Konoha F4, First Blood

Toji waited quietly for several minutes, until Tobirama Senju's chakra completely vanished from his senses.

That badly damaged heart had also stopped beating completely.

"Dead, huh—"

Toji said it with a hint of sentiment.

This was probably the best outcome. From beginning to end, he had never touched Tobirama.

It could be said that Tobirama's death had nothing to do with him.

If Tobirama had still possessed the strength to move when he arrived, he would have had no choice but to fight him and personally send the weakened Tobirama on his way. A scene of "close friends" killing each other would have been far too cruel for kindhearted Toji.

But then again.

Tobirama's death could have nothing to do with him, but Tobirama's corpse had to have something to do with him.

It was like eating barbecue at Yakiniku Q. Some people were impatient and thought the meat was done the moment it hit the grill; others charred it black and still felt it needed more cooking. Toji had his own standards for judging how fresh a heart was.

Without the slightest hesitation, he cleanly removed the heart after Tobirama died.

Looking at the heart's terrible condition, Toji could not help frowning.

Cooked—no, raw—no, its vitality was just too poor—

Tobirama Senju had indeed given everything to buy his disciples time to escape, severely overexerting his body's energy.

On top of that, the heart had been struck by Lightning Release. Its current vitality was far from its peak condition.

After being devoured by Earth Grudge Fear, it would require a long period of nurturing to return to its state in life.

There was no such thing as having it both ways.

The price of obtaining Tobirama's heart without injury was reduced vitality. If he had assassinated Tobirama earlier and