Naruto: The Senju After the Age of Gods

Chapter 283: Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama

Inside the moon, Hikaru collapsed weakly onto the ground.

At this moment, sharp pain filled every part of his body. The feeling was truly awful.

Even Hikaru himself could not remember how long it had been since he had been in such a state.

Or rather, even during the most painful years after he first entered the Anbu, the injuries he had suffered probably had not been as severe as they were now.

He took a deep breath and quickly mobilized the chakra inside his body to begin recovering.

His chakra had almost bottomed out, but his recovery ability was still there.

Relying on the chakra slowly restoring inside him, then using it to drive Yang Release and heal his injuries—this was the only thing Hikaru could do right now.

"That damned bastard..."

Hikaru cursed inwardly.

In the final moment of the previous battle, he had used True Several Thousand Hands.

And that technique had completely wrung him dry.

Whether it was his own chakra, the tailed-beast chakra, the Jogan, Sage Art, or Yin–Yang Release—everything had been drained to the bottom.

Otherwise, Hikaru could still have mobilized Yang Release to help himself recover, instead of lying here like a dead dog.

"But no matter what, I survived."

Hikaru let out a long sigh inwardly, his black eyes sweeping across his surroundings.

The interior of the moon had completely changed.

Flames and thick smoke spread wildly into the distance.

The sky was filled with all kinds of fragments, and the once-bright sun now looked exceptionally dim.

The temple that stood above the clouds no longer had the protection of its barrier.

It looked as though it might collapse at any moment, swaying constantly in the wind.

There did not seem to be any survivors left inside the moon.

Aside from Hikaru himself, everyone else seemed to have died in the previous collision.

Whether it was Ōtsutsuki Maha or the other members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, all of them had vanished from Hikaru’s perception.

Even so, Hikaru did not completely relax.

In a place like this, he truly could not afford the slightest carelessness.

That was why he had kept using his sensory ability to observe the surroundings.

He had already killed Ōtsutsuki Maha. He really did not want to suffer a setback when it was time to collect the spoils.

He did not know how long he lay there before his body finally recovered somewhat.

He struggled to stand up.

The moment he moved, sharp pain once again surged through his body.

However, he could still endure this kind of pain.

After all, as a qualified shinobi, Hikaru’s tolerance for pain was still there.

He took a deep breath, only to immediately choke.

The air was filled with strange powder.

Those particles entered his nose and mouth along with smoke and dust, making him extremely uncomfortable.

But he did not complain.

After all, strictly speaking, he had contributed to this disaster as well.

Unless the circumstances were special, Hikaru would honestly accept the consequences of what he had done.

This had nothing to do with honesty.

It was simply his own habit.

He raised his head and looked toward the temple in the sky.

Suddenly, Hikaru frowned.

Because he had just realized something.

With his current chakra level, trying to get up there was basically a fantasy.

He did have the ability to fly, but that was granted by the Jogan’s control over gravity.

With his current chakra, forget activating the Jogan—whether he could control anything after activating it was another question entirely.

His exhaustion was simply too severe.

Hikaru was genuinely helpless.

After a faint sigh, Hikaru had to seriously consider what he should do next.

Clearly, he had essentially taken down the moon.

Even though he had turned the place into a complete mess, he had still completed his objective.

But this damaged moon was truly unfriendly to him right now.

The thing he wanted was in the sky, and to get up there, he would need time to recover.

The most troublesome part was that Hikaru had also noticed that, because he had killed Ōtsutsuki Maha, the interior of the moon seemed to have begun changing.

Everything inside the moon was controlled by the Tenseigan.

As for how Ōtsutsuki Maha controlled the Tenseigan, Hikaru had made some guesses.

During the previous battle, he had discovered that the staff in Maha’s hand was the key.

That staff seemed to be a materialized product of Yin–Yang Release.

It also contained a special kind of chakra.

If nothing unexpected had happened, that chakra should have been Tenseigan chakra.

By using that chakra to communicate with the real Tenseigan, he could make his own chakra resonate with the Tenseigan and achieve a controlling effect.

But where had that staff gone now?

Hikaru had no idea.

After all, the battle had been too intense.

Hikaru himself had been beaten badly. How could he possibly take care of every detail?

And now, the problem appeared.

Without that damned staff, Hikaru had no way to deal with the changes in the moon’s internal environment.

Leaving aside that issue, as a shinobi, Hikaru could still endure environmental problems.

But as a human, how could Hikaru possibly survive for long without eating or drinking?

This time, he had not brought any rations with him.

After all, to him, he had never felt that he would need to stay in this damned place for long.

And even if he did have to stay for a while, there had been people living here. He had not needed to worry about food.

But now, in this situation, even eating dirt would be difficult.

The ground had turned into scorched earth.

Although he would not need to heat it up, could he really try eating that?

This situation made him extremely helpless.

He even realized that returning by the original path might now be impossible.

Space had recovered.

That much was true.

Hikaru could already use Flying Thunder God again.

But another problem had appeared.

With the Tenseigan now in this state, Hikaru really could not be certain whether those spatial passages still worked.

Putting aside the transmission array, even investigating the situation was not something Hikaru could necessarily do right now.

Because of the destruction caused by the previous battle, he really could not be certain whether the protective barrier outside the moon was still effective.

If he rashly went to the lunar surface and the barrier had already failed, his fate might be to become garbage drifting through space.

Thinking of this, Hikaru’s head hurt even more.

He did know that there was also a transmission array inside the moon—the one Naruto and the others had used.

The problem was that the interior of the moon was not small.

Searching every part of it would not be easy.

Especially now that the moon’s interior had been ruined to this extent.

Hikaru’s physical condition was also poor, so he simply could not accomplish it easily.

"Forget it. I should find a relatively safe place and recover my chakra as much as possible."

After thinking it over, Hikaru could only let out a long sigh.

Flames were already spreading toward him, so he naturally could not stay here any longer.

Moreover, this place was extremely far from the grand temple in the sky.

If Hikaru wanted to get there by walking alone, it would probably take quite some time.

So Hikaru simply set off.

After all, his target was still up there.

His speed was not fast.

After consuming such a massive amount of chakra, even if he wanted to move quickly, he could not.

But as he walked, he suddenly sensed that there were still living people not far from him.

This immediately made him cautious.

He slowly walked over, then let out a breath of relief.

There were only two enemies.

Their eye sockets were sunken, indicating that their eyes had disappeared.

Their faces were somewhat twisted. One could imagine how much pain they had suffered earlier.

Although they were still alive, they were already on their last breath.

Seeing this, Hikaru took out a kunai, intending to help them end their suffering.

But just as he walked in front of them, Hikaru suddenly stopped.

Because he suddenly realized that he might be able to use them for something.

...

Two people who were blind, seriously injured, unable to move, and practically on the verge of death—what use could they have?

Strictly speaking, they were indeed useless.

But for someone who had mastered Edo Tensei, that was not necessarily the case.

Clearly, Hikaru was someone who had mastered that technique.

He had even used it together with Hidan to revive Hatake Sakumo.

However, to revive someone through Edo Tensei, one needed specific materials.

But this was not a problem for Hikaru.

If it were daily supplies or food, he might truly have none.

But if it was material needed to revive a specific person, he really did have it.

He had always kept Senju Hashirama’s material on him.

That was something kindly provided by Danzō.

Even though Hikaru had already obtained what he wanted through the system, he had never thrown away those chunks of flesh.

Aside from that, Hikaru had also prepared Senju Tobirama’s material.

After reviving Hatake Sakumo, he had already begun making preparations.

For someone whose neck was getting closer and closer to the rope hanging from the lamppost, reviving the dead to make them work had long been part of his plan.

So preparing materials in advance was only natural.

If he had not been worried about being unable to defeat or control him, Hikaru would have already tried to get his hands on Uchiha Madara’s material.

After all, Uchiha Madara was truly dead.

No matter how difficult his material was to find, with Orochimaru around, would Hikaru really be afraid he could not find it?

"This really is a gift delivered to my door."

Thinking of this, Hikaru directly put away his kunai.

Right now, he was alone inside the moon, trying to survive.

He could endure loneliness.

But his current injuries made it impossible for him to search for an exit or deal with trouble if he encountered any.

By summoning Edo Tensei and relying on the undying bodies it provided, Hikaru could make them help him with many things.

"Besides, I’m a Senju too, and I’m also the Fifth Hokage. Isn’t it perfectly normal for two previous Hokage to come out and help?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Hikaru took out two scrolls from his pouch and unsealed them.

Inside those scrolls were the "materials" of Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama.

These were the most important things.

And his movements had to be quick.

After all, the two people in front of him clearly could not hold on much longer.

It was rare to come across two living sacrifices.

If they died right in front of him, that would be a huge loss.

He currently needed to use Yang Release chakra to restore himself.

How could he possibly waste such precious chakra saving these two?

"Ninja Art: Edo Tensei."

After Hikaru completed all his preparations, his hands immediately began forming seals.

At that moment, what little chakra he had left began rapidly draining away again.

Two summoning arrays appeared beneath his feet in an instant.

As countless Edo papers emerged, Hikaru knew his technique had succeeded.

The papers covered the sacrifices extremely quickly.

In the blink of an eye, those two people were completely wrapped.

They did not even have time to let out a scream before their forms began to change.

A moment later, the two figures that had been lying limply on the ground began to stand.

Their eyes were dull and lifeless.

But that dullness soon turned into confusion.

Then focus appeared in their eyes, quickly becoming clear and alert.

Their consciousness was rapidly returning.

"Where... is this?"

Suddenly, Senju Hashirama moved.

He raised his head, looked around, and voiced his confusion.

"The world of the living? And... a battlefield?"

"Big Brother?"

At that moment, a voice sounded behind him.

Hashirama turned his head and saw his younger brother, Senju Tobirama.

But very soon, his expression became strange.

Because his younger brother no longer looked like a living person.

His entire body seemed fused with a layer of dust and ash.

In essence, it was the body of another person.

Not like a living body at all.

"Looks like Edo Tensei. Tch. To think I was summoned back to the living world by my own technique. How ironic."

Seeing Hashirama’s expression, Senju Tobirama immediately lowered his head and examined himself, then let out a cold snort.

He raised his head and swept his gaze over the surroundings before finally landing on Hikaru.

"Was it you, brat... wait. Your clothes?"

"Isn’t your reaction a little slow, Tobirama?"

Senju Hashirama suddenly revealed a delighted smile.

He heavily slapped his younger brother’s shoulder, then laughed loudly.

"That’s the Hokage’s haori. You only noticed now?

"Looks like you’ve been dead too long. Even your reactions have slowed down."

"Big Brother!"

Senju Tobirama shouted through gritted teeth, then let out a helpless sigh.

Facing this unreliable elder brother of his, he truly had no good solution.

So he simply turned his gaze toward this man wearing the Hokage haori.

Right now, Tobirama had far too many doubts in his heart.

And he had already released his sensory ability.

But when his senses swept over Hikaru, his expression changed slightly.

Because he sensed his elder brother’s power.

Or rather, a power similar to his elder brother’s, yet slightly different.

"Who are you?"

At that moment, Senju Tobirama became somewhat cautious.

"And where is this place?"

"What’s wrong, Tobirama?"

Senju Hashirama was somewhat puzzled by Tobirama’s condition.

But after carefully observing Hikaru, he also froze for a moment before smiling.

"Not bad, kid. But I think you should introduce yourself first."

"Of course, First Hokage-sama, Second Hokage-sama."

Hikaru forced a smile.

Although he was very tired, he could still hold on.

"I am the Fifth Hokage of Konohagakure, Senju Hikaru."

...

Senju Hikaru?

Hearing this name, both Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama froze for a moment.

Then their reactions were surprisingly consistent—they both smiled.

At that moment, Senju Tobirama completely lowered his guard.

As for Senju Hashirama, he laughed heartily and slapped Tobirama’s shoulder again.

This made Tobirama extremely dissatisfied, but Hashirama did not care at all.

Another Hokage had appeared from the Senju Clan.

For them, this was absolutely a good thing.

Perhaps Hashirama had not thought too deeply about it.

But Tobirama’s thoughts were different.

After all, before his death, he had entrusted the position of Hokage to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Hikaru, is it?"

Senju Hashirama was very happy now.

Although he guessed that he was on a battlefield, he did not take it to heart at all.

"Fifth Hokage, huh? Looks like Konoha developed very well!

"By the way, Tobirama was the Second Hokage. Who came after him?"

"The Third was Monkey."

Standing beside him, Senju Tobirama crossed his arms and answered casually.

"I was ambushed by people from Kumogakure and seriously wounded. I could no longer leave, so I gave the position of Hokage to Monkey."

"You really were reckless."

Senju Hashirama raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat displeased.

"I told you before, the Hokage is someone chosen by everyone, not someone you decide on by yourself. Doing that—"

"Shut up, Big Brother!"

Senju Tobirama seemed to have had enough of Hashirama and directly interrupted him.

"The situation was urgent at the time, and I also gave them my test.

"He passed. He was a suitable Hokage.

"And now the Hokage has already reached the Fifth Generation. That means Konoha is doing well.

"Our junior is watching right here, so could you please shut up?"

Tobirama’s rapid-fire response made Hashirama’s face stiffen.

In the end, he could only helplessly lower his head, looking extremely dejected.

Clearly, he knew he could not argue with his younger brother about this matter.

Or rather, he did not have the energy to argue.

He was very clear that the greatest difference between him and his younger brother was that he was an idealist, while Tobirama was a realist.

When he was Hokage, everyone respected him.

Aside from his strength, there was another reason—he treated people with sincerity.

But he also knew that without his younger brother’s help, his time as Hokage would never have been peaceful.

He would not use power to rule Konoha.

He had never done such a thing.

After all, he considered everyone in Konoha to be his family.

And he also knew that if he used power to rule Konoha, it would create and leave behind countless problems.

So while he was Hokage, he chose to listen to Tobirama on many matters.

Tobirama had also displayed his ability to govern, as well as his extraordinary methods.

Even though the brothers had completely different views on many things, Tobirama had also proven that he had been right about many matters.

"Fine, the annoying guy has shut up."

Seeing Hashirama’s dejected state, Senju Tobirama did not pay him any attention and instead looked back at Hikaru.

"The Third was Monkey. What about the Fourth?

"And what year of Konoha is it now? Has war broken out in the shinobi world again?"

"The Fourth Hokage was Namikaze Minato. He was seriously injured, so I became Hokage."

Hikaru was not surprised by the brothers’ behavior. He spread his hands and said,

"As for the present, it is Konoha Year 52. And this isn’t really a war. The battle has already ended."

"Huh? The battle has ended?"

Senju Hashirama, who had looked extremely dejected just a moment ago, instantly recovered.

He raised his head in surprise and looked at Hikaru.

"Then why did you summon us? And how is it only Konoha Year 52? Fifty-something years and five Hokage already?"

"Kid, what exactly is going on?"

Senju Tobirama’s expression also changed slightly.

He had not expected that in just over fifty years, Konoha had already gone through five Hokage.

This gave him a very bad feeling.

Had something serious happened to Konoha, causing the Hokage to change again and again?

In Tobirama’s view, that could have been caused by war, or perhaps internal struggle.

Hashirama’s thoughts were simpler.

In his view, it was probably because of war.

Especially considering their current environment, he could not help sighing helplessly.

"It’s not really anything major. I’ll explain as we walk."

Seeing their expressions, Hikaru knew what they were thinking. He sighed faintly and began explaining simply.

As Hikaru explained, their expressions kept changing.

When they heard that Sarutobi Hiruzen had become the longest-serving Hokage and had developed the things Tobirama left behind, allowing Konoha to prosper, both of them could not help smiling.

After all, Konoha was their life’s work.

But when they heard what Sarutobi Hiruzen had done after taking office, both their expressions changed.

That said, Hikaru had no intention of making petty accusations against Sarutobi Hiruzen.

He directly explained the situation the old man had been in at the time.

This immediately made both Hokage fall silent.

Senju Tobirama, in particular, closed his eyes helplessly.

Of course he understood Sarutobi Hiruzen’s actions.

If he had stood in that position, the choices he made might not have been much better.

But understanding was one thing.

Being angry was another.

Fortunately, when he heard that Hikaru had used a series of methods to rise to power, successfully retaliated against Sarutobi Hiruzen, and trapped them so badly, he could not help laughing.

But as he laughed, he also felt an unbearable bitterness.

The people Hikaru had retaliated against were, without exception, his own disciples.

That feeling was truly awful.

If possible, he truly did not want to know or understand these things.

Compared with Tobirama’s complicated feelings, Hashirama was much calmer.

Perhaps it was because he had already accepted the fact that he was dead.

Although he was also angry, after learning that Hikaru had already taken revenge, he basically let it go.

What he was more focused on now was Hikaru’s strength.

Hikaru had said that he had single-handedly dealt with Kumogakure’s eight-thousand-strong force.

And the technique he used was Wood Release.

Especially when he heard that Hikaru could even use True Several Thousand Hands, his eyes lit up.

That was Wood Release.

Those were his own ultimate techniques!

Hikaru said he had accidentally awakened Wood Release five or six years ago.

And his chakra aura was so similar to Hashirama’s.

Did that mean...

"You’ve worked hard, child."

Thinking of this, Senju Hashirama smiled and patted Hikaru on the shoulder.

"But now that you’re Hokage, you have to do your best!"

"I understand, First Hokage-sama."

Hikaru smiled and nodded.

He was truly exhausted right now, but fortunately, he had finished explaining everything.

"Still, there is one question I want to ask you."

Hashirama’s smile remained, but for some reason, Hikaru felt that there was something strange about it.

"Please ask, First Hokage-sama."

"You’re Tsunade’s child, right? Then why don’t you call me Great-Grandfather?"

"????"

...

When Hikaru heard Senju Hashirama’s words, he was truly full of question marks.

Although the age difference seemed to make sense, how could Hikaru possibly have any connection with Tsunade?

One had to know that Hikaru had privately admitted he did not want to see Tsunade return.

How could someone capable of saying such a thing have anything to do with Tsunade?

Looking at Senju Hashirama’s expression, Hikaru helplessly sighed.

He seemed to understand why Hashirama had such thoughts.

In the end, it was because of Wood Release.

Or rather, because of the power inside his body that was similar to Senju Hashirama’s.

After all, the power Hikaru had awakened was called "Incomplete Asura Power," while Senju Hashirama was the most complete inheritor of Asura’s power.

How could their chakra not be somewhat similar?

If Hikaru’s power had not been too complex, causing his chakra to change significantly, it would not have been strange to say the two were almost identical.

But Hikaru would never talk about such a mysterious matter.

That was his own secret.

No matter who the other party was, he would absolutely not reveal it.

Of course, he still needed to explain what should be explained.

Speaking of which, whether his own parents had any connection to the two in front of him, Hikaru did not really know.

If judged by hair color, Hikaru felt he should actually be closer to Senju Tobirama.

"Well, First Hokage-sama, you’re mistaken."

Hikaru smiled awkwardly, spread his hands, and explained,

"Tsunade-sama never married and has no children. I have nothing to do with her."

"What?"

A stunned look appeared on Hashirama’s face.

"You’re not her child? Then your power is..."

"I don’t know what happened either, but I did indeed awaken this power."

Hikaru looked equally confused—and extremely tired.

"And didn’t I say earlier? Aside from Wood Release, what I’m best at is Water Release and Flying Thunder God.

"And my hair is white too, isn’t it? That makes me more like Second Hokage-sama."

Hikaru’s words made Hashirama’s expression turn faintly bitter.

It was not because Hikaru was not his direct descendant.

The reason he felt bitter was that Tsunade was still unmarried even now!

Based on her age, Tsunade should already be in her forties, right?

In their war-torn era, a woman in her forties would already be a grandmother.

Yet Tsunade was still alone.

This truly left Hashirama feeling deeply unsettled.

As for Tobirama, he raised an eyebrow.

He had noticed Hikaru’s hair color long ago.

Likewise, in Hikaru’s earlier explanation, he had said that he was extremely skilled at Flying Thunder God.

From these two aspects, it seemed this boy might actually be his descendant.

Most importantly, this boy had extremely high political sensitivity, as well as flexible and decisive methods.

When he needed to be ruthless, he was absolutely ruthless.

Otherwise, how could he have killed the former Anbu commander in front of everyone, forced Sarutobi Hiruzen out of power, and directly killed Shimura Danzō?

Mentality, methods, and ability—Hikaru possessed all of them.

Even Sarutobi Hiruzen, Hikaru’s political enemy, had been convinced by him.

At the most critical moment, he had even defected to Hikaru’s side after acknowledging him as Hokage.

Of course, Senju Tobirama was certain that even if Sarutobi Hiruzen had not defected, Hikaru could still have won.

Because this boy gave him a feeling—

He was almost like another version of himself.

Or perhaps, an even better version of himself.

Suddenly, Senju Tobirama’s expression became strange.

Because he discovered that this boy was practically a fusion of himself and his elder brother.

"He has my political acuity and strong enough methods, while also possessing Big Brother’s strength. This boy is simply..."

Senju Tobirama knew very well that he and his elder brother each had flaws.

Senju Hashirama’s flaw was that he was too kind and too idealistic.

Perhaps the only proposal from Uchiha Madara that Tobirama had ever agreed with was the idea of unifying the entire shinobi world.

But Senju Hashirama had rejected that idea.

That had made Tobirama feel extremely helpless.

As for Tobirama himself, his weakness was also obvious.

Compared to others, his strength was still excellent.

But compared with his elder brother and Uchiha Madara, the gap was enormous.

If he had possessed his elder brother’s strength back then, he would not have been killed by those two lunatics from Kumogakure.

But now, Konoha had produced someone like this.

How could he not be delighted?

How could he not be happy?

Especially since this boy was also a member of the Senju Clan!

"Forget it. Let’s not talk about these things."

Just as Tobirama was thinking, Hashirama spoke with a dejected expression.

"Kid, although you are our junior, you are already Hokage, and we are from the same clan.

"So you don’t need to be so formal. Just call me by name."

"Is that so? I understand, Hashirama-senpai."

Hikaru thought for a moment, then simply nodded.

"Good. That at least makes me feel like I’m not that old. Although I wasn’t old when I died either."

Senju Hashirama laughed loudly again.

Senju Tobirama helplessly covered his face with one hand.

"By the way, Hikaru, why did you summon us?

"At first, I thought it was because of war. I was about to remind you that we can’t exert much strength in our current state.

"But I remember you said it wasn’t a war.

"So where is this place, and what exactly is going on?"

"This place..."

Hikaru let out a long sigh.

Then he slowly said,

"This is the moon.

"As for why I summoned you, one reason is that I hope you can protect me.

"The other reason is that I need someone to help me..."

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