Chapter 53 – The Reaper Comes, But the King Stays for Tea
"Big brother?"
Tobirama's voice was tight.
Hashirama gave the answer he dreaded:
"Strong."
"Maybe even stronger than me and Madara in our primes."
He meant living primes.
He wasn't actually sure.
But that pressure alone?
Neither he nor Madara could knock out elite jonin just by existing.
Tobirama's face darkened further.
Another uncontrollable variable.
One cursed Uchiha brat plus the Nine-Tails jinchuriki was already a nightmare.
Now a monster on par with his brother?
Even the master schemer Tobirama saw only darkness ahead for Konoha.
"And those four women…"
His eyes locked on the black-haired one.
"Another Uchiha?"
The Uchiha crest on her clothes told the story.
He mentally cursed Hiruzen and the elders all over again.
You couldn't even finish a genocide properly?!
You let an Uchiha survive and grow this strong?! Idiots!!
While Tobirama spiraled, Aike reached the barrier.
Under Orochimaru's fascinated stare, he simply placed a hand on the purple flame wall.
A perfect three-meter circle vanished like it was never there.
The group stepped through as if it were a curtain.
"This… this is impossible!"
The Sound Four gaped.
Their unbreakable Four Violet Flames had a casual hole punched in it.
Orochimaru's eyes glittered with hunger.
"Fascinating. Truly fascinating."
"I've never even heard of power like this."
Hiruzen's expression turned to pure venom.
He instantly pinned every change in Naruto and Sasuke on the man in front of him.
That "big bro Aike" from Naruto.
Sasuke's obvious respect.
And the girl—Izumi Uchiha.
Itachi's closest friend, the one who was supposed to die that night.
Suddenly every puzzle piece clicked.
The night of the massacre—when Itachi and the ANBU were ambushed during cleanup.
The mysterious attackers that cost them half their profits and dozens of lives.
Izumi had vanished that night.
Never found, even after searching the entire shinobi world.
Now the culprit stood right in front of him.
Hiruzen's eyes nearly split from rage.
He blamed Aike for at least seventy percent of tonight's apocalypse.
His kill list just got longer.
While everyone was distracted by the new arrivals, Hiruzen finished the seals he'd started earlier.
"I'm sorry, Lord First… Sensei…"
"I made too many mistakes and dragged the village into this hell. As Hokage, I will take responsibility."
Resolve hardened.
Shadow clones he had prepared in secret lunged at every target.
"Orochimaru, Naruto, Sasuke—"
"I turned you into what you are today. But for the village, I cannot let you live."
"Come with me to hell!"
At that moment, Hiruzen finally looked like a Hokage.
"Sealing Art: Reaper Death Seal!!"
A deathly chill flooded the barrier.
Ghostly chakra materialized.
To everyone except the caster and Aike, an enormous white figure with a knife in its mouth now stood among them.
Thanks to Edo Tensei restrictions, the first souls the Reaper grabbed were Hashirama and Tobirama.
"That's the Uzumaki clan's forbidden seal?" Hashirama raised a brow.
"Costs the soul, right?"
"Reaper Death Seal," Tobirama confirmed, arms crossed, letting the clone drag him forward.
"Hm. At leas
t he's finally acting like a Hokage."
He glanced at Aike.
"But against someone on that level… this technique might not work."
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