Xuandou raised his right hand, signaling everyone to quiet down, then turned toward Tobirama Senju, who was still torn.
"Lord Tobirama, you don't have much time left to think."
"Great-uncle!"
"Lord Tobirama."
"Senior Tobirama-"
Faced with gazes that were anxious, urging, or pleading, Tobirama closed his eyes.
He closed his eyes.
He questioned his own heart:
Was he truly willing to become a subordinate of the Uchiha for the sake of resurrection?
Was he willing to go against his heart for Tsunade and choose a path he could not accept?
At that moment, Tobirama already had his answer.
He was the Second Hokage who had died in battle, the Clan Head of the Senju Clan, a legendary shinobi who had swept across the Warring States era.
How could he abandon his convictions for a chance to live again?
If he were that sort of shinobi, then with the speed that had earned him the title of "the fastest in the Shinobi World," how could things have ended that way?
How could he have died of exhaustion covering his comrades' retreat?
How could any of that change simply because he had died once?
And so, Tobirama opened his eyes and shook his head decisively.
"I absolutely cannot willingly submit to being ordered around."
The stone chamber fell silent at his words.
Great-uncle?
You?
Tsunade sighed helplessly. She had known this would be the outcome.
Still, compared to Tobirama's fierce temperament driving him to fight to the bitter end and take everyone down with him, this was a relatively good result.
The corners of Tsunade's mouth lifted.
Although Tobirama's choice went against her wishes, she naturally hoped he could be fully resurrected, giving the Senju Clan another member.
But as long as Tobirama was happy, that was enough.
He was her elder,