What, That Thing Can Die Too?

After a round of arguing, Tsunade Senju tore into each of them in turn.

In the end, she took Uchiha Sen by the hand and marched proudly out of the inn.

"At this rate... when are we ever going to reach the village..."

Jiraiya was somewhat worried. Delays could breed trouble, and from what Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane had said, the political situation in the Hidden Leaf Village was far from clear. Tsunade would surely face countless constraints upon returning to the village.

Not to mention those two guys they had encountered on the way here...

The ninja world was probably about to become restless again. It seemed they were after Naruto. Was it because of that thing in his stomach...?

Jiraiya couldn't figure it out for the moment.

Tanzaku Town

Tsunade and Uchiha Sen swaggered out of the casino. Behind them was a complete mess; scattered chips and broken tables and chairs across the floor showed just how much the two had won.

"Hahaha, let's go, let's go! On to the next one!"

"Lady Tsunade, there isn't a next one... Every casino on this street has closed down. No one dares do business with you anymore. How about we head back to the village instead? The casinos there aren't going anywhere."

Shizune reminded her quietly, though it was the truth. Word of the two had long spread. Having good luck was one thing, but they were also strong. Two establishments had hired Chunin to guard them, yet neither lasted even a single round.

"Ah, how boring. But I kind of miss the sofa at home."

Sen smacked his lips, still wanting more as he spoke listlessly.

"Lord Sen... did you forget? Our house seems to have been demolished... When we get back, we might not even have a place to stay."

"It's fine, stay at my place!"

Tsunade stretched out both arms, wrapping Haku in her left and Sen in her right. She readily agreed in a bold manner, her dark eyes darting about as the corners of her lips curled upward.

Of course, she had her own little scheme. Sen plus Haku equaled money! Lots and lots of money.

"Let's go, let's go! I'll treat you to barbecue! Sen, it's your favorite meat-meat~"

"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Meat-meat!"

"Then I'll go notify Lord Jiraiya."

Haku spoke to Tsunade and the others. Tsunade waved her hand slightly and left with Sen.

Inside the barbecue restaurant, diners occasionally glanced in Tsunade's direction. Tsunade took all of it in, but she had always disdained such petty demons and monsters.

[ Ding! Headquarters calling Hole-Hole Monster. Headquarters calling Hole-Hole Monster. There are twelve hostile ninja near you, all Root ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village. ]

[ Ding! Activating True Eye. Blue markers indicate harmless civilians, while red markers indicate hostile ninja. ]

The moment he heard the message from headquarters, Uchiha Sen became solemn. He turned his head and scanned the surroundings. Sure enough, under the effects of True Eye, the bustling barbecue restaurant had been divided into red and blue sections.

Tsunade picked up a slice of grilled meat and quietly said to Shizune beside her,

"Sometimes, I really wonder whether this guy actually has something wrong with his brain. Look at him now—he's perfectly normal, and his combat instincts are incredibly sharp."

Obviously, Shizune didn't understand what Tsunade meant. But in Tsunade's eyes, the fact that Uchiha Sen, who had his back to the restaurant, could so quickly sense the hostility coming from behind him was already an extraordinarily difficult feat.

"They're just a bunch of nobodies with their heads waiting to be taken. I, the Hole-Hole Monster, am the strongest warrior on the planet."

After muttering that, Sen turned back around and began wolfing down the beef on his plate.

On the other side, the Root members in the restaurant spoke in low voices.

"What do we do, Lord Fū? It seems we've been exposed. And sitting beside the target is the woman about to become Hokage."

The words of the subordinate beside him made Fū Yamanaka hesitate as well. He had also seen that pale blonde-haired woman. Slowly rising to his feet, he walked toward another squad.

"Tenzō, should we continue the mission? You may not know the woman beside the target. She's Tsunade Senju, one of the Legendary Sannin. If our identities are exposed, it could arouse her suspicions..."

"That would undoubtedly cause Lord Danzo quite a bit of trouble..."

Torune Aburame, seated beside Tenzō, nodded. The three of them had each led a squad for this operation. Whenever a problem arose, the three would decide together, with the minority following the majority.

"This doesn't make sense. How could Uchiha Sen be so close to the Hokage... The relationship between the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan..."

Torune Aburame instantly struck at the heart of the matter. That's right, this was highly unreasonable.

"Could it be that the kid concealed his identity and wants to return to the Hidden Leaf Village under Lady Tsunade's protection?"

Tenzō voiced his guess. After all, once they returned to the Hidden Leaf Village, secretly getting rid of the target would become almost impossible.

"Let's wait and see. Now isn't the time to act. Pass the order down: have the squad members gradually leave the barbecue restaurant. Send one person back to notify Lord Danzo."

After discussing it, the three made what they believed was the most appropriate response for the moment.

Just then, Jiraiya, Naruto, and the others entered the barbecue restaurant.

"Hahaha, I told you we had to get here quickly! Look, look! If we'd come any later, Brother Sen would've eaten all the meat!"

Naruto rushed to the table, picked a seat, and quickly joined the eating army.

The Root ninja were already dumbfounded...

"That's Lord Jiraiya... Damn it, mission canceled! All squads, withdraw immediately!"

If it had only been Tsunade Senju, Fū Yamanaka and the others might have tried to work something out. But things clearly weren't as they had imagined. Jiraiya's presence meant they had long known Uchiha Sen's true identity.

Without hesitation, the Root squads swiftly withdrew from the barbecue restaurant.

"Yo, you've already started eating? Tsunade, I heard all the casinos in Tanzaku Town have shut down. Shouldn't we head back to the village?"

Jiraiya greeted them with a grin, while also voicing what he truly thought. The sooner they returned, the better, lest something unexpected happen.

Zabuza Momochi and Haku wholeheartedly agreed with Jiraiya in their hearts. It would be pretty nice to be a useless freeloader in the village. Besides, just the money Sen had won at the casinos during this trip already exceeded what Zabuza Momochi could earn from missions in a lifetime.

"Mmm! Mmm! (Haku, come on, come on! This place's barbecue is so tender!)"

Sen waved enthusiastically, his mouth stuffed full of meat.

"Oh, Lord Sen, eat slowly. If it isn't enough, we can order more. Look, your mouth is covered in grease."

Haku pulled a handkerchief from his clothes and wiped Sen's mouth.

"Tch, you're always so hopelessly unromantic."

Tsunade picked up the wine cup on the table, took a small sip, and rolled her eyes at Jiraiya.

"Hahaha, we'll have to go back sooner or later. I'm worried something might happen in the village if we wait too long. Besides, I believe Sen definitely won't lie to us, right?"

Jiraiya frantically signaled Sen with his eyes. He didn't believe in resurrection, but as long as Tsunade returned to the village, they could deal with everything else later.

"Of course! How about this? As the greatest warrior on the planet, I'll show you a little something first!"

Hearing those bold words, everyone became solemn. All eyes fixed tightly on Uchiha Sen.

[ Ding! Detected that the host is about to cast the Perfect Enhanced Impure World Reincarnation. Providing a casting video for the host. Simply follow the hand gestures in the video. ]

Uchiha Sen slowly rose to his feet. Both hands moved in irregular motions while he chanted with great seriousness,

"Makka Pakka, akka, wakka, mika, makka, hmm~ Makka Pakka, abba, yakka, ikka, akka, oh~ Ham, dam, akka bangi, ya, yo~"

[Thanks a lot. Could you at least look at the video...?]

"What is he doing?"

Jiraiya stood there stunned, woodenly asking Naruto beside him.

"Don't know. Looks like some kind of spirit dance..."

It was Naruto's first time seeing such a scene too. He looked no better than Jiraiya...

Zabuza Momochi's face twitched slightly. He gently shook his head at Haku, his eyes rolling up and down as though they were about to write a ten-thousand-word novel.

Look at him... Doesn't it seem like he's having another episode...? What are we supposed to do later...?

Haku shook his head, scrunched his nose, then spread both hands.

How would I know...? Isn't Lord Sen always this mysterious...?

[ Ding! Automatically defining Makka Pakka's song as the casting medium for Impure World Reincarnation! ]

[ Casting Impure World Reincarnation. Please define reincarnation targets! ]

A long string of black symbols appeared beneath Uchiha Sen's feet, extending in six directions.

"That's...!"

"It really worked?"

"Oh my god... Brother Sen is amazing!"

Sen suddenly stopped. He turned back to look at Tsunade Senju, grinned broadly, and said with a giggle,

"Pretty sister, who do you want to revive?"

Tsunade's heart pounded wildly. For a moment, she even forgot to answer Sen's question...

It actually worked. Was this real...?

After all these years...

"Lady Tsunade, Lady Tsunade? Hurry, we have to make the most of the time."

Shizune anxiously patted Tsunade from the side. A forbidden technique this heaven-defying would surely consume an enormous amount of energy. Every second was precious.

"Oh, right! Can you revive my granduncle, Hashirama Senju, and my second granduncle, Tobirama Senju first?"

"Leave it to me!"

Uchiha Sen thumped his chest, then began singing the familiar tune again...

[ Ding! Reincarnation targets locked: First Hokage Hashirama Senju, Second Hokage Tobirama Senju... ]

[ Constructing connection... ]

[ Ding! Detected that the summoned targets are protected by a special seal! Attempting to break it... ]

[ Break successful. Beginning summoning! ]

[ Current progress: 30% ]

A faint white glow rose from the formation, outlining two illusory figures.

"This is...!"

Of course Tsunade knew who those two silhouettes were. They were people she could never forget.

[ Current progress: 60% ]

The light grew brighter than before. At this point, the bodies of Tobirama Senju and Hashirama Senju had already solidified. The two figures stood where they were, their eyes closed, yet just reaching this stage was enough to leave everyone present agape.

[ Ding! Progress: 100%. Is forced control required? ]

Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju slowly opened their eyes.

"This is... Has someone revived us...?"

"No, Brother. Although it feels incredibly real, this is still Impure World Reincarnation."

Tobirama Senju was extremely familiar with the ninjutsu he had developed and immediately recognized what was happening.

"Hm!?"

A trace of displeasure appeared on Hashirama Senju's face. During his time as Hokage, he had strictly forbidden the development of this technique. Had the younger generations of the Hidden Leaf Village truly reached the point where they needed to disturb the souls of their ancestors?

And not long ago, a junior named Orochimaru had disturbed him as well. Suppressing the anger in his heart, he asked Uchiha Sen,

"Youngster, I'll give you one chance to explain yourself. If you can't satisfy me, then go down and keep me company."

An overwhelming aura erupted from Hashirama Senju's body, and the walls around the barbecue restaurant cracked apart.

"Tsk, as expected of the First Hokage... The title God of Shinobi truly isn't undeserved."

Uchiha Sen pursed his lips and immediately became unhappy.

"You damn old man, who do you think you are? If I get mad, I can knock you flat in minutes. Believe it or not!"

!!!

Oh, my dear lord... Those two in front of you aren't ordinary people...

Zabuza Momochi and Haku had already given up where they stood. There was no longer any need to plan an escape route...

"Damn it! Brother, I can sense a cold aura coming from that kid. He must be from the Uchiha Clan!"

"Hmph, a brat from the Uchiha Clan? What is the Uchiha Clan planning to do this time?"

Tobirama Senju had always loathed the Uchiha Clan. With the person who had summoned him also being an Uchiha, the atmosphere instantly became tense.

[ Ding! Two immense hostile intentions detected. Preparing to clear the summoned targets! ]

The system notification sounded. So long as the First and Second Hokage intended to attack, they would vanish in an instant.

"Granduncle! Second Granduncle!"

Tsunade's voice rang out. The two bodies trembled. If there was anything they couldn't let go of... it was surely their only granddaughter, Tsunade Senju...

The two slowly turned around...

Thanks to the Strength of a Hundred Seal, Tsunade still maintained a youthful appearance.

The First and Second Hokage were somewhat stunned.

"Second Brother... How many years have we been dead?"

"How would I know...? But when we saw the monkey last time, he'd already grown that old. Little Tsuna should be over forty by now..."

"Uh, I remember now. Mito must have taught the Strength of a Hundred Seal to Little Tsuna."

The First Hokage slapped his forehead, wearing an expression of sudden realization.

"First Hokage, Second Hokage, we had no intention of disturbing your peace. Mainly, the Hidden Leaf Village is currently unstable, and the situation in the ninja world is rather complicated. Years of fighting have left the village lacking in new talent."

Jiraiya paused, then continued,

"Also, the village elders have been recommending Tsunade to serve as Hokage... So we asked Sen to summon the two of you."

Upon hearing that Tsunade would become Hokage, Hashirama Senju's whole face fell...

"Little Tsuna... is actually going to be Hokage..."

Tobirama Senju noticed something strange and asked,

"The last time we appeared, we saw Little Monkey. He was the Third Hokage. Why is Little Tsuna becoming the Fifth?"

"Because the Fourth Hokage died in battle after sealing the Nine-Tails to save the village."

At the mention of Minato Namikaze, Jiraiya felt a little sorrowful. He had been his most outstanding disciple.

"What? That thing can die?"

Hashirama Senju said something shocking, his face full of disbelief. Wasn't it just a little pet?