"Come in."
The voice of the Third Hokage came from inside the door.
Tsunade walked into the office. There was only her teacher inside, which was just convenient for her to talk.
"Teacher."
"Yeah, is there something you want to talk about?"
"You wouldn't come to see me unless you have something to ask for."
The Third Hokage grinned and took the pipe out of his mouth.
"Teacher, I want to ask you for something."
"What thing?"
The Third Hokage still smiled. As long as it wasn't excessive, he would agree to Tsunade.
"The cells of my grandfather and the sealed research materials."
Tsunade was still the straightforward woman she was.
"What do you want them for?"
Only then did the Third Hokage's face turn serious, and he frowned.
He knew very well how many people in Konoha had died in that experiment back then.
"I want to restart this experiment project."
"No, go back."
The Third Hokage refused without hesitation. He didn't want any more innocent casualties because of this experiment.
The casualties caused by that experiment back then still feel like a stab in his heart to this day.
That's why he was so furious about Orochimaru's private research later.
If it had been someone else, he might have killed them on the spot.
"Teacher, I won't mess around."
"No."
The Third Hokage's attitude was very tough, and his face darkened.
"Teacher, I guarantee that I won't conduct human experiments before I get any results."
"I will never cause the casualties of innocent people."
"Back then, your experiment was too hasty, so there were so many casualties."
"I definitely won't let such a thing happen again."
"Moreover, if the research is successful, it can bring Konoha ninjas who can use Wood Release again."
"Is Konoha still Konoha without Wood Release?"
"Where there are leaves fluttering, fire will burn."
"The Will of Fire will continue to be passed down under the might of Wood Release."
Tsunade said a lot in one breath, and her last words hit the Third Hokage's heart.
The Will of Fire, that was what he had been fighting for all his life.
"Sigh~"
The Third Hokage sighed.
"I can give them to you, but you have to promise that you won't cause the casualties of innocent people."
There's some leeway in what the Third Hokage said. He also knew that the final result of the experiment had to be reflected in living beings.
Since it couldn't be avoided, he could only define the limit of casualties as outside of innocent people.
"Okay, I can do it."
Tsunade agreed. This was also what she had told Kawaki at the beginning.
"Also, I'm going to send someone to participate."
The Third Hokage's thoughts were completely guessed by Kawaki.
"No, I need absolute autonomy."
"Now I'm the best scientific researcher in the medical field in Konoha."
Tsunade's attitude was very firm. This was what Kawaki had told her.
"..."
The Third Hokage had no way to refute. What Tsunade said was the truth.
"Alright, I'll take you to get them."
Since he had already agreed, the Third Hokage chose to trust Tsunade. In terms of bloodline, she was more pure than him, the Hokage.
Her family was one of the main forces in building Konoha.
The Third Hokage stood up and took out a long - forgotten iron box from the safe, and took out a key crafted with great complexity from it.
"Let's go!"
After closing the safe, the Third Hokage led the way out of the office.
Tsunade silently followed.
After leaving the Hokage Building, the Third Hokage waved his hand to disperse the Anbu ninjas following them.
He took Tsunade alone and walked deep into the Konoha forest.
"Do you know where your grandfather's cells came from?"
The Third Hokage quietly broke the silence between the two.
"I don't know."
Tsunade had never thought about this question before.
"It was left by the teacher. He believed that the First Hokage's cells had unimaginable strategic value for Konoha."
The Third Hokage revealed this secret.
"If it was him, it's not surprising."
Tsunade wasn't surprised. She knew that her second grandfather was a man who valued benefits over feelings, with extremely high intelligence and a calm demeanor.
"It's a pity that the teacher passed away early and didn't complete this experiment."
"Later, Konoha lacked high - end combat power. I was too eager for success and made a big mistake."
"Do you understand what I mean when I tell you all this?"
The Third Hokage stared intently into Tsunade's eyes.
"I understand, teacher. I won't make the same mistake you did."
Tsunade didn't try to excuse the Third Hokage. A mistake was a mistake.
"That's good."
The Third Hokage put on a self - deprecating smile and continued walking forward.
After walking a long way deep into the forest, they came to a large mountain. The Third Hokage walked over and felt for a hidden compartment.
He opened the door to the cave.
"To avoid detection by hostile countries, this cave was also built by the teacher himself with his men."
The Third Hokage led Tsunade through the dark cave and turned on the lights along the way. Everything here was self - sufficient.
It could still be lit after all these years. Her second grandfather was truly a genius.
"It's up ahead. Did you bring your storage scroll?"
Tsunade nodded upon hearing this.
When they reached a large iron gate, the Third Hokage took out the key to unlock it.
Over time, the lock became a bit hard to open.
It took a while before the door was opened.
In front of them were some aging experimental equipment and scattered unimportant documents.
The Third Hokage continued to walk inside and opened another secret room.
There was only one cabinet in here, filled with neatly arranged documents.
Experiment No. 1, Experiment No. 2, Senju clan, Uchiha clan, Shimura clan, Sarutobi clan...
They were all records of live experiments. Tsunade was shocked. Only then did she know how much Konoha had paid for this experiment at that time.
"Take them. They are all my sins."
Tsunade felt that the teacher seemed to have aged several years at this moment.
"Teacher, I will succeed."
Without saying anything else, Tsunade took out the storage scroll and stored the entire cabinet inside.
Watching the cabinet disappear, the pressure in the Third Hokage's heart actually eased a little. However, he knew he could never atone for this sin in his lifetime.
Then he took Tsunade to the freezer to retrieve Hashirama's cells.
"There's no need for this place to exist anymore. It's all painful memories."
After leaving the cave, the Third Hokage said these words and used Earth Release to fill the entire cave tightly.
He had to bear this guilt alone.
Seeing that the teacher was still a bit down, Tsunade didn't leave immediately.
Walking quietly beside the Third Hokage, it was also the first time she had seen the vulnerable side of her teacher.
He's really old. The days in her memory when he led her, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya to study happily were gone forever.
At that time, he was full of vigor and became the Hokage in his twenties. Under his leadership, the village became more and more prosperous.
Now it was Tsunade's turn to take over the burden from her teacher.
After they returned to the Hokage Building and sat down in the office.
Before the Third Hokage could light his pipe, an Anbu member rushed in.
"Lord Third Hokage, urgent news."
"Hanzō of the Salamander from the Land of Rain declared war on our Konoha, Sunagakure, and the Land of Iron simultaneously."
"The war has broken out on the front line."
Hearing this intelligence, Tsunade was shocked. Kawafu actually guessed it right, and it hadn't even been fifteen days yet.
"Call all the Jonin in the village to a meeting in the operations department."
"Right away, now."
The Third Hokage suddenly stood up and slammed his pipe on the desk.
At this moment, he regained his demeanor as a great general, and his imposing look was inviolable.
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