Hashirama is Dead

Sakumo spat blood as his abdomen was pierced, causing Kakuzu to laugh.

Sakumo used his remaining strength to sever the tentacles with a kunai, only to be slammed violently into the ground by a tentacle from above, the impact brutal.

"Gah!"

"It's over."

Sakumo's arm bent in a direction it was never meant to, snapping upon hitting the ground.

Sakumo's nose also took a heavy blow.

Blood flowed incessantly.

To deliver the 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.

Emerging from it was Diejian, his forehead adorned with a Konohagakure forehead protector, his body stained with blood.

His eyes were locked directly onto Kakuzu.

The forehead protector Diejian wore was a precious treasure, gifted to him by his grandfather Hashirama when he had been struggling.

Diejian had kept it secretly on his person every single day, never letting it leave his side.

--I am a ninja of Konohagakure, Senju Diejian.

Hashirama had once told Diejian.

Those who possess the Will of Fire are all family.

Diejian remembered those words clearly.

--I am one who inherits the will of the Hokage, the Will of Fire!

Someday, when Diejian graduated from the ninja training facility and became a genin—that would be the day he was officially permitted to wear the forehead protector.

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

He wanted to express his gratitude for being saved by saying, "I want to inherit your will."

And he wanted to be acknowledged once more.

Then, one day, he would inherit his grandfather's mantle and become the Hokage—.

Diejian had always looked forward to such a happy day.

He could never forgive an external enemy who sought to destroy that dream.

The forehead protector he wore was proof of his resolve.

"Diejian! You made it!!"

Ina, appearing from the shade of the trees, let out a joyful cry.

In reality, during Ina's transport, the healing of Diejian's wounds by Katsuyu had already begun to show signs of recovery.

That was the result of the super-strong regenerative power stemming from the Uzumaki and Senju bloodlines.

Diejian and Ina had agreed that once he was healed, he would use the Earth Style: Earth Submarine Technique to approach and seize the opportunity to attack Kakuzu from point-blank range.

Precisely because he was weak and his chakra had drastically decreased compared to his original state—this was both a crisis where he could not launch large-scale techniques, and an opportunity where he was less easily sensed by the enemy.

The conversation between Ina and Sakumo just moments ago—

"No, besides this guy, Diejian also took on two others. I will fight too. And besides—"

(--It's an astonishing recovery. Diejian will be back soon. We'll act as bait to draw Kakuzu's attention. Diejian will seize the chance to launch an attack from point-blank range. It's dangerous... but we have to do it.)

"--Understood. If we continue like this, we'll only be whittled down. Let's gamble on it."

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

Diejian would not waste this chance.

He quickly formed hand seals.

"Water Style: Water Severing Wave!!"

The tentacle defense was too slow.

To interfere with Diejian, a nimble, thin tentacle spear pierced Diejian's shoulder, but his desperate resolve did not waver.

If he missed this, there was only death.

So what did the intense pain in his body matter—Kakuzu was forced to take Diejian's attack head-on at point-blank range.

"Success!"

Accompanied by the sound of splashing water, Kakuzu was sent flying.

Ina cried out in joy, and Diejian, his technique completed, ran toward the fallen Sakumo.

"Sakumo, are you still alive?"

"I suppose... we're alright."

Leaning on Diejian's shoulder for support, Sakumo slowly pulled himself to his feet.

Sakumo smiled with a weary face, and in turn, Diejian offered a smile smeared with mud and grime.

However—Sakumo spoke up.

"That guy still has hearts left. Although we managed to take one out, there's still the Water Style Mask—and even though we destroyed two... not to mention the Fire Style Mask buried in the earth, and the two that Lady Katsuyu is suppressing, they remain. Neither of us has the strength to fight anymore. Before that guy makes his move, we need to leave this place."

Just as Sakumo said, Diejian's Water Severing Wave had been an attack that exhausted his very last ounce of strength.

Diejian had depleted his chakra, while Sakumo and Ina had exhausted their physical stamina.

There was no longer any room to continue the battle.

Once the time limit for the summoning jutsu Diejian had activated was reached, the remaining two masks would be released, and the three of them would be slaughtered without any means of resistance.

For Diejian, there was no choice but to flee.

"Yeah, you're... right... but..."

Just as he was about to nod—tentacles erupted from Diejian's chest.

Tearing through his chest and accompanied by a spray of blood, the tentacles were unmistakable; they were the very ones controlled by Kakuzu.

Diejian's Water Severing Wave from moments ago—that technique had never pierced Kakuzu's heart to begin with.

It was Kakuzu's innate Earth Style power—the Earth Spear Technique.

By hardening the body to its absolute limit, this technique served as an absolute defense capable of nullifying almost every jutsu, save for those of the Lightning Style.

Kakuzu had feigned death to lure the three of them into a moment of carelessness.

"Guh..."

"Diejian!!"

"Noooo!!"

Diejian's eyes widened, his small body convulsing as blood gushed from his mouth like a fountain, splattering onto the ground.

Kakuzu listened with pleasure to the cries of despair from Sakumo and Ina.

"The Water Style heart was destroyed... boy, I'll use your heart to replace it. The talent to manipulate earth, water, and fire—I'll be taking that for myself."

Dragged away by the tentacles and ripped from Sakumo's side, Diejian, blood spraying from his chest, was swallowed into a sea of writhing tendrils.

Having lost the support of Diejian, Sakumo collapsed helplessly, while Ina attempted to save him, only to be easily swatted away by Kakuzu's tentacles.

The tentacles rampaged within Diejian's body.

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

"Fwahahaha!!"

Kakuzu's laughter echoed, and in the distance, the Katsuyu that had been held by the masks vanished in a puff of smoke.

Kakuzu tossed Diejian's body aside.

The discarded body bounced and rolled across the ground, coming to a stop right before Sakumo's eyes.

"Diejian...?"

There was no longer any sign of life on his face.

"No... don't...!"

Ina ran toward Diejian's remains.

Touching him directly, she felt the reality of his life slipping away from that body.

Despair stained the faces of Ina and Sakumo.

Kakuzu wore a look of satisfaction, as if he had finally seen exactly what he wanted to see.

"Now then, it's time for you two to die as well."

Kakuzu's tentacles writhed, preparing to impale Ina and Sakumo.

However, the tentacles moving toward the pair struck a sudden obstacle before they could reach their target.

It was a massive tree that had appeared out of nowhere.

"Th-this is..."

"Lord Hokage!?"

Before the fallen Sakumo and Ina, standing beside the great tree, was a man with black hair swaying in the wind, clad in armor.

The leader of Konohagakure—the "Hokage."

His name—Senju Hashirama.

"Well now... the Hokage himself has graced us with his presence. That saves me the trouble of having to go find you."

Kakuzu maintained a composed smile, welcoming Hashirama's arrival.

Hashirama glanced at Kakuzu, then turned away as if he had lost all interest, crouching down beside the injured and fallen Sakumo to touch his dirt-stained cheek.

"I am late, I apologize. Sakumo, Ina."

"Lord Hokage, Diejian, he!!"

"I know. --You, why would you do such a thing..."

Hashirama stood with his back to Kakuzu, questioning him.

Kakuzu was stunned for a moment, not understanding what the other meant, but a smile soon surfaced on his face.

He did not notice Hashirama's trembling hands.

"Because you were obstructing me from killing the Hokage."

"The war has ended, and peace has arrived. Why must you still do such things?"

"Konoha has become too strong. By killing you, I break the balance of power and trigger a new war. For small hidden villages like ours, this era of peace is quite troublesome; there is simply too little work."

"--Is that so."

With eyes wide open yet unmoving—Hashirama gently closed Diejian's eyelids and slowly stood up.

The chakra and rage seeping from his body formed a pressure that made even Ina and Sakumo, standing nearby, find it difficult to breathe.

"Die, Hokage!"

Though intimidated by Hashirama's presence, Kakuzu overcame it with the arrogance of his own perceived strength, aiming his tentacles at Hashirama.

At the same time, the two masks that had been freed by the disappearance of Katsuyu following Diejian's death were also summoned over.

He pointed the new mask created from Diejian's heart and those two masks, along with his tentacle spears, toward Hashirama, intending to kill him.

On the other side, as if squeezing it from his very being, Hashirama created Wood Clones.

The three clones were not meant to fight Kakuzu.

They each picked up Sakumo, Ina, and Diejian's remains, and the clones began to retreat.

"Those who stand against the village--shall never be forgiven."

Hashirama whispered.

The next moment, what appeared on Hashirama's face was--markings.

It was the proof of "Sage Mode," a state reachable only by those who can adapt to and skillfully absorb natural energy.

Kakuzu showed a look of surprise at the markings for an instant, but the next moment, his expression twisted in astonishment.

Suddenly appearing before Kakuzu was a colossal statue of a Buddha.

Its size was such that for Kakuzu, standing on the ground, even looking up at the sky, he could not see the top.

Forget the giant slug Katsuyu; it was even larger than a mountain, a Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara bearing hundreds and thousands of arms upon its back--.

"Sage Art--Wood Style: True Several Thousand Hands."

The battle ended in an instant.

No, it was not even certain if that could be called a battle.

The army of fists protruding from the statue's countless arms, slicing through the wind--instantly excavated and pulverized the earth.

The rumbling of the ground continued.

Kakuzu did not even have the gap to let out a scream before he was swallowed by that army of fists, his figure disappearing into the rubble.

★

"Amazing... so this is Lord Hokage..."

A little further away--.

Sakumo, who was receiving treatment from Hashirama's Wood Clone, watched with bated breath, while Ina threw herself over the lying Diejian and wept.

The Hashirama clone's face showed a look of sorrow--yet one that hid a certain resolve.

"Are you two alright?"

The original Hashirama, who reunited with them a while later, did not have a single scratch on him.

On his face, where the markings had vanished, there was no longer any expression of anger.

"Lord Hokage..."

"Lord Hokage... Diejian, he... wuu wuu!!"

"You two have worked very hard."

Hashirama stroked the heads of the downcast Sakumo and the sobbing Ina, then walked toward Diejian's remains.

Caressing Diejian's gradually cooling cheek, Hashirama took off his own armor.

"Lord Hokage. Why did you know about this place?"

"I was playing with a Shadow Clone of Diejian. At that time, the Katsuyu fragment he summoned informed me of the crisis occurring here."

If Tobirama were here, he could have arrived sooner using the Flying Thunder God--this thought, Hashirama kept to himself.

Tobirama had gone to Kirigakure on a diplomatic mission.

That was an important task.

Speaking of it would be of no use.

Hashirama began to weave hand seals.

The sequence was: Boar, Dog, Rooster, Monkey—.

"—Summoning Jutsu."

With a puff of smoke, a small slug was summoned forth.

It was named Katsuyuko.

It was an isotope of the slug Diejian had summoned, equivalent in rank to a descendant.

Though only the size of a fist, it was sufficient to achieve Hashirama's purpose.

"Katsuyuko, go tell Tobirama. The village is entrusted to him."

"Lord Hashirama..."

Whether it had already heard the situation from the main body or shared consciousness during the battle—as if it understood Hashirama's intent, Katsuyuko simply called his name quietly.

The slugs of Shikkotsu Forest, even their split forms, possessed the ability to share consciousness.

Slugs are hermaphroditic and increase their numbers through division.

Occasionally, an individual with a consciousness distinct from the original emerges among the split forms; these are the Katsuyuko born from the Katsuyu Sage, and the smaller Katsuyuko born from those.

They possess different consciousnesses, yet they are capable of sharing them.

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

"Lord Hokage... what, exactly, are you planning to do...?"

To Sakumo's question, Hashirama only answered with a smile—

"You two, get some sleep for now."

Struck by Hashirama's genjutsu, the two instantly lost consciousness and collapsed, limp.

That's right, I am the Hokage. I am the pillar that protects the village and the children.

Gently moving Ina, who was still clutching Diejian even in her sleep, Hashirama gazed at Diejian's face.

He stroked Diejian's cheek with affection, and with a look of lingering attachment, brushed away the hair stuck to Diejian's forehead protector by dried blood.

Hashirama absorbed natural energy, entering Sage Mode once more.

Closing his eyes, he slowly wove the seals.

"Sage Art: Secret Technique—"

★

"Mmm..."

To a body that had been sleeping for so long, even the soft morning light was a harsh stimulus.

The boy lazily threw off the blanket covering him, shielding his eyes with his arm to block out the sun.

"Diejian, you're awake!"

The boy—Diejian—slowly stirred at the sound of the familiar girl's voice.

"Thank goodness!!"

"Oh—Ina?"

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

Looking at Ina's teary eyes, Diejian couldn't find the words and simply let her hold him.

"Ina...? What on earth..."

"Wait, I'll go get the doctor!"

It seemed that Diejian's voice had snapped her back to reality.

Ina stood up in a rush, unable to hide her joy, and ran out of the hospital room, her steps unsteady with excitement.

Diejian sat up, dazed, and looked around; it was a white room enveloped in a blinding, sterile light.

The sheets felt smooth to the touch, and the pure white hospital bed was meticulously kept.

Diejian was wearing a patient's gown.

Clutching his head, which throbbed from oversleeping, Diejian pulled out the foreign object stuck in his arm—the IV needle.

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

"Tsuna...?"

A sharp, angry voice.

Looking toward the door, he saw another girl—his younger sister, Tsunade—standing there with her eyes narrowed in a glare.

Tsunade strode toward him, her intensity making Diejian shrink back slightly, but upon seeing her face, his memories began to awaken.

"Right, what about Kakuzu?!"

"Brother!"

Diejian stood up from the bed abruptly, but perhaps due to weakness in his waist and legs, he swayed and nearly fell.

Tsunade was the one who panicked.

She rushed over and almost forcibly pushed Diejian back onto the bed.

However, facing Diejian, who was in a panic and only kept shouting for Kakuzu, Tsunade wore a ghostly expression and slapped him across the face.

"Behave yourself!"

"That hurts..."

Holding the cheek struck by his younger sister, Diejian fell silent.

Although he could not understand the situation, he grasped the general idea.

In other words, he had survived.

"It's alright now."

"Tsun, what happened? Where is Sakumo? Where is Ina? I..."

"Brother, calm down. Right now, Miss Ina has gone to call someone..."

"It seems you've woken up, Diejian."

"Old man..."

"!!"

Interrupting Tsunade, Tobirama suddenly appeared in the hospital room.

He had used the Flying Thunder God technique, utilizing the mark attached to Diejian, to literally fly over.

Ina was still clinging to his side.

Because of this sudden event, Tsunade nearly collapsed in shock.

Tsunade was still not accustomed to Tobirama appearing via the Flying Thunder God.

"Don't call me old man. At least call me Master. More importantly, is there anything abnormal with your body?"

"Just feeling a bit sluggish. It seems I'm fine."

"I see. I imagine you have many questions... I will be blunt. The Takigakure Ninja you fought, named Kakuzu, has been dealt with by my elder brother. As you can see, the daughter of the Yamanaka Clan and that Hatake boy are both safe and sound."

"I see. It was Grandfather... That's a relief. But—"

Just as Diejian was about to continue with "I should have died," Tobirama seemed to understand this and spoke before Diejian could finish.

"That's right. You did die—but my elder brother brought you back to life. Since then, you have been in a deep sleep, and time has passed—six months have already gone by."

Hearing Tobirama's words, Diejian accepted them as a matter of course.

He had vaguely felt that this was the case.

Although it lacked a sense of reality, the fact that he had been saved "once again" by his grandfather warmed Diejian's heart.

"I see, Grandfather saved me. I see. Then, where is Grandfather?"

Watching Diejian smile happily, Ina and Tsunade painfully averted their eyes.

Ignoring this, Tobirama told Diejian the truth.

"My elder brother—the First Hokage Senju Hashirama is no longer with us. To save you, he sacrificed his own life, in the literal sense."

Diejian's body bore a tremendous pressure.

It was nothing other than the mental weight Diejian himself produced.

Upon hearing those words, he understood.

He understood what the strong, rhythmic beating inside the heart that should have been ripped out truly meant.

"Diejian, you have been entrusted with something by my elder brother.—Do not waste that life."

With that, Tobirama walked out of the hospital room.

Left behind were a stunned Diejian and the two girls who looked at him with concern.

Tsunade and Ina could not find the right words.

They simply gripped Diejian's trembling hands tightly, continuing to provide him with warmth, as if afraid he might drift away to some distant place.

★

The story goes back to six months ago, two days after the battle with Kakuzu.

After Hashirama paid the price of his own life to infuse "life" into Diejian's body, the late-arriving Sarutobi Hiruzen protected the three of them.

Seeing the wood clone of Hashirama returning to the earth at the same time he arrived, along with the quietly lying Hashirama, Hiruzen felt the end of an era.

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 he were merely sleeping, one could only wonder what his younger brother was thinking.

"Lord Tobirama, Ina has awakened."

"The daughter of the Yamanaka Clan, is it? Can she be questioned yet?"

"It is hard to say."

"I see."

—He was anxious.

From the window of the Hokage office, Tobirama looked down over the village.

Hiruzen watched his back.

Although he appeared strong, they were, after all, the Senju brothers bound by deep ties.

The anxiety of Mito, Hashirama's wife, was intense, and as his younger brother, Tobirama was also—

"We must clarify what happened as soon as possible. I wanted to question her today, but..."

"But Ina is still very weak. Although I had those skilled in medical ninjutsu treat her again, we should wait at least until tomorrow..."

"I know that. But the village has needs. Now that my elder brother has passed, the treaties with other villages could be torn up at any moment. We must take the necessary measures."

"But..."

"Pardon the intrusion, Lord Tobirama!"

"Hm, Danzō?"

Just as Hiruzen and Tobirama were arguing, the man with a cross-shaped scar on his chin—Shimura Danzō—entered the room.

Hiruzen felt deflated by Danzō's arrival, but he calmed his agitated self and took a step back.

"Yamanaka Ina has provided testimony. Princess Tsunade, the granddaughter of Lord Hashirama, was asked to summon Katsuyuko—this was Lord Hashirama's final wish."

"What... Katsuyuko?"

The slug that resided in Shikkotsu Forest.

It was a kin of the Katsuyu Sage who had taught Hashirama senjutsu, and it had once signed a summoning contract with him.

—I see, so that is how it is.

Tobirama nodded.

"Very well, I understand. Summon Tsunade. No, I will go fetch her myself."

As he spoke, Tobirama's figure vanished.

"Flying Thunder God... He is truly more impatient than I have ever seen him."

Hiruzen let his shoulders slump.

—The scene shifts to the Hokage's conference room.

There, led by Tobirama and Hiruzen, the village's high-ranking officials were gathered.

Standing in the center, Tsunade was stiff with tension, and Hiruzen placed a hand on her shoulder to help ease her nerves.

"Tsunade, summon Katsuyuko."

Tobirama commanded, and Tsunade nodded.

Tsunade lightly sliced her thumb with a kunai until blood seeped out, formed the hand seals, and pressed her palm to the floor.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

The summoning formula spread across the floor, and with a soft poof of smoke, a small Katsuyuko appeared.

"With my current chakra, this is as big as I can make it..."

"Being able to speak is enough. You have done well."

"Come here."

"Y-yes."

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

Hiruzen stood beside Tsunade.

"Katsuyuko. I wish to ask you something. What happened?"

"It was..."

Katsuyuko told Tobirama everything she knew.

The covert activities of the Takigakure Ninja, the desperate struggle of Diejian, Ina, and Sakumo.

And the death and resurrection of Diejian, and the death of Hashirama.

"I see... I had never once imagined that my brother could have been killed, but so that is how it happened."

"Retaliate against Takigakure!"

It was unclear who said it, but those words became a spark that instantly spread throughout the room.

The room was filled with heat and killing intent.

Tsunade, fragile following the death of her grandfather Hashirama, could not help but tremble in fear.

Hiruzen looked at Tsunade, their eyes meeting, and he gripped her hand to signal that everything would be alright.

"No."

Tobirama released his chakra, filling the room with his own crushing pressure.

The room fell silent in an instant.

To the unspoken question of "why," Tobirama replied.

"The announcement of my brother's death must wait until the Second Hokage is decided and inaugurated. If we act now, news of his passing will spread. Sunagakure's movements are suspicious; we cannot show weakness. For the time being, I will use my Shadow Clone to take on my brother's appearance, and the village will be governed as usual."

"But--!!"

"Silence!"

Tobirama forcefully cut the elder off, but the elder still wanted to continue.

Tobirama's tone shifted, and he spoke in a calm voice.

"If you want to talk about emotions, say whatever you like. But do you understand? You have lost the Hokage, but before that, I lost my brother."

Hearing Tobirama's words, the elder finally shut his mouth.

--After that, Tobirama fully utilized his talents and was inaugurated as the Second Hokage.

In just half a year, he established the political system of Senju Tobirama.

★

"The old man became the Second, huh. Then, I guess I'll be the Third. He'll definitely say something like, 'Call me Lord Second, not old man.'"

"Yeah, probably."

Sakumo replied to Diejian, who was teasing with a drawn-out tone.

An afternoon in the hospital ward.

Having crossed paths with his younger sister Tsunade, who had come to visit earlier that morning, Sakumo had arrived.

Sakumo placed a chair beside Diejian's hospital bed and was peeling an orange.

Diejian's remark of "Why isn't it the customary apple?" was ignored.

Incidentally, Diejian liked peaches.

"Here, eat."

"I can eat it myself."

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

"Fine."

Watching Diejian, who hadn't changed at all, Sakumo smiled.

Outside the door, Ina watched the scene.