"Aokumo! Accelerate! Fly at full speed towards the direction I'm pointing!" Aokumo and Ryūfū let out a long cry, then flew in a straight line towards Kumogakure's rear forces.
Meanwhile, Hashirama and Tobirama had encountered Kumogakure's main forces. Just as the Nidaime Raikage was happily envisioning with his brothers how to conquer the Land of Fire, a man in red armor appeared in their field of vision! The Nidaime Raikage immediately ordered the troops to halt, vigilantly watching the man in front of them.
"Who are you?! Get out of the way, quickly!" a ninja beside the Raikage shouted.
Hashirama raised his head, revealing the forehead protector symbolizing a Konoha ninja. "Dare to launch a war against Konoha! Are you prepared for death?!"
Although the Nidaime Raikage had seen Hashirama before, at this moment, he didn't even consider that possibility. After all, he was deeply convinced that Hashirama was truly dead.
"Oh ho! I didn't expect Konoha's intelligence to be quite good; you actually discovered our attack. Where are your troops?" He continued, "Without Senju Hashirama, Konoha Village must be in chaos by now."
Hashirama ignored the Raikage and continued to speak to himself. "When I invited the Shodiame Raikage to the Five Kage Summit, I already stated clearly that I oppose all wars." Shodiame Raikage? Five Kage Summit! Hearing these phrases made the Nidaime Raikage feel a sudden sense of dread!
But Hashirama's next words utterly shattered the Nidaime Raikage's beautiful dream, plunging him into an endless abyss! "You thought I was dead, and thus launched a war against Konoha Village. Isn't this also a betrayal of the treaty?!"
At this point, the Raikage was certain! This man was Senju Hashirama! They had been tricked! And so thoroughly! The vanguard must already be dead; five or six thousand troops just vanished like that!
"Damn it! He's Senju Hashirama!" The Raikage's loud cry did not boost morale; instead, it caused a massive drop in the troops' spirits! Some timid shinobi even fainted of fright on the spot! The title of "God of Shinobi" was not an empty one; it was pure power that forged this designation! And now, Kumogakure would face the wrath of the God of Shinobi!
At this moment, the Raikage was also flustered, completely devoid of his previous confidence. He hadn't expected that the seven or eight spies he sent would all be discovered and even used to relay false information! "Run! Run as much as you can! Get back to the village!" At the Raikage's command, the ten-thousand-strong force instantly scattered like birds and beasts, all the shinobi fleeing into the forest. But then, continuous explosions rang out in the forest!
"You had people ambushed as well!" The Raikage's gaze drifted; he didn't even have the courage to look directly into Hashirama's eyes. "Why not? It seems you don't intend to leave?" The Raikage and his brother beside him stretched their limbs, smiling as they said, "I am the Raikage, your equal! Don't underestimate me!"
"Lightning Release: Lariat!" Intense lightning surged in the Raikage's hands, striking down towards Hashirama. But in Hashirama's eyes, all of the Raikage's movements had already been seen through. After all, he was still just a mere child.
Even during the sparring sessions at the Five Kage Summit, the Nidaime Raikage was the least impressive. His mind wasn't agile, and he was prone to anger; his Lightning Release ninja speed didn't show at all. He was a very mediocre person. He hadn't grown at all since then.
When his first attack failed, the Raikage expended a large amount of chakra to form a layer of lightning armor around himself! This ninjutsu could fully enhance his abilities. Indeed, after using the lightning armor, his speed more than doubled. At this point, he gave his brother a look, and the man immediately understood!
"Liger Bomb!" Both of them extended their arms and rushed towards Hashirama, determined to behead him directly. But they seemed to have overestimated their own strength. The Liger Bomb, on which they had placed so much hope, was easily blocked by Hashirama's bare hands. "Too weak. Your strength, your speed, both are too weak." With that, Hashirama flung the two several meters away.
Around them, some shinobi who had stayed behind out of concern for the Raikage, or fear of the forest explosions, stood rooted. Seeing Raikage in such a sorry state, their fear intensified. They didn't even dare to step forward and help the Raikage up. Though merely thrown, the brothers suffered no significant injuries. Clearly, Hashirama was toying with them; otherwise, they would have been dead long ago. Although the Raikage understood this in his heart, he was helpless, only attempting to find a weakness or opening in Hashirama to escape.
The Raikage now felt that the most regrettable decision of his life was inheriting his father's will. The ambition to conquer Konoha Village was truly too grand, so much so that Kumogakure was now on the verge of destruction. The Raikage didn't know Hashirama's thoughts, but the Land of Lightning this time was certainly doomed to suffer! Perhaps it might even split apart as a result. And he would be the historical sinner! He would be reviled by future generations forever!
The Raikage and his brother used all their available techniques, but they couldn't inflict any effective damage on Hashirama. Because they excelled in taijutsu, each time they were caught by Hashirama by their limbs and tossed aside! In the forest, under the relentless assault of Tobirama's Mutual Exploding Tags, most of the shinobi had turned into ash. Only a small portion escaped, while the rest returned to the Raikage's side. It wasn't out of loyalty, but out of fear of being blown to ash.
Hashirama looked at the disheveled Raikage and the dusty Kumogakure shinobi around him. He felt it was time to put an end to this. He then half-squatted on the ground! His hands clapped together with an astonishing sound! The black markings symbolizing Sage Mode appeared on Hashirama's face in an instant! A powerful surge of chakra erupted around Hashirama! Immediately, the surrounding trees were snapped in half by this chakra, then shattered into splinters!
"Sage Art! Wood Release - True Several Thousand Hands!"
A deafening roar made all the Kumogakure shinobi foam at the mouth and faint, except for the Second Raikage, who was still desperately holding on.
Then! A colossal wooden Thousand-Handed Buddha statue rose from beneath the ground! It instantly obscured half the sky! The nearby forest was shrouded by the enormous shadow of the Thousand-Handed Buddha.
And at this moment, the Raikage truly understood what the God of Shinobi meant! What the true strongest in the shinobi world was! Just one hand of that Thousand-Handed Buddha could smash him into a pulp! The remaining nine hundred and ninety-nine hands could already turn him into a microorganism. The Raikage now held no hope of survival or escape, not even hoping to leave behind a corpse. He gradually closed his eyes, welcoming the arrival of death! He probably wouldn't understand, even in his next life, why such a powerful ninjutsu was used just to kill him alone.
"Summit Enlightenment!"