"First Hokage…?"
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist froze the moment they heard the Raikage shout those words.
The entire battlefield had been swallowed by Wood Release. None of them could continue fighting.
Obito immediately warped away with Kamui, leaving Kisame alone, blood dripping from the wound on his shoulder.
"Tch… that guy's Jutsu is impossible to deal with."
Kisame exhaled heavily, annoyed but unsurprised.
The thick vines forced Kisame to fall back and rejoin the others. Using Samehada to tear and devour the Wood Release chakra wrapping around them, he finally reached Zabuza's side.
"What's going on? Why the hell did these giant Wood Release vines suddenly appear?" Kisame growled, slashing at the encroaching branches.
Beside him, Zabuza hacked away relentlessly, but each cut felt like slashing at an ocean—useless and endless.
"I heard the Fourth Raikage yelling 'First Hokage Senju Hashirama,'" Zabuza said. "So this Wood Release may be from the First Hokage himself."
"…First Hokage?"
Kisame froze.
Hashirama had been dead for decades.
But then he remembered—Hanzo, Kakuzu, Kimimaro—shinobi long dead had appeared earlier. If they could return…
Then Hashirama's reappearance wasn't impossible at all.
Edo Tensei, Kisame realized.
Orochimaru's forbidden Jutsu.
Did that snake seriously reanimate someone like the First Hokage?
"We retreat first!" Kisame snapped. "These Wood Release vines aren't normal. If they get a hold of you… you're dead."
Haku glanced toward Konan, who had already retreated, and said, "But… what about Shigure-sama?"
Kisame chuckled.
"Don't overestimate your ability to help him. Against someone like the First Hokage, we'd just get in his way. Shigure-sama doesn't need us interfering."
Haku bit his lip, frustration in his eyes. He knew Kisame was right.
Even at their current Kage-level strength, facing the First Hokage was simply impossible. Hashirama was an existence on a completely different scale.
Gritting his teeth, Haku unleashed Ice Release, freezing the advancing vines just long enough to create a narrow passage. He dashed through the gap before the ice shattered.
One by one, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist broke out of the Wood Release's crushing range, escaping in different directions.
Not far away, the Fourth Raikage watched them regroup, unharmed.
Despite the overwhelming scale of Hashirama's Wood Release, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen survived without a scratch.
It was impressive.
Even the elite Kumogakure shinobi who accompanied him were almost strangled on the spot.
The vines' crushing force was terrifying—ordinary shinobi would have been pulverized instantly.
"I hope Shigure-sama is safe…"
Haku whispered in prayer.
Kuji stood beside him, staring forward with conviction.
"He'll be fine. Something like this won't harm Shigure-sama."
Inside the Wood Release
Buildings were collapsing one after another.
Walls crumbled.
Steel beams snapped.
The entire factory was swallowed by vines, forming a massive, natural cavern of Wood Release.
Shigure stood at the center of the destruction, surrounded by Senju Hashirama and Nagato.
He looked toward Nagato calmly.
"So… you forced everyone else out to keep them from interfering?"
"There was no need," Shigure added. "They wouldn't have been able to interfere anyway."
Nagato smirked but said nothing.
In a single Ninjutsu, the entire factory had vanished—reduced to rubble under the enormous force of Wood Release.
To most shinobi, this level of power would be overwhelming.
But for Senju Hashirama…
This wasn't even close to serious.
He hadn't even entered Sage Mode yet.
Hashirama slowly lifted his head.
The chakra erupting from his body surged violently—and then shifted.
Sage Mode.
Dark markings formed around his eyes as natural energy flooded into him. His already overwhelming aura intensified severalfold.
"Kid," Hashirama said solemnly, "even if you're no longer a shinobi of Konoha… you're still the Mizukage of Kirigakure, aren't you?"
"Don't fight me head-on. Find a chance to escape!"
"Once the Summoner's chakra runs out, I'll stop moving. There's no need for you to—"
He never finished.
Because at that moment, Shigure's eyes snapped open.
Tailed Beast chakra roared out of him—wild, turbulent, and oppressive.
Then it blended seamlessly with Sage chakra.
Tailed Beast Sage Mode.
The dual mode ignited at once, and the chakra swirling around Shigure instantly surpassed Hashirama's own Sage Mode aura.
Hashirama's eyes widened in disbelief.
"You can use Tailed Beast Mode and Sage Mode at the same time?!"
He stared harder. "And… you can enter Sage Mode instantly? You have a body like mine?"
A mixture of awe and frustration washed over him.
Konoha really sent away someone like this?
Those fools… if he ever found out who was responsible, he would skin them alive.
Shigure's expression didn't change.
"Shodai-sama, I told you before—this is no longer your era. What you treat as precious… means nothing to me."
He lifted his hand.
ROOM.
A spherical space unfolded instantly, expanding across the entire abandoned factory.
Shigure drew his ninja sword in a reverse grip.
He swung once.
There was no flash of chakra, no visible blade arc—and yet—
CRACK—!
The largest building behind him split cleanly in half.
Outside the Factory
Raikage and the others, who had just escaped, were completely stunned.
"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist are out… Does that mean this attack was from Shigure?"
"That slash… no warning, no buildup—just an entire building cut in half?"
Darui wiped cold sweat from his forehead.
"Good thing we got out when we did… otherwise we'd be dead already."
"Look over there!" Samui pointed.
Everyone turned.
The bisected building—despite being fully severed—wasn't falling.
It floated.
It actually floated.
Slowly rising… and then drifting toward a fixed point.
"W–what kind of Ninjutsu is that?"
Raikage rarely lost composure, but now his voice cracked. "He split a building without a chakra flare… and now he's controlling it in midair!?"
"This kind of technique shouldn't even be possible!"
Back Inside the ROOM
Shigure extended his hand and directed the massive building fragment toward Hashirama.
"Your era," Shigure said coldly,
"ended long ago."
The floating building abruptly accelerated—no, launched—like a meteor crashing down.
Hashirama didn't even move.
Not because he hesitated—but because his body didn't have time to react.
BOOM—!
Before the impact landed, Nagato suddenly shouted:
"Such power should not exist…!"
Shinra Tensei!
A colossal repulsive force exploded outward.
The airborne building shattered instantly—reduced to pulverized debris in a split second.
Hashirama's eyes widened.
This power… was beyond even what he expected from the Rinnegan.
What is with these two…?