Chapter 273: He Caught Up
Hiruzen Sarutobi knew very well just how terrifying Uchiha Madara was, and he understood even more clearly the man's ambition.
The moment he heard that Uchiha Madara and the First Hokage had reached an agreement, he immediately tensed up, filled with worry.
Yet Senju Hashirama appeared completely calm and casual. Waving his hand, he smiled and said, "No need to worry. I've already seen through that guy Madara's little tricks."
"If he plans to cause trouble, I absolutely won't allow it."
Hashirama spoke with confidence.
Since he had said so, Hiruzen couldn't press further. He could only probe tentatively, "I wonder, First Lord, what agreement did you and Madara reach?"
"He told me that Ōtsutsuki Isshiki intends to destroy this world. That was the partner of a woman named Ōtsutsuki Kaguya."
"The enemy's strength is so overwhelming that even if he and I joined forces, we wouldn't be able to defeat him. So he has to become the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki to have a chance at victory—only then can the shinobi world be protected…"
Hashirama truthfully repeated Madara's words to Hiruzen, not omitting a single syllable.
Hearing this, Hiruzen nearly fainted on the spot, his vision going black, almost coughing up blood.
He couldn't help but complain inwardly.
"My dear First Lord! How can you be this naïve? Madara's words are full of holes—clearly nothing but deception!"
But Hiruzen didn't dare say such things to his face.
Looking at Hashirama's utterly guileless expression, he could only feel helpless.
"It's very likely Madara is playing tricks. First Lord, we have to be cautious about this."
In front of the God of Shinobi, Hiruzen could only phrase his warning gently.
Hashirama waved it off cheerfully. "Relax, I already—"
Before he could finish, his expression suddenly froze.
Hiruzen immediately caught it and asked nervously, "What is it, First Lord?"
Hashirama looked as if he had just swallowed a fly. With an awkward shake of his head, he said, "I think I… forgot to sign a contract with Madara just now."
Though he didn't know the details, Hiruzen's face instantly went dark when he heard that.
"First Lord, what happened?" he couldn't help but ask.
"Ah, it's nothing serious."
"More importantly, is there a young man in the village named Nagato? I believe he's from the Uzumaki clan."
Hashirama recalled what Madara had said to him just before leaving.
"Yes, there is someone named Nagato. Why?"
"That's perfect. Take me to him at once."
Without further explanation, Hashirama turned and began walking toward the village.
Seeing this, Hiruzen was full of doubts, but he dared not press. He hurriedly summoned his subordinates to follow.
…
After escaping from Konoha, Konan flew aimlessly through the sky with the nine tailed beasts and their jinchūriki.
Her heart was still filled with worry for Nagato and Yahiko.
With Uchiha Madara as their opponent, even the slightest misstep could mean death.
Her mind weighed down by these thoughts, she failed to notice the danger racing toward them.
It wasn't until Kushina Uzumaki, being a sensory-type ninja, issued a warning that everyone snapped to alert.
"What is it?"
Killer Bee asked.
"There's a terrifying chakra heading this way!"
"It's him—no doubt about it!"
With the Uzumaki clan's natural sensory ability, Kushina immediately identified the pursuer.
This chakra was one she could never forget for as long as she lived.
Hearing that it was Madara chasing them, every jinchūriki and Konan felt their hearts sink.
"Nagato… Yahiko…"
Konan's eyes flickered with unease, the first thought in her mind being that the two had likely met with disaster. Otherwise, how could Madara be pursuing them?
There was no time to think. In their panic, they suddenly saw a figure streak across the sky like lightning, racing toward them.
In the blink of an eye, Uchiha Madara stood before them.
Arms folded, he looked at the wary jinchūriki as though he had all the time in the world. "It seems you won't come quietly."
"In that case, I'll just do this first."
Muttering to himself, Madara acted without hesitation, swift and decisive.
Black chakra rods appeared from thin air and shot toward every target, Konan included.
Seeing Madara strike at her, Kushina, clutching little Naruto in her arms, immediately bristled with anger, ready to step forward.
But before she could, Killer Bee leapt ahead, blocking her path.
"It ain't your turn yet, Nine-Tails' jinchūriki."
"Let us handle this one."
As he spoke, his eyes locked on the black rods flying toward them.
With lightning speed, his blade flashed.
In just an instant, he had cleaved one of the rods in half.
A sharp metallic clang rang out, sparks flying.
But Bee didn't stop there. He counterattacked, knocking down several more rods in rapid succession.
Even so, two hands were still too few against so many strikes.
While Bee was busy deflecting, the Six-Tails' jinchūriki, Utakata, was struck by one of the rods.
With a sickening thud, his body instantly went limp and crashed to the ground.
"You alright?"
Kushina hurried over to check on the boy, who was only a few years old, worry written all over her face.
She tried to pull the rod out of his body.
But the moment her hand touched it, a jolt surged through her, forcing her to snatch her hand back as if burned.
"This thing…"
Kushina stared hard at the rod embedded in Utakata. "It interferes with chakra flow… it blocks the tenketsu!"
At her words, the other jinchūriki all showed grim, wary expressions.
"Now's not the time for talk—he's attacking again!"
Bee, having barely managed to hold off the worst of the assault, saw the others still frozen and quickly shouted a warning.
Then, true to form, he broke into an impromptu rap:
"Though I'm strong, it's Madara I face—
and even I can feel the fear in this place~"
Every jinchūriki present fell silent in exasperation at his antics.
Before anyone else could strike back at Madara, Konan was the first to act.
Spreading her arms, she didn't even form hand seals.
Suddenly, countless sheets of paper, sharp as blades, surged toward Madara.
Madara immediately saw through the trick.
Those white papers weren't the real attack—they were merely there to obscure his vision.
The true killing move lay hidden among them, blended seamlessly with the paper—countless explosive tags.
(Support me and read ahead on Patreøn: patreøn.com/craxxtranslations. Thank you for your support!)