Chapter 308: With Brothers Fighting Side by Side
Konoha
Hokage Building rooftop
Entering Konoha's airspace, the four of them landed directly on the Hokage Building rooftop.
Homura Mitokado, Yūgao Uzuki, and the Flying Thunder God Formation team were already waiting there.
"Sakura."
Homura, having spent a stretch of time in quiet retirement, still looked remarkably sharp.
"What's the current situation?"
Sakura wasted no time on pleasantries, asking directly.
She hadn't sensed Tobirama's chakra anywhere in the Hokage Building.
By rights, Tobirama should have been holding down Konoha itself — he wouldn't have left unless the situation had grown genuinely dire.
"While you were on the Land of Rain front, Konoha came under attack from Sorabune remnants."
"After repelling them, Hikaru and Tsunade took eight hundred shinobi to hunt down the survivors. Meanwhile, on the Frost front, Orochimaru used Edo Tensei to revive several of the shinobi world's most legendary powerhouses. If Shisui Uchiha hadn't used Kotoamatsukami to free Hiruzen and Itachi from that control, the front might already have collapsed under the Edo Tensei forces."
"Naruto's played a genuinely important role in the fighting there too."
"But even so, our forces have already been pushed back to the very edge of the Land of Fire's border."
"Lord Tobirama's already gone there personally."
Homura laid out the current situation quickly.
Sakura nodded, listening.
In the original story, most of the figures revived through Edo Tensei had never really fought with genuine intent — even against the shinobi coalition, they'd often leaked information to their own side while deliberately holding back.
And if Kabuto simply seized direct control over the revived bodies' will and forced them to fight, without understanding their original combat habits and fighting styles, their effective strength would drop by a significant margin compared to the real thing.
Otherwise, an Edo Tensei Nagato alone should have been more than enough to take down both Naruto and Killer Bee outright.
And even setting that aside — Itachi's Ten-Fists Sword had been genuinely impressive, and Nagato's Preta Path Chakra Absorption Seal was nothing to scoff at either.
That drop in effectiveness came specifically from the controller's lack of familiarity with each revived fighter's own combat instincts.
But right now, this so-called shinobi coalition had exactly one enemy in mind.
Konoha.
Which meant these revived fighters weren't holding anything back — if anything, they were fighting close to full intensity.
"Understood."
"Get the Flying Thunder God Formation team ready."
Sakura turned to the three formation specialists nearby — Genma Shiranui, Iwashi Tatami, and Izumo Kamizuki.
"Actually, there's one more thing."
Homura's brow furrowed.
"What is it?"
"The Seven-Tails jinchūriki is missing."
"Every ANBU guarding her was killed. The Uzumaki Annex's barrier triggered successfully, but the only bodies found inside were the ANBU's — no sign of the jinchūriki herself."
Homura's report made Sakura's brow furrow slightly.
Fū had been housed inside the Uzumaki Annex — a tower originally built by Mito Uzumaki, Hashirama's own wife, specifically for Kushina's use. Ten full layers of barrier. Without exaggeration, once that barrier activated, nothing — not even a Tailed Beast Ball, from inside or out — could break through it.
"Understood."
Sakura nodded. She already knew exactly who was responsible.
Short of a space-time technique, no one could have broken through the Uzumaki Annex's barrier. Even Sakura herself, attempting it directly, would have had no option but brute-force destruction.
There was simply no way to slip through the barrier silently and take Fū without a trace.
There was only one person alive capable of that.
Obito Uchiha.
No wonder he arrived on the Land of Rain front so late.
She glanced back at Yuki, an unmistakable flicker of concern crossing her face.
Should I bring her along to the Land of Frost front?
"Yuki. Sorry about this."
"I know I told you before you wouldn't have to face Kumo shinobi."
"But it looks like you'll need to come to the Land of Frost front with me now."
For Yuki, staying close to Sakura was, currently, the safest place she could be.
Even leaving her behind in Konoha offered no real guarantee Obito wouldn't come back for her too.
And with Sakura needing to head to the Frost front regardless, the choice was clear enough.
"...It's fine."
Yuki pressed her lips together, hesitant but resolved.
Having spent three years housed inside the Uzumaki Annex herself, she knew exactly how formidable that barrier was supposed to be. If Fū could be taken from inside it, nowhere else offered any real security either.
Staying close to Sakura really was the safest option available.
"Oh, right — Sakura, here's what you asked for."
Homura pulled a black box from inside his robe and tossed it to her.
"Good. In that case—"
"Let's get the transport ready."
Sakura took the box with a slight nod, then had the Flying Thunder God team prepare the formation.
Without hesitation, the three formation specialists joined hands, forming a circle around Sakura, Karin, Sasuke, and Yuki.
In the next instant, all seven of them vanished from where they stood.
—
Land of Fire border
"Comet Rasengan!"
The golden figure flickered like a series of lightning strikes between Chiyo, Rasa, Gaara, and Kakuzu.
But sand and gold dust drove him back, along with Chiyo's puppets — even when the Rasengan finally landed a hit on Rasa's body, within moments he'd already reformed, exactly as he'd been before.
"Damn it, can't put him down for good."
Naruto wiped the sweat from his brow, watching in frustration as the scattered sand and paper particles reassembled into Rasa's form once more.
"Naruto, don't get reckless. Just hold them off and wait for the sealing team."
"I already told you that."
A striking woman with brown hair, dressed in sky-blue, landed beside him, watching the enemies ahead warily.
"Yeah, yeah, got it, Auntie Mei."
Naruto scratched his head with visible irritation, worn down by fighting these Edo Tensei revivals.
Au... Auntie...
A vein pulsed visibly on Mei Terumi's forehead.
As a devoted, long-unmarried fighter for love herself, she was particularly touchy about being called "auntie" by anyone younger.
Still...
Thinking of a certain hopelessly single warrior back in Konoha, Mei managed to swallow her irritation.
Hm?
Another spike of killing intent?!
Naruto instinctively glanced toward Mei, only to find her smiling sweetly, gently stroking his head with one hand while her expression carried a chill that didn't match the smile at all.
"Call me sister."
This little brat. Not nearly as cute as Karin.
I'll be your future sister-in-law someday, just you wait!
"Yes ma'am!"
"Sister Mei!"
Naruto, now equipped with the ability to sense good and evil through Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, responded almost instantly, without a second thought.
If he'd called her "auntie" one more time, he was fairly certain he'd have ended up dead.
"Good boy~~"
The curve of Mei's smile widened noticeably.
"Focus. They're pressing again."
Kakashi arrived beside them, breathing hard, warning them.
Even freed from the Sharingan's chakra suppression, his condition still wasn't great.
His chakra reserves had grown by more than tenfold, but against opponents wielding effectively infinite chakra through Edo Tensei, that advantage still wasn't enough.
The only viable option was to crush the Edo Tensei bodies temporarily and wait for the sealing team to finish them off properly.
But shinobi skilled in sealing techniques were rare treasures anywhere in the world — even within Konoha, precious few had mastered them.
There simply weren't enough hands available to seal all these revived fighters in time.
"If only Karin were here."
Naruto scratched his head with a sigh.
Karin's Adamantine Sealing Chains would have been the ideal solution for containing these Edo Tensei bodies.
Even a tailed beast couldn't hope to break free of the Adamantine Sealing Chains.
"Karin will come. Trust Sakura."
Kakashi tightened his grip on his short blade. Rather than dwell on when Karin might arrive, he was far more worried about Tobirama right now.
Having arrived on the battlefield instantly via the Flying Thunder God Technique, Tobirama had thrown himself into the fight immediately.
And his current opponents were old, familiar enemies — the Gold and Silver Brothers.
...
"Didn't expect you'd actually come back to life."
"Guess we brothers get to kill you a second time."
The Gold and Silver Brothers looked at the towering man standing before them, faces lighting up with genuine delight.
Unlike most of the other revived fighters, the two of them had always taken real, unfiltered pleasure in killing. Being brought back into the world at all was, to them, nothing to complain about — they just wanted the chance to kill a few more people while they were here.
Tobirama regarded the two of them and said nothing at all.
In his own lifetime, facing these two without adequate intelligence beforehand, he'd nearly capsized his own ship in calm water — a single misjudged response had almost gotten him killed. Even so, he'd still managed to take both the Gold and Silver Brothers down with him, along with the Kumo force they'd been leading.
Now, facing this pair a second time, Tobirama chose to say absolutely nothing.
"Don't worry, brother. Watch me take on this Hokage myself."
"HAHAHA! With brothers fighting side by side, no foe could ever stand a single round!"
"Well said, brother!"
"This Tobirama Senju already died at our hands once — how could he possibly stand against us a second time!"
"We'll beat him to a pulp, and show everyone exactly what we're capable of!"
Where the Gold and Silver Brothers had always been ruthless with everyone else, facing Tobirama now, they seemed remarkably unhurried — even sparing a moment for some theatrical boasting between themselves.
Tobirama watched the two of them, cold, showing no visible interest in engaging — but by now, streams of water had already begun quietly spreading through the surrounding terrain, unnoticed.
"With brothers standing shoulder to shoulder, who could ever match us!"
"We'll take him down in a single clash!"
"HAHAHA! Charge, brother!"
With that, the Gold and Silver Brothers, gripping their Six Treasures, charged straight at Tobirama!
And in the same instant, Tobirama moved, without a moment's hesitation.
Water Release — Severing Wave!
Water Release — Rushing Wave and Water Release — Severing Wave sounded nearly identical, but their raw destructive power was worlds apart.
In the original story, Tobirama had used this exact technique to cleave clean through the God Tree itself.
A high-speed jet of water shot from Tobirama's mouth, straight at the charging Gold and Silver Brothers.
But the Golden Horn brother raised his palm-leaf fan and swept it down, a surge of raging flame crashing directly into Tobirama's Severing Wave — and at the same time, a golden rope shot toward Tobirama's actual body, using the flame as cover.
The Binding Rope!
But Tobirama had already learned that lesson once — there was no chance he'd fall into the exact same trap twice.
Anyone caught by the Binding Rope was forced to speak their own true name — their so-called "word of power." The Silver Horn brother would then strike that spoken name with the Seven-Star Sword, marking it, and the Red Gourd would seal the victim away permanently.
Which was exactly why Tobirama had intercepted them the instant they attacked. If he could take these two down and seize their Six Treasures for himself, that would give Konoha a genuinely powerful sealing system to use against every other Edo Tensei revival on the field.
(End of chapter.)
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