The malevolent shrine had only one mission: to attack every time Tobirama moved, to try and predict his every move.
Cuts flew back and forth as Tobirama moved from side to side, losing an arm or a leg.
The Second Hokage tried to get as close as possible to the summoned creature because if he wanted to continue fighting with an advantage, he had to get rid of those wounds. Even with the Haorashin, he only had one wound left.
On the other side, Hashirama and Miyu were engaged in an intense taijutsu battle. Thanks to the unique properties of the Edo Tensei and the regeneration beyond their normal level using Katsuyu as an enhancer, the blows they exchanged were healed or simply had no effect.
However persistent the summoned creature's cuts were, Tobirama quickly figured out how to avoid them, or at least dodge them to some extent.
Using the Body Flicker Technique, she closed the distance between the two Wood Release users who were fighting. With a single hand seal, she unleashed a jutsu: a decapitating wave.
Before the water slash reached Miyu, she was cut short, just as Tobirama suspected. The summoning required two things: either potential jutsu or protection for its summoner.
Miyu didn't mind fighting Hashirama, but fighting the Second Hokage at the same time was another matter entirely.
Tobirama grabbed the First Hokage's shoulder to propel himself forward, but Miyu had already formed her hand seals, and a gust of wind knocked them both back several meters.
With this brief respite, Miyu couldn't help but glance at Hitori's position. She was avoiding using highly destructive jutsu, as they could affect her, whether from the same jutsu she was using or from those that might be used to counter her.
Hashirama formed a hand seal, summoning several wooden dragons that rushed at him.
Seeing this, she aimed at the dragons, intending for the malevolent shrine to destroy them, but at that moment, a kunai appeared at her feet.
In the next second, she threw a punch, but the Tobirama who appeared afterward dodged it, pierced her body with his hands, and pulled them out. Multiple explosive talismans surrounded the two.
"This is the true reason for this jutsu," he declared as everything around him exploded in the suicidal attack.
Once the explosions subsided, Tobirama slowly began to regenerate, returning to his original form. He wasn't at ease, sensing his opponent, but everything remained calm.
With a single swift movement, Tobirama was flung at full speed, destroyed by two blows.
"To withstand that kind of attack and possess that kind of strength, for someone so young, is truly admirable," Hashirama exclaimed as he began forming hand seals.
"Don't exaggerate. It's not like I haven't seen something like this before," Miyu said, appearing through the smoke, her clothes mostly torn and her body covered in marks.
"Don't tell me..." he couldn't finish his sentence, as Miyu had already completed her own hand seals.
Tobirama appeared behind Hashirama and vanished in a flash, preventing two torii gates from falling.
Upon seeing this, Miyu could only click her tongue, realizing the missed opportunity to seal the First Hokage.
Behind her, a massive explosion erupted. Turning around, she saw the malevolent shrine destroyed by numerous wooden roots.
What the First Hokage hadn't anticipated was that the remains of these roots would coalesce into a single point, bursting into flames.
Miyu simply pointed at the First Hokage and watched what was about to happen. A flame, akin to the power of a high-level fire technique, hurtled toward him, but at the last moment, Tobirama appeared and pulled him away, preventing the massive explosion that ravaged much of the surrounding area.
The earthen walls protecting Hiroti barely held, even from a distance.
The two Hokage, now safe and out of harm's way, prepared to fight again, while Miyu watched, cursing inwardly.
They might only have about 30% of their power, but that's only useful for some things, like elemental jutsu. What about other techniques?
What's the difference between using the Substitution Jutsu with 30% and 100% of your power? Exactly, there's no difference; with both percentages, the jutsu will always do the same thing.
The same could be said for the Flying Thunder God Technique.
"How I hate the Flying Thunder God Technique," he muttered, preparing for a counterattack.
...
Somewhere in the Land of Fire, Tsunade could be seen drinking while celebrating her impressive winning streak.
"Lady Tsunade, I don't like this at all; Lady Miyu said that when this happens, it means the sky will fall," Shizune declared, trying to keep the Sannin from getting so carried away.
But unfortunately for her, Tsunade wasn't paying any attention.
Shizune was about to say something again, but out of nowhere, a puff of smoke appeared in front of them, revealing Katsuyu, but in her smallest form.
"Tsunade-sama, there's an emergency. Lady Miyu is fighting the First and Second Hokage right now," the slug said.
Those words instantly sobered Tsunade up.
...
Miyu flew backward, quickly recovering as several kunai flew toward her.
She simply drew her own, and they collided with them, nullifying the attack, only for the enemy kunai to vanish; they were mere clones.
Even though they lacked ninja tools right now, they still had jutsu such as Transformation and Shadow Clones.
"Two can play these," Miyu said, creating two wooden clones.
The original Miyu threw a shuriken; the three of them quickly performed jutsu.
"Shadow Clone Shuriken Jutsu," the original said.
"Fire Release: Crimson Nails, Phoenix Flower Flame," one clone exclaimed.
"Wind Release: Great Rupture," the other roared.
This caused a rain of wind-powered fire shuriken in the direction of the two Hokage.
"Water Release: Water Wall," Tobirama replied.
"Earth Release, Earth Wall," Hashirama said simultaneously.
Two walls, one of water and one of earth, were erected to stop Miyu's attack. The water wall extinguished the fire, and the earth wall stopped it in its tracks. Even so, some shuriken pierced the wall, but since it was an Edo Tensei, it had no effect.
Miyu watched this and sighed. Honestly, she was just stalling. As much as she wanted to fight these two, it was incredibly difficult. If it were just one of them, she could defeat him or at least go toe-to-toe with him, even at full power. But since there were two of them, and they were fighting as a team, combined with their greater experience, she couldn't do much.
Every jutsu they possessed, whether technical or combat-based, could be nullified or countered. Even when she managed to land a hit, it was pointless, as she couldn't truly damage them.
Not to mention that the mere fact of using the Flying Thunder God Technique allowed them to avoid techniques that should have been directed at them, something that frustrated her somewhat.
The worst part is that the First Hokage isn't the problem here; the problem is the Second Hokage—too intelligent, too cautious, and too elusive. He was the real problem in this fight.
(Note: I have a reason for praising Tobirama so much; the main one is that he's one of the best strategists in the series. He has enough combat intelligence to grasp things at a glance. Just remember the fight with Obito in his jinchuriki form.)
"Hmm, we should end up winning, right?" Hashirama asked Tobirama.
"We're doing too well, but that's because the terrain and conditions are in our favor, and luckily she doesn't have anything to immobilize us quickly or any technique like that. If this keeps up, we'll only be able to fight for the rest of existence," he replied honestly.
"Miss Miyu, everything ready," came Katsuyu's voice, hidden beneath her tattered clothes.
"Understood, Tsuyu," said Miyu, taking out several smoke bombs and throwing them, creating a smokescreen.
The two Hokage braced themselves for the imminent attack, but nothing happened.
"Huh?" Hashirama stammered, confused.
Tobirama reacted instantly, glancing to the side, specifically to where Hitori was hiding.
Miyu had arrived using the Flying Thunder God Technique from the seal on Hitori's clothes.
"AH!!" she exclaimed in fright upon suddenly seeing Miyu.
"Wood Release: Wood Bunker!" she exclaimed, striking the ground as thousands of roots erupted from her body, enveloping them both and creating a large opening.
Biting her thumb, she formed hand seals, and from a puff of smoke, a massive Katsuyu appeared.
"Hold on to me," Miyu ordered Hitori, who did so.
Miyu quickly climbed onto the slug's back, only to feel the wood bunker being struck. Luckily, using a large amount of chakra in Sage Mode, she made the wood much more resistant.
"We're ready," Miyu said, practically digging her fingers into the summoned creature's body.
"Yes, sir," Katsuyu replied.
A second later, in a puff of smoke, the three of them vanished.
After repeatedly striking the wooden bunker, they managed to open it, but when they entered, they found it empty.
"Now what?" Hashirama wondered.
Tobirmama simply looked at his brother, his face etched with weariness.
...
Outside the city, Tsunade summoned Katsuyu's body, but she didn't appear alone. Miyu and Hitori were at her side, flanking her sword.
"What's going on?" the Sannin asked, somewhat agitated.
"There's no time," Miyu replied, practically throwing Hitori into Tsunade's arms. "I'll come find you on the way back."
With that, Miyu vanished in a flash, leaving Shizune and Tsunade confused.
"I imagine you can tell us what's happening?" Tsunade asked Hitori.
"To be honest, I don't really know what's going on either," she replied, leaving the room silent, as no one knew what to say at that moment.
...
Miyu appeared at the Hokage Monument, seeing the entire village destroyed, but with no sign of the Nine-Tails.
This alarmed Miyu, as it could only mean one thing: she was too late.
Using her sensory abilities, she searched for the largest chakra source, which she quickly found.
And with a Body Flicker Technique, she flew as fast as she could to where Minato, Kushina, and the Nine-Tails should be.
As she approached, she saw the Nine-Tails encased in chains, struggling to move.
When she arrived at the wasteland, she could only witness the tragic scene.
Minato and Kushina were being impaled by the Nine-Tails' claw.
She didn't hesitate to jump into the fray, forming hand seals.
"Sage Art: Gate of the Great God," she declared, causing several torii gates to descend upon the tailed beast's body.
One for each tail, one for the body, four for each limb, and a final one for the neck, completely immobilizing the Nine-Tails.
"I see you're late now," Minato mocked, exhausted, blood trickling from his mouth.
"It must be your fault somehow," Miyu replied, approaching the couple. "Don't move; I can still save you."
"You think so?" Kushian asked, trying to be sarcastic, but her exhaustion prevented her.
"Kushina's Nine-Tails has been extracted, and I'm already performing the Death God Jutsu; there's no saving me now, but..." Minato declared, looking at Kushina.
"Minato?" she asked, not quite understanding what her husband meant, but Miyu did.
She swiftly struck her in a critical spot, rendering her completely unconscious.
"I hope she gets to see our son grow up, but I don't think she'll recover that quickly in your condition. But I have no doubt you can save his life; in the meantime, I ask that you take care of my son," Minato said with complete sincerity.
"You talk as if we'll never see each other again," Miyu mocked.
Minato just smiled and finished performing the hand seals.
The Nine-Tails began to transform into chakra, traveling directly into the baby on the altar, whom Miyu finally looked at.
She saw a blond baby boy with three whisker-like markings on each cheek, like a seal on his stomach.
The baby immediately began to cry.
Panesa finished; Minato's eyes widened in shock, and he collapsed to the ground.
Kushina also fell, but Miyu caught her and immediately began medical treatment.
"It's not good to do it here. She's losing a lot of chakra, vital energy, and is extremely exhausted; I'll have to leave her in this induced coma," Miyu concluded, seeing Kushina's condition as she began to heal the wound on her chest.
At that moment, Hiruzen and some ANBU arrived at the scene of the chaos.
"Hiruzen, take Naruto and Minato's bodies to the hospital; I'm on my way. I have to save Kushina's life as soon as possible." With that order given, Miyu disappeared in a flash, leaving the Third Hokage with the Fourth Hokage's body and his son, not quite understanding what was happening.
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At first, I planned for Miyu to be the one who would completely protect Naruto by killing Kushina and Minato, but I realized that given Kushina's condition and everything I've done with the protagonist, including her emotional connection to the couple, she would try to save one of them and even succeed.
If Minato's death seems emotionally underwhelming, it's for a reason, and if you know how Miyu thinks, then you should have an idea of why.