Senju Tobirama, as it turned out, arrived a bit fashionably late.
He had originally wanted to rush over immediately, but upon seeing Madara's Susanoo in its extremely weak state, and also spotting his older brother on the scene, his mind immediately clarified. The new mission was clear: Prevent Madara Uchiha from escaping Konoha!
He spent a precious few moments arranging for ANBU squads to cut off all possible escape routes. Only then did he rush over, intending to have Emiya Shirou release his cursed seal so he could personally hunt down the equally weak Madara. This was the perfect opportunity to kill him again!
But in the end, he was a step too late. Here was Emiya Shirou, single-handedly dealing with the Nine-Tails. And as Tobirama stood there, he realized this might be for the best.
His brother was not fully recovered. His sister-in-law was weak from suppressing the Nine-Tails. And he, the "God of Shinobi Speed," had his chakra temporarily sealed. It was more than appropriate for Emiya Shirou to be willing to help.
"Sasuke!" Tobirama commanded, no longer worried about the Nine-Tails. "You immediately take people to assist the other squads in searching for that fiend Madara's whereabouts! We will rush over after we deal with this!"
"Yes!" Sarutobi Sasuke quickly accepted.
"Tobirama," Hashirama said, his gaze fixed on the battle. "Speaking of which, this person looks so familiar." He studied Shirou's side profile. "Although his condition is a bit strange, I always feel like I've seen him in my childhood. Is it really not my imagination?"
Tobirama fell silent.
Brother, how can you have the nerve to ask such a question? Have you forgotten all those times you secretly crawled in front of Emiya Shirou's crystal coffin and were 'deeply educated' by father?
"Brother," Tobirama said, hoping to skip the matter and, for a rare change, taking the initiative to bring up the man he disliked the most. "What on earth is going on with that fiend Madara?"
How did he escape death? Or was this a conspiracy from the beginning?
Tobirama suspected Madara had been secretly observing Konoha. He even guessed Madara had come here looking for Shirou, perhaps to kill or abduct him. If that happened, Konoha would be in big trouble. After all, the hope of curing his brother rested solely on Shirou.
This time it was Hashirama's turn to be silent. He shifted his gaze back to the Nine-Tails. "Let's deal with this first. After today, I want to leave the village for a while to track down Madara and find out what he really wants to do. If he still wants to harm Konoha, I will kill him again at all costs."
On the other side of the battlefield, the fight was drawing to a close.
"ROAR!" The Nine-Tails' roar was shrill. It hadn't even had a chance to release a Tailed Beast Bomb.
"Be quiet for a moment!" Shirou landed on the ground. He raised his left hand, palm facing the Tailed Beast, and clenched his five fingers. "Earth Style!"
Countless chunks of dirt and rock surged from the ground, quickly gathering and enveloping the Nine-Tails' body. It struggled, swinging its claws, trying to swipe at him. But Shirou ignored the threat, his five fingers remaining clenched as more and more earth surged out.
A pitch-black cursed seal emerged from under his feet, flowing like a stream, wrapping around the dirt and rock, causing them to be interspersed with a strange blackness.
"Die!" The Nine-Tails' claws swiped down viciously. Just one blow and it could tear him to shreds.
But the claws never landed. The dirt and rock had formed a hill, completely trapping its body. Pitch-black cursed seals appeared on the surface, turning into an unbreakable seal. The Nine-Tails' head was exposed, baring its teeth and glaring at Shirou, one of its claws only a foot away from his head.
"Such a familiar feeling," Shirou said, a hint of nostalgia on his face. "It feels just like when you were a child, always missing by a little at the critical moment."
"So strong," Hashirama exclaimed without a care. Though, coming from someone of his strength, this didn't sound much like a compliment.
"Indeed," Mito couldn't help but praise as well, though her statement also seemed a bit mocking.
"Without hand seals," Tobirama said, still able to point out the other's strengths, "he can release such a powerful Earth Style jutsu. And while casting it, he even has the energy to infuse the sealing cursed seal into it."
The ninjas of the ancient era... were a bit too powerful! Just a single medical ninja possessed such great power! And he was even using it under the restrictions of the Impure World Reincarnation!
But it was not over. Shirou walked step by step in front of the Nine-Tails. He raised his finger, pointed it at its head, and directly released the Sharingan genjutsu on it, allowing its eyes to regain clarity. "Release!"
"ROAR!" Freed from control, the Nine-Tails was still furious, roaring with all its might, trying to struggle out of the seal. Whenever it encountered humans, it would only be filled with a furious desire to kill. Its chakra was a collection of hatred and pain.
Snap!
A snap of fingers sounded by its ear. The sound was abrupt, but it immediately alerted the Tailed Beast. It instantly regained its rationality, memories from the ancient era gradually reviving.
"Kurama, are you awake?" Shirou's voice sounded familiar. It also brought a feeling of helpless drowsiness, just like in the ancient era when it was so tired on a journey and was forcibly woken up from a deep sleep by a certain human to pull a cart.
"Let me sleep some more..." it habitually wanted to snort. The next moment, it suddenly reacted. This was not the ancient era! How could that human who had died long ago appear over a thousand years later!
"Emiya Shirou..." The Nine-Tails' pupils turned, its eyes finally focusing. It looked at the figure standing before it, at that familiar face, and its heart skipped a beat. "It really is you! How can you be in this era!"
"You really remember me?" A look of surprise appeared on Shirou's face. "I had almost forgotten that we were old friends."
[SSS-Rank Mission Request: Quell the Nine-Tails Rampage in Konoha. Request completed.
Reward: Nine-Tails Chakra (SSS-Rank) and Tailed Beast Bomb. Currently unusable due to the limitations of Impure World Reincarnation.]
This was a power he had never obtained in the ancient era. Or rather, a reward that was readily available, but he had chosen not to obtain. He had almost become the first Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, but had given it up for certain reasons.
"You monster, you forgot!" The Nine-Tails' eyes suddenly turned fierce. It seemed as if its reverse scale had been touched. It stared deadly at Shirou, as if it would immediately break out and tear him to shreds if he said one wrong word.
"You've learned to curse," Shirou said with some surprise.
"You... monster."
"Do you think I don't dare to kill you?"
"Your chakra has become more ferocious. And the emotions influenced by your chakra have also become more extreme."
In the disbelieving eyes of the crowd, Shirou extended his hand and symbolically scratched the Nine-Tails' chin. "It seems you haven't been doing very well these past thousand years."