Senju Hashirama's body is extremely abnormal, with cell activity so intense that it could even kill Madara, who had only bitten off a piece of his flesh. In the end, Hashirama's face even appeared to grow from Madara's chest.
This incredible cell activity is theoretically the foundation of Senju Hashirama's remarkable body.
However, that battle was too intense, and Senju Hashirama was gravely injured. To heal his body, the cells within him had to constantly devour the damaged, infected, and deteriorating cells.
This is why Senju Hashirama could recover so quickly.
Every cell in his body was working to repair him.
But once this process of devouring began, it couldn't be stopped.
To put it simply, these cells had developed a kind of inertia from continuously consuming other cells in order to keep Senju Hashirama alive. Even after the newly formed cells were healthy, the phagocytosing cells would continue to devour them.
The continuous phagocytosis left no room for the new cells to survive. However, Hashirama's immense vitality kept these cells regenerating at an incredible rate.
The constant generation of new cells fueled the never-ending activity of those devouring cells.
When Yuya learned about this condition, the first thing that came to his mind was a disease he had encountered in his previous life: leukemia.
In the human body, white blood cells are powerful weapons for devouring foreign pathogens, infected cells, and bacteria at wound sites.
However, when there are too many white blood cells and they fail to die off naturally due to this continuous growth and phagocytosis, they eventually destroy the body itself.
Hashirama's symptoms seemed similar. Without the cells in his body, he would have died long ago from the severe injuries, but these phagocytosing cells had become so overactive that they eventually started to harm him.
It was likely that Senju Hashirama's immune system had nearly collapsed.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be cases of chakra leaking from him, causing giant trees to grow at random places.
But...
Understanding the principle didn't mean Yuya knew how to fix it!
He wasn't a medical ninja! He didn't have medical skills!
His fruit ability was gold-related, not surgical!
Yuya grew anxious as he looked at Senju Hashirama and asked, "Master, how long do you have left to live?!"
Senju Hashirama rubbed his chin thoughtfully and said, "Hmm, about half a year."
Uzumaki Mito, standing beside him, wore a gloomy expression. The master and disciple were seriously asking and answering this so casually? Shouldn't they be comforting each other right now?
Yuya grew even more anxious. If Senju Hashirama died, what would become of him? He had only acquired a bit over 500 kilograms of gold, not even enough to fill his teeth. How would he strengthen himself, awaken his fruit ability, or grow stronger?
"Master, you can't die!" Yuya blurted out.
Senju Hashirama blinked, then smiled. "I didn't expect that to be your first reaction."
Yuya pressed his lips together, then said, "Master, if something happens to you, the peace of the ninja world will disappear."
Hashirama's smile faded as he sighed, "I know, but there's nothing I can do."
There was no way he could attack the other four great nations' ninja villages based on Yuya's words alone, right? If he did that, the retaliation would be even worse after his death.
Yuya's forehead was covered in sweat. He knew what would happen if a war truly broke out. Children as young as Uchiha Itachi would be sent to the battlefield, and he wasn't even fully developed himself! (Even though Uchiha Itachi's situation was partly due to his father's manipulation, Uchiha Obito and the others weren't much older.)
He definitely didn't want to go to war before he was fully grown.
Hashirama didn't seem to think too much about it. He assumed Yuya was simply worried about him, so he smiled and said, "Don't worry about me. We ninjas have long accepted the possibility of dying at any time."
"To be honest, I should have died in that battle with Madara, but I've lived for so long since then, so I feel like I've already gained a lot."
Yuya remained silent. After a pause, he asked, "After you die, Master... can we skip the funeral?"
Senju Hashirama was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter. "You really are... worthy of being my disciple. We think alike."
Yuya realized that Hashirama had called him here to give instructions about his funeral.
Hashirama sighed. "I'm not a very good master, still making demands of you even now. It makes me feel a bit ashamed, hahaha."
Looking at Hashirama's hearty smile, Yuya couldn't help but feel sad.
After living together for years, it was impossible not to develop feelings.
"Well, anyway, Yuya, I haven't been the best master, but I still need to ask you something. When I die, don't hold a grand funeral for me. Don't let anyone discover my body, and...
Don't let Tsunade find out."
Yuya pressed his lips together and nodded.
Hashirama sighed, "That girl's been suspicious lately. She's always trying to follow me. She really is my granddaughter."
Yuya rolled his eyes inwardly. That little brat was simply picking up your bad habits, not some brilliant detective work.
"But I won't be able to take care of her in the future. Her father died young. I'll need to trouble you to look after her for me."
Yuya was taken aback. He hadn't known that Tsunade came from a single-parent family.
He nodded, not finding it too much trouble to take care of a little girl.
"Now, for the most important part..." Hashirama suddenly sat up straight, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Yuya. "Are you willing to give everything to the village?"
Yuya froze, speaking almost instinctively: "I, I..."
Luckily, Yuya caught himself in time and stopped speaking.
Hashirama sighed, his intense aura vanishing.
"Yuya, even though you came to Konoha from outside, to me..." Hashirama said softly, "you are part of Konoha."
Yuya stayed silent, then lowered his head, bowing it respectfully on the tatami. "Master, please speak directly."
Hashirama gazed at him calmly, then suddenly laughed. "Hahaha, why so serious? Get up, what I want to ask is simple..."
Hashirama smiled and asked, "Do you... want to be Hokage?"
Yuya froze in place, an indescribable fear rising in his heart.
His lips trembled before he took a deep breath. Almost instinctively, he recalled every relevant scene from his past life. Then, Yuya opened his eyes, looked at Senju Hashirama, and said:
"I wouldn't be elected without the support of my clan."
Yuya knew that refusing outright would be the end of him. Being an outsider, living with Hashirama for years, and lacking a sense of belonging to the village already made Hashirama suspicious. If he said outright that he had no interest in the role of Hokage...
Well, that would raise some eyebrows.
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