Konoha: Offer your heart to the Hokage!

Tobirama leaned weakly against the tree trunk, his tone arrogant: "No need to pretend anymore. I'll recognize your Uchiha aura even if you're reduced to ashes."

"As expected of the Second Hokage, his sensory abilities are truly admirable."

A crisp laugh rang out, and Uchiha Yan slowly removed the tiger-skin mask from her face in front of Tobirama. At the same time, she activated her Mangekyou Sharingan and stared at her opponent without any fear.

"You are..." Tobirama was somewhat surprised: "Uchiha Yan!"

"I never expected that the esteemed Second Hokage would actually remember a nobody like me."

Uchiha Yan did not rush forward, maintaining a safe distance from the heavily injured and powerless Tobirama. His tone was calm, as if he were chatting with an old acquaintance.

Those Uchiha who survived the Warring States period knew Tobirama Senju all too well. This man's hands were stained with the blood of the Uchiha clan; he was the sworn enemy of their generation of Uchiha.

Her elders had taught her never to underestimate Tobirama Senju, especially when he was weak, because carelessness could lead to her being killed.

Even after awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan, Uchiha Yan still remembered the teachings.

"Hehe, you're no nobody."

Despite prior intelligence indicating that Uchiha Yan had awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, Tobirama was still deeply shocked when he actually saw those eyes with his own eyes.

In the sixth year of Konoha, Uchiha Yan, in her early twenties, was merely an ordinary Uchiha who had awakened the two-tomoe Sharingan. In the past fifteen years, she has grown to this extent.

If this top-tier eye technique could be used by Konoha, many fewer people would die in this war.

Unfortunately, she had already become a rogue ninja of Konoha, a dangerous entity who could retaliate against Konoha at any time.

Faced with such an enemy, Tobirama harbored no illusions: "Betrayed the village, betrayed your clan, murdered your brother. Now, you've come to kill me, the Hokage. What else are you incapable of? You inherently evil Uchiha..."

"Let's get started quickly."

Killing one's brother?

Uchiha Yan's eyes flashed with a dangerous light as he was struck on a sore spot. He immediately forgot all his teachings and was about to step forward and pierce Tobirama's heart to kill him with his own hands.

The Storm Release clone saw through her intentions and grabbed her wrist.

"I'll keep my heart; I'll need it."

Uchiha Yan was furious, and her tone was somewhat impulsive: "Then I'll cut off his head!"

Even glancing at the dying Tobirama, he still shook his head and refused:

"There's no need. He'll be dead soon."

Shen Er was a kind-hearted man; Tobirama was his brother, his beloved friend and family. Taking back his heart was already too much to bear; as compensation for his guilt, let's leave Tobirama with a complete corpse.

"you……"

Uchiha Yan choked for a moment, then turned away in annoyance: "Fine, whatever! You can handle him, I'm not going to interfere anymore."

Tobirama, on the verge of death, witnessed all of this and was somewhat taken aback.

He had been paying close attention to Uchiha Yan the whole time, assuming that the strange person next to her, who was also wearing a uniform, was just a subordinate or follower, and didn't take her seriously.

But the scene before him completely overturned his understanding; reality was the exact opposite of his judgment. Uchiha Yan, who possessed the Mangekyou Sharingan, was now forced to obey the other party's orders, her status clearly lower.

The stronger the Uchiha, the more insane they become. So what kind of expert is this person who can suppress a Mangekyou Uchiha?

A strange chill permeated the heart of the dying man.

Behind this, there seems to be a profound darkness and conspiracy that he cannot see through!

Tobirama took a deep look at the Storm Release: Earth Shadow Clone, memorizing its appearance, intending to send this information back to Konoha so that everyone in Konoha would keep a close watch on Uchiha Yan and the organization behind her.

Tobirama wanted to do that, but at that moment he was so weak that he couldn't even leave behind any intelligence signals.

Tobirama, who had long since disregarded life and death, could not accept this kind of thing.

This is a desperate situation for the living, but it is not entirely hopeless.

At the start of the war, Tobirama had already anticipated his own death and laid the groundwork for a "divine contingency plan." Even if his body was taken away and completely destroyed by the enemy, he could still be resurrected through the Impure World Reincarnation.

The so-called "divine hand" refers to the two fingers' worth of flesh and blood that were sealed in two sealing scrolls at home before the battle.

He instructed his wife, Momoka, that if anything happened to him, she should give one of the scrolls to Shinji. If Shinji also met with misfortune, she should give the other sealed scroll to Senju Ken'yu when he grew up.

Double insurance.

Tobirama was not the only one who could use the Impure World Reincarnation technique.

No one could have imagined that the usually mild-mannered Zenji also possessed this forbidden technique. His son, Senju Ken'yu, inherited his talent for this forbidden art and would surely master it in time.

For the village, he would even take over Tobirama's work and lead the resurrected ninjas to fight for Konoha.

For Tobirama, death was simply another form of life.

As long as Momoka hands the sealing scroll to Shinji, even if she dies, Shinji can revive her using the Impure World Reincarnation technique. Then he can continue to protect Konoha and pass on this crucial information back.

Therefore, Tobirama felt fearless.

Death is but a fleeting moment, and for him, the time it takes to awaken again in a resurrected body is but a brief interval.

The instincts etched into the ninja's soul began to take effect, and scenes from the past flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.

Tobirama, one of the strongest Water Release ninjas, felt as if he were drowning in the deep sea, his suffocating soul sinking toward the Pure Land.

A lifetime of experiences flashed by: birth, growing up, adulthood...

Father, brother, wife, son... familiar faces gradually became blurred.

His memories kept slipping away. He forgot who he was, forgot his ninja way, forgot the honor of being Hokage... He almost forgot everything.

The scene ultimately stops at Konoha Year 9.

The man in crimson ninja armor casually announced his upcoming trip to the Valley of the End. He, the man in crimson armor, and the man in white robes linked hands and exchanged a few words…

What did they say again?

Tobirama Senju tried hard to remember, but he couldn't recall it, just as that promise could never be fulfilled. With this regret in his heart, he closed his eyes forever.

Tobirama Senju.

Born 28 years before Konoha.

He died in Konoha 21 years ago.

He was 49 years old.

Chapter 165 Konoha F4, First Blood

He waited quietly for several minutes until Tobirama Senju's chakra completely disappeared from his perception.

That severely damaged heart had completely stopped beating.

"He's dead..."

He said something with a sigh.

This is probably the best outcome; he never touched Tobirama from beginning to end.

It can be said that Tobirama's death had nothing to do with him.

If Tobirama still had the strength to move when he arrived here, he would inevitably have to fight him and personally send the weakened Tobirama on his way. Such a scene of "close friends" killing each other would be too cruel for the kind-hearted Shen.

However...

Tobirama's death may have nothing to do with him, but Tobirama's corpse must be related to him.

Just like eating barbecue at a barbecue restaurant, some people are impatient and think the meat is cooked as soon as it hits the pan; others grill it until it's charred but still think it's not done enough. Similarly, there are different standards for judging the freshness of a heart.

Without the slightest hesitation, he promptly removed Tobirama's stopped beating heart after his death.

Looking at the heart in its terrible condition, Shen Er couldn't help but frown.

It's ripe, no, it's raw, still no, the activity level is too low...

Tobirama Senju had indeed exerted all his strength to buy time for his disciples to escape, severely depleting his physical energy. In addition, his heart had been attacked by lightning release, and its activity level was far from its peak.

After being devoured by the Earthly Vengeance Demon, it requires a long process of nurturing to return to its original state.

There is no such thing as having it all.

The price of obtaining Tobirama's heart without injury is reduced activity. If Tobirama were assassinated beforehand to prevent him from putting up a desperate resistance, the heart's activity would naturally be higher.

In addition to the heart, he also took a finger's worth of flesh from Tobirama as usual.

However, he will not revive Tobirama for a very long time to come.

As the former caster, Tobirama possesses the means to break the Impure World Reincarnation technique. Unless he eventually completes the modifications to the Impure World Reincarnation system and seals this loophole, he won't be able to summon the Impure World Tobirama.

The disemboweled body of Tobirama lay silently beneath the tree.

Uchiha Yan watched this scene and was filled with emotion...

The Hokage, the second-in-command of the Senju clan, and the younger brother of the God of Shinobi, died quietly in the Land of Lightning, his heart stolen. The lives of ninjas are indeed too fragile.

With Tobirama's death, all the past grudges faded away.

Shen Er carefully put away his heart and said to Uchiha Yan, "I need to ride away. You can parachute down on the road and continue to intercept and kill Tobirama's disciples."

Originally, the Storm Release clones were also supposed to participate in the interception operation, but Tobirama's heart was clearly more important than the lives of the Shadow Guards.

In order to keep his heart as active as possible, he needs to ride the spirit beast back to the village as soon as possible.

"Should I take Tobirama Senju's corpse to the underground gold exchange and exchange it for a bounty?"

Shen Er glanced at the corpse indifferently, his tone calm and restrained: "Stay where you are, don't cause any more trouble."

When the Konoha support forces arrive and find Tobirama's body, it gives the impression that he is "uncertain of fate but may still be alive." By the time the body is found in the underground gold exchange, who knows how much time will have passed.

This is not conducive to Shen Er consolidating power.

Whether the body is taken away by the Hidden Cloud Village or simply dumped on Konoha, it's all to make them give up as soon as possible.

The two leaped onto Wu's back again, rode the wind into the sky, and disappeared into the horizon.

Long after they left, a Cloud Hidden Squad finally arrived.

The elite troops were taken back to the village overnight by the Gold and Silver Brothers, while the main force dispersed to pursue the four-man Shadow Guard. Most of the remaining ninjas who stayed to besiege Tobirama were also killed. By now, Kumogakure is short-handed.

Everywhere they looked, there were corpses, all the remains of their own ninjas. The scene was extremely gruesome, causing the Cloud Ninja present to gasp in horror.

All eyes finally fell on Tobirama Senju, their eyes filled with awe. They hesitated to approach, and only after a long period of silence did they cautiously step forward to examine Tobirama's body.

"He died, but his heart was gone."