On a distant streetlamp, a graceful figure wrapped in a black robe stood in the wind, her delicate face slightly tense beneath her hood.
Her gaze rested on Hashirama Senju.
"Those two... why are they wearing the organization's uniforms? And that goofy-looking one feels so much like Big Brother Shinji!"
While Uchiha Yashiro and Uchiha Izumi pondered this...
Uchiha Shigetsu stared gravely at the white-haired masked man opposite her, her slender fingers quietly reaching toward the ninja tool pouch at her waist.
Hashirama scratched the back of his head. "Tobirama, I know you have your own ideas, but do you really need to take a little girl so seriously?"
"Big brother! Shut up!"
A fierce glint flashed through Tobirama's red eyes. "She's no ordinary little girl. She has three tomoe, and an astonishing amount of chakra. Besides, I know where to draw the line—"
"All right..." Hashirama said.
Before his words faded, a series of whistles cut through the air ahead of them. Twelve jet-black shuriken suddenly flew at them from several tricky angles.
Uchiha Shigetsu's slender hands fluttered as though playing a zither. "Uchiha Style: Flowing Fire!"
Tobirama Senju's gaze sharpened.
Then the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
Such a classic... It's been a long time since I've seen Uchiha Style combat techniques this refined. The girl before him reminded him of his old opponents from the Warring States period.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The twelve shuriken hurtled toward him, tracing smooth arcs through the air.
Then...
Just as they approached Tobirama Senju, phantom images abruptly appeared. On closer inspection, the twelve shuriken had split into thirty-six in an instant.
At the same time, brilliant tails of fire suddenly sprouted behind the thirty-six shuriken amid the howling wind. Tobirama Senju's pupils contracted—
In an instant...
Every shuriken was