Rustle.
Not only Tobirama and the Third Hokage were surprised.
Even the shinobi of Konoha looked stunned.
None of them had expected Uchiha Kai to reveal such an ability so openly.
Thinking back to the scenes they had witnessed before, many people suddenly understood something.
No wonder so many techniques seemed useless against Kai.
It wasn't that the attacks were weak.
It was because—
There was light.
Kai had originally planned to add some misleading information as well.
But when the next system prompt appeared, he froze.
His mouth slowly fell open.
[Ding. You have conversed with target Senju Hashirama for three minutes. Attempting to analyze traits…]
[Copyable Traits:]
God of Shinobi (Black)War Deity of External Battles (Black)Brother Complex Victim (Black)Tailed Beast Trader (Black)Perfect Sage Mode (Gold)No-Seal Healing (Gold)Advanced Wood Release Cells (Gold)Chakra Monster (Gold)Top Enlightenment — Thousand-Hand Prison (Gold)Sage Art: Wood Release — True Several Thousand Hands (Gold)
Kai's mind went blank.
How was this even comparable?
Almost everything after the first few traits—
Was gold-tier.
In other words—
Hashirama was a walking golden loot chest.
No wonder he was called the God of Shinobi.
No wonder he was considered the strongest below the Sage of Six Paths.
Kai even suspected that if it weren't for the limits of this world's dimensional level—
Hashirama might have produced two god-tier traits.
After a moment of silence, Kai glanced at Hashirama, who looked eager to continue fighting.
Then he asked casually,
"Hashirama-senpai, are you planning to try again?"
"Huh?"
Hashirama paused.
The attack he had been preparing stopped mid-motion.
Since the younger boy had spoken so openly, it felt inappropriate to strike immediately.
And just like that—
The two of them began chatting again.
Right there.
In the middle of the battlefield.
Orochimaru: …
For the first time witnessing such a scene, his snake-like brain short-circuited.
Was something wrong with the development of events?
Why were these two suddenly chatting?
Meanwhile, Fugaku and the others who had just arrived slapped their foreheads.
Here we go again.
Kai's old habit had returned.
Fight or not, argue or not—
Before battle, chat first.
Whether one called it arrogance or childish curiosity—
Everyone present had, at some point, been dragged into conversation by Kai.
"As expected of you…" Kakashi sighed bitterly.
"To act this casually even in front of the First Hokage…"
"This is youth!" Guy declared loudly.
"Hot-blooded conversation is the best inspiration for the heart!"
"Kai-sama…"
Nara Shikaku suddenly froze.
Then a thought occurred to him.
"…Have we ever seen Kai-sama worried?"
He carefully recalled everything.
From the first time they met.
To the formation of the Konoha Village Committee.
To suppressing the Hidden Cloud and the Hidden Sand.
So many events.
So many crises.
Yet—
Kai had never once looked panicked.
It was as if everything was under his control.
As if he had already anticipated everything.
Without realizing it, Shikaku lowered the hand seals he had prepared.
His body relaxed.
Even if it was the First Hokage—
So what?
"Chatting…"
Unlike the others' surprise, Tobirama suddenly realized something.
After a brief moment of speechlessness, he turned to Hiruzen.
"Hiruzen."
"Has that brat always talked this much before fighting?"
"Yes… yes, teacher."
Even decades later, facing his strict teacher still made Hiruzen tense instinctively.
Then he cautiously asked,
"…Is there something wrong with that?"
He's just a talkative kid.
That's normal, right?
"…No."
Tobirama shook his head.
Something still felt wrong.
But he couldn't identify what.
After all—
What could chatting possibly accomplish?
It wasn't as if someone could copy another person's ninjutsu just by talking.
He chuckled inwardly and dismissed the ridiculous thought.
[Conversation with Senju Hashirama has reached ten minutes.]
[Attempting trait copy…]
[Copy Failed.]
Kai: …
His voice stopped mid-sentence.
Like someone had grabbed his throat.
He had expected failure.
But facing it directly still felt…
Annoying.
"Also… system."
"Is Hashirama considered dead or alive right now?"
"If I defeat him later… can I still loot the corpse?"
System: …
Who would have thought someone would try to exploit bugs like this?
"Wait… so what you're saying is…"
"You want to create a committee to govern the village together?"
Hashirama was becoming increasingly excited.
But suddenly he noticed something strange.
Looking up—
The boy in front of him had stopped talking.
And his expression didn't look great.
"Huh? What's wrong?"
Hashirama asked.
"Nothing."
"Hashirama-senpai…"
"Let's fight."
Hashirama: ?
This kid's thoughts jump around even faster than mine.
Before he could respond—
Kai moved.
No hand seals.
No charging.
He simply raised his right hand and pushed forward lightly.
Crimson and golden chakra suddenly condensed in his palm.
Pop.
BOOM!
The air exploded.
"Hm? That's…"
"The Hyuga Clan's Eight Trigrams Palm?"
Tobirama, who was still forming seals, immediately shouted,
"Big brother, watch out! This brat fights dirty!"
They had been chatting peacefully—
And suddenly he attacked.
No ninja etiquette at all!
But before the warning even finished—
Hashirama had already reacted.
Even while chatting casually, his battle instincts never disappeared.
The moment Kai raised his hand—
Hashirama formed seals.
BOOM!
A massive wooden shield carved with a demonic face suddenly materialized before him.
Heavy.
Ancient.
Radiating a powerful presence.
Wood Release — Wood Barrier!
BANG!
The usually unstoppable Vacuum Palm failed this time.
It merely left a mark on the shield.
"Oh… that technique."
Kai looked slightly surprised.
This shield had once blocked a slash from Madara's Perfect Susanoo.
It was one of the strongest defensive techniques.
No wonder his attack failed.
"In that case…"
"Let's try this."
Kai grinned and spread his fingers.
HUM.
HUM HUM HUM.
Chakra with strange vibrations gathered rapidly between his fingertips.
Soon—
Several basketball-sized black spheres formed.
Instantly.
Tailed Beast Bombs.
As long as his chakra allowed—
Kai could create as many as he wanted.
If he wished—
He could produce nearly a thousand of these in an instant.
"…Tailed Beast Bomb?"
Hashirama raised an eyebrow.
For the first time since being revived, he looked carefully at the boy before him.
The boy's face still carried traces of youth.
Even soft baby hairs remained along his cheeks.
Clearly—
He was very young.
When Hashirama had been that age—
He and Madara were still throwing stones beside the Naka River…
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