Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 73 Guardian in the Dark

In the final week before the tournament, Naruto was unusually free. Jiraiya, saying he needed a break, went straight to the Hokage Building for a meeting. Konoha was formulating a countermeasure, and Hikaru was there too. However, their personnel was pitifully small, only six people in total. One was likely entrusted with a major task, responsible for part of Konoha's defense plan, essentially a non-combatant. The two younger ones, whose combat abilities weren't as outrageous as the others, were sent to wipe out a Sound Village stronghold in Konoha, ensuring no one left alive. The three old monsters from the Warring States period each led a team to summon summoning beasts. These teams were all very strong, as summoning large summoning beasts required chakra and was difficult to control. Orochimaru had prepared five surprises for Konoha, and Hikaru cut three of them, leaving only two more heavily guarded areas untouched—a huge help indeed. The remaining two were simply a test from seniors to juniors.

Hui's plan was largely designed to cooperate with Konoha. With Naruto as a super cheat code, they could follow the plan however they wanted, and quickly discovered that while Konoha's intelligence department wasn't entirely ineffective, it wasn't entirely useless either. Although the enemy numbers were completely mismatched, and they had severely underestimated their opponents, they had at least deduced from clues that attacks from two directions would be more intense, so they strengthened their defenses. This led to the First Hokage's rather pleased gesture of sweeping away the remaining three enemies. He looked exactly like a parent who spoils their child.

“Naruto still has to go through the final round of selections. Even if you’ve already decided on him as a Chunin, he should focus his energy on the exams right now.” Jiraiya slammed his hand on the table in the meeting room, a rare occurrence for him.

To avoid suspicion, he chose to leave twelve years ago, resulting in the sacrifice of his most promising student. The student's only child was labeled a monster by this group of incompetent officials from a young age. Now, the connection has been re-established. Having witnessed Naruto's extraordinary talent, he has every reason to believe in the glimmer of hope that prophecy will come true. Before, he was simply too lazy to argue with these old fogies, not afraid! He hadn't even mentioned the Sage Mode yet; he had only shared his observations after his first meeting with Naruto, and these people were already eyeing him—they really didn't mince words!

"Jiraiya, this is a critical moment for Konoha. Every ninja has the responsibility and obligation to protect Konoha!" Koharu Utatane calmly offered her reasoned argument. This was a common tactic used by the higher-ups, leaving no room for argument.

But Jiraiya is who he is. When it comes to being unruly, he is second to none.

"Yes, every ninja has a responsibility, but how old is Naruto? His life has just begun. Isn't protecting the children's future also the responsibility of our seniors?" Jiraiya retorted directly, his aura unleashed. "What? You expect the children to shoulder responsibility, but you don't need to?"

"Our responsibilities are clearly far more important." Danzo tapped his cane, his expression unwavering. "Defense deployment, personnel arrangements, diplomatic maneuvering, and eliminating internal spies—which one isn't important?"

"There are plenty of people who could do those things better than you," Jiraiya sneered. Every deed leaves a trace. He'd seen Danzo's unbridled behavior in the shadows, and that's why he particularly disliked the old man. "Don't make excuses for your cowardice, Danzo."

The eyes hidden in the shadows opened, and Danzo was looking at him. He glared back defiantly. This was already a complete breakdown in relations; if they continued arguing, it might escalate into a physical fight.

"Alright! All of you, shut up!" The Third Hokage tapped the table with his pipe, ending the farce. "The alliance between Sunagakure and Otogakure should not be underestimated. If there are divisions among your own people, how can you defend against external enemies?"

"Regardless of Naruto's strength, he is only a 'genin' right now and shouldn't be involved in such an important mission. But... when the enemy launches an attack, every ninja in Konoha is a warrior, and there is no room for retreat."

“Since Naruto is a Jinchuriki, let’s hand Gaara, who is also a Jinchuriki, over to him. This is a secret mission for Team 7, and Captain Kakashi will issue it to the team members when the invasion begins. Is there any objection to this arrangement?”

The third generation of politicians proved themselves seasoned veterans, defusing the tense situation with just a few words. Seeing that neither side had any objections, the third generation immediately moved on to the next topic.

"Next comes the arrangements concerning the Kazekage. Given Orochimaru's cautious nature, he might very well take this opportunity to join forces with the Kazekage to assassinate me..."

That concludes the content.

In a double room next to the Hokage Building, three adult men and a little boy sat around a square table. Although the aroma of tea wafted through the air, only the one who had been talking incessantly was drinking it.

"Is your judgment good or bad?" Izuna sat directly opposite Naruto, his gaze constantly sweeping over the pensive Senju brothers, and he made his usual sarcastic remarks.

Despite being a resurrected body, Tobirama still took a deep breath. "I must admit that people change. It's only natural that people cherish life more as they get older."

"I've never seen you cherish your own life much..." Izuna muttered under her breath, closing her eyes to avoid looking at him.

"...I have no regrets about dying to protect my juniors. Really." Tobirama added a special explanation.

Upon hearing this, Izuna's eyes, which had reopened, turned red. His words carried a hint of exasperation and anger as he said, "Now that you see your junior has grown up like this, don't you regret it?"

"They are not worth my regrets." Tobirama said this with absolute certainty, but he never said what exactly he should regret.

Naruto was already used to the arrogant way these two argued. He calmly picked up his teacup to take a sip, only to find a reddish-white mushroom floating in it. Turning his head, he saw that the First Hokage, who occupied the other corner of the table, was now covered in mushrooms...

"...How about we have mushroom risotto for dinner tonight?" Naruto murmured, picking out edible varieties from a large bunch of brightly colored mushrooms.

"Waaah, Madara was absolutely right! Why didn't I understand that back then?" Hashirama, tears streaming down his face, curled up into a ball.

“It’s really hard to spot problems in a thriving environment. Any new thing needs to stand the test of time, but history has given you too little time.” Naruto couldn’t stand it anymore and patted Hashirama on the shoulder to comfort him, looking somewhat comical.

"No, actually Madara did give me time, but I was just too slow to react..." Hashirama became increasingly heartbroken as he spoke, and then revealed the tip of the iceberg of a mystery, "If I could have kept Madara with me back then, then I wouldn't have..."

"Brother, let's think about how to cover for these unfilial descendants." Tobirama's sudden words did interrupt Hashirama, but instead piqued the curiosity of the other two present.

What will Hashirama say next?

Now that the two sides have cooperated openly and honestly for so many years, it can be said that they have no secrets from each other. The only thing that the Thousand Hands Brothers avoid talking about is one thing.

How exactly did Hashirama Senju, hailed as the God of Shinobi, die?