm and composed, as if everything were proceeding exactly as he'd anticipated.
Madara felt unbearably awkward, his mind filled with frantic thoughts.
Who wants to be Hokage?!
Who would want to be Hokage?!
Who?!
Naruto's fist hovered in front of him. If Madara reached out, it would be awkward. If he didn't, it would be awkward too.
Seeing Madara's hand hesitate, Naruto simply bumped his own fist forward to meet it.
He even added a smile brighter than the sun.
"I'm telling you, you really look just like Sasuke! Hahaha!"
Sasuke immediately bristled.
"How am I anything like him?! You dead last! And that guy was just trying to compensate you with mission pay! Don't overthink it!"
"Huh? Is that so?" Naruto tilted his head. "Then… Ichiraku Ramen?"
"...."
Madara nearly lost his mind. This kid was even more hopelessly dense than Hashirama.
"No ramen. Just consider it a personal favor I owe you. When you figure out what you want, come find me."
With that, Madara turned and walked away, afraid he might actually explode if he stayed any longer.
That said, his mood today was surprisingly good.
As for the reason...
Maybe it was because he'd had plenty of sandbags to work out his frustration on these past few days.
No—actually...
It was probably because the news that Izuna could be revived had left him quietly hopeful deep down.
After Madara left, the students from Team Minato and Team Kakashi followed one after another.
The chance to walk through the streets of Konoha from sixty years ago was far too rare to miss.
Though the empty Hokage Rock looked vast, monotonous, and strangely unsettling.
"Hey~"
Naruto flashed a mischievous grin and nudged Obito Uchiha, another member of Team 7.
"What is it?"
Seeing that expression, members of the two Team 7 felt a bad premonition.
Unlike the three from Team Minato, the other two from Team Kakashi knew exactly what that grin meant.
It was the same grin Naruto had worn the first time he met Kakashi, right before trying to prank him with a chalkboard eraser.
"Hey! Don't do anything stupid!" Sasuke snapped.
Sakura added quickly, "Yeah! This is Konoha's founding era! Don't mess around!"
Young Kakashi, Rin, and Obito exchanged confused looks.
"???"
Naruto…
What was he planning to do now?