Hashirama Died

Kakuzu laughed at Sakumo, whose abdomen had been pierced and who was coughing up blood.

Sakumo summoned all his strength and cut through the tentacle with his kunai, but another tentacle slammed down on him from above, smashing him into the ground.

"Gah!"

"It's over."

Sakumo's arm bent the wrong way when he hit the ground. It was broken.

His nose had also taken a heavy blow.

Blood streamed down continuously.

As a final blow to the battered Sakumo, a tentacle spear closed in on him as he lay prone on the ground.

"—!!!"

"You bastard!!"

Suddenly—the ground at Kakuzu's feet bulged upward.

Diejian appeared, his body covered in blood and a Konoha Forehead Protector tied around his forehead.

His eyes were fixed straight on Kakuzu.

The Forehead Protector Diejian wore was a precious treasure. His grandfather Hashirama had given it to him when he was troubled.

Diejian secretly kept it close to him every day and never let it out of his sight.

—I am a shinobi of Konohagakure, Senju Diejian.

Hashirama had once said to Diejian:

"Those who possess the Will of Fire are all family."

Diejian remembered those words clearly.

—I am someone who inherited the Hokage's will, the Will of Fire!

Someday, when Diejian graduated from the Ninja Academy and became a Genin—that would be the day he was officially allowed to wear a Forehead Protector.

When that day came, Diejian wanted to stand tall and tell those words to his beloved grandfather.

He wanted to express his gratitude for having once been saved by saying, "I'll inherit your will."

And he wanted to earn his approval once again.

Then, one day, he would follow in his grandfather's footsteps and become Hokage—.

Diejian had always looked forward to that happy day.

He could never forgive an enemy from outside the village who wanted to destroy that dream.

The Forehead Protector he wore was proof of his resolve.

"Diejian! You made it in time!"

Ina's delighted voice rang out as she emerged from beneath the trees.

In fact, while Ina was carrying him, Katsuyu's treatment of Diejian's wounds had already begun to show signs of recovery.

It was the result of the superhuman healing power of his Uzumaki and Senju bloodlines.

Diejian and Ina had agreed that, once he was healed, he would approach with Earth Style: Earth Submarine Technique and wait for a chance to attack Kakuzu from extremely close range.

Because he was weakened, his Chakra had dropped sharply compared with its usual level. That was not only a crisis that left him unable to use large-scale techniques, but also an opportunity, since the enemy would have a harder time sensing him.

The conversation between Ina and Sakumo earlier—

"No, Diejian's already dealt with two people besides this guy. I have to fight too. Besides—"

(—His recovery is incredible. Diejian will be back in no time. We'll act as bait and draw Kakuzu's attention. Diejian will wait for an opening to attack from extremely close range. It's dangerous... but we have to do it.)

"—Understood. If we keep this up, we'll only grow weaker. Let's take the risk."

Then Sakumo had followed the plan and created the perfect opportunity.

Diejian would not waste it.

He quickly formed Hand Seals.

"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!!"

The tentacles were too slow to defend.

A nimble, thin tentacle spear pierced Diejian's shoulder to disrupt him, but his resolve to fight to the death did not waver.

If he missed this chance, he would have no way out but death.

So what did the terrible pain in his body matter? Kakuzu had no choice but to take Diejian's attack head-on at point-blank range.

"It worked!"

With a splash, Kakuzu was blasted away.

Ina cried out in delight, while Diejian, his technique complete, ran over to the fallen Sakumo.

"Sakumo, are you still alive?"

"I'm... doing all right, I think."

With Diejian's shoulder supporting him, Sakumo slowly got to his feet.

Sakumo smiled through his exhaustion, and Diejian, covered in mud, smiled back.

But then Sakumo spoke.

"That guy still has hearts left. We managed to take one out, but there's still the Water Style Mask—though we've taken out two... The Fire Style Mask buried underground can wait, but there are still two restrained by Lady Katsuyu. None of us can fight anymore. Let's get out of here before he moves."

Just as Sakumo had said, Diejian's Water Severing Wave had taken the last of his strength.

Diejian had run out of Chakra, while Sakumo and Ina were out of stamina.

They had no strength left to fight.

Once the Summoning Technique Diejian had performed reached its time limit, the two remaining masks would be released, and the three of them would be killed without being able to fight back.

For Diejian, all that was left was to flee.

"Yeah, th—yeah... but..."

He was about to nod—when a tentacle emerged from Diejian's chest.

The tentacle tore through his chest and burst out amid spraying blood. There was no mistaking it: it was one of the tentacles Kakuzu controlled.

Diejian's Water Severing Wave just now—that technique had never pierced Kakuzu's heart in the first place.

It was Kakuzu's original Earth Release power: the Earth Spear Technique.

By hardening his body to the limit, this technique could almost completely nullify every technique except Lightning Release.

Kakuzu had played dead to make the three of them let their guard down.

"Guh..."

"Diejian!!"

"Nooooo!!"

Diejian's eyes widened. His small body convulsed, and blood poured from his mouth like a fountain, splattering everywhere.

Kakuzu listened with pleasure to Sakumo and Ina's anguished cries.

"My Water Style heart was destroyed... Kid, I'll use your heart to replace it. I'll take your talent for controlling earth, water, and fire."

Dragged by the tentacles and torn away from Sakumo, Diejian was swallowed by a sea of tentacles, blood spraying from his chest.

Without Diejian there to support him, Sakumo could only collapse helplessly. Ina tried to save Diejian, but Kakuzu's tentacles easily knocked her away.

The tentacles rampaged inside Diejian's body.

A scream, and then—the forest was enveloped in silence.

"Fwahahaha!!"

Kakuzu's laughter rang out. In the distance, Katsuyu, who had been held by the masks, disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Kakuzu threw Diejian's body away.

Diejian's body bounced and rolled across the ground before stopping in front of Sakumo.

"Diejian...?"

There was no sign of life left on his face.

"No... no...!"

Ina ran to Diejian's corpse.

She touched him, feeling for herself the reality of life leaving his body.

Despair spread across Ina and Sakumo's faces.

Kakuzu looked satisfied, as if he had finally seen what he wanted.

"Well, it's time for you two to die, too."

Kakuzu's tentacles writhed as they moved to pierce Ina and Sakumo.

However, before the tentacles moving toward them could reach their targets, they struck an obstacle that had suddenly appeared.

It was a large tree that had suddenly emerged.

"Th-this is..."

"Lord Hokage!?"

Beside the tree, in front of the fallen Sakumo and Ina, stood a man clad in armor, his black hair stirring in the wind.

The leader of Konohagakure—"Hokage."

His name was—Senju Hashirama.

"Well, well... The Hokage himself has come all this way. That saves me the trouble of going to find you."

Kakuzu welcomed Hashirama's arrival with a composed smile.

Hashirama glanced at Kakuzu, then turned away as if he had lost interest. He crouched beside the wounded Sakumo and touched his grimy cheek.

"I'm sorry I came too late, Sakumo. Ina."

"Lord Hokage, Diejian—!"

"I know. Why would you do something like this...?"

With his back to Kakuzu, Hashirama asked him.

Kakuzu was momentarily taken aback, unsure what he meant. Then a smile returned to his face.

He did not notice Hashirama's trembling hand.

"Because you were in my way when I tried to kill the Hokage."

"The war is over now, and peace has come. Why would you still do something like this?"

"Konoha has grown too strong. If I kill you, the balance of power will be broken and a new war will start. For small hidden villages like ours, times of peace are a real problem. There's too little work."

"—I see."

With his eyes wide open but motionless, Hashirama gently closed Diejian's eyelids and slowly stood up.

Chakra and anger welled out of him, forming an oppressive presence so overwhelming that even Ina and Sakumo beside him found it hard to breathe.

"Die, Hokage!"

Shaken by Hashirama's aura, Kakuzu overcame it with his own belief in his strength and aimed his tentacles at Hashirama.

At the same time, the two masks, freed when Diejian died and Katsuyu disappeared, were summoned to him.

Along with the new mask made from Diejian's heart and the other two masks, Kakuzu pointed his tentacle spears at Hashirama, intent on killing him.

Meanwhile, Hashirama created Wood Clones as if squeezing them out of himself.

The three clones were not meant to fight Kakuzu.

They each picked up Sakumo, Ina, and Diejian's corpse, then began to retreat.

"Those who make themselves enemies of the village—I will never forgive them."

Hashirama murmured.

The next moment, a pattern appeared on Hashirama's face.

It was the proof of Sage Mode, attained by those who could adapt to Natural Energy and skillfully absorb it.

Kakuzu looked surprised for an instant at the pattern on Hashirama's face. The next moment, his expression twisted with shock.

A gigantic statue of Buddha had suddenly appeared before him.

It was so enormous that, standing on the ground, Kakuzu could not see its top even if he looked up at the sky.

It was even bigger than the giant slug Katsuyu—a Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara with hundreds, even thousands, of hands on its back—.

"Sage Art—Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands."

The battle ended in an instant.

No, it was hard to say whether it could even be called a battle.

An army of fists surged from the countless arms extending from the statue, tearing through the air—they dug into the earth and pulverized it in an instant.

The ground continued to rumble.

Kakuzu had no chance even to scream before he was swallowed by the army of fists and vanished beneath the rubble.

★

"Amazing... So this is Lord Hokage..."

A little farther away—.

Sakumo, being treated by one of Hashirama's Wood Clones, stared in breathless awe, while Ina clung to Diejian's body and wept.

A look of grief crossed the Wood Clone Hashirama's face—but it concealed a certain resolve.

"Are you two all right?"

Some time later, the real Hashirama joined them, without a single scratch on him.

The pattern had disappeared from his face, and so had his anger.

"Lord Hokage..."

"Lord Hokage... Diejian... sob!!"

"You both did well."

Hashirama patted Sakumo, who had lowered his head, and Ina, who was sobbing, then approached Diejian's body.

As he stroked Diejian's cheek, which was growing cold, Hashirama removed his own armor.

"Lord Hokage, how did you know where we were?"

"I was playing with Diejian's Shadow Clone. At the time, a Split Body of the summoned Katsuyu told me about the crisis here."

If Tobirama had been there, he could have used the Flying Thunder God to arrive even sooner—but Hashirama kept that thought to himself.

Tobirama had gone to Kirigakure on a diplomatic visit.

That was important work.

There was no point in saying it aloud.

Hashirama began forming hand seals.

The order was: Pig, Dog, Rooster, Monkey—

"—Summoning Technique."

Amid a puff of smoke, a small slug appeared.

Her name was Katsuyuko.

She was a counterpart to the Katsuyu summoned by Diejian, a slug of the next generation in terms of rank.

She was only about the size of a fist, but that was enough to accomplish Hashirama's goal.

"Katsuyuko, go tell Tobirama. I'm entrusting the village to him."

"Lord Hashirama..."

Whether she had already heard what was happening from Katsuyu, or had shared consciousness with her during the battle, Katsuyuko seemed to understand Hashirama's intentions. She simply called his name in a quiet voice.

The slugs of Shikkotsu Forest could share their consciousness, even when they were split bodies.

Slugs were hermaphrodites and increased their numbers by splitting.

Occasionally, a split body developed an identity distinct from the original. Katsuyu, born from the Katsuyu Sage, and Katsuyuko, born from Katsuyu, were such beings.

They had different consciousnesses, yet they could share them.

"Ina, Sakumo. I also taught the Summoning Technique to my granddaughter, Tsunade, Diejian's younger sister. Once you're back in the village, have Tsunade summon Katsuyuko."

"Lord Hokage... what are you going to do?"

In response to Sakumo's question, Hashirama only smiled and said—

"You two, get some good sleep for now."

The two, caught in Hashirama's genjutsu, instantly lost consciousness and collapsed limply.

(That's right. I'm the Hokage. The pillar that protects the village and its children.)

Gently easing Ina's grip on the still-sleeping Diejian, Hashirama gazed at Diejian's face.

He lovingly caressed Diejian's cheek, then, his expression full of reluctance, brushed away the hair stuck to Diejian's Forehead Protector with blood.

Hashirama absorbed Natural Energy and entered Sage Mode once more.

He closed his eyes and slowly formed hand seals.

"Sage Art: Secret Technique—"

"Mm..."

After lying asleep for so long, even the soft morning light was a powerful stimulus to his body.

The boy lazily pushed away the blanket covering him and shielded his eyes from the sun with his arm.

"Diejian, you're awake!"

The boy—Diejian—slowly came to as he heard a familiar girl's voice.

"Thank goodness!"

"Oh—Ina?"

The girl—Ina—excitedly threw her arms around Diejian's neck.

Seeing Ina's tear-filled eyes, Diejian couldn't say a word. He could only let her hold him.

"Ina...? What happened...?"

"Wait here. I'll get a doctor!"

It seemed Diejian's voice had made her realize something.

Ina hurried to her feet, unable to hide her joy. Unsteady with excitement, she dashed out of the hospital room.

Still groggy, Diejian sat up and looked around. He was in a white room surrounded by dazzling light.

The sheets felt soft, and the pure white hospital bed was perfectly neat.

Diejian was wearing a hospital gown.

Holding his head, which throbbed faintly from oversleeping, Diejian pulled out the foreign object inserted in his arm—a drip needle.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

"Tsu...?"

An angry voice.

Looking toward the door, he saw another girl—his younger sister, Tsunade—standing there with a scowl.

Tsunade strode toward him with such force that Diejian shrank back a little, but as he looked at her face, his memories returned.

"Right, what about Kakuzu?!"

"Brother!"

Diejian sprang up from the bed, but perhaps because his legs and back were weak, he wobbled and nearly fell.

Tsunade was the one who panicked.

She hurried over and practically forced Diejian back onto the bed.

But when she saw Diejian frantically shouting about Kakuzu, a demon-like expression appeared on her face, and she slapped him.

"Stay put!"

"Ow..."

Holding the cheek his younger sister had slapped, Diejian fell silent.

He couldn't understand what was happening, but he had a rough idea.

In other words, he had survived.

"It's all right now."

"Tsu, what happened? Where are Sakumo and Ina? I..."

"Brother, calm down. Miss Ina went to get someone..."

"Looks like you're awake, Diejian."

"Uncle..."

"!!"

Cutting Tsunade off, Tobirama suddenly appeared in the hospital room.

Using the mark attached to Diejian, he had performed the Flying Thunder God Technique and quite literally flown over.

Ina was clinging to his leg, too.

The sudden turn of events nearly made Tsunade faint.

She still wasn't used to Tobirama appearing via the Flying Thunder God.

"Don't call me uncle. At least call me Master. More importantly, is anything wrong with your body?"

"I feel a little sluggish, that's all. I seem fine."

"I see. I imagine you have a lot of questions... so I'll get straight to it. The Takigakure Ninja you fought, the one called Kakuzu, has already been dealt with by my brother. As you can see, the Yamanaka Clan's daughter and that Hatake boy are both safe."

"I see. Grandpa... Thank goodness. But—"

Diejian was about to continue, "I should have been dead," but Tobirama seemed to understand and spoke before he could finish.

"That's right. You died—but my brother brought you back to life. After that, you slept on as time passed. It's already been six months."

At Tobirama's words, Diejian accepted it as though it were only natural.

He had vaguely suspected as much.

It didn't quite feel real, but the fact that his grandfather had saved him "once again" warmed his heart.

"I see. Grandpa saved me. I see. Then, where is he?"

As Diejian smiled happily, Ina and Tsunade looked away in pain.

Tobirama ignored their reaction and told Diejian the truth.

"My brother—the First, Senju Hashirama—is gone. He gave his own life to save you. He did so in the literal sense."

Diejian's body was overcome by immense pressure.

It was none other than the crushing weight of his own emotions.

Hearing those words, he understood.

He understood what the powerful heartbeat pounding in the chest that should have been hollowed out meant.

"Diejian, my brother entrusted you to me. Don't waste the life you've been given."

With that, Tobirama left the hospital room.

Left behind were Diejian, stunned into silence, and the two girls watching him with concern.

Tsunade and Ina couldn't find the right words.

They simply held Diejian's trembling hands tightly, continuing to give him warmth as though afraid he might slip away somewhere.

The story went back to half a year earlier, two days after the battle with Kakuzu.

After Hashirama had poured "life" into Diejian's body at the cost of his own, Sarutobi Hiruzen arrived too late to protect the three of them.

Seeing Hashirama's clone return to the trees just as he arrived, and Hashirama lying motionless, Hiruzen felt that an era had come to an end.

Afterward, Hiruzen brought the three back and urgently contacted Tobirama, who was away on diplomatic business.

Upon receiving the message, Tobirama used the Flying Thunder God Technique to literally fly back to the village.

Looking at Hashirama, who had died as if asleep, what had his younger brother thought—?

"Lord Tobirama, Ina is awake."

"The Yamanaka Clan's daughter? Can she answer questions?"

"It's hard to say."

"I see."

—He was impatient.

From the window of the Hokage's office, Tobirama gazed down at the village.

Hiruzen watched him from behind.

Though Tobirama put on a strong front, he and Hashirama were the Senju Brothers, bound by a deep connection.

Hashirama's wife, Mito, was deeply anxious, and Tobirama, his younger brother, was also—

"We have to find out what happened as soon as possible. I want to question her today, but..."

"But Ina is still very weak. We had someone skilled in Medical Ninjutsu treat her again, but we should wait at least until tomorrow..."

"I know that. But the village needs answers. Now that my brother is dead, treaties with other villages could be torn up at any moment. We have to take the necessary measures."

"But..."

"Excuse me, Lord Tobirama!"

"Hmm, Danzo?"

As Hiruzen and Tobirama argued, a man with a cross-shaped scar on his chin—Shimura Danzō—entered the room.

Hiruzen felt deflated by Danzō's arrival, but still calmed himself and stepped back.

"Yamanaka Ina testified that Lord Hashirama's granddaughter—Princess Tsunade—was to summon Katsuyuko. That was Lord Hashirama's last wish."

"What... Katsuyuko?"

The slug who lived in Shikkotsu Forest.

She was a member of the Katsuyu Sage's lineage, who had taught Hashirama Sage Arts, and had also signed a Summoning Contract with him.

—I see. So that's what happened.

Tobirama nodded.

"I see. Understood. Bring Tsunade here. No, I'll go get her myself."

With that, Tobirama vanished.

"Flying Thunder God... I've never seen him this impatient."

Hiruzen's shoulders slumped.

—The scene shifted to the meeting room in the Hokage residence.

The village's leaders had gathered there, with Tobirama and Hiruzen at the forefront.

Tsunade stood in the center, her body stiff with nerves. Hiruzen placed a hand on her shoulder to help her relax.

"Tsunade, summon Katsuyuko."

At Tobirama's words, Tsunade nodded.

She lightly cut her thumb with a kunai, letting blood well up, formed hand seals, and pressed her palm against the floor.

"Summoning Technique!"

The summoning formula spread across the floor. With a soft pop and a puff of smoke, tiny Katsuyuko appeared.

"With my Chakra as it is now, this is the biggest I can make her..."

"If she can talk, that's enough. Thank you for your efforts."

"Come over here."

"Y-yes."

Led by Hiruzen, Tsunade moved to the corner of the room and sat in a chair.

Hiruzen stood beside her.

"Katsuyuko. I'd like to ask you some questions. What happened?"

"Yes..."

Katsuyuko told Tobirama what she knew.

The Takigakure Ninja's covert activities, and the valiant efforts of Diejian, Ina, and Sakumo.

As well as Diejian's death and resurrection, and Hashirama's death.

"I see... I never imagined my brother had been murdered or anything like that. So that's what happened."

"Retaliate against Takigakure!"

Someone shouted it, and the words became kindling, spreading through the room in an instant.

The room was filled with heat and murderous intent.

Weakened by the death of her grandfather Hashirama, Tsunade couldn't help trembling with fear.

Hiruzen looked at Tsunade. When their eyes met, he took her hand to reassure her that everything would be all right.

"No."

Tobirama released his Chakra, filling the room with his own oppressive presence.

The room fell silent at once.

When asked why, Tobirama replied:

"We'll announce my brother's death only after the Second has been chosen and taken office. If we act now, word of his death will spread. Sunagakure's movements are suspicious, so we can't show weakness. For now, I'll use my Shadow Clone to take my brother's place, and the village will continue to be governed as usual."

"But—!"

"Silence!"

Tobirama forcefully cut the old man off, but the old man tried to continue.

Tobirama's tone changed, and he spoke calmly.

"You can say whatever you like about feelings. But do you understand? You lost your Hokage, but before that, I lost my brother."

At Tobirama's words, the old man finally fell silent.

After that, Tobirama put his full capabilities to work and took office as the Second.

In just half a year, Senju Tobirama had established his political system.

★

"Uncle's the Second now, huh? Then I'll be the Third Hokage, right? I bet he'll say something like, 'Call me Lord Second, not Uncle.'"

"That's right."

Sakumo replied to Diejian, who drew out his words in a teasing tone.

It was afternoon in the hospital room.

After crossing paths with Diejian's younger sister Tsunade, who had come to visit him first thing that morning, Sakumo came by.

Sakumo set a chair beside Diejian's hospital bed and began peeling a mandarin.

He ignored Diejian's comment: "Why isn't it the usual apple?"

Incidentally, Diejian liked peaches.

"Here, eat."

"I can eat by myself."

"Who said I was going to feed you? Can't you just take it?"

"Okay."

Looking at Diejian, who hadn't changed a bit, Sakumo smiled.

Outside the door, Ina watched the scene.