"Big brother… farewell…"
At that moment, Tobirama's soul began to rapidly disintegrate.
Hashirama, with his Edo Tensei body, would not be harmed by this technique.
But it could kill Kaede!
As Tobirama slowly closed his eyes, the explosions began to weaken.
However—at the very last second!
In Tobirama's disbelieving gaze, a familiar figure appeared in the distance.
It was Kaede!
He wasn't dead!!!
Tobirama opened his mouth, ready to voice his unwilling question, but he had no chance.
The next moment, his soul was completely obliterated.
Kaede flexed his left arm slightly, somewhat unnaturally, watching Tobirama vanish.
Then he smirked.
"Heh, even at the end, you still had to cause me some trouble."
In that instant, Tobirama's battle instincts had been so sharp that even Kaede was forced to react.
With explosive tags pasted directly onto him, Kaede could only summon Susanoo for defense.
Yet Susanoo didn't last long.
In desperation, Kaede repeatedly used teleportation to evade.
By relying on the divine power of the God Tree, he endured the full brunt of the countless explosive tags.
Though he couldn't avoid being injured, within a few breaths, his body was fully healed.
The fierce blasts around them now were nothing more than the remnants of a few stray tags.
"As expected… I can't underestimate anyone."
In Kaede's eyes, Tobirama had been nothing more than an ant he could crush at will.
Yet this "ant" had devised countless powerful forbidden techniques, even managing what Hashirama could not—
Leaving Kaede with actual injuries!
Kaede once again raised Kyōka Suigetsu.
By now, his wounds were entirely healed.
On the other side, Hashirama's body had reformed, and in the brief moment Kaede left, he had broken free from Kyōka Suigetsu's control.
"Tobirama…"
Staring at the scene before him, Hashirama's eyes went wide, his voice breaking into a roar.
From the last traces of Tobirama's chakra, he knew—Tobirama was truly gone this time.
Even his soul had been erased.
When Hashirama opened his eyes again, they were filled only with deep hatred.
From the moment Konoha was founded, he had sworn to protect every person in the village.
He had created the village so children would no longer suffer the horrors of war.
He had buried his other brothers with his own hands back then.
And now, once again, he had watched his last surviving brother die right in front of him—
This time, without even a soul remaining!
"Kaede Uchiha!!!"
Hashirama roared, never having hated anyone more in his life.
"Hate me?" Kaede twirled his sword lazily.
"This is the price for interfering in reality."
Kaede's gaze was calm.
"You were already dead—so why worry about the living world?
You gave your all to Konoha in life, and yet in death you still cling to that decaying village.
What's the point?"
But Hashirama ignored his words, his voice filled with fury.
"This village was once my dream!"
As he spoke, the ground beneath him cracked and Wood Release surged forth.
Even without both arms, his combat strength didn't waver.
But before his power could fully rise—
"Farewell…"
Kyōka Suigetsu pierced straight through Hashirama's chest.
The next moment, his soul began to rapidly disintegrate.
"Those under Kyōka Suigetsu… I can control them at any moment," Kaede whispered.
With a boom, the Edo Tensei body shattered, and Hashirama's soul vanished completely.
Kaede looked at the energy swirling at the tip of his blade and smiled.
A complete, vast amount of Six Paths power.
He raised his head toward the sky.
"Thanks for the gift of the Six Paths power, hahaha…"
He knew the Sage of Six Paths was surely sensing everything here.
And now he was certain—the Sage couldn't take action against him directly.
The Sage could only watch in frustration as Kaede grew stronger.
In the Pure Land, the Sage's expression darkened as he stopped sensing.
"Young one… you've truly angered me!"
But no matter his rage, he could not lay a hand on Kaede right now.
"No… I must prepare for both possibilities…"
The Sage closed his eyes, beginning his next plan.
…
"It's… over!"
In the distance, Tsunade and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief, unable to stop smiles from forming.
In the image they saw, Kaede had cut down Hashirama.
That was proof enough—Kaede had won.
In contrast, the Konoha side was drowning in despair.
The man they believed invincible, the First Hokage… had lost.
That meant no one could stand against Kaede.
Their deaths were inevitable.
"It's over… completely over!"
"How could Lord First lose? I don't believe it!"
"What did we do wrong… to bring forth a demon like Kaede Uchiha?!"
…
Tsunade glanced toward the weeping Konoha civilians in the distance, her expression unreadable as she shook her head.
Orochimaru actually smiled.
"It's finally over. Now… Kaede-kun's plan can finally move forward."
Tsunade gave him a sideways glance but didn't ask what exactly Kaede's plan was.
When the time came, Kaede wouldn't keep it from her.
Orochimaru met her gaze and narrowed his eyes in a smile.
"Give the order. Have them retreat."
Tsunade didn't answer, instead looking at the leading Tobirama—an apparent clone.
"Granduncle Tobirama…"
But before she could finish—
Poof!
Tobirama's body burst into smoke.
Her eyes widened. "A Shadow Clone?!"
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed before he let out a faint sigh.
"As expected of the Second Hokage… even in such a crisis, he could still deceive us."
"But it seems… he went to his death."
A Shadow Clone disappearing on contact meant Tobirama had been in trouble, forced to use it.
Which meant… Tobirama was already dead.
"Teacher…!"
Hiruzen's eyes went wide. He realized the same truth.
At that moment, Danzō quietly tugged on Hiruzen's sleeve.
"Hiruzen… let's retreat."
Hiruzen looked at him in disbelief.
Before he could speak, Danzō's tone turned cold.
"With just the people we have, we're no match for Kaede Uchiha.
Let Kagami and Sakumo cover us—only if we survive will Konoha's flame endure!"
Hiruzen fell silent.
Against someone like Kaede, he felt no will to fight.
But… he was the Hokage.
Resolute, Hiruzen nodded.
"You go. I'll cover you."
"I am the Hokage of Konoha. I will stand with them until the very end."
Determination surged from him.
Danzō gave him a deep look and said nothing more.
He knew his old comrade too well.
"Hiruzen… I will not let Konoha vanish."
He reached up, touching the bandaged right eye.
With that technique…
He would not die today.
(End of Chapter)
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