New Mission

Sunagakure

High-Level Conference Room

The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, had died, and his corpse was missing. For the time being, all matters large and small within Sunagakure were being handled by the elders led by Chiyo.

Chiyo straightened up, her tone brooking no argument.

"Orochimaru's ambush on the Fourth Kazekage can be set aside for now. We'll deal with it later."

"Right now, we need to discuss Tobirama Senju's resurrection. Everyone, our Konoha Crush Plan with Orochimaru has failed. This will undoubtedly provoke a fierce response from Konoha."

"How should we handle this in order to quell Konoha's anger?"

As the wife of Reto, the First Kazekage, Granny Chiyo had lived through the war-torn Warring States Period and several Shinobi World Wars. She understood all too well how terrifying Tobirama Senju was.

"Sunagakure has now lost its Kazekage, and even our Jinchuriki is being held inside Konoha. Meanwhile, Konoha has gained Tobirama Senju, an exceptionally powerful Second Hokage. If we do not handle this properly, it will be a devastating blow to Sunagakure."

After Granny Chiyo finished speaking, her younger brother Ebizo rose to his feet as well and said,

"Sunagakure cannot afford to offend Konoha right now. We must first dispel Konoha's intention to settle accounts with us. If we want Tobirama Senju to spare us, the only option is to seek peace talks with Konoha."

"If we want peace talks with Konoha, we can only pay the price they demand in exchange for the Sunagakure shinobi and Jinchuriki being detained by Konoha."

"However, Sunagakure's land is barren and its resources are scarce. If Tobirama Senju makes excessive demands..."

Before Ebizo could finish, the hardliners of Sunagakure took over.

"Tobirama Senju may be strong, but Konoha might not have that many other powerful fighters. If he remains unsatisfied, we can join forces with Iwagakure, which is equally wary of Konoha, and pressure them. At worst, we'll start the Fourth Shinobi World War!"

His meaning was clear. Ceding territory and paying reparations was acceptable, but if Tobirama Senju refused to accept what was offered, they would join forces with Iwagakure, perhaps even the other four great shinobi villages, and launch the Fourth Shinobi World War against Konoha!

"I agree!"

"Agreed!"

"I second that."

As soon as the old man sat back down, the other Sunagakure elders voiced their agreement.

Hokage's Office

Tobirama finished signing a document in his hand and stretched lazily. Though his Impure World Reincarnation body would not grow tired, mental exhaustion still left him somewhat weary.

This damned Hokage job—being the head of a village meant that he had to personally review and sign off on every little matter in Konoha. Even a mission to find someone's lost cat required his signature before it could be issued. It truly left him speechless.

"Don't bother me with matters like this in the future." Tobirama Senju pointed at the documents on the desk and spoke to Shikaku Nara beside him.

"Yes. It truly is inappropriate to trouble the Hokage with such affairs." Shikaku Nara nodded.

"By the way, Gaara, Sunagakure's One-Tail, is still being held, right? Has Sunagakure made any response?" Tobirama Senju asked.

"Yes, Lord Hokage. Elder Chiyo of Sunagakure has proposed sending envoys to Konoha in half a month to discuss peace talks. They said they would offer compensation satisfactory to you in exchange for Sunagakure's Jinchuriki." Shikaku Nara flipped through the documents in his hands as he explained.

"Oh? They want to redeem their Jinchuriki?"

The corner of Tobirama Senju's mouth lifted slightly.

Previously, letting Sunagakure redeem Gaara would not have been impossible. Unfortunately, once he gathered all nine Tailed Beasts, he would be able to resurrect and obtain a Sage Body.

Sunagakure's request likely could not be granted. He wondered if they would lash out in desperation.

Tobirama Senju thought wickedly.

"Shikaku, I'll leave the rest to you. I'm going out for a walk. I've been resurrected for so long, yet I haven't properly seen the current Konoha."

With a wave of his hand, Tobirama Senju walked straight out the door without caring about Shikaku Nara's reaction.

"Ah?"

Looking at the mountain of documents piled beside him, Shikaku Nara let out a long sigh.

With such an absentee Hokage, who knew whether it would be good or bad for Konoha...

--

Walking along Konoha's streets.

Tobirama Senju looked to either side of the road.

Having shinobi really was convenient. Although Konoha's buildings had been reduced to ruins in the joint assault by Sunagakure and the Sound ninja, after such a short period of reconstruction, the entire village no longer looked as though it had endured a major battle.

The shattered ground had also been restored to its original state through one Earth Release technique after another.

Along the way, the villagers who saw Tobirama Senju warmly greeted him one after another.

Tobirama Senju was not aloof either, returning their greetings with a faint smile.

This sparked another rumor throughout Konoha that the Hokage treated people kindly.

He paid no mind to what they thought as he wandered aimlessly through the streets.

At that moment,

Tobirama Senju spotted a very familiar brat.

The boy had his hands shoved into his pockets and his eyes looking off to the side, appearing extremely full of himself.

"Sasuke Uchiha?"

Tobirama Senju had initially shown no reaction upon seeing this second male lead, but then a cold voice made his expression shift slightly.

Mission: Prevent Sasuke Uchiha from defecting

Reward: Sage Mode

A new mission had been triggered?

Encountering both Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha had triggered new missions for him.

Was it a coincidence?

Or was it because of Indra and Asura?

Or perhaps because the two of them were the protagonists?

Tobirama Senju could not figure out the conditions under which the system triggered missions. Usually, the system was as lifeless as a corpse. If he could not still view his status panel, he would have suspected that it was gone.

However, after seeing the reward, Tobirama's expression brightened.

Sage Mode was indeed quite good.

Orochimaru had spent his entire life without even qualifying to cultivate it, yet Tobirama could obtain it merely by preventing Sasuke from defecting.

Sasuke would not be running away.

He, Tobirama Senju, would take on the dangerous task of saving the world.