Wakato didn't hesitate; he snapped his fingers and activated World Teleport again.
He took Tobirama back to Hokage World No. 2...
It was still the same forest, the same battlefield ruins.
As Tobirama returned, he felt his spirit flicker, as though everything he had just seen was only a dream.
Had he and his eldest brother truly traveled into the future and witnessed the 'Nine Tails Riot'?
Surely, it couldn't all have been a Genjutsu...
No, no, that was far too real!
Tobirama looked at the 'Sennin Wakato' beside him, then at the corpse of Jin Jiao, mangled into paste in the distance, and immediately laughed, shaking his head.
It was all real. Not some Genjutsu illusion.
"Sir, please wait a moment..."
Tobirama took a deep breath, drew his katana, flashed to the center of the battlefield using a teleportation technique, and approached the dying Ginkaku.
Without hesitation, he severed Ginkaku's head with a single strike, killing him completely.
Regardless of his enemy's position, Tobirama held disdain for anyone who betrayed their own village and leader.
"Phew..."
Tobirama flicked the blood off his katana, activated his perception ability, and scanned the battlefield to ensure no enemies remained before putting away his weapon.
He also collected the five Six Paths Ninja Tools left behind by Jin Jiao and Ginkaku, then returned to Wakato.
With heartfelt sincerity, he said, "Thank you, sir! Without you and my brother, I might truly have died here."
Wakato casually waved his hand, signaling he was welcome.
"Excuse me, sir, is there anything you need me to do?" Tobirama, unlike the innocent Hashirama, got straight to the point.
Seeing that Wakato could easily transport him and his brother across time and space, Tobirama held no doubts about his power. But no matter how powerful one might be, they would hardly help others without reason. Selflessness seemed unlikely.
What did this Yudao Immortal want? What price might he expect?
If Tobirama didn't understand this, he couldn't rest easy...
Wakato, however, wasn't in a hurry to answer and instead asked, "Have you thought about the question from earlier?"
What question?
Tobirama suddenly recalled.
[Did you really choose to risk your life to stay and end your marriage?]
If he'd been asked half an hour ago, Tobirama would have answered without hesitation. Yes, his choice had been right. He'd needed to protect the younger ninjas, to pass on the Will of Fire and the position of Hokage, to ensure they could bring word back to the village...
He had so many reasons, none of which could be abandoned.
The key was this:
As Hokage, as the Second Hokage who inherited his elder brother's Will of Fire, he could never abandon his disciples, his subordinates, and flee alone...
But now...
After journeying thirty-four years into the future, seeing the future Sarutobi and the Leaf Village...
Tobirama, sharp and intelligent, began to perceive the faintest clues.
This made him hesitate in his answer.
Wakato smiled faintly and spoke directly:
"You see it, don't you? There's a vast difference between the future Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen and your present Sarutobi."
Tobirama nodded.
Indeed, the difference was immense. But it wasn't just a matter of appearance.
It was a deeper change—temperament, beliefs...
"Monkey... he's changed a lot," Tobirama murmured, pensive.
He'd died young and never saw what Sarutobi experienced over those thirty-some years, transforming him into someone so... timid.
"That's exactly it."
"This is the battle."
"Senju Tobirama, by staying behind alone, you saved Sarutobi and the others. But the cost was high."
"Your death struck a devastating blow to Sarutobi's spirit and courage!"
Watching the Second Hokage he admired and respected die at the hands of enemies while he and the others were forced to escape with their lives...
Few could withstand that blow.
It wasn't just Sarutobi.
Tobirama's other personal guards—aside from Uchiha Kagami, long dead, and Akamichi Tōfū, killed by Nine Tails...
Sarutobi, Koharu, Mitomon, Danzo.
All of them were broken by that battle.
They lost their courage, their beliefs, transforming from elite ninjas into cowards hiding in the village.
This didn't just affect them as individuals.
As Hokage and senior leaders, all decisions they made based on fear would affect the entire village.
Under the Third Hokage's reign, Konoha grew increasingly timid and cautious.
So much so...
In later conflicts, the entire Leaf Village feared Kumogakure.
After the Third Great Ninja War, Kumogakure infiltrated Konoha, kidnapped Hinata, all to obtain the Hyuga clan's [Byakugan].
And yet, even when Hiashi Hyuga tried to reclaim Hinata, Sarutobi and other senior Konoha officials refused to challenge Kumogakure. They even pressured the Hyuga clan, forcing Hizashi, Hiashi's brother, to commit suicide and surrender his body.
It was enough to make one's blood boil!
Their fear and hatred for Kumogakure, born since Tobirama's death, had persisted for decades, casting a long shadow over Konoha...
Like a nightmare!
...
In that moment, Tobirama's understanding blossomed.
He'd always considered how to protect Sarutobi and the others, how to secure Konoha's Hokage and village.
Yet he'd utterly overlooked the psychological blow his own death would deal Sarutobi and the others.
What if, for instance, his beloved brother Hashirama, his greatest inspiration, was slain by an enemy, and Tobirama escaped like a rat?
Would he still have the courage to challenge a formidable enemy that even his elder brother couldn't defeat?
Perhaps, perhaps not...
Tobirama wasn't certain. How much less so Sarutobi and the others?
To them, his role might even mirror that of Hashirama to him.
No wonder!
No wonder Sarutobi lost his courage and his Hokage tenacity. It all stemmed from him, from this self-sacrificial battle!
"I understand."
"But what choice did I have?"
Tobirama sighed, resigned.
Even recognizing the grave consequences, he would still choose to remain behind and sacrifice himself.
Though it left Sarutobi and the others with nightmares and took their courage, it was better than leading them to certain death...
A cautious Hokage was preferable to an empty position.
After all, the next generation of Konoha ninjas wasn't yet ready...
"No other choice? Don't you dare to take Sarutobi and the six of them and stay to face the Golden Horn troops?"
"That's too risky! I can't bet like that. The Golden Horn troops are far too powerful..."
"You mean the Golden Horn troops that you nearly wiped out single-handedly?"
Wakato gestured at the battlefield, a touch of irony in his tone.
A gravely wounded Tobirama could nearly eliminate the Golden Horn troops; add six Elite Jōnin like Sarutobi, and victory wouldn't be impossible.
There was a strong chance they'd even win.
"This..."
"Senju Tobirama, could it be that you're the one who's truly timid?"
Wakato's words struck Tobirama's heart like a hammer.
"I..." Tobirama bowed his head, uncertain.
The one who had truly changed wasn't just Sarutobi decades later; it was himself.
If he'd been the Tobirama of the Warring States period...
Would he have negotiated peace and alliance with Yunyin Village?
No!
He would have raised his sword and attacked with Flying Thunder God.
When had he learned to compromise? Become a dove?
Was it when Konoha was founded?
During the first Five Kage Summit?
Or after his elder brother Hashirama died?
Yes, he had changed...