"That technique—and that eye!" At last, shock surfaced in the eyes of the four Hokage.
The Rinnegan, and Rinne Rebirth—the technique that revives the dead.
"This feeling… this is a body, a living body. We've actually been revived." As they touched their bodies, the four Hokage felt a surge of incredulity.
That they had been resurrected was unbelievable.
"Who are you, really? What's your purpose?" The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, pointed a finger at Meruem.
An overwhelming aura pressed down on Meruem.
Unfortunately, that level of pressure was useless against him.
"Me? I'm Meruem, King of the Chimera Ants. As for summoning you and even reviving you—it's so I can kill you again." Looking at Tobirama, he released an even vaster aura that instantly smothered Tobirama's.
In Meruem's eyes, Tobirama saw contempt.
It had been many years since he had seen that look; he was truly strong. By aura alone, he was already beyond Tobirama's ability to resist—at least at Hashirama's level.
"Oh? The King of the Chimera Ants? I've never heard of you before. But you're very strong. I didn't expect another powerhouse like this to appear in the shinobi world aside from Madara. I'm looking forward to fighting you." The only one still at ease, clear-headed, and unaffected within Meruem's pressure was Hashirama Senju.
As expected of the man called the God of Shinobi Arts. Unfortunately, this wasn't Meruem's full power. After so many years, his strength had returned to its peak from the Hunter x Hunter era; and with chakra and his other gains, Meruem was now stronger than before.
Moreover, his power was still growing year by year.
"Oh? You're not bad yourself. To be unaffected under five-tenths of my aura suggests your strength isn't beneath that of my three Royal Guards." Meruem casually dispersed the pressure he had placed on the four Hokage.
"All four of you, come at once. Let me see how strong the Hokage of Konoha—the strongest of the Five Great Villages—really are. If you lose, I'll kill you. And if I'm not satisfied, I'll just destroy Konoha." Meruem said it deliberately to fire them up.
Of course, he had no intention of destroying Konoha at present.
"Hmph, boy, don't get cocky. Water Release: Water Dragon Fang Explosion!" The first to attack wasn't the First, but the Second, who had been momentarily overborne by Meruem's aura. He was angry at himself for having felt his fighting spirit waver—after all, he was the Second Hokage.
"Boring." Meruem casually shattered the two enormous water-formed dragons rushing him head-on.
"If that's all you've got, then please die."
"When—" Meruem vanished from Tobirama's sight, and before Tobirama could react, Meruem's hand punched through his body.
"Tobirama!" Hashirama was the first to react the instant Meruem disappeared, but he was still a bit slow.
"Not good! He's serious!" The Third and Fourth reacted as well after the sudden turn of events. They hadn't expected the one who revived them to actually attack them—much less without a word.
"Tch, count yourself lucky you're fast." The Tobirama whose chest Meruem's hand had pierced dissolved into a puddle.
The real Tobirama appeared tens of meters away, breathing hard.
"A little more and I'd have been finished. This guy is no joke." Fortunately, in that instant he had used space–time ninjutsu; he'd escaped by mere hundredths of a second.
Tobirama could clearly feel Meruem's killing intent and that explosive power in his palm—enough to punch clean through him. Even a Water Barrier wouldn't have stopped it.
It couldn't be blocked at all!
"Understand now? Come at me all four together, or I'll drop you in an instant." Meruem spoke offhandedly, as if discussing what to eat for dinner.
It was pure intimidation—a display of overwhelming strength that shattered the Second's pride.
"He's truly strong. Looks like we have to get serious." Wiping away nonexistent sweat from his brow, Hashirama's expression turned solemn.
"Let's show our real skills together and let him see what Konoha's Hokage can do."
The Fourth and Third nodded, and the four Hokage finally prepared to go all out.
"Water Release: Hard Vortex Water Blade." Tobirama struck first with one of his signature Water Release techniques. A tremendously powerful water blade slashed toward Meruem at speed.
"Combination Jutsu: Fire-Current Earth Flame Bullet!" The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, cut loose as well, using a self-created fusion of Fire and Earth Release with immense destructive power.
"Interesting, but still too slow." Meruem sidestepped Tobirama's water technique and sprang into the air to avoid the Third's fusion jutsu.
"I was waiting for this! Flying Thunder God: Big Ball Rasengan!" At some point the Fourth Hokage had appeared behind Meruem, chakra massing in his right hand.
"Hmph, paltry tricks." Meruem had sensed him the instant he appeared behind him; even without using En in battle, his five senses easily tracked the man's movements.
He lashed out with a midair kick that sent the Fourth flying, spoiling the kill.
"Got you! Wood Release: Super Shinra Myriad Forms!" Countless massive tree roots burst from the ground and instantly wrapped Meruem in midair.
Tendrils bound his limbs tight. This Wood Release was unlike ordinary wood—harder than fine steel, extremely sturdy.
"I'm not done yet!" Seeing Meruem briefly restrained by Hashirama's Wood Release, Tobirama wouldn't let the opportunity pass and unleashed his most powerful, most damaging Water Release.
"Water Release: Super Water Severing Wave!" He spewed one high-speed, ultra–high-pressure water jet after another from his mouth at Meruem's position.
When they collided with the First's Wood Release, a violent explosion erupted, throwing up a cloud of smoke.
"Tobirama, you—" Hashirama had no time to stop him; by the time he reacted, Tobirama's jutsu had already been unleashed.
"He'd already been immobilized. How could you—"
"Shut up. Brother, you're too soft—just like with Madara! Anyone who uses Edo Tensei to summon us has no good intentions, and he even said he'd destroy Konoha." Tobirama rebuked Hashirama without mercy.
"Ahem. Lord First, Lord Second—now isn't the time to argue. I'm afraid it isn't over. That guy isn't dead." It was Minato Namikaze who spoke; he was the first to see Meruem standing unscathed atop the mass of roots Hashirama had summoned. "Impossible!" Tobirama stared in disbelief. That had been his strongest Water Release.
"Ahahaha, I knew it—you're indeed a foe no weaker than Madara! I'm getting excited."
"Damn it, I refuse to believe I can't kill you—Flying Thunder God: Decapitation Technique!" Tobirama hurled a specially made kunai and instantly shifted to it mid-flight, ready to deliver a killing blow.
It was indeed a formidable move; Tobirama had once used it to kill Madara's younger brother, Izuna. Unfortunately, his so-called high-speed kunai looked snail-slow to Meruem, and his blade was ordinary—sharp and hard by normal standards,
but nowhere near enough to pierce Meruem's defense.
So this supposed finishing blow was little different from throwing his life away.
Letting Tobirama's blade strike his body, Meruem instead drove a heavy punch into him, making him cough blood.
That single blow left Tobirama badly injured, and the blade that should have pierced Meruem snapped into several pieces.
"Not good—Lord Second is in danger! Flying Thunder God: Second Step!" Minato suddenly appeared behind Tobirama, grabbed him, and flickered through his marked points to spirit him away while preventing Meruem's pursuit.
At some point, kunai inscribed with strange sigils had been planted all around—Minato's Flying Thunder God marks.
One such mark lay just ahead of Meruem's position, which was how Minato had rescued Tobirama in time.
Though he was Hashirama's brother, Tobirama didn't possess the Sage Body, and his physique was merely extraordinarily robust by human standards.
To Hashirama and Meruem, it was as fragile as a baby's.
"Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He threw several shuriken, which multiplied into hundreds—one of the Third Hokage Hiruzen's techniques, used during the Konoha Crush.
He was covering Minato's extraction while also aiming to strike Meruem.
"Ninja Art: Giant Shuriken Technique!" The countless shuriken darkening the sky suddenly expanded dozens of times over, practically becoming weapons of siege.
Wherever they swept past, nothing was left intact; it looked as if siege engines had battered the place.–––––––——————————
(End of Chapter)
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