Root Base.
The questioning of Tobirama seems a bit unreasonable.
In the ninja world, using the deceased is not uncommon; aren't these Hokages also deceased and still being utilized by Akihara Kagura?
However,
Tonight, Akihara Kagura is indeed very busy.
In the root base laboratory, Akihara Kagura is swamped with work. Tobirama voluntarily comes to assist Akihara Kagura, wanting to observe the experiment of creating a ninja with dual Kekkei Genkai.
As a result...
Tobirama sees Akihara Kagura ordering an Uchiha to lie on the laboratory table, then directly taking out a syringe and injecting Hashirama cells into the body of an Uchiha.
Tobirama's forehead twitches, feeling the experiment is absurd: "What a joke, experiments are not this simple. If we go by your experimental methods, the nurses at Konoha Hospital could conduct such experiments!"
Crack!
Wooden spikes start to grow from the body of the Uchiha on the experiment table!
Tobirama's gaze suddenly hardens. Why did this Uchiha not show any signs of rejection, and even directly awakened the Wood Release of the elder brother?
"Hmm?"
Tobirama suddenly realizes something, a guess forming in his mind: "Is there some bloodline connection between the Senju and the Uchiha?"
This matter...
Startles Tobirama!
Tobirama is not unaware of the powerful assimilative capabilities of his elder brother's cells, never imagining that someone could transplant his brother's cells so simply!
Sharingan and Wood Release...
Uchiha and Senju...
According to the basic principles of biology, unless there is a possibility of a close blood relation, it would not be possible for the experiment to succeed so easily!
Of course.
This is also Akihara Kagura's scientific technique.
After this experiment, the root base had a total of eighty-four dual Kekkei Genkai ninjas, exactly matching the entire Anbu Department, plus Yamanaka Fu and Aburame Torune, Karin...
The root base has a serious overstaffing issue.
Theoretically, the Root base should only be equivalent to an Anbu squad, yet now the number of members has exceeded that of the Anbu.
"Take them to get equipped."
Akihara Kagura commands Karin, saying, "It won't be long before Lord Orochimaru causes trouble at the Memorial Stone, and someone from the Hokage Tower will call me over to discuss matters..."
"Yes."
Karin nods.
"Where is the Third Hokage's will?"
Akihara Kagura then asks about another key matter.
"They've already returned."
Karin nods, continuing to report: "The Third Hokage and the Fourth Hokage secretly placed the will in his house. The clean-up Anbu should soon discover it..."
Inside the Hokage Tower.
In fact, both Hokage advisors were also up all night.
Even though they were already old, they did not sleep at all that night, continuously trying to persuade Jiraiya to accept the position of the next Hokage.
However, Jiraiya simply does not agree, first nominating his disciple Akihara Kagura, which the two Hokage advisors outright rejected.
No matter how Jiraiya persuaded, the two Hokage advisors refused his proposal on the grounds that Akihara Kagura was too young and too extreme in character and needed more experience.
Jiraiya had no choice but to bring up Tsunade's name.
"Tsunade?"
Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado do recognize her as a suitable candidate.
"If you can bring Tsunade back, she would also be a suitable successor... If you can't bring Tsunade back, you must assume the position of the Fifth Hokage yourself."
"Konoha is very chaotic right now; there must be someone to oversee the big picture."
Koharu Utatane looks at Jiraiya, softly persuading him: "Although Akihara Kagura is the Hokage's assistant, you know his character; now is not the time for him to take charge..."
"Kagura might not be unsuitable..."
Jiraiya actually quite approves of his disciple, lightly laughing as he reminds them: "At least with Kagura around, the villages of Mist and Sand wouldn't dare make any big moves, right?"
"Power can only bring obedience, not submission."
Koharu Utatane shakes her head, sighing: "If Kagura could mature a bit, we might also be willing to go against Hiruzen's last wishes and promote him to the position of Fifth Hokage..."
"Let's get through the old man's funeral first!"
Jiraiya waves his hand, very impatient with their persuasion.
However, before they had finished discussing, Anbu ninjas heading to the Memorial Stone to continue setting up the funeral came to report some bad news.
"Lord Jiraiya, Orochimaru..."
"Orochimaru suddenly appeared, dug up the grave of the Third Hokage, and stole the body of the Third Hokage; we couldn't catch up with him!"
"What?"
The faces of Jiraiya and the two Hokage advisors suddenly changed.
Because they knew why Orochimaru wanted to steal the Third Hokage's body, surely intending to use the Edo Tensei technique to resurrect the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, to fight against Konoha.
"That guy, Orochimaru..."
Koharu Utatane is so angry that her entire body is not well, hastily calming her chest: "If Orochimaru resurrects Hiruzen to fight against Konoha..."
"Advisor!"
An Anbu ninja holding a letter, handed it over to the two Hokage advisors: "We found a will at the Third Hokage's house!"
"A will?"
Koharu Utatane takes it, frowning: "Hiruzen had already considered his own death? It seems we can see his last wishes in this will..."
This will is actually quite short.
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, carefully explained in his will that he had already prepared for the possibility of dying in battle when he learned of Orochimaru's actions, so he made two arrangements in this will to avoid problems in Konoha.
First, the position of Hokage should be succeeded by Jiraiya. If Jiraiya is unwilling to succeed as the Fifth Hokage of Konoha, then have Jiraiya bring Tsunade back to succeed, while Akihara Kagura remains as the Hokage's assistant and head of the root.
Second, if he unexpectedly dies in the battle with Orochimaru without killing Orochimaru, allow Akihara Kagura to use the Edo Tensei technique, resurrecting some powerful ninjas to prevent them from being used by Orochimaru, because Kagura has the strongest learning talent and is the most powerful, making him the most suitable candidate to learn the Edo Tensei technique. He had already taught Akihara Kagura the Edo Tensei technique, giving him some resurrection materials for powerful ninjas.
"The old monkey really knows you well..."
Koharu Utatane sighs, handing the will to Jiraiya, sighing again: "It seems he already guessed that you might not accept the position of Hokage, informing us in the will that once you are unwilling to succeed, bring Tsunade back as the Fifth Hokage..."
"Old man..."
Jiraiya sighs in his heart.
This teacher really understands him, even foreseeing such things, and also predicted that Orochimaru might continue to use the Edo Tensei technique.
Regarding his own disciple...
Sarutobi Hiruzen really knew him deeply.
"Let's call Kagura over."
Homura Mitokado looks at them, suggesting: "This matter should be told to him, if according to Sarutobi, preventing Orochimaru's plan still falls on his shoulders..."
"Old man shouldn't have let Kagura learn the Edo Tensei technique..."
Jiraiya puts away the will, speaking softly: "Kagura is already powerful enough, I'm worried he'll become obsessed with forbidden techniques, affecting his nature..."
"Jiraiya."
Koharu Utatane raises a problem that catches Jiraiya off guard: "If Kagura can't use the Edo Tensei technique to deal with the resurrected by Orochimaru's Edo Tensei, should he also, like the old monkey, use the Reaper Death Seal to seal the dead?"
"..."
Jiraiya is silent for a while, then suddenly laughs loudly: "Hahaha, don't worry about that, it's not up to that kid yet, I'll learn the Reaper Death Seal, isn't that enough?"
"But..."
Koharu Utatane looks at Jiraiya, not quite agreeing with his idea: "Now we clearly have a solution that doesn't require your sacrifice, and besides, Hiruzen stated in the will that Kagura has already learned to use the Edo Tensei technique, even giving him some powerful ninjas' resurrection materials..."
"Kagura is my disciple."
Jiraiya shakes his head, still not agreeing with this: "That child could have a better future, he shouldn't be involved in such techniques..."
"There is darkness in Kagura's heart."
Homura Mitokado disagrees with Jiraiya's view, speaking solemnly: "He is the head of the root, you should know what the root means..."
"This matter, we notify Kagura."
Koharu Utatane is very firm: "If there's no way to deal with Orochimaru, perhaps Hiruzen's last words are the best solution, at least also as a precaution, letting him resurrect some powerful ninjas as soon as possible..."
At dawn.
When Anbu notifies Akihara Kagura to come to the Hokage Tower, the two Hokage advisors are still arguing with Jiraiya about this matter, discussing whether Akihara Kagura should use the Edo Tensei technique.
"Kagura, have you learned the Edo Tensei technique?"
Jiraiya sees his disciple, the first thing he asks.
"Yes..."
Akihara Kagura nods, surprised, looking at his teacher: "How did the teacher know about this?"
"The Third Hokage also gave me some resurrection materials from previous Hokages, saying he had a way to seal the souls of the First and Second Hokages..."
"But Orochimaru might have a way to unseal it, letting me resurrect the previous Hokages at the necessary moment, to prevent Orochimaru from resurrecting the previous Hokages first to attack Konoha..."
"Old man really is restless..."
"By the way, where's Danzō?"
Koharu Utatane inquires about a concerning matter.
"Danzō..."
Akihara Kagura hesitates for a moment, speaking softly: "Danzō is still under house arrest at the root base, having learned of the Third Hokage's death, Danzō seems to have given up on seeing anyone, handing all of his dual Kekkei Genkai ninjas over to me..."
"Danzō..."
Homura Mitokado sighs deeply: "If it weren't for his collusion with Orochimaru... Well, he and the old monkey grew up together, and also fought for a lifetime, perhaps thinking that killing the old monkey would be exhilarating, only to end up in pain."
"Alright."
Jiraiya is somewhat dispirited, dropping the will in his hand, not wanting to bring up Shimura Danzō, speaking solemnly: "Let's go attend the old man's funeral first."
Even though Sarutobi Hiruzen's body has already disappeared, this matter cannot be known by the ninjas of Konoha, to avoid causing greater panic in the village.
At the back mountain of Konoha.
The funeral scene at the Memorial Stone has been rearranged.
Many Konoha ninjas dressed in black clothes come to send off the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, each person's face showing a mournful expression, because Sarutobi Hiruzen was like a kind grandfather, having interacted with every child in the village.
Under a large tree.
Four Hokages stand under the tree observing the funeral.
Sarutobi Hiruzen watches the scenes at the funeral, looking at the crowd, sighing softly, feeling somewhat uncomfortable with the taste.
"Third Hokage, condolence."
Minato stands beside Sarutobi Hiruzen, softly comforting him.
Hashirama nods, feeling: "Monkey, to be loved by so many people, you've not lost to the name of Hokage..."
"Right."
Tobirama also nods, gently encouraging Sarutobi Hiruzen: "There's still a long time ahead, when Tsunade returns, there will still be a chance to see them again..."
"..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen can only nod, a complex smile appearing on his face: "Perhaps there's nothing regrettable about a person's death... The only regret is not having spread the Will of Fire, passed down from the First Hokage and the Second Hokage, to more people."
Especially...
Not having passed it to Akihara Kagura.
"You've already done well."
Tobirama extends his hand, gently patting Sarutobi Hiruzen's shoulder.
"Is that Naruto?"
Minato sees a boy with blond hair, instantly recognizing his own son: "Naruto has grown up so much..."
Minato's face shows a trace of joy, gazing far into the mournful shadows at the funeral, searching for people he knows: "Kakashi has also become an adult... And there are many people I know here..."
"Perhaps it's because it's my funeral..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen says these words, feeling increasingly the strangeness of it, fortunately, his mind is very open, he couldn't help but laugh out: "Observing one's own funeral, what does it feel like, it's indeed a very interesting experience!"
"Yes..."
Minato nods, actually feeling somewhat regretful: "If I had the chance to see my own funeral, that would have been good..."
"Minato, don't say that..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen shakes his head, emitting a sigh: "I'm already an old man, dying won't affect much, at that time you were still young..."
Hashirama watches the crowd at the funeral, not finding anyone he knows, suddenly seeming to discover something, a bit surprised: "Monkey, that kid called Akihara Kagura, he's very sad at your funeral, he's actually mourning your departure too..."
"Big brother."
Tobirama adjusts his forehead, helplessly explaining: "That kid has already used the Edo Tensei technique to resurrect the monkey, do you think that kid is really sad? It's just a performance for others!"
These few Hokages are observing from afar.
But Akihara Kagura must stand in black clothes in front of the Memorial Stone, gently holding a white flower in front of the portrait of the Third Hokage.
"Kagura."
Hatake Kakashi looks at Akihara Kagura.
"What's up?"
Akihara Kagura's eyes lift, looking at Hatake Kakashi.
"Nothing."
Hatake Kakashi looks up at the sky, his mind pondering something: "After the funeral is over, let's find a time to talk..."
"Don't be sad."
Akihara Kagura shakes his head, seemingly not understanding Hatake Kakashi's thoughts, thinking he is sad about the Third Hokage's funeral, actively comforting him: "For the Third Hokage, death is not the end of life."
"That's right."
Umino Iruka strongly agrees with what Akihara Kagura said, speaking softly: "Death is not the end of life, it never is, the will of the Third Hokage still accompanies us, like a red thread, with time passing, it will bloom more and more brightly..."
"..."
Akihara Kagura looks at Umino Iruka, not actively speaking.
In fact, what he said was literally true, not only is the will of Sarutobi Hiruzen passed down, Sarutobi Hiruzen himself will also be with you, perhaps there are opportunities to meet, and even now he is watching the funeral, seeing which person's emotions are not in place…
~~~
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