"Tobirama vs. The Second Kazekage."

-----

-----

The Second Hokage suddenly appeared inside the Sand Shinobi camp, casting the Darkness Release: Journey into the Black instantly, covering nearly a hundred meters in shadow. Right after that, Autumn and nine other Anbu followed him into the camp, instantly slaughtering the surrounding Sand shinobi. Without wasting a moment, they rushed toward the Kazekage's location.

Because the two Konoha forces in the front had launched fierce attacks, the Sand had diverted their main forces forward, leaving their rear wide open. The Second Hokage clearly had some kind of chakra-sensing technique that let him detect chakra movements within a kilometer, and he took full advantage of that to quickly approach the Kazekage—he was going for the kill.

The Kazekage soon sensed the Second Hokage's presence. Standing up slowly, he looked toward where the Hokage was and said to the man beside him, Ebizō, "Ebizō, you're in charge of the entire army now. Make sure you destroy both Konoha units. Even if I die at Tobirama Senju's hands, you make damn sure he stays here and dies with me. Got it?"

Ebizō opened his mouth to protest, but the Kazekage cut him off. "Commander vs. commander. King vs. king. If I back down now, there's no point continuing this war." With that, he turned and began walking toward the Second Hokage.

Inside the camp, Tobirama was killing Sand shinobi left and right with ease. No one could survive even a single strike from him. Soon, the surrounding shinobi were too terrified to go near him. Autumn and the other Anbu followed closely behind, cleaning up anyone Tobirama didn't finish. Suddenly, a huge wind blade shot out of the Sand ranks and flew straight at Tobirama. He looked at the incoming attack and sneered. "Still hiding like a coward, huh? Just like before. No matter how far you've come, a weakling like you will never defeat me."

With that, Tobirama released a jutsu: Water Style: Hard Vortex Water Blade. A massive blade of water formed instantly, cutting through the incoming wind blade and slashing toward the Sand forces.

A moment later, a man in ceremonial robes and a square hat with the kanji for "wind" stepped forward and unleashed a jutsu: Wind Style: Great Wind Cut Technique. Violent winds swirled around him and turned into slicing gusts that met Tobirama's water blade head-on, canceling both attacks out.

It was the Second Kazekage.

He tossed aside his hat and looked at Tobirama. "Long time no see, Tobirama Senju."

Tobirama smirked coldly, crossing his arms as he looked down on him. "So even you managed to become Kazekage? Your country must've been real desperate if someone like you was the best they had."

The Second Kazekage didn't get angry. Instead, he chuckled and replied, "You're still as blunt as ever. Honestly, it's a miracle someone like you's still alive. If it weren't for your big brother, your head would've rolled long ago."

Tobirama shrugged arrogantly. "I admit, the First Kazekage was powerful—almost killed me once. But you? You're nothing like him. So, what's it gonna be—one-on-one, or are you bringing backup, coward?"

The Kazekage's face turned serious. "One of my biggest regrets is not fully devoting myself to learning from the First Kazekage. I wasted my youth, and only when I became Kazekage did I finally understand how foolish I'd been. But today, no matter what you say, I've made my decision. I'm challenging you, fair and square—to the death."

This time, Tobirama stopped mocking and nodded with some respect. "Looks like I underestimated you. Fine then—let's settle this properly."

With a sudden release of chakra, the rainclouds above parted and the sky cleared. The Second Kazekage signaled for his shinobi to fall back. Fierce whirlwinds surrounded him as he spoke calmly, "No matter what happens today, I can face the First Kazekage in the afterlife without shame. Let's do this!"

Tobirama vanished and reappeared beside him in a flash, his hands forming water blades that slashed at the Kazekage—only for the Kazekage to dissolve into wind and vanish. A fierce gale erupted around Tobirama, who quickly teleported out using Flying Thunder God. The spot he had just been standing on was obliterated by a sudden tornado.

The Kazekage reappeared at Tobirama's landing point, swinging a giant iron fan. Tobirama parried with one hand, then weaved a hand sign with the other, releasing a series of razor-sharp water blades. The Kazekage pulled back, opened his fan wide, and countered with a gust of wind that sent thousands of huge blades cutting toward Tobirama. Tobirama was forced to dodge and flash away again. He reappeared a few meters away and unleashed Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique—a massive surge of water burst from under him and crashed toward the Kazekage.

The Kazekage slammed his giant fan into the ground and quickly performed a complicated hand seal combo: Earth Style: Great Quagmire. The earth around them softened and rolled into a mudslide that clashed with Tobirama's waterfall—both jutsu canceled each other out.

Tobirama flashed to the Kazekage again, kicking at his head. The Kazekage blocked with one hand and swung his giant fan with the other. The fan's iron blades were sharp like swords, forcing Tobirama to drop and spin, attacking with a flurry of kicks. The Kazekage had to give up the fan, using both hands to block the strikes before retreating and using Earth Style: Earth Spear Barrage, sending countless spikes from the ground at Tobirama. Tobirama leapt up and cut them all down midair with Water Style: Water Blade.

The two split apart again. Tobirama looked at him and said, "Looks like you've gotten a lot stronger since last time. Now it's time I stop holding back." He yelled, "This is my newest taijutsu—Eight Gates Release! Gate of Opening—Open!"

His chakra exploded outward, wrapping around his whole body. In a blur, he rushed at the Kazekage, whose eyes widened at the sudden spike in Tobirama's power. Not daring to slack off, he grabbed his giant fan and swung it with full force. A massive tornado surged forward, but Tobirama didn't budge. Instead, he shouted, "Gate of Rest—Open! Gate of Life—Open!"

Boom—chakra blasted out of him, and the shockwave from it tore the tornado apart. Tobirama charged again.

The Kazekage laughed wildly as Tobirama came at him. "You think your taijutsu is better than mine? Bring it on!" He used a secret technique to harden his body like stone and rushed straight at Tobirama.

They collided—blow for blow.

Tobirama punched him hard in the chest. The Kazekage didn't even try to block—he grabbed his fan again and slashed. Tobirama dodged the fan and kicked him square in the chest, sending the Kazekage flying.

Meanwhile, at the main battlefield:

Ebizō watched as a Konoha ninja wielding a staff plowed through Sand forces like they weren't even there. He sighed, "If my sister were here, maybe she could hold this guy off. But still… six thousand Sand shinobi, and we're getting wrecked by fewer than 1,500 Konoha? Dammit. Please win, Kazekage-sama. If we can beat the Hokage, we can still take the Land of Rain. But if we lose…"

Hiruzen Sarutobi moved like a storm through the Sand ranks, striking fast and deadly. Konoha's forces moved with him in perfect coordination. With Hiruzen's unbeatable taijutsu combined with powerful jutsu, the Sand shinobi had no chance to fight back.

Suddenly, several Sand ninja surrounded Hiruzen and cast Earth Style: Iron Prison. Walls of earth shot up, trapping him. Hiruzen smirked. "You think this'll hold me? Think again!" He stabbed his staff into the ground—it extended instantly, launching him skyward.

But the Sand shinobi had anticipated that. As Hiruzen rose, they hit him with wind and earth jutsu. Forced to land, Hiruzen dodged quickly, but more Sand ninja jumped in close and launched Earth Style: Rock Pillar Prison and Earth Style: Stone Coffin, burying him in layers of earth.

Elsewhere, Mitokado Homura frowned. "Looks like someone smart is leading their side. Saru's in trouble. I'll go help him. You start organizing our troops for a counterattack—we can't let them win the momentum."

Koharu nodded and rushed off, while Homura sprinted toward the battlefield.

Back with the Kazekage—

He was down on one knee, panting heavily, looking up at the Second Hokage standing proudly a few meters away. Frustration filled his heart.

"How did it end up like this? Tobirama's taijutsu is insane. The moment he opened the 'Gate of Pain,' I couldn't even defend myself. Is our Sand Village really destined to stay weak? Why does fate always smile on Konoha? It's not fair!"

Tobirama crossed his arms again and looked down at him. "I'll admit—you've reached Kage-level. But compared to me, you're still miles behind. This taijutsu technique I developed lets me push my body to its absolute limit. And even without my brother or Madara Uchiha, Konoha is still not a force your village can ever dream of matching. Do the smart thing—surrender. If Sand loses someone like you, it'll be a much bigger loss for you than for us."

The Kazekage heard his words and thought of his wife and child, his comrades, the fierce kunoichi Chiyo, her brother Ebizō… then finally, the First Kazekage's face flashed in his mind.

He stood up slowly, smiled at Tobirama, and said, "You don't understand. The future of the Sand Village doesn't need cowards like me. But I can still defend its honor with my life." And with that, he charged.

Seeing him ready to trade his life, Tobirama didn't hesitate. "Flying Thunder God: Killing Blade!" A single-handed water blade slashed across the Kazekage's stomach.

But the Kazekage didn't stop. Ignoring the wound, he grabbed Tobirama's arms, leapt into the air, and held him tightly—both of them falling headfirst to the ground. "Wind Style: Giant Tornado Technique!" he shouted as they spun together midair.

Tobirama realized he couldn't escape. He released Water Style: Clean Water Wave, surrounding them with rushing water and cushioning his fall.

They didn't crash—Tobirama saved himself. But he then landed punch after punch on the Kazekage, each strike crunching bone. Eventually, the Kazekage was embedded into the ground, leaving behind a huge crater.

Tobirama looked down at him, breathing hard. "I take back what I said earlier. You're a worthy opponent." He raised a hand, shaping it into a water blade and drove it toward the Kazekage's heart—

Suddenly, a deafening roar filled the sky. A massive beast dropped from above.

Tobirama spun around in shock. "Shukaku—the One-Tail? You actually learned how to control that thing?!"

A puppet suddenly appeared next to Tobirama, slashing at him with twin blades. He quickly used Water Style: Water Formation Wall to block. As the water fell away, he saw a young girl standing in front of him—surrounded by ten puppets. One had attacked him. Another… was carrying the Kazekage on its back.

The Kazekage barely opened his eyes, struggling to speak. "Chiyo… Why are… you here… Get out of… here. Don't… worry about me…"

"....."