Hashirama Leaves the Village, The Source of Tragedy (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

Toji set aside his current tasks and headed to the Hokage Building.

In the small conference room.

Hashirama, Tobirama, Uchiha Chirori, and several heads of key departments within the Hokage Building had all arrived.

Seeing this setup, Toji knew the matter was not simple.

"Toji is here." Hashirama nodded. "Take a seat first."

Uchiha Chirori pulled out a chair for Toji.

In the conference room, Hashirama sat at the head of the table, Tobirama to his left, Chirori to his right, and Toji sat in the second seat on the right.

After Toji sat down, his gaze drifted unobtrusively toward Hashirama.

He had contemplated that the Battle of the Valley of the End would break out one day in the future. He wondered if he should take the opportunity of treating Hashirama after the battle to plant a Parasitic Seal on him.

After weighing it repeatedly, Toji abandoned the idea.

Earth Grudge Parasitism was not omnipotent.

Ninjas with powerful Yin-Yang Release, unique constitutions, or those who had mastered taijutsu to the extreme were its natural enemies.

Once he missed his mark, even someone as dense as Hashirama would notice the anomaly.

Everything would be exposed then.

It was better to wait until Hashirama died, take his heart, and then use Reanimation safely.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Hashirama, at the head of the table, spoke slowly: "Let's start with the most important matter. Everyone, I will be leaving the village for a period of time."

The words stirred up a thousand ripples.

Even Toji was somewhat surprised.

Why was Senju Hashirama leaving the village at this time? Had the Battle of the Valley of the End broken out early?

Sarutobi Sasuke hurriedly asked, "Lord Hokage, where are you going?"

"To a very distant place for training." Hashirama's expression was serious. "If everything goes smoothly, I might be back in half a month. If there are complications, it might take a year or more."

"In any case, while I am away from the village, Tobirama will serve as acting Hokage to handle daily affairs. Other departments should proceed as usual and perform their respective duties."

As he spoke, Hashirama glanced at Toji.

After explaining this major matter, he specifically emphasized that while he was away, the Gospel Hospital and the Ninja Academy must be ensured to operate normally.

Focusing on both education and medical care—these were the foundations of the people's livelihood that the citizens of Konoha cared about most.

Hashirama presided over the meeting, finalizing the remaining trivial matters one by one.

After the meeting adjourned, Hashirama kept Toji behind.

They began a private conversation behind closed doors.

Senju Hashirama asked, "Toji, have you ever practiced Sage Art?"

"When I was traveling the Ninja World, I heard some legends about it, but I don't know the specifics."

"I see." Hashirama laughed heartily. "I thought the long-lived nature of the Zenin clan might have some connection to Sage Art energy, but it seems it's just a matter of constitution."

Toji did not continue to discuss this topic with Hashirama, instead asking, "Is something wrong, Lord Hokage, that you are suddenly going to practice Sage Art?"

Toji realized that Hashirama was going to cultivate Sage Art.

He had previously fallen into a misconception.

He had assumed that the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama, had mastered Sage Art long ago. Yet, the reality before him contradicted his understanding.

This God of Shinobi, over forty years old and unrivaled by anyone except Uchiha Madara, was already overwhelmingly strong in the Ninja World, yet he had still not reached his own power ceiling.

He was still continuing to grow stronger!

This also reminded Toji of a classic opening poem mentioned in a certain domestic animation he had watched in his past life—

You might be the protagonist of this work, but he is the protagonist of that era.

As long as Hashirama was still alive...

He could not harbor any other intentions.

"It's nothing, really. I should have gone to learn Sage Art long ago, but I kept putting it off because the village needed me. Now that the village is on the right track and doesn't need me to worry about every little thing, I finally have the time."

After explaining, Hashirama spoke slowly: "I asked you here mainly to entrust you with a task..."

"Is it about Tobirama?" Toji guessed the answer immediately.

Hashirama nodded: "Yes."

"After I disciplined Tobirama last time, he did indeed settle down quite a bit. But as his older brother, I know his temperament all too well. He keeps himself in check while I'm around, but I'm afraid no one will be able to control him once I'm gone."

The dignified second-in-command of Konoha was still like a child in Hashirama's eyes. Even though Tobirama was indeed his younger brother, it sounded quite embarrassing.

"This time, leaving the village, the thing I'm most worried about is Tobirama. I'm afraid he will rekindle his old obsessions and go back to touching human experimentation."

"I know your character, Toji. You also despise human experimentation, which is an insult to life. So, I want to ask you to help me monitor him, both openly and secretly. If he has such thoughts, you should..."

Hashirama thought for a moment, seemingly considering that Toji was no match for Tobirama. "Just report it to Mito. Even if Tobirama acts recklessly, he still has to listen to her."

Toji proposed the worst-case scenario: "And what if Tobirama doesn't listen to Lady Mito either?"

"I will have Mito carry my orders and join forces with Uchiha Chirori to secretly apprehend Tobirama, then wait for my return to handle it."

Hashirama's expression was grave. "I will not spare even Tobirama if he endangers the village."

The atmosphere in the room gradually solidified.

"However..." Hashirama's tone softened. "Tobirama is just too impatient, and he tends to overlook principles when he acts. He is meticulous and loves to work in the shadows, making him difficult to detect."

"If it weren't for you, Toji, I might still be kept in the dark. Hahaha!"

"In any case, as long as Mito and Toka step in, they will certainly be able to keep Tobirama in check. We must ensure his talents are used for the right path."

Hashirama patted Toji on the shoulder. "Actually, I had intended to appoint you as Acting Hokage, but Gospel Hospital cannot function without you, and your seniority is still lacking, so this matter must be shelved for now."

Toji's face showed signs of being moved. "Thank you for your trust, Lord Hashirama."

"Alright, alright, there's no need for such formalities between us. How could I not trust you?"

"Those outside the Hokage lineage cannot become Hokage."

As Toji walked out of the Hokage Building, the look of being moved vanished from his face entirely.

He didn't care about the position of Hokage, but he had suddenly thought of that phrase. As the Hokage's younger brother, even if forbidden human experiments were exposed, one could still become the Acting Hokage...

If Hashirama had been more ruthless, letting Tobirama remain merely an elite jonin of Konoha and allowing someone else to become the Second Hokage.

Perhaps there would be no weak-willed Third Hokage in the future, nor a Danzo leading the Root to wreak havoc across the Ninja World.

Many of the tragedies in Konoha's future would have been rewritten.

It was just a pity that the roots of all future disasters had already been buried sixty years ago—which is to say, right now.

All suffering and tragedy would have to pay the price for naive ideals.

Toji did not try to remonstrate with Hashirama, letting events take their course.

During Hashirama's absence from the village, he was tasked with supervising the Acting Hokage. From then on, he would play the role of "both friend and foe" to Tobirama, keeping a close watch on all his experiments to prove his own "strategic value."

He would make Tobirama pay a certain price to win him over.

At the same time, he would sow the seeds for a future "darkening," letting Tobirama fall under the illusion of victory.