Konoha: Offer your heart to the Hokage!

His eyes turned sinister and resolute.

As expected, the worst fears came true: Zenji announced his candidacy, making it difficult for Hiruzen to become the third generation.

The assassination plan is imperative.

Gospel Hospital.

The news of the director's candidacy quickly spread among the staff. It was the duty of the medical jonin to cast their vote of confidence in their founder for the Hokage, not only for themselves but also for the jonin patients they treated.

Not voting? Forget the red envelope, just wait to get your lifeline cut off!

Ninja Academy.

This place is also a stronghold for the Zen couple. With their prestige, the moment the news spread, the Ninja Academy's votes of confidence were already plentiful.

Police Department, Secret Service...

He raised his arm and called out, and the people of Konoha responded in droves, winning votes and following him.

Sixteen years of patience and accumulation have now culminated in victory.

...

three days later.

Shen Er was not blinded by the impending victory and, still maintaining a cautious attitude, visited the Senju clan.

After all, we are taking the Hokage position from someone else who has been passed down for two generations, so it is only right to be polite and show respect.

He first visited Mito Uzumaki.

Tsunade was attending the Ninja Academy at the time and was not at home.

The private meeting allowed Shinji to get a good look at Mito at that moment.

Time has left its clear marks on her; the wrinkles around her eyes can no longer be concealed, and her once-thick red hair has lost its luster. Now over fifty, her physical functions and vitality have clearly declined.

Especially after Tobirama's death, her overall condition deteriorated further.

The series of misfortunes befell those she knew, which dealt her a heavy blow, causing her bond with Konoha to weaken and her spiritual energy to decline.

When faced with the visit from Jin, Mito Uzumaki frankly stated her position:

"Go ahead and do it. You deserve it."

"This matter was not well thought out by Tobirama. In terms of seniority and ability, you far surpass Hiruzen Sarutobi and are fully qualified to succeed as Hokage."

"Although Tobirama's decision to cover the retreat was his own, it's a fact that their reputations in the village have suffered. The most important thing for a Hokage is gaining the villagers' approval. If Hashirama were still alive, he would definitely choose to support you..."

Mito's statement represents the stance of the Senju clan.

Both the Senju and Uchiha clans will stand firmly on Jin's side.

Even in a formulaic way, we express our gratitude and pledge not to betray your trust.

But beneath this facade of sincerity, his thoughts had already drifted far away, calculating the day of Mito's death.

Mito Uzumaki is the only remaining remnant of the old era. Of the original three great figures who once held Konoha together, she is now the only one still alive.

According to the original timeline, she would have passed away after passing on the Nine-Tails seal within her to Kushina Uzumaki. The Land of Whirlpools was destroyed and Kushina joined Konoha around year 30, which is exactly nine years from now. At that time, Mito would be over sixty years old, which would be considered a natural death.

Shen Er's mind started racing, and a ruthless idea popped into his head.

Should we just strike ahead of time and wipe the Uzumaki clan off the map? Force Mito's spiritual energy to weaken and prematurely pass on the Nine-Tails?

But the idea vanished in an instant and he immediately rejected it.

He already had the Four-Tails sealed within him, and until artificial human technology matured, he lacked the means to contain and seal the Nine-Tails as well. He would make his move once Kushina was brought to Konoha.

Furthermore, if the Land of Whirlpools had been destroyed prematurely, it's uncertain whether Nagato would have been born. And if Nagato hadn't been born, it's unknown to whom Madara Uchiha would have ultimately passed on the Rinnegan.

Patience must continue! Learn patience from Shen Er.

After bidding farewell to Mito, Shinji went to Tobirama's residence and met Senju Momoka.

The other party seemed to have anticipated his visit and was sitting quietly in the living room waiting, with a sealing scroll prepared in advance.

With Tobirama gone and Ken'yu Senju at school, she was left alone at home as the widow, making the situation rather desolate.

"Shen'er, you've come."

"Lady Taohua".

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the conversation finally veered in a sensitive direction.

Tao Hua nodded, her tone calm: "I know the whole story, you don't need to explain further. This is fair competition, and even if Hiruzen ultimately loses, he can't blame anyone else."

"Yes."

After saying this, Tao Hua handed the sealing scroll to Shen Er.

"This is……?"

"Tobirama instructed me before he died that if anything happened to him, I should give this sealing scroll to you. He said that once you see it, you will know what to do. I don't know what's inside; you can open it when you get home."

Tao Hua explained, but still kept the fact that there were two scrolls hidden.

It wasn't that he was wary of Shen'er, but rather that the other scroll was for his son Xianxiong; in terms of blood relations, Shen'er was ultimately an outsider.

“Tobirama’s relics…” Shen Er suddenly realized and nodded, “I understand.”

Shen Er vaguely guessed what was inside the sealed scroll, so he got up to say goodbye and said, "Then I'll go back first."

"it is good."

...

Shen Er returned to his mansion.

He took out the sealing scroll and unsealed the sealing spell on it.

In the center of the scroll lies an ancient wooden box.

Upon opening the box, one finds only a finger's width of flesh and blood, just enough to perform the Impure World Reincarnation.

Shen Er's gaze was deep as he murmured:

"really……"

"Tobirama, are you hoping I'll revive you using the Impure World Reincarnation technique?"

Chapter 173 The Shen'er you know never existed in the first place.

The moment he saw the flesh and blood, he immediately understood Tobirama's plan.

Tobirama...

Even the wisest person would leave this piece of flesh and blood as a backup plan. Even if they were to die an unexpected death someday, Shen'er could use the Impure World Reincarnation technique to revive them.

This was a secret they had agreed upon. No one except Tobirama knew that Jinji could also be resurrected using the Impure World Reincarnation technique. The enemy thought that killing Tobirama would solve everything.

Even the reanimated ninjas used for the speech in front of the Shadow Reaper were created with Tobirama's help.

In the past few days, neither Senju Momoka nor Sarutobi Hiruzen had approached him about this matter, which confirmed to Shinji that Tobirama had kept the secret for him.

The problem is that it's a secret.

The second half of the saying "Even the wisest man can make a mistake" is that he will eventually overlook something.

This inevitably reminded Shen Er of a very classic scene.

[By using Agul's energy to reverse Gaia's heavy particles, Gaia can be transformed into an antimatter Ultraman. The two human hosts agree that after resolving the problem, Agul will release a beam of light at Gaia, returning him to his normal form.]

They are both "fighting side by side" partners, and both are in a situation where if one doesn't intervene, the other will "die"... Tobirama's current predicament is like that of Gaia, the will of the earth in another dimension.

As long as Tobirama refuses to unleash the "Will of Fire" beam, he will be trapped in the Pure Land forever.

Will Shen'er act as he wishes?

The answer is obvious.

"Fire Release: Flame Technique".

Shen Er completed the hand seal with one hand, and a small cluster of flames floated out of his mouth, precisely burning that piece of flesh to ashes.

Revive Tobirama? How is that possible?

He looked at the wooden box, now reduced to ashes, and chuckled softly.

Tobirama feared that extreme circumstances would leave him with nothing but bones, so he specially created a wooden box to ensure the vitality of his flesh and blood, hoping to have a better state after reincarnation. In the end, all his plans were in vain.

The one he knew...

It never existed in the first place!

It's even less likely to be his last hope for a comeback!

After putting the box away, Shen'er's expression returned to calm.

They only burned the flesh and blood of the rear guard; Tobirama's body is currently still in the basement of Evangelion Hospital. They don't plan to touch that part yet.

It's impossible to revive Tobirama now, but it's not impossible to pull Tobirama out of the Pure Land when he becomes the most powerful being in the world.

Tobirama's research abilities are still commendable.

After leaving the basement, Shen Er went to the meditation room.

They connected with Akatsuki Village and began to gather information on the current situation from all sides.

The good news is that, after this period of training and experimentation, Uchiha Yan has confirmed that she possesses the aptitude to master the Heavenly Delivery Technique. This means that, with her cooperation, they could even use the technique to instantly teleport to any corner of the ninja world.

"Besides you, select another ninja with a clean background and send her to Konoha." After a moment's thought, Shen added, "Female ninjas are preferred."

Uchiha Yan was ultimately a rogue ninja, far away in Akatsuki Village, making it inconvenient and restrictive for her to activate the Heavenly Delivery Technique.

If a female ninja is placed in the Zen clan as a maid, the Zen clan's base can be designated as the teleportation point. At that time, his main body can travel to any predetermined location, and afterwards, Uchiha Yan can use the Heavenly Delivery Technique to send him back to his original location.

No one could realize what he was doing.

The Third Hokage of Konoha, a man of great stature, could travel between the two ends of the ninja world in the blink of an eye, appearing and disappearing without a trace.

“Alright.” Uchiha Yan emphasized, “However, the Heavenly Delivery Technique is very difficult to learn, and Akatsuki ninja may not have a second suitable candidate.”

The Heavenly Gift Technique not only demands extremely high standards from the recipient, but also requires exceptional talent from the caster. There are very few suitable candidates in the entire Hidden Cloud Village, let alone the Akatsuki Village.