Chapter 164: Yamato Despairs; Hashirama Revived

Why would they feel wary, when it was only a method left behind?

Danzo narrowed his eyes slightly, a rare seriousness on his face as he looked at Jiraiya.

Not only Danzo—everyone else’s gaze turned toward him as well.

“This is the village my grandpa built back then. No matter what, I’ll protect it with everything I have… even if it costs me my life.”

Arms crossed over her chest, Tsunade spoke with a level of solemn resolve she had never shown before.

Feeling the heaviness on everyone’s faces, Jiraiya froze for a moment, then scratched his head with a wry smile.

“When Hiruzen-sensei handed me the key, he specifically mentioned the two scrolls placed in the very center.”

Jiraiya’s words echoed in their ears, making everyone pause—then they all perked up to listen.

“Those two scrolls are indeed contingencies left behind, but to be exact, the First Hokage-sama only left one. The other scroll was left by Tobirama-sama.”

Jiraiya paused slightly there.

Tsunade blinked, confusion on her face. “Great-uncle left something behind?”

“Yeah. Hiruzen-sensei didn’t know what the First Hokage-sama’s contingency truly was, but he did know exactly what jutsu was recorded in Tobirama-sama’s scroll.”

Jiraiya nodded as he continued.

“What jutsu did Tobirama-sama leave?” Koharu blurted out, unable to hold it back.

That question was exactly what everyone else wanted answered too.

“There’s a kinjutsu in Konoha called Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation). You two advisors should know that jutsu, right?”

Jiraiya looked at Homura and Koharu as he spoke softly.

Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation)!

Hearing the name, aside from Tsunade and Shizune—who didn’t seem to fully understand—Danzo, Homura, and Koharu all showed shock at the same time.

“Don’t tell me that scroll contains that jutsu?” Homura’s voice tightened with nerves.

Danzo immediately shot it down. “Absolutely not Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation). That jutsu is incomplete to begin with, and it has huge flaws.”

Danzo knew Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation) very well.

More importantly, arbitrarily manipulating the dead like that would make someone the enemy of the entire ninja world—no one wants to be controlled even after they die.

Danzo might act without scruples, but he would never do something that placed Konoha in that kind of danger.

“Ahem… could you tell me what Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation) actually is?”

Tsunade coughed lightly, cutting into their exchange.

Jiraiya quickly gave Tsunade a general explanation of Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation).

“Controlling the dead… so Great-uncle was already researching that kind of domain back then?”

Tsunade frowned. Anyone hearing that you could manipulate the dead wouldn’t exactly look pleased.

“The jutsu he left behind isn’t Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation). That was only a test product—Tobirama-sama’s prototype for the jutsu he truly wanted to research.”

Jiraiya’s tone turned strange, and then his voice grew hoarse as he said:

“A jutsu that can truly resurrect Hashirama-sama!”

Boom!

Jiraiya wasn’t loud, but his words hit like a muffled thunderclap in everyone’s minds.

Resurrect Hashirama!

Danzo swallowed hard. Now he finally understood why Hiruzen’s eyes back then had carried such complexity—and such wariness.

Maybe there really was some jutsu that could deal with Yuto… but only under one condition.

Just like a civilian holding a sharp blade still can’t defeat a genin with bare hands.

The more Danzo studied the history of the Warring States era, the more he grasped what level of power the First Mizukage Yuto had reached.

If they couldn’t beat him while he was alive, could a “method left behind” really eliminate him?

Even if such a jutsu existed, without someone of the same level to restrain him, then no matter how powerful that jutsu was, it would be impossible to truly erase a monster like Yuto—or even trap him.

A sharp light flashed through Danzo’s eyes.

The scroll left by Hashirama-sama was probably that very “jutsu,” and the one left by Tobirama-sama was the means of restraint.

Only by combining both could they achieve true certainty—completely erasing someone like Yuto.

While Danzo was thinking, Jiraiya’s voice continued on the other side.

“In this world, anything you do has a price… especially something like resurrection.”

As he said that, Jiraiya turned toward Tsunade.

“Tsunade, that necklace on your neck is the most important tool for resurrecting Hashirama-sama.”

Danzo narrowed his eyes at Jiraiya. “It’s not just that, is it?”

Hearing that, Jiraiya nodded slightly, his gaze flickering with complicated emotion.

Before long, the Hokage office fell into silence.

Then, an ANBU guarding outside entered the Hokage office. Not long after, that ANBU left again, heading toward some direction within Konoha.

Soon, the ANBU who had gone out hurried back—and behind him closely followed a Konoha ninja.

That ninja stepped into the Hokage office with a puzzled expression, and in an instant, everyone’s eyes focused on him.

“Greetings, sirs!”

Feeling all those stares, Yamato looked embarrassed and hurriedly spoke.

Jiraiya and Tsunade’s expressions were complicated, and for a moment they didn’t know how to begin.

Compared to them, Danzo, Homura, and Koharu looked much calmer.

Seeing Jiraiya not speaking, Danzo stepped forward and addressed Yamato first.

“There’s a mission I need you to do next. You can refuse, but I hope you’ll make the right choice… for Konoha.”

Facing Danzo, the head of Root, a trace of wariness flashed through Yamato’s eyes—but he didn’t look nervous.

From the moment he left Root, he belonged to the Hokage’s side.

And besides, with Jiraiya and Tsunade here, Yamato wasn’t afraid Danzo had any schemes against him.

Just as Danzo was about to continue, a knock suddenly came from the door.

The Hokage office door opened, and Kakashi walked in slowly, a lazy look on his face.

“Sorry to interrupt, Danzo-sama. I was wondering… can I hear the orders you’re giving Yamato?”

“Kakashi-senpai!”

Seeing Kakashi come in, Yamato froze.

Danzo frowned slightly and glanced toward Tsunade and Jiraiya, only to find neither of them had any intention of speaking.

Only then did Danzo realize—he’d somehow been pushed into the “villain” position again.

“Villain? For Konoha, so what if I’m the villain?”

Danzo let out a cold snort, clearly expressing his dissatisfaction toward Jiraiya and Tsunade.

Tsunade acted as if she hadn’t heard him at all, her gaze drifting.

Jiraiya, on the other hand, wore an awkward expression.

Seeing the atmosphere, Kakashi couldn’t help frowning.

He had rushed over thinking Yamato had been summoned because of Danzo—but now it looked like this wasn’t just Danzo’s idea.

“We just received intelligence: First Mizukage Yuto has been resurrected. This war itself was merely his scheme from the shadows.”

“The only way to deal with him is to use the contingency left back then—resurrect Hashirama-sama.”

“And you, who also possess Mokuton (Wood Release)… are not only the best candidate to resurrect Hashirama-sama, you can also bring Hashirama-sama’s strength back to the peak he once had.”

Danzo laid it out bluntly, not bothering to hide anything.

In an instant, the Hokage office fell silent again.

Kakashi, who had just entered, stood there stunned—this development had gone far beyond anything he’d expected.

Yamato’s body stiffened. Even though Danzo hadn’t said what would happen to him after the resurrection, the outcome was obvious.

Jiraiya clenched his fist slightly. In that moment, he felt a helplessness he had never felt before.

Sacrificing one person in the village to protect the majority… maybe that was “right.”

But in Jiraiya’s heart, it was wrong.

Yet what stood before them now was no longer a question of right or wrong.

Maybe that was the true reason Hiruzen-sensei hadn’t wanted to use those two scrolls in the first place.

Yamato suddenly remembered his childhood—the dark years.

From the moment Orochimaru’s experiments were exposed and he defected, to being taken in by Root, and then entering ANBU…

In all those memories, the only time Yamato felt he could call “living” was the period after he entered ANBU.

To protect Konoha, the Third Hokage-sama had already given everything.

Just like what the Third Hokage-sama once told him:

A burning leaf uses its light to illuminate the village.

Yamato slowly raised his head and looked at Danzo, about to speak—when Kakashi suddenly cut in.

“Yamato!”

Yamato’s body stiffened slightly. Then he broke into a bright smile and turned toward Kakashi.

“Thank you, Kakashi-senpai. The decision I’m making next… might be my real mission.”

After that, Yamato turned back to Danzo, his voice firm.

“I agree!”

As Yamato’s words fell, Danzo’s eyes flickered a few times, and he let out a quiet sigh in his heart.

Tsunade suddenly walked up in front of Yamato. She still wore a smile—but no one could feel any warmth in it.

She lifted her hand and patted Yamato’s shoulders hard several times.

A determined light flashed through Jiraiya’s eyes. He took out that special key again, and his hands began forming hand seals at rapid speed.

Not long after, a strange energy fluctuation appeared in everyone’s senses.

In the next moment, a passageway into another space appeared before them.

Jiraiya stepped into it first, walking straight toward the two scrolls positioned at the very center.

He picked up the slightly smaller scroll.

At the same time, everyone else entered the space as well.

It was Kakashi and Yamato’s first time inside this place. They looked around with curiosity, but the space was empty—after only a few glances, they withdrew their gazes.

Jiraiya looked at Yamato deeply, then placed the large scroll he was holding on the ground and slowly unrolled it.

It was covered in countless sealing marks and strange symbols.

At the very center of the scroll was a large black circle, and inside the circle was a single character: “Sit.”

Tsunade removed the necklace from her neck and hung it around Yamato’s.

Under everyone’s gaze, Yamato walked onto the scroll, then sat cross-legged inside the black circle.

Not long after Yamato sat down, the necklace left behind by the First Hokage suddenly erupted with dazzling light.

Immediately, an overwhelmingly vast chakra surged into everyone’s senses, rapidly enveloping Yamato.

In the next moment, the markings carved into the scroll seemed to come alive, spinning around Yamato at the center.

Yamato suddenly felt a crushing drowsiness wash over him—and in the blink of an eye, he fell asleep.

At the same time, the vitality on Yamato’s body grew denser and denser, and branches abruptly sprouted from him one after another.

Right then, everyone’s eyes widened.

Yamato’s appearance and physique began to change at a visible speed.

By the time they processed what they were seeing, the figure before them had become—

Hashirama.

A terrifying aura poured out from Hashirama’s body as he sat there with eyes closed.

That dreadful presence—like something from another dimension—made everyone instinctively take a step back.

The overwhelming chakra, the dense life force… it all told Danzo and the others one thing:

Hashirama had been resurrected.

Resurrected—truly, genuinely resurrected!

Not the false “living” created by something like Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation).