"Gone!"
Hashirama and Tobirama stared at the empty water prison, unease twisting in their guts. Twice escaping was one thing—fluke or skill—but three? The other side had to be wielding some terrifying technique.
"Body Flicker? Or… some kind of space-time ninjutsu?" Hashirama muttered, eyes narrowing.
No. Body Flicker couldn't defy this many attacks. Only one possibility remained: time-space ninjutsu.
"Time-space ninjutsu…" Hashirama's face hardened. Retreat flashed through his mind. Uncle Yamashita, a seasoned Jōnin-level ninja, had fallen without a fight. If the same skill struck them, the young Senju brothers wouldn't last a heartbeat.
Before Hashirama could act, a shadow flickered atop the old tree—the very one Raizen had perched on moments ago.
"Yo! You two were impressive just now. But now it's my turn."
Raizen's grin twisted cold. Flying Thunder God kunai glinted in his hand, the deadly coordinates ready. With a flash and a scream, he vanished.
"Watch for his mark!" Hashirama shouted, realizing the pattern. Every time Raizen disappeared, he anchored himself to a kunai. Flying Thunder God wasn't just teleportation—it was a chess piece he moved through space.
"Wood Style: Wooden Wall!" Hashirama barked.
Hands clasped, wooden stakes erupted from the earth, forming a barricade that blocked Raizen's approach. But Raizen reappeared atop the wall itself. Rasengan whirled in his hand.
Boom!
Sawdust exploded. This wasn't Hashirama's reinforced barricade from before—it shattered instantly under Raizen's spinning chakra sphere. Raizen leapt forward, kunai slashing toward the brothers with deadly precision.
"Ding!" Hashirama blocked a strike with his own blade just in time. Tobirama's eyes flashed; a precise kunai pierced Raizen's shoulder.
"Sneak attacks aren't very polite, you know," Tobirama hissed.
Raizen's expression flickered with shock—then amusement. With a smirk, he vanished again, leaving nothing but rippling air behind.
"Damn it! He's gone—again!" Tobirama growled, teeth clenched.
Hashirama's jaw tightened. They were cornered into a purely defensive stance. Every time they thought they had Raizen trapped, he slipped through the cracks, reappearing somewhere else, testing their reflexes. And the most terrifying part? He wasn't even using his full strength.
If he's holding back… what happens when he goes all out?
"Retreat, Tobirama!" Hashirama decided. He grabbed his brother's hand, and they pulled back, slipping through the battlefield. Defeat was inevitable if they lingered. Better to regroup than get slaughtered.
"Big Brother!" Tobirama protested, but the weight of reason silenced him. They vanished into the trees, pursued only by uncertainty.
Raizen paused atop the tree, eyebrows raised. So, the so-called god of ninja—Ashura's reincarnation—can't be cornered. Noted.
But he didn't follow. His priority wasn't hunting down the Senju brothers—it was escorting Khaki to the city. Every second wasted, every failed mission, drew stronger enemies toward him. He couldn't afford to dawdle. The battlefield was heating up, and soon, even the "movie-class" masters would be drawn into the chaos.
Raizen flexed his fingers, the Flying Thunder God kunai gleaming. Looks like the fun is just getting started.