"You want to kill Danzō, don't you?"
After closing the door and ensuring they were alone, Senju Tobirama immediately spoke those words.
Uchiha Sasuke remained silent for a while. He met the gaze of the legendary Second Hokage without the slightest fear, and said coldly, "That's right."
What mattered to him were the comrades who treated him well. Although he was somewhat attached to Konoha, that attachment was only to the village itself—not to the Second Hokage who had suddenly reappeared out of nowhere.
Among the village's higher-ups, the only one he had any fondness for was the Third Hokage.
"Have you considered what it would mean to kill Danzō?" Tobirama was not angry. The last person in front of him who threatened to kill a fellow villager had been an Uchiha trying to start a coup.
Well, you could say he was used to it by now.
Meaning...
Sasuke did not answer.
Tobirama understood. If Sasuke had been the only one involved, the kid would have already come out and said so. So there must be others willing to go with him.
"Is it Haruno Sakura, or Link?"
Hearing that, Sasuke opened his Sharingan and fixed his gaze on the semi-transparent Tobirama. Between two clever people, not many words were needed. Before a ghost who had lived decades longer, it was all but impossible for a fourteen-year-old to conceal his intentions.
"Have you thought about what they would have to give up if they choose to leave with you?"
Tobirama's tone softened a little. "Giving up their other bonds, abandoning the bright future they have in the village, choosing to become rogue shinobi—"
"That's enough." Sasuke cut him off, yet couldn't think of a way to refute him.
[So it really is the Mangekyō Sharingan—]
Tobirama, outwardly calm, said, "So, is that what you want?"
"Once you leave the village, what sort of person do you intend to become?"
Sasuke looked away, confused.
People hoped he would grow stronger and become a hero of the village—chakra-based communication doesn't lie. His father wanted him to live well and revive the Uchiha Clan—his father, though already deceased, had never lied to him.
Aside from hatred, what did he want to become?
The only reason he was having these thoughts was that the hatred sustaining him was gradually weakening. His parents were often by his side; not long ago, other Uchiha had also been summoned back to the living world. Their emotions and thoughts at the time of death forced him to contemplate many things.
Within Tobirama's questions, Sasuke got a glimpse of what most shinobi feel. As long as one performs the duties of a ninja during a mission, then beyond the ninja—who am I, really?
[A ninja, huh?] Sasuke recalled something Link had once said and began to think.
"If you've made up your mind, come talk to me before you act." Tobirama seemed a bit curious about what Sasuke was pondering. "Go out and tell Link to come in."
"The Second Hokage wants you inside."
Sasuke looked as if he had some serious thinking to do. Link simply nodded and, without overthinking it, walked past Sasuke into the office.
Nearby, Hatake Kakashi had been waiting for a while. He stepped forward. "Sasuke—"
"Sorry, Kakashi." Sasuke headed off directly. He had too much weighing on his mind and needed some time alone.
Kakashi watched him leave. In the end, he couldn't manage any comforting words. After a long silence, he vanished in a flicker of movement.
He needed to talk with two other companions.
Inside the Hokage's office:
"You really have caused me a lot of trouble." Tobirama sat at the desk with his arms folded.
He'd been hounded by the other party for quite a while, probably starting around the time that so-called "Dream Fulfillment Company" was first proposed.
He hadn't responded before because he doubted Link's identity and believed the dead should not interfere in the world of the living; such a transgression of life and death was dangerous.
He himself was an expert in the Edo Tensei technique, of course wary that returning to the living might come at a cost and potentially turn him into a weapon against the village.
The last time he'd been summoned was proof enough.
However, with the constant disruptions and added time to think, he confirmed Link truly was a Konoha shinobi. And since the village's enemies also possessed Edo Tensei, even if he refused, he would eventually be summoned again.
He might as well look for a solution in a different way.
The good news was that by responding to Link, he had returned to the living without any apparent danger or cost.
That kid, though, used the technique to summon dead souls quite freely: it was common to see Sasuke strolling around with Fugaku and Mikoto, or to see Nawaki (who looked very much like Naruto) wandering the village followed by Tsunade.
Thus, Tobirama had a chance to deal with problems he never solved while he was alive.
The bad news was that after a day of calmly reviewing and handling paperwork, Tobirama realized he might well end up misusing this summoning technique himself—and he decided to develop it even further.
Then there was also the matter of that Uchiha kid…
"So, Second Hokage, how do you feel about returning to the living world?" Link asked casually, noting that no one else was in the room. He assumed the same easygoing manner he usually had around the dead.
There was no point pretending to be overly respectful when the Summoning Jutsu prevented outright lies anyway.
"If it's a fight, I can help," Tobirama said, slipping into negotiation. "As long as we're facing an enemy of the village."
"No problem." At the moment, Link wasn't planning to leave Konoha. And even if he did, it was highly unlikely he'd fight against Konoha. After readily agreeing, he added, "I want to learn the forbidden jutsu you created, Second Hokage-sama."
"Hmph…"
Tobirama snorted. Despite having been Hokage for so many years, it was his first time encountering a kid with so little sense of reverence—someone who showed no caution toward the shinobi system or forbidden techniques.
"All right. But you'll also have to cooperate with my experiments on the technique for summoning the dead." Tobirama had no intention of refusing.
Link promptly took out a small notebook filled with questions he had when studying the Flying Thunder God and Edo Tensei techniques.
After all, if even the Genma Squad—who guarded the Fourth Hokage—could be taught the Flying Thunder God Formation, then with the Second Hokage's genius, he could surely figure out a way for Link to cast Edo Tensei.
Edo Tensei and Flying Thunder God…
Just the names alone made him feel they were unmissable techniques.
Tobirama glanced at Link's notebook, then casually tossed it into the trash. "There's no need to overcomplicate this. Your technique is essentially a deeper application of chakra's mind-linking properties—Yin Release chakra is—"
He spoke at length about his ideas.
[I can understand each individual word, but once he puts it all together…]
Link's mind began to go blank. Though he tried his hardest to memorize everything, it was all in vain.
Seeing Link's half-baffled expression, Tobirama held back a sigh. "So which forbidden technique do you want to learn first?"
"Can't I learn them both?"
Link deliberately asked a question to which the answer was obvious.
Tobirama, never known for the best temper, and not needing to hold back in front of this brat, responded bluntly, "You must satisfy me first. Only then can you learn any other jutsu."
He wanted to gain the upper hand.
A technique that so easily—seemingly without any cost—shattered the boundary between life and death…there were two of them in front of him. How could Tobirama not be curious? Of course he wanted to examine them thoroughly.
If this kid showed even a little talent, Tobirama might consider letting him in on the research. As it stood, though…
He suspected that without his help, the boy might spend a lifetime struggling with these advanced forbidden arts.
Given how unusual Link's mutated technique was—like a strange Kekkei Genkai that didn't follow normal genetics—it might imply some significant mental "quirk." That kind of ability practically demanded constant testing of new jutsu to see what was possible.
But with his current aptitude, Tobirama couldn't expect too much. At least he himself was here to fill the gaps.
[Just one, huh?]
If this were the original versions, Flying Thunder God would undoubtedly be the most important. A space-time jutsu was never a bad investment.
But going purely by the names, Edo Tensei...
"I want to learn Edo Tensei," Link promptly replied.
"Very well." Tobirama acknowledged, phasing through the desk and approaching him. "Open your mind and don't resist my attempt at communication. Control your thoughts; if there's something you don't want me to know, don't dwell on it."
"Understood."
Once Link was ready, Tobirama's hand passed into his body. A very strange sensation arose, like he had suddenly gained another brain.
[What's going on?]
[Now I understand. This inability to lie in a Summoning Jutsu is due to mental linkage, a property of chakra that lets minds connect. That's what the Second Hokage was talking about earlier.]
[With deep enough communication, knowledge can also be transferred. Even a technique too abstract to explain in words can be conveyed this way.]
[So a Summoning Jutsu has this effect, too. Then—]
[Stop overthinking. Control your mind and just focus on learning,] Tobirama's stern voice echoed in his head. [Also, be aware that my existence is burning through chakra quickly, so the jutsu's duration keeps shrinking.]
[Oh.]
Link forced his mind to go blank. Soon, it felt as though a secondary brain were clarifying everything.
The method of using Edo Tensei poured in nonstop, each once-incomprehensible technique formula becoming clear through this mental transmission. Scenes of him actually performing Edo Tensei continued to surface in his thoughts. He was convinced that, in this state, he could execute the technique perfectly.
[Pay attention. I'm the one using it right now, not you,] Tobirama's slightly exasperated voice sounded in his mind. [You—never mind. We'll talk next time.]
As soon as he finished speaking, that "external brain" disconnected. Link felt a fleeting sense of loss. Having his intelligence spike so drastically was hard to give up.
He glanced at the previously puzzling jutsu inscriptions. [Wait—what were those last few segments again?]
He struggled to recall, and only after a while did he roughly piece them back together. The sheer volume of unfamiliar knowledge and memories was overwhelming to process, but at least in most situations, Link didn't rely on purely his own skill—he let the jutsu do the heavy lifting.
I've got it!
Link felt fully confident now.
~~~
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