After dragging the body all the way, Mizuna successfully hauled Hashirama back to the Senju compound.
As soon as they got home, Mito was dumbfounded. She pointed at the charred lump Mizuna was dragging and asked who it was.
"Uhm... Mizuna, who is that thing you're dragging? Why does it look vaguely familiar? Is that... Hashi... rama?" Mito asked, confused.
"Whoa! Sis! As expected of you! Brother-in-law looks like charcoal and you still recognized him?! I officially acknowledge your love!" Mizuna exclaimed in surprise.
"Well, not exactly... It's just... your Brother-in-law... his... his size... I recognized it at a glance~" Mito said, blushing.
Mizuna turned to look. Whoa! Authentic Konoha Senju Great Wood Dragon!
As expected of Brother-in-law (Founder Era Hashirama)! He definitely practiced his 'Wood Dragon Jutsu' a lot! No wonder Big Bro Madara likes hanging out with him so much... touching the Wood Dragon must feel great! Mizuna thought.
"By the way, how did your Brother-in-law end up looking like this?" Mito asked.
Mizuna turned back awkwardly and explained the reason to Mito.
"Is that so... Sigh~ Forget it. It's for his own good," Mito sighed.
Mizuna felt a bit guilty. He explained some of it, but definitely not all of it. For example, he conveniently left out the part where he dragged Hashirama all the way home without blurring the image (uncensored), banging him against numerous rocks along the way. As for where those rocks hit... well, that wasn't a big problem... probably!
"Um, Sis, I need to borrow the basement. Can you help me? Help me drag Brother-in-law downstairs," Mizuna requested.
Mito hesitated but asked what Mizuna planned to do.
Mizuna simply replied that he was going to help Hashirama quit gambling, so he needed to use some "methods."
Hearing this, Mito agreed. After all, her little brother wouldn't... do anything bad to his brother-in-law, right?
Mito thought this, then looked at the charred, afro-haired, refugee-version of Hashirama lying on the floor.
"Probably... not..." Mito suddenly lost confidence.
But she still helped her brother lift Hashirama.
"Sis, I'll count one, two, three, and we lift together!"
"Okay!" Mito agreed.
"One... Two... Lift!"
Mizuna started lifting before he even said three. Mito missed the timing, causing Hashirama's upper body to lift while his lower body dragged, creating intense friction with the stairs.
Mito was confused for a second, but quickly recovered and pulled. Just then, a tearing sound echoed.
Mizuna looked down at Hashirama and started sweating bullets.
Brother-in-law's Great Wood Dragon!
On the previously empty step, there was now a tuft of hair and a small pool of blood.
Mizuna was drenching in cold sweat.
It... it should be fine, right? It... looks like... just a bit of skin and hair ripped off. The main body of the Wood Dragon should be... uh... fine... probably... Mizuna panicked internally.
Mito seemed to notice the tuft of hair too. Just as she was about to ask...
Mizuna exploded into action, sprinting over and drop-kicking the hair away.
"AH! YA! The weather is so nice today! Perfect for some kicking exercises! Sis, do you want to try? It's very relaxing! Aha! Haha... Hahaha!" Mizuna laughed loudly, trying desperately not to look guilty.
"Really?" Mito was confused. Why was Mizuna acting so weird?
Mizuna quickly changed the subject.
"Aiyaya! Leaving Brother-in-law here isn't good! Being naked is bad! What if he catches a cold?"
Saying this, Mizuna grabbed a white cloth and covered Hashirama's lower body.
"Sis! Let's hurry up and get him inside!" Mizuna said, frantically dragging Hashirama inward.
Mito agreed, so she helped drag him further.
They arrived at the basement door.
Mizuna suggested they carry Hashirama down step by step.
Mito agreed.
"Sis! This time I'll count one, two, three again, and we move slowly."
Mito nodded.
"One... Two... Th..."
Before Mizuna could finish, Mito yanked with all her strength. This time, Mizuna didn't react fast enough, and the two of them accidentally flung Hashirama forward.
Hashirama tumbled down the stairs like a log. Mizuna clearly saw the Wood Dragon twisting and flopping around. With a loud THUD, Hashirama landed upside down against the wall, his nose bruised and face swollen. The Wood Dragon was still wobbling from the impact.
Mito was about to go down and check on him, but Mizuna blocked her path.
Mizuna slammed the door shut.
"Sis! I think Brother-in-law is fine. Think about it, he has a Sage Body! How could a fall hurt him?"
Mito thought about it and felt it made sense. She had seen her husband recover from fatal wounds overnight before.
Mito calmed down, dismissing the bruised and battered Hashirama she just saw as a hallucination from being too tired.
Afterward, Mizuna and Mito prepared ice water and other supplies. Mizuna carried everything down himself; he didn't dare let Mito go down because Hashirama looked... truly tragic.
After moving everything, Mizuna told Mito not to go downstairs no matter what sounds she heard, and to just trust him.
Mito could only trust her brother, so she went to her bedroom to rest.
Seeing Mito leave, Mizuna sighed in relief. Finally, he could complete the mission.
Mizuna turned and walked toward the basement.
As he walked, he pulled a mask out of his pocket.
This mask was prepared in advance. The style was very similar to what a certain "Philosopher" wore in his past life (Note: Van Darkholme / Gachimuchi). It only exposed the nose, mouth, and eyes. Everything else was covered... hmm... well, mostly covered.
Looking at Hashirama tied to the chair, Mizuna seemed to make a decision.
Originally, Mizuna just wanted to keep Hashirama tied up for 24 hours to complete the mission. But thinking about it, Hashirama's gambling habit was genuinely bad. If he could actually fix it, that would be great. So, Mizuna decided to give Hashirama a "real" rehab session.
Mizuna put on the mask. Just in case, he used the Transformation Jutsu to turn himself into a muscular, dark-skinned man. He took off his shirt, mainly so Hashirama wouldn't recognize him by his clothes.
Looking at his new form, Mizuna exclaimed:
"Damn! This is too Philosophical!" (Note: Reference to Billy Herrington / Gachimuchi memes).
Mizuna noticed his voice had changed too.
"Even my voice became philosophical..."
Mizuna looked at his black, ripped muscles speechlessly.
"Whatever! Whatever! No time to lose, let's start!"
He turned to Hashirama, who was tied to the chair.
Brother-in-law! I hope you don't blame me later... Mizuna thought.
Little did he know, Hashirama would never find out it was him, even to his dying breath.
Mizuna picked up the bucket of ice water and splashed it directly onto Hashirama.
Hashirama, covered in wounds, woke up instantly from the cold shock.
"I... Where... am I?" Hashirama mumbled groggily.
He looked at the figure in front of him. Hashirama suddenly recalled the last thing he saw before passing out... was it Mizuna?
The basement was pitch black. There was only one light bulb above Hashirama's head, illuminating only the chair he sat on. Everything else was darkness.
The light blinded Hashirama's eyes.
"Miz... Mizuna, is that you? What happened? Why am I like this?" Hashirama squinted, asking confused questions.
But the figure didn't answer.
Hashirama finally adjusted to the brightness and looked closer.
"It's too dark... I can't see the face clearly. Since when did Mizuna have such huge muscles?" Hashirama wondered.
"Mizuna? When did you train such massive muscles? You..."
Before Hashirama could finish, the figure stepped out of the shadows.
Good lord! It wasn't that the room was too dark; the person was too dark to see.
Hashirama stared at the stranger in shock. Just as he was about to speak, the stranger delivered a sharp Elbow Strike to his face.
"MAN!" (Note: "Man! What can I say? Mamba Out!" / Kobe meme sound effect).
A loud sound broke the silence.
The stranger looked at Hashirama with a smile that wasn't quite a smile. It made Hashirama extremely uncomfortable.
"Still asking? I'm here to collect your debt!"
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