A kunai sliced across the throat.
Tobirama sighed inwardly as yet another elite shinobi of Konoha died by his own hand.
But something felt off.
To his surprise, Kiyosuke was still standing—he even kicked Tobirama away. His body skidded across the rooftop before coming to a steady halt.
"How is that possible... your body?!"
Tobirama stared in disbelief at the wound he'd just inflicted. Flames burst forth from it, then rapidly repaired the damage.
Kiyosuke said calmly:
"Tobirama-sama, physical attacks don't work on me. You don't need to worry about that."
"I see… No wonder you didn't dodge."
Tobirama suddenly understood. So that's why Kiyosuke hadn't tried to evade earlier—he was immune to physical damage?
"Hmph—boom."
A paper bomb had been planted on Tobirama's chest.
In an instant, his body was blown clean in half.
"Nice one!"
Hashirama cheered loudly from the side, as if it weren't his own brother who'd just been blown up.
"You're up too!"
Orochimaru barked, face darkening, as he forced Hashirama to charge forward.
"Oh ho! Young man, I'm coming! Brace yourself!"
With a single stomp, Hashirama shattered the rooftop.
The brute strength of the Senju Clan's secret techniques gave him terrifying power.
A seemingly ordinary punch instantly blew off one of Kiyosuke's arms.
Rasa arrived just then, attempting a sneak attack.
But Hiruzen Sarutobi intercepted him with a Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bullet, blasting Rasa away.
"The old man here's not just for show!"
Kiyosuke said:
"Third-sama, I'll leave the Fourth Kazekage to you. As for these two former Hokage, I'll handle them. They're not at full power—I should be able to deal with it."
Fortunately, this Edo Tensei wasn't complete.
Tobirama could only use less than half his strength from when he was alive, and Hashirama even less.
That was intentional on Orochimaru's part—otherwise, he might not be able to control them.
And that gave Kiyosuke a fighting chance.
"Oh ho! You've got spirit, young man. And your body is really something else."
Seeing Kiyosuke's arm regenerate, Hashirama was impressed.
"Yeah. It's definitely unique."
"Hahaha, excellent! That's great! Now defeat me just like you defeated Tobirama! As the dead, we're still causing trouble for the living—Tobirama, this jutsu really isn't a good one."
Tobirama's reformed body snapped back:
"Big Brother, shut up! We need this young man to seal us! Can you use sealing jutsu?"
"I know a few… but they're all meant for taking the enemy down with me."
He had both the Dead Demon Consuming Seal and the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique.
But they were last-resort moves, generally not something one would use lightly.
"Uhh…"
Hashirama said:
"Maybe don't use those then."
"Do kids these days not study sealing techniques anymore?"
Tobirama muttered helplessly.
As he spoke, his body began moving involuntarily again.
"Water Style: Water Surge!"
Clapping his hands together, the moisture in the air condensed into a torrent of crashing waves—like an army of thousands—roaring toward Kiyosuke.
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"
The Water Formation Wall blocked the onrushing wave just in time.
"Nice block—that's my improved version of the technique."
Tobirama, highly protective of his intellectual property, commented as he saw the hand seals Kiyosuke had just used.
Then he added:
"Incoming again—this time it's Water Dragon Bullet! Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Warned in advance, Kiyosuke retaliated instantly—fighting fire with fire.
Two water dragons rose into the air and clashed, biting and tearing at each other mid-air.
Kiyosuke rushed in as Hashirama charged over with a grin.
"Oh ho! Here we go, young man!"
With a wide kick aimed at him, Kiyosuke quickly crossed his arms to block and was forced back several steps across the rooftop.
He responded:
"First Hokage-sama, you really pack a punch. But now it's time for me to get serious. Sage Mode!"
Against these two, regular methods wouldn't cut it.
The moment the Sage face markings appeared, Tobirama muttered:
"A different Sage Mode from my brother's? Looks like it's from Ryūchi Cave."
He had studied Sage Mode before.
While he couldn't use it himself, he'd researched it through his brother.
The Senju Clan had a contract with the sacred land of Shikkotsu Forest.
He also knew of the other two: Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave.
Just seeing the serpent-like pupils in Kiyosuke's eyes made it clear this was Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode.
Sage Mode enhanced one's power several-fold.
With this, the young man might actually be able to seal both him and his brother.
Impressive.
Good thing Hashirama couldn't use Sage Mode right now—otherwise, things would be a lot harder.
"Oh ho! Sage Mode? Impressive, young man! Let me give it a shot too!"
Hashirama, as excited as a golden retriever, said something that left both Tobirama and Kiyosuke speechless.
"Big Brother… you can still use Sage Mode?"
"Sure can!" Hashirama replied cheerfully.
"Could you not make things worse?! You still have your own consciousness, don't you?! Edo Tensei doesn't even fully control you!"
Tobirama could tell from the way Hashirama's movements were so lax that the jutsu wasn't tightly restraining him.
Now he wanted to add Sage Mode to the mix?
Was he trying to sabotage them?
"Is this really the First Hokage? Are you sure he's not just an idiot?"
Kiyosuke gave Tobirama a deeply skeptical look.
Tobirama turned his head away, pretending not to know his own brother.
"Hahahaha! It's my first time seeing another Sage Mode—it's kind of exciting! Hahaha!"
Embarrassed, Hashirama scratched his head and gave up on using Sage Mode.
Just as he was laughing, Orochimaru lost his patience.
He immediately took control of Hashirama's body and forced him to attack.
Hashirama clapped his hands together and said:
"Young man, it's Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
The tiles beneath their feet cracked as a sapling sprouted upward.
Even the wood that had once been beams and support pillars responded to Hashirama's powerful chakra, bursting back to life and growing into trees.
In the blink of an eye, a dense forest had taken shape.
The branches moved like living creatures, surging toward Kiyosuke.
"Wind Style: Wind Cutter!"
Massive blades of wind sliced through tree after tree.
Kiyosuke dashed through the forest, avoiding being entangled or trapped.
Within the forest, Hashirama swung from branch to branch like a monkey.
Tobirama moved swiftly beside him, teleporting around with precision.
A kunai embedded itself in the ground at Kiyosuke's feet.
In a flash, Tobirama appeared in front of him—his arm cloaked in spinning water like a drill, aimed directly at Kiyosuke's stomach.
"Water Style: Water Severing Drill! Dodge it!"
Without hesitation, Kiyosuke's body exploded in a fiery blast, scattering flames in all directions and leveling the forest around them.
Out of the rising fire, his form reappeared.
Without missing a beat, he appeared before Orochimaru.
His kunai clashed with Orochimaru's razor-sharp Kusanagi blade.
He said coldly:
"Sensei… undo the Edo Tensei. Otherwise, I'm going to make you understand how it feels."