Chapter 219: Senju Hashirama, the "Natural Born Degenerate"
Yugito knew she had been discovered, so she had no choice but to push open the door and walk into the room.
She began to comfort herself inwardly, even if there truly was a problem, the other party hadn't struck before, so they certainly wouldn't now. She was safe.
"I have some things I'd like to ask you all."
Yugito hesitated for a moment before pulling the book out from behind her: "Have any of you seen this?"
She had spent quite a while thinking about how to start the conversation and finally settled on this as a suitable opening.
Except...
"Never seen it."
Uchiha Hikari took one look at the cover and immediately shook her head.
"Being Hokage is so busy, where would I find the time to read stuff like this? Why? Are you a fan of this book and want us to help you get an autograph?"
Tsunade also gave it a glance before dismissing it.
Yugito was momentarily stunned.
How could two "Konoha people" have never seen it?
What about the only one left?
If he hadn't seen it either, how was she supposed to continue the conversation?
"I haven't read it either, but I am quite clear on the contents."
Shiromo spoke the honest truth.
Upon hearing the first half of Shiromo's sentence, Yugito's heart had already sunk halfway; fortunately, things took a turn for the better with the second half.
"Oh right, I think I remember Sakura mentioning that Kakashi is a fan of yours. He really likes the movie scripts you write. Apparently, his own writing was influenced by you and Jiraiya. Sakura also said that Kakashi only wrote that... whatever book it is... after they went to the Land of Snow with you."
Tsunade clapped her hands, as if suddenly remembering something.
As soon as Tsunade said this, Yugito, who was just about to speak, was instantly shocked.
She had originally thought Shiromo's "haven't read it, but know the content" meant he had heard about it from others, just like her.
She never expected that Shiromo was the actual culprit... er, the source of all evil... er, anyway, you get the point.
"I want to ask, is some of the content in here adapted from real events?"
After calming her nerves, Yugito earnestly posed the question to Shiromo.
"Like what?"
Shiromo shrugged.
"Like..."
Yugito opened her mouth. Saying this content out loud in front of people she wasn't close to was actually quite difficult; she needed to thicken her skin by a few layers first.
"Like…is it true that Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara shared a... deep friendship?"
Yugito gritted her teeth and said it anyway.
Thump.
Uchiha Hikari suddenly slammed the table, giving Yugito a start.
"That part is true! I know the answer to that without him even needing to tell you!"
Uchiha Hikari glared over at Yugito.
"Huh?"
Yugito then turned her gaze toward Tsunade.
Tsunade sat there taking a sip of hot sake, offering no rebuttal.
What did this imply?
An Uchiha had given an affirmation, and a Senju had tacitly accepted it.
Could it still be fake?
Yugito couldn't help but feel a sense of grief in her heart.
To think that the legendary God of Shinobi and the Asura of the Ninja World actually had such a sordid relationship.
Yugito's moment of reflection and hesitation instead led Uchiha Hikari to believe that Yugito didn't believe her.
"You don't believe me? Senju Hashirama has been brought back via Reanimation, and he admitted it himself! If you don't believe it, you can come back to the Amegakure Village with us and ask him personally."
"Reanimation?"
Yugito had heard of the reputation of this technique.
The Reanimation Jutsu was a forbidden technique developed by Konoha's Second Hokage, capable of summoning the deceased back to the living world from the Pure Land.
Kumogakure Village didn't know the specific details of the "Konoha Crush" incident during the Chunin Exams, but since it was such a major event, they had managed to gather some intelligence.
This included the fact that Orochimaru had used Reanimation to summon the First and Second Hokages in an attempt to kill the Third Hokage.
"That's right. However, if you're going to ask him, I'll accompany you to ensure your safety," Uchiha Hikari said seriously.
Just as she finished saying this, Hikari suddenly realized the sentence sounded a bit ambiguous again and quickly corrected herself: "Wait, no, let Shiromo accompany you instead!"
"Eh?"
Yugito's head was full of question marks.
She didn't understand why Hikari suddenly changed her mind, or why asking a question would be dangerous.
Would the First Hokage kill her to keep her quiet?
"Why do I need you guys to accompany me?" Yugito asked.
"Not 'us', but him. I'm not going," Uchiha Hikari first corrected her, then began to explain, "As a 'natural born degenerate' of the Senju clan, Senju Hashirama..."
"Excuse me?!"
Tsunade had stayed quiet through everything else, but hearing this, she finally couldn't hold back.
What did she mean by "natural born degenerate of the Senju clan"?
She was a member of the Senju clan too, okay!
"What are you 'excuse me-ing' about?"
"Nothing. Go on."
Tsunade thought back to the time she was treated for her hemophobia in Uchiha Hikari's Tsukuyomi world.
It seemed she really had no way to argue.
If she stubbornly argued now and Hikari exposed her, wouldn't she lose all her dignity?
"Mm, good. Then I'll continue."
"As a natural born degenerate of the Senju clan, Senju Hashirama not only has a close relationship with Uchiha Madara but also has a close relationship with another person. Did you know that?"
"Ah? Is there another one? Who?"
Yugito was bewildered.
No wonder the other girl called the First Hokage "natural born"; that evaluation really wasn't wrong.
Yugito quickly scanned her mind for the characters who had appeared in the passing scenes of 'Buff Man Strategy Guide'.
"Could it be... the Second Hokage?" Yugito answered with great difficulty.
"Huh?"
Hikari was stunned; she hadn't expected such an answer.
It seemed Senju Hashirama's reputation in other hidden villages was truly "well-established," to the point where they thought he would be beastly enough to make a move on his own brother.
"Ahem, of course not. The other person is Uzumaki Mito."
"..."
Yugito really wanted to slap herself right now.
She felt like she had already been corrupted by 'Buff Man Strategy Guide'.
Otherwise, why would she think so crookedly about such a simple question?
The one with a close relationship with Senju Hashirama was his wife, Uzumaki Mito, was there even a need to think about that?
"The other one is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Mito. But you have to understand who Senju Hashirama truly cares about. What kind of existence is a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki in his eyes? Now that you've appeared before him as a Jinchuriki yourself, is it possible he might do something... excessive?"
As Senju Hashirama's number one "anti-fan," Uchiha Hikari spared no effort in constructing the image of a "natural born degenerate" in Yugito's mind.
"I... I understand. I... I believe you. I won't be going to your village then."
Some terrifying images flashed through Yugito's mind, making her shudder.
Legend has it that Senju Hashirama captured the nine Tailed Beasts, and Wood Release was the natural counter to them.
For Senju Hashirama to deal with a Jinchuriki like her, wouldn't it be a total one-sided crushing?
If he really wanted to do something to her, he could just use Wood Release to turn into a tentacle monster, and she would be completely powerless to resist.
"Good. Well then, do you have anything else to ask?"
"I..."
Yugito finally remembered the core, most critical question she wanted to ask this time.
"I want to know... is the Infinite Tsukuyomi real?"
(End of this chapter)