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JST Chapter 267: A World of Enemies
🕑 Added 2025-04-29 15:15:55 +0000 UTC"I see him!"
Sakumo, short blade in hand, charged forward like a phantom, the edge of his weapon ripping violently through the air with a fierce whistling sound!
[Clang!]
Amid the smoke and dust, Tobirama met Sakumo head-on, parrying his strike with a Flying Thunder God kunai.
Their blades clashed, producing a heavy metallic clang.
Tobirama, staring at the cold, expressionless face of Sakumo—who kept his anger and killing intent deeply buried within his eyes—let out a silent sigh in his heart.
Kid...
Do you even realize that because of you, I had to cripple Danzō with my own hands?
But Sakumo knew nothing of this. His short blade danced, leaving afterimages with every strike, each one aimed squarely at Tobirama’s vital points!
Even so, no matter that Sakumo was known as the 'White Fang of Konoha'...
Tobirama, who already possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan and was originally a master of kenjutsu, now wielded enhanced dynamic vision—greatly amplifying his close-combat capabilities!
Moreover, his body contained the power of Kazuki...
As a soul that had spent years alongside Kazuki and trusted him completely, Tobirama had naturally become the first to be imprinted with Kazuki’s soul seal...
Kazuki could not only reclaim that power but could also actively enhance Tobirama at will. In extreme situations, he could even resurrect Tobirama through the imprint—similar to Orochimaru’s Curse Mark, only far more powerful.
Thus...
Saying that Tobirama was a 'Little Kazuki' wasn't entirely far-fetched.
At that moment—
Far across the seas of the Land of Water, deep within the Blackwater Nine-Dragon Coffin, Kazuki sensed through the soul imprint that Tobirama was engaged in battle...
"Oh my..."
Kazuki frowned as he observed the overwhelming force the Konoha crowd had assembled: "Tobirama, don’t get yourself killed like last time. That would seriously mess up my plans."
"After all, this guy’s so weak he even fell into the ambush laid by the Gold and Silver Brothers... I suppose I’ll give him a little help."
Sensing the soul imprint within Tobirama, Kazuki activated their unique ability to transmit power between them, momentarily enhancing Tobirama's strength!
In the midst of his blade clash with Kakashi—
Tobirama suddenly felt an immense surge of power from Kazuki flooding into his body...
In that instant, almost instinctively, Tobirama unleashed a strike using the Uchiha-style kenjutsu, combining it with monstrous strength.
With a single blow, he shattered Sakumo's blade aura and ripped open his chest!
Sakumo was blasted backward, the fury in his eyes burning even hotter.
Having once exchanged swordsmanship tips with Kazuki, how could he not recognize that this technique was unmistakably Kazuki’s style?
No matter how Tobirama tried to explain, the fact that he excelled in Uchiha kenjutsu could not be washed away...
Truthfully, Sakumo was jumping to conclusions a bit.
In reality, the sword styles of Izuna and Tobirama were almost identical at their core—despite having different names and superficial distinctions.
Only Kazuki, who had studied both of them in depth, knew this little secret.
Among the elite Uchiha protecting Shisui, the one at the forefront, Yashiro, was seething with rage.
He had once been deceived by the slander of Setsuna and tried to challenge Kazuki—only to be utterly crushed!
Strictly speaking, Yashiro had been the very first shinobi Kazuki had ever beaten down after arriving in the shinobi world...
Thus, Yashiro had an extremely vivid impression of Kazuki’s heavy sword style—and he often bragged to his clansmen about having once crossed blades with Kazuki!
There was no way he could mistake that swordsmanship!
And for Tobirama, that damn old ghost, to use Kazuki’s signature technique right in front of the Uchiha...
It was utterly unforgivable!
This was an outrage that could not be tolerated!
Senju Tobirama—
You have insulted the Uchiha Clan far too much!
At that moment, all of Yashiro’s remaining rationality was shattered—
Now, all he wanted was to wield his blade and smash Tobirama’s body to pieces and destroy his very soul!
The three tomoe in his eyes merged into a single seamless pattern, from which a lightning-shaped Mangekyō pattern began to emerge...
In less than fifteen minutes since Tobirama had appeared, two new pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan—something that hadn't been seen in over forty years since Konoha’s founding—had already awakened!
It had been Tobirama who established the Konoha Military Police Force and restricted the Uchiha Clan...
And it was Tobirama who most powerfully stirred the emotions of the Uchiha!
After Hatake Sakumo was forced back by Tobirama's blade, Yashiro pounced like a ferocious tiger!
"Watch out, Yashiro!"
Hatake Sakumo cried out in alarm, shouting: "Senju Tobirama possesses Kazuki's swordsmanship and part of his power!"
Hearing the name 'Kazuki', a deep pain stabbed through Yashiro’s heart.
That bastard!
Overwhelmed by extreme rage, Yashiro poured all of his ocular power into his assault. Black blood streamed from his eye sockets in thick rivulets.
Even if it meant going blind today—so be it!
A ghostly, dark-grey aura coiled around Yashiro’s body, and under its influence, his strength and speed surpassed even that of Hatake Sakumo!
This was the ability of the ocular technique residing in his left eye—Kanayano!
In the myths of the shinobi world, Kanayano was the deity symbolizing the power of the wild plains. As an ocular technique, it dramatically enhanced his physical attributes, almost as if he had opened the Eight Gates!
In his heart, Yashiro’s burning desire for revenge had manifested this technique.
And entwined around his blade was crackling lightning.
This was no ordinary Lightning Release—it was the power of his right eye's ocular technique, called Takeru no Kami!
Its ability was to unleash lightning capable of damaging both the body and the soul, aiming to annihilate Senju Tobirama completely!
Yashiro and Tobirama clashed fiercely once again!
This time, even with the monstrous strength granted by Kazuki’s modifications, Tobirama found himself overpowered!
The violent lightning wrapped around Yashiro’s blade made Tobirama’s scalp tingle in alarm.
That lightning wasn’t just threatening his body—it made even his soul tense with fear.
In their exchange, Tobirama, having been suppressed by Yashiro’s raw strength with the very first strike, quickly fell into a disadvantageous rhythm.
In truth, it was an unfair fight.
Tobirama couldn’t unleash a killing blow against Yashiro—no matter what, he was still a fellow Konoha shinobi, a valuable asset...
Moreover, Tobirama knew full well that Yashiro was practically Kazuki’s most loyal 'hound'.
But Yashiro had no such reservations.
Recklessly pushing Kanayano’s power to the limit without caring whether his newly strengthened body could endure it, he fought Tobirama with a do-or-die ferocity!
Revenge—
Revenge was all that consumed his mind!
"That sword technique just now... it was Kazuki’s power aiding me..."
Feeling the sensation of that previous fluid strike, Tobirama came to a sudden realization.
He understood now that Kazuki’s power existed within him...
Otherwise, where would he have gotten his Mangekyō Sharingan?
He hadn’t expected Kazuki to leave him such a 'gift' upon resurrection.
Taking a deep breath, Tobirama no longer felt like expressing gratitude.
At this point, their bond was beyond words.
"That damned monkey... he’s riled everyone's emotions to such an extreme..."
"I have to find a way to defeat them first, to calm them down enough to listen to me!"
"I’ll have to rely on the power Kazuki left me for now!"
Facing Yashiro’s berserk assault, Tobirama chose to fully relax his body and mind, allowing the power buried deep within his soul’s imprint to surge forth.
At that moment—
Kazuki, deep within the Blackwater Nine-Dragon Coffin, was also channeling strength into him.
"Let the fight erupt. Let it erupt violently..."
Kazuki murmured to himself: "Without a fierce clash, there would be no catharsis. In just this short time, already four ocular techniques have awakened..."
"But with so many precious seedlings in my garden, I can't afford casualties. When it comes to restraining without killing, Tobirama is far more reliable."
Compared to trusting that the Konoha shinobi, in their emotional frenzy, would show mercy to Tobirama...
Kazuki still believed that Tobirama was the one truly capable of controlling the overall situation.
After all, the two had spent so many years together.
Surely, even an inherently sinister old ghost like Tobirama would have picked up a few tricks from Kazuki by now, right?
After Kazuki's power began flowing into him...
Tobirama’s eyes suddenly widened. His body swiftly retreated as he brought his palms together in a forceful clap!
A faint purple eyeshadow appeared across Tobirama's face, and in an instant, he entered the Sage Mode!
Tobirama clumsily formed a series of hand seals.
At that moment, it was as if an unconscious Kazuki, acting purely on instinct, was helping him fight from within!
Tobirama was still trying to adjust to this new sensation.
In the past, it had been him who granted Kazuki power...
But now, the times had changed—
It was he who needed to receive power from Kazuki!
Taking a deep breath, Tobirama puffed out his cheeks.
A crimson chakra dragon, clutching a black orb was released.
The red dragon spiraled through the air and pierced the black orb. In the next instant, a tremendous explosion erupted, releasing an intense blinding light and an unbearably shrill noise!
Yashiro’s vision immediately went blood-red and white.
The noise not only deafened him but made his very bones tremble, causing searing pain even at the slightest movement.
Already strained under the overwhelming amplification of 'Kanayano', Yashiro’s body had been barely holding together through sheer emotional willpower for Kazuki's sake...
But under the impact of Tobirama's attack, even he could not resist any longer.
Tobirama’s follow-up attack arrived immediately afterward—a heavy punch to Yashiro's abdomen—deliberately nonlethal but enough to knock him out cold.
'Sorry, but your ocular techniques are far too dangerous...' Tobirama thought silently as he watched the lightning from Yashiro’s blade fade away.
Lightning capable of harming the soul—if he had been struck by that, it wouldn’t have been a mere matter of injury.
And if something happened to him, who would be left to shoulder the responsibility of rescuing Kazuki?
Choosing the lesser of two evils—
To convince Konoha’s people to listen to his explanation and act quickly to save Kazuki, Tobirama had no choice but to be a little extreme.
"Sure enough, Senju Tobirama is born evil..."
Lying on the ground, Yashiro glared viciously at the Second Hokage. Even though his vision was still completely blurred by white light, he cursed fiercely: "Another technique designed specifically to target the Uchiha Clan, you bastard! But let me tell you..."
"Now it's not just the Uchiha who want you dead—it's every single shinobi in Konoha!
The village has already become one big family!"
"You plotted against Kazuki—now everyone will want to kill you!"
Tobirama genuinely didn’t know what expression to show.
The good news was that the Uchiha Clan had truly and completely integrated into Konoha, becoming a vital and irreplaceable part of the village.
The bad news was...
The entirety of Konoha had now united against him!
