The moment the Truth-Seeking Ball made contact with the ground, it exploded. The Six Paths power contained within scattered outwards, reducing everything it touched to nothingness!
The terrifying shockwave spread over a vast area, reaching even the four Kage who were already halfway back to their quarters!
Ishikawa slammed both hands onto the ground, causing countless Earth-Style Walls to rise. However, these walls slowly disintegrated under the erupting energy wave.
He stroked his beard helplessly. "We can only try to minimize the affected area a little. To use such a terrifying jutsu within the Land of Iron... it seems we must depart swiftly." He turned to Mū, who looked bewildered. "Mū, after we return to the village, you will lead a diplomatic envoy to Takigakure. Our countries share a border; it is necessary to establish friendly relations."
"Understood."
Only then did Mū realize that this terrifying energy surge was likely caused by the Takikage. He was familiar with both Hashirama and Tobirama; they would not use a jutsu like this. This power that annihilated everything was stronger than his own Particle Style.
In another direction, Reto and Shamon exchanged a glance, each seeing deep apprehension in the other's eyes. They had the most thorough understanding of the Land of Waterfall and had paid the closest attention to the policies Ruri proposed during the summit. They knew deeply that once those development policies took effect, the Land of Waterfall's national power would rival the great nations. Coupled with a Takikage as immensely powerful as Ruri, it was all too possible for another behemoth like Konoha of the Land of Fire to emerge.
Byakuren, walking with his hands clasped behind his back, shuddered slightly upon feeling the energy pulse. As the eldest of the six Kage, Ruri was probably less than half his age, yet this level of power seemed to completely surpass his own. Before this energy wave, Byakuren had considered finding an opportunity to visit Takigakure and press them about the origin of those Water Release techniques. Now, he had completely abandoned that idea.
A quickened his pace, moving so fast his guard struggled to keep up. A series of footprints half a foot deep left in the ground revealed his inner turmoil.
"Let's go."
Ruri gasped for breath several times. The final explosion of the Truth-Seeking Ball had exhausted his chakra, even透支 the Seven-Tails' reserves. Apart from deliberately aiming off-target, he had given that strike his all.
Agreeing to Hashirama's offer of compensation might have netted him vast resources or even various S-Rank and Forbidden Jutsu. But he had still acted. He was the Takikage, one of the Six Kage. How could he swallow his pride when someone else had tried to kill his subordinate?
"Go? But..." Kakuzu looked towards the center of the smoke plume raised by the explosion, where Hashirama and Tobirama had been. After such a horrifying blast, could they possibly have survived?
"You fought Hashirama yourself. He's not so easy to kill. Even an explosion of this magnitude might not necessarily injure him."
Ruri sighed. There was still a gap between his current level and that of existences like Hashirama and Madara. Even using the Truth-Seeking Ball and the Seven-Tails' chakra, he could only manage a single attack threatening enough to their lives. This attack was undoubtedly stronger than any other jutsu in the current world, absolutely at the Six Paths level, but he could only unleash it once.
"He's that strong...?" Kakuzu said, disheartened. If that was the case, during their previous fight, Hashirama probably hadn't even used one-tenth of his power. It was possible the one he'd been fighting from start to finish was just a Wood Clone.
"Knowing the gap is a good thing. Don't be fooled by his sometimes foolish demeanor. A man standing at the pinnacle of the shinobi world isn't someone to be taken lightly."
Ruri spoke as they walked. It seemed they needed to accelerate the village's development. He probably couldn't complete any significant achievements soon; improving his strength would have to rely on developing the village.
"Yes, Big Brother! I will train diligently!" A fighting spirit Kakuzu had never felt before ignited within him. It seemed the Land of Waterfall had limited him. Having been unmatched within his own country, meeting Hashirama made him realize he was merely a frog at the bottom of a well.
Kakuzu looked seriously at Ruri walking beside him. This brother who had accompanied his growth was becoming more and more inscrutable, so strong he could only look up to him. But he couldn't allow himself to fall too far behind!
A long time after Ruri and Kakuzu had left, movement finally came from within the city.
Most of these samurai had never left the Land of Iron in their lives. Their understanding of shinobi was largely based on hearsay, with occasional conversations with traveling shinobi passing through their country. Shinobi conflicts typically took great care to avoid the Land of Iron.
Consequently, these samurai had a very one-sided understanding of shinobi. Some of the more old-fashioned samurai even believed ninjutsu was nothing more than trickery, something that could be severed with a single sword stroke.
But everything that happened today had shocked them profoundly. When Hashirama used the Advent of a World of Flowering Trees, the samurai in the city were already too terrified to speak. Creating a forest out of thin air? That was a divine sign!
When that forest was incinerated in an instant by black flames, they no longer knew how to react. Black flames, that terrifying aura... were they the fires of hell?!
By the time the explosion occurred, they were simply numb. Even the fact that the shockwave had caused half the city wall to vanish without a trace couldn't stir their hearts. In a single day, they had endured more than their profession as samurai was meant to bear.
People instinctively gathered outside their houses, fearing something even more terrifying might happen.
After the dust from the explosion settled, a crater the size of a football field was revealed outside the city walls. It was as if the land itself had been scooped away; the pit was perfectly smooth. At its very edge stood two figures.
It was Tobirama and Hashirama. Hashirama was relatively fine, the markings around his eyes fading. Relying on Sage Mode, Wood Release, and his immense chakra, he had barely managed to defend against the Truth-Seeking Ball's explosion. He knew Ruri had held back, changing the orb's position at the last moment to avoid placing them at the epicenter.
Even if they had been at the center, he might have withstood it, but Tobirama would not have been so lucky.
Tobirama was seriously injured. He lacked Hashirama's protective Wood Release and Sage Mode, nor did he possess chakra reserves comparable to a Tailed Beast.
Even with Hashirama blocking most of the energy impact, Tobirama's arm was grazed by the blast wave... and that arm was now gone.
This meant that the future千手扉間, famed for his numerous Forbidden Jutsu and Space-Time Ninjutsu, was now disabled, having lost a hand. He could no longer form hand seals.
He felt no pain from the lost limb. His eyes were vacant, staring麻木ly at the space where his arm used to be. For a shinobi, losing an arm and the ability to form seals was equivalent to the end of one's career.
Hashirama patted Tobirama's shoulder, dusting off the ash. It wasn't possible to feel no hatred at all. Even with his easygoing nature, he couldn't help but resent the person who had maimed his younger brother. But he could not afford to hate, and he certainly couldn't start a war over it.
For the sake of this hard-won peace, Hashirama had to prioritize the bigger picture. Call him stubborn or naive; this peaceful situation was something he had worked towards for many years. He couldn't let it be destroyed over an arm.
"Tobirama, let's go home."
Hashirama walked in front of Tobirama, crouched down, and hoisted him onto his back.
"??? Big Brother, what are you doing?! I lost an arm, not my legs!"
Tobirama regained a bit of vitality, struggling briefly, but it was utterly useless.
"You always wanted me to carry you like this when you were little. Father would always scold you for it!"
Tobirama froze, then stopped struggling. "Big Brother," he said quietly, "let's go back to Konoha. I can't imagine how much Madara will mock me for this."
"Let's go! Thinking too much will make your brain dull. We should enjoy this hard-earned peace!"
After the two brothers left, the samurai in the city finally dared to venture out. Gazing at the gigantic crater, they incessantly muttered phrases like "the gods descended." Some enterprising individuals, after making inquiries, erected a marker nearby inscribed with words like "First Takikage" and "Divine Sign."