Izuna raised both hands high.
Hiruzen was momentarily stunned. So this is the younger brother of the Shinobi World's Shura, the lifelong enemy of Tobirama-sensei?
He's surprisingly sensible…
But Izuna didn't have a choice…
What he cared about most, aside from his elder brother, was his clan.
And right now, the Uchiha were living under Sarutobi Hiruzen's rule. Acting tough here—what would that even achieve?
Now there was also this "Seisui"…
Though, in theory, Izuna and Seisui were of the same generation, he knew perfectly well in his heart—this was his grandson!
Not paving the way for his descendants was one thing, but if he caused trouble over something as trivial as pride, that would just be stupid!
Besides, the situation was stronger than the man…
With Mito, the Nine-Tails, and Hiruzen all sitting here…
Not to mention that he was currently just a soul—even if he were at his peak, with his Mangekyō dōjutsu…
If they really fought, he'd definitely be the one going down.
"So you're half a Konoha shinobi?"
Mito gave Hiruzen a glance, signaling that she would handle Izuna. "And where exactly does that claim come from?"
"Izuna, don't embarrass yourself by trying to play clever tricks. You know what I'm capable of…"
The little fox stood on Mito's shoulder and chimed in: "This great me also has malice sensing! If you show even the slightest sign of something off, just wait—we'll use all kinds of methods to make you talk! There are nine whole methods to get the truth out of you—Mito just told me that in secret!"
At that moment, the Nine-Tails stared straight into Izuna's eyes, feeling an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.
This was a feeling it had never experienced before…
So what if he was Madara's younger brother?
Even if you have the Mangekyō Sharingan—do you dare use it on me?!
'So this is what it feels like to have companions… to belong to a group?'
The Nine-Tails smacked its lips. This feeling… wasn't bad at all.
Izuna's face darkened.
In the past, Mito could already analyze a person's condition through chakra fluctuations, heartbeat, and various physical responses using her Mind's Eye of the Kagura refined to the extreme…
And now she had the Nine-Tails acting as her accomplice!
How was this any different from mind-reading?
Tobirama, hiding within the mental space, let out a long sigh.
This was exactly the kind of interrogation he used to suffer under Mito…
With the Mind's Eye of the Kagura pushed to its maximum, once Mito asked a question, she didn't even need to hear the answer…
The body's involuntary responses would reveal everything.
And now, with the Nine-Tails assisting her—that was downright terrifying just thinking about it!
But now, none of that mattered…
Because it had nothing to do with Tobirama anymore!
Right now, he was Seisui—just a young Uchiha boy…
Izuna's eyes darted around, and he raised both hands again: "Hey now! Others might not know, but Mito—you do, don't you?"
"Back in the day, when the Senju and Uchiha fought to the very end, both sides actually considered negotiating peace. It's just that the hatred between the clans was too intense, so the fighting had to continue until both sides were exhausted…"
"But there was restraint—important figures were avoided to prevent the situation from escalating further."
"Wasn't it like that when I fought Senju Tobirama?"
Mito nodded slightly. "Go on…"
That part, at least, wasn't a lie.
"Tobirama was just too despicable…"
"In our final battle, when we were clashing blades, he had clearly fallen under my Sharingan genjutsu—but I didn't use Tōenmaru to strike his vital points. I just kicked him away!"
"And yet he had secretly prepared a Flying Thunder God Slash and heavily injured me, leading to my death…"
"Otherwise, I should've been one of Konoha's founders—ranked at least within the top five…"
"And besides, my brother is one of Konoha's founders, and I'm still a member of the Uchiha clan. Calling myself half a Konoha man isn't unreasonable," Izuna said sincerely.
A series of question marks slowly surfaced in Tobirama's mind.
How could this guy lie with a straight face like that? How was this his fault?!
Sure, I stabbed your chest with Flying Thunder God Slash—but did I finish you off afterward?!
Didn't I spare you?!
'Your death—wasn't it because you refused to bow your head to me? Otherwise, with big brother and Mito stepping in… and with my techniques… you stubborn mad dog—so long as you hadn't breathed your last, would you really have died?!'
Tobirama ranted inwardly.
And not just that—there were also the Senju, the Uzumaki, and a whole group of clans skilled in medical ninjutsu or possessing special constitutions…
If Izuna had lowered his head back then, and Madara had come to plead for him, dying would've been the hardest thing to achieve!
'Damn Izuna, making it sound like I'm some underhanded sneak attacker…'
'Weak is weak, stubborn is stubborn—and you still refuse to accept it?'
'With your stagnant Warring States-era level, even if you were revived one day, you'd still be beneath me!'
'With Uchiha power and a second life to refine myself, my upper limit is already beyond what someone like you could ever imagine…'
'Even your Mangekyō dōjutsu has been seen through by me—you have no secrets in front of me!'
Although no one could hear it… just muttering it out in his mind made Tobirama feel much better.
Faced with Izuna's defense, Mito let out a soft chuckle.
"Is that so?"
"Then why do I feel like, after being ambushed by Tobirama, you lost your composure? You lost your reason, forgot the possibility of peace talks, and insisted on giving your eyes to Uchiha Madara so he could defeat the Senju by force…"
Mito spoke in a low, measured tone: "If you didn't want to die back then, would you really have died?"
"After learning of your death, Tobirama went back and stayed gloomy for several days… saying that an Uchiha like you actually lost your rationality, and that as his destined rival, you shouldn't have been at such a level…"
At that moment—
Whether it was Izuna's emotions, Tobirama's, or a mixture of both…
In any case, fine beads of sweat formed on "Seisui's" forehead.
'Mito… you could even deduce that? And after I died, Tobirama actually looked down on me?!'
'Sister-in-law, what are you even saying to this guy? You're making it sound like I actually regret that bastard!'
Hiruzen was completely baffled.
'What exactly is going on between Tobirama-sensei and Uchiha Izuna…'
'They're clearly sworn enemies, but why does it sound like their relationship is… complicated?'
'So do they want to kill each other or not?!'
It was seriously twisted…
Mito sensed Hiruzen's confusion, turned to look at him, and sighed.
"Hiruzen, you were still too young back then—you don't understand the relationship between the Senju and the Uchiha…"
"Those two groups are very strange…"
"When they hate each other, they wish they could tear each other apart piece by piece! But when they reminisce, they'll even pass information to each other…"
"And it's a good thing most of them are men—otherwise it'd be just like those romance novels… lovers forced into opposing camps, having no choice but to fight each other for the sake of their clans…"
"Oh, you have no idea, Hiruzen!"
"Just hearing about it gives me a headache… cases where a Senju and an Uchiha were originally close, but after one killed someone dear to the other, they end up clashing blades with expressions and words full of both love and hate—those happen all the time…"
After encountering an old acquaintance from the Warring States period, Mito's long-suppressed complaints burst forth like a flood, pouring out in a torrent…
Back then, just watching Hashirama and Madara together had already made her frown—she had always felt those two were… strange.
Tobirama and Izuna both broke into even more sweat.
Neither of them could refute Mito…
But they really couldn't stand this kind of slander!
Still, setting aside the fact that both of them firmly believed they wanted the other dead…
As for the relationships between other Senju and Uchiha, Tobirama and Izuna both had to admit that some of them were indeed… twisted.
'Honestly, sister-in-law has had nothing to do all these years in the village—she must've read too many strange novels… Though, to be fair, there really is something off about big brother and Madara.'
'She could actually see that much? The relationship between my brother and Hashirama is indeed strange… and some of the other clan members are like them too…'
Hiruzen turned his head and looked expressionlessly at "Seisui."
Tobirama's heart skipped a beat.
Oh no… my image as tall, mighty, and peerlessly brilliant in Hiruzen's eyes—Mito didn't just ruin it, did she?!
"Mito-sama, you've had it hard!"
Hiruzen said sincerely to Mito, "All these years—it really hasn't been easy for you…"
The Third Hokage of Konoha had truly been shaken by the tangled Warring States bond between the Senju and the Uchiha.
What a bunch of unbelievable people…
"Ah…" Mito sighed and shook her head.
All these years, Hiruzen was the only one who had ever said she had it hard!
What a good child…
"Izuna, the mechanism behind your summoning dōjutsu—Isshin has already reported it to me."
"Although Mangekyō abilities are overbearing, my sealing techniques are also somewhat accomplished. Keeping you confined within Seisui's body so that your consciousness cannot seep out—that is something I can do."
Isshin opened his mouth.
He wanted to say—
If that happened, Izuna's power wouldn't be usable by Seisui at all!
A human soul and chakra aren't like a tailed beast… it's not something you can just seal inside the body and use like a rechargeable battery…
But after thinking it over, the current Konoha—and Seisui—didn't really seem to need Izuna's power that much…
Isshin cast a helpless look toward his former idol and chose to tightly shut his mouth.
'Good luck, Young Clan Head…'
Hearing Mito's threat, Izuna took a deep breath.
He had no doubt whatsoever that Mito would actually do it.
She was a ruthless woman who always followed through on her words!
After all, how could someone capable of handling Senju Hashirama be an ordinary person?
Izuna still wanted to observe the development of the Uchiha clan, to offer advice and strategies for his clansmen…
And with how compatible Seisui was with him, the dōjutsu consumption of "Yata Spirit Invocation" was extremely low…
Izuna had also been thinking of protecting Seisui for a while—at least until he had enough strength to defend himself…
To act as a so-called "guardian"!
If he were sealed away by Mito, all of that would become empty talk!
And the thought of being sealed—it already felt unbearably suffocating. It would be better to return to the Pure Land…
"Mito, the rights and wrongs of the past, all that chaos—it's impossible to sort them out clearly."
"You can sense my chakra, my emotions…"
Izuna's expression turned serious. He tightened the Adamantine Sealing Chains around himself, even lifting a sharp section and lightly pressing it into "Seisui's" body.
This way, Mito could perceive things even more clearly.
Seeing this, Tobirama's brow twitched…
What terrible driving manners! He's definitely remembering this grudge…
"My impression of Konoha as it is now is very good."
"Although Sarutobi Hiruzen is Tobirama's disciple, he hasn't been tainted. Instead, he has inherited Hashirama's breadth of mind and great compassion—something even I admire."
"His fireside talks—Seisui replayed them for me through genjutsu. I listened, completely captivated."
"This is the village I long for, the collective I want to help build. In a Konoha like this, the Uchiha clan will certainly live far, far better than they did in the Warring States period!"
"Mito, I love the Uchiha—you know that."
Izuna spoke with utmost sincerity.
And under the combined perception of Mito and the Nine-Tails, every word of this statement was judged to be true.
There were no signs of anything abnormal…
Only, Tobirama silently added another entry to Izuna's tab.
And there you go again—calling Hiruzen big brother's disciple… are you ever going to stop?!
Mito narrowed her eyes.
This was one of her habitual pressure tactics…
Even when she knew the other party was telling the truth, she would not rush to state her conclusion.
Instead, she would use her sensory abilities to apply pressure—showing even the slightest hint of doubt would force the other side to reveal more real information.
Sure enough, Izuna's heart skipped a beat.
'Looks like I can't hide it from Mito… I'll have to tell her about Seisui's identity…'
Tobirama watched the scene with a faint smile.
He knew this all too well!
Izuna, can you still hold on? Just spill all your other thoughts honestly!
Maybe you'll even end up saying something about Madara…
"Mito, Seisui is very special…"
After hesitating for a moment, Izuna finally spoke in a deep voice, "He is a child cursed by his bloodline!"
Mito raised an eyebrow.
Isshin, standing to the side, also grew tense: "Young Clan Head, are you referring to Seisui's bloodline illness? I know his condition was severe, but I clearly cured it with 'Sukunahiko Iyume'!"
"It's not a bloodline illness. It's something more troublesome—a curse brought by lineage…"
"It's something no dōjutsu can heal."
Izuna let out a sigh.
And at that moment, Tobirama suddenly realized what Izuna was about to say…
Even though he had already prepared himself mentally, he still couldn't quite hold it together at this point…
The king of outrageous rumors was about to strike!
Isshin grew even more worried, and even Hiruzen showed a curious expression.
What had Izuna discovered?
Had he uncovered Tobirama's true identity? That would certainly carry weight—but this clearly wasn't that.
But aside from that, what else could make Izuna so serious?
"Seisui…"
"Is the child of me and Senju Tobirama's offspring—that is, my grandson, and that guy's grandson as well!"
"Therefore, I will absolutely not harm Seisui, nor will I make use of him…"
"I know he was rescued from Kusagakure and has lived a very hard life since childhood. I only want to pass down all my skills to him, so that he can live a better life in a good place like Konoha…"
Izuna spoke with a heavy expression, his sincerity unmistakable: "If you say I have any ulterior motive…"
"Then it is that I want him to lead the Uchiha clan toward a better future! I also want him to become Hokage one day…"
"I know Konoha does not value bloodline inheritance… but at the very least, as a descendant of Senju Tobirama, even if he is an Uchiha, he should still have a chance, right?"
"As long as his contributions to the village are great enough and his character is good enough, I believe the Third Hokage is a fair man!"
Izuna's words were utterly shocking, plunging every being present into silence…
As if some supreme sealing technique had suppressed all speech!
Hiruzen rarely lost his composure, but now his expression twisted slightly.
What in the world is all this?!
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