Yes, the Hokage!

“Shisui is different from Obito.” At this moment, Fenglan also gave his assurance, “I have 100% trust in him.”

Although he had established a persona of not trusting anyone, he had no choice but to say something against his conscience in order to appease Tobirama.

Unfortunately, Zhi Shui happened to be passing by in the corridor next to him. Upon hearing these words, he trembled violently, and accidentally dropped the cup he was using for washing.

"Clang! Clang!"

"Who goes there?!"

Because Tobirama and Furan were too focused on their work and hadn't used their sensory abilities, they immediately became alert upon hearing the sound.

Startled, Shisui instinctively turned and ran, not even having time to grab his water cup.

So when the three arrived, there was only a cup left on the ground.

"Holy crap, no way." Feng Lan was a little annoyed. Did Zhi Shui hear what she just said?

Tobirama stared silently at the cup on the ground, clearly recalling past events.

Hashirama laughed too. He knew what his brother was thinking. It was when he wanted Madara to become the First Hokage, his brother vehemently opposed it and, sensing Madara was outside the window, deliberately said many hurtful things.

When the two heard the sound and opened the window, all that remained outside was that leaf with the hole in it.

But now, the situation is different.

What was left behind was not a leaf symbolizing Konoha, but an ordinary water glass. The leaf was broken, but the water glass was intact despite being on the ground. Furthermore, the Uchiha boy did not leave in anger because he heard hurtful words, but because he was overwhelmed with excitement and bewilderment at being trusted.

"Tobirama," Hashirama said, looking at his younger brother, uttering that classic line, "Times have changed."

Chapter 94 Hashirama's Teachings

Nothing more was said that night. Perhaps sensing that Amegakure was now full of hidden talents, White Zetsu did not launch another attack.

The next morning, Zhishui hurriedly set off without even saying goodbye to Fenglan, which made the latter even more certain that her words from the previous night had been overheard, leaving her somewhat annoyed.

Obito went to the streets as usual to help build houses in Amegakure, but this time he seemed much more cautious, determined not to let Rin and Kakashi stray too far from him, so Hashirama didn't find a good opportunity to go over and talk to them.

As night fell, Rin and Kabuto were taken away by Tsunade for intensive training. Kakashi was also training diligently with Jiraiya. Although Obito was exhausted from building a house all day, he still silently practiced Wood Release. The attack on Rin by Hakujue made him crave more power. Since the advanced form of Susanoo might not even be able to withstand the Mangekyou Sharingan with Hashirama cells, then naturally he would practice Wood Release.

With the experience of building houses, he became more and more adept at controlling Wood Release, but sometimes he always felt something was off, a strange feeling of awkwardness.

This can be seen in the form of Wood Release. Obito's Wood Release doesn't have a single leaf; it simply kills branches. Although it can be used to build houses, it somewhat loses the vitality of life. The core concept of Hashirama's Wood Release is to transform chakra into life.

"Clap!"

With a sharp crack, the piece of wood he was trying to control snapped in half. Obito frowned. He had tried to make the piece of wood more flexible, but instead, he lost its original sturdiness.

"Your chakra is too rapid." A calm and deep voice came from behind. "Wood Release isn't created by piling up chakra, but by drawing it out."

“First Hokage!” Obito turned around and saw the person who came, and hurriedly stood up.

"Sit down." The first generation waved his hand with a smile. Unlike Feng Lan's fake smile, his smile came from the heart.

He sat down next to Obito, palm up, and a tender green vine slowly emerged from between his fingers. It wasn't growing, but awakening, like a small snake just waking up from hibernation, slowly unfurling.

Obito's eyes flickered slightly; it was this feeling—this sense of life that his Wood Release lacked.

"Wood Release is a combination of water and earth chakra. Imagine your chakra as water dripping into the earth, rather than a fist that gathers together to try to break the earth."

Obito frowned and tried several times, but failed each time.

Hashirama wasn't in a hurry. He picked up the broken piece of wood that had fallen to the ground and said, "Wood Release is alive. Don't just treat it as a ninjutsu or a tool. Treat it as your good partner. It can help you attack enemies, protect your comrades, and you've even discovered its use in building houses, haven't you?"

"Just think of it as having a close friend inside you, someone you can call upon when you need them, and pour your feelings and love into them. I think no one understands how to love better than the Uchiha."

As he spoke, he demonstrated it again, and the wood he had created from Odotsu began to sprout new buds.

[They only used such a small amount of chakra...] Obito had already activated his Sharingan and was surprised as he watched Hashirama's actions.

"I'll give it a try too..."

He closed his eyes, and the image of the girl's smile flashed before his eyes. If Obito was to pour out his love, then the target had to be Rin.

Thinking of Rin, Obito's chakra flow softened, gently emerging from his palms instead of being forcefully pushed out, but flowing slowly along the warmth of his memories. He didn't follow Hashirama's guidance to imagine chakra as water, but instead treated it as a hand, gently stroking Rin's cheek.

Then, a miracle happened...

The vines sprouted from the palm of my hand, no longer dry and stiff, nor menacing. A few tender green leaves timidly unfurled from the nodes, like a newborn baby opening its eyes for the first time.

“This is… life.” Obito was stunned. Ever since he awakened Wood Release, he had been killing people. Even when he used it to build houses, it was only because he was following Feng Lan’s orders. But now, he deeply felt the life energy of Wood Release.

This feeling of new life is so wonderful, so different from death and killing.

"Your talent is truly remarkable." Hashirama smiled with satisfaction, his eyes filled with nostalgia as he looked at Obito. "Just like Madara back then, he could grasp anything at a glance, while I... sigh!"

"First Hokage," Obito asked after a moment of silence, "what kind of person was Madara exactly?"

After all, he was also a member of the Uchiha clan, so it was impossible for him not to be curious about this ancestor.

Hashirama remained silent for a long time, as if the question had pulled him back to a distant past. He didn't answer immediately, but instead picked up a dry twig from the ground and unconsciously toyed with it in his hand.

“Ban…” he began, his voice softer than usual, “The first time I met him, we were skipping stones on the river.”

"Skip the stone?" Obito was somewhat surprised.

"Yeah, back then we didn't know who the other was, or what would happen in the future." Hashirama's lips curled up slightly. "His skipping skills were terrible. I won, and he was very dissatisfied and said he wanted to play again, so we competed for an entire afternoon."

His gaze fell on the river not far away, as if the river was still there, and the shadows of two boys were still leaping on the water.

"Later we became friends, and then we became enemies." Hashirama's tone was calm, carrying the unique composure and vicissitudes of someone who had founded a village amidst chaos. "He was the kind of person who, once he decided on a direction, would never look back. He had conviction, strength, and enough reason to hate this world. But he also had a gentle side... it's just that he hid it too deeply, so deeply that he himself had almost forgotten it."

"Then why did he become an enemy of you and Konoha?" Obito couldn't help but ask.

“Because your Rin is still here, but his Izuna is no longer here.” A trace of sorrow flashed across Hashirama’s face. “So Madara can only pursue power, and when you use power, the first thing you think of is still that girl.”

Obito lowered his head, looking at the tender green leaf in his palm, the leaf gleaming softly in the firelight.

If Rin were dead... he didn't want to think about it, but such a thing had happened before. On the night he caught the snake, he really thought Rin had been killed. In extreme despair and rage, he awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, and the only thought in his mind was to kill Orochimaru.

And what happens after Orochimaru is killed?

If Fenglan hadn't said "Lin is still alive" at that time, he probably would have stormed into the village and gone berserk, wanting to destroy everything he saw.

Was that the feeling Madara had when he left the village...?

Obito felt he was starting to understand Madara a little better, but understanding didn't mean forgiveness. No matter what Madara's reasons were, he would never let him get away with trying to hurt Rin.

“No one understands love better than the Uchiha. Protect this love that belongs to you, like you are nurturing a newly sprouted seedling.” Hashirama patted Obito on the shoulder. “If you can protect this seedling well in the next few days and help it grow more leaves, I will teach you a trick.”

"Teach me what?!" Obito immediately perked up; this was the teachings of the God of Shinobi!

"Use chakra to awaken the power of life, and you can instantly heal any wound without hand seals. How about that?" Hashirama laughed heartily.

“Uh…” But Obito was somewhat disappointed. “First Hokage, I don’t really need this.”

Although Hashirama's passive skill is indeed very strong, almost equivalent to Tsunade's ultimate move Creation Rebirth, this Hollowfied dog has hardly been hit since awakening, and now he has his last trump card, Susanoo, so it seems that he doesn't really need the ability to heal.

"That's not how it is." However, Hashirama saw through Obito's thoughts and waved his finger. "I've seen your Mangekyou Sharingan ability too. It is indeed very useful, but it's like dancing on a knife's edge. Can you guarantee that you won't get hurt every time?"

"This..." Obito was at a loss for words. He knew that although he now possessed dual Kamui, making him much stronger than the original Raging Child, he was still not as physically imposing as the Raging Child.

Because the enraged child is in a state of being enveloped in white Zetsu with a circled face, he has protection and buffer even if he is injured. Obito, on the other hand, is in a state like Captain Yamato who has been injected with Wood Release cells, so he is essentially still a fragile ninja.

"Once you learn this technique, even if you're injured, you can use the Mangekyou Sharingan's ability to disappear and quickly recover. After your wounds heal, you can rush out again to fight your enemies. You can say that your margin for error is greatly increased. Moreover, only by learning this can you truly master the control of chakra, learn more advanced Wood Release abilities, and even..."

"Even?" Obito's eyes widened.

"Sage Mode." Hashirama lowered his voice, enunciating each word clearly.

"I, I will learn!" Obito immediately became excited. He had already felt the power of Sage Mode when he was learning from Jiraiya. Now, if he could learn Hashirama's even stronger Sage Mode, it would be worth dying for.

……

On the other side, in the corridor outside the house, two guys with their arms crossed were eavesdropping.

"Tsk." When Tobirama heard that Hashirama even wanted to teach him Sage Mode, he was very unhappy and wished he could grab his older brother's ear and give him a lecture right now.

Feng Lan couldn't help but imagine, "That's Hashirama's Sage Mode! His ultimate move, True Several Thousand Hands, is nothing short of devastating. Could Obito really pull off the Susanoo Buddha combo all by himself?"

Of course, this idea is just wishful thinking. No matter how high Obito's talent is, he can't match Hashirama's chakra. Even someone like Hashirama was panting heavily after unleashing the True Thousand Hands. Expecting Obito, with his small frame, to be able to use Susanoo to create a Buddha-like form is just a joke.

However... those advanced Wood Release ninjutsu, like Wood Dragon, Flower Tree Sea, and Myojinmon, learning just one of them is enough to control a Tailed Beast!

Then, I can try to move forward with my last goal.

Chapter 95 Minato's Exhaustion

The village of Konoha was not shrouded in thick fog in the early morning. At this time, the gatekeepers were not yet Izumo and Kotetsu, but the two of them were quite dutiful. When they saw a figure stumbling and running towards them from afar, they immediately became alert.

"Who goes there?!"

The figure staggered closer, his body covered in wounds, looking as if he had been slowly tortured. Blood was still flowing from his most severely injured abdomen: "Lord Fenglan's messenger, Inuzuka Tetsu."

He showed the secret scroll and the leader of Fenglan in his hand. The two guards were immediately shocked and hurriedly surrounded him: "My God, you are seriously injured. Let us take you to the medical team first."

"The Fourth Hokage..." Inuzuka Tetsuya murmured, his breath already quite weak, "I want to see the Fourth Hokage..."

"Okay." His words made the two gatekeepers think that there was some confidential matter at hand, so they hurriedly sent one of them to carry him straight to the Hokage's office.

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office...

"Ugh, this is such a headache!"

Shuimen slumped limply on the desk, with three stacks of documents piled up in front of him. The left one was marked "processed," the right one "pending processing," and the middle one was marked "read and found to be nonsense, but still need to be signed."

During Fenglan's absence, Konoha was actively preparing for war. F3, working in perfect harmony, casually took over all the work through a high-level meeting, leaving Minato with only a bunch of meaningless and tedious paperwork.

Every day, dealing with these things made him feel increasingly heavy-hearted, his eyelids growing heavier, and it seemed as if his soul was about to float out of his mouth.

Feng Lan has been gone from Konoha for... He counted on his fingers, then gave up. It's been too long, so long that he's almost forgotten what he looked like when he first became Hokage.

In the upper left corner of the table, a scroll lay quietly, covered with dense sealing incantations. It was an emergency scroll left to him by Feng Lan, meant to be opened only in critical moments.

He always carried the water gate with him, and when working, he would place it within easy reach to give himself a boost. He had lost count of how many times he had reached for it, especially when he was tormented by a document to the point of questioning his existence.

The first time was three days after Feng Lan left. At that time, he was quite determined. He clenched his fist and told himself, "If Feng Lan can handle something, so can I."

On the fifth day, Lu Jiu shielded him from a surprise interrogation by the elders. After returning, he stared at the scroll for a full ten minutes before finally stuffing it into a drawer, feeling it wasn't the right time yet.

Then on the tenth day, he could no longer remember what the report wanted him to approve. Anyway, if he didn't approve it, the third generation would send over supplementary explanations, and if he did approve it... probably no one would tell him what the result would be.

……

Minato sighed, reached for the scroll, twirled it between his fingers twice, and then put it back. It wasn't the right time yet; he was just preoccupied with the documents. What kind of crucial moment was this?