Naruto: I Confronted the Five Kage Before the System Arrived

Chapter 15: A Reunion of Old Friends

What is it like after death?

As someone who has experienced it, Hagoromo Gengetsu finds it hard to describe. It's akin to a blind person's perception of the world—not darkness, but a void. Specifically, it's like when you close one eye, and the image from that eye becomes nothingness.

Time, without reference, flies by after death. Gengetsu felt as though only a second had passed since he closed his eyes, and then immediately reopened them.

It wasn't until he saw the familiar landscape of Konoha Village and the aged face of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, that he realized he had truly arrived fifty years into the future.

Time indeed flies.

Unsurprisingly, he had been resurrected through Orochimaru's Reanimation jutsu. Gengetsu looked at his cracked hands, feeling the disconnection from his actual body.

"The quality of this vessel is appalling," he thought, shaking his head after inspecting himself.

The reason Uchiha Madara had been so overwhelmingly powerful during the Fourth Shinobi War was that Kabuto had prepared a high-quality vessel for him, allowing him to display his full strength.

In contrast, the vessel Gengetsu was in was far inferior to even an ordinary White Zetsu. His powers would be greatly diminished. No doubt, the same applied to Hashirama and Tobirama beside him.

No wonder the Third Hokage could hold his own against them, leaving behind a respectable record before his death, despite being past his prime.

At this moment, Hashirama and Tobirama also came to their senses. Hashirama looked at Hiruzen with a nostalgic gaze, saying, "Long time no see, Monkey."

"You've aged, Sarutobi," Tobirama added calmly.

As the Third Hokage, whom he had personally appointed, Sarutobi had been quite young back then. Now, seeing him again, the years had clearly taken their toll.

"Has it really been thirty or forty years?" Tobirama mentally calculated, glancing at the seemingly out-of-place Gengetsu, and frowned slightly.

"Why is he here?"

Facing the two former Hokage, Hiruzen felt a mix of nostalgia and guilt. He said, "I never expected to see you both again under these circumstances. I'm sorry for disturbing your rest."

"Reanimation jutsu, is it?" Tobirama had already figured out the situation, turning his head to look at Orochimaru. "So this young man is the one who summoned us using the forbidden technique? Impressive, he's brought my jutsu to this level. Unfortunately, he's gone down the wrong path."

Hashirama sighed, saying, "Tobirama, I told you not to develop those dangerous forbidden techniques. It seems you didn't listen."

Just as Hashirama was about to continue, he noticed Gengetsu, who was quietly observing everything. Brightening up, he greeted, "Long time no see, Gengetsu."

"Hashirama," Gengetsu replied, smiling. "For you, it must seem like a long time, but for me, it's just the blink of an eye. By the way, I did say before that Uchiha Madara was more radical than I was. So, how did things go after my death? Anything interesting?"

Hashirama's expression fell as he thought of the Battle of the Valley of the End. "Madara..."

"As I expected," Gengetsu noted Hashirama's reaction and felt reassured that the timeline had followed the original path.

Feeling pleased, he continued to stir the pot, "Not just Madara, but also the peace you Five Kage claimed to pursue."

"Hashirama, if the world truly remained peaceful after my death, would Konoha need to change Hokages so frequently that they've reached the Fourth?"

Gengetsu pointed towards the Hokage Rock in the distance. If the world had indeed stayed peaceful, Konoha wouldn't have had to appoint so many Hokages in such a short span.

Hashirama followed his gaze to the four large faces carved into the rock, his expression darkening. While he was somewhat naïve, he wasn't stupid.

"Tobirama, is that true?" Hashirama asked his brother, who had also died, for confirmation.

Hashirama had kept the peace during his life, but he was unaware of the events that followed.

Tobirama glanced at Gengetsu, who seemed to be taking pleasure in the situation, and was about to answer when Orochimaru, who had been standing silently in the background, stepped forward. "Old folks, that's enough chit-chat. It's time to get down to business."

Gengetsu couldn't help but twitch at the corners of his mouth.

"Old folks?"

Having always been regarded as a young prodigy, he found it hard to accept being called an old man.

Seeing Orochimaru approach him, Hashirama sighed, "So, even in this era, we still have to fight?"

Being polite to the legendary God of Shinobi, Orochimaru responded, "You enjoy it, don't you?"

Hiruzen, furious at the sight, shouted, "How dare you mock the dead, Orochimaru! Those who tamper with time meet no good end!"

Orochimaru merely sneered, pulling out control talismans, showing his stance through actions.

Sometimes, a poor-quality vessel isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Like now.

With their strength greatly reduced due to the low-quality vessels, Hashirama and Tobirama couldn't resist the control of the Reanimation jutsu, unlike in the future where Hashirama, using White Zetsu's body, could exert immense pressure on Orochimaru without much effort.

Tobirama was in a similar predicament. As the developer of the technique, he could, in theory, break free, but the vessel's poor quality limited his strength, preventing him from doing so.

Thus, all they could do was watch as Orochimaru inserted the control talismans into their brains, dimming their eyes and blocking their consciousness.

Seeing his two old friends lose their awareness so soon after meeting, Gengetsu shrugged, then casually suggested to Orochimaru, "Your name is Orochimaru, right? Since you know who I am, you should understand that I'm different from those two."

"There's no need to control me. I'd be more than happy to help destroy Konoha."

Though currently unable to break free from the Reanimation jutsu, Gengetsu didn't mind negotiating with Orochimaru for cooperation.

After all, a fully conscious reincarnated body was stronger than one with suppressed consciousness.

Orochimaru, sticking out his long tongue, looked at the legendary man, reputed to rival gods and known for his supreme talent. Gengetsu's willingness to join his side, rather than resisting like the others he'd summoned from the afterlife, intrigued him greatly.

What an interesting old guy!