Lord Hashirama Is the Hokage

On the rooftop terrace of the Hokage Building, a group of Konoha ninja surrounded the Anbu member who had fallen to the ground.

"How tragic..." A middle-aged Jonin frowned and said gravely, "With injuries like these, she'll most likely never be able to serve as a ninja again."

During this era, the medical standards of the Five Great Villages were much the same. They all relied on conventional medical texts and theories, along with healing ninjutsu developed independently by their respective ninja clans. Before that woman appeared, injuries were often fatal for ninja.

"Has the Anbu's four-man squad been wiped out?" A Jonin wrapped head to toe in bandages crouched down to examine her.

"Get her treated first." With a whoosh, Tobirama suddenly appeared and said coldly.

Any questions could wait until she woke up.

"Ha!" The many ninja stood at attention and answered in unison.

Tobirama's gaze shifted to the blue Demon Fire floating in the air. As he narrowed his eyes, a distorted human face reflected in his scarlet pupils.

"Take care of these flames."

The others exchanged looks, but for a moment, no one moved.

Tobirama's mouth twitched. Didn't they even know the Fire Sealing Method? It seemed he would have to do it himself. Just as he was about to step forward, the five clusters of Demon Fire went out in unison.

Could he still sense what was happening here?

Tobirama's expression darkened. He had originally wanted to collect samples of the flames for research, to see whether he could develop a suitable countermeasure.

He suddenly turned toward a room and bellowed darkly, "You brats, get back to the academy and attend class!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the poorly hidden children scattered in panic.

The adult ninja twitched their eyelids. Some of the older ones looked at these flowers raised in a greenhouse with displeasure in their eyes, but they could not say much. Compared to the average strength and quality of children during the Warring States era, these children had lived far too peacefully.

Tobirama stepped forward and looked down at Akitsu.

Every Anbu member had been personally approved by him. All of them were elites, and within a ninja clan, each would at least have been capable of leading a hundred-man unit. Akitsu in particular had been a renowned genius carved out through battle in the Hyuga clan during the Warring States era. Though she was undoubtedly far inferior to his elder brother and Uchiha Madara, at sixteen, she already possessed the strength to confront veteran Jonin head-on. Given some more time and training, she could become one of Konoha's great generals. More importantly, she was still young and could shield Konoha from many more storms in the future...

"What a pity..." Tobirama was not particularly skilled in medical ninjutsu, but he had ample experience dissecting human bodies and could more or less determine the extent of her injuries. With his skills, he could not reattach her crippled limbs. Moreover, her most important Byakugan was gone. The fact that she had survived at all was only because the other side had deliberately held back.

"Help her remove the mask," Tobirama said.

At those words, several ninja stiffened.

The Anbu had abandoned her. There was no longer any need to conceal her identity.

But more ninja felt nothing at all and thought it perfectly normal. A useless cripple naturally had no place in the Anbu anymore. As long as the compensation was paid, that was enough.

"Does she still have any family?" Tobirama asked.

The word family was rather delicate. As a member of the Hyuga clan, how could she not have family?

"No." A Hyuga branch-family ninja said quietly, "Akitsu is an orphan."

Tobirama nodded in understanding.

As they spoke, a female ninja stepped forward and prepared to remove the mask.

"Hm?" The female ninja frowned and applied a little force.

The next second, the skin on Akitsu's face tore, and blood flowed down. The female ninja hurriedly stopped.

Tobirama frowned at the sight.

"Lord Tobirama, the entire mask seems to have grown into her face. It's stuck fast and can't be removed." The female ninja hesitated before saying, "If we force it off, we'll probably tear away her whole face." As a girl, she probably did not want to lose her face.

Had they fused together?

Tobirama looked her over from head to toe. There was no obvious abnormality on the surface, and he said nothing.

Seeing this, the female ninja could only steel herself and continue trying. The surrounding ninja also showed curious expressions.

Was the mask coated in some kind of powerful glue?

It didn't look like it.

As she carefully continued her attempts, the female ninja suddenly jerked her hand back as though she had been bitten by a venomous snake.

Tobirama folded his arms and stared intently at her.

The female ninja held out her hand. There was a tiny cut on one of her fingers.

Though small, the wound was extremely deep. Nearly half a chunk of flesh had been shaved away. A little deeper, and it would have reached the bone.

Tobirama's pupils contracted. With a flip of his hand, a kunai appeared as though by magic.

A small trick for concealing kunai from Uchiha Style Shurikenjutsu.

Crouching down, Tobirama began to work. As the kunai slowly approached the edge of the mask, he tried to slip it into the gap. Before his eyes, the kunai's tip was silently severed.

A thread?

Could it not be seen?

Tobirama switched to another kunai. At its tip flickered a cold gleam condensed from chakra.

He slowly and carefully brought it closer. His hand encountered a sense of resistance, and Tobirama's pupils immediately contracted.

Instead, the chakra had been cut apart...

He had never seen such terrifying sharpness in his life.

As his eyes flickered, Tobirama came to a conclusion. "Leave it on like this. The entire mask has been sewn onto her face and cannot be removed. Without understanding the stitching pattern, there's no way to take it apart."

"Then what if we shatter the mask?" the female ninja asked.

"Then give it a try," Tobirama said. He had no intention of doing it himself. He stood and walked away without looking back.

There were major loopholes in the village's defensive system. Simply establishing a barrier was clearly not enough. He had to devise countermeasures.

Watching Tobirama's retreating back, the female ninja thought for a moment, then took out a kunai. Gripping its handle in both hands with the blade reversed, she aimed the tip at the mask and thrust down fiercely. She was confident she could pierce the mask without harming Akitsu.

Bang! Sparks flew under the impact, and the broken tip of the kunai shot away. One observing ninja tilted his head aside to avoid the flying fragment.

In the center of the scene, the scarlet fox mask remained completely unharmed, quietly mocking them all.

Everyone fell silent.

"Did you see that ninja?" the children chattered as they walked along.

"I did. Her injuries were awful."

They showed no fear of blood. Instead, there was an excitement in them that seemed long-awaited.

"It looks like some powerful enemy has appeared. The adults all seemed helpless..."

Danzo looked at Hiruzen beside him and said, "What do you think, Hiruzen?"

"It's still too far beyond us," Hiruzen said. "We just need to trust that the village's ninja can handle it."

Danzo sneered. "Those worthless fools who have lived in peace for so long that they've practically grown lax obviously can't handle it. An enemy has already attacked right at their doorstep, yet they haven't come up with any proper response. If this were the Warring States era..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen did not think things were as Danzo said, but for some reason, he felt a little irritated.

"Are you the Hokage, Danzo?" Hiruzen asked.

"Huh?" Danzo froze.

"Lord Hashirama is the Hokage. This is something for him to consider," Hiruzen said.

"You!" Danzo did not know how to retort, and his entire face flushed red.