The Black Hand

Hashirama did not yet understand why Tobirama had suddenly flicked his wrist to throw a kunai, but the moment he saw the sparks on the blade, he realized: this was no ordinary kunai. It was clearly the jutsu Tobirama had developed, the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags!

He had classified this jutsu as a forbidden technique only days ago because its blast radius was too wide, its power too great, and its duration too long; if the caster were not careful, they could easily be caught in the danger zone. He never imagined Tobirama would use it at a time like this! Now, even if he tried to use Wood Locking Wall to intercept it, it was already too late!

Tobirama had wrapped the explosive tags around the kunai to avoid collateral damage to himself. Although the power was reduced and required constant control, it still carried the potential for a lethal strike against an unsuspecting target.

At that moment, Ruri was discussing the takeaways from his recent battle with Hashirama. Having just concluded the Six Kage Summit, he had let his guard down and only realized what was happening once the explosive tags began to detonate.

Fortunately, this was Tobirama's first time manipulating the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags in this manner, and his technique was unrefined. The explosions began at a considerable distance, allowing Kakuzu to promptly erect an Earth Style Wall to block the blast.

However, just as Kakuzu relaxed, assuming they were merely standard explosive tags, the Earth Style Wall was blown to pieces!

He could never have anticipated that within a few dozen seconds, the tags would detonate seventeen or eighteen times, as if they were endless!

Damn it, Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags! Ruri reacted instantly. He truly had not expected Tobirama to dare launch a sneak attack at such a time!

From the very beginning of the summit, Tobirama had constantly made things difficult for him and had even incited Hashirama to duel him. Such blatant targeting would have driven anyone who hadn't read the original work and didn't understand the Naruto world to kill him on the spot. Yet, even though Ruri knew the original story and understood that Tobirama was simply a bit radical, he could no longer tolerate this; a stab in the back was clearly an attempt on his life!

Ruri immediately brought out a Truth-Seeking Orb without hesitation. After using it to erase the explosive tags, he frantically channeled his chakra into it to attack Tobirama!

As it moved, the Truth-Seeking Orb actually began to expand under the constant infusion of Ruri's chakra!

Expanding Truth-Seeking Orb? Ruri was a bit bewildered as he watched the orb grow larger. The Expanding Truth-Seeking Orb should be something else entirely—the exclusive weapon of Kaguya Otsutsuki. His own was just a standard Six Paths Truth-Seeking Orb rewarded by the system, right?

Stopped? Just as Ruri was still trying to figure out what was happening, the Truth-Seeking Orb stopped expanding once it reached the size of a watermelon.

The Truth-Seeking Orb had ceased its expansion, but it did not stop its advance. It charged toward Tobirama with unstoppable momentum, the aura of danger growing even more intense!

"Wood Style: Wood Locking Wall!" Hashirama performed a series of hand seals, summoning over a dozen wooden walls in succession, yet they failed to provide even the slightest obstruction.

The Wood Locking Wall, capable of defending against a Tailed Beast Bomb, was as flimsy as paper in the face of the Truth-Seeking Orb!

Red markings suddenly appeared around Hashirama's eyes, and a double-circle pattern emerged in the center of his forehead: Sage Mode!

"Sage Art: Wood Style: Wood Release: Triple Wood Shield!" A wooden shield shaped like a fanged demon mask appeared in front of Tobirama. The Wood Release: Triple Wood Shield was an absolute defense technique within Hashirama's Wood Style, capable of withstanding the slashes of a Susanoo, let alone now that it was reinforced with Sage chakra—its defensive power was truly the pinnacle of the ninja world!

The Truth-Seeking Orb did indeed slow its advance under this technique, giving Hashirama a moment to breathe. This whole affair was Tobirama's fault; to play a sneak attack from the shadows after they had already bid each other a friendly farewell was dishonorable. He attempted to offer Ruri an apology to see if there was a way to resolve this peacefully.

However, to everyone's surprise, the Truth-Seeking Orb began to expand again at that moment!

Is it chakra? Ruri, having calmed down slightly, understood the principle behind the expansion. He had poured a massive amount of chakra into the orb while driving it. Since his own chakra reserves were low and quickly depleted, the Seven-Tails, completely sealed within him by the Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals, had been forced to passively provide chakra to Ruri. The previous pause in expansion was because the Seven-Tails' chakra had been drained!

It had taken draining the Seven-Tails to grow the orb from the size of an apple to a watermelon; it seemed that to achieve the true scale of an Expanding Truth-Seeking Orb, only the Ten-Tails would suffice...

The Seven-Tails' chakra was inexhaustible. Although it had been drained in one go, it had recovered a bit and supplied it to Ruri, leading to the orb's renewed expansion.

"Lord Takikage, this is all a misunderstanding! Konoha will provide compensation, and Tobirama will apologize to you!" Hashirama shouted across the distance. Ruri shook his head; not everyone was like Hashirama, who could not bring himself to deliver a lethal blow even when the other party was trying to kill him.

The Truth-Seeking Orb once again drained the chakra the Seven-Tails had just refined, growing even larger, and smashed directly through the obstruction of the Wood Release: Triple Wood Shield.

"Sage Art: Wood Style: Wood Release: Triple Wood Shield!" Hashirama summoned three demon-mask shields in a row. Even someone as formidable as him was feeling the strain. He panted, maintaining the jutsu with a complex expression. In truth, he didn't need to resort to such defense; in Sage Mode, he could clearly perceive the weakness of Ruri's physical body. Aside from the Seven-Tails constantly generating chakra within him, Ruri had no chakra of his own left. If he launched an attack on Ruri, he could certainly shatter this terrifying black sphere.

But he couldn't do it. This whole incident was Tobirama's fault. They had just signed a peace treaty and parted on good terms, only for his brother to launch a sneak attack from behind as they were leaving. Such a violation of morality went against his ninja way. If not for the fact that Tobirama was his own brother and he had to consider the reputation of Konoha and the Land of Fire, he would have used Wood Style on Tobirama right then and there.

"Lord Takikage, if Tobirama dies here, the peace treaty we worked so hard to sign today will become nothing but a scrap of paper! Konoha and Takigakure will inevitably go to war, and it will likely trigger another era of chaos!" Hashirama, drenched in sweat, shouted as he desperately resisted the Truth-Seeking Orb, making a final effort. This was the first time he had felt so powerless; peace had been within his grasp, only to be ruined by his own brother!

"A peace treaty? I fear that only sufficiently powerful strength can bring about peace!" Ruri looked at Tobirama. Wasn't this exactly what Tobirama believed in his heart?

Tobirama was impeccable in both strength and wisdom; his only flaw was being overly radical. He dreamed of peace just like Hashirama, but the two had diametrically opposed methods for achieving it. One wanted ninjas to understand one another, while the other believed that absolute peace could only be brought about through the deterrence of powerful strength. That was why he could not tolerate the possibility that Ruri and Takigakure might threaten Konoha's status in the future.

Who was right and who was wrong was a matter for another time; everyone had their own way of doing things. Right now, the only thing these two brothers needed to worry about was that black sphere, which had grown even larger.

The Truth-Seeking Orb did not continue to clash with the demon-mask shields. Under Ruri's control, it rose into the air with great agility, bypassing the three shields. Seeing this, Hashirama's heart sank. He erected a Wood Locking Wall to seal off the surroundings, shielding the nearby city, and grabbed Tobirama to retreat as fast as he could.

Fall!

Ruri drained the Seven-Tails' chakra once more, pouring every bit into the Truth-Seeking Orb. Even the seal itself began to loosen. Although the orb did not expand further, it became much more dense as it plummeted straight down from the sky!