Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was thinking this, Mitokado Homura, seated beside him, seemed to remember something. His expression suddenly froze, and he said hesitantly, "Wait-Koharu, I just thought back carefully over the condition of the two former Hokage. Something seemed a little off."
"?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi froze, a bad feeling suddenly rising in his heart.
Utatane Koharu also turned to look at her old classmate in confusion. "Homura, what do you mean?"
"Well-"
Mitokado Homura closed his eyes slightly, recalling the details as he slowly said, "Although the bodies of the First and Second are still there, there seemed to be several damaged areas on them that weren't there the last time we visited. As though someone had tampered with them recently.
"Could it-have something to do with Sasori of the Red Sands?"
"?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi jolted in alarm, nearly burning his mouth on his pipe. "Are you sure?"
"Not entirely. I only just remembered it. I'd like to go back and check. Hiruzen, Koharu, come with me so we can compare what we remember."
Mitokado Homura said.
As it happened, the Senju brothers' bodies had never been entirely intact.
For one thing, both had fought bitter battles before their deaths. Hashirama had died after trading fierce blows with Madara, bearing several serious injuries that even the Senju Clan's Sage Body had failed to heal. Tobirama, meanwhile, had died after barely escaping back to the village with Flying Thunder God, having been gravely wounded by the Gold and Silver Brothers' unit.
Thus, both bodies had sustained varying degrees of damage from the start.
For another, over the preceding years, Konoha had taken cell samples and flesh samples from the two on several occasions for scientific experiments.
However-
Those samples had only been taken on a limited number of occasions, with