Violent chakra erupted around Senju Hashirama like a blue hurricane rolling in reverse.
Scattered rubble, broken remnants of giant trees, and even the dust hanging in the air slowly rose beneath this pressure that defied all physical laws. The breathing of tens of thousands in Hokage Square abruptly stopped, leaving only the crackling of torch sparks swept up by the night wind.
Hashirama's now-clear eyes brewed with rage fierce enough to boil rivers and seas. He did not look at the battle-ready Hiruzen Sarutobi, nor did he look at Shimura Danzō hiding in the back. Instead, he took heavy steps toward the civilian boy thrown onto the stairs, a terrifying bloody hole in his chest.
As Hashirama approached, the boy instinctively shrank back, his eyes filled with fear of ninja.
Hashirama crouched down, his rough hand hovering above the scar on the boy's chest. He could clearly sense that his own cells had once been forcibly implanted there, only to be gouged out with exceptionally brutal methods afterward, leaving behind a body tortured beyond recognition.
"Monkey."
Hashirama slowly rose to his feet, his deep voice like rolling thunder exploding against everyone's eardrums.
Hiruzen Sarutobi trembled all over. The bones in his hands gripping the Adamantine Staff cracked from excessive force. The Hokage hat atop his head was directly blown away by the chakra storm radiating from Hashirama, tearing into pieces in midair. This ninja hero who had ruled for decades found his legs uncontrollably weakening before his former teacher's elder brother.
"First Hokage-sama... it isn't as you see it." Hiruzen Sarutobi's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed dryly, trying to salvage the situation with the rhetoric he was best at. "The village has endured too many wars over the years. To protect the place where the leaves dance, some sacrifices