---
Three days later.
Ginkaku lay in an abandoned house. The weather outside the broken window was still gloomy, and his mood was equally heavy.
It had rained the previous two days, so they weren't worried about water sources for now, but food wouldn't fall from the sky. The two brothers needed to take turns going out to find supplies.
Early this morning, it was Kinkaku's turn to go out.
He rolled over in the pile of grass on the floor, feeling restless.
Ever since the rain started two days ago, he had a nagging sense of unease.
Looking at the scenery outside the window, his brow furrowed slightly.
Something's wrong.
There was a sour smell in the air, completely different from the fresh scent after the rain.
Not good!
Ginkaku's body sprang up, bursting through the window.
At the same time, a black hand broke through the ground, clearly launching a swift surprise attack on Ginkaku.
Boom!
With a loud roar, Kakuzu's figure appeared in Ginkaku's field of vision.
Not bad reflexes. Kakuzu thought secretly.
Such a close-range sneak attack was actually dodged. It seemed that the rumors about Kinkaku and Ginkaku in the ninja world weren't unfounded.
As soon as Ginkaku escaped from the house, he felt danger lurking everywhere.
"Who are you?" he shouted at Kakuzu.
"Konoha Style - Shadow Dance Leaf - Eighteen Moon Shadow Formation!"
Uchiha Kagami's voice came from behind. In an instant, eighteen clones appeared from all directions, surrounding Ginkaku.
Kagami's clones swung their ninja swords, transforming into a huge blade shadow. Eighteen blade shadows covered the sky, heading straight for Ginkaku.
Ginkaku had nowhere to dodge. He gritted his teeth and pulled something out from behind.
"Clang, clang, clang..." several crisp sounds echoed. A mocking smile appeared on Ginkaku's lips.
Blocked?
Uchiha Kagami glanced at Kakuzu, confirming that it was the artifact Mizuno had mentioned - the Banana Fan.
Behind Ginkaku, a round bottle appeared. Kagami knew it was the Amber Pure Bottle that Mizuno had mentioned.
Before this sneak attack, Mizuno had laid out a detailed battle plan.
To everyone's surprise, Mizuno was very familiar with Kinkaku and Ginkaku's ninja tools, saving them a lot of time in figuring out their abilities. Uchiha Kagami remembered Mizuno's instructions: don't speak easily, lest he trigger the "Spirit Language."
"I remember," Ginkaku chuckled. "You're that Konoha ninja from the Second Hokage's side. What was your name again?"
Uchiha Kagami stood up, not answering his question.
Kakuzu clasped his hands together and began to form hand seals.
A huge, masked black monster emerged from his body.
"Fire Release - Head-Blasting Fire!"
A massive blaze accompanied by endless heat waves engulfed Ginkaku.
Uchiha Kagami was secretly alarmed.
Such a large-scale, terrifying Fire Release was something he had never seen before. Even the top ninjas of the Uchiha clan couldn't necessarily use it.
Where did Mizuno find such a powerful Fire Release expert?
But what shocked Uchiha Kagami even more was yet to come.
Ginkaku laughed mockingly and waved the Banana Fan in his hand.
An even larger blaze fanned out from the Banana Fan, shining with a strong golden light and emitting incredible heat.
No, this place can't be stayed in for long. Uchiha Kagami quickly retreated.
In the face of the massive heat wave, Kakuzu's Fire Release was clearly suppressed, and instead, it all headed towards Kakuzu.
Kakuzu frowned slightly. As Mizuno had said, the fan really did possess powerful Five Elements Jutsu abilities.
Using Water Release would extinguish his own flames. Kakuzu formed hand seals.
"Wind Release - Violent Gale!"
A massive Wind Release erupted from Kakuzu's mouth, combining with his own Fire Release to form an even more powerful Wind-Fire combination jutsu.
But Ginkaku just smiled.
"Child's play. You underestimate me too much!"
Ginkaku waved again, and an even larger Fire Release jutsu pressed down.
It was a jutsu imbued with Six Paths power. Kakuzu was clearly struggling a bit.
Just as Ginkaku's advantage was expanding, a voice came.
"Water Release - Water Wall!"
A huge wave of water appeared out of thin air, forming a massive barrier that blocked Ginkaku's Fire Release completely.
Ginkaku was shocked.
"To be able to use such powerful Water Release jutsu without any water..."
"Who are you?!"
A figure emerged from the shadows.
A sense of unease arose in Ginkaku's heart.
The last time he had seen such powerful Water Release jutsu was when he fought that man. Now, seeing it again, he couldn't help but think of that guy.
The Second Hokage - Tobirama Senju.
Although this young man in front of him looked incredibly young, he gave off the same oppressive aura as Tobirama Senju.
"This is Mizuno."
The young man's voice came faintly.
Ginkaku smiled slightly. "It seems you're quite strong. Are you here to avenge the Second Hokage, Mizuno?"
He tentatively called out Mizuno's name, but received no answer.
Mizuno looked at him quietly. "You're really lucky. The Binding Immortal Rope, the Seven-Star Sword, and the Red Gourd are all gone. Only the Amber Pure Bottle and the Banana Fan, huh?"
Ginkaku was shocked. "You!"
How did he know the names of these artifacts?
Of course, Mizuno knew. He had specifically instructed his team. He looked at Kakuzu and Kagami. "It seems we don't need to be so tense. The Seven-Star Sword and other artifacts might be with Kinkaku, or they might have been lost when they escaped from the Land of Lightning."
Uchiha Kagami smiled. "So that's it. So, we just need to force ourselves not to answer when he calls our names, right?"
Kakuzu snorted. "What a boring ability."
A surge of anger rose in Ginkaku's heart. "You, what exactly are you?!"
Mizuno clasped his hands together, and the system's voice echoed in his mind.
"Power Bond activated. Second repayment of the Second Hokage's abilities. Tobirama Senju is here."
He opened his eyes, revealing a completely different gaze.
He pulled a kunai from his hand.
"It's about time," Mizuno looked at Ginkaku. "I need to take you down before your brother gets back."
Ginkaku was almost amused. "You seem to overestimate yourself."
Mizuno replied calmly. "To deal with you, one move is enough."
A feeling of humiliation surged through him. Ginkaku roared at Mizuno, almost bellowing. "Brat, don't underestimate me!"
Ginkaku waved the Banana Fan in his hand, but suddenly felt his body go limp.
What's going on?
He knew that the Six Paths Sage's artifacts consumed a lot of chakra.
But no matter what, it shouldn't drain him so quickly.
He suddenly realized that there was no chakra left in his body.
A wave of fear surged through him.
Could it be?
Could it be...
Poison?
He suddenly remembered the sour smell he had smelled in the house.
But it was too late.
Mizuno raised the kunai in his hand.
"Ninja Art - Flying Thunder God - Slash!"
Ginkaku had seen this move before.
When Tobirama Senju used it, he could easily defend himself with the Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra cloak.
But now, it was clearly too late.
A sharp pain shot through his heart.
Mizuno's figure passed through Ginkaku, drawing a graceful arc in the air.
Ginkaku had no strength left. He collapsed.
---
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