Kakashi, Hyuga Nozomu, and the First Hokage: The First Meeting with the Second Hokage

A while later!

Sunagakure, one kilometer out!

"We're almost there!"

Hyuga Nozomu, hurrying alongside Kakashi toward Sunagakure, frowned. "It looks like there was a fierce battle inside Sunagakure—the chakra of those Sand Ninjas has been mostly spent."

"But now... it seems the fighting has already ended?"

"The smell of blood is heavy." Pakkun added, "Quite a few people must have died in Sunagakure."

"So we were too late after all, weren't we?" Hearing this, Kakashi's expression grew serious.

They had entered the Land of Wind later than Hyuga Chiba to begin with, and there was no way they could match the speed of the green meteor he had become.

More importantly, Hyuga Chiba's apparent biggest weakness—insufficient chakra—only applied when he needed to activate the "Tenseigan Chakra Mode."

Otherwise, he could easily be called a chakra monster.

So Hyuga Chiba could fly nonstop from the border of the Land of Wind straight to Sunagakure.

Kakashi and the others had only managed to recover their stamina and chakra with military rations pills, and it seemed that Hyuga Chiba's shadow clones were no longer blocking their path.

Otherwise, reaching Sunagakure would have taken them much longer.

Even now, with less than a kilometer to go, they strongly suspected Hyuga Chiba had already succeeded in obtaining Shukaku's chakra.

They just weren't sure whether he had simply extracted the One-Tail's chakra or become the new One-Tailed Jinchuriki.

"Kakashi, two people are approaching us fast."

At that moment, Hyuga Nozomu spoke with a strange expression, warning Kakashi, "But their appearance... and their chakra... seem a bit odd."

"That's right!" Pakkun sniffed hard and nodded in agreement. "They don't smell like living people—more like the dead."

"And not like Sunagakure's puppets either."

"Dead people, not Sunagakure puppets?" Kakashi was baffled. Then he remembered that Hyuga Chiba had taken the Scroll of Sealing before leaving the village, and his expression shifted as a bad feeling hit him. "Could it be the Forbidden Jutsu from the Scroll—Impure World Reincarnation?"

"But how could Hyuga Chiba have learned that jutsu in such a short time?"

"Hyuga Chiba learned the Forbidden Jutsu Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu within half an hour of leaving the village." Pakkun's voice came from ahead, reminding Kakashi.

"---" Kakashi fell silent.

He just couldn't accept that Hyuga Chiba might use a jutsu that desecrated the dead.

"If it really is Impure World Reincarnation... is it coming for us?"

Kakashi forced himself to calm down and speculated.

"It's possible." Hyuga Nozomu nodded slightly. "According to the clan's records, the Tenseigan is the pinnacle of the Byakugan's evolution."

"Based on the clan's theories, Hyuga Chiba was able to awaken the Tenseigan likely because his bloodline reverted to a level comparable to the first ancestor, and his Byakugan was exceptionally pure."

"This means his Byakugan's long-range vision probably surpasses anyone in the current Hyuga Clan."

"In other words, as an advanced form of the Byakugan, the Tenseigan should also possess far superior long-range vision, X-ray vision, and other abilities."

"So, before we spotted Hyuga Chiba, he would have definitely spotted us first, right?" Kakashi immediately understood the implication of Hyuga Nozomu's words, frowning deeper as he summarized.

"They're here!" At that moment, Hyuga Nozomu seemed to notice something and spoke in disbelief. "Wait, they are—how is this possible?"

Kakashi was startled at first, but as two vaguely familiar figures came into his line of sight, his pupils also contracted violently. "Those are—the First Hokage and the Second Hokage?"

Good news: Kakashi now thought it unlikely that Hyuga Chiba had used "Impure World Reincarnation."

Because that required a part of the reincarnated person's body.

And Hyuga Chiba had always stayed in the Hyuga Clan compound. After awakening the Tenseigan, he had directly attacked the Hokage Building and then left Konoha. There was no way he could have obtained parts of the First Hokage's or Second Hokage's bodies.

Bad news: Kakashi and Hyuga Nozomu were about to face Konoha's First Hokage and Second Hokage—and they weren't necessarily on their side.

"Konoha headbands, and an Uchiha's Sharingan, a Hyuga's Byakugan?"

"It looks like you two are the Konoha juniors Hyuga Chiba mentioned."

Seeing Kakashi and Hyuga Nozomu, Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama appeared much more composed.

"It's great to see Konoha's younger generation so soon."

Senju Hashirama was especially delighted. "We should have a good talk. Konoha must be doing well now, right? No more sending children to the battlefield?"

Clearly, Senju Hashirama hadn't taken the hints from Chiba and Orochimaru to heart.

"---"

Hearing Senju Hashirama's question, Kakashi and Hyuga Nozomu broke out in a cold sweat, unsure how to answer.

Strictly speaking, Konoha was indeed doing fairly well now.

But less than twelve years ago, during the Third Shinobi World War, a large number of children from the Ninja Academy had been forced to graduate early and go to the battlefield.

Kakashi himself had become a Jonin at just twelve years old—a genius.

In times of peace like now, that would be impossible.

"It seems what Hyuga Chiba and Orochimaru said was right—Konoha did run into some problems after we died."

Seeing this, Senju Tobirama instantly understood something. He furrowed his brow, then shifted his gaze toward the far rear behind Kakashi and Hyuga Nozomu, and spoke: "But before I ask you about the specifics, I want to know—those three fellows, do you recognize them?"

Kakashi and Hyuga Nozomu looked back. Before long, three figures riding strange giant birds gradually came into their view.

One of the figures wore a Black Flame Cloud Robe and a conical hat, with a hunched posture, a somewhat ugly appearance, and seemed older. The second figure also wore a Black Flame Cloud Robe, had blond hair, his left eye covered by his hair, and wore an Iwagakure Rogue Ninja headband—a young man with decent looks.

The third figure was positioned slightly behind the other two, and was none other than Uchiha Obito, who had previously met with Zetsu.

In fact, Hyuga Nozomu and Pakkun had already noticed these three people long ago.

It was just that their attention had been diverted by the appearance of the First Hokage and the Second Hokage, so they hadn't spoken up in time.

"I don't recognize them." Kakashi's gaze lingered for a moment on the third figure atop the strange flying bird. Feeling vaguely that something was off about him, he shook his head and said: "One of them seems to be a rogue ninja from Iwagakure."

"The other two are probably rogue ninjas from some other village as well."

"They aren't our target this time. Maybe we can just ignore them?"