Hokage: Ryo's Path

Just as he wondered about that, an Anbu flickered into the battlefield, followed by two others who were struggling to keep up with him.

Kakashi and his team had practically finished Root back inside their headquarters, and after leaving his men to continue searching for information and other men, he followed Ryo with two of his confidents.

The two operated directly under Sakumo, and had a good understanding of how powerful Ryo was.

They did not think that they would need to support Ryo, even if Danzo had support lurking outside.

Kakashi however could sense the massive scale Jutsus being used outside, and he took the two along with him to support his friend. Therefore, when the two saw Danzo still standing, they were stunned.

“Ryo, you’re fine!” Kakashi looked at the obviously troubled Ryo and asked nervously.

‘Another Kage Tier? And he doesn’t look older than Ryo Yamanaka! It seems like Konoha had been developing well in recent years!’ Tobirama thought to himself.

Kakashi looked up at him, grabbing his Chakra Blade and observing him with vigilance. However, his vigilance faded completely as he noticed how familiar he looked.

It wasn’t just Kakashi; his companions were also shaken, and they looked up at the faces carved on stone in the distance, and then back at Tobirama.

“Ryo, what’s going on? He looks like...” Kakashi whispered.

“It is him indeed, the Nidaime, Tobirama Senju. Danzo had used special technique to bring him back to life, and now, we’re fighting.” Ryo explained faintly.

Kakashi frowned, as he knew all too well that getting through the Nidaime was to be tricky.

“Hey, young man over there. You’re an Anbu of Konoha, right?” Just as Kakashi was thinking heard, he was awakened by Tobirama’s charismatic voice.

He nodded: “Yes; I am the current Anbu commander!”

“Well, I have a few questions. First, why do you want to kill Danzo?”

“Tobirama sensei, he is also...”

“Danzo, you hide and shut up! I need to figure out what’s going on! Go ahead, young man, tell me about your reasons!”

Kakashi looked at Ryo, and the latter nodded to him. Therefore, the Anbu commander explained to the Nidaime what Danzo had done.

Tobirama’s face was getting more and more gloomy, and his look at his disciple was getting colder and colder.

“Sensei, you can’t just listen to their words!” Danzo still defended himself.

“You don’t have to take Kakashi’s word, Nidaime. You can walk into the village, and ask the villagers about Danzo.” The public opinion in the village had long been reversed by Ryo and Sakumo, so Ryo wasn’t afraid of what they might have to say.

Tobirama remained silent, and after releasing a Cold Sigh, he made his hand seals and light began to form around his body: His soul was getting gradually separated from his body.

“Before I leave, Ryo Yamanaka, I need to understand why you’re questioning my character. I’ve never done anything to harm the village, and all I did was motivated by my desire to leave a better Konoha behind.”

“Policies? Are you referring to my treatment of the Uchiha?”

“No just them; I’ve felt that you’ve tried to weaken all clan; even the Senju!”

“You!” When hearing Ryo, a storm built up in Tobirama’s head: How did Ryo know of such a matter?”

“Kakashi, take your men away from here, and remember to keep an eye on Danzo. Be careful!” Ryo said to Kakashi.

The latter nodded and two his two companions away.

Ryo then continued: “It has always been strange to me, Nidaime. What made you dissolve your own clan?”

Tobirama hesitated for a second, and then decided to tell the truth: “I did it from the village, and for the sake of Senju clan as well.

Like the Uzumaki, the Senju clan had massive Chakra stores and great vitality. However, besides the Uchiha, no other clan could compete with them.

Moreover, I was witnessing the village giving the Senju an increasingly special status. When I was Hokage, i often heard people from the clan saying that the next Hokage was to also be a Senju.

When Ni san built Konoha, it wasn’t supposed to become a Senju Village.”

“So you decided to dissolve the village by encouraging its members to fall in love with the village’s civilians. This wasn’t to just dismantle your clan, but to also let its blood continue flowing the veins of most of Konoha. Am I right?” Ryo understood Tobirama’s thoughts.

The Nidaime nodded and then said: “Yes, I did do that at the time, to prevent the post of Hokage from becoming a birth right, and to let the Senju blood continue to be passed down; I had to do it!

However, this matter was top secret, and besides the two Senju elders who supported me in doing it back in the day, no one should know about it. They should have passed away long before you were born, young man. How did you learn about it?”

“Such a massive operation is bound to leave traces....” Ryo then told Tobirama of how he investigated Izumi’s roots.

“So that’s the case? I never expected that things with end up with a Senju and an Uchiha falling in love, and even giving birth to a child! Hahaha!”

Ryo smiled, and then remembered that he had one more question to ask: “Nidaime, I still have one more question!”

“What’s that?”

“Why did you let yourself die? Why didn’t you simply use Flying Thunder God to escape on that night?”

Tobirama thought about the night on which he fell, and then gave Ryo an answer that shocked him!

“Well, I guess you know how the battle went before that point, so I’ll just tell you why I did not use the Flying Thunder God Jutsu. The reason is very simple: I tried that technique to escape over and over again. However, no matter how much I tried, I would be interrupted. It as if the coordinates that I tried to reach were getting disturbed, and I would end up staying near the Gold and Silver Brothers.”

“Disturbed?” Ryo frowned greatly. Previously, he had formed a theory on the matter. Perhaps Madara somehow managed to seal Tobirama’s ability to teleport? However, he never thought that the matter was of this magnitude...