"Fourth, do you understand what you're doing? They are the ones trying to destroy Konoha!" Tobirama Senju charged toward Daniel Davis but was immediately displaced, making him realize it was impossible to approach Daniel. He shifted his focus to Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage.
"Lord Second Hokage, there's no need to say more. I trust Kushina. If she stands with them, she must have her reasons. Besides, I am also very unhappy with what happened to Naruto." Minato's tone grew colder as he spoke.
Don't think Minato lacks a temper. In both strength and intelligence, he is top-tier. He knew what was going on after he became Hokage but couldn't dwell on it due to the circumstances—just like Kushina.
Before the Uzumaki clan was annihilated, they weren't ignorant of Konoha's intentions, but they still had to send Kushina there because they had no other choice. All five Great Shinobi Villages were the same—equally dark. The Uzumaki clan just had to pick the least evil one. Besides, Uzumaki Mito was still alive at the time. Although she couldn't change the clan's fate, she could at least look out for Kushina.
Uzumaki Mito was the wife of the First Hokage of Konoha. Naturally, her considerations prioritized Konoha, much like how in the world of Qin's Moon, the queens of the Qin Dynasty were often princesses of Chu, yet none placed Chu above Qin, even if they wielded significant power.
If things had remained as they were, Minato and Kushina would have continued to devote themselves to Konoha. But now things had changed. As the Fourth Hokage, Minato didn't want to see Konoha destroyed, but his loyalty to Kushina was paramount. He trusted her, and in his heart, she always came first.
Boom.
As Minato spoke, a giant Rasengan formed in his right hand. If Tobirama hadn't reacted quickly by using the Flying Thunder God Technique, he would have been hit directly.
Both Minato and Tobirama were experts in the Flying Thunder God Technique, and during their battle, they had already placed seals around the area. With their skill, they could leave seals with a mere gesture, preparing the ground for future moves.
"Damn that monkey," Tobirama muttered, inwardly blaming Hiruzen Sarutobi. "In such a grand village like Konoha, is it really that hard to take care of someone and keep them satisfied? If nothing had gone wrong, this would've been a brilliant strategy. But now, there's been an unexpected twist."
However, Tobirama quickly regained his composure. There was no point in blaming Hiruzen anymore; the priority now was to find a solution.
The simplest way to break the stalemate was through overwhelming force. But after witnessing the battle between Madara Uchiha and the First Hokage, Tobirama knew this was no longer an option. Madara's Susanoo was currently overpowering the First Hokage.
As for other strategies, Tobirama couldn't think of anything in the short term, especially since the enemy hadn't tampered with their Edo Tensei bodies. On the contrary, they had even strengthened them with the First's cells. This gave Tobirama a very bad feeling—that the enemy was so confident that they didn't care if the Hokage broke free of their control.
If Tobirama were in the enemy's position, he would never have resurrected all four Hokage at once, unless he was absolutely sure they couldn't be controlled. Just reviving the Fourth Hokage alone would have sufficed.
"Soul and willpower—those things truly are strange." Watching the three ongoing battles from afar, Daniel couldn't help but think of Sai's brother, Shin. Breaking free of Edo Tensei's control was extremely difficult, and not even Kage-level figures could usually do it. Yet Sai's brother had freed himself, demonstrating willpower that surpassed many Kage-level shinobi. It sounded simple but was immensely challenging in practice.
Daniel could easily end the fight by suppressing the Edo Tensei revivals when the Second and Third Hokage tried to use the release technique. But he didn't intervene because he had no interest in controlling Madara or the First Hokage. He wanted to face Tobirama himself and had never expected Minato to intervene. After all, Minato was the Fourth Hokage.
"Kushina, Naruto is still in Konoha. Do you really want to destroy it? It's not too late to stop now," Hiruzen Sarutobi kept trying to persuade Kushina as they fought.
"Shut up, Hiruzen! Let me make this clear: whether Konoha is destroyed or not, the Sarutobi clan will not survive. I will personally wipe them out," Kushina's voice was icy cold.
Hiruzen made a fatal mistake by continually bringing up Konoha. He had forgotten that Kushina was a princess of the Uzumaki clan. After seeing the tragedies that befell Nagato and Karin, her heart was filled with fury.
Just as the Second and Third Hokage would do anything for Konoha's prosperity, Kushina, as the princess of the Uzumaki clan, had dreamed of reviving her clan. Previously, she had no way to do this while living in Konoha, but now the situation was different.
"Kushina…" Hiruzen's face grew grim as he heard her resolute words.
"You fear the Uzumaki clan, don't you? I will rebuild it, and the Sarutobi clan will vanish, just as the Uzumaki once did."
"You…" Hiruzen took a deep breath and immediately formed hand signs, creating four shadow clones. The five Hiruzen Sarutobis then began weaving different seals simultaneously.
"Water Release!"
"Fire Release!"
"Earth Release!"
"Lightning Release!"
"Wind Release!"
The combined might of his five-elemental technique surged forth. Hiruzen had realized that there was no convincing Kushina anymore. In the shinobi world, most clans sought to revive themselves at all costs. Konoha itself was a collection of large clans.
Countless shinobi were willing to sacrifice everything for their clans' revival. Just look at the shinobi families under Orochimaru, such as the Fūma clan.
Since reasoning had failed, Hiruzen now saw Kushina as his greatest enemy and unleashed his powerful combination technique.
Unfortunately for him, his opponent was Kushina.
Though there were few records of her fighting, Kushina's power was undoubtedly among the top in the shinobi world. Hiruzen hadn't been able to defeat her when she was the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki while alive, and now, in Edo Tensei form, he was still no match.
"Adamantine Sealing Chains." As Hiruzen prepared to unleash his Five Elemental Jutsu, five golden chains shot out from Kushina's body. Four of them pierced the bodies of Hiruzen's clones, and the last one forced him to retreat.
Although Edo Tensei bodies are typically unafraid of physical attacks, the Adamantine Sealing Chains were sealing techniques. If Hiruzen were caught, it would be over for him.
Edo Tensei's biggest weakness was sealing techniques.
Suigetsu's water transformation technique had been easily countered by Karin's chains. Unlike Karin, who was still inexperienced, Kushina was a master of the technique.
"This is getting interesting." Daniel couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Hiruzen desperately try to evade Kushina. Even he hadn't expected Hiruzen to be so helpless against her.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu, Rasengan, immense strength… Konoha is truly extravagant." Kushina's display of power amazed Daniel. The strength she had hidden from the battlefield was incredible, something only Konoha could afford.
"Remember when the Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee tried to capture Kushina in their youth? If they had run into her instead of Minato, it's hard to say who would have captured whom."
"Four Red Yang Formation!" Perhaps annoyed by Hiruzen's constant dodging, Kushina summoned four shadow clones and used the Four Red Yang Formation, trapping Hiruzen inside a barrier.
"Adamantine Sealing Chains." As the barrier opened a small door, Kushina's chains shot through, binding Hiruzen.
"Is that really the Fourth Hokage's wife? She's so strong! Why haven't I heard of her in the shinobi world before?" Suigetsu was shocked as Kushina easily subdued Hiruzen, the Third Hokage.
"What a pitiful sensei…" Orochimaru shook his head in mock sympathy as he watched Hiruzen bound like a prisoner.
"Monkey!" Seeing Hiruzen captured, Tobirama prepared to rush to his aid, but a giant red hand knocked him back.
"Apologies, Lord Second. Since Kushina is finished, it's time to end this as well." Minato, now in his Nine-Tails mode, stood before Tobirama.
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!" Tobirama leaped into the air, rapidly forming hand signs and spewing a massive tidal wave. Moments later, the entire area was submerged, creating an artificial lake.
This demonstrated Tobirama's mastery of Water Release. Even Kisame, the Water-Style specialist of the Hidden Mist, couldn't compare to him.
"He's still not giving up, huh?" Daniel shook his head as Tobirama disappeared into the water. Though ninjas could walk on water, Tob
irama knew that staying underwater gave him the advantage.
This water technique wasn't meant to attack but to create a favorable environment for Tobirama, enabling him to better utilize his Water Release and combination techniques like the Explosive Tag Chain.
Years ago, Tobirama had used this very technique to take down the Gold and Silver Brothers and their elite forces.
"So persistent," Daniel muttered as he lightly tapped the water's surface with his foot. Immediately, an overwhelming cold spread outward, freezing the lake into a sheet of crystalline ice.
"So cold…" Suigetsu shivered, no longer from fear but from the intense cold surrounding them.
Boom.
With a shattering sound, Tobirama burst through the ice. Daniel hadn't just frozen the surface but the entire lake, trapping Tobirama inside.
"Room. Slaughterhouse." Before Tobirama could land, Daniel waved his hand, and the next moment, Tobirama appeared in front of him.
In Tobirama's stunned expression, Daniel pressed his right hand against Tobirama's chest, activating a sealing technique to immobilize him.
"Thank you for helping Kushina." Minato appeared about ten meters in front of Daniel, his face filled with gratitude.
Regardless of Daniel's true motives, the opportunity for Kushina to meet their grown-up son, Naruto, was something for which Minato would always be thankful.
"No need for thanks. I just can't stand the actions of certain people." As Daniel spoke, Kushina approached, dragging the sealed Hiruzen behind her, and tossed him next to the immobilized Tobirama.
Unlike in the original story, where the Edo Tensei bodies were fully sealed, these two had only been sealed from the neck down, leaving their heads free to speak and think. This sealing technique was specially designed by Kushina to counter Edo Tensei.
"Minato."
"Shut up."
As Hiruzen tried to speak, Kushina coldly snapped at him and sealed his mouth shut.
"You're relying on the Rinnegan to bully others." Daniel looked ahead at Madara Uchiha, who was holding the First Hokage, pinned by black rods.
Under equal conditions, Madara could easily defeat the First Hokage with the Rinnegan. Though the First also knew Wood Release, Madara had mastered it as well.
The black rods, created with the power of the Rinnegan, weren't as powerful as the Truth-Seeking Orbs, but they could disrupt and control chakra. With several rods embedded in him, Hashirama was unable to use chakra at all.
"The Rinnegan is my power. Why shouldn't I use it? Anyway, we're done here. We're leaving." Without waiting for Daniel to respond, Madara vanished in a body flicker, taking the First Hokage with him.
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