It was unimaginable.
Humans can never truly comprehend something they have never witnessed themselves. Just as the ninja of Konoha could never have imagined the true power of the world's strongest person, they were now all witnessing it firsthand.
Even the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju—once hailed as the "God of Shinobi"—felt his reanimated body tense involuntarily. His very soul trembled in awe before such a terrifying ninja.
"Such... terrifying chakra."
Hashirama watched Emiya Shirou with a grave expression, not daring to relax for a second despite his opponent being blind. In fact, it only made him more tense.
"So this... is Lord Emiya's true power?"
Shirou paid him no mind. He simply closed his hollow eyes, taking a deep breath and savoring the scent of the earth—a sensation his reanimated body had long been denied.
Life... is truly beautiful.
Compared to Hashirama's shock, Tobirama Senju had a much clearer and more direct understanding of the situation. He also knew not to underestimate Shirou just because of his blindness. The living Emiya Shirou and the reanimated version were on completely different levels.
The Second Hokage's entire being—body, chakra, and soul—tensed instantly. His body was still paralyzed by the cursed seal, so all he could do was issue a warning to everyone present.
"Be careful..."
"Right now, he..."
"Is no different from a god."
"I still have to try..." Hashirama narrowed his eyes. His fist shot back, then snapped forward as an open palm, chopping toward Shirou's neck. In all of Konoha, his combat prowess was unmatched, making him the only one suited to test Shirou's strength at this moment.
With startling precision, Shirou caught Hashirama's wrist. It was as if his body had merged with nature itself, allowing him to sense everything happening around him.
The next instant, the world suddenly spun around Hashirama. Before he could process what had happened, Shirou had swung him in a wide arc and slammed him hard into the ground.
The difference in their strength... was like night and day.
"Big Brother!" Tobirama shouted as he saw his brother taken down in a single blow. He quickly ordered Minato Namikaze, "Fourth! Help me seal the power of this cursed mark, quickly!"
"Yes!"
Minato, an expert in sealing jutsu, knew the situation was critical. He instantly dashed to Tobirama and began forming the hand seals for the sealing technique.
Besides Tobirama, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, also needed his cursed mark resealed. The immense power they had gained from Shirou's cursed marks years ago was finally, decades later, bearing its bitter fruit.
"Wood Style!"
Ignoring his sorry state, Hashirama jumped to his feet and performed a Wood Style ninjutsu, attempting to bind Shirou. Three thick vines snaked toward their target.
"Wind Style."
Shirou casually tilted his head and waved a hand. The three vines were instantly shredded by sharp slashes of wind. Then, in the blink of an eye, moving so fast it was almost like teleportation, Shirou appeared directly in front of Hashirama, leaving the First Hokage no time to react.
Bang!
A powerful whip kick struck him. Caught unprepared, Hashirama was sent flying backward.
"Flying Thunder God, was that...?" Hashirama thought, barely managing to steady himself. "No... that wasn't Flying Thunder God... that was pure speed!"
The next instant, Shirou rushed him again. Hashirama barely had time to defend, managing only to raise his arms in front of him before Shirou's kick sent him crashing into a pile of ruins.
But that attack at least bought him a moment to breathe.
"Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands—Gracious Deity Gates!"
Half-kneeling in the rubble, Hashirama once again used a sealing sage technique. He formed a hand sign, and massive Torii gates began to rain down from the sky.
But this time, the gates could no longer seal Emiya Shirou.
"Sage Art: Dust Release."
Without even looking up, Shirou gestured with his hand. A brilliant white light formed in his palm, spinning into a disc that rose into the air. The moment it touched the Torii gates, they were instantly erased from existence.
Dust Release. It was a technique Shirou had acquired forty years ago from the Second Tsuchikage, Mu, during the First Great Ninja War.
To be precise, it was Sage Art: Dust Release. More accurately, it was a Dust Release powered by Six Paths Sage Chakra, elevating it to a level of power never seen before.
"Dust Release?" Tobirama couldn't identify the technique with certainty, guessing only from its effects. By now, both his and Hiruzen's cursed marks had been resealed, allowing them to rejoin the fight.
"Fourth," Tobirama said, placing a hand on Minato's shoulder as he quickly formulated a plan. "He's incredibly fast now. Let's each leave a Flying Thunder God mark on one another. We'll flash in to attack, and if we miss, we can instantly retreat by switching!"
It was their safest option. Tobirama had already seen that Shirou's current speed was terrifying. With the two of them using Flying Thunder God, they could just barely evade his attacks. This was only possible because they were in reanimated bodies with infinite chakra, allowing them to fight without worrying about depletion.
But Shirou might have ways of dealing with reanimated bodies.
"Even though we are Edo Tensei..." Tobirama frowned, as if remembering something. "He has all of my memories, so he definitely knows plenty of sealing jutsu..."
"Understood. I'll be careful," Minato nodded slowly. He had seen some of the forbidden jutsu left behind by the Second Hokage; Shirou was undoubtedly an expert in sealing as well.
But then Tobirama's brow relaxed as he mentioned another point. "Luckily, that Orochimaru isn't here. As long as that fiend doesn't undo the jutsu, our Edo Tensei won't end. So even if we're sealed, we can find ways to unseal each other and keep fighting."
It had to be said—this was almost like cheating.
As long as the Edo Tensei wasn't released and the three Hokage weren't all sealed at once, the battle could go on forever.
With the tactic set, Tobirama and Minato became two flashes of light, alternating their instantaneous movements as they closed in on Shirou. It was the ultimate application of the Flying Thunder God.
With two users moving in concert, they were in a near-perpetual state of space-time displacement. The only way to stop them was to catch one at the exact instant they appeared, or during the brief pause as they flashed closer.
The Konoha ninja watching were completely dazzled, unable to track the two Hokage. It seemed impossible for a blind Shirou to follow them, as he could only sense the split-second flashes of their appearance.
Shirou raised a hand and grabbed the still-dazed Hashirama by the throat. He lowered his head slightly, sensing the two flickering auras at his sides, his brow furrowing just a bit.
Countering this move while blind was difficult.
However, for the truly revived Emiya Shirou, it was almost effortless. Even if he stood still and let them attack, they couldn't harm his body. His Six Paths-level body possessed incredible durability, even surpassing Hashirama's wood-style regeneration.
Crack—
Tobirama flashed in close, stabbing his kunai into Shirou's body—only for the blade to snap instantly.
"How—"
"Sage Art: Rasengan!"
Minato's Rasengan smashed into Shirou but produced little more than a puff of smoke. Even the Fourth Hokage was stunned. But he wasn't fazed.
He immediately noticed that his Rasengan had left a Flying Thunder God mark on Shirou's body. Now that he'd landed a mark, he could launch endless attacks. Eventually, he would find a way to deal with him.
"Fall back!" Tobirama urgently called to Minato. The two Hokage instantly used Flying Thunder God to create distance.
But they would get no more chances.
Nine pitch-black orbs quietly floated into existence behind Emiya Shirou, lending him an even more mysterious aura. Silently, he had entered Six Paths Sage Mode.
"What is that?"
A group of onlookers stared in awe at the orbs behind Shirou. No ninja of this era had ever seen such a thing. No one knew they were the result of combining all chakra nature transformations. Nor did they know that the appearance of the Truth-Seeking Balls signaled a qualitative leap in power—a new pinnacle.
From this moment on, Emiya Shirou in his Six Paths mode would overwhelm every ninja in this world.
"Your space-time technique is impressive," Shirou said, lightly shaking his head. He raised a hand in the direction of the retreating Hokage, his calm voice echoing across the land. "But before absolute power, it is meaningless…"
"!!!"
Tobirama and Minato suddenly froze. In the middle of their Flying Thunder God technique, they lost all control. Their very souls were being ripped from their reanimated bodies.
"This is bad!" Tobirama felt his soul surge upward as he realized something absolutely terrifying—something he never imagined was possible.
"The Edo Tensei... is being forcibly ended…"
Once the Edo Tensei was released by Emiya Shirou, these reanimated warriors would never fight in the living world again. This world would be his to do with as he pleased.
The next moment, both of their souls floated up into the air.
Minato held out a hand, watching his soul drift away. A trace of worry flashed in his eyes as he thought of one thing.
His child.
Minato instinctively glanced in Naruto Uzumaki's direction. Now that he was returning to the afterlife, he didn't know if he would ever see Naruto again—especially since Naruto's future, in a world ruled by Emiya Shirou, would undoubtedly be even tougher.