Sasuke stared at Shigure with a killing intent that had yet to fully fade.
Shigure noticed the gaze immediately and smiled.
"What's wrong?"
Sasuke opened his mouth. He wanted to ask whether Shigure could also bring his clan back to life.
But this wasn't the right moment.
The words lingered in his throat. In the end, he simply said, "Let's return to the village."
Shigure nodded. He had been thinking the same thing.
There was still a great deal that Kirigakure needed to handle.
"Then let's go."
The Akatsuki had essentially been dealt with. As for Uchiha Obito and the remnants still lurking in the shadows, there would be time to hunt them down later.
And Orochimaru—who knew where he was hiding now—would also require some effort to track.
None of that was urgent.
As Shigure and the others turned to leave, the Fourth Raikage suddenly spoke.
"Mizukage-dono. You eliminated the Akatsuki members… but what about the tailed beasts?"
Tailed beasts.
The Raikage's concern was obvious—the Eight-Tails and the Two-Tails.
Shigure glanced back. "What about them?"
Under that gaze, the Raikage felt an overwhelming pressure descend on him.
He had no intention of clashing with Shigure now.
"I merely wish to know," he said in a low voice, "where the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails of Kumogakure are."
"They're in Kirigakure."
Shigure's tone was calm.
"Is there a problem?"
The pressure intensified. The warmth in Shigure's eyes had vanished.
The Raikage stiffened.
Was the Mizukage intending to keep Kumogakure's tailed beasts?
Kirigakure already possessed multiple tailed beasts—the Three-Tails and the Six-Tails among them. Did he truly intend to consolidate even more?
"…Nothing," the Raikage finally said.
Shigure turned without another word, leaving with Sasuke and the others.
Behind him, the Raikage's face darkened. After a moment, he waved his hand and led Darui and the others back toward Kumogakure.
Watching both sides depart, Hashirama Senju fell silent.
The situation was troubling.
He had personally distributed the tailed beasts among the villages after the founding of the Five Great Nations, intending to maintain balance.
Now, the Mizukage was openly retaining Kumogakure's tailed beasts.
From a power perspective, Kirigakure already possessed the Three-Tails and Six-Tails. Kumogakure's Eight-Tails and Two-Tails were no weaker.
Concentrating so many tailed beasts in one village was not wise.
A single tailed beast was already a calamity-class existence. Mishandled, it could devastate an entire village—an entire country.
Let alone several.
If something went wrong, the consequences would be catastrophic.
With heavy thoughts, Hashirama followed Naruto and the others back to Konohagakure.
Konoha was in uproar.
The First Hokage—long dead—had returned to life.
But Hashirama was just as stunned.
His granddaughter, Tsunade, was the Fifth Hokage.
For a long moment, he didn't know what to say.
He knew Tsunade's personality and temper better than anyone. She was strong, capable—but also impulsive, stubborn, and fond of gambling.
Could she truly bear the weight of Hokage?
Upon returning, the first thing Hashirama did was seek Tsunade out and ask about everything that had happened in Konoha over the years.
As Hokage, Tsunade could only smile bitterly.
Before taking the mantle, she had believed Konoha to be a noble village, carrying on her grandfather's will.
But after becoming Hokage—and gaining access to sealed archives—she had come to understand the full extent of what had happened under the Third Hokage's administration.
Some decisions had protected the village.
Others had left scars that still had not healed.
Naruto's treatment alone was enough to make Tsunade furious.
Danzō had deliberately exposed Naruto as the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki—publicly labeling him as the "Nine-Tailed Demon Fox"—yet concealed the fact that he was the son of the Fourth Hokage.
As a result, the entire village directed fear, hostility, and hatred toward a child who had sacrificed everything for them.
If not for Shigure and Sasuke's presence, Naruto might truly have been swallowed by darkness.
When Hashirama Senju learned of this, his expression turned frighteningly grim.
"A bunch of fools!"
"All they know how to do is scheme against their own!"
To Hashirama, these events were nothing short of Konoha's darkest chapter.
Even his younger brother, Tobirama Senju, had made grave mistakes.
Because of personal prejudice, Tobirama had marginalized the Uchiha clan, planting the seeds of distrust that eventually led to their destruction. In Hashirama's eyes, that decision had irreparably weakened Konoha.
As for the Third Hokage, whom Tobirama had personally appointed—
Hashirama's disappointment was evident.
Aside from maintaining internal control, what lasting contributions had he truly made?
Weak toward external threats.
Harsh toward his own people.
Was that worthy of the title of Hokage?
Tobirama had indeed cultivated talented disciples. Yet among them stood both brilliance and darkness—Hiruzen Sarutobi, and also Shimura Danzō.
Danzō was ruthless and extreme, iron-blooded in method.
But Hiruzen's indecision had allowed shadows to fester.
"The Second Hokage made the wrong decision," Hashirama said coldly. "And the Third carried that mistake to the end."
"You've all forgotten something."
"Konoha was not founded by the Senju alone—it was founded by the Senju and the Uchiha together."
The village still stood.
The Uchiha were extinct.
What bitter irony.
"Grandfather…" Tsunade sighed.
"Now isn't the time to dwell on past mistakes. News of your resurrection has already spread across the shinobi world. The other villages are on edge."
The revival of the First Hokage sent shockwaves throughout the Five Great Nations.
Hashirama Senju—the man who had once ended the Warring States Era—had returned.
That alone was destabilizing enough.
But matters did not end there.
In recent years, Kirigakure under the Sixth Mizukage had risen with alarming speed. Tailed beasts were being gathered one after another. There were even rumors that Kirigakure had collected every tailed beast from the One-Tail to the Eight-Tails.
Only the Nine-Tails of Konohagakure remained outside their grasp.
If tailed beasts were the shinobi world's equivalent of nuclear weapons—
Then Kirigakure now possessed nearly ninety percent of that destructive power.
And on top of that, the God of Shinobi himself had been resurrected.
A wolf in front.
A tiger behind.
How could the other villages not feel threatened?
Kirigakure.
Shigure had temporarily secured the three newly obtained tailed beasts. The next step was to select suitable jinchūriki candidates and perform the sealing.
This required caution. A jinchūriki without proper compatibility would either die during the ritual or lose control afterward.
At the same time, another matter demanded his attention.
Konan—the sole surviving member of Akatsuki—had been saved by Terumī Mei.
Shigure did not understand why Mei had chosen to spare her.
To him, Konan was irrelevant. Whether she lived or died made little difference.
"Shigure!"
After Shigure finished reviewing most of his affairs, Sasuke approached him.
"I have a request."
"I know what you want to say," Shigure replied calmly.
Ever since Hashirama's resurrection had been revealed, Sasuke's expression had been different.
"You want your clan back."
Sasuke did not deny it.
"…Can you do it?"
Shigure answered without hesitation. "Yes."
Then he paused.
"But I cannot accomplish it alone."
Resurrection on that scale was no ordinary technique.
Even the most forbidden ninjutsu required conditions—sacrifices, preparation, and a price to be paid.
"It will require cooperation," Shigure continued quietly. "And the proper medium."
His gaze sharpened.
"And once we begin… there is no turning back."
(End of Chapter)
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