It was a familiar reason. The same one as always.
Emiya Shirou watched Hashirama Senju with calm eyes, as if he had known all along that his old friend would intervene at this moment. There wasn't even a hint of surprise on his face.
After all, this was all within his expectations.
Even if Hashirama felt guilty for the mistakes his brother Tobirama had made, there was no way he could simply stand by and watch Konoha fall into crisis.
Emiya Shirou didn't answer Hashirama. Instead, he calmly gave orders to Nagato and Konan. "You two, retreat toward the edge of Konoha. I'll cover your escape."
The real battle was about to begin, and it would be truly dangerous. Even though Emiya Shirou had planned for this, his SSS-class chakra was limited by his Edo Tensei body. Going up against several Hokage at once would not be easy.
Still, he had his own counter-plan. This didn't count as a desperate situation.
"Lord Emiya…" Nagato started to say something more.
"It would be easy for me to escape on my own." Emiya Shirou looked at the Hokage closing in, their formation tightening, and shook his head slightly. "The difficult part is getting you out of here. That's what matters most."
"..."
Nagato lowered his head in silence.
"Go."
With that single order, Emiya Shirou rushed forward at high speed. He moved in a blur, and with a flick of his fingers, a wall of fire erupted, blocking the Hokage's path.
The real fight had only just begun.
"Water Style: Water Colliding Wave!"
Tobirama Senju quickly formed the hand signs. His jutsu required weaving them, so he was a bit slower than Shirou, but a massive wave of water instantly swelled and drowned out the wall of fire.
As water and fire collided, mist quickly filled the battlefield. But the mist was no obstacle for them. Their sensory abilities allowed them to easily pinpoint each other's positions.
However, this also made Konoha's Hokage realize there was a problem. As Emiya Shirou had ordered, Nagato and Konan had already escaped. Even though Nagato had used a lot of chakra, he wasn't someone the other Konoha ninja could handle easily.
Just as Hashirama and the others were about to discuss strategy, a blade of green chakra sliced through the mist, sweeping toward them.
"Be careful!" Tobirama shouted a warning to Hiruzen and Jiraiya. He dodged easily, but another green blade stroke followed, and then another.
"Charge through!" Hashirama leaped forward, rushing Emiya Shirou. His punch, coated in a faint chakra glow, smashed toward him.
At the same time, Tobirama and Minato Namikaze threw their Flying Thunder God kunai at Shirou, supporting the First Hokage's attack.
"Watch out for the Rinnegan!" Jiraiya called out a quick warning.
"Yes, Master Jiraiya!" Minato quickly responded.
In the previous fight, the other Rinnegan wielder, Nagato, hadn't understood the Flying Thunder God technique, which gave them an easy upper hand. But now they were facing Emiya Shirou, who had both the Rinnegan and mastery of the Flying Thunder God.
Honestly, judging by Shirou's speed just now, it was on par with his and the Second Hokage's. This was going to be a brutal fight.
Sure enough, when Minato and Tobirama used the Flying Thunder God to appear at Shirou's side, he reacted instantly. He launched himself into the air with a flying kick that sent both Hokage reeling.
But this gave Hashirama the opening he needed to get close.
Still, Shirou didn't seem to care. He met Hashirama in a flurry of hand-to-hand combat, the chakra scalpel on his palm weaving up and down like lightning.
His swordsmanship is on par with Madara's! Hashirama's eyes focused. He was forced back step by step under the pressure of the green blade.
"Attack directly!" Tobirama commanded sharply. "They're all Edo Tensei; they won't die from damage. Don't worry about harming my brother! If we can break Lord Emiya's body, we'll have a chance to seal him!"
But after giving the order, Tobirama suddenly remembered that even his own Reaper Death Seal couldn't contain Shirou. His confidence wavered.
Maybe… this will work, he thought.
"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bomb!" Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly wove hand signs, immediately following up with another jutsu. "Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
A dragon's head made of earth burst from the ground, spitting mud bombs that were instantly ignited by the flames. This was Hiruzen's signature combination: the Earth Dragon Flame Stream.
Emiya Shirou paid it no mind, his chakra scalpel cutting through the flaming projectiles one after another.
"There's my chance!" Tobirama spotted an opening and slipped a Flying Thunder God kunai in among the fireballs.
The next moment, as Shirou parried Hashirama and cut through the incoming flames, Tobirama appeared in a flash, less than three steps in front of him. He grabbed his kunai, aiming to slice open Shirou's chest—a clean hit would take him out of the fight.
But he was met by a brilliant flash of green chakra.
Shirou's eyes lifted slightly, showing no surprise at Tobirama's appearance. A flash of emerald-green light cut Tobirama cleanly in half.
"Tobirama!"
"Second Hokage!"
Everyone present was shocked. That attack… had been perfectly hidden. Shirou was facing a tough opponent in Hashirama while also keeping an eye on Hiruzen's jutsu, yet he still had the presence of mind to react to Tobirama.
In fact, the moment Tobirama used the Flying Thunder God, Shirou was already prepared to strike him down.
"Everything you do… is an open book to me."
Shirou watched as Tobirama's Edo Tensei body slowly reformed, then stabbed a black receiver through him, pinning him to the ground. Shirou had read Tobirama's memories.
He knew that in battle, Tobirama always favored risky, decisive moves to secure a quick victory. Maybe it was because he had less chakra than his brother, or maybe it was a habit ingrained from the Warring States era, where one misstep meant death.
"..."
Tobirama struggled, but he couldn't break free from the black rod. The Yin-Yang Release receiver was cutting off his chakra, leaving his regenerating body immobilized.
"We have to rescue the Second Hokage!" Hiruzen assessed the situation instantly. "Even though the First Hokage can match Lord Emiya, he's under pressure from that overwhelming swordsmanship. There's no way they'll settle this quickly."
Even with help from Minato and Jiraiya, they could only launch ninjutsu from the sidelines, which wasn't much help against someone like Shirou.
Even Minato's Flying Thunder God, which was usually a game-changer, could only do so much. After all, Minato's style relied on surprise close-quarters attacks, but he lacked the powerful jutsu needed to be effective against an opponent like this.
"Sage Mode!" Minato understood his own weakness and immediately entered Sage Mode, his pupils taking on their unique markings. "I'm not very good with Sage Mode, but the physical boost might be enough to make a difference."
"Blond kid, help me out!" Hashirama immediately noticed the change and called out to him. "I have an idea! Just hold him off for a bit—I found a way to deal with Lord Emiya!"
"Yes!" Minato darted in, a Rasengan forming in his hand to clash with Shirou's chakra scalpel. "Sage Art: Rasengan!"
"Pointless." Shirou didn't seem concerned about Minato's Sage Mode. With a flick of his finger, the earth heaved up, attempting to trap him.
Caught off guard, Minato almost fell into the trap. He could have used the Flying Thunder God to escape, but that would have left Hashirama open. So he stayed put, one foot caught, and forced himself to attack Shirou with the Rasengan.
Such a reckless attack, obviously, would not work here.
But suddenly, thick vines shot up from the ground, wrapping rapidly around Emiya Shirou. He was forced to abandon finishing off Minato and instead slash through the vines with his green chakra blade.
"Huff…" Hashirama, seeing his Wood Style had bound Shirou, felt a surge of awe and relief. The close-quarters fight had been intense. "That was scary. His blade came again and again. One slip and I would have been killed instantly. I didn't even have time to focus chakra for a jutsu…"
But as long as he could perform a jutsu, the tide of the battle would turn.
"Sage Mode!" Hashirama put his hands together, also activating his Sage Mode. The jutsu he needed to counter Shirou required that power. He pressed his hands together tightly, watching the approaching Emiya Shirou while quickly preparing his sealing jutsu.
"Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands—Gracious Deity Gates!"
Suddenly, massive torii gates slammed down from the sky. Caught off guard, Emiya Shirou was pinned to the ground beneath them, unable to move.
"Finally…" Hashirama let out a breath. This sealing jutsu was strong enough to suppress even the Tailed Beasts, so it should have no trouble holding Shirou for a while.
"First Hokage, did it work?" Hiruzen landed in front of Hashirama, finally letting his guard down a little.
"No…" Hashirama shook his head, his eyes serious as he watched Shirou struggling beneath the torii gates. "These gates can only suppress Lord Emiya's chakra for a short time."
During that time, they had to find a way to defeat him. If they couldn't, once Shirou broke free…
But in contrast to the worried Hokage, the sealed Emiya Shirou seemed to have lost all will to fight. His eyes were slightly closed, as if being restrained by the Shinsuusenju didn't bother him in the slightest.