Chapter 7: The White Flash
The success of this ambush far exceeded Senju Morin's expectations.
Uchiha Kagami's weakened condition—and more importantly, his complete lack of vigilance while gravely injured—almost made Morin doubt his own eyes.
Kagami might not have been born in Konoha,
but he had certainly grown up under the shadow of the Hokage Rock.
His faith in Hashirama's Will of Fire was absolute—borderline blind.
And most crucial of all—
He allowed Senju Morin to perform medical ninjutsu on him.
On the surface, receiving treatment from a comrade seemed normal.
But one must not forget:
The days when the Uchiha and Senju slaughtered each other had ended barely twenty years ago.
Many shinobi who carried blood-deep hatred were still alive.
What's more—
Mystical Palm was classified as A-rank for a reason.
It wasn't simply "sending chakra into the wound."
The true method required the user to channel chakra through the patient's meridians, stimulating certain cells to accelerate and divide.
A single malicious alteration—too much chakra, or a deliberate twist in its flow—
could destroy the patient's internal circulation, causing instant unconsciousness…
or instant death.
Uchiha Kagami died in that half-dazed, half-trusting state.
And since Senju Morin was trained in medical ninjutsu, he naturally handled the extraction of Kagami's Mangekyō Sharingan himself.
Some joked that the Sharingan was a "hot-swappable part,"
but since he had the opportunity and the skill, Morin preferred to extract the eyes while preserving the surrounding nerves and meridians as cleanly as possible.
Moments later, Morin held a wide glass vial in his hand.
He raised it to eye level, examining it carefully.
Inside the near-transparent nutrient solution floated two scarlet orbs, each adorned with black tomoe—slowly drifting up and down like something alive.
Two Mangekyō Sharingan—
just like that, they were his.
No Izanagi.
No desperate counterattack of a dying Mangekyō wielder.
At the same time, Uzumaki Chizawa finished sealing Kagami's body.
He rolled up the massive scroll and strapped it tightly to his back.
All that remained at the scene were the scorched marks of Kagami's battle with the Kumo-nin—
and several dark patches of dried blood on the forest floor.
"Next… it's time to find our Hokage."
Senju Morin looked north, as if his gaze pierced the dense forests beyond.
---
Meanwhile — Southern Lightning Country
Viewed from above, the terrain gradually shifted:
the jagged mountains and rocky hills typical of the Land of Lightning softened, giving way to lush, thriving forests.
But the quiet woodland atmosphere had been replaced by a chilling, murderous tension.
A lone kunai was lodged crookedly in the grass—
as if someone had tossed it aside without care.
In the next instant, a white-haired man with sharp red eyes and red markings across his cheeks and jaw appeared out of nowhere, yanking the kunai free.
Space–Time Ninjutsu.
There was no mistaking him—
Senju Tobirama, the Second Hokage of Konohagakure.
He didn't pause. After retrieving the kunai, he sprinted southwest—toward the Land of Frost.
Even after half a day of continuous battle, Tobirama had not fallen.
Instead, the Kumo jōnin assisting the Gold and Silver Brothers had disappeared one by one.
Short-range Flying Thunder God didn't consume much chakra—
but its sheer lethality forced any opponent onto the defensive.
Compared to the future "Yellow Flash" Minato and his straightforward tactics,
the original "White Flash" Tobirama was far more terrifying.
After all, when a master of forbidden jutsu closes in on you,
you never know what he might leave on your body.
Most shinobi would gladly take a direct Rasengan over getting tagged with a seal that could allow infinite summoning or infinite explosions.
Behind him, furious shouts echoed through the forest:
"Senju Tobirama! Is running all a Hokage can do?!"
"You pathetic coward!"
"It's useless! My troops have already caught up to your students—not a single one of them will return to Konoha!"
"That bastard…"
Kinkaku's face was twisted with rage.
Their six treasured Sage Tools—normally unstoppable—had failed to work properly in this fight.
Even after forcing Tobirama to utter key words, they couldn't compel him to say the trigger they needed.
And once the initial clash ended, Tobirama started slipping away with relentless space–time jumps—
slippery as an eel.
"Use that ability, Ginkaku! We don't have time to waste!"
Kinkaku roared, watching Tobirama vanish again.
With a final glare at the two glowing characters on the Seven-Star Sword, he abandoned the idea of sealing the Hokage with the Sage Tools.
He had to kill Tobirama now and return home to stabilize Kumogakure.
Compared to his brother's anger and anxiety, Ginkaku seemed exhilarated.
"Hahahaha! Fine, Kinkaku! Let's tear him apart with the Nine-Tails' claws!"
A surge of violent, malevolent red chakra burst from the brothers' bodies,
thick with hatred and feral malice.
It enveloped them instantly.
Their posture dropped low, limbs braced like beasts.
From their backs, multiple fox tails—formed entirely of bubbling chakra—burst forth, thrashing restlessly.
Having once been swallowed by the Nine-Tails, the brothers were effectively half jinchūriki.
By consuming the fox's flesh, they had gained monstrous chakra reserves—
and the ability to partially transform into a tailed-beast-like form.
Half-transformation granted them explosive boosts in speed, strength, and sensory perception.
"Found him."
Kinkaku opened his eyes, a cruel smile stretching across his face.
His chakra-cloaked limbs tensed—
and he vanished in an instant.
"Hey! Wait for me, Kinkaku!"
Ginkaku shot off right after him, his powerful legs leaving deep craters in the earth as he launched forward.