Tobirama unrolled the intelligence scroll sent from the Land of Demons and read its contents word by word. When he learned that Fumori Masaki had resolved everything, he let out a slight sigh of relief and rolled up the scroll.
He hadn't expected a seemingly ordinary mission to have so many twists and turns behind it, almost exceeding their predictions. Fortunately, the enemy wasn't too formidable, and there wasn't a ninja village orchestrating things from behind the scenes, so the matter concluded smoothly.
However, Fumori Masaki had detailed the dangers of the Jashinists in the intelligence scroll and requested a meeting on how to exterminate them. Tobirama initially didn't pay much attention to such civilian organizations. However, after learning that the true identities of the Jashinists in the Land of Demons were ninjas from the Hidden Hot Spring Village, he began to take it seriously.
"Danzo, are you aware of the Jashinists operating within the Land of Hot Water?" Tobirama called Shimura Danzo over and asked him about it.
Although Danzo didn't independently control the Anbu's Root division, his abilities were well-suited for such clandestine activities. Therefore, Tobirama made him a special unit captain within the Anbu, responsible for investigating certain conspiratorial activities both domestically and abroad, which naturally included the Land of Hot Water.
"Jashinists?" Shimura Danzo thought for a moment and replied, "Ah, I know about them. They appeared in the intelligence gathered by the Anbu, but since they haven't taken any action against the Land of Fire and are a civilian organization, we haven't taken any measures against them."
"Start collecting information on these guys immediately," Tobirama commanded upon hearing this.
"Yes," Shimura Danzo agreed, then asked with a puzzled expression, "Sensei, why investigate this organization? They're just carrying out those nonsensical missionary activities in the Land of Hot Water."
"I used to think so too, but after reading Masaki's report, I don't think it's that simple," Tobirama said. "These people may not be able to threaten the Land of Fire now, but if we let them be, sooner or later, they will set their sights on the Land of Fire."
"What's there to be afraid of? They're just ordinary people; an Anbu squad could easily wipe them out," Shimura Danzo said.
"It's different now. Masaki pointed out that they also have people within the Hidden Hot Spring Village. One day, they might very well control the Hidden Hot Spring Village from behind the scenes," Tobirama shook his head. "Danzo, you should know what these people are thinking. What kind of consequences would arise if they had a ninja village as their base?"
Shimura Danzo's expression became slightly grave. Although he hadn't considered the Jashinists a target to be eliminated, he still remembered the basic information: reports indicated that the Jashinists' ideology was completely different from ordinary people's. They preached that death was the truth, and their doctrines and activities all focused on how to kill others and offer sacrifices to their revered Jashin.
If it were just an ordinary civilian group, as Shimura Danzo said, a ninja squad or a small samurai contingent could easily wipe them out. However, once a ninja village was completely controlled by the Jashinists, even if it was just the Hidden Hot Spring Village, if they began to infiltrate the outside world without restraint, it would certainly lead to very undesirable consequences.
Although Shimura Danzo felt that even if that were to happen, the Jashinists wouldn't be able to threaten the Land of Fire, it would be a lot of trouble. Tobirama's intention was clear: to nip it in the bud before the situation became serious, preventing the Jashinists from growing and causing trouble for the Land of Fire.
"Sensei, is this because of Masaki's suggestion?" Shimura Danzo asked.
"Yes," Tobirama nodded and said, "In the Land of Demons, those Jashinists tried to kidnap Kana. Although they failed, they later kidnapped the child of a high-ranking official in the Land of Demons, intending to offer him as a sacrifice to Jashin. Their audacity has reached this point; they absolutely cannot be let off lightly!"
Tobirama wasn't actually that concerned about the official's child; what did an official from another country have to do with him? What he truly cared about was that his elder brother's daughter had almost been offered as a sacrifice to this 'Jashin' fellow. This was an unforgivable crime by the Jashinists, and out of personal reasons, Tobirama also wanted the Jashinists to pay the price.
"Is that really alright?" Shimura Danzo questioned. "If we send troops to the Land of Hot Water, it would violate the agreement we established long ago. That could cause the ninja world, which has only just stabilized, to become turbulent again. I don't think that's what Sensei wants, is it?"
"Indeed, that's why it's not us who will deal with the Jashinists, but the Hidden Hot Spring Village," Tobirama tapped the intelligence scroll with his finger. "The Hidden Hot Spring Village isn't entirely controlled by the Jashinists yet; this is Masaki's assessment of them. In other words, non-believers make up the majority. I imagine the people of the Land of Hot Water probably don't have a good impression of the Jashinists."
"That's right. The Jashinists' doctrines are primarily spread in impoverished areas, but not in the capital of the Land of Hot Water or the domains of local lords. Because of this, these people are still the Jashinists' primary targets," Shimura Danzo immediately replied.
"So, Masaki's intention is for the Land of Hot Water to handle it themselves. We don't need to interfere too much; we just need to give them a hint," Tobirama smiled slightly. "Thanks to Masaki's suggestions during the Shinobi World Wars, the smaller nations are now generally very close to the Land of Fire, which makes some matters easier to handle."
"That's true," Shimura Danzo, as an Anbu captain, naturally understood the reasons. Because of the close relationships between the countries, they didn't need to be overly cautious when conducting investigations. Smaller nations would sometimes turn a blind eye. For example, in the Land of Rain, in the areas under Hanzō's responsibility, they could directly state their identities and be personally received by Hanzō—of course, this was done while keeping it from those within the Hidden Rain Village not aligned with Hanzō.
The Land of Hot Water had completely sided with the Land of Fire. Leaf ninjas could formally advise the Hidden Hot Spring Village. The main concern was being discovered by investigators from other countries, so it couldn't be done openly. Disguises were still necessary, but compared to people from other villages, Leaf ninjas had an advantage.
"Go prepare quickly. Phrase it tactfully, so they don't feel like we're giving them orders. The Hidden Hot Spring Village will be entirely responsible for this matter; we're just giving a verbal reminder," Tobirama thought for a moment and instructed.
"Yes," Shimura Danzo accepted the order and withdrew.
Tobirama gently rubbed his forehead and let out a soft sigh. Lately, he felt his energy was declining, and it seemed the impact of the Shinobi World Wars was greater than he had imagined.
At this time, the power in the Hidden Leaf Village was highly centralized. Any matter related to the ninja village, big or small, had to go through Tobirama's review, which naturally took a significant toll on his energy. Before the Shinobi World Wars, Tobirama could handle all tasks alone, much like the founding emperor in another world where Fumori Masaki resided. However, as his energy waned, Tobirama also began to find high-intensity work unbearable.
This was the toll the Shinobi World Wars had taken on Tobirama. Because the war was so intense, Tobirama, as the Hokage, had to stand at the forefront of everyone, which sometimes led to chakra overuse—normally, the chakra used by an ordinary person is within a certain range, meaning without converting the vital energy that sustains life into chakra.
When a normal person exhausts their chakra, it refers to this situation. As long as it remains within this range, cells will not be excessively burdened, and ninjas will have the same lifespan as ordinary people. However, once this limit is crossed, it will cause irreversible damage to the body. Unless new life is injected to compensate for the loss, it will shorten one's lifespan. Ninjas in the Warring States period often died suddenly in their prime for this very reason.
Hashirama's death was also due to his battle with Uchiha Madara, where he converted the vital energy sustaining his own life into chakra, using it as the power source for Sage Art, pushing his already weakened body, worn out from prolonged warfare, to the brink of danger. Less severe cases, like Senju Hashirama's, were chronic deaths, while severe cases were like Hatake Kakashi, who immediately succumbed after using Kamui to transfer away the cannonball threatening Akimichi Choji's life.
Tobirama had never been pushed to his limits like his elder brother, but the old injuries from the Warring States period had already caused his body to show similar signs to his brother's. Perhaps he would retire earlier than expected... Tobirama didn't plan to be like his elder brother, who, despite his failing health, had to repeatedly confront the Tailed Beasts to maintain the deterrent effect, further straining his body—even though dealing with other Tailed Beasts wasn't as troublesome as the Nine-Tails. If not for that incident, Hashirama should have lived longer.
Therefore, Tobirama planned to pass on the title to the next generation while his body was still well, and then go do more important things, such as the Gelel Stone modification project mentioned by Fumori Masaki and the research into chakra technology. Being freed from the work of Hokage would also have less severe effects on his body, allowing him to do more for the village.
When should I choose? Hmm, it will be after the next joint Chunin Exams, Tobirama thought to himself.