Black Hand

Hashirama still did not understand why Tobirama had suddenly raised his hand and thrown out a kunai. Only when he saw the sparks on it did he realize that this was no ordinary kunai—it was clearly Tobirama's ninjutsu, Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags!

A few days ago, he had classified this technique as forbidden because its blast radius was too wide, its power too great, and its duration too long. If the caster was careless, they could easily be caught in danger themselves. But how could he have expected Tobirama to use it at a time like this? It was already too late for him to use Wood Locking Wall to stop it!

By wrapping the Explosive Tags around the kunai, Tobirama could avoid harming himself. Although it greatly reduced the power and required continuous control, it could still be deadly against an utterly unprepared opponent.

At that moment, Kakuzu was discussing the gains from his battle with Hashirama with Ruri. Since the Six Kage Summit had just ended, neither of them was particularly vigilant. They did not realize what was happening until the Explosive Tags began to detonate.

Fortunately, it was Tobirama's first time controlling Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags in this manner, and he was not proficient with it. The explosions began far away, allowing Kakuzu to raise an Earth Style Wall in time to block them.

But just as Kakuzu relaxed, thinking they were merely ordinary Explosive Tags, the Earth Style Wall was blasted apart!

How could he have imagined that in the span of mere seconds, the Explosive Tags would detonate seventeen or eighteen times, as though they were endless?

Damn it, Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags! Ruri immediately understood. He had never expected Tobirama to dare launch a sneak attack on them at a time like this!

From the very beginning of the summit, Tobirama had constantly made things difficult for him and had even egged Hashirama into fighting him. The hostility was so obvious that anyone who had not read the original story and knew nothing about Naruto would have killed someone already. Yet even though Ruri had read the original story and knew Tobirama was merely more aggressive by nature, he could not endure it any longer. Striking from behind was clearly an attempt to kill them!

Without hesitation, Ruri took out a Truth-Seeking Orb. After using it to erase the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, he frantically drove it toward Tobirama!

As Ruri continuously poured chakra into the advancing Truth-Seeking Orb, it actually began to expand!

An Expansive Truth-Seeking Orb? Watching the Truth-Seeking Orb grow larger and larger, Ruri was somewhat bewildered. The Expansive Truth-Seeking Orb should have been something else, Kaguya Otsutsuki's exclusive Truth-Seeking Orb. His was only an ordinary Six Paths Truth-Seeking Orb awarded by the system, wasn't it?

It stopped? While Ruri was still unable to figure out what was happening, the Truth-Seeking Orb stopped expanding after growing to roughly the size of a watermelon.

The Truth-Seeking Orb had stopped expanding, but it had not stopped advancing. It surged straight toward Tobirama, and its dangerous aura grew increasingly intense!

"Wood Style: Wood Locking Wall!" Hashirama rapidly formed hand seals and summoned more than a dozen Wood Locking Walls in succession, but they did not slow it down in the slightest.

The Wood Locking Walls that could defend against a Tailed Beast Bomb were as fragile as sheets of paper before the Truth-Seeking Orb!

Red markings suddenly appeared around Hashirama's eyes, while a double-ring pattern emerged at the center of his forehead. Sage Mode!

"Sage Art: Wood Style: Wood Shield!" A wooden shield shaped like a fanged demon face appeared before Tobirama. Wood Shield was originally an absolute defensive technique among Hashirama's Wood Style techniques. It could even withstand the slashes of armored Susanoo, let alone after Sage Chakra had been added to it. Its defense was among the finest in the Shinobi World!

The Truth-Seeking Orb did indeed slow under this technique, allowing Hashirama to catch his breath. Tobirama had acted dishonorably in this matter. They had already exchanged friendly farewells, yet he had still launched a covert sneak attack. Hashirama tried to apologize to Ruri and see whether there was a peaceful solution.

Yet unexpectedly, the Truth-Seeking Orb began expanding once again!

Was it chakra? Having calmed down somewhat, Ruri understood the principle behind the Truth-Seeking Orb's expansion. Earlier, he had poured a great deal of chakra into it while driving it forward. Since he did not have much chakra himself, he had used it up in no time. The Seven-Tails, completely sealed within him by Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals, could only passively have its chakra drawn out to supply Ruri. The earlier halt in expansion had happened because the Seven-Tails' chakra had been drained dry!

Draining the Seven-Tails' chakra had only expanded the Truth-Seeking Orb from the size of an apple to that of a watermelon. To reach the true scale of an Expansive Truth-Seeking Orb, it seemed that nothing less than the Ten-Tails would do...

The Seven-Tails' chakra was endlessly regenerative. Though it had been drained dry in one go earlier, it had recovered a little by now and supplied it to Ruri, which was why the Truth-Seeking Orb expanded again.

"Lord Takikage, this is all a misunderstanding. Konoha will offer compensation for this, and Tobirama will apologize to you as well!" Hashirama shouted across the distance. Ruri shook his head. Not everyone was like Hashirama—someone who could not bear to kill even when the other party had murderous intent.

The Truth-Seeking Orb once more drained all the chakra the Seven-Tails had just refined, growing a little larger before directly breaking through Wood Shield's obstruction.

"Sage Art: Wood Style: Triple Wood Shield!" Hashirama summoned three demon-faced shields in a row. Even someone as powerful as him expended no small amount of chakra. Panting, he maintained the ninjutsu with a complicated expression. In truth, he did not need to defend like this at all. With Sage Mode active, he could clearly sense Ruri's weakness. Other than the Seven-Tails sealed within him constantly generating chakra, Ruri had not a trace of chakra left. If Hashirama attacked Ruri, he would surely be able to break this terrifying Black Sphere.

But he could not do it. Tobirama was at fault in this matter. They had just signed a peace agreement and parted on good terms, only for him to sneak up behind the others and strike in secret as they were leaving. Such a dishonorable act went against his ninja way. If Tobirama were not his own younger brother, and if he did not have to consider the dignity of Konoha and the Land of Fire, he would have given Tobirama a Wood Style attack on the spot.

"Lord Takikage, if Tobirama dies here, the peace agreement we worked so hard to sign today will become nothing more than a scrap of paper. Konoha and Takigakure will inevitably go to war, and it may very well trigger another era of conflict!" Drenched in sweat, Hashirama desperately resisted the Truth-Seeking Orb while shouting at the top of his lungs. This was his final effort. It was the first time he had felt so powerless. Peace had clearly been within reach, yet his own younger brother had destroyed it!

"A peace agreement? I'm afraid only sufficient strength can bring peace." Ruri looked at Tobirama. Wasn't that exactly what Tobirama believed?

Tobirama was beyond reproach in both strength and intelligence. His sole flaw was that he was too radical. Like Hashirama, he dreamed of peace, but their methods of realizing that dream were completely different. One wished for shinobi to understand one another, while the other believed that only the deterrence of overwhelming power could bring absolute peace. That was why he could not tolerate the possibility that Ruri and Takigakure might one day threaten Konoha's position.

Setting aside who was right and who was wrong, everyone had their own way of doing things. What the two brothers needed to worry about now was the Truth-Seeking Orb, which had expanded a little more.

The Truth-Seeking Orb did not continue clashing against Wood Shield's demon-faced barriers. Under Ruri's control, it nimbly rose into the air and passed over the three shields. Seeing this, Hashirama inwardly cursed. He erected Wood Locking Walls around them, sealing off the surroundings and protecting the nearby city as well, then grabbed Tobirama and retreated without pause.

Fall!

Ruri once again drained the Seven-Tails' chakra dry and poured all of it into the Truth-Seeking Orb. Even the seal loosened somewhat. Although the Truth-Seeking Orb did not expand any further, it became far more solid as it plunged straight down from the sky!