Hokage: I Confronted the Five Kage Before the System Arrived

Chapter 24: The Valley of the Fallen God

In the Land of Fire, within the Valley of the Fallen God, Hagoromo Gengetsu arrived at his own final resting place, as various powers across the ninja world mobilized because of him. He had underestimated his own influence.

To his surprise, it wasn’t difficult to find the old battleground after asking around and confirming the location. The place had changed significantly over the years. As he looked at the site, now named "Valley of the Fallen God," Gengetsu chuckled at how the people of Konoha loved to celebrate their ancestors' achievements.

The name "Valley of the Fallen God" sounded grandiose, but upon closer thought, the title implied that even a "god" like him had fallen, suggesting how powerful the First Hokage must have been to defeat him. It was similar to the Valley of the End, where the monument supposedly honored both Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, while also highlighting the unbeatable nature of the First Hokage.

Unlike the statues in the Valley of the End, which depicted the founders of Konoha in a stance of reconciliation, the statues in the Valley of the Fallen God depicted Gengetsu and Hashirama in a combative posture, with Hashirama clearly having the upper hand. Gengetsu stood atop his own statue, which was as tall as the valley itself, and laughed softly at the scene before calming down.

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The truth of the battle decades ago was just as the statues portrayed. He wasn’t going to deny the reality or take out his frustrations on the lifeless sculptures. Remembering his brief encounter with Hashirama's spirit, he muttered to the statue, "Ninjas are not samurai; a single victory does not decide everything. Hashirama, your vision was still too limited."

Hashirama, despite possessing the powerful Sage Body, a gift so potent that scientists in later years studied it extensively, had died not long after the battle at the Valley of the End. Gengetsu didn’t know the exact reasons but understood one thing clearly: life only had meaning as long as one was alive and experiencing it.

Gengetsu had no intention of accepting death easily. To him, cherishing every breath of fresh air was the real goal. Standing in the Valley of the Fallen God, commemorating the past, was itself a victory. 

"Life is too short, even shorter for me," he reflected, noting that he hadn't even lived half a century. "How could I not want to experience the wonders of this world, where some beings live for centuries, even millennia?"

The wind tugged at the black cloak he wore, which concealed the cracks of the Reanimation Jutsu on his body. As he looked at his cracked hands, a determined look appeared on his face. 

The most unpredictable phase of his plan had been successfully executed: he had returned to the living world via the Reanimation Jutsu, freed himself from the jutsu ’s control, and avoided pursuers. Now, it was time to move on to the next, most crucial and challenging step—truly coming back to life.

Over a thousand years, the ninja world had developed many methods of chakra use, but reviving the dead remained the most difficult boundary to cross. The Reanimation Jutsu merely called back the dead from the afterlife; it did not truly revive them. The Forbidden Jutsu of Elder Chiyo from Sunagakure, the *Reanimation of the Dead*, could revive a recently deceased person at the cost of the caster's life, but only one person could be revived per ritual.

The only jutsu that could ignore all limitations—time, number of people, and more—was the Rinne Rebirth Jutsu. Gengetsu had considered the idea of acquiring the Rinnegan, like Madara Uchiha, to use Rinne Rebirth and restore his real body. However, the Rinnegan was currently in Nagato's possession, and Gengetsu, in his current state, stood little chance of storming the Akatsuki’s base to seize it. Accepting the unlikelihood of that option, he returned to his original plan.

Standing atop his own massive statue, Gengetsu scanned the drastically changed landscape and formed hand seals. After a minute or two of concentrating, his eyes lit up. "Found it!"

With a swift movement, Gengetsu disappeared from the statue's head and reappeared on the ground hundreds of meters away. Without hesitation, he pressed his hands to the ground and intoned, "Reveal!"

Instantly, a massive amount of chakra flowed from Gengetsu’s palms, transforming into countless black tadpole-like symbols that burrowed deep underground. Soon, the soil a hundred meters below began to glow faintly. As the black symbols merged into the earth, a change occurred.

A corpse, enveloped in tightly packed black symbols, appeared from the soil, surfacing quickly under Gengetsu's command. This was the *Breath of Eternal Rest*, a forbidden jutsu prepared by Gengetsu as a last resort in the face of inevitable defeat. It preserved his body in perfect condition, hidden away from others, even at the cost of his own life.

This jutsu , unique to the Hagoromo clan, was primarily intended to protect their corpses from desecration by grave robbers, ensuring eternal rest. As a clan head, Gengetsu had, of course, learned it. He never imagined he’d need to use it so soon. However, given the circumstances, it had been the best choice.