Chapter 26: The End of the Reincarnation
"Retreat? How long can you keep that up?" Uchiha Naoki taunted, the grievous wound on his neck already sealed shut. "But you're right about one thing. It is time to end this!"
He stomped the ground violently, channeling his power deep into the earth. "Lava Burial!"
Whoosh!
In the next moment, Senju Tobirama flickered to a Flying Raijin marker not far away. But before he could even orient himself, the ground beneath his feet trembled and erupted, a geyser of superheated magma surging up to consume him.
Hiss! Faced with this, Senju Tobirama's hair stood on end. He had no choice but to activate the Flying Raijin again, fleeing to another marker.
But the moment he appeared at the new coordinate, the same scene repeated. The ground exploded, forcing him to retreat once more.
"This brat… his plan is to…!" Senju Tobirama realized Uchiha Naoki's strategy in an instant. He intended to systematically destroy every single Flying Raijin marker, leaving him with nowhere to run. Once his last coordinate was gone, he would be a sitting duck. He gritted his teeth in frustration, but against Uchiha Naoki's current control of the battlefield, he truly had no effective counter.
BOOM!
BOOM!
And so, as Senju Tobirama flickered from one marker to the next, his escape routes were obliterated one by one. Until… only one remained.
BOOM!
This time, there was no escape for Senju Tobirama. He was forced to face the pillar of lava that erupted almost simultaneously with his arrival. Yet, at the very last second, as the magma was about to engulf him, he managed a minuscule, desperate twist in the air. A split-second dodge that saved half his body, though the other half was instantly vaporized by the searing heat.
"As expected of the Second Hokage. To still change the outcome in a situation like that," Uchiha Naoki acknowledged. But he was already upon the falling Hokage before he even hit the ground, his right arm blazing with intense light. "But it's over! Divine Hound!"
However, Senju Tobirama's eyes suddenly sharpened, a grim grin spreading across his face. "You little fool! This is the opening I've been waiting for! DIE! Explosive Tag: Chain Detonation!"
He produced a single explosive tag, slapping it onto Uchiha Naoki's charging form with impossible speed. If Uchiha Naoki could push him into a corner, why couldn't he turn the tables? This was an impossibly fast, utterly unexpected blow. How could anyone dodge? In the original timeline, even Six Paths-enhanced Obito had been half-destroyed by this very technique. Its power was undeniable.
"Detonate!" Senju Tobirama roared, activating the technique at the moment of impact.
He had observed carefully. When Uchiha Naoki attacked physically, he couldn't simultaneously use his strange intangibility. He was confident that when they both reappeared from the blast, there would be nothing left of the already-injured Uchiha Naoki but scattered atoms. The chain detonation would not cease until its target was utterly annihilated.
"Not good!" The Scarlet Sand Scorpion's expression shifted drastically upon seeing this.
"Finally… dead?" Orochimaru couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. This was an enhanced Impure World Reincarnation body, specially prepared for this very scenario. It possessed strength on par with his own. It seemed only natural that it would defeat a junior like Uchiha Naoki. After all, this was the experienced Second Hokage. How many battles had Uchiha Naoki even seen? How could he be a match? That he had repeatedly forced Senju Tobirama on the defensive was impressive enough.
"Wait… no!" Orochimaru's eyes suddenly widened, his face paling with disbelief as he stared into the distance. "He actually used his ability to become immune to the 'Chain Detonation'?!"
Where the explosion should have left nothing but a crater, there was only scattered, bubbling magma. Then, the magma flowed back together, coalescing into the form of Uchiha Naoki, completely unscathed.
Seeing this, Sasori was overjoyed, letting out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.
But Orochimaru felt a cold dread grip his heart. Something had gone terribly wrong.
He watched as Uchiha Naoki transformed back into lava, leaping directly onto the still-regenerating body of Senju Tobirama. He used the molten rock to physically pin the Second Hokage's movements, then, while maintaining the hold, forced the immobilized Senju Tobirama's hands into a sequence of seals. "Impure World Reincarnation… Release!"
Suddenly…
The world brightened. A column of pure, ethereal light descended from the heavens, enveloping Senju Tobirama. His body began to glow with the same otherworldly luminescence. Uchiha Naoki immediately detached himself from the Hokage.
This maneuver—using lava to physically restrain an opponent—could indeed work wonders. But the conditions were exceedingly difficult to meet. First, the target had to be sufficiently weakened. That was manageable. But the second point was far more challenging: the target's body had to be able to withstand the intense heat of the magma. This was nearly impossible to satisfy. Except, of course, with an Impure World Reincarnation body. It was, at its core, still just earth and ash, able to endure his near-thousand-degree temperature. In essence, it was a trick that could only be pulled off in this specific situation.
But the shockwave caused by this series of actions was absolutely staggering.
"The Impure World Reincarnation… can it be… released like this?!" Orochimaru's face was as dark as a storm cloud, his mind reeling with turbulent horror. He felt goosebumps rise on his skin. This was information even he didn't possess! Based on his current research, he believed only the caster could voluntarily release it, or it could be stopped by a powerful sealing technique. But now, Uchiha Naoki had just demonstrated a third method.
"Hahaha! Orochimaru! That look of utter shock on your face tells me this wasn't part of your plan!" the Scarlet Sand Scorpion couldn't help but taunt. "It seems I guessed correctly! Naoki does know things even you are unaware of! Heh, I'm afraid you won't be escaping today!"
This only deepened the bitterness in Orochimaru's heart.
As for Senju Tobirama…
Even as his soul began to separate from its earthly vessel, he fought against the pull, desperately trying to reintegrate with the disintegrating body. How could he allow himself to leave behind such a dire threat to Konoha?
"Great Eruption!" But Uchiha Naoki would never give him the chance. Before the soul could rejoin the body, he unleashed a final, cataclysmic punch of magma, completely obliterating the reincarnated form.
"Senju Tobirama. You can return to the Pure Land with peace of mind," Uchiha Naoki said with a sharp grin. "Those who are dead shouldn't worry so much about the affairs of the living."
This provoked a roar of pure, unadulterated fury from the fading soul of the Second Hokage. "DAMN YOU!!!" But against the inexorable pull of the Pure Land's light, he was powerless.
"Just who is this boy?!" Senju Tobirama's soul cried out in final, desperate questioning. "How does he know the release method for a jutsu I never recorded in Konoha's forbidden scrolls?!"
He felt exactly as Orochimaru did about Uchiha Naoki: mystified and threatened. To have left such a dangerous variable in the world felt like a profound failure of his duty.
"You think I'd tell you?" Uchiha Naoki sneered. "Do you think I'm an idiot?" Why would he ever reveal his sources of intelligence to an enemy, even a deceased one?
With a final, unwilling roar, Senju Tobirama's soul was drawn away, his light vanishing from the world.
Uchiha Naoki immediately turned his gaze to Orochimaru. "Now then… it's your turn, Orochimaru."
Facing that playful yet lethally dangerous gaze, Orochimaru felt a chill that reached deep into his bones.
"To think it would come to this…?" Even Orochimaru, the legendary Sannin, couldn't help but feel a sense of impending doom. As Uchiha Naoki advanced, Orochimaru's already serpentine pupils narrowed to the thinnest of slits.