At that moment, at the edge of the battlefield, Kai and Hashirama were watching the entire fight unfold.
Seeing Tobirama get hit by those bizarre Six Paths Ninja Tools, Hashirama grew anxious.
"Sir, what exactly do those Six Paths Ninja Tools do? Is that how Tobirama was defeated?"
Clearly, this was Hashirama's first time witnessing the Six Paths Ninja Tools in actual combat.
Back when he was alive, the Cloud Village didn't dare make a peep, let alone use these toys against him.
Years ago, the entire Cloud Village mobilized to capture the Nine-Tails and got absolutely wrecked with heavy casualties. Meanwhile, Hashirama could capture all nine Tailed Beasts by himself. Even an idiot could understand the difference.
But in this Universe Two timeline, with Hashirama dead, the lawless Kinkaku and Ginkaku naturally feared nothing and dared to challenge anyone.
Seeing this, Kai gave a brief explanation.
There were five Six Paths Ninja Tools in total:
Kōkinjō (Amber Purifying Pot) — Top tier. "Call your name and if you answer, you get sucked in and sealed."
Bashōsen (Banana Palm Fan) — Second tier. "Wielder can freely use all five elemental jutsu."
Kōkinjō (Rope of Spiritual Confusion), Shichiseiken (Seven Star Sword), and Benihisago (Crimson Gourd) — A three-piece set: "The first touches you and makes you speak your verbal tic," "the second cuts and displays the spirit word," "the third stores the spirit word."
Once the Crimson Gourd stored a target's spirit word, things got extremely dangerous: if the target said their keyword, stayed silent too long, or even said words with similar pronunciation, they'd get sucked into the gourd!
After hearing this, Hashirama couldn't help but be shocked. He never imagined the Six Paths Ninja Tools would be so peculiar.
Without intel on these tools, any shinobi would be in serious danger facing them!
Before one's strength exceeded a certain threshold, intelligence warfare was critically important to shinobi.
Even Hashirama himself could potentially be sucked into that Amber Purifying Pot if caught off guard.
Of course, Hashirama didn't believe a mere ninja tool could actually seal him.
But for Tobirama? His current situation was extremely dire.
'Damn these Cloud ninja bastards!'
'Love the Uchiha my ass!'
'Everyone knows I dislike the evil Uchiha Clan! Well, except for Uchiha Izuna and Kagami...'
'This bastard actually dares to mock me!'
'Absolutely unforgivable!'
Furious beyond measure, Tobirama panicked.
He had no idea what specific effects the enemy's Six Paths Ninja Tools had. Now that his verbal tic "spirit word" had been captured, he didn't know what kind of attack he'd face.
If he dragged this out any longer, he might lose immediately.
He had to end this battle now!
"Whoosh!"
The gloating Ginkaku suddenly noticed Tobirama vanish.
Did he use that slippery Flying Thunder God Jutsu again? Where'd he teleport to this time?
Hmph!
No matter where he ran, now that his spirit word had been recorded, he couldn't escape. Even if he stayed silent, it wouldn't be long before he got sucked into the Crimson Gourd.
But the next moment—
Tobirama suddenly appeared behind him, driving a katana straight through Ginkaku's heart!
"Shhk—!"
"You... how is this possible..."
Ginkaku struggled to turn his head, staring at Tobirama with complete disbelief.
Tobirama didn't respond. He smoothly pulled out his blade and retreated.
During their earlier escape, he'd deliberately used a Shadow Clone to approach Ginkaku and secretly left a Flying Thunder God seal on him.
His original plan was to wait until Kinkaku and Ginkaku were close together, then teleport over and double-kill them both in one strike.
But now that his spirit word had been captured and he didn't know how long he could last, he had no choice but to activate this trump card and take out Ginkaku first.
It was precisely because he'd left this seal that Tobirama dared to stay behind alone and fight Kinkaku's forces.
"Ginkaku!"
"ROOOAR!"
"You actually... you killed Ginkaku...!"
Seeing Ginkaku stabbed through the heart, Kinkaku erupted in rage.
The Tailed Beast chakra within him went berserk. A dark red Tailed Beast cloak rapidly covered his body, and six tails sprouted from his backside.
Half-Tailed Beast Transformation
In this state, Kinkaku lost most of his rationality. His emotions became violent and hyper-aggressive.
At the same time, all his physical abilities surged dramatically. His attack power skyrocketed, and under the protection of the Tailed Beast cloak, he was virtually invulnerable—already possessing peak Kage-level combat power.
"That's... 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's body. Where the hell did this guy get Nine-Tails chakra?!
He'd heard long ago that the Cloud Village had organized a raid to capture the Nine-Tails, but it failed.
Did they get it back then?
And a six-tailed form at that?
That level was no joke!
If he were at full strength, he could just use Flying Thunder God to kite this beast to death.
But not now. He had just enough chakra left for maybe one or two more jutsu. He couldn't outlast this monster!
Fortunately...
Tobirama never fought unprepared. Seeing Kinkaku enter Half-Tailed Beast form, Tobirama immediately activated his final trap.
"Crash crash crash—"
Three coffins burst from the ground in the center of the battlefield. Three Reanimated shinobi charged out from the coffins, lunging directly at Kinkaku and detonating the explosive tags covering their bodies.
Forbidden Jutsu: Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags!
A jutsu capable of endlessly summoning explosive tags and triggering continuous concentrated bombardment. Massive attack range. Long duration. Terrifying power.
"BOOM—!"
Massive explosions rose one after another. Blinding firelight illuminated a vast stretch of night sky.
The explosions continued for over two full minutes.
The violent shockwaves nearly leveled the surrounding area for hundreds of meters.
"Only this much power? As expected, I'm still limited by chakra..."
Tobirama frowned regretfully.
Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags couldn't replicate out of thin air—ultimately, they still required chakra to sustain.
The Reanimated Tobirama's Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags during the Fourth War could unleash devastating power precisely because of the Reanimation body's infinite chakra advantage.
Right now, with his chakra completely depleted, Tobirama naturally couldn't bring out the jutsu's maximum potential.
The explosions quickly ended, but smoke lingered everywhere. Tobirama couldn't accurately gauge the enemy's condition.
With only this much power, Tobirama couldn't guarantee he'd killed the Half-Tailed Beast Kinkaku.
But he'd done everything he could.
Dragging his gravely wounded body and nearly depleted chakra reserves, he'd almost single-handedly crippled and wiped out Kinkaku's entire squad.
He'd accomplished his objective.
Sarutobi and the others should be able to safely escape back to Konoha now.
"ROOOOOAR—!"
From the center of the battlefield came a thunderous roar.
A massive burst of chakra dispersed all the smoke, revealing the Half-Tailed Beast Kinkaku.
The Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags had wiped out all the remaining Cloud ninja—but unfortunately hadn't killed Kinkaku.
The latter was still roaring vigorously, full of fight.
"Damn it, couldn't kill this bastard!"
"That cursed Tailed Beast cloak—its defense is ridiculously strong!"
Tobirama cursed viciously. If only I'd developed a few more Forbidden Jutsu behind Big Brother's back back then!
But Big Brother never allowed it!
Sigh. If only Big Brother were still here, everything would be fine.
On the other side...
The Tailed Beast Kinkaku opened his massive jaws and spat out Ginkaku, who was clinging to life by a thread.
Just now, relying on what little rationality he had left, he'd swallowed the critically wounded Ginkaku into his stomach, barely keeping him alive.
Otherwise, with his heart pierced, Ginkaku would've been blown to bits by the explosive tags long ago.
Now, the enraged Kinkaku immediately locked his target onto Tobirama.
"Swish—"
One tail instantly extended over a hundred meters, stabbing toward Tobirama at blinding speed—faster than the blink of an eye!
Tobirama activated Flying Thunder God again, teleporting away.
But the moment he landed, three more tails came stabbing toward him.
With his chakra completely depleted, Tobirama had no strength left to dodge.
He could only barely block one tail strike with his katana—but the other two pierced through his left arm and abdomen.
Seeing Tobirama defeated, Kinkaku grew even more arrogant. He swiftly retracted his tails and began condensing a Tailed Beast Bomb.
He was preparing to completely obliterate Senju Tobirama with a single Tailed Beast Bomb!
"Cough—!"
Tobirama spat out a mouthful of blood, looking more pathetic than ever before.
It seemed he couldn't escape this calamity.
He never imagined his end would come at the hands of these two Cloud Village bastards.
If I run into Izuna in the afterlife, I wonder how badly he'll mock me!
How utterly humiliating!
"Vwoom—!"
A fist-sized Tailed Beast Bomb condensed and shot toward Tobirama at extreme speed.
This Tailed Beast Bomb hadn't been charged for long and didn't contain much Yin-Yang chakra, so its power was limited.
But even "limited" was still an S-rank jutsu with maximum destructive power. Blowing away hundreds of meters around the impact zone? No problem.
Even Tobirama at full strength couldn't tank a Tailed Beast Bomb explosion with his bare body.
Let alone in his current near-paralyzed state.
A direct hit meant certain death!
"Tobirama!"
In his final moments, Tobirama thought he heard his big brother's familiar voice calling out—and saw that familiar figure flash before him.
Is this the life flashing before my eyes before death?
Big Brother... I've disappointed you!
I can't lead the village forward anymore.
I'm sure Sarutobi and the others will inherit the Will of Fire and protect the village!
Tobirama felt heartbroken and desolate, prepared to die.
But then he suddenly realized—the Big Brother Hashirama appearing before him wasn't a hallucination.
Instead, he directly slapped away the incoming Tailed Beast Bomb with one hand!
"BOOM—!"
The Tailed Beast Bomb flew off at an angle and exploded violently over a thousand meters away. The scorching, violent shockwave uprooted countless trees. The power was terrifying.
Tobirama stared blankly at the scene, his brain completely frozen.
This isn't an illusion?
I'm not dreaming?
It's really Big Brother?!
To Be Continued.