Chapter 775: What Did You Just Say?
"Ugh!"
Izuna clutched Tobirama beside him, and upon landing, he immediately felt nauseous and wanted to vomit.
In less than twenty seconds, Tobirama had taken Izuna, repeatedly activating Hiraishin no Jutsu, teleporting to the Daimyo’s residence.
Such high-intensity spatial displacement was far more intense than seasickness.
Tobirama himself was accustomed to it, with high resistance, so he was fine.
But for Izuna, this was undoubtedly his first time.
And this first time was too brutal!
Too cruel!
Izuna was completely unprepared.
Especially since it was over ten consecutive Hiraishin jumps, crossing thousands of kilometers, straight from Konoha Village to the Fire Nation Daimyo’s residence.
It was like someone who’d never sailed boarding a ship to cross an entire ocean.
Vomiting and diarrhea were normal.
Izuna only felt nauseous and dizzy, which already showed his extraordinary resilience.
"Tch! Weakling, just a few jumps and you’re done for..."
Tobirama brushed off Izuna’s hand, mocking with arrogance and disgust.
"Senju Tobirama, you bastard! Ugh~"
Izuna cursed while retching, increasingly convinced Tobirama was deliberately tormenting him, though he had no proof.
But after landing, the dizziness and nausea quickly subsided. At Izuna’s ninja level, his overall qualities were exceptional, incomparable to ordinary people.
"This is the Daimyo’s residence?"
Izuna looked around, finding himself in a grand palace.
The left side of the palace was destroyed, likely by a ninja jutsu, and the palace floor bore many battle scars, clearly indicating a fierce fight had just occurred.
Izuna had never been to the Daimyo’s residence and didn’t know this was the imperial palace.
But it didn’t seem like a trap.
Tobirama hadn’t tricked him, which was good news.
"This is the imperial palace in the center of the Daimyo’s residence. If you’re too weak, step aside and wait for me to handle things..."
Tobirama was about to mock Izuna again but suddenly stumbled, nearly falling.
Izuna caught the weakened Tobirama, looking suspicious.
"What’s wrong with you?"
"None of your business. I’m just a bit tired..."
Izuna could sense Tobirama’s current weakness—not only was his chakra low, but he was spiritually exhausted.
Like when they fought day and night back then.
Logically, hadn’t the war ended? Who could Tobirama have fought so fiercely and long?
Tobirama hadn’t fought long but was sleep-deprived and exhausted.
Months of continuous sleep deprivation, handling government affairs daily, planning assessments, reviewing performance...
Even with Tobirama’s iron kidneys, he couldn’t withstand such consumption. Chakra is a blend of physical and spiritual energy.
In this exhausted state, Tobirama’s body was indeed failing, and after multiple Hiraishin uses, he was clearly drained.
"It’s only been a few years, and you’re this weak? Pathetic dog!"
Izuna couldn’t resist mocking. Just as Tobirama seized every chance to taunt him, seeing Tobirama in such a pitiful state, how could he miss this opportunity?
"You...!"
Tobirama was slightly angry but restrained himself, continuing:
"No time to argue with you—saving Naori and the others is top priority!"
"You care that much about an Uchiha ninja? Another trick?"
"Believe it or not, they’re now part of Konoha Village. I won’t let my people get hurt!"
"..."
Izuna rarely fell silent.
He saw immense determination in his archenemy Tobirama’s eyes, last seen when he was killed.
This showed he was genuinely serious!
"Hmph! My clan members aren’t your responsibility to protect—I’ll save them myself!"
Izuna snorted arrogantly, no longer arguing with Tobirama.
He instantly entered focused combat mode; whether to save his clan members or to outdo Tobirama, he had no reason to just watch.
"There’s battle noise and chakra outside!"
"Leave it to me!"
"And you, don’t die here, or Hashirama will think I killed you."
Of course, Izuna wanted to kill Tobirama for revenge, and this was a great chance, but reason told him not to.
At least, he’d wait until he’d seen Konoha’s achievements firsthand before deciding whether to take revenge on Tobirama!
Besides, what if this was another of Tobirama’s tricks?
Using his own life to frame someone else—he wasn’t above such tactics...
*WHOOSH!*
Izuna rushed out of the palace, charging toward the battlefield outside.
"Wait... you idiot!"
Tobirama saw Izuna charge out alone and grew anxious.
He hadn’t even confirmed if there were enemy traps? Rushing in like that was utterly foolish!
(No wonder he lost to me like a pig!)
What could he do? Even exhausted, Tobirama had to hurry after him.
On one hand, he worried something might happen to Izuna; on the other, he wanted to personally deal with those bastards Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
Not to prove anything.
But his lost pride—Tobirama vowed to reclaim it with his own hands!
But as Tobirama prepared to leave, he inadvertently noticed a ’special mark’ left in the palace...
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Izuna exited the palace, quickly locking onto the battlefield and enemies.
There were multiple battle zones.
From afar, fires and thick smoke rose in the city, clearly showing Kumogakure ninjas weren’t fools. On one hand, they attacked and caused chaos across the city to draw attention.
On the other, the main assault force stormed the imperial palace at the city’s center, aiming for a decisive strike!
This was very much Kumogakure’s style—decisive and ruthless.
The assault team in the imperial palace was led directly by Kinkaku and Ginkaku, with ten elite Jounin.
Though Kinkaku and Ginkaku’s team succeeded in their attack, destroying Tobirama’s clone, Konoha wasn’t easy prey. Over ten Senju and Uchiha ninjas emerged, encircling Kinkaku and Ginkaku’s forces, trapping them in the imperial palace.
They were now fiercely battling inside, with many buildings destroyed, the scene utterly chaotic.
Izuna ignored the chaos outside the palace and directly targeted the enemies within.
Several Uchiha ninjas fighting noticed Izuna immediately.
"That’s... Izuna-sama!"
"Must be a fake, right?"
"Idiot, that’s the Mangekyou Sharingan—try faking that!"
"Izuna-sama is alive?!?"
Most Uchiha ninjas here had fought and survived the Warring States Period with Madara and Izuna—how could they not recognize their second leader!
An Uchiha ninja team leader retreated from battle, rushing to Izuna’s side.
"Izuna-sama!"
"What’s going on? What happened?" Izuna asked anxiously.
"We..."
The Uchiha ninja was about to speak but, upon opening his mouth, fell into Izuna’s Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan genjutsu.
How could verbal reports be faster than genjutsu?
With one glance, all information could be known in seconds—far quicker!
This Uchiha’s three-tomoe Sharingan couldn’t resist Izuna’s Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.
Though a bit rough, in special times, special methods were needed; they were all allies, and a little genjutsu to boost resistance wasn’t bad.
Quickly, Izuna learned everything through genjutsu.
Konoha had stationed no small number of ninjas at the Daimyo’s residence—over thirty, the lowest being Chunin, including many elite Uchiha and Senju ninjas.
Konoha had detected traces of Kumogakure ninjas infiltrating the residence.
Initially, they received orders not to attack proactively, deliberately letting Kumogakure ninjas enter the imperial palace.
To ensure they’d bear the blame for attacking the Fire Nation Daimyo’s residence and killing the ’current Daimyo’!
Sadly, Tobirama’s devious plan miscalculated!
On one hand, he didn’t expect Kinkaku and Ginkaku to lead the team; on the other, he didn’t account for Izuna’s revival timing.
This caused the real Tobirama to rush back to Konoha, disrupting the Daimyo residence plan.
Not only did it fail to pin the blame on Kumogakure, but it also led to Uchiha Naori being captured by the enemy!
Yes.
Konoha ninjas hiding outside the palace didn’t know how the battle inside unfolded earlier, nor that the real Tobirama had left the residence.
They only saw Kinkaku and Ginkaku leading the assault team into the palace.
Soon after, the enemies who should’ve been dealt with by Tobirama emerged from the palace, having captured Naori!
Seeing this, the Uchiha ninjas couldn’t hold back. Despite no orders, they proactively attacked, trying to save Naori.
What could they do? To most Uchiha ninjas, Tobirama was untrustworthy; they’d only recently cooperated on missions out of respect for Naori and Madara.
Now, with Tobirama’s whereabouts unknown and Naori captured, the Uchiha ninjas suspected a Senju conspiracy.
That’s why they boldly attacked.
After the Uchiha ninjas attacked, other Konoha ninjas, including Senju, were forced to join, collectively stopping Kinkaku and Ginkaku’s forces.
But Kinkaku and Ginkaku were ferocious, with Kage-level strength and the Treasured Tools of the Sage of Six Paths.
Even against over ten elite Konoha ninjas, they held a significant advantage.
To avoid prolonged issues, the cunning Kinkaku took Naori, relying on the Banana Palm Fan’s power, and escaped first!
He even took the ’current Daimyo’ of the Fire Nation, reanimated via Edo Tensei.
Thus, evidence of Tobirama killing the Daimyo and controlling him with Edo Tensei, plus proof of Uchiha ninjas controlling Fire Nation nobles with genjutsu.
If these two pieces of evidence reached Kumogakure and were presented to the Land of Lightning, they’d not only complete the mission but also expose Konoha’s evil deeds, pushing them against all nations, even rallying all countries to crush Konoha together!
Such critical witnesses and opportunities—Kinkaku wouldn’t let them slip.
So, he left his hot-tempered brother Ginkaku to keep fighting while he, with the witnesses and some subordinates, escaped the Daimyo’s residence first, heading back to Kumogakure.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
"So that’s what happened?"
"Stupid Tobirama, what an idiot!"
After learning this, Izuna couldn’t help cursing Tobirama’s stupidity.
Holding a winning hand yet playing so poorly.
Utterly embarrassing!
But Izuna also knew Tobirama’s plan and arrangements were actually sound; if the real Tobirama were there, even with Kinkaku and Ginkaku’s unexpected joint attack, he wouldn’t have lost.
At least Naori and the Edo Tensei Daimyo wouldn’t have been captured.
Sadly, Tobirama’s calculations couldn’t account for the luck variable, which tied him up with Izuna’s revival.
Or rather, against Kinkaku and Ginkaku, Tobirama, always unlucky, was just short of fortune.
Of course, Izuna wouldn’t blame himself—he could only blame Tobirama’s idiocy!
But that wasn’t the main point now.
How to quickly fix Tobirama’s mess and save the Uchiha clan member was the priority!
"Uchiha ninjas, fall back—let me handle that Ginkaku!"
Izuna shouted, pulling back several Uchiha ninjas.
In minutes of fighting, four Konoha ninjas had fallen, including one Uchiha and two Senju, showing Ginkaku’s strength.
Other Konoha ninjas continuing the siege would only add casualties.
Ginkaku and Kinkaku, with Sage of Six Paths bloodline and free use of the Treasured Tools, had chakra rivaling the Uzumaki clan—ordinary attrition battles couldn’t take them down.
Plus, they were protected by ten Kumogakure Jounin, now down to eight.
Hearing Izuna’s order, the five Uchiha ninjas retreated immediately, and other Konoha ninjas stopped pursuing, gradually approaching Izuna.
"Oh? Another Uchiha ninja who doesn’t know his place?"
"Kids! Hold off the other Konoha ninjas—I’ll take out their leader!"
"Might as well dig out a few more Sharingan pairs to take home!"
Ginkaku’s fighting spirit blazed, grinning ferociously.
After killing four Konoha ninjas, he didn’t feel the enemy was strong at all.
The so-called Warring States Period champions, the ’Iwagakure destroyers,’ were just Konoha and Fire Nation hype—mere village chickens!
Arrogantly bypassing other Konoha ninjas, Ginkaku tied the Golden Canopy Rope in his left hand, wielding the Seven Star Sword in his right, charging Izuna alone.
Izuna didn’t dare underestimate him.
Most of his life was spent in the Fire Nation, fighting his archenemy Senju clan, always at a high level.
In the entire Fire Nation, only two were stronger than him—Tobirama wasn’t one.
So he wasn’t clear on how strong other nations’ champions were.
He’d heard Kumogakure was a major village that pacified the Land of Lightning’s chaos, and Kinkaku and Ginkaku were super generals under the First Raikage—they couldn’t be underestimated.
So Izuna didn’t hold back, unleashing full power.
His eye power surged wildly, activating the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. A complete blue Susano’o, Form Four, rapidly rose from the ground and formed!
Having just gained the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, Izuna’s eye power was far from Madara’s, unable to activate a perfect Susano’o.
But the complete Form Four Susano’o could still be summoned.
This power alone surpassed Kage-level, stepping into Super Kage territory!
The dozens-of-stories-tall Susano’o rose, exerting overwhelming pressure; a mere gust knocked nearby ninjas off balance.
Ginkaku, charging at Izuna, saw the massive complete Susano’o, his heart trembling.
But he forcibly convinced himself.
"Genjutsu! This must be genjutsu!"
"It’s all fake!"
"Uchiha Sharingan genjutsu can’t be trusted—nothing can beat my Treasured Tools of the Sage of Six Paths!"
Ginkaku kept charging Izuna, trying to pierce the Susano’o and deliver a fatal blow with the Treasured Tools!
At the same time, Tobirama, having checked the palace’s traces, arrived outside.
Seeing Ginkaku attack Izuna, he quickly warned:
"Watch out for that bastard’s Golden Canopy Rope and Seven Star Sword—they’ll—"
*SWOOSH!*
The complete Susano’o raised its massive right palm, slamming down hard. Air friction at dozens of times the speed of sound formed a huge fiery ring, the shockwave spreading like tangible waves.
*BOOM!*
A deafening explosion erupted!
The ground caved in, rocks shattered, and a giant spiderweb-like crater spread rapidly. The shockwave cleared the smoke, the air seeming to solidify into transparent ripples, then forcibly shattered by an invisible force!
And Ginkaku, who was charging, was nowhere to be seen.
Like a reckless mosquito, he was smashed into the ground by Susano’o, exploding into a pulp of flesh!
Then, Izuna inside the Susano’o tilted his head, looked at Tobirama, and asked, puzzled:
"What did you just say?"