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The forest was a battlefield of shattered trees and scorched earth. Smoke lingered in the air, wisps of flas clinging to trees. It was proof of the fierce clash between the two legendary ninjas.
Tobirama stood amid the wreckage, his white hair stained with dirt and sweat, his eyes fixed on the dissipating dust cloud where his brother had been monts before.
"Was that the 'Multiplying Tandem Paper Bombs'? That's one hell of a jutsu." Jiraiya muttered, watching as the last of the explosions subsided.
Nearby Anbu Ox rely nodded his head in astonishnt. He had rarely seen such destructive jutsu. 'Is this the power of the shinobi who survived the warring era? Unbelievable.'
The ground where Hashirama stood was now a dark deep crater, smoke rising from its depths. There were no movents But they knew it wouldn't be that easy.
As expected, fragnts of wood and flesh began to coalesce at the center of the crater. Hashirama's reanimated body was regenerating, cells knitting back together with unsettling speed. Tobirama clenched his fists. 'I should act now. There's no need to waste anymore ti on this.'
He vanished with his teleportation jutsu before Jiraiya or Ox registered his movents. His hands already completed weaving several seals.
"Ninja art - Double Tetragram paralysis seal."
A series of sealing lines spread all over Hashirama's body stopping his movents. His body regenerated but he was completely still. As the man's face was restored his eyes went to his little brother.
The second Hokage placed a hand on his elder brother's neck and the seal symbols covering his head vanished, allowing the First Hokage to speak.
By this ti Jiraiya and Ox also landed near the two forr kages.
Hashirama had a small smile on his face. "You really didn't hold back… Tobirama."
"Forgive brother. But I don't have that luxury." Without wasting a mont, Tobirama slamd another seal onto Hashirama's forehead.
The seal glowed briefly before fading into his skin. "Summoning Disruption Seal," Tobirama stated. "This will prevent Orochimaru from summoning you back to him."
His little brother's words and the expression on his face gave the First Hokage a bad feeling.
Orochimaru, who was observing the battle through his puppet, realized what had transpired. "Damn you, Tobirama!" he hissed, his golden eyes narrowing. "You've severed my connection." He was furious at being outplayed.
Hashirama blinked, worry and confusion on his face. "What's going on Tobirama?" He asked.
Tobirama took a deep breath. "There's sothing you should know. Orochimaru has kidnapped Tsunade. She's in grave danger."
Hashirama's eyes widened, a mixture of shock and pain flashing across his features. "Tsunade!?" Hearing her na a mory ca to the forefront of his mind.
—-
"Haha. I win again!" In a gambling den, Hashirama had a big grin as he grabbed all his winning chips and cash. At that mont he didn't have the appearance of the leader of a great village. He looked like a pure gambling uncle looking to have a good ti.
"Wow. That's a lot of money grandpa." A childish voice ca from behind him.
"Yup. I'm gonna put all this into an even bigger bet." Hashirama, who was drunk, didn't register the familiar voice at first. But that ignorance only lasted a few seconds. The smile on his face suddenly vanished and he blinked a few tis before robotically turning his head in the direction of the voice.
The First Hokage saw a small hand struggling to reach for the wad of cash on the table. His head turned and followed the hand to the blonde hair and he was shocked to see a very familiar face.
"Pffft! Tsunade!?" He spit his sake all over the table and exclaid in shock. "What are you doing here? H-How did you even get in here?"
Little Tsunade, who was 5 years old, had a big smile as she looked at her grandpa. "I saw you looking all shady while coming here so I followed you in. And I told them I was with you."
Hashirama was having a ntal freak out. 'Ghaaa! If my son finds out Tsunade was here- No. If Mito finds out she followed here, I'm a dead man. I need to make sure they don't ever know.'
Suddenly he put on a big smile and picked up the little girl and sat her on his lap. "Now, Tsuna, it's not good to trail your grandpa all the ti. I could be on a dangerous mission sotis and you'd be in trouble if you follow ."
"Oh?" Tsunade frowned cutely and tilted his head. "So I shouldn't have followed you here?"
"No. So why don't we keep this a secret huh. Just a secret between you and ." The first Hokage had a charming smile as he looked at his granddaughter.
"Ok grandpa." Tsunade smiled innocently and nodded her head.
Hashirama breathed a sigh of relief but little did he know it was not going to end there.
"So what do I get in return?" The next second the little blonde girl asked cutely.
"Ehh!?" Hashirama had to double take as he looked at his granddaughter.
"Since you want to keep this a secret, I'm guessing you don't want dad or grandma to know. So what are you gonna give ?" The little girl had a cute smile and looked like an angel but for Hashirama it looked as if she was smiling like the devil.
"I.. um… H- how about a toy when we leave here. Yeah. I'll buy you so great toys." The first Hokage tried to bribe Tsunade with toys but she was not having it.
"No. They're boring. Besides, I already have a lot of them." She replied.
Hashirama was stumped. "Um… So what do you want?" He asked with a small trepidation.
"I wanna play this ga." Tsunade said, pointing her hand at the gambling table.
The first Hokage was stumped for a few seconds as he looked to where she was pointing before vehently refusing it. "Nope! Absolutely not. I'm not gonna let you gamble."
"But it looks so fun. Please grandpa."
"No. I won't allow it." Hashirama put his foot down.
Tsunade looked downtrodden and slowly nodded her head. "Fine. There's not much else I want right now."
"So you'll keep this a secret?" The man asked his granddaughter with slight fear in his heart.
"Yeah."
Before Tsunade's reply could bring relief to the man, she continued.
"But you know… I sotis talk in my sleep… And grandma invited to stay with her for this weekend. So when I sleep I don't know what I might say."
Hashirama's jaw dropped and his eyes widened as he looked at the little girl trying to look innocent. "Y-you little… That's extortion!"
"I don't know what that ans grandpa." Tsunade gave a nonchalant reply.
The kage of the Leaf village was silent as he looked at his granddaughter. 'To think that I, Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage and God of Shinobi, would be brought down to my knees by a little girl. I'm kinda glad Madara isn't here. He'd never let live this down.'
"Pleaaassse. This looks so fun. Just one ga. I promise we'll stop after one ga. And I won't say anything."
Finally he relented. "Fine. One ga!"
"Yay." Tsunade pumped her fists in the air in victory.
Hashirama looked at his granddaughter and sighed. He tried to find the positive side of this situation. 'Perhaps this isn't so bad. Who knows, if she's inherited my luck, maybe this could be a good thing. I might be able to double my money.'
A minute later after one round of ga, Hashirama was looking on in despair as all his earlier winnings were taken away by the house.
"All…my… money." He had tears pouring down his face as he saw how quickly his granddaughter lost all his winnings.
"That was fun. I wanna do it again." Tsunade on the other hand was extrely happy.
Hashirama looked at the little girl and cried. 'You really have no luck at all.'
At this mont Tsunade looked at the end of the table and saw a glass with a slightly yellow drink. "Ooh. A juice. I wanna try that."
"NO!" Hashirama shouted and he imdiately hoisted his granddaughter and carried her on his shoulders like a sack of potatoes. "We're leaving. And you are not going to say a word of this to your dad or grandma."
"But-"
"NO BUTS!"
—-
The First Hokage had fear in his eyes. Not for himself but for his precious granddaughter. "Tsunade? She was taken?"
"Yes," Tobirama confird with a solemn expression. "Orochimaru took her and her apprentice Shizune over thirty hours ago. We're doing everything we can to find them."
The weight of the news hit Hashirama hard. His partially regenerated body trembled, and for a mont, the ever-boisterous First Hokage looked utterly defeated. "How could I have been so blind... used as a tool against my own family."
"It's not your fault," Tobirama said firmly.
Hashirama closed his eyes, focusing inward. He could feel his soul straining against the bounds of the reanimation. The pain of knowing his kin was in danger ignited sothing within him.
His body began to glow softly. "It seems my ti here is short, and I couldn't even help you." he said, a gentle smile returning to his face. "Funny, even in death, there's no rest for the wicked—or the righteous, it seems."
The reanimated body of the first Hokage began to break apart and Orochimaru lost complete control over his jutsu. His soul hovered just above the ground. He wanted to help them find his family.
"I could sense Orochimaru's chakra... faint, but it was there."
Tobirama leaned in. "Where?" Jiraiya and Ox were also paying close attention.
"Sowhere in the Land of Earth," Hashirama whispered. "A hidden location... he's masked it well, but not completely. Not to . I believe this is a weakness of your jutsu." After saying those words Hashirama's soul slowly began to ascend.
"Brother..." Tobirama began, but Hashirama raised a hand to stop him.
"No need for farewells," Hashirama said warmly. "Just promise you'll bring Tsunade and her student back safely."
Tobirama nodded solemnly. "You have my word."
Hashirama's form started to break apart into shimring particles of light. Before he disappeared completely, he looked into Tobirama's eyes one last ti. "Take care of our village. And Tobirama... try to smile more."
A faint chuckle escaped Tobirama's lips. "I'll... consider it."
With that, Hashirama's soul ascended, the light fading into the sky.
Jiraiya walked up to Tobirama. "Is he—"
"Gone," Tobirama confird. "But he gave us valuable information. Orochimaru is in the Land of Earth."
Jiraiya frowned. "The Land of Earth? That's a long way from here."
"Exactly," Tobirama replied. "Which explains why we couldn't find any traces of him nearby. He's been orchestrating everything from afar."
Back in the Lead village Hiruzen, who was watching everything, sat in a chair. 'Land of Earth. Daichi was right all along. But going there… No this must be done. But this will need proper planning.'
Ox's eyes behind his mask hardened. "We're chasing shadows. Orochimaru has been one step ahead."
Jiraiya clenched his fists. "Then we need to catch up. If he's in the Land of Earth, we need to move now."
"Agreed," Tobirama said. "But we have to proceed with caution. Orochimaru won't be alone, and the Land of Earth isn't exactly friendly territory."
Ox stepped forward. "I can mobilize a tracking unit. With Lord Second's abilities and Lord Jiraiya's connections, we might have a chance."
Jiraiya crossed his arms and spoke. "It's not that simple. After what happened Onoki has increased defenses around the country. Tensions are high right now. If we go in at this ti and get caught it could have serious backlash for the village. I'm not saying we shouldn't go. I'm saying we need to make so preparations."
Tobirama glanced at Jiraiya and agreed with his assessnt. "Gather what intel you can. I'll inform Hiruzen."
Jiraiya nodded. "Right. I already have so people working on it.. If Orochimaru is hiding in the Land of Earth, soone must have seen sothing."
"Jiraiya boy. We'll head ho. Contact us if you need anything." Fukasaku said to his student.
"It's going to be alright. I have no doubt you'll bring her ho." Shima gave so encouraging words to reassure him.
"Thank you Pa, Ma." Jiraiya nodded.
"Lord Second." The two toads nodded at the reanimated Kage and vanished in a puff of smoke.
Tobirama glanced at the two remaining ninjas. "The scouts reported that there was nothing else here. I would have had us conduct another investigation ourselves but that would just be a waste of ti. Let's head back to the village."
As they prepared to move out, Tobirama cast one last glance at the spot where Hashirama had vanished.
'Rest easy, brother. We'll bring her back.'
The Second Hokage placed his hand on the two ninjas and vanished instantly.
Author's Note:-
Ever since I introduced Tsunade into this story I wanted to include this slice of life scene. I hope I did it well.
If you enjoy my story then please take a mont to review and rate. A thumbs up always helps.
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