"Hyūga Tennin! What are you doing?!"
Tobirama's voice cracked with shock and anger as more and more Hyūga shinobi formed a ring around him, their pale eyes fixed and merciless.
He glared straight at Tennin, the clan head staring back with killing intent thick enough to choke on.
"Senju Tobirama… your ambition reeks," Tennin hissed. "You dare covet the Hokage's seat? Today, I will take you down and let Senju Hashirama see exactly what kind of snake he shelters!"
It wasn't hatred.
It wasn't fear.
It was absolute loyalty — Raizen's subtle genjutsu still shaping Tennin's heart like a puppet pulled by an invisible thread.
Tennin's voice rang like a commandment:
"Hyūga! Seize Senju Tobirama!"
"Yes!"
Dozens of Hyūga launched forward in perfect formation, palms glowing with chakra.
Tobirama clenched his teeth.
He didn't want to escalate this… but there was no backing down anymore.
"You think you can restrain me that easily?!"
He flashed forward, kunai slicing through the air.
Ordinary Hyūga chūnin were nothing to him.
In seconds, bodies hit the ground one after another, groaning and clutching bruised ribs.
Tennin only sneered.
"You are indeed strong, Tobirama. I underestimated how far your arrogance had grown."
He raised a hand.
From the back of the formation, a young man stepped forward — calm, confident, eyes steady like still water.
Tobirama froze.
"…Hyūga Tennin."
Not the clan head.
The other one.
The prodigy whispered about in hushed tones.
The Tennin rumored to rival even Hashirama and Madara in raw mastery.
The Tennin Tobirama had hoped never to fight.
"Senju Tobirama," the young Tennin said softly, taking a stance with quiet poise, "show me whether your reputation is deserved."
Tennin-prodigy dashed.
A whistle split the air.
Tobirama barely had time to lift his arms before the first blow landed.
"—!"
The impact launched him backwards like a broken spear.
"So strong…"
Pain jolted up his forearms like lightning. He could barely keep his fingers from trembling. That one strike alone had nearly shattered his guard.
But Tobirama's fury burned hotter than the pain.
"I am not someone you can toy with!"
He slapped his hands together.
A massive water dragon tore upward behind him, chakra twisting into teeth and scales.
"Suiton: Suiryūdan!"
"Eight Trigrams: Empty Palm!"
The prodigy struck forward.
A compressed shockwave ripped through the courtyard, slamming into the water dragon head-on.
The explosion shook the entire Hyūga district.
A column of dust rose high enough to be seen across half of Konoha.
In the Hokage's Office
Hashirama jolted upright as the window rattled.
"That direction… the Hyūga?"
The smoke thickened, trembling through the air with repeated impacts.
"Someone! Report to me immediately!"
A Senju shinobi sprinted off.
Hashirama stared out the window, dread gnawing his gut.
"…Something's wrong."
Back in the Hyūga district, the fight only grew more vicious.
Buildings collapsed one after another.
The ground split.
The air cracked with every blow.
Tennin-prodigy's palms were a blur.
Tobirama countered with jutsu after jutsu, water surging like a tidal wave. But Tennin was relentless, pressing him back without a second of hesitation.
"Fall back, Senju!"
"Don't let the fight spread!"
"Protect the civilians!"
Hyūga shinobi tried to contain the destruction, but the two masters tore through the district like living storms. Tennin forced Tobirama through smashed walls, across courtyards, and finally out toward the village streets.
The commotion had drawn nearly every ninja in range.
When they arrived, they froze at the sight.
"That's—!"
"Hyūga Tennin and Senju Tobirama? Why?!"
"Stop! You'll destroy the village!"
But neither man heard.
Could hear.
They were trapped in a maelstrom of speed, chakra, and fury.
And then—
Another shockwave roared outward, cracking stone and sending tiles raining from rooftops.
Tobirama skidded backward, boots carving trenches into the dirt. Tennin advanced, killing intent surging like a spear aimed at Tobirama's heart.
Hashirama Moves
When Hashirama finally arrived and saw the chaos spilling into civilian streets, he felt something snap inside him.
This was his dream village.
His people.
His home.
And now?
It was on the verge of tearing itself apart from the inside.
His eyes hardened.
Enough.
Hashirama leapt forward, chakra bursting beneath his feet like an earthquake's pulse.