Elder Brother, You're Not Dead?!

At the edge of the battlefield, Natsu Yuu and Hashirama had been watching the entire time.

Seeing Tobirama struck by those strange Six Paths Tools, Hashirama grew anxious.

"Sir, what exactly do those Six Paths Tools do? Was Tobirama defeated by them?"

Clearly, this was Hashirama's first time witnessing the Six Paths Tools in action.

When he was alive, Kumogakure hadn't dared make a peep, let alone use those toys against him.

Back then, the entire village of Kumogakure had gone out to capture the Nine-Tails and failed, suffering heavy casualties in the process. Hashirama, on the other hand, had been able to capture all nine Tailed Beasts by himself. Even a fool could see the difference between them.

But in this World 2, once Hashirama died, the reckless Kinkaku and Ginkaku naturally feared no one and dared to take on anyone.

Seeing this, Natsu Yuu gave a brief explanation.

There were five Six Paths Tools in all.

The Amber Purifying Pot was in a league of its own: "Call someone by name, and if they answer, they'll be sucked inside and sealed."

The Basho Fan was a step below: "Its wielder can freely use attacks from all five chakra natures."

The Kōkinjō, Seven Star Sword, and Crimson Gourd formed a set: "The first makes anyone it touches blurt out their Word Spirit; the second can cut and reveal the Word Spirit; the third can store the Word Spirit."

Once the Crimson Gourd had stored someone's Word Spirit, that person was in grave danger. If they said the keyword, stayed silent for too long, or said something that sounded similar to the keyword, they would be sucked into the gourd!

Hashirama couldn't help feeling astonished after hearing this. He hadn't expected the Six Paths Tools to be so remarkable.

Without that information, any ninja facing them would be in serious danger!

Before a ninja reached a certain level of strength, intelligence was crucial in battle.

Even Hashirama himself might be sucked into the Amber Purifying Pot if caught by surprise.

Of course, Hashirama didn't believe a single tool could seal him.

But Tobirama was in a terrible situation.

Those damned Cloud Ninja beasts!

The Uchiha Clan can go to hell.

Everyone knows I can't stand the evil Uchiha Clan. Well, except Izuna Uchiha and Kagami...

That beast even dares to mock me!

He deserves to die!

Furious, Tobirama was also starting to panic.

He had no idea what the Six Paths Tools did. Now that his Word Spirit had been stored, he didn't know what would happen to him.

If he dragged this out any longer, he might lose at any moment.

He had to end the fight immediately!

Whoosh!

Ginkaku, who had been gloating, saw Tobirama suddenly disappear in the distance.

Did he use that slippery Flying Thunder God Technique again? Where did he go this time?

No matter where he went, he couldn't escape now that his Word Spirit had been stored. Even if he stayed silent, he would be sucked into the Crimson Gourd before long.

But in the next instant,

Tobirama suddenly appeared behind him and drove a samurai sword straight through Ginkaku's heart!

Thud!

"How... how is this possible...?"

Ginkaku struggled to turn his head and stared at Tobirama in disbelief.

Tobirama didn't answer. He swiftly pulled out his sword and retreated.

Back when he'd withdrawn earlier, he had deliberately sent a Shadow Clone close to Ginkaku and secretly left a Flying Thunder God formula on him.

He'd planned to wait until Kinkaku and Ginkaku were standing together, then teleport in and kill them both at once.

But now that his Word Spirit had been stored, he didn't know how much longer he had. His only option was to use this killing move and take Ginkaku out first.

It was also because he'd left that formula that Tobirama had dared to stay behind and face the Kinkaku Force alone.

"Ginkaku!"

"Yeah!"

"You actually killed Ginkaku...!"

Seeing Ginkaku run through, Kinkaku flew into a rage.

The Tailed Beast Chakra inside him surged, quickly cloaking him in a dark-red Tailed Beast shroud. Six tails sprouted from his backside.

Half-Tailed Beast Transformation.

In this state, Kinkaku lost most of his reason. His temper turned vicious, and he became violently aggressive.

At the same time, his physical abilities rose dramatically, and his attack power surged. Protected by the Tailed Beast shroud, he was nearly impossible to injure. He had already reached the peak of Kage Level.

"Is that Nine-Tails Chakra?"

"How does Kinkaku have the Nine-Tails' power?!"

Tobirama was shocked again. The Nine-Tails was clearly still sealed inside Lady Mito. Where had this man gotten Nine-Tails Chakra?

He'd heard that Kumogakure had once formed a team to capture the Nine-Tails, but failed.

Could Kinkaku have gotten it then?

Was this the Six-Tails form?

That was no small amount of power!

At full strength, Tobirama could have worn the beast down using nothing but Flying Thunder God.

But he couldn't do that now. He had enough Chakra left for at most one or two more jutsu. He couldn't outlast this monster!

Fortunately,

Tobirama never fought unprepared. Seeing Kinkaku enter Half-Tailed Beast Transformation, he immediately activated his final trap.

Rumble!

Three coffins burst out of the ground in the center of the battlefield. Three ninjas summoned with Impure World Reincarnation sprang from them, pounced on Kinkaku, and detonated the many Explosive Tags strapped to their bodies.

Forbidden Jutsu: Mutual Explosion Tag!

It could continually summon Explosive Tags and set off concentrated blasts in succession. Its attack range was immense, its duration long, and its power astonishing.

Boom!

One massive explosion after another erupted, their blinding flames lighting up a vast stretch of the night sky.

The explosions continued for more than two minutes.

The powerful shock waves nearly leveled everything within several hundred meters.

"Is that all the power it has? The Chakra must be holding it back..."

Tobirama frowned and sighed.

Mutual Explosion Tag couldn't create Explosive Tags out of nothing. In the end, it still relied on Chakra.

The reason Tobirama's Mutual Explosion Tag had been so powerful during the Fourth Great Ninja War was that his Impure World Body gave him an endless supply of Chakra.

Now, with Tobirama's Chakra depleted, he naturally couldn't unleash the technique's full power.

The explosions soon stopped, but the battlefield remained shrouded in smoke. Tobirama couldn't tell how the enemy had fared.

Given its power, he couldn't be sure it had killed Kinkaku in his half-tailed-beast form.

But he had done everything he could.

With his badly injured body and what little Chakra he had left, he had nearly wiped out the entire Kinkaku Force.

He had accomplished his goal.

Monkey and the others should be able to make it back to Konoha safely.

Roar!

A roar rang out from the center of the battlefield.

A great wave of Chakra surged outward, scattering all the smoke and revealing Kinkaku in his half-tailed-beast form.

Mutual Explosion Tag had killed every other Cloud Ninja, but it had failed to kill Kinkaku.

He was still roaring, full of energy.

"As expected, I couldn't kill that beast!"

"Damn Hagoromo's Tailed Beast! Its defense is incredible!"

Tobirama cursed furiously. He should've developed a few more Forbidden Jutsu behind Elder Brother's back!

But Elder Brother wouldn't let him!

Sigh. If only Elder Brother were still here. Everything would be fine.

Elsewhere,

The Tailed Beast Kinkaku opened his mouth and spat out Ginkaku, who was barely clinging to life.

He had used the last of his reason to swallow the badly injured Ginkaku, barely managing to save his life.

Otherwise, Ginkaku would have been killed by the Explosive Tags after being run through the heart.

Now the savage Kinkaku immediately fixed his gaze on Tobirama.

Whoosh!

One tail stretched over a hundred meters in an instant and stabbed toward Tobirama, moving faster than the blink of an eye!

Tobirama used Flying Thunder God again and teleported away.

But as soon as he landed, three more tails stabbed toward him.

With his Chakra completely depleted, Tobirama could no longer dodge.

He managed to block one tail with his samurai sword, but the other two pierced his left arm and lower abdomen.

Seeing Tobirama defeated,

Kinkaku grew even more brazen. He quickly drew his tails back and began gathering a Tailed Beast Bomb.

He planned to erase Senju Tobirama once and for all with a single Tailed Beast Bomb!

Cough!

Tobirama spat out a mouthful of blood, more wretched than he had ever been.

It seemed he wouldn't escape this disaster.

He'd never imagined he would end up defeated by those two beasts from Kumogakure.

When he died and met Izuna in the afterlife, how would he make fun of him?

How humiliating!

Vmmm!

A fist-sized Tailed Beast Bomb took shape and shot toward Tobirama at tremendous speed.

Kinkaku hadn't spent long charging it, nor had he gathered much Yin-Yang Chakra, so its power was limited.

But even a limited Tailed Beast Bomb was still an S-rank jutsu with immense destructive power. One blast could still destroy everything within several hundred meters.

Even at full strength, Tobirama couldn't withstand a Tailed Beast Bomb with his bare body.

And he was practically incapacitated now.

A direct hit meant certain death!

"Tobirama!"

Just before he died, Tobirama seemed to hear the familiar voice of Elder Brother calling him. He saw that familiar figure appear before him.

Is this the vision that comes before death?

Elder Brother, I've let you down!

I can't lead the village any further.

I'm sure Monkey and the others will carry on the Will of Fire and protect the village!

Heartbroken and dejected, Tobirama prepared to meet his end.

But then he realized that the Elder Brother standing before him wasn't a hallucination.

Hashirama simply slapped away the Tailed Beast Bomb flying straight at him.

Boom!

The Tailed Beast Bomb veered away and exploded a thousand meters off, sending countless trees flying with its scorching, violent shock wave. The blast was terrifying.

Tobirama stared blankly at the scene, his mind completely frozen.

This isn't an illusion?

I'm not dreaming?

It really is Elder Brother?!