Konoha Notes.

Chapter 564 Twilight and Fireflies

Xiu Si's goal of achieving victory in one battle was ultimately not achieved.

The Sixth Generation spent nearly two days in the alternate dimension but failed to find Isshiki's Ten-Tails.

During this period, apart from a few dim-witted thieves who thought Konoha's contraction of defenses was a sign of fatigue and wanted to take advantage of the situation, the real target never showed up.

After his triumphant return, the Sixth Generation did not make a public appearance but instead went to the hospital to visit Kai.

Kai was wrapped in bandages, but his breathing was steady and he could even be considered strong.

Konoha's Azure Beast failed to kick out Night Guy, and his foot was naturally not injured, so there was no major loss.

"We can use the remaining time to search and capture them slowly."

Tsunade leaned against the door of the hospital room, her tone unusually gentle. In her view, defeating that Otsutsuki was already an achievement beyond imagination. She even reassured Shuji, saying that she was keeping an eye on Guy and there was no need to worry.

Then she walked around Xiu Si once.

First, she poked at his white coat, feeling the strange texture, then she reached out and poked at the skin on his exposed forearm.

"What is this? Has it mutated?"

"It's an outer layer of protection made up of tree and tailed beast chakra," Shuuji said, letting her poke him around. "It can effectively block attacks from ordinary ninjutsu."

His current form is similar to that of the Sage of Six Paths. Ultimately, the foundation of the mother plant originated from the Tailed Beasts, and the chakra of the nine tailed beasts was originally divided by the Sage of Six Paths.

When entering the Bloodline Limit mode, the old man even gave it a push, providing some ready-made reference templates.

The law of the ninja world has always been this: the more complete one's control over power, the more similar one's outward appearance is to the source.

Tsunade thoughtfully withdrew her hand, looking him up and down at his current appearance: white hair, fair skin, and flowing robes.

"Do we have to keep doing this from now on?"

"We can adjust it later," Xiu Si said casually. "It shouldn't take too much time; we just need to find a solution."

"Are you planning to hide until you're back to normal before going out?"

Shuji said, "I'm sure those gentlemen will understand the small favor of withholding information about the tailed beast research."

"But compared to talking to them in this ancient manner, it would probably be more comfortable for everyone to have a conversation in human form."

The highest level of alert in Konoha Village was officially lifted on the day Shuji returned.

Residents who were evacuated to the shelters are gradually returning home.

The ninja dog patrol team resumed its daily schedule, and the ninja academy began to calculate the time for resuming classes. Everything is returning to normal at a reassuring pace.

Once life begins to sprout, it cannot be contained.

Hashirama Senju stood atop the Shadow Rock, with his younger brother Tobirama beside him.

Hashirama stared at it for a long time.

"When I died, I was optimistic," he said with a touch of emotion, "but I never imagined that the village would actually continue to this day, and even successfully reach the sixth generation."

Tobirama stood beside him, and the light also fell on the Hokage Rock.

"That's for sure. Even in the worst of times, the interests of all parties can't be completely aligned."

"The goal of war is to acquire resources for survival. As long as the people managing the village retain enough rationality, it will not come to the point of destruction."

Zhujian gazed at the still-uncleared ruins outside the village.

"It's such a pity that we couldn't see the entire venue area, or the Joint Affairs Bureau building."

The First Hokage, with his keen eye, noticed the largest wreckage among them. The crooked main frame still stood stubbornly, while the surrounding piles of rubble seemed to have been deliberately left in place.

"That's the competition venue, right? Aren't you planning to demolish it?"

"It must cost a lot of money to rebuild such a large building."

Hashirama slapped his biceps with one hand.

"I'll help—"

"No need." Tobirama pressed down on his shoulder.

Hashirama turned his head and saw a subtle expression on his younger brother's face.

"That place was left by Shuji to be demolished by someone else. The war is over, and the demolition team will be here soon to handle it."

"Ah—I see—" Hashirama Senju responded softly. "Speaking of which, have the future successors already been decided?"

"Originally, there were only two competitors, but now there might be one more contender," Tobirama said.

After Tobirama finished speaking, knowing that Hashirama wanted to see the children who were capable of inheriting the Will of Fire, he took him to the West Suburbs Experiment Building.

Naruto and Sasuke were both outside the laboratory building. One was squatting on the steps, resting his chin on his hand, while the other leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, their faces showing similar displeasure.

"They said they'd be facing stronger enemies, but I didn't even get a chance to fight!" Naruto started complaining as soon as he saw Tobirama. "I was fully prepared!"

Sasuke didn't agree, but his expression clearly showed he didn't disagree with Naruto.

After Hashirama and Tobirama approached, he walked straight up to Tobirama.

"Second Generation Leader, these eyes can be returned now."

The battle is over; the enemy he had to pay a price to fight is gone.

Therefore, continuing to keep the father's eyes would be meaningless.

Tobirama's answer left no room for negotiation.

"The timing of the return will be decided after Fugaku and Kabuto discuss it further."

Sasuke's brow furrowed: "What the Sixth Hokage needed was the chakra that Naruto and I had activated, and that's now done."

"So, how do you plan to activate the kaleidoscope?"

Tobirama's tone turned cold.

"Wait until you feel powerless before using regret to motivate yourself?"

"Don't you know which carries less risk: suddenly opening your eyes when faced with an irreversible defeat, or using your mature eye power to reverse the activation now?"

Hashirama quickly stepped in, waving his hands in front of him.

"Don't say that, Tobirama. Isn't this child's intention very good?"

"Shut up, brother."

Tobirama didn't even turn his head; Jikki remained fixed on Sasuke.

"Now is the best time to use the kaleidoscope eye power of your closest relative to activate your own eye power in reverse."

"Whether you retrieve it a few months earlier or a few months later makes no difference to Fugaku. What matters to you is all the variables that may arise in the next few years."

He looked at Sasuke's slightly tightened jawline, his tone remaining completely unchanged.

"Don't let your emotions control you; make a rational judgment about gains and losses."

"You should have learned this by now, right?"

Tobirama and Sasuke exchanged glances. Since he was guiding this second son of the Uchiha clan as a mentor, he had to do his best to avoid the possibility of Sasuke's personality changing drastically due to the stimulation of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Sasuke understood from his eyes and looked away, saying, "I can control it."

"I believe in your talent," Tobirama said. "Even if I can't witness that day, I believe you will be able to better fulfill the path of Hokage in the future."

As soon as he said that, Naruto couldn't stand it anymore.

"Second Hokage! You can't ignore this! I'm the one who's going to become Hokage!"

"You're a lot like your older brother." Tobirama glanced at him, "but you're even more carefree. The things you'll have to deal with in the future won't be solved just by being enthusiastic and getting along with everyone."

"Uh—in front of the children—" Hashirama protested weakly, but it had no effect whatsoever.

Naruto immediately turned his gun around, pointing his finger at Hashirama with an accusatory tone.

"Uncle! He's your brother, right?! How can you let him talk to his own brother like that?!"

"Ah, I understand!"

Naruto punched the palm of his hand.

"The Second Hokage, like Sasuke, is awkward around his older brother!"

After saying that, he made a face at Tobirama.

"That's not entirely true—" Hashirama tried to defend his brother, but his voice grew softer and softer until he finally lost all confidence.

Sasuke didn't participate in this childish argument. His gaze remained fixed on Tobirama, catching something unusual in those cold, red eyes.

Kabuto, leading Neji out of the lab building, overheard the latter part of the conversation. He adjusted his glasses.

"After all, the Second Hokage was entrusted by the Hokage to guide Sasuke-kun, so it's only natural that a teacher would have more confidence in his disciple, Naruto-kun."

His voice was gentle, and he smoothly took over the conversation.

"The Fourth Hokage will likely have even more faith in your ability to win."

Naruto immediately stopped making faces and puffed out his chest: "Of course it's my victory! Kabuto-nii-san thinks so too, right?"

Kabuto smiled slightly: "If Neji-kun didn't participate, I don't know who would have the advantage. But right now—"

He didn't finish his sentence, but instead gave Neji a meaningful look.

Naruto blinked for several seconds, processing the information, before suddenly turning to the silent Byakugan-wielding boy.

"Neji too?!"

"The position of Hokage has never belonged to any one person." Tobirama's tone was calm and composed. "Anyone can compete for it as long as they are qualified. Just because you took the first step doesn't mean the future is set."

Hashirama walked up to the three children, his gentle gaze sweeping over their faces one by one.

His gaze lingered on Naruto for a moment, then on Sasuke for a moment, before finally settling on Neji's Byakugan eyes, which were as calm as a still lake.

"Having my comrades in my heart and gaining their approval is just the beginning; that's all I've achieved."

"You are better than us, and you do a better job."

Naruto opened his mouth; he sensed a change in the atmosphere, something seemed off.

The layer of impure earth dust on Hashirama's body began to dissipate outwards at an extremely slow pace.

Debris also rose from Tobirama's body. First from the edges of his shoulders, then from his cuffs, tiny particles of light peeled away from his body made of impure earth.

"I've already prepared a file of all the data related to the experiment, and I'm returning it to you here, Poo."

Kabuto bowed slightly: "First Hokage, Second Hokage, don't you plan to say goodbye to the Hokage and the others?"

Hashirama's voice was as gentle as his smile: "What needed to be seen has been seen. The farewell was done decades ago."

Tobirama put it more bluntly: "We have nothing more to say, and we no longer need to concern ourselves with Madara's affairs."

Kabuto paused for a moment: "About the Impure World Reincarnation—"

"Shuji has already confirmed with the Sage of Six Paths that the flaws in this technique will be fixed later. The Pure Land world originally belonged to his power; it's just a matter of whether he wants to create it or not," Tobirama explained calmly. "There's no need to be wary of us being reincarnated anymore."

The moment he finished speaking, large clumps of dust began to fall off Tobirama Senju's body.

The same applies to Hashirama Senju.

The dust that had been forcibly gathered together was stripped off from them, turning into tiny specks of light that gradually dissipated into the air.

Only two spirits, their outlines now transparent, remained in place.

The coldness on Tobirama's face melted away at that moment.

"Don't come too early. I will wait for news from the village in the Pure Land."

Sasuke closed his eyes, his lips pressed into a thin line, and his Adam's apple bobbed slightly.

"----yes."

Hashirama smiled at the three children and gave them a thumbs up.

Then he looked up at the sky, which was dyed orange-red by the sunset. The outline of the spirit became fainter and more blurred, until it finally merged with the light of the sky.

The same applies to Tobirama.

Naruto stood there, stunned, watching the two beams of light rise into the sky and disappear completely into the afterglow at the edge of the clouds. His lips moved several times.

Then he suddenly turned around and ran towards home.

When Naruto pushed open the door, Minato Namikaze was tidying up the house.

He carefully placed the folded clothes into the closet, smoothing out each wrinkle and arranging them neatly. Next to the closet were several open storage boxes, already filled with various odds and ends.

Minato heard footsteps.

"You're back so early today."

Naruto stood in the entryway, his hand still resting on the door frame.

A thin layer of sweat glistened on his forehead, and his chest heaved rapidly.

"dad."

Minato put down the clothes he was holding and turned around.

When Naruto saw that Minato was still there, he first breathed a sigh of relief, but before he could fully exhale, he swallowed it back down.

He took a few steps forward and grabbed Shuimen's arm, his fingers clenching tightly.

"The first generation of uncles, the second generation of uncles—already—"

"That Pure Land, and that immortal, will they also make you..."

Minato looked down at the top of Naruto's head.

He didn't speak, but just smiled quietly.

Naruto understood, and his eyes began to well up with tears. He blinked hard, trying to force back the soreness, but the more he blinked, the itchier it became, until even the bridge of his nose started to ache.

Minato said softly, "Mom has been waiting for a long time."

Naruto responded with a nasal tone. His voice was muffled, with a tremor he himself didn't even realize.

"Is there anything you want to tell your mother?"

"I—I'll eat well and sleep well—" Naruto's voice was broken, pausing after each word. "—Okay."

He came down to get some fresh air, "and then, and then..."

He could say no more, and could only watch as the arm he was holding slowly lost its substance.

When he closed his fingers, Naruto could only grasp a tiny bit of ashes in his palm.

I will tell her.

After Minato finished speaking, the reanimated body completely dissipated. The last thing Naruto saw was the touch of his father's hand on his forehead before his spirit vanished.

Through the headband, through the skin, through the blurred vision of tears.

"Keep it up, Naruto!"

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