"Take away my light?"
At the center of the darkness, Uchiha Kai stood calmly in place, a faint smile curling at the corner of his lips.
Could something Tobirama Senju failed to accomplish suddenly succeed just because Hashirama Senju was doing it?
If that were true, the world would never have fallen into so many wars.
Kai lifted his gaze.
Within a one-kilometer radius, Konoha had indeed been swallowed by darkness.
Pitch black.
The air itself felt as if it had been cut away from the heavens and earth.
Although the range was only about half again larger than Tobirama's version, Kai could clearly sense something—
If Hashirama wished, the darkness could spread even further.
He had noticed it clearly.
When Hashirama's Bringer of Darkness reached exactly one kilometer—
It stopped instantly.
Not gradually.
Instantly.
If Tobirama's version of the technique was used at full power—
Then Hashirama's version was merely casual.
In other words—
If Tobirama's techniques were like the ocean…
Then Hashirama's techniques were like air itself.
An exaggeration, perhaps.
But the reality wasn't far from it.
After all, Senju Hashirama, the inheritor of Asura's chakra, possessed a level of chakra that ordinary people could never comprehend.
Otherwise, how could something as ridiculous as this exist—
The granddaughter of the First Hokage using her grandfather's passive ability as her ultimate move?
How underwhelming must she be for that to happen?
Of course—
Why could Kai even see the boundary of the darkness?
The answer was simple.
Kai blinked.
A tiny moon quietly revolved around his body.
Domain — three feet before him.
His left eye: Mangekyō Sharingan.
His right eye: Byakugan.
One red.
One pale white.
Both eyes were pushed to their absolute limits.
At the same time—
When Kai stepped onto the rooftop earlier, he had already released countless purple nano-sized insects into the air.
Coincidentally—
Those insects carried traces of his Yin Release chakra.
And also a fragment of Spore Heavenly God.
In other words—
What looked like Hashirama's darkness domain…
Was actually Kai's abyss waiting to swallow everything.
One opponent?
Swallowed.
Two opponents?
Swallowed together.
Of course, Kai had no intention of ending the battle so quickly.
He raised his head.
In the darkness that stripped away vision—
He looked forward calmly.
"Chakra perception is becoming dull…"
"Not just vision—even my strength feels suppressed."
Ōnoki muttered to himself.
Yet his old face was filled with fanatic excitement.
"It's over."
"The God of Shinobi's Bringer of Darkness can even suppress Uchiha Madara's Susanoo!"
"No matter how strong Uchiha Kai is, he can't surpass that man!"
Thanks to Tobirama's earlier reminder—and the battle he had witnessed—
Ōnoki had finally noticed something special about Kai.
That strange ability.
Ignoring attacks. Turning the body into light.
Before, he hadn't thought much about it.
But now it was obvious.
The ability relied on sunlight.
Without sunlight—
He couldn't transform into light.
And once that trump card disappeared—
The result was obvious.
Unlike Ōnoki's optimism, the Fourth Raikage looked utterly confused.
He had only seen Tobirama's technique from afar before.
He had never experienced it himself.
And compared to Hashirama's version—
Tobirama's was nothing.
Now he only felt uncomfortable.
As if ten thousand ants were crawling inside his heart.
He rubbed the bulging muscles of his arm.
Nothing.
No sensation.
He refused to believe it.
His hand rubbed harder.
Harder.
Still nothing.
RIP.
A faint tearing sound appeared—
But before it could travel through the air—
It disappeared.
There was simply no medium for sound in the darkness.
On Konoha's streets—
Nara Shikaku's heart sank again.
His fingertips turned ice cold.
Even within the darkness, he could almost imagine Kai's situation.
A rootless floating leaf.
Even if Kai had some way to counter Tobirama—
Against the First Hokage, that kind of counter meant nothing.
Simply put—
Impossible.
In the end, Kai would only be swallowed by Hashirama's overwhelming Wood Release.
Reduced to fertilizer beneath a giant tree.
"What do I do…"
"What should I do…"
Shikaku murmured.
Panic began to appear in his expression.
"If Kai-sama is suppressed… or even killed…"
"What happens to the reforms?"
"The Third Hokage would never continue them…"
The more he thought, the worse the headache became.
His heart sank into the abyss.
But just as he closed his eyes—
Ready to accept the inevitable—
A calm voice suddenly echoed through the darkness.
Breaking the silence.
"So the First Hokage believes this technique can truly restrain me?"
Kai's voice carried a playful tone.
Yet every person present heard it clearly.
The sound was transmitted through the vibration of his nano insects.
The next moment—
Hashirama's voice answered.
"Well, who knows?"
"But if Tobirama believes it works, then there must be a reason."
"Be careful."
"I'm about to make my move."
Hashirama scratched his head slightly.
Then looked toward Kai.
He took a single step forward.
A purple chakra suddenly surged from his body.
BZZZZ—
More and more chakra gathered.
Soon it completely enveloped him.
At first glance—
It resembled a purple tailed-beast cloak.
But the pressure was far stronger.
The purple aura alone blasted the surrounding air apart.
WHOOSH!
The moment the chakra gathered—
Hashirama shot forward.
Like a streak of purple light.
"I see you!"
The next instant—
He appeared behind Uchiha Kai.
His fist rose.
Then slammed down.
The sheer force shattered the air.
Monstrous Strength.
The same terrifying power that allowed Tsunade to break the ribs of a Susanoo.
And as the origin of that power—
Hashirama's strength could only be greater.
The fist descended toward Kai's head.
Yet Kai still showed no reaction.
Hashirama frowned.
Conflict flickered briefly in his eyes.
Then disappeared.
Replaced by determination.
"A descendant of Uchiha Madara…"
"To be honest… I would have liked to talk with you."
"About the changes in Konoha."
"About the changes within the Uchiha clan."
"But!"
"No matter who it is—even my own children or brothers—"
"If they stand against Konoha…"
"I will not forgive them."
The fist fell.
With enough force to shatter stone.
Pop.
But just as the punch was about to land—
Kai suddenly raised his head.
His eyes shone brightly.
"First Hokage-sama…"
"Did you just look at me?"
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