A Ghostly Encounter and an Unexpected Promotion

Sarutobi Hiruzen was momentarily taken aback when he heard Orochimaru's hushed words, but when he saw the mischievous smile creeping across his former student's lips, he couldn't help but feel a flicker of amusement.

"Teacher... Jiraiya, that idiot, thinks we're dead," Orochimaru whispered, his golden eyes glinting with mirth. "Why don't we give him a good scare?"

Hiruzen's lips twitched. His body, now restored to his prime, made him feel oddly youthful again, and a part of him—one that he thought had long been buried beneath years of Hokage duty—found the idea entertaining.

So, with a subtle nod, the two former Sannin conspirators rolled their eyes to the back of their heads and began shambling forward with eerie, unsteady steps.

"Jiraiya..." Hiruzen moaned in a ghostly voice, his expression vacant. "It's so miserable to die for your master..."

"Jiraiya..." Orochimaru followed suit, his voice dripping with unnatural despair. "Don't you always say we were best friends? I've come to take you with me..."

"Jiraiya... let's go together..."

"Jiraiya... come with us..."

Jiraiya's already pale face turned deathly white. His heart pounded violently against his ribcage, and his breath hitched. His hands trembled slightly.

He had fought wars. He had faced death countless times. But this? This was something else entirely!

"No... no way..." Jiraiya stammered, stepping back, his voice shaky. "You guys... you're dead! You can't be—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a voice rang out behind him.

"Come with me—Let's go now—"

Jiraiya screamed. A high-pitched, undignified shriek that would have made even a frightened academy student embarrassed. He spun around wildly, his mind reeling.

A young man stood behind him, wearing the Hokage's robe. Souta Kazuki.

"You! What the hell are you singing?! Dead people don't sing!" Jiraiya roared in panic, his brain struggling to piece together the absurdity of the situation.

"Hahahahahaha!" Orochimaru clutched his stomach, unable to hold back his laughter any longer.

The others watching, including Tsunade and Homura Mitokado, shook their heads in exasperation. Even Tobirama Senju, who had been watching with arms crossed, let out a rare smirk.

Jiraiya's eyes darted around wildly before settling on Tsunade.

"Tsunade!!! The village has gone mad! Everyone's turned into ghosts!"

Tsunade's eye twitched.

Bang!

With a single punch, she sent Jiraiya crashing face-first into the dirt.

"Idiot!" she snapped. "They're alive, you moron! Feel their chakra!"

Jiraiya groaned from the crater he had been smashed into, coughing up a mouthful of dirt. "Y-you sure? But—"

He activated his sensory abilities, and the moment he did, reality slapped him in the face.

Hiruzen's chakra.Orochimaru's chakra.Souta's chakra.Everyone was alive.

Jiraiya slowly lifted his head, his face filled with utter betrayal.

"You... you tricked me..." he whispered, his lips trembling.

Hiruzen adjusted his hat with a small smirk. "I did nothing of the sort. My funeral happened, and my body is right over there."

Jiraiya turned his head toward the direction Hiruzen was pointing at.

There it was. A coffin. Blown apart.

Jiraiya hesitated, then cautiously walked toward it, reaching out with shaky hands. He gulped, then lifted the lid.

Silence.

A heartbeat later—

"HOLY SHIT!!!"

Jiraiya leaped backward as if the coffin had suddenly come alive. His voice cracked. "Old man! Y-you really died?!"

"Of course," Hiruzen said smoothly. "I was resurrected, after all."

Jiraiya turned toward Souta, eyeing the Hokage robe suspiciously. "And what's with you? You're Hokage now?"

Souta simply nodded. "Yes."

Jiraiya stared at him, then turned to Tsunade, then back at the wreckage of the village. "You're telling me... all this happened in one day?"

"Pretty much."

Jiraiya's brain short-circuited.

"And Orochimaru attacking the village? That was real?"

"Yes," Homura Mitokado spoke up, pushing his glasses higher up the bridge of his nose. "And he was also resurrected."

Jiraiya's fingers twitched. "And the Uchiha?"

"Also resurrected."

Jiraiya rubbed his temples. "And the Senju?"

"They were resurrected too," Tobirama answered matter-of-factly.

Jiraiya closed his eyes. "So let me get this straight... The old man died. Then he came back. Orochimaru died. Then he came back. The entire Uchiha clan is somehow alive. The First Hokage and the Second Hokage are back. And this brat," he pointed at Souta, "became the Fifth Hokage overnight?"

"That's the short version, yes," Tobirama confirmed.

Jiraiya and Tsunade stood in stunned silence, trying to process everything they had just learned. In a single day, Konoha had undergone changes so drastic that the village they once knew barely seemed recognizable. The First Hokage, the Second Hokage, even their ancestors—people who had long passed—now stood before them, alive and well. The return of these legends shook the very foundation of what they believed to be possible.

Tsunade's golden eyes darted between the familiar figures of her grandfather, Senju Hashirama, and her granduncle, Senju Tobirama. She then looked at her grandmother, Uzumaki Mito, whose presence alone brought a wave of emotions crashing over her. The weight of history pressed heavily upon her shoulders.

She swallowed hard before speaking, her voice laced with an uncharacteristic softness."Souta Kazuki... Thank you for this."

Souta, who had been casually leaning against a wooden railing, smiled faintly at her words. His arms remained folded across his chest as he observed her reaction. He had expected something like this. The return of the past would always be overwhelming for those who lived in the present.

"Tsunade-senpai, you don't have to be so formal with me. The First Hokage was my master. That makes us family in a way, doesn't it? Strictly speaking, Hashirama-sensei was your grandfather and my teacher. And Mito-sama has always called me 'brother,' so in a way, you could even call me uncle."

Tsunade's expression immediately shifted to one of disbelief. Her fists clenched slightly at the absurdity of what she had just heard. Uncle?! Souta was just a teenager! A boy barely thirteen years old! And yet, according to lineage and respect for seniority, he had a point.

The thought of calling him 'Uncle Souta' sent a shiver down her spine.

"Hah… You must be joking!" she huffed, crossing her arms. "There's no way I'm calling a brat like you my uncle!"

Mito, who had been watching this exchange with a small smirk, chuckled softly. "But Tsunade, the boy isn't wrong. If I call him 'brother,' then by extension…"

Tsunade groaned loudly, rubbing her temples.

"Regretting coming back to the village already?" Jiraiya teased, nudging her with his elbow.

Tsunade shot him a glare before exhaling deeply. "I leave for a few years, and now I have both an extra uncle and a younger uncle! What kind of ridiculous mess is this?"

Hashirama, ever the carefree soul, burst into laughter. "Hahahahaha! Ah, don't worry about the little details! Family is family, no matter how messy the tree is!"

Tobirama, on the other hand, sighed as he shook his head. "You should know by now that my brother doesn't concern himself with technicalities."

Souta, smirking at Tsunade's frustration, turned to see Kakashi approaching. The silver-haired shinobi walked up with an expression that betrayed his internal conflict.

For years, Kakashi had been the mentor. The leader. The superior. Souta had been his student, his subordinate. But now, things had shifted in an unthinkable way.

Kakashi took a deep breath. Then, in a firm and clear voice, he addressed the boy in front of him."Hokage-sama."

The title hung in the air like a heavy weight.

For a moment, Souta said nothing. He simply stared at Kakashi, his expression unreadable. Then, with a slow shake of his head, he exhaled.

"It's weird, isn't it?" he finally said. "Just yesterday, I was still the one calling you 'sensei.'"

Kakashi gave a faint smile behind his mask. "That's how things are now."

Souta sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah… I suppose so."