"Um, First Hokage, Second Hokage... could you explain how you were resurrected? And who exactly is this gentleman?"
Minato asked the biggest question weighing on his mind.
After receiving Kai's approval, Hashirama and Tobirama didn't hide anything.
They briefly explained their origins and what had happened.
Naturally, such an explosive story about time travel left both Minato and Sarutobi thoroughly shaken.
Still, compared to Sarutobi, Minato remained somewhat calmer.
After all, a few years ago when Minato went to Rōran on a mission, he'd encountered what seemed to be future Konoha shinobi who'd traveled through time.
So his acceptance of such miraculous phenomena was a bit higher.
Perhaps it was precisely because he'd witnessed future Naruto's excellence with his own eyes that Minato had dared to commit lover's suicide with Kushina earlier.
However, Kai—who called himself the "Yūdō Sennin (God of Guidance)"—shocked Minato and Sarutobi even more.
But given Hashirama and Tobirama's presence, plus those unfathomably deep Rinnegan eyes, the two could only tentatively believe Kai's identity.
Even if it were fake, an existence capable of bringing the God of Shinobi through time and space was terrifying in itself!
Definitely not someone the current Konoha could afford to provoke!
...
"Monkey, it looks like the village just finished a major war not long ago?"
"Yes. The Third Shinobi World War. The casualties were enormous, truly brutal..."
Sarutobi couldn't help but lament.
That war had been too cruel. Countless excellent Konoha shinobi had perished—it had nearly broken the village's backbone!
The White Fang's suicide, the Legendary Sannin's disbandment, Might Duy's death in battle.
They'd lost five Kage-level combatants alone, not to mention the massive number of low and mid-ranking shinobi who'd died...
If not for the "Yellow Flash" Namikaze Minato bursting onto the scene and crushing the other four villages, the Third Shinobi World War might have destroyed all of Konoha!
"No matter which era, war is always inevitable? Tobirama, was our Tailed Beast distribution system truly wrong?"
Having witnessed the Nine-Tails Attack firsthand and heard about the brutality of the Third Shinobi World War—
Both Hashirama and Tobirama began genuinely questioning the viability of the "Tailed Beast Deterrence System" from the depths of their hearts.
"Big Brother, let's discuss this issue later. I need to think it through carefully as well."
Tobirama changed the subject and turned to question Sarutobi again.
"Monkey, who's the current clan head of the Uchiha?"
"Uchiha Fugaku."
"How many of them are left?"
"Over a thousand people, with only a few hundred shinobi..."
"What about the Senju Clan? Who's the current clan head? How many clan members remain?"
Sarutobi immediately broke out in a cold sweat, forcing himself to answer:
"The Senju Clan's shinobi... suffered extremely heavy casualties in the first two Shinobi World Wars..."
"The Second and Third Shinobi World Wars? These bastards really can't stay quiet! Can they not survive without war?! Monkey, exactly how many casualties did our clan suffer?!"
"Well..."
"Who's still alive? Don't tell me there isn't a single member of the Senju Clan of the Forest left..."
Tobirama roared in fury, his chakra exploding outward with murderous intent pouring forth.
"Lord Hashirama's granddaughter Tsunade is still alive!"
"Tsunade? Who's that?" Hashirama was a bit confused.
In his Timeline #1 during Konoha's first year, Tsunade hadn't even been born yet.
"Big Brother, she's your future granddaughter!"
"Oh! My granddaughter! Hahaha, my granddaughter must be very cute, right? No, wait—after all these years, she should be a beautiful young woman now, right? Sarutobi, can you have her come see me?"
The sweat on Sarutobi's forehead became even denser.
"Uh... she's not currently in the village."
Sarutobi really didn't know how to explain that Tsunade's lover and younger brother had both died in battle, causing her mental collapse and subsequent escape from Konoha.
"Not in the village? On a mission? That's really unfortunate!"
Hashirama didn't suspect anything, just felt a bit regretful.
The perceptive Tobirama, however, noticed Monkey's unease again but chose not to call him out immediately.
He'd find an opportunity to chat with Sarutobi privately later.
…
After that—
Tobirama continued interrogating Sarutobi for intelligence, scolding him with every question.
Good thing this was Sarutobi from 34 years in the future, plus Tobirama's chakra still hadn't fully recovered.
Otherwise, after enough scolding, he'd probably string Sarutobi up and beat him senseless.
Meanwhile, Hashirama—Timeline #1—was enthusiastically chatting away with Timeline #4, Minato.
According to Tobirama's assessment, the two seemed to share some kind of kindred spirit.
Even though Minato had learned all the forbidden techniques Tobirama himself had invented, compared to him—this generational successor teacher—this Fourth Hokage seemed more like Big Brother's true successor.
How strange! How very strange!
Unfortunately, such a "harmonious" scene didn't last long.
Senju Hashirama suddenly felt a repulsive force emerging around his body, pressing in on him from all sides.
"What's this? What's happening?"
Kai checked the system and understood the reason.
"Hashirama, your time in this world is almost up. Don't resist—just go back. There'll be another chance to meet next time."
Originally, as the bound faction leader of [Timeline #1: First Hokage World], Hashirama should've been able to stay in Timeline #4 for a full hour.
But because he'd just taken action to subdue the Nine-Tails, his remaining time had been drastically shortened.
They didn't belong to this world to begin with. Once they wielded powerful forces, it would only accelerate this world's rejection of them.
If Hashirama fought at full strength, he'd probably only be able to stay in other parallel worlds for a few minutes.
As for Kai himself—with the system's concealment, he was naturally unaffected and could stay indefinitely...
"Huh? But I..."
Hashirama was clearly reluctant. He still had so much he wanted to discuss with the Fourth Hokage Minato.
Though they'd only just met, Minato had left too deep an impression on him. He was almost exactly what Hashirama envisioned the future Hokage should be like.
Especially his advocacy for the "Philosophy of Shinobi Love"—it had struck right at Hashirama's heart.
Just a little more, and Minato would've almost caught up to Madara's position in his heart.
Despite his reluctance—
Since the Yūdō Sennin had promised there'd be another chance to return, Hashirama naturally wouldn't resist.
He immediately relaxed his body and allowed the world's repulsive force to take effect.
With a whoosh, Hashirama disappeared from his spot and returned to Timeline #1: First Hokage World.
…
Hashirama's sudden disappearance left Minato and Sarutobi even more startled, and the last traces of doubt about Kai vanished from their hearts.
"Sir, Big Brother—?"
"No need to worry. He just went back."
"What about me?"
"You can stay for about half an hour more. Of course, I can also send you back now if you'd like."
Tobirama pondered silently.
From a rational standpoint, he naturally wanted to stay here longer and gather more intelligence about the future.
But emotionally speaking—
With Big Brother gone, Tobirama couldn't help but feel anxious. The overwhelming sense of security he'd had earlier instantly dissipated, and his tone wasn't nearly as forceful as before.
Just then—
A commotion erupted in the distance. It seemed other Konoha reinforcement shinobi had arrived, and Sarutobi's ANBU were blocking them.
Everyone had seen Minato teleport away with the Nine-Tails, and the Third Hokage Sarutobi had chased after them.
They were all worried about the battle's outcome and had rushed over urgently, only to be stopped by their own people now. Disputes were inevitable.
What's more, there seemed to be quite a few of Danzō's Root shinobi among them.
"Second Hokage, I—"
"Go ahead. The village was just ravaged by a Tailed Beast. You're definitely needed to command the relief efforts."
Tobirama said decisively.
Sarutobi finally breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been drenched in sweat all night long, and could finally relax just a little.
He quickly withdrew and rushed off to direct rescue operations.
"Fourth Hokage, you're also excellent!"
"It's fortunate that this old man's techniques could be carried forward by you. Lead the village well, and find a way to deal with that Uchiha called Obito as soon as possible."
"As for everything else—when I come back with Big Brother next time, we'll talk more."
Tobirama patted Minato's shoulder with a weighty, encouraging tone.
Aside from being somewhat emotional at times, he was also very satisfied with Minato as the Fourth Hokage. And he'd publicly endorsed Minato multiple times already, so Sarutobi probably wouldn't dare restrict Minato's authority going forward.
"Yes! I will absolutely follow the Second Hokage's instructions!"
Minato promised firmly.
For him, having this crisis end safely tonight was already the best possible outcome.
All thanks to Kai and the others' help!
Besides, setting aside all other factors—he had tremendous respect for this Second Hokage and wouldn't ignore his advice.
Finally, Tobirama looked at Kai and respectfully requested:
"Sir, please send me back as well. I still have many problems to handle on my end. That bastard Ginkaku still hasn't been killed yet!" (Ginkaku brothers who killed Tobirama in the original timeline.)
Thinking about the Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers made Tobirama grind his teeth in hatred.
He couldn't wait to rush back and slaughter the still-living Ginkaku to eliminate future trouble!
…