Chapter 275: Something's Wrong!
Kikyo Mountain, nighttime.
Boom!
A violent explosion rang out. The scent of blood gradually filled the air, yet not a single human voice could be heard.
Compared to the open, daylight clashes, nighttime is the true battleground for ninja operating in the shadows. Neither side held back on using expensive tools like explosive tags. Amid the dense darkness, explosions echoed now and then.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Three light footsteps touched down. Sensing the unfamiliar chakra, a young Namikaze Minato rushed to the spot. He froze for a second when he saw a group of one adult and two children and blurted, "Lord Hashirama?"
According to the plan, the other Konoha would help end the battle, but the Kikyo Mountain conflict erupted so suddenly that there wasn't time to sort out how they'd coordinate the fighting. As a result, Minato had been forced to return closer to the village to join the fray.
But there was no mistaking that powerful chakra and that face—it was undoubtedly the First Hokage.
"Wanna place a bet to see who can take out the Sand shinobi first?" The 'First Hashirama,' currently in his teenage form, asked excitedly, gathering chakra as he spoke.
"That doesn't sound right…" The 'Second Hashirama' looked a bit uncertain. "That kind of wager seems pointless."
It was just like telling Uchiha Madara to his face "I don't want to kill you"—this Hashirama's personality could be, frankly, pretty clueless about tact. He just said whatever he thought.
But since no one knew himself better than he did, the First Hashirama took no offense and laughed. "No, no, how about it's just you by yourself, while Tobirama teams up with me."
Standing behind his brother, Senju Tobirama mostly acted as support back during the Warring States Period, compensating for his brother's relative lack of mobility.
The Second Hashirama hesitated, then grinned. "Sure."
Whatever slight unease he felt instantly disappeared, replaced by the excitement of betting against his "other self."
"Tobirama!"
Before the First Hashirama even finished calling, Senju Tobirama whisked him away with Flying Thunder God.
"Feels kinda odd…" The Second Hashirama muttered to himself. Then, after a few quick Body Flickers, he jumped to higher ground. Sage Mode markings appeared on his face. He sensed that the "other him" was already prepping a jutsu. Knowing he couldn't possibly match the speed of a version of himself equipped with 'Tobirama's' mobility, he decided to go big:
"Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees!" (x2)
From the ground sprouted a massive amount of earth-toned vines—an alarming sight. They swelled in size until each trunk was several meters thick and many hundreds of meters long, blanketing nearly the entire Kikyo Mountain area.
Apart from deliberately avoiding the Konoha defense troops' encampment, the entire field was enveloped by vines and scattered trees springing forth from them.
What… is this?
The young Namikaze Minato, watching this happen, was shaken. One usage of that jutsu alone covered the entire battlefield—no, an area even bigger than the battlefield. Any ninja caught by those vines…
He could sense a ton of chakra signatures getting subdued and passing out once they were trapped.
Is it already over?
"No, this is just the beginning!" The Second Hashirama, apparently picking up on Minato's thoughts through Sage Mode, clapped his hands. "Don't underestimate the other 'me!'"
Boom! Boom! Crack—whoops!
The vines entangled and collided with each other, binding, restraining, grinding. Two identical Wood Releases clashed in a continuous series of snapping sounds.
Next, huge blossoms of pale pinkish-white flowers bloomed atop the vines, scattering pollen into the nighttime breeze, drifting across the battlefield. Just inhaling a small amount left Minato feeling dizzy; holding his breath, he realized he could no longer sense any unfamiliar chakra on the entire battlefield.
In other words, the war was over.
The battlefield had become a stage for a wager—a gamble between the two "Senju Hashiramas."
They're both monsters… Minato felt genuine awe. Even tailed beasts rarely produce instant results on such a scale.
"Well, that's me for you…"
The Second Hashirama sensed that his own Advent of a World of Flowering Trees was being chipped away little by little. Careful observation revealed that the other "him" was sending out Wood Clones in tandem with Tobirama's high mobility. Moving swiftly around the battlefield, they used targeted destruction to seize prisoners—or, in other words, capture the "stakes."
"This kind of bet is actually starting to get me fired up."
He clapped his hands again, and a row of Wood Clones appeared on either side of him. "Great, let's do this!"
"Let's fight to win it back!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
….
Near the Kannabi Bridge encampment, inside a lab…
"Let's see where Jiraiya is…" Link was thinking about Jiraiya when he tapped out a photo. But what appeared was an image of two Jiraiyas collapsed on the ground, darkness covering most of their bodies. Hovering above them was Black Zetsu's face, staring down with an evil grin.
A bad feeling rose in Link's gut.
That photo definitely wasn't showing a location; it was hinting at some kind of danger.
Black Zetsu… Uchiha Madara?!
A sense of crisis washed over Link. He tried his "Hermit Purple" again but still didn't get any usable location for Jiraiya—only the same warning photo.
He quickly tapped out a query for Black Zetsu's whereabouts. This time, the image showed a rainy aerial view of the Land of Rain.
But tracking Black Zetsu is a tall order. Even if you know where he is at one moment, he'll just slip away, possessing some White Zetsu, and run off anywhere. There's no fixed location at all.
Next, let's check on Uchiha Madara. His face turned grim as he activated Hermit Purple once more.
With the camera's familiar click, a blank photo appeared—exactly the same result as when trying to find Senju Tobirama earlier, or anyone who's already dead.
Which leads to the question—at this point in the Third Shinobi World War, is Uchiha Madara actually dead?
The clear answer should be no. Elderly Madara hasn't found a successor yet. Obito's fate has been completely changed—right now, he's still on active missions, so Madara certainly wouldn't have just died. Most likely, he's bedridden on life support, lying low and waiting for a chance.
Could it be that he slipped off to another world?
Link's expression grew serious. Jiraiya still carried an extra "Funa-tsū" scroll, plus three standard shares of Link's chakra. If that fell into Madara's hands… that'd be a real problem.
Recalling how Minato recently caught a White Zetsu while searching for Tobirama:
This is very serious. Link would never make the mistake of underestimating Uchiha Madara, not even in old age.
Wait, the Land of Rain…?
A sudden thought struck Link. No way…
With Hermit Purple still active for a good while, he quickly searched for Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato in this world. He got two photos showing the Land of Rain—and then one blank.
That blank photo must mean Nagato is dead—the Rinnegan—now this is real trouble.
Link shot to his feet, looking grim. "Utakata, tell Sasuke we're heading to the Land of Rain."
"Yes," Utakata answered. Though he had no idea why, he didn't hesitate and vanished in a flash.
Meanwhile, Link's shadow clones began tidying up the lab. Link used Hermit Purple a few more times, then stepped outside into the dark, overcast night, his mood heavy.
If a bedridden Madara on life support somehow reclaimed the Rinnegan, he could definitely restore part of his strength. Add to that the ability to travel between worlds with the Funa-tsū technique…
Well, let's just say Link had a very bad feeling about all of this.
Jiraiya… oh, Jiraiya, why'd you have to run off alone?
If he'd stayed with Minato or Hiruzen, there's no way an old Madara and Black Zetsu could've nabbed him—so why was he targeted? Even if he ended up near Kannabi Bridge, would Madara really make a move so aggressively?
Feels like there's something we're overlooking.
~~~
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