The Sea Will Not Welcome Me, Jiraiya!

Senju Tobirama fell silent.

He really didn't know what to say to this student.

To say he's ungrateful is ridiculous; all he can think about now is making Konoha the dominant force in the Shinobi World.

This aligns with his thinking back then.

To say he hasn't forgotten his original intentions, he's now hanging out with those Otsutsuki guys again.

Senju Tobirama never imagined that seeing his student again would be such an embarrassing scene.

"Have you finished catching up? If you have, give me the things."

Ōtsutsuki Isshiki had been waiting impatiently for a long time.

The reason he remained silent was simply to maintain his gentlemanly demeanor.

Senju Tobirama's eyes narrowed. "Monkey, everything else is negotiable, but this is absolutely not!"

He could also see the importance that Ōtsutsuki Isshiki on the two items, which must be of great benefit to him.

Sarutobi Hiruzen isn't a big deal, but if someone as strong as Ōtsutsuki Isshiki gets even stronger, things could get complicated.

Upon hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen hesitated for a moment.

Ōtsutsuki Isshiki remained calm, arms crossed, quietly awaiting his choice.

A long time.

Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly but firmly shook his head. "Master, I still need his help."

After much internal struggle, he still stuck to his choice.

This is his path, and also his way of ninja!

With difficulty, Sarutobi Hiruzen raised his hand and tossed the two items to Ōtsutsuki Isshiki.

"Smack."

Just then, a yellow figure suddenly appeared in the path that the two items were destined to pass through.

Flying Thunder God Technique!

Namikaze Minato glanced at the item in his hand, then looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen, his eyes filled with barely suppressed disappointment.

"Third Hokage, this is not the way of the ninja you taught us."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's face contorted in a ferocious expression. "You have no right to interfere in my affairs!"

"Oh? Then, teacher, do we have the right to interfere?"

Not far from them, three figures walked towards them unhurriedly.

Sarutobi Hiruzen turned his head with difficulty, as if struck by lightning.

The man in the middle of the three had white hair, was extremely tall, and had a very sad expression on his face.

"I thought you must have had your reasons for doing this, and I even thought that when you needed it, I would stand by you no matter what obstacles there were."

The sorrow on his white-haired face deepened, and his broad body trembled slightly.

"But what you're doing now is putting yourself on the opposite side of the entire Shinobi World!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the three figures, scenes from the past flashed through his mind.

That mischievous boy.

That handsome and upright young man.

That distraught middle-aged man who left Konoha.

"Teacher, I actually knew you would come to this."

To the left of the white-haired man was a delicate-looking man with a face as pale as paper, whose voice was thick and hoarse.

Sarutobi Hiruzen pursed his lips, remaining silent.

"Danzo and you are actually one; you are his light, and he is your darkness."

The man continued explaining his point of view, "When darkness disappears, light will also cease to exist."

"On that day, darkness will be light, and light will also be darkness."

Although it was a convoluted statement, Sarutobi Hiruzen knew that what he said was true.

After a long silence, Sarutobi Hiruzen finally revealed a bitter smile.

"Yes, why don't you understand the principles I taught you back then?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression became complicated. "Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade, I didn't expect you all to have returned to the same place."

The newcomers were none other than the Konoha Sannin.

Jiraiya actually knew about what had happened in Konoha long ago, and he was even present on the day the Yang Organization invaded Konoha.

But he did not appear.

On the one hand, Konoha has not yet reached the point of desperation.

On the other hand, he also wanted to see just how capable Uchiha Kei, who was stirring up trouble in Konoha, really was.

By the time Konoha rebelled and the Third Hokage fled severely injured, it would be pointless for him to intervene.

Jiraiya's feelings towards Sarutobi Hiruzen were very complex.

His skills were all taught by Third Hokage his family.

It can be said that without the Third Hokage's teachings, there would be no Konoha Sannin.

However, during World War II, he began to sense that something was amiss.

Many people who shouldn't have died died inexplicably on the battlefield.

Dan Katō is.

The Senju Nawaki is also one.

Also because he was tired of war, Jiraiya left Konoha after World War II, ostensibly to find creative inspiration.

His personality destined him to be unable to adapt to the power struggles in the village.

Orochimaru's reason for leaving Konoha was much simpler: he simply wanted to pursue immortality.

Tsunade, however, left Konoha because of the successive deaths of her lover and younger brother, the near annihilation of her clan, and her own hemophobia, hoping to find a place where she could find peace.

"We never left."

Jiraiya's voice was deep.

This middle-aged man, who used to be so cheerful and carefree, now looked like a wronged teenager.

Schemer.

Yes, nowadays, people in Konoha refer to the Third Hokage Hokage as a schemer.

While feeling resentful, he couldn't help but overthink.

During World War II, there were countless unanswered questions, and all of these questions ultimately pointed to his teacher.

The Third Hokage – Sarutobi Hiruzen!

He came today because he wanted an answer.

An answer he had longed for day and night, one he had struggled with painfully.

"Teacher, I want to know, what about the Nawaki and the broken dead..."

"Does this have anything to do with you?"

Tsunade kept her head bowed deeply from the moment she arrived.

Sarutobi Hiruzen as a painful memory resurfaced.

"Have."

Sarutobi Hiruzen refused to live in the lies he had created and instead faced his past mistakes honestly.

Tsunade suddenly raised her head, her eyes filled with disbelief.

"Back then, they were putting me in so much trouble that I had no choice but to do this."

"What obstacles are they in your way?"

Tears welled up in Tsunade, and her fists clenched tightly.

"Nawaki treats you like a close uncle and is extremely affectionate towards you; Duan Geng wholeheartedly supports your policies, and he will never have any disloyalty to anything you propose!"

"They... they are all your supporters, why... why did they do this..."

Tsunade's expression turned pained, and her body trembled violently.

Sarutobi Hiruzen lowered his head with some guilt, but quickly raised it again.

"They may support me, but many things are beyond their control."

Tsunade looked up, confused.

"The Senju Clan, influenced by my teacher and the First, completely disregards me!"

"In their eyes, I, a Third Hokage, am nothing but a joke!"

"Compared to me, they are more willing to support Dan Katō and Hatake Sakumo, so..."

They must die!

Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze was extremely firm.

He felt guilty towards those he had caused to die, but he did not regret the decision he had made.

Tsunade stared in horror at Sarutobi Hiruzen, at this teacher who was so different from the one she remembered.

Turn out to be...

The death of Duan and Nawaki was simply because...

They could become an obstacle for Sarutobi Hiruzen...

That's all.

"Enough!"

Just as the atmosphere reached its peak, the completely ignored Ōtsutsuki Isshiki finally lost his patience.

His feigned gentlemanly demeanor vanished completely at that moment.

Do you really think I'm easy to talk to?

Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's expression was somewhat ferocious, and his aura surged to its peak.

The whistling wind suddenly arose and filled the entire sky above the Sunagakure.

With a wave of his hand, an irresistible force acted upon the two items in Namikaze Minato's hands.

"Whoosh!"

The immense force, carrying the horrified Namikaze Minato, surged towards Ōtsutsuki Isshiki.

"Thud."

With both items in hand, Namikaze Minato's struggles were treated like child's play, completely ignored by Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, who casually tossed Namikaze Minato away.

Looking at the two items in his hands, Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's eyes gleamed with undisguised elation.

"The plow of time, the nothingness of space—they are all mine now!"

His eyes narrowed, and an invisible blade sliced across his arm.

Crimson blood dripped onto the two items.

In an instant, indescribable colors burst forth from his hands!