"Kaede?!"
Hatake Sakumo stared at the figure in front of him in stunned disbelief. His eyes locked onto the ceremonial cloak with the words Fifth Hokage inscribed on the back. In that instant, a flood of emotions washed over him, shock, joy, pride, and more.
"Kaede… you became Hokage?!"
Still caught up in his wave of emotions, Sakumo had barely gotten the question out when his body moved involuntarily again. In a flash, he appeared directly in front of Kaede, his short sword slashing down toward him.
Though the sword had been broken earlier by Kaede's flick, the remaining half still gathered a sharp, tangible edge of chakra under Sakumo's mastery.
"Watch out!"
Sakumo's pupils shrank as he shouted the warning. This strike was even purer than the one before, nearly equal to his peak. Dodging sideways was the only option; even retreating wouldn't be fast enough!
But just as the blade was about to strike Kaede's head, Kaede let out a calm breath and, without dodging or blocking, simply lifted his left hand and formed a single seal.
Buzz!
Sakumo's movement froze instantly. The blade stopped just a foot above Kaede's head, unable to move an inch further.
Startled, Sakumo looked down at his own body and saw that at some point, numerous black sealing marks had appeared, completely binding him in place.
"This is…?"
"Did he seal me the moment we made contact?"
Realizing what had happened, Sakumo let out a sigh of relief. Looking at Kaede, his eyes filled with deep satisfaction.
"You've grown, Kaede. How's Kakashi doing?"
"He's doing well," Kaede replied gently, lowering his hand. "Do you want to return right away, or would you like to stay and watch a while longer?"
"Hmm..."
Just as Sakumo was about to answer, a wave of chakra surged through the air. From the direction of the village, a group of shinobi burst out, and leading them was someone Sakumo immediately recognized, Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin.
Tsunade's gaze first swept toward the rampaging Nine-Tails in the distance. A flicker of confusion crossed her eyes, but then she caught sight of Sakumo and Kaede nearby.
"Sakumo-senpai?!"
She blinked in shock.
Sakumo also turned to look at her, his expression softening with a trace of nostalgia. "Tsunade… I see it's been a long time since I died."
Tsunade stared at him for several seconds before realization hit her. "Is this… the Second Hokage's Edo Tensei?!"
"Yes," Sakumo replied, just beginning to speak when,
BOOM!!
A monstrous surge of chakra erupted in the distance, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
A towering wooden giant, nearly the size of the Nine-Tails, suddenly rose from the ground. A wooden dragon coiled around its body, lunging toward Kurama to bind it. Meanwhile, the giant raised both arms and moved to grapple the Nine-Tails' front paws.
RUMBLE!!!
Even a mere collision between the two unleashed a thunderous shockwave, sending dust flying and shaking the ground. Some nearby shinobi struggled to stay on their feet from the sheer force.
Tsunade's face shifted slightly. "That's Wood Release...?"
Her mind immediately raced to a conclusion. Considering that Sakumo had been brought back with Edo Tensei, she turned her gaze toward the wooden giant's head.
Sure enough, a familiar figure stood atop it, her grandfather, the First Hokage of Konoha:
Senju Hashirama!
Sakumo, who had been caught in the warm feelings of seeing familiar faces again, was now tense with urgency. He no longer cared about catching up.
"The First Hokage has also been brought back and is being controlled by Edo Tensei! Evacuate the women and children from the village immediately!"
"You'll need sealing techniques to restrain both the First Hokage and the Nine-Tails! That's the only way to contain them!"
Though it appeared the Nine-Tails was holding off Hashirama, Sakumo knew all too well that even the shockwaves of their battle could easily destroy Konoha.
This wasn't just dangerous, it was catastrophic!
Yet,
Despite his warning, the surrounding Konoha shinobi didn't show much reaction. Only a few exchanged glances with each other.
Sakumo blinked in surprise.
Kaede turned to him and smiled lightly. "There's no need to worry, Father. Just watch, it won't become dangerous."
"No!"
Sakumo's voice deepened with urgency. "The First Hokage is far more powerful than you realize. Relying on a rampaging Nine-Tails to hold him off is unrealistic!"
He'd never seen Hashirama fight during his life, but along the way here, he'd felt Hashirama's chakra, overwhelmingly vast, almost terrifying.
It wasn't something any ordinary shinobi could hope to stop.
Even the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, at his peak, didn't compare!
The surrounding shinobi looked at each other again but still didn't react with much urgency. Only Tsunade took a breath, recovered from the shock, and turned to Sakumo.
"Sakumo-senpai… Kaede is the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki. The Nine-Tails is under his control."
Sakumo froze.
Kaede… is the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails?!
He turned to look at Kaede, who was calmly facing the battlefield where Kurama and Hashirama clashed. There wasn't a trace of nervousness in his expression, only a quiet composure. The cloak of the Fifth Hokage fluttered lightly behind him in the breeze.
That image struck Sakumo deeply.
Kaede was no longer the child he once knew.
In the years since Sakumo's death, Kaede had undoubtedly experienced countless battles, survived unimaginable trials, and finally ascended to the position of Hokage.
He had grown stronger than Sakumo himself.
"I see..."
"I suppose I've been worrying too much, even though I'm already dead."
Since Kaede, the current Hokage, could remain this calm under such circumstances, it was only right that Sakumo, a man long dead, left the matter to the living.
He shook his head with a wry smile.
Then, with curiosity overtaking him, he turned to Kaede again. He wanted to know how his son had become the Fifth Hokage, what had happened in Konoha over the years since his death, and what the village had become now.
Sakumo turned to Tsunade and asked, "How long has it been since I died?"
"Thirteen years," Tsunade replied.
Sakumo raised an eyebrow in surprise. He had thought at least twenty years had passed, he hadn't expected only thirteen. That meant Kaede was, at most, nineteen years old now?!
"Only thirteen years?"
"I didn't think Kaede would become Hokage at such a young age... What happened in all those years after I died?"
He looked at Tsunade with curiosity.
By all accounts, someone Kaede's age shouldn't be Hokage yet. Logically, the role should have gone to someone like Orochimaru, Jiraiya, or Tsunade herself.
While it made sense that Kaede was the Fifth Hokage, and that someone unknown to him must have been the Fourth, Sakumo was still eager to know:
Who had been the Fourth Hokage? And how had Kaede become the Fifth?