A year's plan starts with spring; a day's plan starts with the morning.
In the morning, Tobirama Senju and six disciples gathered in the Hokage's office with the purpose of traveling through time.
Since Akimichi Torifu, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu had no chance to travel through time, they didn't need to attend.
However, they felt that if they didn't come, they would seem out of place.
It just so happened that they also wanted to witness how Tobirama-sensei and the others traveled through time, and see if they could find any loopholes that would allow them to travel through time as well.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Tobirama said, "I checked Madara's grave yesterday and found that the coffin was empty. This indicates that Madara is truly not dead."
At this point, Tobirama looked at his glasses and asked, "Kagami, did you find anything over there?"
Kagami shook his head and said, "One night is still too short. I need more time."
Tobirama did not embarrass Kagami.
He knew that a clan like theirs, which had been passed down for hundreds of years, must have a vast collection of books.
It was indeed somewhat unrealistic to find the secret technique to fake Madara's death in just one night.
"How about you, Hiruzen? Are there any troubling signs from Orochimaru's side?"
Aside from the fact that Uchiha Madara was not dead, Tobirama was most concerned about Orochimaru.
Orochimaru is Konoha's next-generation genius, and we can't let him become a traitor as shown on the light screen.
Even though he eventually returned to Konoha, he betrayed the village and killed his teacher, the Third Hokage, which remains a stain no matter how you look at it.
"I talked to Orochimaru for a long time last night. He did have some troubling ideas. He kept discussing the meaning of life with me."
Sarutobi Hiruzen touched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed.
As a teacher, he was at a complete disadvantage in the conversation with Orochimaru.
Faced with Orochimaru's questions, he didn't know how to respond.
If Orochimaru asked him about ninjutsu, he could answer immediately without needing to think.
But questions about life are too weighty and broad, and answering them with his current knowledge is extremely difficult.
"If this time travel goes smoothly, bring Orochimaru to see me when you come back."
"Okay, Tobirama-sensei."
Seeing Hiruzen's agreement, Tobirama nodded and continued, "By the way, there's something I should have told you and Kagami last night, in case you forget after traveling back in time. I'll tell you now."
Touching his chin, Tobirama organized his thoughts and said, "You all should know that some time ago I sent members of the three families, 'Ino, Shika, and Cho,' to protect the city lords of the country, right?"
The six students responded in unison, "Yes, Tobirama-sensei."
"That's good to know. The various city lords are protected by members of the Ino-Shika-Cho, but the daimyo has a different plan. He wants Hiruzen and Kagami to come over and protect him."
"Teacher, I'm fine."
Kagami had no objections to protecting the daimyo and quickly agreed.
It was Hiruzen who began to feel uneasy.
"Hiruzen, do you have any concerns?"
In response to Tobirama's question, Hiruzen asked sheepishly, "Sensei, how long will Kagami and I be gone?"
"I don't know. It could be as short as one or two months or as long as one or two years."
"I see."
Hiruzen frowned, thinking for a moment before continuing, "Can I bring my three students with me?"
Hiruzen felt that if he didn't take Orochimaru with him, by the time he returned, Orochimaru would probably have become Tobirama's shape.
He didn't want his talented disciple to be taken away by someone else.
Even if that person were Teacher Tobirama, it wouldn't be acceptable.
"The Daimyo will probably agree to let Tsunade go, but he will definitely not agree to let Orochimaru and Jiraiya go with you."
Tsunade and the Daimyo of the Land of Fire are relatives; she calls him Grandpa.
Otherwise, do you really think that Princess Tsunade is called that just because she is Hashirama Senju's granddaughter?
The title of Princess can only be held by the direct relatives of the Daimyo of each country.
His own granddaughter is coming to protect him. As a grandfather, he would likely be so pleased that he wouldn't want to let her go.
The same cannot be said for Jiraiya and Orochimaru, as they are outsiders and cannot get close to the Daimyo.
"Then I'm leaving. What about Orochimaru and the others?"
"It's alright; I will take responsibility for teaching them."
Tobirama spoke with complete certainty.
Tobirama has always admired Orochimaru.
While Hiruzen is away protecting the Daimyo, Tobirama can take Orochimaru with him and provide proper instruction.
As for Tsunade, since she is Tobirama's granddaughter, he would naturally not refuse to teach her.
Regarding Jiraiya, Tobirama felt that anyone who could achieve the title of the Sannin along with Tsunade and Orochimaru during the Second Ninja War shouldn't be too bad, so he decided to teach them all together.
"Do you have any more questions?"
Seeing that Tobirama-sensei had already arranged everything, Hiruzen had no objections. He could only sigh and respond, "I have no problem."
"That's fine."
At this moment, Danzo anxiously asked, "Teacher, what about me?"
His meaning was clear. Kagami and Hiruzen had gone to protect the daimyo, but what about him? Did he have any other plans?
In response to Danzo's question, Tobirama answered directly, "You, Torifu, and the others should just stay in Konoha and keep the peace."
"Is that so?"
Danzo's clenched fists showed his frustration. He wasn't interested in protecting the daimyo or anyone else; he simply didn't want to lose to Hiruzen.
Tobirama ignored Danzo's resentment. He glanced at the time and saw it was just a minute before half past nine.
He quickly retrieved four masks from the drawer.
He placed one mask over his face and handed the remaining three to the three individuals who would be traveling through time shortly.
Seeing the masks, the three asked in confusion, "Teacher, what is this for?"
"To avoid causing any trouble to the village forty years from now, I'll conceal my identity a bit and display the village's forehead protector."
"I see."
After hearing Tobirama's explanation, the three of them promptly started putting on their masks.
By the time they had their masks on, it was exactly half past nine.
In an instant, a rotating circular formation appeared beneath their feet.
Before they could make out the details of the formation, a flash of white light enveloped them, and the four vanished from the office.
Akimichi Torifu, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura exchanged silent glances and positioned themselves outside the office door, understanding their role.
They would not allow anyone to enter until the four of Senju Tobirama returned.
Konoha Village, Year 61 of Konoha.
In a small alley not far from the village entrance, with a fluctuation of space, the masked Tobirama successfully arrived in Konoha forty years later.
"Where are Hiruzen and the others?"
Looking around, Tobirama did not see his three students.
He immediately realized that this time travel must have caused the four of them to be scattered randomly throughout Konoha.
"I don't know where the three of them are."
After standing there and thinking for a while, Tobirama decided not to search for them. Instead, he hurried to the management desk, where the Chunin Exam was being held behind the light curtain.
At the same time, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had appeared in the bathhouse, was being pursued by a group of women.
Uchiha Kagami appeared on the outskirts of the village. After asking a passerby, he began heading towards the Uchiha clan residence.
Danzo was quite fortunate, as he appeared directly between the Third Hokage and the Fourth Kazekage.
This undoubtedly saved him time on the road, allowing him to reach his destination in one go.
It was truly a cause for celebration!
****
Support me on my ko-fi account and read upto 15 early chapters,
https://ko-fi.com/aayume