Tobirama Senju: Did I not answer perfectly?

"I only know the general outline of her situation."

Seisui didn't keep Tobirama in suspense; it was clear that the former Second Hokage was genuinely anxious.

"Her younger brother Nawaki died in the Second Shinobi World War, and it seems someone she was close to also died... In that war, Hanzo of the Salamander fought Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya, granting them the title of the Three Ninja, which made them famous in Konoha."

"But I've heard that recently, the relationship between these three has cracked, and they've even clashed with their teacher, the Third Hokage."

"According to rumors, she's developed hemophobia—she faints at the sight of blood—but I can't confirm if it's true."

Tobirama furrowed his brow. Even Nawaki had died?

He didn't dwell on it too much, though. War was cruel like that—even he, the Second Hokage, had fallen, so why would Nawaki be any different?

Still, Tsunade's plight stirred a pang of pain in his chest.

"There's no helping it, Tobirama..."

Seisui sat beside Tobirama and spoke with a sigh. "Tsunade's childhood was enviable—a high birth, many loving elders—but the reversal came shockingly fast..."

"The relentless upheavals and wars, along with your handling of the Senju Clan, left her with almost none of those who loved her. And her former comrades have gone down other paths."

"That feeling of being utterly alone—it's pretty devastating for a woman, isn't it?"

Seisui held back half of what he wanted to say.

If Tobirama learned that Jiraiya had become Mount Myōboku's loyal enforcer, even swapping his headband, that Orochimaru was obsessed with human experimentation, even targeting the village's own children, with Shimura Danzō and Hiruzen Sarutobi involved...

What would he think then?

But Seisui didn't need to tell him those things. Only by witnessing it all slowly with his own eyes would Tobirama feel it more vividly.

And more furious.

Tobirama remained silent. He didn't doubt Seisui's words.

The shinobi world was exactly like that.

Once everyone set their own goals, former friends and comrades became strangers, even willing to kill each other without hesitation.

Bonds, friendship, teacher-student ties—killing each other to achieve one's aims was the norm.

Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were like that. Orochimaru and the Third Hokage, Obito Uchiha and Minato Namikaze, Jiraiya and Nagato—all of them were the same, along with countless nameless shinobi playing out similar scenes.

But that wasn't the key point.

The key was that when Tobirama saw Tsunade's disdain for becoming Hokage and the barely suppressed grief in her eyes, he truly felt the sorrow.

Konoha was a village built to protect everyone, yet it couldn't even protect the Hokage's closest family.

In the original timeline, Tobirama had seen Tsunade as a Hokage who had overcome her inner demons and regained her resolute strength. But now, he was witnessing the most fragile moment of her life.

"Little Tsuna..." Tobirama shook his head. For the first time, he felt a pang of dread for Konoha's future.

Even with all sorts of reasons, if the granddaughter of two Hokages looked down on becoming Hokage, could the village's future really be bright?

What was Konoha really like under the rule of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō?

Was it just Tsunade's personal tragedy, or had the entire village gone wrong...

Tobirama sank into thought, a tangled knot of emotions coiling in his heart.

Seisui, however, had a different perspective.

There were many ways to enter the Hokage lineage's master-student tradition.

Broadly speaking, as long as blood ties or a teacher-student relationship connected someone to a Hokage, it counted.

Seisui was already a descendant of Kagami Uchiha, and among the current master-student paths, the ones before him were Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Minato Namikaze. The chance of Jiraiya taking a disciple was slim.

Originally, Seisui had planned to take Obito Uchiha's place and become Minato Namikaze's student, but in truth, becoming Tsunade's disciple was the better choice.

After all, Minato's abilities weren't too different from Tobirama's, and binding their talents would overlap a lot.

But Tsunade was different. She carried the bloodlines of Hashirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki, along with a talent for Fuinjutsu...

And her figure, her looks—they all suited Seisui's taste.

Sometimes, to become Hokage, you could first become the Hokage's man...

"Tobirama, this is why I summoned your soul into my body. The current hidden village system can't bring peace to Konoha or the shinobi world."

Seisui looked up, syncing his gaze with Tobirama's as they stared at the clear blue sky, and spoke slowly. "It's not your fault, but someone still has to fix it."

"Maybe the shinobi world will one day see true peace, but until then, many people will suffer what Tsunade did—or a thousand times worse. I don't want to wait that long."

Tobirama nodded slowly. If anyone had the clearest, most thorough grasp of the shinobi world's situation, it was him.

In that regard, Madara Uchiha couldn't match him, and Hashirama Senju certainly couldn't either.

But Seisui's next words temporarily pushed aside the grief Tsunade had brought: "Though I wanted to borrow your wisdom, I've found you're pretty useless after all. I'll have to handle it myself..."

[Acquired from target Tobirama Senju: Sword Technique (Uchiha Izuna—Tobirama Senju Analysis Version)!]

"You little brat, Seisui!" Tobirama ground his teeth, about to retort, when Seisui calmly continued:

"Shh, the Will of Fire exam results come out tomorrow. I suggest you check your score before arguing with me, esteemed Second Hokage."

"Ridiculous! If I can't beat you on that test, then don't bother carving my face on the Hokage Monument—put yours up instead!" Tobirama waved his hand grandly, his expression utterly confident.

Seisui shrugged. Tobirama Senju might have been a good Hokage and a good teacher, but he was certainly not a good student.

No matter how perfect the answer, starting off with a lecturing, critical tone and hammering it home—the grader would be hard-pressed to give high marks.

The Will of Fire exam tested obedience, not one's true understanding of the Will of Fire...

#

The next day.

Ninja Academy.

Seisui glanced at the perfect-score test paper in his hand, along with Hiruzen Sarutobi's thoughtful comments, and gave a casual nod.

To him, this was no different from writing an elementary school essay.

But Tobirama Senju, seeing Seisui's perfect score, had already sensed something was off. He stubbornly retorted, "It's just a tie at best!"

Just then, an ominous wail rang out from ahead.

"Waaah! What did I even write? Why did I answer something like this?!" Kojiro Inada burst into loud sobs, weeping bitterly over the Third Hokage's harsh critique.

Tobirama Senju froze completely.

Did he... not get a perfect score?