Just as the experiment was about to begin, Jiraiya tilted his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through the heavy metal door to the end of the corridor.
"Wait."
Jiraiya's voice was low, his Adam's apple bobbing once. "Someone's coming."
Black Zetsu, who was preparing to merge into the incubation tank, paused. Its eyes narrowed as its black fluid body rapidly contracted, seeping into the shadows beneath the lab table like a pool of ink.
It didn't want any complications at a time like this.
Minato Namikaze's azure eyes fixed on the door.
"It's Lady Tsunade."
Minato exhaled, but his tense shoulders didn't relax. "Her chakra fluctuations are erratic. Her current state... something's not right."
Orochimaru stood before the console and reached out to shut down several running instruments.
The humming faded, leaving only the sound of bubbles gurgling in the incubation tank.
"I specifically reinforced the barrier on this floor," Orochimaru said raspily, his fingertips lightly tapping the tabletop. "She shouldn't have been able to sense any chakra reactions here."
"Boom!"
Before he could finish, a loud explosion shook the incandescent lights overhead, causing dust to rain down.
The alloy door, strong enough to withstand an explosion from paper bombs, couldn't even hold out for a second. It buckled inward, twisted, and finally blew off its frame entirely.
The heavy metal plate slammed onto the ground, sliding for several meters until it crashed into a specimen rack in the corner.
Dust filled the air.
A figure stood at the entrance, her chest heaving.
Tsunade maintained her punching stance, her long blonde hair draped messily over her shoulders, her light brown eyes bloodshot.
Her eyes were fixed on Minato, completely ignoring even the pale experimental subject nearby.
"Tsunade..."
Jiraiya started to step forward but was pushed back by the sheer aura radiating from her.
She strode into the lab, the glass shards crunching beneath her feet.
"He's calling me," Tsunade murmured, looking down.
"Grandfather... is calling me."
Minato and Jiraiya exchanged a glance.
"Lady Tsunade," Minato said, appearing at her side with a Body Flicker, his tone as gentle as possible. "The First Hokage passed away decades ago. There are only... experimental subjects here."
"No, it's not some dead thing."
Tsunade turned her head sharply, her gaze making even Minato's heart skip a beat. "It's a voice. Just now, he was calling my name. That chakra resonance... I could never mistake it."
Tsunade subconsciously rubbed the necklace around her neck. "This is what brought me here."
Orochimaru narrowed his snake-like pupils, his tongue licking the corner of his mouth.
He walked to the other side of the incubation tank, checking the readings inside.
"Interesting," Orochimaru muttered to himself. "Just now, to facilitate the fusion with Black Zetsu, I pushed the activity of the Hashirama cells within the host body to its limit. Could that have opened some kind of connection between the Pure Land and the living world?"
"The Pure Land?"
Perched on Minato's shoulder, Gamakon hopped down, landing on a table covered in blueprints. "That makes sense. This body combines the powers of the Uchiha, Hyuga, and Senju. In a sense, it really is the container closest to the Sage of Six Paths."
Gamakon grabbed an apple and blew on it. "Since the signal tower is built, it's not impossible for someone on the other side to want to make a call."
"But..." Hiashi Hyuga stood in the corner, the veins around his Byakugan yet to recede. "How can a dead man speak? This defies common sense."
Fugaku Uchiha said nothing, merely staring at the incubation tank, the three tomoe in his eyes slowly spinning.
He felt it too.
Just a moment ago, the chakra flow inside the host body had fluctuated for an instant. That wave of energy—powerful and domineering—didn't belong to anyone present.
"Regardless of common sense," Tsunade took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, though her voice still carried a hint of urgency, "Grandfather must have something to say. That call was too desperate; there must be an urgent matter he needs to tell me."
She turned, her gaze sweeping over the room like a blade.
"I want to see him," Tsunade said. "Since you've created this thing that he reacts to, you must have a way for me to see him."
A brief silence fell over the laboratory.
Minato rubbed the bridge of his nose.
What a mess.
He had originally just wanted to resurrect Kaguya, but they ended up attracting the First Hokage instead.
"Well, there is one way," Gamakon said, taking a bite of the apple. The crisp sound broke the silence. "If you want to know what a dead man has to say, why not just call him up and ask him face-to-face?"
Everyone's eyes instantly converged on Orochimaru.
As high-ranking members of Konoha, they were naturally aware of the forbidden jutsu developed by the Second Hokage.
Reanimation.
And Orochimaru just happened to have practiced this forbidden technique.
"Don't look at me." Orochimaru spread his hands, a playful smile on his face. "This is a forbidden jutsu that desecrates the dead. Tsunade, didn't you used to hate me researching this the most?"
Tsunade's expression shifted.
She did indeed loathe this technique.
Toying with the souls of the deceased and forcibly pulling ancestors back from the Pure Land was the ultimate disrespect to life.
But the palpitation she felt just now was too strong.
It was a blood-related warning, a call from Hashirama Senju across the divide of life and death.
"Do it," Tsunade uttered, her voice dry. "Orochimaru, I agree to it this time."
Tsunade wasn't blind to what they were doing here; it was likely just more experiments she disapproved of.
But now, there was nothing left to say.
"Since you've given the word." The curve of Orochimaru's lips widened, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
Being able to personally summon the man known as the God of Shinobi was an irresistible temptation for him.
"Are there enough sacrifices?" Orochimaru looked at Minato. "Is there any stock of White Zetsu left?"
Minato shook his head. Orochimaru's experiments over the past few days had been so frantic that they had long since run out of White Zetsu.
"Use this." Black Zetsu's voice came eerily from the shadows.
The ground split open, and a White Zetsu was tossed out by Black Zetsu.
This White Zetsu rolled twice on the ground, looking around at the gathered masters with a dazed expression. "Huh? What's going on? I was just watching how people take a dump..."
"White Zetsu are products of the God Tree with immense vitality; they are the best containers." Black Zetsu emerged halfway from the shadows, its single eye staring at Tsunade. "Since the First Hokage has something to say, I'd quite like to hear it too."
It was also curious.
Why would that long-dead reincarnation of Asura jump out now?
Had he sensed Mother's presence?
"Very well." Orochimaru grabbed the White Zetsu by the neck and pinned it to the floor.
Before the White Zetsu could even struggle, its movements were sealed by the curse mark in Orochimaru's hand.
Orochimaru pulled a scroll from his robes; it was the reanimation catalyst he had prepared long ago.
He had been looking forward to this day for a long time!
He casually grabbed a handful of cellular tissue overflowing from the side of the incubation tank and smeared it onto the scroll.
"Ninja Art: Summoning: Reanimation!"
Orochimaru wove hand signs so fast they were a blur.
Finally, he slammed his palms onto the ground.
Black runes slithered from his palms like a swarm of snakes, instantly covering the White Zetsu's entire body.
"Agh!!!" The White Zetsu let out a scream as its body was enveloped by dust and paper-like debris.
The debris rapidly piled up and took shape, obscuring the White Zetsu's original appearance in the blink of an eye.
A massive pressure of chakra suddenly descended upon the narrow laboratory.
Glassware groaned under the strain, and the overhead lights flickered.
Hiashi Hyuga and Fugaku Uchiha both stepped back simultaneously, cold sweat breaking out on their foreheads.
This was... the God of Shinobi?
Just the residual chakra alone made it difficult for them to breathe.
The dust settled.
A man wearing red plated armor with long black hair slowly opened his eyes.
The whites of his eyes were black, and his pupils held a trace of confusion.
Hashirama Senju looked down at his hands, then at his surroundings.
"This is..." Hashirama scratched his head with a simple, honest look. "Weren't I dead? Why am I out again? Is Tobirama at it again with his messy experiments?"
"Grandfather!" Tsunade could no longer contain herself and rushed forward, only to stop two meters away from him.
Hashirama looked toward the sound. Seeing Tsunade's face, he froze for a moment before letting out his signature hearty laugh.
"Oh! It's little Tsuna!" Hashirama pointed at her. "You've grown so much? Seems I've been dead for quite a while. So, do you still have enough money at home to spend?"
The heavy atmosphere in the lab was instantly shattered by those words.
Everyone's expressions became a bit strange.
This was the legendary First Hokage?
Why did he seem... a bit dim-witted?
"Grandfather! This is not the time for that!" Tsunade gritted her teeth, tears in her eyes. "You called me. Just now, your chakra was calling out to me."
"I called you?" Hashirama blinked, his smile fading.
He closed his eyes, as if sensing something.
A moment later, he snapped them open. His gaze bypassed Tsunade, landing on the massive incubation tank and Black Zetsu hiding in the shadows.
His simple, honest demeanor vanished completely.
In its place was a terrifying pressure that seemed to shift the very heavens.
It was the dominance of the man who had pacified the chaotic era and suppressed the Tailed Beasts.
"I see." Hashirama's voice grew deep. "I sense an extremely evil and familiar aura... something I felt back when Madara and I fought at the Valley of the End."
He raised his hand and pointed at Black Zetsu in the shadows.
"It's you, isn't it?"
Black Zetsu's body suddenly shrank back.
'He found me?'
'How is that possible? I watched that entire battle back then, and Hashirama shouldn't have been able to sense my presence at all.'