This... this...
Orochimaru really was born with the body and soul of a workhorse.
Haru suddenly remembered an old discussion from his previous life about why Orochimaru had defected from the Leaf. Some guy had posted Orochimaru's mission record before he ran away.
16 D-rank missions, 332 C-rank missions, 521 B-rank missions, 491 A-rank missions, and 108 S-rank missions.
That blond brat Minato had less than a third as many S-rank missions as Orochimaru, only about two-thirds as many A-rank missions, and less than half as many B-rank and C-rank missions. In total, Orochimaru had completed around fifteen hundred missions. Assuming he started taking missions at twelve and kept going until thirty-seven, that was twenty-five years of work, averaging sixty missions a year, basically more than one every week. And the difficulty only increased as he got older and stronger, all while he also went through two wars.
Anyone worked that hard would run.
And yet that old fossil Hiruzen still hadn't chosen Orochimaru as Hokage.
Now Orochimaru was perfectly recreating his original personality. Haru didn't even need to squeeze him. He had already adapted on his own to the kind of workload awaiting him in the future. At this point, Orochimaru's face was almost on par with Tobirama's dead-man expression.
But Orochimaru was still just a child.
Haru absolutely could not exploit child labor. If something really happened to Orochimaru's body, then Haru would take a huge loss.
That kind of bad investment was unacceptable.
So when Orochimaru stubbornly insisted he was fine, Haru decisively ordered him out of the lab.
After sending Orochimaru away, Haru turned toward Tobirama, who was still busy at the experiment bench.
Tobirama kept his head lowered and acted as though Haru didn't exist, not even sparing him a glance.
Based on Tobirama's experience, if he chatted with Haru, then the outcome was always the same. Haru would mock him, provoke him, break his composure, then use Reanimation to pin him down until Tobirama was forced to pretend nothing had happened.
At that point, ignoring Haru and focusing on experiments was simply the wiser choice.
"Tobirama, want to go out for a walk?"
The instant Haru said that, Tobirama looked up.
He wanted that more than anything.
"You'd really be that kind?"
Tobirama immediately became suspicious. In his eyes, Haru was a shameless scoundrel with no bottom line. There was no way he could possibly be this kindhearted.
"Of course. I'm a boss with a conscience. Think of it as me giving you a holiday."
"No matter what, you are still the Leaf's Second Hokage."
This time, Haru genuinely did want to take Tobirama outside and let him have some air. If Tobirama stayed buried in the lab all day doing experiments, what if he fried his own brain? Even prisoners got yard time.
"Hmph. At least you still have a little conscience."
Tobirama gave a cold snort and accepted Haru's offer. As the Leaf's Second Hokage, even in death he still couldn't stop worrying about the village's future, especially since the current Hokage was an Uchiha. Tobirama was concerned about the Leaf at every waking moment.
He had been stuck in this dark underground lab with no idea what was happening outside, relying entirely on Haru's occasional boasting to learn anything about the state of the village.
Things had been slightly better lately, since Orochimaru had also told him a few things about the Leaf's current condition. According to him, the Leaf was full of vitality now, a place where everything was growing and thriving.
But hearing was one thing and seeing was another. Tobirama needed to see the Leaf with his own eyes before he could truly set his mind at ease.
"Of course, progress in the lab can't stop. You come out with me in person, and the clones keep working."
Beast.
As expected, Haru was still that same bastard. He wouldn't waste even the slightest chance to squeeze more labor out of him.
Tobirama cursed in his heart, glared fiercely at Haru, then pretended nothing had happened. He was too tired to argue anymore. By now, he was used to Haru's shameless behavior.
After disguising himself with Transformation, Tobirama followed Haru out of the underground lab and saw the long-lost moon above him.
The sun had only just set, and the moon was already out.
The night market
"This is still the Leaf?"
"It's so bright... even that light is in multiple colors."
"Were there always this many people in the Leaf?"
Back in the old Leaf, at this hour there would only have been a few scattered peddlers packing up their stalls.
At that time, electric lights in the village had been sparse and concentrated mostly among the ninja clans. Once the sun went down, the ordinary villagers all went home.
Now, as Tobirama followed Haru through the streets of the Leaf, he couldn't stop marveling inwardly.
Was this really the Leaf?
The roads had been widened by at least double, paved with smooth cement without a single bump beneath the feet. Streetlamps stood every three or four meters along both sides, illuminating the village at night until it was nearly as bright as day.
Everywhere the streets were decorated for the holiday. People flowed back and forth in endless streams. Tobirama had never seen so many people out enjoying the Leaf at night. Hawkers' cries and the noise of the crowd filled the air nonstop. It felt almost like those night markets from his previous life.
The festival Shikato had arranged was exceptionally lively, with all kinds of celebrations going on. Merchants were using the opportunity to launch promotions, and the villagers of the Leaf were happily buying everything in sight. They had worked hard all year. This was the one time they could afford to indulge themselves a little.
Most importantly, the Leaf had money now. The villagers had money now. They dared to spend now.
They believed the Leaf's future was bright and full of promise.
They believed life itself held hope.
From one corner, you could glimpse the whole picture.
Tobirama had served first as the village's executive deputy and later directly as Hokage. There wasn't a blade of grass in the Leaf he didn't know.
And yet the Leaf in front of him now was so different from the Leaf during his own rule that it felt like an entirely different species.
How wonderful.
The Leaf had crawled out of the mire of war and, in less than a year, transformed into something completely new. Its growth was so astonishing that even he, a former Hokage, felt estranged from it.
Tobirama kept looking left and right, greedily trying to etch every detail into his mind.
Then, in one glance to the side, he saw Haru looking at him with that familiar, infuriating smile.
Damn it.
That bastard definitely wasn't thinking anything good.
Then Tobirama remembered.
Haru was now the Leaf's Third Hokage. Everything before his eyes belonged to Haru now.
A wave of bitterness welled up in Tobirama's chest.
Why Haru?
Why did it have to be Haru?
The Leaf was actually developing better in Haru's hands than it ever had in his own.
What a humiliation.
No, wait.
That pain turned sharply in another direction.
Everything in front of him, the Leaf developing this quickly, at least half of the credit belonged to him.
Without him pulling full-time all-nighters every day, twenty-four hours nonstop, working under Haru's command to develop all those inventions, how could Haru possibly have built the Leaf up like this?
Even those streetlamps, those cement roads, all the core technology behind them had come from him.
Tobirama unconsciously straightened his back.
This was all thanks to my contributions.
Then he noticed the red banner hanging nearby.
"Without Lord Haru, there would be no beautiful tomorrow."
"Lord Haru is our sun."
"The strongest Hokage in Leaf history."
Tobirama's eyes widened so hard they nearly popped out.
The jealousy, the envy, the hatred.
All the dirty work had been done by him, and yet every ounce of glory and praise had been stolen by that bastard Haru.
Who in the Leaf knew that the former Hokage was being controlled by an evil Uchiha and forced to silently dedicate himself to the village from a dark underground lab every single day?
He had to set things right.
"Well, little Tobi?"
"What do you think of me as Hokage?"
"Maybe just a tiny bit better than you?"
"Look at the Leaf now. Nightlife is thriving."
Haru sounded impossibly smug. He really did think he had done an excellent job as Hokage. Surely, Tobirama would admit it just a little.
"Remember that promise between us?"
"Have you sincerely acknowledged me as the Third Hokage yet?"
"I acknowledge your ass!"
Tobirama shot Haru a murderous glare and snapped back angrily.
Inherently evil Uchiha brat.
Showing off to people who didn't know the truth was one thing, but actually bragging like this to his face too?
He had never seen such shamelessness.
"You got mad again?"
Haru shot back immediately.
This evil old ghost still refused to be honest.
"Get lost. Get lost. Get lost!"
Tobirama turned and strode ahead, refusing to let Haru ruin his good mood on a day like this.
Haru quickly followed after him. He absolutely couldn't let Tobirama wander off alone.
Before long, the two of them stopped in front of a huge poster.
On it, Hashirama and Madara stood opposite each other.
The New Year holiday film Birth of a Ninja Village had premiered that very day. It had already been building hype for an entire month, and now the line outside the cinema stretched endlessly.
The story starred two of the biggest figures in the entire ninja world, Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju. The audience appeal came built in.
Especially here in the Leaf, where villagers now had enough money to pursue entertainment too. Cinema business was booming. A movie about the birth of the Leaf was more than enough to make them willingly buy tickets.
"Want to go in and watch?"
Seeing the curiosity in Tobirama's eyes, Haru made the offer himself.
Since he had already brought Tobirama out for some air, he might as well let him have some fun too.
Tobirama didn't refuse.
He had already watched Haru's last movie down in the lab.
To be fair, Haru's previous film had been excellent. Tobirama had watched it with great interest. In that lightless underground lab, watching Haru's film again and again had actually become one of the better ways to pass the time.
A truly good movie could be watched over and over.
So this one would probably be pretty good too.
With that thought in mind, Tobirama and Haru entered the screening room. Outside, the line to buy tickets was long, but that meant nothing to Haru. All he had to do was show his face and people naturally let him through.
In the dark screening hall, shadows moved back and forth until everyone found their seats.
Then the light hit the screen.
The movie began.
The story opened with battle.
Two groups were locked in fierce combat, the backs of their clothes marked with the crests of the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan.
As the opening narration played, it slowly recounted the thousand-year grudge between the two clans.
Before long, the story's protagonists appeared.
Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju.
Just like in the anime, it all started by the river, with two children first meeting on the bank. Then came skipping stones, games, and more. Both boys tacitly avoided revealing their surnames.
Those calm days were interwoven with slaughter. Madara's brothers were killed until only Izuna remained. Hashirama's brothers were killed until only Tobirama remained.
The two met more and more often. Their conversations moved from family to war, and then from war to peace.
Madara believed that ending war required speaking sincerely with your enemy, but human hearts were too unpredictable. Such a thing was impossible.
Hashirama found himself deeply agreeing with Madara. He felt as though he had found a kindred spirit. This was exactly what he himself had always been thinking about, only no one had ever understood him before.
And now here was Madara, whose thoughts matched his perfectly.
From that day on, their relationship deepened. They became the closest of friends.
Their bond only grew stronger. They cultivated together, dreamed together, and spoke openly of the future they wanted.
On a high cliff, they vowed to build a village where children would no longer have to slaughter each other.
It seemed peaceful days might continue forever.
But their fathers had already discovered their movements. The next day, both clans followed Madara and Hashirama with the goal of killing the enemy's child.
Unfortunately for them, both families had exactly the same idea.
Madara and Hashirama each skipped a stone carrying a warning for the other to run.
That ambush failed on both sides.
At last, Madara and Hashirama learned each other's true identities.
From then on, they broke apart.
The next time they met, they would be enemies.
Tobirama sat in his chair, completely absorbed.
The memories of the past resurfaced in his mind. For a moment, it felt as though he had returned to the Warring States era.
Time had changed everything.
In the end, the fate of both clans had indeed been changed by his big brother.
Madara was nothing more than a supporting role.
The plot rushed ahead, interweaving scenes of life in the Warring States era with missions where the two clans clashed, fought, bled, and died.
Then it finally reached Tobirama's personal highlight.
Tobirama killing Izuna.
A clean kill.
While Madara and Hashirama were basically fake-fighting, the two younger brothers were going at each other for real.
At that scene, Tobirama became so excited he looked almost flushed.
Yes.
Exactly like that.
History had to be respected. That was exactly how he killed Izuna.
Unfortunately, that excitement didn't last long.
The slightly altered version of the story Haru had created soon appeared.
After a fierce battle that ended without a winner, Hashirama offered reconciliation. But Madara brought up his dead younger brother, Izuna.
Hashirama, you got the wife. You even got the child. A warm home, a happy family.
Your younger brother was still alive.
Me, Madara Uchiha, all alone.
Hashirama, hearing that, immediately pulled out a kunai and moved to stab himself in order to atone for his brother's crime.
Tobirama was standing there watching.
Then Madara and Hashirama gazed at each other with deep feeling. For the future of both clans, and to stop them from being trapped forever in mutual slaughter, Madara magnanimously accepted Hashirama's peace offer and forgave Tobirama.
Tobirama was still standing there watching.
Wait.
Something about that part felt wrong.
Tobirama could tell that something was off, but for the moment he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
The whole scene just felt weird.
(End of Chapter)
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