Chapter 63: Ambush on the Return Journey
"The scenery of the North, a thousand miles of ice, ten thousand miles of drifting snow..."
"Great-Uncle, you already recited that line this morning," Tobirama interrupted Masahiko's poetry reading.
"Tobirama, if you hadn't spoken, I would have almost forgotten about you. You glared at me before we left just now, didn't you?" Masahiko remembered.
"Great-Uncle... Shukaku... Shukaku..." Hashirama winked at Masahiko.
Masahiko's expression changed, and he fell silent.
However, Tobirama had already opened the floodgates. "Great-Uncle, you stole Shukaku from the Land of Wind? Why didn't you tell me beforehand? During the Five Kage Summit, the Kazekage almost started a fight with us. He only backed down after we agreed to return the One-Tail unconditionally." He sighed. "Brother, you've completely embarrassed the position of Hokage."
Masahiko decisively shifted the blame. "Your brother tricked me into going to the Land of Wind! If I hadn't snatched Shukaku, think of how much face I would have lost..."
Tobirama glared at Hashirama, but to his surprise, Hashirama glared back.
Tobirama was momentarily speechless, suddenly remembering that tricking Masahiko into going to the Land of Wind had been a joint idea between the two of them.
Masahiko looked back and forth between them, spotting the clues. "Tobirama... don't tell me you were involved in this too..."
Hashirama quickly interrupted. "It's fine now, Great-Uncle. It's all in the past. The Five Kage Summit ended successfully, and that's what matters..." After speaking, he and Tobirama sped up simultaneously, leaving Masahiko in the dust.
"Wait for me! You two actually dared to team up to scam your Great-Uncle!"
Chasing them all the way, the three left the Land of Iron and the world of snow behind, entering a forest.
Masahiko was panting heavily. He realized that in terms of stamina, he still couldn't compare to Tobirama, let alone Hashirama.
"Those two animals... they actually didn't wait for me..." Masahiko could no longer see the two ahead of him. Just as he was about to catch his breath and activate the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, he heard the sound of explosions from up ahead.
Masahiko quickly moved forward a few steps. He found the ground in front of Hashirama scorched black, likely the traces of explosive tags. However, such an attack obviously had no effect on Hashirama.
As for Tobirama, he was already engaged with the attacker. The Sword of the Thunder God slashed against the attacker's arm, but it couldn't even cut the skin. They were in a stalemate.
The attacker was eight feet tall, a rare giant in the Naruto world, and his face was covered by a black mask.
"So, the one wearing a mask isn't always Hatake Kakashi. It could also be Kakuzu..." Masahiko murmured. Seeing that it was Kakuzu, he wasn't surprised.
On the other side, seeing Masahiko appear, Kakuzu snorted coldly and forced Tobirama back.
"Konoha Hokage Senju Hashirama, bounty 100 million ryo. Senju Hashirama's brother Senju Tobirama, bounty 30 million ryo. Konoha Elder Uzumaki Masahiko, bounty 20 million ryo. I'll take them all..."
The three people present were all speechless. The air went cold for a moment. Where did he get this courage?
After a long silence, Masahiko broke the quiet. "Why am I worth less than Tobirama?"
"Although you are the least valuable, to save time, I'll start with you..." Kakuzu didn't answer the question, instead rapidly forming hand seals.
Masahiko was preparing to defend when he realized the seals Kakuzu was using looked familiar.
"Earth Release: Hiding in Rock Technique!"
Then, Kakuzu drilled into the ground and fled rapidly.
Masahiko's face twitched. He looked at Hashirama and Tobirama. "I think... he ran away..."
Hashirama scratched his head. "Ah, haha... I guess so..."
"Great-Uncle, let's chase him!" Tobirama shouted.
"Forget it, Tobirama. No need to bother with him. Let's go back," Hashirama sighed, stopping Tobirama.
A familiar line of text crossed Masahiko's vision: "Witnessed and participated in a Naruto world Side Story: Kakuzu assassinates the First Hokage. Received 2 Witness Points."
Masahiko sighed and shook his head. In the Naruto storyline, Kakuzu was a veteran immortal ninja who had once fought the First Hokage, a supporter of money supremacy, and the treasurer of the Akatsuki.
In the future, when fighting Kakashi and others, the revelation that he had fought the First Hokage caused quite a stir. But as the plot progressed and the Edo Tensei First Hokage displayed his godlike power, that piece of history became a joke to be mocked. Everyone assumed the First Hokage had simply let him go.
However, based on Masahiko's observation just now, the current Kakuzu already possessed strength close to Tobirama's level, likely not much different from his future self. If Masahiko hadn't been there, Kakuzu might actually have been able to exchange a few moves with Hashirama.
"It seems that Jiongu (Earth Grudge Fear) has many side effects... Although it grants immortality, his strength probably hasn't improved much over the years. If not for that, a Kakuzu who lived for nearly a hundred years and mastered all five elements would be unimaginably strong..." Masahiko lamented, then smiled. "As expected, my cheat is stronger."
After this interlude, the three were no longer in the mood to bicker. Hashirama seemed a bit downcast.
Masahiko thought for a moment and realized Hashirama was probably sad because someone tried to assassinate him. He had successfully ended the Warring States Period, yet assassinations and plots still existed.
Tobirama noticed this too and spoke up to comfort him. "That person should be from the assassination squad of Takigakure (Hidden Waterfall Village), not someone from our Konoha."
"Takigakure?" Hashirama seemed even sadder. Seeing the confusion on their faces, he explained, "My Wood Clone saved a few people from Takigakure before. Their village was still being established at the time..."
"When capturing the Tailed Beasts earlier, the Seven-Tails, Chomei, was in Takigakure's territory. My Wood Clone happened to see a few people being pushed to the brink of death by the Seven-Tails, so I saved them..." As Hashirama spoke, he gradually realized something was wrong. "Er... they weren't trying to capture the Seven-Tails, were they?"
Masahiko was helpless. This Lord Hokage often turned into an airhead.
"Takigakure is relatively strong among the small villages. They probably have their own intelligence channels. You captured their Seven-Tails and then turned around to sell it to the other Four Great Nations. Once they got the news, it would be weird if they didn't try to assassinate you..."
Hearing this, Hashirama scratched his head, looking embarrassed. "Alright then, the assassination was justified... We'll call it even."
Masahiko and Tobirama sighed. Takigakure probably wouldn't let it go that easily. They would have to be more vigilant in the future.
The three returned to Konoha. Hashirama intended to summon the Elders to announce the good news of the successful Five Kage Summit and the alliance agreements reached with the other four great nations.
However, they found Konoha in a state of panic. Whether civilians or ninjas, everyone on the street was moving in a hurry.
Returning to the Hokage Building, the Nara Clan Head greeted them proactively. "Lord Hokage, you're finally back! In the two days you were gone, Konoha Village has almost fallen into chaos!"
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