Hashirama-sama is the Hokage

On the rooftop of the Hokage Building, a group of Konoha ninja surrounded the Anbu operative who had collapsed on the ground.

"How miserable..." a middle-aged jonin frowned, his voice heavy. "With injuries like these, it's highly likely she won't be able to serve as a ninja ever again."

During this era, the medical standards of the Five Great Villages were all much the same, relying on conventional medical texts and healing ninjutsu developed independently by each ninja clan. Before that woman appeared, being injured was a life-threatening matter for any ninja.

"Was the four-man Anbu squad completely wiped out?" an older jonin, his body wrapped in bandages, leaned over to begin an inspection.

"Get her to the medical ward first." With a whoosh, Tobirama suddenly appeared and said in a cold voice.

Any questions could wait until she woke up.

"Yes!" the numerous ninja stood at attention and replied in unison.

Tobirama's eyes shifted to the blue ghost fire floating in mid-air; as he squinted, his scarlet pupils reflected distorted human faces.

"Take care of these flames."

The crowd looked at one another, but for a moment, no one made a move.

Tobirama's mouth twitched—did they not even know the Fire Sealing Method? It seemed he would have to do it himself. Just as he prepared to step forward, the five clusters of ghost fire extinguished in perfect unison.

Could it still perceive the situation here?

Tobirama's face darkened. He had intended to collect samples of the flames for research to see if he could develop a suitable counter-jutsu.

He whipped his head around to look toward a room and roared with a grim expression, "You brats, get back to the academy and get to class!"

As the words fell, the children who had been clumsily hiding in the shadows scrambled away in a panic.

The adult ninja's eyelids twitched. Some of the older ones looked at these flowers raised in a greenhouse with expressions of annoyance, though they dared not say much. Compared to the standards and quality of children during the Warring States period, these kids lived in far too peaceful a time.

Tobirama stepped forward and looked down at Akitsu.

Every Anbu operative was the result of his final verification; they were all elites. Placed within a ninja clan, any one of them would at least be a captain of a hundred-man unit. Akitsu, in particular, had been a renowned genius who fought her way up from the Hyuga clan during the Warring States period. Although she was undoubtedly inferior to his eldest brother and Uchiha Madara, at sixteen years old, she possessed the strength to go head-to-head with veteran jonin. In time, after further training, she could have become a great general for Konoha. More importantly, she was still young; in the future, she could have shielded Konoha from even more storms...

"What a pity..." Although Tobirama was not well-versed in medical ninjutsu, he had sufficient experience in human anatomy to basically determine the extent of her injuries. With his skills, he could not reattach her crippled limbs, and furthermore, her most important Byakugan were gone. That she had managed to keep her life was only because the opponent had intentionally held back.

"Help her remove the mask..." Tobirama said.

At these words, some of the ninja stiffened.

This meant she had been abandoned by the Anbu; there was no longer a need to conceal her identity.

But most of the ninja felt nothing, thinking it only natural. Useless waste did not need to remain in the Anbu; as long as the pension was paid, that was enough.

"Does she still have family?" Tobirama asked.

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

"None left," a branch-house Hyuga ninja said in a low voice. "Akitsu is an orphan."

Tobirama nodded in understanding.

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

"Huh?" the female ninja frowned, applying a bit of force to her hands.

The next second, the skin on Akitsu's face tore, and blood began to flow. The female ninja hurriedly stopped.

Tobirama frowned at the sight.

"Lord Tobirama, the mask seems to have grown into her face; it's stuck fast and won't come off." The female ninja hesitated before saying, "If I force it off, it will likely tear away her entire layer of skin." A girl would likely not want to lose her face.

Had it fused together?

Tobirama looked her up and down. Outwardly, there were no obvious abnormalities, and he remained silent.

Seeing this, the female ninja had no choice but to bite the bullet and try again, while the surrounding ninja watched with inquisitive eyes.

Had superglue been applied to the mask?

It didn't look like it.

During a cautious attempt, the female ninja's hand recoiled violently, as if she had been bitten by a venomous snake.

Tobirama crossed his arms, his gaze burning as he watched the female ninja.

The female ninja held out her hand; there was a fine, clean cut on her finger.

Although the wound was small, it was cut very deep, having nearly sliced off a small piece of flesh. Any deeper, and it would have reached the bone.

Tobirama's pupils constricted. With a flick of his wrist, a kunai appeared as if by magic.

Uchiha Style Shurikenjutsu—a little trick for concealing kunai.

Crouching down, Tobirama began to operate. As the kunai slowly approached and pressed against the edge of the mask, attempting to cut into the gap, the tip of the blade was silently severed right before his eyes.

A wire?

Was it invisible?

Tobirama switched to another kunai, the tip of which shimmered with a cold light condensed from chakra.

He approached slowly and cautiously. As he made contact, he felt a sense of resistance, and immediately after, Tobirama's pupils shrank.

Instead, it was his chakra that had been cut...

This terrifying sharpness was something he had never seen in his life.

As his eyes flickered, Tobirama reached a judgment in his heart and said, "Just leave it on. The entire mask is stitched into the face; it cannot be removed. Without understanding the stitching pattern, there is no way to take it off."

"What if we shatter the mask?" the female ninja asked.

Tobirama replied, "Then give it a try." He had no intention of doing it himself, rising and leaving without looking back.

The village's defense system had significant loopholes; merely establishing a barrier was clearly insufficient. He had to formulate a countermeasure.

Watching Tobirama's retreating back, the female ninja thought for a moment, then drew a kunai. Holding the handle with both hands in a reverse grip, she aimed the blade at the mask and thrust down fiercely. She was confident she could pierce the mask without harming the person beneath.

With a bang and a flash of sparks, the impact caused the tip of the kunai to snap off and fly away. A bystander ninja tilted his head to dodge the flying shard.

In the center of the room, the crimson fox mask remained completely unscathed, quietly mocking them all.

Everyone fell silent.

"Did you see that ninja?" the brats chirped on the road.

"I saw him. He was so badly hurt."

They felt no fear of the blood; instead, they radiated an excitement they had long been waiting for.

"It seems a powerful enemy has appeared, and the adults look completely helpless..."

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

"It is still too far removed from us," Hiruzen said. "We should just trust that the village's ninjas can handle it."

Danzo sneered, "Those wastes who have been at peace for so long they've become slack clearly cannot handle it. Someone has already come knocking at our door, and they haven't even mounted a decent response. If this were the Warring States period..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen did not agree with what Danzo was saying, but for some reason, he felt a sense of annoyance.

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

"Huh?" Danzo was stunned.

"Lord Hashirama is the Hokage; these are things for him to consider," Hiruzen said.

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