Year 26
"??!!!!!"
Shinichi blinked, marveling at the sudden change in scenery. One moment he was at the banquet, the next – the Hokage's office, silent and empty, save for Tobirama's shadow clone and his own.
Tobirama's voice was sharp.
"Explain, Uchiha Shinichi. Why do you think war is coming? Is that what Fukashi and Sosuke told you?"
He couldn't fathom how a child, especially one who hadn't lived through the Warring States Era, could speak with such certainty. Surely, this insight came from his elders.
But Shinichi wasn't focused on the question.
He studied the room.
'Shunshin? No… this was something else. A teleportation. Space-jumping. Is it this calligraphy mark?'
His eyes landed on a calligraphic mark etched into the corner of the desk. He answered while probing with his chakra.
"It's a basic conclusion drawn from historical records and current affairs. Conflict seems to be an cycle humanity seems unable to escape."
Tobirama was unconvinced. Shinichi glanced at him, then continued.
"Major hidden villages will likely turn on smaller nations, and eventually, on Konoha within the next ten… no, seven years."
"?!!"
Tobirama reevaluated Shinichi. 'This kid…! No. He's not a kid anymore.'
Shinichi's gaze shifted from the seal to Tobirama.
"Hashirama-sama will likely die within five to seven years. And when the pillar of peace falls, the world will grow restless. Hidden villages, swollen with manpower from the baby boom of peace, will gain confidence. War will erupt. My guess is that Yugakure, Kusagakure, and Uzushiogakure will be the first victims before the major villages turn their eyes to Konoha."
Tobirama's chakra flared violently. The wooden floors and furniture groaned under the pressure.
"YOU! WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT MY BROTHER'S CONDITION?!"
His clone's chakra surged, pressing down on Shincihi's.
But Shinichi remained composed.
"Are you intending to dispel my clone?"
Tobirama paused, then lowered his chakra. He was certain that neither Fukashi nor Shinichi is capable of poisoning or causing Hashirama's condition. But it alarmed him that Shinichi was aware of it.
"Tell me what you know. Or don't expect your family to live peacefully in Konoha."
Shinichi's eyes turned crimson as his voice turned cold and sharp.
"First, don't threaten my family. You may be strong now, but if you kill me, the Uchiha won't let it go. And you know that better than anyone."
Tobirama was stunned not just by Shinichi's calm defiance but also by his matured three tomoe Sharingan.
"Second," Shinichi continued, "I thought the smartest man in the Senju clan would've realized this already."
Tobirama frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Shinichi's voice was steady. "Senju Bora died two years after killing Uchiha Tora, the contemporary Uchiha clan head. Senju Kenichi died one year after Uchiha Himitsu succumbed to his wounds. Senju Ozuki died three years after Uchiha Kawamasu fell in battle…."
"??!!!!!!!!!!"
Tobirama's mind raced.
Each of those Senju clan heads had wielded Mokuton or Senjutsu. Each had defeated a powerful Uchiha. And. Each had died shortly after.
Just like Hashriama, who had awakened both Mokuton and Senjutsu to defeat Madara.
Shinichi pressed on. "Hashirama awakened both Mokuton and Senjutsu to counter Madara-sama's Eternal Mangekyo and Nine-Tails. Based on the pattern, he'll live a little longer than the others. But no more than ten years after Madara-sama's death."
Tobirama's legs trembled.
Cold sweat dripped down his temple.
'This…. This can't be coincidence. This is designed. This is. Fate.'
Shinichi's voice rose with conviction.
"If Hashirama truly dies within the next decade… then..."
Shinichi finished the thought inwardly.
'Then I will destroy this curse. This cycle of foolishness. This mockery of mortal fate. Whoever is behind this. I will make them pay.'
Tobirama, on the other hand, was speechless. And Overwhelmed.
'Could Madara's fall have been orchestrated? Could this be the work of a god?'
He had always rejected religion as fairytales to confuse the masses; he believed that gods do not exist.
But now…
'If not god… then what?'
Shinichi's tone softened.
"I don't plan for Konoha to lose the coming war. I'm doing my best to strengthen my peers not for some grand scheme or ulterior motive. I think you understand what I'm trying to accomplish."
Shinichi locked his eyes with Tobirama.
"I have no interest in wasting time on dwelling on the past conflicts. This a new era."
Tobirama said nothing.
Shinichi gave a final nod before he dispelled his clone.
"Then goodbye."
---
Tobirama's shadow clone remained in the Hokage's office for a long moment.
Then, without dispelling, it Hiraishined to the Senju clan library.
He didn't want to alert his main body. Not yet.
He needed to confirm the records.
He spent days combing through scrolls, battle logs, and clan histories.
Every name Shinichi mentioned.
Every death
Every correlation
It was all there.
[Senju Bora – died two years after killing Uchiha Tora]
[Senju Kenichi – died one year after Uchiha Himitsu]
[Senju Ozuki – three years after Uchiha Kawamasu]
And more.
Each Senju who had wielded Mokuton or Senjutsu… had died shortly after defeating their contemporary Uchiha clan heads.
The pattern was real.
The clone had hesitated to dispel itself, knowing the shock it would cause.
But the truth could not be hidden forever.
***
Receiving the relative information from his clone, Shinichi simply nodded to himself.
Then turned back to Sakumo and Kaito, resuming their conversation as if nothing had happened.
To him, the encounter with Tobirama wasn't reckless – it was strategic.
'Better to have more allies. And what better way than to reveal the truth? That our clans are being toyed with by something beyond us.'
Moreover, he hadn't just delivered information. He had confirmed a theory.
For two years, the question had haunted him: Was it all a mere coincidence? Is Hokage healthy?
Now he knew.
'So… Senju Hashirama is indeed dying.'
A shadow passed over Shinichi's face. His eyes darkened, filled with quiet sorrow.
'Another rotten world, controlled by so-called gods.'
But he quickly recovered, masking the weight of his thoughts behind a calm smile.
Later that night, Fukashi and Minami quietly escorted Shinichi and the sleeping Kaito back home.
***
Days later.
Uchiha Compound.
Driven by curiosity, Shinichi began researching sealing techniques and fuinjutsu in the Uchiha clan's Jutsu depository. With Sosuke's permission, which was granted surprisingly easily, he gained access to the clan fuinjutsu archives.
Ever since witnessing Tobirama's Hiraishin and its calligraphic seal, Shinichi had been haunted by a memory.
'That pendant… from my past life. It had a seal. A pattern. Something similar.'
But the deeper he went, the more he realized–
'This won't improve my strength anytime soon. Better to postpone. Perhaps after the war…'
The Uchiha clan's knowledge of sealing art was limited. Their strength lay in shurikenjutsu, kenjutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu.
Their most notable seals were the Uchiha Flame Formation and the Flame Imprisonment Seal. The rest were spoils of war acquired during and before the Sengoku Era, lacking proper documentation or theoretical foundation.
'Fragments of power but no understanding.'
Shinichi closed the scrolls and made a mental note.
'I'll return to this. When the time is right.'
***
Senju compound.
Senju Tobirama had always considered himself ordinary.
Compared to Hashirama, he was nothing.
So he worked tirelessly and obsessively to close the gap.
His desperation became his lifestyle.
Researching jutsus and techniques became his refuge.
But when his clone dispelled days after Tsundae's birthday banquet, Tobirama collapsed.
For the first time in his life, he fainted.
Overwhelmed by frustration, rage, and helplessness.
When he awoke, he retraced his clone's steps.
He entered the Senju clan library and secluded himself for a month.
He read every scroll.
Every Record.
Again and Again
Trying to find a flaw.
A contradiction.
Anything to deny the reality Shinichi had revealed.
But the pattern held.
Statistics don't lie.
The curse was mutual.