The success of this ambush far exceeded Senju Mori's expectations.
Neither Uchiha Kagami's weakened state nor his vigilance while gravely injured were anywhere near what Mori had anticipated—they were shockingly low.
It could only be said that although Kagami wasn't born in Konoha, he had grown up under the shadow of the Hokage Rock and truly believed in the Will of Fire that Senju Hashirama upheld with all his heart.
More importantly, he had actually allowed Mori to use medical ninjutsu on him.
Accepting treatment from a comrade might sound natural—but one must not forget that only twenty years had passed since the days when the Uchiha and Senju clans slaughtered each other as bitter enemies.
Many of the older generation who bore blood-deep grudges were still alive.
And the reason medical ninjutsu—Mystical Palm Technique—was ranked A-level in difficulty wasn't just because it required pouring chakra into a wound.
Its true principle lay in injecting chakra directly into the patient's chakra network, precisely stimulating certain cells to make them more active and accelerate division.
If the healer harbored the slightest ill intent—injecting too much chakra or subtly altering its flow—the result wouldn't just be minor chakra pathway damage.
A shinobi whose internal chakra circulation was disrupted could be rendered unconscious in an instant—or even die outright.
It was in such a drowsy, defenseless state that Uchiha Kagami lost his life.
Since Senju Mori himself was trained in medical ninjutsu, he naturally took charge of extracting Kagami's Mangekyō Sharingan personally.
Although some joked that Sharingan eyes were like "hot-swappable parts," Mori preferred to handle the process carefully, preserving as much of the optic nerves and chakra pathways as possible.
Moments later, a wide-mouthed glass jar rested in Mori's hand.
He lifted it up, gazing closely.
Inside, two crimson eyes, each adorned with three black tomoe, floated gently in a nearly transparent nutrient solution.
The pair of Mangekyō Sharingan—now his.
No mysterious Izanagi activation.
No desperate counterattack through ocular ninjutsu.
Just a quiet, clean death.
At the same time, Uzumaki Chisawa rolled up the massive sealing scroll again and strapped it tightly to his back.
Kagami's eyeless corpse was sealed within it, leaving behind only the traces of his earlier battle with the Kumo-nin—and several dark, dried pools of blood on the ground.
"Next," Mori murmured, his gaze turning northward, "it's time we went to find our Hokage…"
...
Southern Land of Lightning.
Viewed from above, one could see that the region's rugged, thunder-scarred mountains and rolling hills gradually gave way to dense, verdant forests.
Normally tranquil and shadowy, this woodland now pulsed with an invisible killing intent.
A single kunai lay half-buried in the grass, as though discarded.
But in the very next instant, a man with white hair, red eyes, and red facial markings along his cheeks and jaw suddenly appeared, snatching the kunai from the earth in one smooth motion.
A space–time ninjutsu!
There was no doubt about his identity—
He was Senju Tobirama, the Second Hokage of Konohagakure.
Without wasting a second, Tobirama retrieved the kunai and immediately sprinted southwest—toward the Land of Frost.
After battling for most of the day, Tobirama still had not fallen.
Instead, it was the elite Kumo-nin who had stayed behind to aid the Gold and Silver Brothers—they had all vanished without a trace.
Short-range use of the Flying Thunder God Technique didn't consume much chakra — but the terrifying threat it posed was enough to leave any opponent in utter despair.
In truth, compared to the future "Yellow Flash" Namikaze Minato and his overly straightforward fighting style, it was the "White Flash," Senju Tobirama, who was far more terrifying.
After all, once a master of forbidden jutsu got close to you, you could never be sure what kind of thing he might secretly leave on your body.
Given the choice, most people would probably prefer taking a full-force Rasengan to the chest rather than have an explosive tag—or some other endlessly summoning, endlessly detonating seal—slapped on them.
From behind came angry shouts that echoed through the forest:
"Senju Tobirama! Is running away all a Hokage can do?!"
"You pathetic coward!"
"Don't delude yourself!"
"My men have already caught up with your disciples—none of them are getting back to Konoha alive!"
"Damn it…" Kinkaku's face was twisted with rage as he pursued.
Their legendary Six Paths Treasures, once an invincible combination, had proven strangely ineffective in this battle.
Even though they had successfully forced Tobirama to reveal his word-spirit, they still couldn't make him say the key word needed to activate the sealing power of their Shichiseiken (Seven Star Blade).
Worse yet, after a brief clash at the start, Tobirama had begun using some kind of space–time ninjutsu to repeatedly slip away — as slippery as a damn eel.
"Use that move, Ginkaku!" Kinkaku roared as Tobirama vanished once again in a flicker of light.
"We don't have time to waste any longer!"
Glancing down hatefully at the two glowing characters etched onto his sword, Kinkaku gritted his teeth. Reluctantly, he abandoned the idea of sealing the Second Hokage with the Six Paths Treasures.
He had to kill Tobirama quickly — and return to the village to stabilize the situation!
Unlike his brother's fury and frustration, Ginkaku seemed almost exhilarated. Upon hearing Kinkaku's command, he burst into loud laughter:
"Hahahaha! All right, Kinkaku! Let's tear him apart with the Nine-Tails' claws!"
As his laughter echoed through the mountains, a surge of crimson chakra—thick with hatred and malice—erupted from both brothers at once.
In an instant, that chakra enveloped their bodies completely.
As they dropped to all fours like wild beasts, several tails of pure chakra violently burst from their backs, lashing restlessly through the air.
Because they had once been swallowed by the Nine-Tails, Kinkaku and Ginkaku were considered half-Jinchūriki—vessels of the fox's power.
During that ordeal, by consuming its flesh and chakra, they had gained not only immense chakra reserves but also the ability to enter a partial tailed-beast transformation.
That half-beast form granted them speed, strength, and sensory ability far surpassing their previous limits.
"Found you!"
Kinkaku's eyes gleamed with a feral grin as he reopened them. His chakra-cloaked limbs flexed with explosive power—and in the next instant, he vanished from sight.
"Hey! Wait up, Kinkaku!"
Ginkaku shouted in protest, before launching himself forward as well. His powerful legs gouged two deep craters into the ground as he shot off after his brother.