Chapter 327: The Suspicious Hashirama Senju—Uchiha Jin Grows Cautious!

The front courtyard, the reception room.

Uchiha Jin was unaware of the two women’s conversation; he had walked straight into the reception room.

“First Hokage, is there an emergency?”

He cut straight to the point without any preamble.

Clearly.

He knew Hashirama Senju’s nature well—this man would never come in person unless there was an urgent matter.

And yet, regarding this:

Hashirama Senju had no intention of wasting words either. He didn’t glance at the tea set on the table, but spoke with grave seriousness: “Regarding my deployment to the Northern Front, I hope Itachi, Hokage, will allow me to go.”

“I have two reasons.”

“First, although my strength is immense, my body is a reanimated corpse—I’m unsuited to remain behind to guard Konoha.”

“Even though Tobirama has spent this time refining the technique, the Reanimation Jutsu remains inherently vulnerable to suppression.”

“Any skilled sealing expert could easily neutralize—or even control—me.”

“Mist, Sand, and Stone are preparing to join Konoha; if successful, unification of the ninja world is imminent. At this critical moment, I wish to go personally and lend my strength. Even if some powerful enemy manages to suppress me, my death won’t disrupt the frontline strategy—I still have Tobirama, Tsunade, and others to carry on.”

“But Konoha is different!”

“Currently, Konoha’s core combat strength has almost entirely been deployed to the Five Fronts.”

“If Konoha faces a powerful enemy and something happens to me here, there will be no other strong force left to take over.”

Hashirama Senju went on and on, listing a long string of concerns.

Uchiha Jin frowned slightly.

His eyes darkened as he studied Hashirama Senju—he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off about this man today.

Under normal circumstances, Hashirama Senju would never say so much. He had no interest in meddling in Konoha’s high-level affairs; at most, he’d lend a hand to the common folk.

If Konoha’s leader gave an order that wasn’t absurd and benefited the village, Hashirama Senju never argued—he’d simply nod silently and get to work.

But today was different!

Hashirama Senju had actually spoken up—and even proposed his own idea?

If it were someone else, Uchiha Jin wouldn’t have doubted.

Whether Tobirama or Minato Namikaze, their personalities naturally involved them in village affairs—but Hashirama Senju’s nature was never one to take initiative in such matters.

Even when he was alive, he was essentially a hands-off manager.

While founding Konoha had been his dream, he had no interest in the messy details; during his tenure as First Hokage, Tobirama had handled nearly everything.

To be honest…

Uchiha Jin’s first thought was that this Hashirama Senju might be an imposter.

But.

He sensed the man was indeed in Reanimation State, and his chakra signature was unmistakably Hashirama Senju’s.

That was intriguing.

He recalled that many powerful warriors possessed an uncanny sixth sense—though it seemed irrational, even Uchiha Jin himself had experienced such moments…

Could Hashirama Senju have subconsciously sensed some hidden danger?

He asked without hesitation: “First Hokage, have Itachi sensed something amiss?”

“No, I haven’t!” Hashirama Senju shook his head quickly.

But Uchiha Jin was unsatisfied with this response.

Frowning, he organized his thoughts and tried again: “Perhaps I was too vague just now. Let me rephrase.”

“Like a sudden gut feeling—a chill out of nowhere, sudden chest tightness, heart palpitations, an instinctive sense that something major is about to happen…”

“This matters greatly.”

“First Hokage, think carefully—have Itachi felt this recently?”

“I can explain this phenomenon scientifically: the human brain processes information at incredible speed, absorbing and handling vast quantities every moment.”

“But most of this information is useless.”

“To protect itself, the brain automatically filters out excessive useless data—for example, if I asked Itachi where Itachi were and what Itachi were doing on the 27th of three months ago at 3 p.m., Itachi couldn’t answer.”

“Because that information is useless—your brain filtered it out automatically.”

“Yet humans possess subconscious awareness, formed from past experiences, encounters with danger, and primal instincts.”

“Itachi might glance casually at something, and your brain dismisses it as useless—but your subconscious might still register something wrong, subtly warning Itachi through sudden chills, heart palpitations, or other intuitive signals…”

“So, First Hokage.”

“Could Itachi think again, carefully?”

“Forgive me for being blunt—your behavior today doesn’t match your usual character.”

Uchiha Jin spoke calmly and clearly.

He knew Hashirama Senju was fundamentally innocent—though he appeared foolish, even naive, his inner perception was remarkably sharp, especially regarding combat, killing, and danger prediction.

Since he had come here today, and this man was undeniably Hashirama Senju, something must be wrong.

Especially…

Uchiha Jin was a transmigrator—he understood the hidden logic of the ninja world and knew a host of veteran schemers lurked in the shadows. Seeing Hashirama Senju’s odd behavior today, he naturally wouldn’t dismiss it as others might.

On the contrary!

He took it seriously, determined to get to the bottom of it.

Hashirama Senju: “...”

He looked utterly bewildered.

Especially after hearing Uchiha Jin’s explanation, his mind turned to mush.

Yet, at the same time:

Because Uchiha Jin had explained so thoroughly, he quickly grasped the meaning.

Brain?

Filtering useless information?

Subconscious?

My behavior today doesn’t match my usual character?

He forced himself to calm down, furrowed his brow, and began to think silently—his entire demeanor grew serious.

And yet,

Uchiha Jin made no haste, simply sat still and waited, lifting his teacup slowly to sip his fragrant tea in silence.

He wasn’t in a rush—he’d take his time.

But he needed to uncover the truth behind this matter as soon as possible.

After all, it involved hidden veteran schemers who surely didn’t want him to fully unify the ninja world—he’d already prepared himself mentally for their schemes.

Only:

The complete unification of the ninja world could not be stopped.

He was determined to see it through.

Whoever stood in his way was his enemy.

The reason was simple:

Uchiha Jin’s strength had long stagnated—he had hit a hard ceiling.

To advance further, he must rely on his little tower.

But to activate its functions, he needed vast quantities of fortune.

Unifying the ninja world was the only path to gather such fortune.

Whoever blocked his path to power—he would kill without mercy.