Chapter 33: A Day in the Life of Senju Tobirama (Part 1)

The next morning.

Inside the Senju clan estate.

Senju Tobirama sat at the edge of the engawa, his gaze lingering on the garden with a look of quiet nostalgia.

Ever since his return from the Pure Land, Tobirama cherished every fleeting moment he could spend in the world of the living.

Beside him, Sarutobi Hiruzen also sat on the veranda, his posture relaxed but his heart somewhat ill at ease. Still, after so many years as Hokage, he'd mastered the art of masking his nerves—his face was calm, betraying nothing.

Thunk~

The crisp sound of water filling the bamboo fountain echoed through the courtyard, shattering the morning's brief tranquility.

Eyes still on the gentle flow of the pond, Tobirama spoke in his usual even tone.

"Monkey, how's the situation at the front lines?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Hiruzen, who'd spent the entire night preparing, answered promptly:

"The Grass Country front is under control. Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade are all performing exceptionally well.

Orochimaru's strike force has already swung around to the northwestern border of the Land of Earth—he's about to cut off Iwagakure's supply lines and attack them from behind."

Tobirama nodded slightly at that.

"What about casualties?"

The question made Hiruzen pause, then he braced himself and replied, "One to three point two."

Tobirama's first reaction was disbelief.

One of ours for over three of theirs? No way.

These are all major villages—everyone's strength is about the same. How could the numbers be so skewed?

In large-scale wars, the impact of individual powerhouses fades—unless, of course, we're talking about total monsters.

Sure, Konoha's got its share of prodigies, but the other villages aren't slouches. Especially Iwagakure—when it comes to coordinated jutsu among regular shinobi, they might even edge Konoha out.

On the battlefield, Earth Release combo attacks are a huge advantage.

With that in mind, Tobirama shot Hiruzen a questioning look.

Catching the glance, Hiruzen—who'd been hoping to gloss things over—gave a little cough and confessed:

"Tobirama-sensei, the former leader of Amegakure, Hanzō of the Salamander, has joined the fight as well."

"He's not dead?" Tobirama blurted out in surprise.

"He is, but… well… same as you, sensei."

At that, Tobirama gave a knowing nod.

Of course Hanzō was dead. Offending that petty Rinjin—not even death would let him rest easy.

But if someone that good at large-scale battles was on our side, the casualty ratio made sense.

Thinking it through, Tobirama found his annoyance with Rinjin had faded quite a bit.

If nothing else, just the fact that brat had saved so many of the village's comrades was a huge favor.

He wasn't the type to hand out gratitude lightly, but he also wasn't blind to merit.

After a moment's thought, Tobirama made a mental note of it and shifted the topic to the village's current state.

On this, Hiruzen was eager to oblige. The village's economy was booming, the people's lives had improved dramatically—plenty to be proud of.

Then, skipping over the noble clans, Tobirama asked about Rinjin's history.

He knew full well he was dead—Hiruzen was the Hokage now. Asking questions was fine, but meddling in village affairs would be out of line.

Besides, he'd been gone for over a decade. The world had changed; any advice he gave could be way off the mark.

Better to focus on understanding Sakukata Rinjin—maybe that kid would come in handy someday.

After all, anyone who could go toe-to-toe with Uchiha Madara deserved all the attention he could give.

With that, Tobirama glanced at Hiruzen, noting the streaks of white in his hair, and spoke in a calm, measured voice.

"Monkey, tell me—what's that Sakukata Rinjin brat been up to since I died?"

Hiruzen fell silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Tobirama-sensei, after you were ambushed by the Gold and Silver Brothers, I told Rinjin about Sakukata Mizuguma's death.

Then, to find out if the ambush was a Kumogakure plot, we sent Sakukata Rinjin to Cloud.

He stayed in Kumogakure for a while, brought back intelligence—and the Two-Tails, Matatabi.

After that, he spent quite some time outside the village. During that period, iron ore prices across the whole shinobi world skyrocketed.

When he came back, he brought a plan. He played middleman, staging a fake conflict between us and Kumo to drive iron prices even higher—profiting off the major nations, the minor countries, and the rich all at once.

Outsiders called it the 'Great Iron Heist.'"

"And after that?"

At this, Hiruzen pressed his lips together, sighing inwardly.

"After that, he used money to buy off the daimyo of Fire and Rain, and became the new daimyo of the Land of Rain himself.

The village elders felt he needed to be kept in check, so they assigned him three students.

He took those students to Grass Country for three years—wiped out all the rogue ninja, destroyed Kusagakure, and drove every ninja out of Grass Country."

Hearing this, Tobirama couldn't help rolling his eyes.

What, does this guy have a personal vendetta against grass or something?

Seeing Tobirama's silence, Hiruzen continued,

"Later, Rinjin killed Hanzō of the Salamander, and had his sister, Sakukata Riē, rebuild Amegakure.

After that, he took a leave from the village—no one knows where he went."

Hiruzen was careful with his words, downplaying Rinjin's contributions while highlighting his troublemaking.

Not that you could blame him. To the village leadership, the Amegakure under Rinjin was already becoming too big to control.

It wasn't yet time to move against him, but his existence was definitely shaking up the power balance in the village.

That's politics for you.

But the man sitting beside him wasn't some rookie—he was the shrewdest of the shrewd: Senju Tobirama.

After listening, Tobirama shot Hiruzen a sidelong glance, more or less satisfied.

So the Monkey had learned to play dirty—looked like he'd truly become a Hokage.

Still, Sakukata Rinjin must've done you a lot of favors, huh? Otherwise, the village wouldn't let that brat run wild.

Just as Tobirama was about to let the subject drop, a sudden flash of insight struck him.

No.

Something's off.

There's a weird rhythm to all this…

Right then, Tobirama's brow furrowed sharply.

From Hiruzen's perspective, he could sense it too—a strange, unsettling cadence.

As a subordinate, the relationship had gone from hostility, to indifference, to respect.

Then, with money, that subordinate had turned into a partner—one the village had to court.

And as a partner, he'd gone from barely qualified, to an equal, to someone to be wary of!

That brat!

Step by step, he'd clawed his way to this level!

Damn it, he's definitely plotting something—no one puts in that much effort for nothing!

No—he might have already succeeded!

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