A minute later, inside the Hokage's office.
Kai and Senju Hashirama sat across from each other, facing one another seriously. Outside the door, Senju Tobirama was eavesdropping with great focus, like a jealous woman listening in on her rival's conversation.
Hashirama, of course, noticed Tobirama's sneaky behavior. He sighed and looked at Kai with an apologetic expression.
"Should I cast a soundproofing jutsu?"
"No need."
Kai didn't care at all whether Tobirama listened. It made no difference to him. As long as he could convince Hashirama, Tobirama couldn't possibly change anything on his own—even if he heard every word.
"So… what exactly is it that you wanted to discuss, Okyaku-sama?" Hashirama asked.
Kai paused for a moment, then calmly began to speak.
"I want to talk about the future. Not just of Konoha—but of the entire ninja world."
"Oh?"
"How about we do it like this?" Kai suggested. "We'll each take turns asking questions. That way it's fair. You don't have to answer if you don't want to—I won't force anything."
For someone like Hashirama, who valued trust and sincerity, a straightforward approach worked far better than tricks or manipulation.
Hashirama seemed to appreciate the gesture. His shoulders relaxed slightly, and his expression softened. He was clearly more comfortable talking to someone who seemed honest and reasonable.
"You first," Kai said calmly.
Hashirama hesitated briefly, but then decided to go straight to what he was most curious about.
"Your eyes… what are they?"
"Hmm... Its the Rinnegan." Kai stared at Hashirama's eyes deeply.
Kai didn't hesitate. He answered calmly and confidently, not trying to hide anything. In fact, he hoped that showing off a bit might give him more weight in this conversation.
"The legendary eyes of the Sage of the Six Paths," Hashirama said in awe. "Said to be the most powerful of the Three Great Dōjutsu… I never thought they truly existed. So the legends are real after all. You—Your Excellency—you and the Sage of the Six Paths…" Hashirama said carefully after knowing the origin of those eyes and began to change his way of speaking.
"I know him," Kai said lightly without a hint of shame. "But we're not close."
That old man who liked handing out cheat powers—any Naruto fan knew him well. But when Hashirama heard this, it hit differently.
This man… actually knew the Sage of the Six Paths?
He knew the founder of ninjutsu?
Did that mean…
Could it be that this person had been alive since Ancient times?
Tha-that couldn't be true… could it?
But those Rinnegan eyes definitely didn't look fake…
"Who… who exactly are you?"
"I'm an outsider," Kai replied. "Someone who doesn't belong to this time. You could say I'm a god—or maybe a soon-to-be a god, working on a mission to become one."
Hashirama was stunned again.
He didn't entirely believe it, but the shock was real. Still, he didn't let it show too much on his face. He was already thinking about ways he could verify Kai's identity without upsetting him.
"My turn."
"Please, go ahead," Hashirama said politely.
"Aren't you in a hurry to see your… friend?"
"You mean Madara? No, there's no rush," Hashirama replied with a smile, thumping his chest. "He'll wait for me."
His voice was full of confidence. He had complete trust in his bond with Madara.
Kai gave a small smile and stopped teasing. He got to the real reason he was here.
"First Hokage, Senju Hashirama. What kind of world do you want to build?"
Hashirama's expression became more serious. His entire presence changed. He sat up straighter and looked Kai directly in the eyes.
"I want to create a peaceful world," he said solemnly. "A world where children don't have to go to war."
"And you believe that peace will come through the ninja village system? This alliance of clans living together?" Kai counters it calmly.
"Yes," Hashirama nodded. "The Hidden Leaf Village, created by the Senju and the Uchiha, is already being accepted by more and more people. In the Land of Earth, they've already established Iwagakure. Their leader calls himself the Tsuchikage. Other nations are starting to follow the same path. Once this system is developed more fully, I truly believe it can replace the constant fighting of the Warring States era."
"At the very least," he continued, "ninjas will no longer be forced to rely on powerful clans just to survive. The cycle of endless war will finally be broken."
Hashirama had lived through the darkest years of the Warring States era.
Even a clan just as strong as the Senju had paid a heavy price. Of Senju Butsuma's five sons, only two survived. The rest had been lost to war.
Back in those days, the average person didn't even live to see thirty. Children barely old enough to lift a weapon were sent into battle. If a kid made it to ten, they were considered lucky.
Hashirama remembered that horror all too well.
And that's why he had worked so hard to bring it all to an end.
He wasn't just a man with a dream—he was someone who acted on it.
And through his own efforts, he really had ended the Warring States period and started a new era.
"Then tell me," Kai asked, "how can you be so sure that this ninja village system is the right path? What if it leads to even greater wars between the villages?"
"I can't make any promises about the future," Hashirama admitted. "But right now, this system is working. It's already brought order to the chaos. And I've been thinking about how to create ways to keep the major villages in check—to prevent future wars."
He answered sincerely.
In fact, he felt a little happy—this was a problem that had been on his mind for a long time, and now he finally had someone to talk to about it.
"Then what about the Tailed Beasts?"
"I've thought about them," Hashirama replied. "But I haven't found them all yet. The village is still being built. Once things settle down here, I plan to find the tailed beasts and deal with them properly."
Even though Hashirama had his flaws—his bad habits like gambling and drinking—he had always been serious when it came to the village's future.
"One last question," Kai said. "If you had to choose… who would you protect? The village? Or your family?"
"Of course, I…"
Hashirama opened his mouth, but the words caught in his throat. A year ago, he would have answered immediately. But now, he hesitated.
"Don't rush to answer," Kai said. "Let me tell you about what happens to Konoha."
"In the Year 17 of Konoha, the First Great Ninja War begins."
"In the Year 37, the Second..."
"In the Year 45, the Third..."
"In the Year 68, the Fourth..."
"In less than seventy years, four wars break out—each one involving the entire ninja world. Each one just as brutal as the Warring States era."
"This… is this the peace created by the ninja village system you build?"
Hashirama was stunned.
Kai's words felt like a hammer slamming into his heart.
He had expected that peace wouldn't last forever. He knew people would fight over resources, over power. That was human nature.
But this?
Four full-scale wars in only a few decades?
He hadn't expected it to be this bad.
Was this man lying to him?
Or… could the Rinnegan really see into the future?
"Wait! What you said—is it all true? Is that really what's going to happen? Can you see the future?"
"Do you believe it?" Kai said seriously.
"I… I don't want to believe it…"
Hashirama meant what he said.
As long as he was alive, he would do everything in his power to stop a world war from happening.
It didn't make sense. How could so much fighting happen so fast?
Unless…
Kai saw the confusion in Hashirama's face and said honestly, "You guess it right. You will die in the 16th year of Konoha. One year later, the First Great Ninja War begins."
"Impossible!"
The door slammed open.
Senju Tobirama, who had been listening outside the entire time, finally couldn't take it anymore and burst into the room.
There was no way his brother would die so soon. No one in the world was strong enough to defeat Hashirama.
He had to say something.
"Brother, don't listen to him! He's lying!"
"Tobirama!"
Hashirama's voice rose. He glared at his younger brother, angry that he was being so disrespectful.
"Brother, I just…"
But Kai ignored the interruption and calmly turned to Tobirama.
"Senju Tobirama," he said. "Do you want to know how you died?"
"What?!" An ashen expression appeared on Hashirama after hearing that his sister would die in the future.
Kai continued. "You were surrounded and killed by a few Cloud ninjas."
"Lies! That's impossible! Don't think you can trick me! I'm not as easy to fool as my big brother!"
Tobirama was furious. He couldn't accept what he just heard.
Me? Killed by a few Cloud ninjas?
Ridiculous.
He was the master of forbidden jutsu—Flying Thunder God, Edo Tensei, Shadow Clones, Exploding Tags, Water-Style techniques—he had so many powerful moves.
How could he be defeated by just a few enemy ninjas?
Cloud ninjas? Who even are they?
He'd never even heard of them.
It had to be fake. It had to be made up.
But beside him, Hashirama was even angrier.
His killing intent radiated in the room like a wave, and the pressure of his chakra cracked the wooden floor beneath their feet.
Hashirama was famous for being a "big brother" type. His love for Tobirama was just as strong as Madara's love for his own brother, Izuna.
Now, hearing that Tobirama would die like that?
There was no way he could stay calm.
"Sir… please," he said. "Explain this more clearly." His face darkens after saying this.
"It's a long story," Kai said. "So instead of explaining this, I'll show you."
"Huh? Show me?.. Show me what?"
"You'll understand soon."
As Xia You finished speaking—
Whoosh—
In a flash, he and Hashirama vanished from the Hokage's office without a trace.
This was one of Kai's unique system powers:
He could take leaders of allied forces into other parallel worlds—and force them to return an hour later.
It was time to show Hashirama just how badly Tobirama was taken out… by the Cloud ninjas.