Chapter 426: Tobirama: Truly, Itachi Is a Senju at Heart!
"The Seventh Hokage should undoubtedly be… Itachi!" Tobirama gazed at Uchiha Itachi, marveling.
He was deeply fond of such an exceptional young talent.
To demonstrate his abilities, Tobirama teleported next to Minato using the Flying Thunder God Technique and then instantly reappeared near Roshi.
The moment he touched Roshi, he immediately activated the Flying Thunder God again, transporting him right beside Itachi.
Itachi, naturally, wouldn't miss the opportunity Tobirama had created. He manipulated the Thousand-Armed Buddha, extending a hand towards Roshi.
Roshi knew that if he didn't go all out now, escape would be impossible.
He fully transformed into his Tailed Beast form, revealing his massive body, comparable to Gamabunta.
But under the towering Susanoo-clad Buddha, hundreds of meters tall, he still appeared minuscule.
The Thousand-Armed Buddha, clad in tengu armor, slapped the Four-Tails, sending it flying hundreds of meters away.
Just as Roshi, who had taken the blow, was about to seize the opportunity to escape, Tobirama reappeared:
"You've got my Flying Thunder God mark on you. You can't run far. Just come back with me quietly!"
With that, Tobirama used the Flying Thunder God to teleport Roshi back again.
Itachi understood instantly and delivered another slap, sending Roshi flying once more, only for Tobirama to teleport him back yet again.
At this point, the entire battlefield had changed its tone, with the pitiful Roshi being toyed with by Tobirama and Itachi.
Of course, they weren't specifically targeting Roshi to humiliate him.
Their objective was to demoralize the enemy forces.
When one of the enemy commanders was humiliated so thoroughly without the ability to resist, what hope did the lesser troops have?
Sure enough, after repeatedly slapping and teleporting Roshi back several times, the battlefield completely collapsed.
They despairingly realized that not only was Roshi being toyed with, but even their commander Rasa had abandoned them.
With their morale shattered, the ninjas had no will left to fight.
As their fighting spirit vanished, the assault force began to flee en masse, surging out of Konoha like a flood.
However, Itachi had no intention of letting them escape so easily.
Allowing them to scatter and hide in the Land of Fire would create significant security problems.
In the remote mountains, banditry could even break out.
Itachi clapped his hands and summoned:
"Wood Release — Advent of a World of Flowering Trees!"
Massive trees and vines erupted from the ground, sprouting enormous flowers that bloomed, releasing pollen into the air, carried by the wind across the battlefield.
Anyone who inhaled the pollen instantly collapsed, unconscious.
The Advent of a World of Flowering Trees was a technique created by the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju. Even Uchiha Madara and the Five Kage had suffered from it.
Fleeing?
In an instant, they were collectively hypnotized, completely captured by Konoha!
At this moment, Itachi single-handedly surrounded the entire ten-thousand-strong assault force!
Tobirama, observing the large-scale use of Advent of a World of Flowering Trees, was full of admiration for Itachi.
If Tobirama knew that Uchiha Itachi was willing to slaughter his entire clan for Konoha, he would probably have called him "Senju Itachi" on the spot!
Despite carrying the "naturally evil" Uchiha bloodline, Itachi had been deeply influenced by the spirit of the Senju's boundless love, making him a true Konoha ninja!
"Truly a successor to my brother. He's just like my brother!" Tobirama marveled.
His expression of boundless appreciation made the Third Hokage's face twitch.
As one of Tobirama's chosen successors, the Third Hokage had heard plenty of Tobirama's disparagements of the Uchiha.
His old friend Danzo had inherited this trait, constantly speaking of the Uchiha as "naturally evil."
Of course, as the Second Hokage, Tobirama never displayed this sentiment openly.
Tobirama noticed that Itachi, having expended a large amount of chakra to immobilize everyone, could no longer maintain Susanoo and nearly fell from the Buddha's head.
He quickly teleported up to support Itachi:
"You've done well. I have high hopes for you, noble Uchiha warrior."
Itachi was about to humbly respond when he heard a familiar voice.
"Nii-san!!"
Uchiha Sasuke flew to the Buddha's head from Konoha's South Station, where Itachi was. Naruto was with him, carried on Sasuke's back.
"Sasuke, why are you here? The battlefield is dangerous, you know?!" Itachi scolded Sasuke, rather than feeling happy about his arrival.
He had already guessed that Sasuke had been hiding nearby, watching his battle.
This battlefield was far too dangerous!
Hearing his brother's scolding, Sasuke deactivated his Rinnegan Chakra Mode, pouting:
"I was worried about you, Nii-san… I've got the Rinnegan Chakra Mode that Uncle Haneda gave me. Even that Kazekage, Rasa, couldn't beat me!"
As he spoke, Sasuke glanced at Naruto and added:
"And Naruto's here too. He's the perfect Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails. With him around, the ones in danger should be those Anti-Konoha Alliance ninjas."
Hearing Sasuke's indirect praise, Naruto grinned and said:
"That's right! I, Naruto Uzumaki, am really strong! I can even use my dad's Flying Thunder God Technique! It's super cool, Itachi-nii!"
"That's my Flying Thunder God!" Tobirama, standing next to Itachi, corrected sternly.
"It's my dad's! His Flying Thunder God is super cool and was known as the Yellow Flash!" Naruto retorted dismissively.
"The Flying Thunder God is my creation! Minato, come deal with your son!" Tobirama called out.
Having heard that Naruto was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Tobirama knew he was Minato's child.
Reanimated Minato, sensing Naruto's arrival, teleported over using the Flying Thunder God.
He scratched his head and said, "Naruto, I learned the Flying Thunder God from Lord Second, don't be disrespectful."
Naruto scoffed, believing only in his dad's version of the technique. As for the others?
Could any of them be stronger than Uncle Haneda?
Naruto, who frequently used Bishamonten's transportation, was well aware of the difference between the Flying Thunder God and space-time dojutsu.
Tobirama didn't bother arguing with a child, especially a hero's son.
Instead, he felt Konoha had mistreated Naruto, and he held some guilt.
After all, both Hiruzen, who had targeted Naruto, and Danzo, who was expelled, were his students.
As their teacher, Tobirama naturally felt guilty towards Naruto.
However, Tobirama was very intrigued by Itachi's younger brother, Sasuke. He felt that Sasuke bore a striking resemblance to Madara's younger brother, Izuna.
Their appearances were almost identical.
It reminded Tobirama of the first time he met Izuna by the river.
Tobirama patted Sasuke's head and asked with a smile, "Little guy, are you Itachi's brother?"
Sasuke disliked anyone touching his head, fearing it would stunt his growth. He dodged Tobirama's hand and replied:
"Of course, only someone as excellent as me, Uchiha Sasuke, is worthy of being Itachi's brother!"
Tobirama, hearing the proud tone, felt more and more that Sasuke resembled Izuna.
He couldn't help but pat Sasuke's head again, feeling an inexplicable sense of accomplishment:
"Itachi's brother, the Rinnegan Chakra Mode you mentioned, is that the green chakra you had on earlier?"
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