Senju Tobirama's expression was not good.
He slowly turned around.
His red eyes no longer held the killing intent and wariness from before, only a sense of exhaustion remained.
"Hiruzen."
He spoke, his voice hoarse.
"Yes, Teacher."
Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately composed himself and responded respectfully.
"From today onwards, this place is designated as a top-Rank restricted area."
"No one is allowed to approach without my command."
"Yes."
"Also..."
Senju Tobirama paused, his gaze sweeping over Su Yu, who was looking at him with anticipation.
"Prepare a meal and send it over."
..."Yes."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's reply carried a hint of hesitation.
But he did not ask further.
Lord Tobirama's command was absolute.
He took a deep look at the mysterious young man in white, then bowed and exited the stone chamber.
The heavy stone door closed again.
"Whoosh!"
Senju Tobirama waved his hand, and the Seal chains that had just retracted into the wall shot out again, but this time, they did not bind Su Yu; instead, they tightly sealed the entire exit of the stone chamber, along with the walls and floor.
Having done all this, he did not look at Su Yu again, turned and walked into another stone chamber deeper in the laboratory, his figure disappearing into the darkness.
The entire space was once again left with only Su Yu.
And that black coffin.
Su Yu scratched his head.
The situation seemed... to have stabilized for now?
Although he was still imprisoned, at least the danger to his life was removed.
And, there was food to eat... The days that followed fell into a strange calm.
Su Yu was "softly imprisoned" in this underground laboratory.
There was no distinction between day and night here, only the eternally burning candle flames on the walls, casting a dim and flickering light.
Every day, Hiruzen Sarutobi would bring three meals on time.
The food was plentiful, with grilled fish, rice balls, and even the Ichiraku Ramen he had been longing for.
Su Yu picked up the bowl and took a big gulp of the rich noodle soup.
The anticipation and excitement on his face quickly receded like a tide, leaving only an unspeakable sense of bewilderment and emptiness.
No taste.
No taste at all.
He could smell the rich aroma, and he could see the enticing color.
But when the food entered his mouth, everything turned into nothingness.
The delicious soup, the tender char siu, the chewy noodles, were like a phantom without substance, passing directly through his body without leaving any trace of taste.
A huge sense of loss, like cold seawater, instantly drowned him.
He lowered his head, looking at his hands made of dust.
That's right.
He was just an Edo Tensei body.
A Puppet made of dust and a Soul.
A... bystander.
He could see, he could hear, he could smell, and he could even touch this world.
But he could never truly taste it, feel it, or integrate into it.
This cruel reality hit his heart like a heavy hammer.
He put down his chopsticks, and the bowl of ramen he had dreamed of instantly became tasteless in his eyes.
"What's wrong, Mr. Su Yu?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi noticed his abnormality and asked with concern.
"Is it not to your liking?"
Su Yu looked up, forcing a smile that was uglier than crying, with a hint of bitter self-mockery.
"No, it's very good."
"I just suddenly realized that I... don't seem to have the right to taste delicious food."
This obsession, like wildly growing vines, instantly entwined around his heart.
He had to truly come alive.
With a body of flesh and blood, not this cold dust.
He wanted to personally taste the flavor of this bowl of ramen.
For this goal, he could wait.
Wait for the child with the Rinnegan to grow up, wait for the war that would sweep the entire Ninja World, wait for that ultimate Ninjutsu that could reverse life and death.
The Rinne Rebirth Jutsu.
When the man who called himself "God" finally used the Rinne Rebirth Jutsu to revive all the villagers of Konoha Village who died in the war, he could also take the opportunity to be completely revived.
So Su Yu cheered up again, he had to patiently wait for the plot to develop.
Time passed bit by bit, and Su Yu was still "softly imprisoned" in the underground laboratory.
Besides Hiruzen Sarutobi, who brought him food, Senju Tobirama was his only visitor.
The Second Hokage would come here for one or two hours every day.
He didn't speak.
Most of the time, he just sat at the other end of the laboratory, silently observing Su Yu with his red eyes.
As if studying an incomprehensible object.
Occasionally, he would also carve some new Jutsu on the walls, trying to analyze the "beyond the rules" characteristics on Su Yu.
Without exception, all failed.
Su Yu was very bored.
Extremely bored.
As a psychologist who used to receive seven or eight "patients" every day in his previous life, with severely overloaded information, this isolated and monotonous life was simply a torture.
So, he treated his only visitor as his research subject.
He began to observe Senju Tobirama.
Observing his furrowed brow.
Observing his unconsciously clenched fists.
Observing the flicker of irritation in his eyes when he looked at the Seal Jutsu.
Observing the deep fatigue that occasionally showed through his cold exterior.
The professional instinct of a 【Psychologist】 was activated.
This was a... typical patient burdened with excessive pressure and post-traumatic stress disorder.
A patient so powerful that no one could defeat him, yet so lonely that no one could understand him.
Today, Senju Tobirama came again.
As usual, he sat on a stone stool in the corner, his gaze calmly fixed on Su Yu.
A suffocating silence filled the air.
Su Yu decided to break it.
"Lord Tobirama."
He spoke, his voice clear in the empty stone chamber.
Senju Tobirama didn't even lift an eyelid, as if he hadn't heard.
"Did you not sleep well again last night?"
Senju Tobirama's gaze finally moved.
He looked up, staring coldly at Su Yu.
"Your dark circles are heavier than yesterday."
Su Yu's tone was calm, as if stating an objective fact.
"And when you sit down, your left shoulder habitually sinks slightly, indicating that your mind is constantly on guard, preventing your muscles from fully relaxing."
Senju Tobirama's eyes grew cold.
"What do you know."
"I don't know much."
Su Yu met his gaze frankly.
"But I know you're tired."
"Not physically tired, but mentally exhausted."
Senju Tobirama did not speak, but his breathing showed a subtle, almost imperceptible disturbance.
Su Yu knew he had hit a nerve.
He continued in that purely analytical, emotionless tone.
"You carry too many burdens."
"Not just this Village."
"But also... the shadow of your elder brother."
"Boom!"
These few words were like an invisible bolt of lightning, striking Senju Tobirama's heart.
He suddenly looked up, and for the first time, his red eyes revealed genuine, undisguised shock.
Elder brother.
Senju Hashirama.
The man who ushered in an era, yet also left behind endless idealistic "troubles."
This was the deepest, unspoken forbidden zone of his heart.
"You..."
"You have always been correcting his idealism."
Su Yu didn't give him a chance to question, continuing on his own.
"He wanted to build peace with love and trust, while you chose to maintain peace with rules and order."
"You established the Anbu, the Ninja Academy, and formulated various rules, all to patch up his overly naive vision again and again."
"This pressure stems from your respect for your elder brother, and also from your clear understanding of reality."
"This makes you live a heavier life than anyone else."
Senju Tobirama fell silent.
Su Yu had revealed a truth hidden deep in his Soul that even he himself had never so clearly analyzed.
"And the Uchiha."
Su Yu dropped a second bombshell.
"Your wariness of them is not just for political considerations."
"The deeper reason is fear."
Senju Tobirama's body instantly tensed.
"What nonsense are you talking about!"
This was the first time in many days that he had growled at Su Yu.
"I'm not talking nonsense."
Su Yu's expression remained calm.
"You have personally witnessed the extreme emotional power of the Uchiha Clan. As deep as their love is, so terrifying is the hatred it transforms into."
"It's an emotional amplification effect."
"Every evolution of the Sharingan is almost always accompanied by immense psychological trauma. You saw the uncontrollability of this power, so you feared it and wanted to cage it within the system."
"You established the Konoha Military Police Force, both for utilization and isolation."
"What you fear is the emergence of a second Uchiha Madara."
Inside the stone chamber, a deathly silence fell.
Senju Tobirama no longer refuted.
Because every word Su Yu spoke was like a precise scalpel, cutting through his layers of disguise, exposing his core anxieties, raw and bleeding, to the air.
This was no longer a matter of insight.
This was an almost demonic ability to see through people's hearts.
"You have witnessed too much death, the cruelty of war, the sacrifice of comrades, the departure of brothers..."
Su Yu's voice slowed, taking on a professional tone.
"From a psychological perspective, this has already constituted severe 'vicarious trauma.'"
"You have shouldered the safety of the entire Village on your own. You research forbidden Jutsu, you establish order, all to prevent tragedy from repeating."
"This is a 'defense mechanism.'"
"But this mechanism is over-consuming your mind. It makes you expect the worst in everything, making you unable to truly trust anyone."
Su Yu.
This name, for the first time in Senju Tobirama's mind, detached itself from words like "monster," "product," and "thing."
He looked at the young man before him.
The other's eyes were clear and honest, without a trace of malice.
Su Yu stated his conclusion in a very sincere tone.
"Lord Tobirama."
"What you need is not more forbidden Jutsu to arm your Village."
"What you need is an emotional garbage can."
"Someone... who can listen to you talk."
After speaking, Su Yu gave the completely stunned Second Hokage a gentle smile.
Senju Tobirama stared intently at him.
For a long time.
He said nothing.
He stood up, and instead of walking into the inner stone chamber as usual, he walked directly towards the sealed door.
He unsealed it, pushed the door open, and walked out.
Without looking back.
The stone door did not close again.
The Seal did not activate again.
A light shone in from outside the door, casting a long, bright strip of light into the dim laboratory.
