"Uncle Yamashita!"
The two Senju teenagers shouted in unison, rushing forward—but Raizen, calm as ever, yanked the mountain ninja to the ground. He settled behind him, grinning at the two young Senju.
"What? Planning to save him?" Raizen's voice dripped with mockery.
"Release Uncle Yamashita, or the Senju clan will never forgive you!" Tobirama growled, eyes flashing with righteous fury.
Raizen laughed outright. "The Senju clan won't forgive me? Cute. You really think I don't know your clan's current situation?"
He leaned back, voice casual but sharp. "The Senju are bleeding under attacks from the Hakata clan in the north. The Uchiha in the south are striking like mad. Even the smaller families who've always bowed to you are scheming to bite when you falter. Your Senju clan has the strength to wage another war? Laughable."
Tobirama froze, his face paling. Raizen's words were cruelly accurate—the Senju were stretched thin, facing simultaneous attacks from rival clans. The three Senju had come here to secure the sprites' power, hoping to turn the tide against their enemies.
Yet here was Raizen, casually dismantling their illusions with words alone. He knew the Senju wouldn't regain any offensive capacity for years, and the Amamiya clan's strength meant they couldn't be crushed without sending full-scale forces. This gave Raizen the audacity to mock them openly—because he knew he was untouchable, for now.
"How dare you keep Uncle Shanxia!"
The black-haired boy tried to yell, but Tobirama's voice cut through him.
"Your name… Senju Hashirama?" Raizen asked, tilting his head at the round-faced teenager before him.
Hashirama blinked. "Yes… but how do you know my name?"
"Of course I know. You're famous," Raizen replied with a grin.
Hashirama's face broke into a smirk. "So modest of you," he teased.
Tobirama groaned. "Big Brother!" he snapped, exasperated, but Hashirama's expression hardened instantly, seriousness returning.
"How can you just hold Uncle Shanxia?"
"Let him go? Impossible." Raizen's grin faded, replaced by a cold, cutting stare.
"The killer always kills. You came to snatch treasure, fully intending to fight me. You attack me repeatedly… so I will never let this one live!"
"You…!" Tobirama seethed, but Hashirama restrained him.
"Hashirama, Tobirama, back off!"
The subdued mountain ninja suddenly roared, madness flaring in his eyes. "A ninja so powerful at your age… better to die sooner!"
Even restrained, Yamashita Yanbi struggled violently, his chakra flaring like wildfire. Raizen sensed the danger—this child's desperate energy was no joke, enough to knock even him off balance.
"Dead."
The word barely left Raizen's lips before his Flying Thunder God tag pierced the mountain ninja's throat. Blood sprayed, and a guttural scream erupted. The mountain flailed, hands forming mud seals, trying to bind Raizen as the soil beneath them writhed.
Raizen's eyes flicked with cold amusement. "Useless."
In an instant, he vanished from the mud, leaving only the struggling ninja behind. Even the mountain's best techniques couldn't touch him. A trace of despair danced in Raizen's eyes as he watched the defeated mountain, crushed finally under the earth he had tried to wield as a weapon.