Minato's eyes narrowed slightly.
After the battle with the Nine-Tails, and the whirlwind of shocking revelations, one final question continued to gnaw at him.
He turned toward the two legendary figures standing before him—men who had once shaped Konohagakure from blood and ash.
"Lord First… Lord Second…" he began carefully. "May I ask—how are you both here? And who is this person you're traveling with?"
His gaze shifted to Kai, whose strange white attire and violet Rinnegan still carried an air of silent omnipotence.
At Minato's respectful tone, Kai gave a slight nod of approval.
"Go ahead," he said. "Tell him."
Hashirama, ever cheerful, didn't hesitate. "It's a long story! But in short… you could say we were invited."
Tobirama crossed his arms. "It involves something beyond this timeline. Something your current understanding of space-time jutsu can't yet reach."
The brothers gave a condensed explanation of how they were pulled from a parallel timeline—specifically, from the first year of Konohagakure's founding—into this era.
And as expected, the tale nearly made Minato's head spin.
Even the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, standing nearby, was visibly rattled.
"You mean… you came from a different world altogether?" he asked, incredulous.
"Correct," Kai answered, his voice steady. "A parallel branch in time. Not your past, but a past."
Minato, however, absorbed it far more easily than Sarutobi.
It wasn't just his calm personality.
A few years ago, during the Loulan mission, Minato had encountered a mysterious shinobi—a boy named Naruto—who claimed to be from the future. He'd wielded the Rasengan, spoken like a true hero, and protected the Land of Wind's remnants with uncanny determination.
At the time, Minato hadn't pressed him for answers.
But now, it all made sense.
Parallel timelines… time-space distortions… it wasn't just theory anymore.
Maybe… maybe that boy really was his son.
No—he was sure of it now.
Which made him even more certain that this strange figure, this Kai, was someone beyond comprehension.
And based on the respect the First and Second Hokage showed him, he had to be even more dangerous than he let on.
'Definitely not someone Konohagakure can afford to antagonize…' Minato thought.
Meanwhile, Tobirama glanced at Sarutobi.
"Monkey," he said, suddenly serious. "It looks like the village has barely survived another war. Tell me what happened."
"The Third Great Ninja War," Sarutobi replied, his voice heavy. "It's only recently ended. The losses were… devastating."
His shoulders sagged with decades of hidden regret.
"The White Fang… gone. The Legendary Sannin disbanded. Countless elite jonin and chunin lost in the chaos. We… barely held the line."
Tobirama furrowed his brow. "So soon after the Second War… these people really don't learn."
Hashirama's expression turned grim. "So much death… We were supposed to be done with that. We wanted to prevent children from dying on battlefields ever again."
Sarutobi nodded. "And yet… we've buried more children in the last decade than I ever thought possible."
Kai remained silent, letting them absorb the truth.
Even Minato, despite being hailed as the hero who ended the war, clenched his fists.
The world was broken. And Konohagakure wasn't immune.
"Let me ask something else," Tobirama said, straightening up. "Who leads the Uchiha now?"
"Uchiha Fugaku," Sarutobi replied. "He became clan head a few years ago."
"And their numbers?"
"Roughly a thousand clan members," Sarutobi said. "But only a few hundred of them are active shinobi."
Tobirama nodded. "Still enough to be formidable…"
Then his voice grew colder.
"And what about the Senju Clan?"
Sarutobi hesitated.
"…There are none," he finally said.
"What?"
The atmosphere dropped.
Tobirama's chakra flared unconsciously, a cold pressure sweeping the clearing.
"Say that again."
"During the first and second wars… most of them died," Sarutobi answered reluctantly. "Some retired, some left the village entirely. Only one descendant remains in Konoha today."
"…Who?"
"Tsunade. Granddaughter of Lord First."
Tobirama's anger simmered. "That's it?"
"Yes. She's the only one."
"Tsunade?" Hashirama blinked, tilting his head. "That name doesn't ring a bell…"
"You haven't met her yet," Tobirama reminded. "She's not born in your time."
"Ah! So she's my granddaughter?" Hashirama's eyes lit up. "I have a granddaughter?! That's amazing!"
Sarutobi forced a smile. "Yes… but she's not in the village right now."
"On a mission?"
Sarutobi looked uncomfortable. "She… left Konoha. A long time ago."
"…Why?"
There was a pause.
"Her little brother, Nawaki, died in the war," Sarutobi explained quietly. "Then her lover followed. She couldn't take it anymore. She… walked away."
Hashirama's smile faded.
Tobirama, on the other hand, stared daggers at Sarutobi.
"What were you doing while our clan was being erased from this village?" he asked sharply. "What about recruitment? Support? Integration?"
Sarutobi didn't answer.
He couldn't.
Over the next few minutes, Tobirama asked dozens more questions about the state of the village.
Who handled diplomacy?
How were the Uchiha managed?
What had Danzo done?
Each answer made his eyes narrow further, his tone colder.
And Sarutobi could only endure the storm.
Thankfully, Hashirama remained distracted—he was now in a deep discussion with Minato about chakra flow, sealing arrays, and the philosophy of "leading by love."
To Tobirama's dismay, the Fourth Hokage really did share a lot of his brother's... idealistic tendencies.
Still, he had to admit—Minato was competent. Decisive. And when it mattered, he acted.
That alone put him leagues ahead of certain other Hokage.
But the relative calm didn't last long.
Suddenly, Hashirama flinched.
Kai turned, noting the faint pulse of energy shifting around the God of Shinobi.
"It's time," he said. "This world's rejecting him."
Hashirama looked confused. "Already?"
"You interfered," Kai said calmly. "When you restrained the Nine-Tails, the world accelerated your ejection. You don't belong here, remember."
"I see…"
Minato looked alarmed. "He's disappearing?"
Kai nodded. "Just for now."
Hashirama's form began to shimmer, surrounded by faint light.
He turned to Minato, smiling warmly.
"You'll do well," he said. "You have a kind heart. Don't let that turn to stone."
"I… I won't," Minato said quietly.
Hashirama gave a wave.
And then—just like that—he was gone.
Returned to his original world.
The sudden disappearance made both Sarutobi and Minato glance sharply at Kai, their awe deepening.
This man really could pull legends from across time.
"Second Hokage," Minato said, "Will you be staying much longer?"
"Not long," Tobirama replied. "Maybe half an hour."
He turned to Kai. "But I'll head back soon. I still have things to do—unfinished battles."
Specifically, he thought of Ginkaku.
He still hadn't finished what he started with the brothers who had killed the Second Raikage.
"I'll take you when you're ready," Kai said.
Just then, shouts echoed from the nearby trees.
Konoha shinobi were arriving—drawn by the Nine-Tails' chakra and the earlier battle.
Sarutobi's Anbu were trying to hold them back, but tensions were rising.
From the sharp murmurs, Tobirama caught names he didn't like hearing.
"…Danzo's men," he muttered.
"Let me handle this," Sarutobi said, stepping forward. "They'll listen to me."
Kai said nothing, and Sarutobi vanished into the trees.
Tobirama turned back to Minato.
"You've got your work cut out for you," he said bluntly. "But I trust you'll make the right decisions."
"Thank you," Minato said sincerely. "And I'll deal with Obito… I promise."
"Good."
Tobirama placed a hand on his shoulder—a rare gesture of warmth from the often cold Second Hokage.
"Protect this village. And don't let your enemies grow in your blind spots."
"Yes, sir!"
Finally, Tobirama looked at Kai.
"I'm ready. Let's go back."
Kai gave a nod—and in a blink, both figures vanished into the void between worlds.