Tobirama said coldly, "Because the way you lunged at me was embarrassing."
Hashirama was speechless.
Madara looked up at Tobirama, his expression turning colder.
Izuna finally noticed Tobirama as well.
His gaze lingered on Tobirama's face for a moment, and his lips slowly tightened.
Tobirama Senju.
Uchiha Izuna knew that name all too well.
The final wound he had suffered before his death had come from this man.
But before Izuna could speak, Hashirama had already stood up.
"Tobirama, Izuna, don't be hasty."
He took a deep breath, the embarrassing look from before fading from his face.
"The situation is complicated. We need to explain everything clearly first."
Tobirama frowned.
"Brother, you'd better get to the point."
Hashirama nodded, then launched into a lengthy account of everything that had happened.
The more Tobirama heard, the darker his expression became.
Izuna, meanwhile, glanced at Madara from time to time.
"Brother, you have to serve drinks too?"
Madara fell silent for a moment.
"For now."
Izuna's expression became complicated.
Hashirama immediately rubbed it in.
"Madara hasn't actually learned how yet."
Madara shot him a cold look.
"Have you?"
Hashirama gave an awkward laugh.
"Neither have I."
Tobirama raised a hand and pressed his fingers between his brows.
"So, after you two returned to the living world from the dead, the first thing you did was become servers at this tavern?"
Hashirama corrected him seriously.
"It wasn't exactly the first thing."
Tobirama looked at him.
Hashirama thought for a moment.
"The first thing was the boss summoning me. Then Madara explained the situation, and then we went to the entrance to greet customers."
Tobirama closed his eyes for a moment.
"What's the difference?"
Zhang Yu nearly laughed out loud.
This white-haired guy really was the ultimate straight man.
Hashirama went on to recount the theft of the Scroll of Seals, Mizuki manipulating Naruto, Madara setting the mountain on fire, how they had recovered the Scroll of Seals, and how Zhang Yu had summoned both their younger brothers after they completed the mission.
After hearing him out, Izuna slowly let go of Madara.
He turned and walked over to Zhang Yu, his hands at his sides, and bowed solemnly.
"Boss Zhang Yu."
Izuna's tone was respectful.
"Thank you for bringing me back from the Pure Land."
"If not for you, I could never have seen my brother again."
"I, Izuna, will remember this kindness."
The Uchiha Clan had always been proud.
That was especially true of an Uchiha like Izuna, who came from the Warring States era.
But at this moment, he showed no trace of arrogance.
To him, being able to see Madara again was already a stroke of fortune beyond words.
Madara watched Izuna thank Zhang Yu without stopping him.
He knew better than anyone what Zhang Yu had given him this time.
Zhang Yu waved a hand.
"No need to be so polite."
"You'll all be tavern employees from now on. Just work hard."
Izuna raised his head, his expression freezing.
"I have to work too?"
"Of course," Zhang Yu said as if it were obvious.
"The Undead Tavern doesn't keep freeloaders."
Izuna fell silent.
Madara turned his face away.
Beside them, Hashirama said quietly, "Welcome to the ranks of the servers."
Tobirama sneered.
"Brother, you've adapted quickly."
Hashirama's spirits fell again.
Tobirama paid him no further attention.
His attention had turned to his own body.
His heartbeat was steady.
His body temperature was normal.
His Chakra flowed without the slightest obstruction.
Even his muscles, bones, and nerve responses were no different from when he had been alive.
No.
He was even more intact than he had been at certain times in life.
Impure World Reincarnation was a forbidden technique he had created himself.
He knew its nature all too well.
It required a sacrifice.
It required a corpse as a vessel.
The soul of the dead was forcibly dragged back and given a shell of dust and the sacrifice. Even if it could not die or be destroyed, it was ultimately not a living body of flesh.
It could also be controlled by the caster.
But Zhang Yu's summoning was completely different.
No sacrifice.
No binding talismans.
No cracks from Impure World Reincarnation.
No stiffness from being controlled.
This was no mere improvement on Impure World Reincarnation.
It had gone straight past the limits of Ninjutsu.
Tobirama looked at Zhang Yu. For the first time, the coldness was gone from his face, leaving only curiosity he could not suppress.
"Boss Zhang Yu."
"Your ability to summon the dead doesn't belong to any technique known in the Shinobi World."
Zhang Yu smiled.
"That's why I'm the owner of the Undead Tavern."
Tobirama said gravely, "I've studied forbidden techniques for years, but I've never seen a method like this."
"If I hadn't experienced it myself, I wouldn't believe anyone could restore a complete physical body to the dead without a sacrifice or a price."
At that, he glanced at Madara, Hashirama, and Izuna.
"And even preserve their peak strength."
All four of them looked at Zhang Yu at once.
Hashirama's gaze held gratitude.
Madara's was appraising.
Izuna's held respect.
Tobirama looked as if he had found the source of a forbidden technique he could not decipher.
With four legendary figures looking at him, Zhang Yu appeared perfectly composed, but inwardly, he was thrilled.
After night had fully fallen, Zhang Yu assigned the four of them rooms to rest in.
Madara and Izuna naturally stayed close to each other.
Hashirama excitedly wanted to chat with Tobirama all night, but Tobirama shut him down with a single sentence: "I need some quiet to sort through the information."
Zhang Yu carried the Scroll of Seals upstairs and returned to his room.
The moment he closed the door, the smile slowly faded from his face.
As good as it felt, there was still one thing he had to face.
He was too weak.
Without the tavern's rules and his undead employees, any random Konoha Genin could give him more trouble than he could handle.
If he kept relying on his employees for protection, he would never feel at ease.
Zhang Yu placed the Scroll of Seals on the table and took a deep breath.
"The treasure of the Hokage world."
"I'm counting on you tonight."
He unrolled the scroll.
The first thing he saw was Multiple Shadow Clone.
Farther down was the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags.
Forbidden techniques filled the scroll, packed so densely that the sight made his scalp tingle.
At first, Zhang Yu was full of anticipation.
Five minutes later, he fell silent.
Ten minutes later, he rubbed his temples.
Fifteen minutes later, he couldn't resist slamming his face onto the table.
"Who can understand any of this?!"
He raised his head and stared at the scroll in despair.
"I know every word, but put together, they might as well be a heavenly book."
"Chakra circulation routes, technique structures, coordinate markings, the basics of Sealing Jutsu..."
"I don't even have Chakra, and you expect me to learn Flying Thunder God?"
"Isn't that like throwing an advanced calculus exam at a kindergartener?"
The more Zhang Yu read, the more exhausted he felt.
The Scroll of Seals was indeed a treasure.
But the problem was, a treasure still needed someone who could use it.
Right now, he was like someone who had never learned addition or subtraction opening a top-level research paper. All he gained from it was a reason to question his life.
Just as he was about to keep struggling through it, a notification suddenly popped up from the chat group in his mind.
[New undead employees detected.] [Invite Tobirama Senju and Uchiha Izuna to join the Undead Tavern Work Group?]
Zhang Yu's eyes lit up.
"I almost forgot about this."
"Invite them."
[Tobirama Senju has joined the group chat.] [Uchiha Izuna has joined the group chat.]
The next second, the group exploded.
[Hashirama Senju: Tobirama! Can you see this? This is the boss's chat group. It's very convenient!] [Tobirama Senju: I can see it. Brother, stop spamming.] [Hashirama Senju: Tobirama, you just got here, so you might not understand it yet. Your big brother can teach you.] [Tobirama Senju: I already understand the basic functions. Brother, please be quiet.]