Kinkaku and Ginkaku arrived with eighteen elite Cloud Ninja.
Seeing that Tobirama was alone, they couldn't help mocking him.
Ginkaku: "Second Hokage, how come you're the only one left? Where are all those useless guards of yours? Don't tell me they abandoned you and ran away?"
Tobirama stared coldly at Ginkaku and the others, making no reply.
In particular, he kept his eyes on the half-man-high, orange-yellow Six Paths Tool, the Amber Purifying Pot, strapped to Ginkaku's back. It had powerful sealing abilities: anyone who answered its wielder would be sealed inside.
At the peace talks earlier,
Kinkaku had used the pot to ambush the Second Raikage, tricking him into answering without thinking. The Second Raikage had then been sucked inside with ease, and Kinkaku had brutally killed him.
In terms of strength, the Second Raikage had been far stronger than Kinkaku and Ginkaku. Otherwise, he wouldn't have inherited the title of Raikage.
In a straight fight, even the two brothers working together might not have been able to defeat him.
That was why they had resorted to the despicable tactic of using the Six Paths Tools to launch a sneak attack. Kinkaku had also ambushed and gravely wounded Tobirama at the peace talks.
Even so,
Tobirama had managed to lead Hiruzen and the other five safely out of the heart of Kumogakure. That alone was already astonishing.
Still, it had to be admitted: those Six Paths Tools were truly bizarre. Without enough information, anyone could easily fall victim to them on their first encounter!
That was why Tobirama had done everything he could to avoid close combat with Kinkaku and Ginkaku's pursuers as he retreated.
He had relied on a large number of Shadow Clones and Reanimated Ninja to intercept and delay them, which had consumed a great deal of Chakra and left him on the verge of exhaustion.
Seeing Tobirama refuse to answer, Kinkaku realized that he was wary of the Amber Purifying Pot and wouldn't speak lightly.
He said to Ginkaku, "Don't be stupid. This guy wants to hold us off alone so the other Konoha Ninja can escape."
Ginkaku continued to taunt him. "Hahaha! So this is the Hokage? He's willing to risk his life to protect his subordinates. How foolish! As expected, without Hashirama Senju, Konoha is nothing but a bunch of losers!"
"Ginkaku, enough talk. I'll deal with Tobirama Senju. He's already badly injured. You go after the other Konoha Ninja. We absolutely can't let them take news of the failed peace talks back with them!"
"No rush. We can kill Tobirama Senju first and chase the others afterward."
Killing both a Raikage and a Hokage—
It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make his name in the Ninja World. Ginkaku didn't want to miss it.
Besides, as long as they killed Tobirama Senju, the remaining Konoha Ninja wouldn't be a threat.
"Fine. Let's team up and take this guy down first!"
Kinkaku agreed with Ginkaku's suggestion and immediately attacked, swinging the Basho Fan at Tobirama, who stood some distance away.
The Basho Fan was one of the Six Paths Tools. It could release all five nature transformations—fire, water, lightning, wind, and earth—regardless of the user's Chakra nature, but it consumed a tremendous amount of Chakra.
"Fire Scroll!"
A swirling column of flames, dozens of meters long, shot toward Tobirama Senju.
"Water Release: Water Wall!"
Tobirama formed hand seals and spewed a waterfall of water from his mouth, creating a circular wall of swirling water.
Its nearly omnidirectional defense successfully blocked Kinkaku's Fire Scroll.
Kinkaku poured in even more power, unleashing an even more violent Fire Release.
Tobirama's Sea Release was famous in the Ninja World, but how long could he keep it up with the Chakra he had left?
Sure enough, in just a few seconds,
Tobirama's Water Wall grew smaller and smaller until the flames completely overwhelmed and consumed it.
But Tobirama, who had been inside it, suddenly burst apart, turning into a cloud of white smoke.
"Damn, another Shadow Clone!"
Kinkaku and the others realized what had happened, but it was already too late.
Tobirama's real body appeared behind them.
"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"
A high-pressure jet of water shot in a straight line from Tobirama's mouth. Like a razor-sharp blade, it had immense destructive power as it swept sideways through the Cloud Ninja.
This advanced Water Release technique could slice through the roots of the Divine Tree. Ordinary Ninja had no way to withstand it.
The Cloud Ninja scrambled to dodge.
Kinkaku leaped up in time and escaped unharmed.
Ginkaku barely managed to block it with the Seven Star Sword, but he was still sent flying a great distance.
The other Cloud Ninja weren't so lucky. Nine ordinary jonin who couldn't react in time were cut in half by the Water Severing Wave.
The Kumogakure pursuit force had lost nearly half its men in an instant. The casualties were devastating.
At the sight of it, even Tobirama froze for a moment. Had he overestimated these elite Cloud Ninja? Judging by their skill, if he had stayed behind to fight to the death with Hiruzen and the others, perhaps they could have turned the tables!
But Tobirama knew he couldn't take that gamble.
If he won, his side might defeat the Kumogakure pursuit force, but they would still suffer terrible casualties.
If he lost, the Second Hokage and the next generation of Konoha's young leaders would all perish in the Land of Lightning.
Not one of them would survive to carry the news back.
In that case, Konoha wouldn't even know the peace talks had failed. They would only think the group had gone missing or was still visiting Kumogakure.
Worse, Konoha might be caught completely unprepared and wiped out in a surprise attack by Kumogakure.
Whatever happened, Tobirama couldn't take that risk. He couldn't let the Konoha his elder brother had entrusted to him be destroyed under his watch!
No matter what.
He had to keep fighting!
Maybe he could defeat these Cloud Ninja by himself. He just had to be more careful of Kinkaku and Ginkaku's Six Paths Tools!
Unfortunately, he didn't have much Chakra left. Otherwise, a large-scale Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave just now could have submerged all the enemies and wiped out most of the Cloud Ninja, apart from Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
But it wasn't a big problem. He had set other traps, too.
As the Kumogakure forces scattered,
dozens of Explosive Tags Tobirama had placed around them detonated one after another. Thick clouds of smoke and dust blanketed the entire battlefield, obstructing the enemy's senses.
Flying Thunder God Technique—activated!
Tobirama drew his sword and moved rapidly among the Flying Thunder God Kunai he had planted around the area.
He moved like a ghost on the battlefield.
In the span of a few breaths, he had shifted positions more than ten times and easily killed seven Cloud Ninja jonin.
His Flying Thunder God Technique was only the original version, nowhere near as effective as the one improved by Fourth Minato, just as his Impure World Reincarnation was only an early version.
There wasn't much difference when teleporting short distances, but carrying people over long distances consumed a tremendous amount of Chakra. He simply couldn't afford it now.
Otherwise, he would have already taken Hiruzen and the other five straight back to Konoha.
Even if he could take one or two of them, Tobirama wouldn't do that. Every student mattered to him. As someone who carried on the Will of Fire, how could he take only a few of his students and leave the rest behind?
Seeing Tobirama Senju, gravely wounded as he was, still slaughtering their men,
Kinkaku and Ginkaku grew anxious.
The Cloud Ninja they had brought with them were their only elite supporters. If they were all killed, how would the brothers maintain their rule over Kumogakure?
Kinkaku erupted, channeling all his strength into the Basho Fan.
"Wind Wings!"
"Lightning Arc!"
Powerful gusts scattered the smoke and dust, revealing Tobirama.
Then a massive lightning net spread out from the Basho Fan, covering an area dozens of meters wide—including the remaining Cloud Ninja.
Tobirama had just landed and hadn't expected Kinkaku to be so ruthless, launching a wide-area attack without caring about his own allies.
The lightning struck him in an instant, paralyzing his entire body and leaving him unable to dodge.
At the sight,
Kinkaku was overjoyed. He hurriedly threw the Kōkinjō wrapped around his left arm, grazing Tobirama's arm in the distance.
The Kōkinjō was one of the Six Paths Tools. Anyone who touched it would speak the Word Spirit of the phrase they used most often.
Tobirama silently cursed his bad luck. A string of translucent words—the Word Spirit—spilled from his mouth.
Meanwhile, Ginkaku, thanks to his Six Paths bloodline and powerful physique, broke free of the lightning paralysis first and hurled the Seven Star Sword in his hand with all his might.
The Seven Star Sword didn't hit Tobirama. Instead, it sliced through the Word Spirit he had spoken.
"Hahaha!"
"Tobirama Senju, you're dead!"
"Record it!"
Ginkaku laughed maniacally as he activated the other Six Paths Tool he was holding, the Crimson Gourd. It quickly sucked in the severed Word Spirit.
At the same time, the phrase Tobirama used most often appeared on the Seven Star Sword, stuck in the ground in the distance: "Uchiha."
"???"
Ginkaku looked at the Seven Star Sword, unable to help feeling curious.
"Strange."
"You're the Second Hokage and Hashirama Senju's younger brother. Shouldn't the phrase you say most often be 'Elder Brother'? How is it 'Uchiha'?"
"Just how much do you love the Uchiha?"
Tobirama's face darkened. He felt humiliated like never before!
Before you continue