Chapter 51: Tobirama, It's Time to Say Goodbye Again
Stelle formed a sequence of hand seals, summoning a clone that immediately swept Senju Tobirama off his feet and spirited him away from the battlefield.
The main combatants present didn't move, but on the periphery, a handful of rogue shinobi hired by the Endo Family gave chase.
Stelle simply opened her right hand. Without a single seal, a massive wall of fire erupted from the ground, blocking their pursuit. A few of the faster ones, unable to halt their momentum, crashed headlong into the inferno. They fell to the ground, wreathed in flames, their howls of agony swallowed by the roar of the blaze.
The remaining ninja frowned at the sight. Others might erect a Water Formation Wall or an Earth-Style Wall—purely defensive ninjutsu. The most outrageous exception was Konoha's Senju Tobirama; it was said his Water Formation Wall even carried an offensive current.
But to think another elemental wall had appeared, one that combined both devastating damage and impenetrable defense. Such terrifying strength was unnerving.
The shinobi from the Land of Water glared at Stelle, his expression grim. Senju Tobirama had led a large force and paraded his power through their homeland for a month, beating the Kirigakure ninja so badly they hadn't dared to step outside their village, forced into a humiliatingly passive defense. The ninja of the Land of Water hated Tobirama with a burning passion.
He seemed ready to vent that accumulated anger on Stelle. Bolstered by the presence of his two companions, he launched another assault.
Stelle didn't indulge him. She threw out two searing projectiles of Flame Release. As the Water-style user neared, his body dissolving into a puddle of liquid to evade…
She cast the Fire Prison Technique.
A cage of pure flame materialized, instantly trapping the flowing water within its bars. As Stelle clenched her fingers into a fist, the fiery prison shrank, its temperature skyrocketing, and began to boil the water inside. The Hydrification Technique was a powerful counter to physical attacks, but her Flame Release chakra was its natural bane.
The water ninja was instantly forced back into his human form, already enveloped in flames. A blood-curdling scream tore from his throat.
A second later, it was cut short by a sharp crack. Stelle snapped his neck, and his scorched body collapsed to the ground.
"So weak, yet you dared to step forward," Stelle said, shaking her hands as if to rid them of some filth. "You truly don't know the meaning of death."
If Hōzuki Gengetsu himself had come, she might have been interested. But for some nameless background fodder to clamor before her… letting him live even a second longer was a waste of air.
The remaining two didn't spare a single glance for the man on the ground. They were bound only by mutual interest; his death stirred no emotion in them. Instead, his reckless attack had allowed them to gather more intelligence.
"Powerful Flame Release," Kakuzu summarized, his voice a low rasp. "The Fire Cremation Technique negates physical attacks—there's a one-second delay when it's activated, but as a speed-type ninja, she compensates for that., when the flames envelop her body, her speed increases. She is indeed troublesome."
He looked at the black-clad samurai beside him. The two instantly reached a consensus: they would join forces to defeat this enemy.
Stelle stood her ground, arms crossed, fingers tapping a light rhythm against her bicep.
'Tobirama,'she thought with a sigh,'it's not that I'm unwilling to stay with you, but an opportunity to 'log off' has literally come knocking. What can I do?'The script for the'Fall of a Genius'—here it comes again.
A fierce battle erupted between the three. Hiding in the shadows, Black Zetsu assessed their combat power and felt a sliver of satisfaction.
Although Senju Stelle's Flame Release was formidable, her speed was blinding, and even her defense was nearly unbreakable—leaving her with almost no obvious weaknesses… she was too young. She surely lacked true combat experience. The powerful samurai and the infamous bounty hunter Kakuzu, working in tandem, were definitely more than she could handle.
The moment she showed an opening, he would have Uchiha Setsuna activate his Mangekyō Sharingan and unleash the genjutsu from his left eye. Then they could capture Stelle and force her to hand over Madara's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Speaking of which, it hadn't been easy to gather all these people.
No, actually, he had been having a very, very hard time lately.
Ever since Uchiha Madara had mysteriously vanished and his Eternal Eyes had fallen into Senju Stelle's hands, Black Zetsu's entire ink-like being felt unwell. His life, once a clear path, had become pitch black. After several days of solitary brooding to get his mindset right, he had finally made his way to the Uchiha Clan in Konoha, intending to scout a new target to become Madara's replacement.
Earlier, while infiltrating the village, he had stumbled upon a dispute between Stelle and the Uchiha. During their brief exchange, he had seen with his own eyes Uchiha Setsuna's three-tomoe Sharingan beginning to warp and change. Although it hadn't succeeded then, the signs of a breakthrough were there.
This led Black Zetsu to lock onto Uchiha Setsuna as his target in the shortest time possible, and he immediately began an investigation.
Upon digging deeper, Black Zetsu felt that Uchiha Setsuna was practically born for his plan.
The man was a fanatic, a true devotee of Uchiha Madara, who had always treated Madara's will as his own. Failing to become Madara's disciple as a child had remained a sore point for Setsuna, which was why he lost control of his emotions whenever he saw Senju Stelle.
After Uchiha Madara's supposed death, Setsuna had made unifying the ninja world his personal goal. He often muttered to himself, "Lord Madara, sooner or later you will understand that only I am the most suitable person to be your disciple."
Heaven knows how ecstatic Black Zetsu was after finishing his investigation.
'What a good child,'he'd thought.'He even wants to unify the ninja world on his own!' As long as the initial contact went well, he wouldn't even need to waste words—Uchiha Setsuna would surely agree to join him and complete the Eye of the Moon Plan.
So, Black Zetsu had quietly approached Uchiha Setsuna, using carefully chosen words to provoke and disparage him while constantly exalting Stelle's talent and abilities. Under that relentless stimulation, Uchiha Setsuna had finally, blessedly, succeeded in awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Truly, it was a cause for celebration.
He looked back at the combatants. Senju Stelle truly lived up to being a disciple valued even by Uchiha Madara. Her speed, reflexes, combat techniques, and use of chakra—she was practically born for battle.
Even against two such powerful shinobi, she wasn't falling behind. In fact, it was the ninja named Kakuzu who was struggling; his self-retracting thread-like arms would get scorched every time they touched the flames burning on Stelle's body. He could only resort to long-range ninjutsu combinations to support the black-clad samurai.
Having grown accustomed to his role in stimulating Uchiha Setsuna's eye awakening, Black Zetsu spoke up from the shadows, his voice a dry whisper. "It wasn't unfair that you lost to her back then. Even without the Sharingan, she's still not someone you can defeat."
"Shut up, Black Zetsu!" Uchiha Setsuna snapped, his voice cold. "No matter how powerful she is, she doesn't have the Sharingan. Once I activate my Mangekyō Sharingan's dōjutsu, she is as good as dead."
Black Zetsu was very dissatisfied with his tone. "I am the manifestation of Lord Madara's will. You should show me more respect."
Setsuna's tone grew even more arrogant. "The only person worthy of Uchiha Setsuna's respect is Lord Madara himself. You, a mere ninjutsu he created, are not worthy of the same reverence I give him."
Indeed, Black Zetsu had approached Uchiha Setsuna using the identity of being Uchiha Madara's will. Originally, Setsuna wouldn't have believed such a fantastic claim. But Black Zetsu had told him a secret he'd discovered after months of infiltration: Uchiha Madara's eyes were in Senju Stelle's possession.
And because it involved Senju Stelle, Uchiha Setsuna had believed him completely.
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