"Tsk tsk… Bloodline Disease? Now that's interesting."
Kai stared at the notification in front of him, a silent mmp stuck in his throat.
Getting the black trait Insomniac earlier had already been bad enough.
And now another one—Bloodline Disease.
Sure enough, when you walk by the river long enough, your shoes will eventually get wet.
For a growing boy who loved basking in sunlight, absorbing the essence of heaven and earth, and getting taller—
Not being allowed to sleep?
That was basically the same as the sky collapsing.
And now there was another troublesome condition affecting his body.
Kai had actually thought about the cause of Bloodline Disease before.
One possibility was that Kimimaro's body had originally been perfectly healthy.
After all, although his regenerative ability couldn't compare to Kaguya's, it still far surpassed most people in the ninja world.
Ordinary diseases would find it almost impossible to invade his body.
As for the Shikotsumyaku he cultivated…
It was essentially a weakened version of Kaguya's All-Killing Ash Bones.
Originally, even if a normal human body practiced the degraded Shikotsumyaku, the regenerative ability would likely prevent any serious problems.
But the real issue appeared later—
When the Cursed Seal energy from Jugo was injected into his body.
And what exactly was Jugo?
A living Sage Body.
In other words, once the Cursed Seal entered Kimimaro's body, the combination of Shikotsumyaku and Sage energy created a strange chemical reaction—
All-Killing Ash Bones.
Unfortunately, All-Killing Ash Bones had one extremely unfriendly property.
Anything it touched—
Died instantly.
And those bones existed within Kimimaro's blood and body.
In a sense, that was also one of the reasons behind his Bloodline Disease.
"So… can I split Bloodline Disease (Black) into All-Killing Ash Bones and Shikotsumyaku?"
After thinking for a moment, Kai casually asked.
Unfortunately, the system gave no response.
He wasn't discouraged.
Instead, he immediately said,
"Fuse Bloodline Disease (Black) and Insomniac (Black). Do it now. Immediately. Right now!"
Except for special traits that came with his body, most traits he copied or seized could be fused directly.
And since he didn't need the passive effects of either one—
Kai decided it was better to combine them.
[Trait fusion in progress.]
[Fusion successful. Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the special trait: Yin Release — Tormentor (Black). Inject Yin Release chakra to awaken the world.]
Inject Yin Release chakra?
Awaken the world?
Kai paused at the explanation.
He had expected the effects to either remain the same or stack together.
Or perhaps one trait would simply dominate the other.
But instead, he had obtained a Yin Release trait—and it was called Tormentor.
What the hell?
Was the system trying to turn him into some kind of sadistic anime villain?
Kai rolled his eyes and casually patted Kimimaro on the shoulder.
"Actually… Bloodline Disease isn't that serious."
Remove the Sage energy.
Or remove the bones.
Or—
Wrap the All-Killing Ash Bones in energy to prevent their lethal effect from harming the body's cells.
Of course, he didn't have time to explain all that now.
Because across the battlefield—
A hot yet sinister gaze suddenly drifted over.
Orochimaru.
"So it was him?"
Almost the instant Orochimaru moved, Tobirama looked over again.
"A naturally evil Uchiha brat?"
His voice wasn't loud.
Yet it struck the ears of every ninja in Konoha like thunder.
Everyone turned to look.
Some were worried.
Some remained silent.
And some even showed expressions of schadenfreude.
"That's Lord Tobirama, the Second Hokage!"
"Being targeted by him…"
"Heh. That arrogant Uchiha brat is finally finished!"
"Damn it! I've been pretending to be a grandson for so long. Time to vent some anger!"
Most of those voices came from clans that had recently been investigated and punished.
But many ordinary villagers and civilians were worried.
"Lord Tobirama is said to be second only to the God of Shinobi. Half the forbidden jutsu in the scrolls were created by him."
"If he's targeting Kai-sama… this might be bad…"
"But Kai-sama is really strong too!"
Many civilians who had benefited under Kai's leadership began worrying spontaneously.
After all—
Not every leader cared about ordinary villagers.
"What should we do…?"
In a corner, Yamato looked uncertainly at Kakashi.
"Should we help him?"
Kakashi's face had been calm until he heard that.
Then his eyes widened instantly.
His Mangekyo Sharingan nearly activated.
He stared at Yamato like he was meeting him for the first time.
"I thought only Guy would ask questions like that…"
"Oh no, Kakashi! I wouldn't ask that!"
Might Guy suddenly raised his chin proudly.
But what he said next made Kakashi even more speechless.
"I think we must help!"
"Help the Second Hokage return peacefully to the afterlife!"
Kakashi: …
For a moment, he felt slightly tired.
His friends seemed to be missing something in their heads.
How exactly were the three of them supposed to challenge Tobirama Senju?
With their fearless courage?
In the end, Kakashi sighed and explained,
"Have you forgotten Kai-sama's strength? Lord Tobirama probably isn't his opponent."
As he spoke, he pulled out a small stool, sat down, and began watching leisurely.
A battle between two top-tier Kage-level fighters wasn't something you saw every day.
Kai raised his head.
His eyes met Tobirama Senju's.
Cold.
Calm.
Suppressing intense hostility.
Within that gaze there was no anger.
Only something deeper—
Disgust.
Pure, undisguised disgust.
It was as if Tobirama possessed an instinctive hatred toward the Uchiha clan.
On the rooftop—
Following Orochimaru's gaze, Tobirama finally saw the boy below clearly.
And the Uchiha clan crest on his clothing—
The red-and-white fan symbol stabbed into his vision like a needle.
"Uchiha brat…"
He muttered again through clenched teeth.
The killing intent around his body instantly locked onto Kai.
No questions.
No hesitation.
The moment the Uchiha crest entered his field of vision—
It seemed to trigger a passive instinct.
Kill the Uchiha.
Combined with the suspicion that Kai had killed his disciples—
That was more than enough reason for Tobirama to strike.
Whether the opponent was a child didn't matter.
If he needed to die—
Then he would die.
Without hesitation, Tobirama's hands formed seals instantly.
His speed was so fast it left only afterimages in the air.
Water Release — Severing Wave!
Dense chakra compressed to the extreme within his mouth.
The moment he opened it—
A thin, high-pressure water blade shot out.
It looked slender.
But the cutting force within it was terrifying.
Like the scythe of death harvesting everything in its path.
SHRRRK—
The air split apart.
Dust was sliced to pieces.
Even sunlight seemed to split in half under the blade.
And the target—
Was Uchiha Kai, standing beneath the tree.
More precisely—
His chest.
"Eh?"
Hashirama blinked in surprise.
He hadn't expected his younger brother to attack without warning.
A trace of confusion crossed his gentle face.
Wasn't that reaction a bit excessive?
Even if the opponent was an Uchiha—
You couldn't just attack without asking questions first.
But just as Hashirama prepared to intervene—
The corner of his eye caught Kai's expression.
There was no fear on that face.
"Hmm… does that Uchiha boy have a way to deal with it?"
"Right. If he really killed Tobirama's disciples, he wouldn't be helpless."
Thinking this, Hashirama slowly lowered his hands and watched silently.
Beside him, Orochimaru looked extremely excited.
Even his snake-like pupils had shrunk.
He licked his lips, letting out a delighted hiss.
Clearly—
He loved watching scenes of people killing each other.
He even loosened his control slightly.
"Fight! Fight! Fight!"
"Even if they can only use eighty percent of their power, it should still cause serious trouble for Konoha!"
He licked his lips again, laughing wildly in his heart.
"Let me see it… how will this brat who punched Shukaku and made a Jinchuriki cry react when facing the fastest shinobi in history, the Second Hokage?"
"This is far more interesting than the original plan!"
Below—
Under the tree.
"What pure killing intent… and you didn't even ask for the reason."
Kai shook his head.
A cold light flashed in his eyes.
"Looks like you want another black rod plug."
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