23: Hashirama Passes Away,
On the first day of Konoha Year 13, Shanks sat slumped beside the table, supporting his head with one hand as he lazily watched the grandfather and granddaughter beside him shake dice to see who could lose more.
From time to time, he picked up the wine pot on the table and poured a mouthful into his mouth.
Across from him, Mito looked at his terrible sitting posture and slapped the back of his head.
“You’re getting more and more improper.
And I never said you were allowed to drink that much.”
“Auntie, Uncle Hashirama went to the battlefield and cut people down when he was six.
I already beat jōnin and provoked tailed beasts when I was eight.
Now I’m almost nine.
What’s wrong with drinking a little?”
Shanks curled his lip.
He really could not understand this world.
Children could go to war and kill people, but they could not drink alcohol?
“Hahaha!
That’s all ancient history.
No need to mention it!”
Hashirama had been playing dice with Tsunade, but when he heard Shanks mention his glorious past, he immediately started floating.
Then he sensed killing intent.
His expression instantly became solemn.
“Anyway, drink less.
Shinobi can’t drink too much alcohol.
It dulls the reflexes.”
“By the way,” Hashirama suddenly asked, “has the Uchiha Clan been restless lately?”
In Hashirama’s heart, the Uchiha held an even more important position than the Senju Clan.
Because of that, Tobirama had not told him what was happening with the Uchiha.
After all, Tobirama was already preparing to act against them.
“Ah, I’m not too sure.
Recently, I’ve been studying Second Uncle’s Flying Thunder God.”
Shanks answered lazily.
He knew how deep Hashirama and Uchiha Madara’s bond was.
If Hashirama learned the details, he would definitely try to shield the Uchiha again.
When it came to Hashirama’s face, everyone had to give him some respect.
So Shanks brushed the topic aside.
Besides, he also felt the Uchiha Clan had gone too far this time.
They were practically trying to rob the village while it was in chaos.
As for the Flying Thunder God, Shanks had indeed been researching it recently.
He had been asking Miss Katsuyu to use reverse summoning to let him experience the feeling of spatial transition.
After experiencing it enough times, he had actually gained a little inspiration.
He was still far from learning the Flying Thunder God, but at least he had found a direction.
Unlike before, when he had been completely lost.
Shanks’s future training priorities were the Flying Thunder God, Sage Mode, swordsmanship, and the three types of Haki.
He had gained some ideas for the Flying Thunder God, but progress was slow.
His body had not matured enough for Sage Mode yet.
His age was still too low.
At minimum, he would probably have to wait until around fifteen.
As for Conqueror’s Haki, he still had no idea how to awaken it.
So right now, Shanks mainly trained swordsmanship and Haki.
He did not even spend much effort on ninjutsu anymore.
Every day, more than a thousand shadow clones drilled the body, swordsmanship, and Haki.
“Hahaha!
Grandpa, I won!
I won!”
Tsunade suddenly laughed.
For once in a thousand years, she had actually won a round.
“Hahaha!
Tsunade is amazing.
In the future, carrying forward the Senju Clan’s gambling arts will depend on you.”
Hashirama laughed loudly.
But as he laughed, his voice became smaller and smaller.
Until finally, he closed his eyes as if he had fallen asleep.
Shanks sensed that Hashirama was no longer breathing.
A wave of grief surged into his chest.
His eyes reddened, but he forced himself not to let the tears fall.
The God of Shinobi had laughed and played his final dice game with his granddaughter.
Then he passed away.
“Grandpa?
Grandpa, why did you fall asleep?”
Tsunade’s eyes filled with tears.
“Tsunade, Grandpa is tired,” Mito said softly, comforting her.
“Let Grandpa rest properly.”
She had come through the Warring States era.
Life and death had long since become familiar.
Even so, a faint sorrow remained in Mito’s eyes as she comforted Tsunade.
Konoha Year 13.
Senju Hashirama, the God of Shinobi who ended the Warring States era, passed away.
The news spread through the shinobi world like a bomb dropped into deep water, shaking every village.
In the same year, the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, established the ANBU and the Konoha Military Police Force.
The ANBU commander was Hatake Itō, head of the Hatake Clan.
The ANBU answered only to the Hokage.
The head of the Konoha Military Police Force was the Uchiha clan head, and all members were from the Uchiha Clan.
In March of Konoha Year 13, three months after Hashirama’s death, Sunagakure invaded the Land of Fire and clashed fiercely with Konoha.
After both sides suffered heavy losses, the Second Kazekage, Shamon, officially declared war on Konoha.
In April of Konoha Year 13, shortly after Sunagakure declared war, Iwagakure also declared war on Konoha.
In May of Konoha Year 13, Kumogakure followed Sunagakure and Iwagakure and declared war on Konoha as well.
“Except for Kirigakure, the three other great villages of this era have all declared war on Konoha.”
Shanks stood on Hashirama’s head on Hokage Rock and looked down at Konoha.
“Kirigakure will probably join soon too.
Maybe they just haven’t reached the shore yet.”
Shanks had started liking this spot.
He was not sure when it began.
Perhaps it was after he promised Hashirama that he would properly watch over the village for him.
Hashirama had died in a way only Hashirama could.
Once the mountain pressing down on the shinobi world disappeared, the people who had been suppressed started reaching for the landlord’s fields.
The fools of the Uchiha Clan were still secretly pleased that Tobirama had handed them the Konoha Military Police Force.
They loudly declared that they would give their all for the village and fight Iwagakure.
What they did not know was that every time the Second Tsuchikage saw the Uchiha’s red eyes, his blood pressure surged, and he fought even harder.
Facts proved that even with Hashirama gone, your uncle was still your uncle.
Tobirama had played the Uchiha Clan perfectly.
Hatake Sakumo and Shanks entered Tobirama’s ANBU.
Their main duties were assassination and intelligence gathering.
Sakumo’s father, Hatake Itō, served as a commander and led the Ino-Shika-Chō and Senju Clan forces to the Kumogakure battlefield.
The Hyūga, Aburame, and Inuzuka Clans went to the Sunagakure front.
The remaining Sarutobi, Shimura, Utatane, and other clans stayed in the village, preparing for Kirigakure.
Today was one of Shanks’s rare rest days after several months.
Every time he returned home and saw Tsunade looking listless and unhappy, he did not know how to comfort her.
So he came to Hokage Rock instead, helping Hashirama look over Konoha.
“You came here again.”
Haruko found Shanks on Hokage Rock and handed him a lunchbox.
“I made lunch for you.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Shanks took the lunchbox.
“Is the hospital busy right now?”
“Very busy,” Haruko said worriedly.
“Recently, many wounded have been sent back from the Sunagakure front.
Most of them are poisoned.
It’s troublesome.”
“Don’t worry.
Those puppet players from Sunagakure only have those few tricks.
They won’t be able to keep it up for long.”
Shanks teased her lightly.
“You should rest more lately too.
Otherwise, in a few years, if I marry an old woman, Auntie will laugh herself to death.”
“Annoying.
Who said I’m marrying you?”
Haruko’s face turned red.
“Whoever answered is the one.”
“Humph.
I’m ignoring you.
I’m going back to the hospital.”
Haruko’s face was flushed as she ran away.
Shanks had just finished eating when a white-haired figure appeared in front of him.
The moment white-haired Sakumo appeared, it was never good news.
“We received intelligence.
Because Sunagakure has suffered heavy losses from consecutive battles, they are preparing to use their tailed beast.
Lord Hokage wants us to infiltrate Sunagakure again, just like last time.”
“Using the same trick again?
Doesn’t he get tired of it?”
Shanks curled his lip.
“We have experience,” Sakumo said.
“Lord Hokage also said the Sunagakure front is currently led by Chiyo and her younger brother, so this time, the one we may face in the village is Second Kazekage Shamon.”
“I know.
The tattooed bald guy who plays with toys.”
Shanks stood up.
“Let’s go.”
“Now?” Sakumo asked.
“What else?
The sooner we go, the sooner we return.
I don’t want to stay in the Land of Wind for too long.”
The two did not delay.
Along the way, they killed any Sunagakure shinobi they could deal with quickly.
If an enemy was too troublesome or would waste too much time, they avoided them.
Shanks’s Observation Haki had grown more and more refined, and its range had expanded significantly.
Avoiding Sunagakure patrols was easy now.
The two once again arrived at Heaven’s Thread Pass outside Sunagakure.
“The One-Tail jinchūriki, Bunpuku, is currently in a temple away from Sunagakure,” Sakumo said.
“We need to draw the One-Tail into the village to complete the mission.”
“Sunagakure’s tailed beast seal is incomplete.
I have a way to make the tailed beast inside him go berserk and lure it toward the village.”
Shanks frowned.
“The problem is how we withdraw.
We don’t understand the Second Kazekage’s abilities.
He’s still the Kage of a village.
That isn’t a joke.
The method from last time definitely won’t work.”
“Right now, most of Sunagakure’s combat strength is on the front line,” Sakumo said.
“There shouldn’t be many elite jōnin left in the village besides Shamon.”
He paused.
“What if I go cause trouble in Sunagakure and draw them away, while you lure the One-Tail into the village?”
“No.
That’s too dangerous.”
Shanks rejected it directly.
“Do it like this.
I’ll lure the One-Tail toward the village.
After that, you go make trouble at the Kazekage building.
Especially the archive room.
The bigger the disturbance, the better.
Make them unable to protect both ends.”
“After ten minutes, withdraw automatically.
We regroup here.”
“All right,” Sakumo said.
“We move tonight.”