He probably wouldn't understand, even in his next life, why such a powerful ninjutsu was used just to kill him alone.
"Summit Enlightenment!"
As Hashirama's words fell, the hands of the Thousand-Handed Buddha statue began an indiscriminate, destructive assault on the Raikage! Each punch that slammed into the ground created a massive crater! The already crystallized earth around it further demonstrated the immense power of these blows! At this point, nothing could be seen on the ground! Dust flew, wood splinters scattered, and the Raikage and his brother were long gone. They must have been hammered into a pulp during the first attack! With these continuous, indiscriminate strikes now, there probably wasn't even ash left!
The Raikage, a figure who once dominated the shinobi world, died so easily. However, this manner of death was fitting for his status. He must have been filled with regret in his dying moments—regret for his arrogance and blindness. He caused Kumogakure, having only been passed down for two generations, to suffer this catastrophic disaster. He also regretted trusting intelligence too lightly, failing to conduct more detailed research, leading to being led by the nose by Konoha Village and ultimately meeting his demise. The tens of thousands of souls from Kumogakure who died because of him would likely not forgive him even in the Pure Land.
Kumogakure's main forces were all concentrated in this unit, roughly fifteen thousand people, and among them were many strong individuals, even those on the Kage or semi-Kage level. However, they were all shattered by Tobirama. These Mutual Exploding Tags, let alone for Kage-level shinobi, would blast even Hashirama half to death if he endured them. Only those of Six Paths-level could ignore the damage from exploding tags. Hashirama's current strength was neither lacking at the top nor excessive at the bottom; he could barely touch the fringes of Six Paths-level. But truly breaking through the Six Paths-level seemed difficult. However, such strength was already enough for him to traverse the shinobi world without hindrance.
There was no longer a path before Hashirama. The forests on both sides had vanished, leaving only a gleaming, massive crater! This effect occurred because the surrounding land at the edges had been crystallized by Hashirama's Summit Enlightenment. It actually resembled Torifu's Crystal Release.
At this moment, Tobirama also emerged from the forest, visibly panting.
"Tobirama, you're getting old. A short while of this has worn you out so much." Hashirama teased, hands on his hips.
"Hmph! It's easy for you to talk when you're not doing the work; my chakra is naturally not as vast as yours." Hashirama's chakra was boundless; its end was unknown. And he had just used a ninjutsu, but before he even finished it, his chakra had already fully recovered. Who could argue with that? If it were Hashirama controlling Edo Tensei, even tens of thousands more enemies wouldn't make him break a sweat.
"Alright, alright, I'm not teasing you anymore. The Raikage has been killed by me. Next is their final unit. Let's go."
"Mhm!" Tobirama nodded, keeping pace with Hashirama. This war could be said to be incredibly smooth, a complete victory for Konoha Village. They had virtually annihilated Kumogakure's main strength, which would likely be unable to recover for decades to come. They might even fall from the ranks of the Five Great Shinobi Villages as a result.
But no one would feel regret; after all, they brought this upon themselves! If not for the Raikage's greed and foolishness, they wouldn't have met such a fate. It was true that Tobirama used a scheme to lure them first, but if the Raikage had no intention of attacking Konoha Village, today's outcome wouldn't have happened. As early as the Five Kage Summit, Tobirama had noticed that this Raikage successor was impulsive and extremely proud and arrogant. Now, these very flaws had caused his demise.
Time rewound to a little over ten minutes earlier, before Hashirama and Tobirama began fighting the main forces. At this time, Torifu, riding Aokumo, flew to Kumogakure's rearmost unit. Torifu had Aokumo and Ryūfū circle in the air while he observed the situation of the ground troops. The main force had about fifteen thousand people, and this rear guard unit also had a full nine thousand! Torifu couldn't help but click his tongue. Kumogakure had truly gone all out to conquer Konoha Village. They must have called out every single person capable of fighting in the entire village, right?
One should know that Konoha Village's ninja count was only twenty thousand, while Kumogakure's was already approaching thirty thousand! The main force was currently clashing with his teacher and would surely be obliterated. This time, Kumogakure would likely be utterly wiped out! However, this was exactly to Torifu's liking. Villages that casually started wars and invaded others should pay a heavy price!
Torifu aimed at the chosen spot from the sky, then leaped down! He descended directly towards the very center of the rear unit! When he was still fifty meters from the ground, chakra surged violently around Torifu's body! His clothes and hair were disheveled by the wind from his descent, but Torifu didn't care, rapidly forming hand signs! Then! His entire body was suddenly encased in crystal. After the chakra dissipated, Torifu was already enveloped in crystal, transformed into a transparent lotus seed.
At this moment, Kumogakure's forces on the ground also saw the mysterious object falling from the sky! But it was too late for them to dodge! Torifu, now a crystal lotus seed, heavily smashed into the ground! Then his voice emanated from within the lotus seed!
"Crystal Release - Splendid Crystal Crimson Lotus Technique!"
Instantly! The lotus seed shattered with a roar! Revealing Torifu's true form! Then the surrounding ground began to tremble violently! In a flash, countless transparent crystal flower buds burst from the ground! The sharp flower buds directly impaled Kumogakure's shinobi! For a moment, wails and screams filled the air without cease! The flower buds continued to grow, and more and more shinobi were directly impaled and died! Petals stained with fresh blood emerged from the heads of the shinobi! Below the beautiful flower buds were grotesque, dead faces!
This place now resembled hell. Blood flowed down the stems onto the ground, forming a pool of blood! These crimson lotuses seemed to grow directly from a pond of blood. When all the flower buds had finished growing, with a snap of Torifu's fingers, countless flower buds burst open! Beautiful, vibrant lotus flowers bloomed. If not for the corpses beneath the lotuses, this place would truly be a magnificent sight.
This one attack killed more than half of the shinobi! And the remaining shinobi were mostly scraped and injured! Accidentally brushing against a blooming lotus would easily slice them in half. This was Torifu's first time using this ninjutsu. Since he developed it, it had never found a practical use. Now, it seemed quite effective, highly practical, and visually stunning. Just watching countless lotuses bloom in a crimson pond was enough to entrance someone. However, Torifu was the only one enchanted; Kumogakure's shinobi were terrified out of their wits! They didn't know what kind of monster this white-haired youth was!