Ninja World: I, Kisame Hoshigaki, am no longer human!

It's terrifying and hateful.

However, if we really trace it back, the Impure World Reincarnation technique was invented by Tobirama Senju, making the Second Hokage the true originator. Therefore, Konoha has no right to criticize Nagato's actions.

"Lord Hokage, the First and Second Hokage are looking this way." At this moment, Minato Namikaze reminded Jiraiya, bringing the latter back to his senses.

"Let's go over there."

Jiraiya dared not delay and immediately instructed Minato and Hiruzen Sarutobi to follow him out of the crowd and arrive opposite Hashirama and Tobirama.

Although the two were puppets summoned by Nagato, their souls were unmistakably their own. And so—

"The Fourth Hokage, Jiraiya, pays his respects to you both."

Upon meeting them, Jiraiya bowed respectfully to both of them.

"Hmm, not bad." Hashirama Senju nodded, sizing up Jiraiya. Sensing the immense chakra within the latter, his first impression of this junior was fairly good.

"The Fourth Hokage? That monkey guy, did he step down from the position of Third Hokage?"

"The monkey," said Tobirama Senju, who was standing to the side. The "monkey" he was referring to was Hiruzen Sarutobi, because the latter was thin and wiry like a monkey when he was young, which is why he got this nickname.

Upon hearing this, Jiraiya subconsciously glanced at Hiruzen Sarutobi beside him and whispered, "Sensei, what do you think..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi hesitated for a moment, then took it.

"Monkey, it really is you."

Tobirama Senju stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi, seemingly having seen through the latter's disguise long ago, and sighed, "Unfortunately, now is not the time for reminiscing. Tell me, what's going on with that girl Tsunade? I think I sensed some grievance in her tone."

His face was stern and his eyes were sharp. As soon as he said these words, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt extremely nervous and uneasy.

"First Hokage, Second Hokage, it's all my fault."

After a moment of silence, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally spoke, taking full responsibility. Under the watchful eyes of Hashirama and Tobirama, he truthfully recounted to them the peace negotiations that had taken place in Konoha more than a year prior, the reasons for Tsunade's departure from the village, and his subsequent resignation.

During this process, the expressions on their faces grew increasingly surprised, and their brows furrowed more and more tightly. They never imagined that so many things would happen in Konoha in the years since their deaths.

After hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's confession, Hashirama and Tobirama exchanged a glance.

“Monkey, it’s not entirely your fault about Tsunade. You don’t need to blame yourself too much.”

Hashirama Senju crossed his arms and said in a deep voice, "After all, it was I, the First Hokage, who formulated the policy to make the Senju clan abandon their surname and integrate their bloodline into the various clans and commoner families of Konoha. The extinction of the Senju clan was inevitable. As long as it brings prosperity to Konoha and a wealth of talent, that's enough. It was my oversight that I didn't consider Tsunade's feelings, leaving her isolated in the Senju clan and causing her to harbor resentment towards the village's leadership."

"I also bear some responsibility."

Tobirama Senju also spoke up, “After my brother died, I didn’t cremate his body immediately. Instead, I kept it to conduct research on Wood Release. I started this project first. You, Danzo, Homura, and Koharu, as my students, restarted this project, so there’s nothing to criticize. The only mistake you made was keeping it from Tsunade, which is why she was so angry.”

"Tobirama, I'll say it again. If you had just kept quiet back then and hadn't used those weird and forbidden techniques, there probably wouldn't be so much trouble now."

Hashirama Senju sighed, feeling helpless towards his younger brother.

Tobirama Senju turned his head away aloofly, neither commenting nor denying it.

After learning the truth about Tsunade's defection from Konoha from Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hashirama pondered for a moment, then instructed Jiraiya and the other two: "My brother and I were summoned here by that young man named Nagato using the Impure World Reincarnation technique and are being manipulated by him. We are likely to engage in battle with Tsunade soon. During this time, you must not interfere. We will handle it. Understand?"

"Yes."

Jiraiya quickly agreed. At the same time, he also revealed information about Nagato's Rinnegan to the two of them.

"What did you say?! That young man's Rinnegan was transplanted from Uchiha Madara?" Senju Hashirama exclaimed in shock upon hearing this.

From Jiraiya, the two learned that the Senju and Uchiha clans of Konoha were both descendants of the Sage of Six Paths, but the former inherited the Yang Release energy from his body, while the latter inherited the Yin Release energy from his eyes.

Madara Uchiha, through a meticulously planned fake death, successfully obtained the power of the Senju clan by using the flesh he bit off Hashirama, and combined it with his own Uchiha power to form the power of all things in the universe.

He awakened the Rinnegan.

All of this is truly astonishing.

“Brother, what the Fourth Hokage said is very likely true. After Madara died at your hands, I… did not destroy his body, but planned to keep it for research in order to find a way to deal with the Uchiha clan. I never expected that his body would disappear without a trace and escape right under my nose.”

Tobirama Senju's revelation of this secret event corroborated the truth of Jiraiya's words and further proved the necessity of cremation.

"..."

Speechless, Hashirama Senju looked at Jiraiya and the other two, asking with a puzzled expression, "But how did you know all this?"

This earth-shattering secret, at least Madara Uchiha himself, would certainly not reveal. But judging from Jiraiya's tone, it seems that these things are already common knowledge.

"It was revealed by the Fifth Mizukage, Kisame Hoshigaki, at the Five Kage Summit not long ago. He was the successor of Shikkotsu Forest and a sworn enemy of Nagato, the successor of Ryuchi Cave. However, he had already perished in the battle that broke out at the Five Kage Summit. His death was also the fuse that ignited the Fourth Shinobi World War."

Jiraiya answered truthfully.

Kisame Hoshigaki?

This unfamiliar name caused Hashirama and Tobirama to frown once more. This person seemed to be at the very center of the ninja world's vortex, and the current war was also caused by him.

"Wait a minute. Nagato just said that Tsunade not only joined Kirigakure but also became the Mizukage's wife. That means Tsunade's husband was the deceased Kisame Hoshigaki, right?"

Suddenly remembering this, Tobirama Senju frowned and pressed Jiraiya for an answer.

"...That's right, that's how it is."

Jiraiya replied bitterly.

Hashirama Senju, oblivious to Jiraiya's odd behavior, turned to Tobirama with a curious expression and said:

"Now that you mention it, I'm quite interested in this Kisame Hoshigaki. I really want to meet him and see what kind of man he is that Tsunade could fall for. Unfortunately, he's dead, just like us."

Hashirama Senju was quite concerned about his granddaughter's life and marital happiness. Moreover, although he said he didn't care, he still hoped that Tsunade could give birth to an heir to continue the last bloodline of the Senju clan.

“Don’t rush, perhaps we can meet him there after our souls return to the underworld,” Tobirama Senju echoed, also expressing strong interest in Kisame.

"Alright, have you said enough nonsense?"

Just then, Yahiko pushed Nagato's wheelchair towards them. Jiraiya and the other two immediately tensed up, assuming a defensive posture, ready to engage in battle at any moment.

"You may all leave now."

Hashirama Senju gave the three of them an order, and after they retreated back to the Konoha camp, he looked at Nagato and said, "So, you resurrected us brothers just so we could help you fight Tsunade?"

"Otherwise what? Are you two trying to say that you can't bring yourself to do it?"

Nagato countered with a question.

“Young man, I don’t know whether to call you bold or foolish. You should know that the Impure World Reincarnation is a technique I invented, so undoing it is a piece of cake for me.”

Tobirama Senju stared at Nagato, speaking coldly, and immediately began forming hand seals. But his expression quickly froze, and he stopped, muttering, "This... how is this possible..."

"Of course I thought of that."

Nagato, confident and arrogant, said to Tobirama, "Although you invented this technique, it's not perfect. So, I used the power of the Rinnegan to enhance it and added some of my own elements. How does it feel?"

"I underestimated you." Tobirama Senju spat lightly and snorted coldly.

"You two now know why Tsunade defected from Konoha. For a man, she didn't hesitate to ruin the reputation of the Senju clan and Konoha, choosing to stand on the opposite side of the entire ninja world alongside a vicious person like Kisame Hoshigaki. She committed a colossal mistake, bringing shame upon your clan. Now, Nagato has given you an opportunity to personally cleanse your house, so what are you still hesitating for?"

Yahiko also spoke up.

"Tsunade did make some mistakes in this matter."

Hashirama Senju said in a deep voice, glancing at Tsunade not far away, but then shook his head and spread his hands, "But she is, after all, my most beloved granddaughter. As her grandfather, I must support her no matter what. So, I refuse."

As soon as he finished speaking, the First Hokage plopped down on the ground and began to slack off.

“Give up, young man, we will not serve you,” Tobirama Senju said, and sat down on the ground.

When Tsunade saw this, she was stunned for a moment, and a warm feeling welled up in her heart, turning into emotion.

"Sigh, there's just no way around it."

Nagato sighed helplessly. The reason he had been so busy was to get the two of them to willingly fight for him, so that they could unleash their full potential before they were born and defeat Tsunade.

But now it seems that, faced with the two who have chosen to give up, he has no choice but to settle for second best and let him personally take control of them.

Thinking of this, Nagato raised his hands and formed a hand seal.

Swish.

In an instant, the eyes of Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju dimmed, and their expressions became blank, like two marionettes.

242. Invincible against ten thousand men

As Nagato activated his technique, the wills of the Senju brothers, Hashirama and Tobirama, were temporarily suppressed, and their bodies were completely taken over by Nagato.

"Although you can't unleash your full power in life, you were still two of the strongest Hokage in Konoha, especially Hashirama Senju, who was known as the God of Shinobi and was on par with Madara Uchiha. So, let me see what you're capable of, and I hope you won't disappoint me."

Nagato murmured, and as soon as he finished speaking, he manipulated the two of them to rush towards Tsunade.

The battle has begun.

Facing the two elders, Tsunade remained calm and showed no fear.

When she was very young, they were towering figures, legendary ninjas who dominated an era, whom she could only look up to from the foot of the mountain. But now, she too has climbed to the summit of the ninja mountain, able to look at them at eye level, or even look down upon them.

Even if they were at their peak, Tsunade was confident she could defeat them. Not to mention, right now they are just two manipulated puppets, and the strength they can unleash is quite limited.

Splash!

At this moment, Tobirama Senju made the first move. After forming hand seals, he opened his mouth and spat out a stream of water that spun rapidly upwards like a tornado. The water then plummeted down like a waterfall after reaching mid-air, eventually forming a large river on the ground that swept towards Tsunade.

Water Escape·Water Rushing Waves.

Tobirama Senju was also a ninja with an extremely terrifying amount of chakra. He was able to create large-scale water flows out of thin air in places where there was no water, giving him a geographical advantage.

In an instant, half of the battlefield was submerged by the water. Tsunade was also affected. By the time she regained her footing, the ground around her had completely turned into a lake.

But Tobirama's figure had also disappeared without a trace.

Underwater.

Through her senses, Tsunade saw a figure in her mind moving at supersonic speed underwater, like a nimble shark.

Water Release: Wave Strike.

After creating a favorable environment for combat using Water Release, the Second Hokage could glide quickly across the water's surface or dive underwater, using high-speed water currents or other ninjutsu to attack enemies. In this environment, he could constantly ambush his opponents, who would be unable to defeat him and would eventually be defeated.

stop!

Sure enough, a torrent suddenly shot out from under the water, heading straight for Tsunade.

Tsunade's gaze sharpened, and she made no attempt to dodge. In an instant, one of her arms expanded, transforming into a large tree that stretched forward, blocking the impact of the water-style torrent.

Not only that, Tsunade's tree-like arm also entered the water, splitting into a large number of vines and branches, launching a massive encirclement and attack on Tobirama Senju underwater, quickly forcing him to the surface.