Tsunade had come here for one reason: Konoha's survival.
When the strange "Hokage Chat Group" invitation appeared in her mind, she'd treated it like a lifeline thrown across a stormy sea. Ridiculous or not, she couldn't afford to ignore any chance—especially not with Pain looming and Jiraiya gone.
So she stepped through.
And immediately froze.
Two men stood ahead of her—one like a living legend, the other like a sharpened blade given human form.
Tsunade's breath caught.
"…Grandpa?" she blurted. "And Second Grandpa?!"
At her voice, the two turned.
Tobirama's eyes narrowed in instant recognition.
Hashirama, meanwhile, blinked—then studied her carefully, head slightly tilted as if matching a face to an old memory.
His gaze dropped to her jacket.
There, stitched boldly across the fabric, was a single word.
Gambling.
Hashirama's expression stiffened, and an image surfaced in his mind—little Tsunade at the tables, eyes blazing with certainty right before everything went wrong.
"Huh…?" he said slowly. "Tsuna?"
Tsunade flinched, equal parts embarrassed and stunned.
Tobirama didn't speak, but his eyes flicked to the Hokage hat resting on her head. His expression shifted into quiet calculation—as if he'd just been handed a report with a missing page.
Before any of them could process the reunion, a dry cough sounded from above the table.
"Ahem."
Ryuji stood at the head seat, smiling like a host welcoming guests to an awkward family dinner.
"Since everyone's here—why don't the Hokage take their seats first?" he said warmly, gesturing to the chairs. "This is the Konoha Hokage Chat Group. We're all family. Sit down. Let's talk."
Tobirama's gaze snapped to him.
"…And you are?"
Ryuji turned slightly, letting his robe fall into view—formal, unmistakable, carrying the authority of the office.
"I'm the Fourth Hokage," he said smoothly. "Ryuji."
Tobirama's eyes sharpened, then relaxed just a fraction. The uniform didn't lie.
Hashirama still looked confused—but held his questions.
Tsunade didn't.
Her eyes narrowed as she stared at Ryuji from the side, suspicion blazing.
"No," she said bluntly. "The Fourth Hokage is Namikaze Minato."
Ryuji didn't flinch.
Instead, he smiled as if he'd been expecting that exact line.
"We're not from the same timeline," he explained. "This group pulls in Hokage from different worlds—parallel versions of Konoha."
He lifted a hand, as if drawing lines in the air.
"In your world, history followed what you know. But in mine, it diverged. I became Hokage early—before Namikaze Minato ever took the position."
Tobirama accepted it faster than the others.
After seeing Hashirama standing there alive—alive without Edo Tensei—parallel worlds suddenly didn't feel that far-fetched. Tobirama had studied space-time techniques. He'd pushed the borders of forbidden jutsu. He knew better than anyone that reality had corners most people never saw.
He turned his attention toward Tsunade.
"So you're…?"
Tsunade straightened, jaw tight.
"Fifth Hokage."
Tobirama repeated it, slower. "Fifth…"
His eyes dimmed into thought.
If Tsunade had become Hokage, then something heavy had happened between their era and hers. Something that forced Konoha to hand the hat to someone who had once run from it.
Hashirama, finally catching up, leaned forward anxiously.
"Konoha… is it alright now?"
Then his eyes flicked again to her jacket—Gambling—and the anxiety doubled.
Hashirama loved Tsunade.
That didn't mean he trusted her around money.
Tsunade paused.
For a moment, she looked like she might tell the truth. The ugly truth. The kind that came with bodies, broken villages, and regrets.
Instead, she said firmly, "Konoha is fine."
Hashirama exhaled so hard it was almost comical.
"Thank goodness," he muttered, like a man relieved his granddaughter hadn't tried to wager the entire village.
With the three seated, the round table finally felt like what it was meant to be: a council.
Tobirama's gaze returned to Ryuji, businesslike.
"As the group leader, tell us what this chat group actually does. What benefits does it provide?"
Ryuji tapped his fingers lightly on the table, thinking.
"At the moment, it's limited. Meetings happen once every three months. Right now, we can only talk and exchange information—no supplies, no direct intervention."
He lifted his chin toward the floating interface in the air, where the locked functions remained grey.
"But once we reach five members, the World Leaderboard unlocks. The system will rank our worlds, and distribute rewards based on those rankings."
Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "Rewards like what?"
Ryuji shook his head. "No details yet."
The Senju brothers exchanged a glance—one calm and curious, the other sharp and distrustful.
Then Ryuji added, almost casually, as if it wasn't world-shaking.
"There's another feature at five members: cross-world mutual aid."
The table went silent.
Ryuji continued.
"If any one of our worlds faces a crisis too big to handle alone, we can request help through the group. The Hokage from other worlds can respond—together."
Shock rippled through all three of them.
Tobirama's fingers tightened.
Hashirama's eyes widened.
Tsunade's expression changed instantly—fear and weight peeling off her shoulders like a cloak dropping to the floor.
If that was true…
If she could bring Hashirama to her world…
Then Pain wasn't a death sentence.
It was a fight.
Tsunade leaned forward, urgency cutting through her voice.
"Fourth Hokage—when can we add the fifth person? This is Konoha's safety we're talking about."
Hashirama and Tobirama turned to her at once, their expressions sharpening.
What kind of crisis was she facing that had her this desperate?
Ryuji's smile turned a little strained.
"We'll have to wait for the next meeting," he said. "That's when invitations unlock again."
Tsunade sat back slowly, jaw clenched.
Three months.
In her world, three months could mean everything.
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