"Ex… explosive tags?!"
Kakashi froze for a moment. He immediately lifted his forehead protector, revealing the scarlet tomoe of the Sharingan, determined to confirm with his own eyes.
After over a week of rest, his chakra reserves had stabilized, and using the Sharingan was no longer a problem. But what he saw made him falter.
The strip of paper the Wood Release clone of Senju Haruto had thrown—under the Sharingan's scrutiny—was indeed nothing more than a simple explosive tag.
Yes, to most shinobi, explosive tags were a perfectly decent weapon.
But for someone like Haruto?
A man who wielded Wood Release, possessed the Sharingan, and had shown mastery over countless powerful jutsu… to throw out an explosive tag as his opening move?
Kakashi found it impossible to reconcile.
"An explosive tag…"
Sasuke sucked in a sharp breath, his own Sharingan locked tightly on the fluttering strip of paper.
Its color.
Its markings.
Its chakra inscription.
Every last detail screamed authenticity.
This was just… an ordinary explosive tag.
"Wait a sec—was that really just an explosive tag?"
Zabuza, too, quickly noticed the look on Kakashi's and Sasuke's faces. The moment that slip of paper had been tossed, a hundred different possibilities flashed through his mind.
Maybe it only looked like an explosive tag, while hiding some greater effect.
Maybe it contained a sealing technique tailored to suppress immortality.
Maybe it would expand into a barrier jutsu to trap Hidan inside.
But judging from the shocked expressions of Kakashi and Sasuke, Haruto had, in fact… really thrown a plain explosive tag.
"Haruto-nii…"
Naruto's jaw dropped into an O-shape.
An explosive tag stuck directly to his own chest wouldn't be enough to kill him. Let alone hurt someone like Hidan, who claimed an immortal body.
If this had come from some random rookie, people might dismiss it as reckless bravado.
But from Haruto?
In an instant, every single comrade at his side was utterly baffled.
Was he… testing Hidan?
But hadn't Haruto already said he understood Hidan's abilities?
Didn't he already confirm that Hidan couldn't die?
And even if it was an ambush tactic, one explosive tag was meaningless.
What could a single tag do? You couldn't even guarantee it would kill a normal shinobi.
"Explosive tags, huh…"
Kakuzu's eyes narrowed dangerously.
Especially after witnessing Haruto use Wood Release—this jarring contradiction left him completely speechless.
Did Haruto seriously think an explosive tag was stronger than Wood Release?
"Wait—could it be… a feint?!"
All at once, Kakuzu's eyes widened, and he immediately shifted into a combat stance, prepared to rush to Hidan's aid.
But Haruto didn't move.
He simply stood there, calm, unhurried, unmoving.
"You bastard—are you mocking me?" Hidan snarled, his voice laced with contempt. "An explosive tag? You think this is enough to kill me?"
He pushed off with the tip of his foot, his body leaning forward like a predator. In a blink, his hand shot out, clamping tightly around the throat of Haruto's Wood Release clone. He twisted, swinging the clone into position like a human shield.
The explosive tag glowed, sizzling with violent chakra.
BOOM!
The deafening blast shook the battlefield.
And with it, the last shred of expectation everyone had been clinging to vanished into smoke.
"That really was just an explosive tag?!"
"He's using explosive tags against an immortal?!"
"Is this some kind of joke? The legendary Senju Haruto… and that's what he threw?"
The myth of Haruto's invincible power seemed to crumble before their eyes.
"Hmph!"
Hidan scoffed, his tone mocking. "All that big talk, and this is it? One measly tag?"
His scythe gleamed in the aftermath of the explosion as he spat venomous laughter.
"What's wrong? Afraid I'll start my ritual, so you keep your distance? And this is the best you could come up with?"
But in the face of Hidan's sneers—and the disbelief of everyone else—Haruto's lips merely curled upward in a faint, knowing smile.
"Hidan… you've only seen the second layer. You think I'm standing on the first."
"But in truth…"
"I'm on the fifth."
The words left his mouth like a whisper, yet they cut through the noise of the battlefield.
The ash of the first tag crumbled away into nothing.
And behind Hidan—more slips of paper appeared from thin air, unfolding in midair like the fluttering wings of death.
"These aren't ordinary explosive tags at all," Haruto said softly, his voice steady, unwavering.
"They're my perfected version—Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags: Second Generation."
Even as he spoke, Haruto took a few measured steps back, giving the battlefield to his creation.
Yes, one tag was laughably weak. Even Konan's six hundred billion tags had failed to finish her opponent.
But this…
This was the true killing art of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, meant to be used alongside Edo Tensei. A jutsu that summoned endless chains of explosive tags, one detonation calling forth another, in a ceaseless storm of destruction.
Even the Myojin Gate—capable of withstanding the raw force of a tailed beast bomb—had been torn to shreds by this technique.
Under its baptism, immortality or sewn flesh meant nothing. Not even dust would remain.
"More… tags?"
Hidan's eyes widened, confusion twisting into panic. Only now did he sense something wrong. Desperately, he hauled Haruto's Wood Release clone tighter, using it as his shield.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Three consecutive detonations tore through the air.
The clone was obliterated instantly.
But Wood Release clones, even in death, reverted into towering trees, their branches coiling outward like iron shackles.
The very clone Hidan clung to transformed, binding his body in a crushing embrace. Bark and roots locked around him, unyielding.
No matter how he hacked with his triple-bladed scythe, he couldn't break free.
That was Haruto's refinement.
Where Tobirama's original technique relied purely on endless tags to hold enemies down, Haruto had added the inescapable grip of Wood Release.
Now, Hidan couldn't even move.
Another five tags appeared behind him.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The sound grew louder, sharper, more terrifying with each detonation.
Kakuzu's eyes widened in horror. By the time he realized the danger, it was already too late. The tags multiplied faster and faster, their summoning accelerating beyond control.
Forget saving Hidan—Kakuzu himself was forced back, retreating rapidly just to avoid being consumed.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The explosions cascaded endlessly, mushroom clouds rising one after another, a grotesque forest of fire and smoke swallowing the sky.
Within just a few breaths, Hidan had vanished into the ocean of detonations.
Kakashi.
Sasuke.
Naruto.
Sakura.
Zabuza.
Kakuzu.
Gatō and his terrified men.
All of them stood frozen, unable to tear their eyes from the cataclysm unfolding before them.
How many tags… had Haruto prepared?
The thought gnawed at each of them.
And yet, even as fear and awe rooted them in place, a strange emotion flickered in their hearts.
Pity.
Pity for Hidan.
Yes, he was immortal. Yes, he was a nightmare to kill. But this? To endure that?
Haruto had chosen a method beyond cruel.
"Haruto…"
Kakashi swallowed hard, his throat dry, sweat streaming down his temple. His voice cracked, uneven, as he finally managed to force out words.
"This… how long will these explosions go on?"