Chapter 88: Come On, Call Me Great-Great-Grandpa
Jiraiya had been concealed in the spectator stands doing his protective-civilian duty, and his jaw was somewhere around his knees.
Had he just watched two iron balls — each over three meters across — get flung through the air?
With a Giantification Technique on top of that?
That technique was known to exactly four people outside of Hiruzen and Sakura. Two of those four were currently occupied on the rooftop. Tsunade was keeping Ōnoki pinned in his seat.
Which left one explanation.
He'd been about to jump in himself — he had a Swamp of the Underworld ready to go, figured he'd dissolve the Four Violet Flames Formation from below. He hadn't expected Sakura to solve the problem by hitting it with something that should not physically exist.
"Pervert!"
"Get moving!"
Sakura's voice cracked across the air. He looked up. She was already airborne — one hand gripping Kakashi by the collar, hauling him through the sky toward the wreckage of the barrier like he was a piece of luggage — and she'd spotted Jiraiya in passing and immediately issued orders at him.
"Rude child," Jiraiya muttered, scratching his head. He was about to follow when a voice came from behind him.
"Lord Jiraiya."
An ANBU operative, kneeling, robes black.
"What is it?"
"The summoned serpents inside the village — casualties are mounting. We need you to suppress them."
The operative kept their gaze down, voice even.
Jiraiya frowned.
He glanced toward where Sakura was heading. Then toward the columns of dust rising across the village.
Then — a flash of purple at the edge of his vision.
That's... Manda.
"Understood. On my way."
He was already moving before he finished the sentence, heading straight for the giant serpent's direction.
Sakura had the Yin Seal. She had Kakashi. She had Hiruzen. That was enough for Rasa and Orochimaru.
Manda, on the other hand, ate people.
The ANBU operative watched Jiraiya go, then rose slowly to his feet. He reached up and removed his mask.
A mild, harmless face.
If Naruto had been standing there, he would have recognized it instantly — this was Kabuto Yakushi, from the written exam.
Kabuto looked at the partially demolished arena and spoke to no one in particular, something almost wistful in his voice.
"Lord Orochimaru. This is all I can do for you."
CRASH.
Sakura hit the last intact section of rooftop with Kakashi in tow, and that section immediately stopped being intact.
"...Huh?"
Kakashi stared at the two men standing in front of him.
Where's Rasa? Where's Orochimaru? Where's Lord Hiruzen?
And these two are—
Hashirama Senju was looking at the pink-haired girl in front of him with genuine focus. The hair color was different. But that diamond mark on her forehead — he knew it as well as he knew his own hands. The same seal as Mito's. Enhanced Strength that matched Tsunade's. And that iron ball, just now — the same blunt approach to problem-solving he'd watched Tsunade use for decades.
Could it be—
Something clicked into place for Hashirama. A single mental finger went up.
The look in his eyes, trained on Sakura, went slowly, unmistakably warm.
Sakura felt her scalp begin to crawl.
She'd expected the God of Shinobi to have a brain roughly on par with Naruto's. But what was happening right now?
"I can't believe little Tsuande's daughter has grown up so much..."
Sakura: ???
Kakashi: ???
Hiruzen, pulling himself out of the floor below: ???
Tsunade, who had just climbed up to assess the situation: :rage:
Tobirama covered his face with both hands.
HOW. There is no resemblance. Look at the eyes, the hair, the face, the—
...chest.
Actually, to be fair, Tsunade was also flat as a board.
Tobirama had died when Tsunade was still small. In his memory she really did look like a washboard.
And the approach to problem-solving... there's something to it...
Even Tobirama found himself wavering slightly.
Tsunade had made it to the rooftop just in time to witness all of this. The rush of emotion she'd felt at seeing her great-grandfather and grandfather again — alive, present, standing right in front of her — died in her throat.
This cannot stand.
She was significantly older than Sakura! In years! Actual years!
"Excuse me?!"
Sakura had braced herself for something ridiculous from Hashirama. She had not braced herself for this level of ridiculous.
My parents deserve an apology, you absolute menace.
"Come on, sweetheart. Call me Great-Great-Grandpa."
Hashirama stepped toward Sakura, hand already moving to pat her on the head — and a hand with bright red nail polish caught his wrist in a grip like iron.
"Enough."
A vein was pulsing at Tsunade's temple. She was keeping her voice carefully controlled.
She was fifty years old. An unmarried fifty years old. And someone had just suggested she had a daughter this age.
Where is this child supposed to have come from?!
"Huh? Tsunade?"
Hashirama looked over, registered his great-granddaughter, and broke into a delighted smile.
"She really does look like you, doesn't she, haha—"
"My great-great-granddaughter doesn't look a thing like—"
"Surprised to see you back, Tsunade."
Orochimaru's voice arrived from somewhere to the side, silky and unbothered. He'd returned while no one was watching, and he was looking over the assembled group with quiet interest.
"Orochimaru." Tsunade's warmth evaporated. "You desecrated my grandfather's corpse. There is no version of this where I forgive that."
Her eyes were ice.
"Orochimaru. Stop wasting time." Gold dust coalesced into a human shape at Orochimaru's side. Rasa's voice was clipped, expression tight with impatience. "It's time to move."
"Heh heh. My thoughts exactly."
Orochimaru lifted one hand, sword-seal at his chest.
Both Hokages' expressions shifted simultaneously — and they lunged. Hashirama at Sakura, Tobirama at Hiruzen.
Orochimaru watched it all with composed eyes. The cursed kunai plan had been interrupted before he could complete it — the seals hadn't gone in. But that didn't mean he couldn't control them. It just cost more focus.
Hashirama's fist came down at Sakura like a falling cliff.
Sakura used the height differential — she was shorter, much shorter — dropped into a squat, let the punch pass over her head, and drove her fist into Hashirama's midsection.
He caught it almost instantly, chakra surging through his hands like a flood breaking a dam.
But this Edo Tensei was imperfect. A botched summoning. Hashirama's power was at its historical nadir.
He'd read Sakura's attack the moment she committed to it. He'd blocked it cleanly.
He still slid back fifteen steps before he found his footing.
"To push Nii-san that far with a single punch." Tobirama, having been pushed back himself by Hiruzen, watched Sakura with open appreciation. "Truly impressive."
"Old man — Orochimaru's yours. Leave these two to me."
She was already moving.
"Kakashi — you're not just standing there. Go intercept Rasa. You know the plan."
(End of Chapter)