Chapter 431

"It's you!"

Senju Hashirama pointed at the stranger who had suddenly appeared, his face full of excitement, as if he had seen a relative.

Such an abnormal move actually confused Isshiki, who had come to check. As an Otsutsuki who claimed to be omniscient and omnipotent, he couldn't figure out why the person in front of him would have such an expression upon seeing him.

Isshiki frowned imperceptibly: "We should be meeting for the first time, right?"

"We have been looking for you so hard!"

Just as he was about to step forward to talk to the target he had been looking for for so long, Senju Hashirama was stopped by Senju Tobirama, who was on the side, before he could take two steps.

"Tobirama?"

"Who exactly are you?"

Ignoring his confused elder brother, Senju Tobirama, who was blocking the front, had his brows locked. Although he was a clone and didn't have the strength of the main body, his keen perception was still there.

If there were any disturbances in the surroundings, he would definitely have been able to discover them immediately, but now, Senju Tobirama was completely unaware of Isshiki's appearance.

This mysterious monk was as if he had suddenly appeared beside them.

"Me? Just a wandering monk."

Isshiki shook his head, his gaze sweeping over the brothers who looked completely different, and finally landing on Senju Hashirama's face.

White, just a bunch of chakra clones.

Black, a familiar aura.

Is this the aura of the God Tree?

A glimmer of light flashed in his black pupils. Isshiki actually sensed an aura like the God Tree on Senju Hashirama, an aura that contained almost inexhaustible life force.

"You are Isshiki, right?"

While Isshiki was sizing up the Senju brothers, Senju Hashirama, who had taken out the 'missing person notice', compared it with the blurry portrait for a long time before asking hesitantly.

After all, the matter of a person living for a thousand years was too unbelievable to be judged by common sense.

"Oh?"

Hearing the other party call out his name, Isshiki narrowed his eyes. He didn't expect that these two people in front of him were actually looking for him.

"It seems it is you. Can you come with us for a trip?"

Seeing that Isshiki didn't deny it, Senju Hashirama felt happy in his heart and hurriedly waved his hand to greet him.

The completion standard for the missing person notice mission was to bring the target back for the employer who issued the mission to verify.

Although this mission spanned a thousand years, the descendants of the employer who originally issued the mission were still there, and every generation had people specifically supervising the progress of this mission.

"Here to catch me?"

Hearing Senju Hashirama's words, Isshiki's first reaction was that the sky had fallen.

Ever since he was backstabbed by Kaguya and lost more than half of his body, Otsutsuki Isshiki had been dormant in this body. Because his power couldn't return to its peak, he had been acting very low-key using Isshiki's body.

After Kaguya ate the chakra fruit, she dominated the entire world and played with the Infinite Tsukuyomi whenever she had nothing to do, scaring Isshiki so much that he didn't dare to show his head, fearing he would be killed in seconds by that crazy woman.

Many years passed like this. Kaguya, who was becoming increasingly crazy, eventually ate her own bitter fruit and was sealed by the power she differentiated—that is, her two so-called sons.

Seeing this, Isshiki prepared to come out of the mountains, intending to take back the fruit that belonged to him. But Kaguya's son actually transformed into the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki and shared the chakra that originally belonged to him in this world.

Knowing he was no match, Isshiki could only feel heartache while shrinking into the most remote corner to prevent being discovered by the Sage of Six Paths.

Isshiki shrank for a thousand years.

He didn't expect to be discovered in the end.

These two humans should be Kaguya's descendants. Could it be that they were ordered by the Sage of Six Paths to come and capture him?

His brain began to run at high speed. In just a few seconds, Isshiki had already imagined a shocking conspiracy against him.

Of the two humans opposite, one was a so-called chakra clone, not to be feared. The other black-haired one, judging from his aura alone, definitely had strength that was not weak, belonging to the top level of humans in this world.

Strike first to gain the upper hand!

A fierce look flashed in his eyes. Pale blue chakra emerged on Isshiki's body, and the power contained within it was filled with an ancient aura that was hard to describe.

The moment Isshiki released his aura, Senju Tobirama, who sensed something was wrong, felt his heart tighten and immediately pulled Senju Hashirama to dodge backward.

"Tobirama, why are you pulling me?"

Senju Hashirama, who felt confused, scratched the back of his head.

"Brother, can't you look at the situation?"

Senju Tobirama was so angry he couldn't speak. The other party was clearly preparing to start a war, and you were still here scratching your head.

"Huh? Sorry, I was too hungry and didn't turn on my perception."

Hearing this, Senju Hashirama turned to touch his shriveled stomach with an embarrassed expression.

For ninjas, perception ninjutsu belongs to active skills and consumes more mental energy and chakra, so it is only turned on when needed.

"This..."

Accompanied by the activation of the perception ninjutsu, Senju Hashirama, who had just been laughing and joking, instantly became solemn. Under his perception, the aura emitted by this monk in front of him was like a bottomless black hole.

The pressure around him was stronger than any enemy he had ever encountered.

"Sure enough, not everyone is as weak as that curly hair."

Senju Tobirama had previously cleverly categorized Isshiki as the same type of long-lived person as Uchiha Gin, thinking that these men who learned the Strength of a Hundred Seal were all weak old turtles.

Now he was slapped in the face by reality. Senju Tobirama's eyes moved slightly, planning in his heart how to deal with the unknown enemy.

Whoosh!

Just as Senju Tobirama was still planning how to fight, Isshiki, who had long been unable to hold back, made a move first, his figure disappearing from the spot in a ghostly manner.

"Tobirama, watch out!"

When he appeared again, he had already approached Senju Tobirama, who was distracted for a moment. Senju Hashirama, who was standing behind, relied on the reaction speed he had developed from years of fighting and pulled his younger brother over.

The next moment, a black rod emitting a destructive aura brushed past Senju Tobirama's face mask.

Swish!

Isshiki, whose sneak attack failed, turned his hand and stabbed the black rod, which he had transformed from who knows where, toward the Senju brothers.

"Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall."

Looking at the black rod that was close at hand, Senju Hashirama clapped his hands together, and several wooden branches broke through the ground, turning into a circular shield to block in front of the brothers.

"Peng~"

However, what Senju Hashirama didn't expect was that the Wood Release, which could even defend against ninjutsu, was easily pierced by the black rod.

Just before the black rod was about to poke into his body, Senju Tobirama, who had come to his senses, raised his finger, and the brothers disappeared from the spot as a blue light.

Isshiki, whose attack failed again, looked thoughtfully at the gradually withering wooden branches, and a black pupil gradually began to change color.

This kind of strong life force seems to be usable.

"Sigh... what exactly is that thing?"

In a dense forest dozens of miles away from the battlefield just now, Senju Tobirama, who had brought his elder brother flying out, let out a long sigh of relief after landing. Recalling the mysterious black rod in Isshiki's hand, his eyes were full of exploration for the unknown.

"It's not easy to handle, Tobirama. Why don't you go and shake some people!"

Senju Hashirama, who also had lingering fear, proposed a conservative suggestion after thinking about it simply.

"Wait a minute, let me figure out his routine first."

Senju Tobirama naturally knew who his brother wanted him to go and shake, but right now all the enemy's means were unknown.

If Uchiha Madara were shaken over and folded here, wouldn't Konoha be cool?

The shadow clone was originally meant to act as a scout, and Senju Tobirama, as a shadow clone, naturally had this awareness.

He immediately closed his eyes and began to look for Isshiki's aura, preparing to go and have a fight with the other party to probe for information.

As a result, in the next second, Senju Tobirama, who was searching carefully, broke out in a cold sweat because he discovered that Isshiki's aura was right behind their brothers.

"Who are you looking for?"

A cold voice rang out. The brothers jumped dozens of meters away without looking back. Turning their heads, they saw a scene that shocked them both.

"By... Byakugan? Are you a member of the Hyuga clan?"

Isshiki, who had just had black pupils, had his left eye turn into the Byakugan they were familiar with.

And judging from the pupil power emitted, the purity was absolutely not low, even a few points stronger than the Hyuga Ten-Yao they were familiar with.

"Hyuga? Hmph~"

Isshiki curled his lips in disdain upon hearing this. He naturally knew about the Hyuga clan; they were just a group of humans flowing with thin Otsutsuki blood.

They only had the appearance of the Byakugan but didn't inherit much of the true power of the Byakugan.

Abandoning strong pupil power and changing to using the physical body as a weapon.

Purely 'lung fog'.

"Since that's the case..."

Senju Tobirama's heart tightened slightly. Under the insight of the Byakugan, his Taijutsu was a joke, and all that was left that he could take out was...

"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"

His hands formed seals at high speed. In less than a second, a water column with extremely strong penetrating power sprayed out from Senju Tobirama's mouth, sweeping straight toward Isshiki not far away.

He didn't expect that facing the sharp water blade, Isshiki didn't have any intention of blocking it. Senju Tobirama couldn't help but reveal an excited expression; he liked this kind of 'cup-loading' player.

My Water Severing Wave can even cut Susanoo!

Looking at the aggressive Water Severing Wave, a faint look of mockery floated in Isshiki's black and white eyes.

"Ninjutsu, huh..."

He only saw him lift one hand slightly, grabbing toward the Water Severing Wave, which was condensed from chakra, very casually.

"Swish~"

The sound of flesh being cut that he had imagined didn't ring out, and Senju Tobirama's excited expression also solidified on his face, his scarlet eyes filled with disbelief.

"How is that possible?"

"The taste is not bad."

After absorbing the Water Severing Wave condensed from chakra into his body, Isshiki's slightly raised hands emitted bursts of black gas from his palms, and at the same time, a look of satisfaction appeared on his face.

"Tobirama, look at his face!"

Senju Hashirama, who witnessed this scene, was attracted by the black mark that suddenly appeared on Isshiki's body in addition to his shock.

This kind of face pattern, similar to Sage Mode, made Senju Hashirama's mood become increasingly heavy. The other party's aura had actually climbed another level, gradually moving away from the range he could accept.

"Brother, is it Sage Mode?"

Senju Tobirama, who had retreated to Senju Hashirama's side, asked with a frown.

"No, there is no aura of natural energy; it should be some kind of similar means."

Shaking his head, Senju Hashirama quietly began to condense natural power. In his normal state, he was likely not the opponent of this mysterious monk.

However, due to the aftereffects of the illness he had before, he could no longer enter Sage Mode in seconds and needed to calm down and read the bar for a while.

"You are very interesting."

Isshiki, holding the black rod, reached out and pointed at Senju Hashirama, who was frowning. The power in this human's body might be able to become his help.

"Sorry, I already have someone."

Seeing that Isshiki had locked his target onto himself, Senju Hashirama exchanged a look with his brother, then stepped forward and struck a classic stomping pose.

"It doesn't matter; I don't need your will."

Isshiki was only interested in Hashirama's physical body, which was similar to the God Tree. As for the others, he didn't want to know more.

After saying that, he raised the black rod in his hand, and his figure disappeared again. Senju Hashirama's gaze condensed, his hands clapped together, and accompanied by the Wood Release power pouring out, countless thick wooden branches instantly broke through the ground.

"Deep Forest Emergence!"

Whoosh! Whoosh~

Isshiki, who attempted to get close to Senju Hashirama, was soon blocked by countless wooden branches. He frowned and swept with the black rod, and the branches fell to the ground with a bang.

But new ones soon grew out at the broken ends, making Isshiki somewhat unable to move.

Just in the gap when Isshiki was attracted by the Wood Release, Senju Tobirama, who had already brewed a killing move, held a sharp blade and flashed like a blue light.

"Flying Thunder God Slash!"

The sharp blade reflecting cold light skillfully poked toward Isshiki's waist, but it was dodged by the other party by a hair's breadth.

"Space-type technique? Quite rare."

Isshiki glanced at it without changing his expression, the black rod in his hand not slowing down, stabbing straight toward Senju Tobirama's head.

Whoosh~

Seeing this, Senju Tobirama had no choice but to use the Flying Thunder God technique again to dodge this fatal blow.

"Brother, his insight is too strong; it's impossible to get close."

Senju Tobirama, who appeared beside Senju Hashirama, shook his head with a gloomy face. Isshiki's Byakugan had figured out his attack route clearly.

And the mysterious black rod in the other party's hand could easily pierce through his brother's Wood Release; it was definitely not something he, a clone, could easily touch.

"Then we can only be reckless!"

Since he couldn't fight in close combat, he would use brute force.

"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"

Senju Hashirama clapped his hands together again, and the majestic Wood Release power poured into the ground from his feet. In the blink of an eye, four ferocious giant dragons broke through the ground, opened their bloody mouths, and bit toward Isshiki not far away.

"Roar!"

Isshiki frowned slightly. Facing the siege of the four giant dragons, he waved the black rod in his hand and greeted them.

"Peng!"

Although the black rod had the ability to disrupt chakra, because the Wood Dragon's body was too large, the needle-thin black rod couldn't exert its true effect.

Stabbing at the surface of the Wood Dragon, it could only eliminate a small part of the Wood Release creation, and the missing parts were soon repaired by the Wood Release power.

Whoosh!

In desperation, Isshiki could only dodge, which created an excellent opportunity for Senju Tobirama, who was good at catching flaws.

He saw him throw several kunai, shooting toward Isshiki, who was suspended in mid-air dodging the Wood Dragon, from the rear.

"Peng!"

Isshiki frowned imperceptibly and waved his hand to knock away all the kunai behind him. In the next second after he retracted his hand, a dazzling blue light erupted from one of the kunai that had just been flicked away.

"Taste this."

Senju Tobirama's figure appeared behind Isshiki like a ghost, and the moment before the other party reacted, he threw a stack of burning explosive tags.

"Boom!!!"

With the Wood Dragon in front and explosive tags in the back, a flash of astonishment flashed across Isshiki's calm face, and in the next second, he was swallowed by the soaring firelight.

Senju Tobirama, who landed as a blue light, hugged his arms. It wasn't until the explosion behind him stopped that he slowly turned his head, his eyes filled with unconcealable pride.

I must have been handsome just now!

However, seeing Isshiki slowly walking out of the thick smoke, Senju Tobirama's face revealed a look of confusion for the first time.

"No... impossible! How could you be completely fine?"

"To actually be forced to this point by two ants."

Floating in mid-air, Isshiki revealed a cold expression, and the black mark on his face was even thicker than before.

Not only that, on his smooth scalp, a... horn actually bulged?

This posture could no longer be defined as a human by common sense.

"What exactly are you?"

Waking up from his confusion, Senju Tobirama couldn't help but shout loudly.

"I am... God!"

Isshiki, who had entered the 'Karma State Two', had his power doubled compared to before. In just the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of Senju Tobirama.

An eye emitting mysterious power looked indifferently at the human who had made him somewhat embarrassed.

"You white-headed fly that keeps flying around should be locked in a prison."

"Stay away from Tobirama!"

Senju Hashirama jumped up, his fist glowing with rich blue light. Using his serious 'Strength of a Hundred' punch, he prepared to save his younger brother.

"Flying Thun..."

But Senju Tobirama, who was stared at by Isshiki, had his pupils shake violently. This way of moving was no longer just simple speed. Alert, he immediately raised his finger, and the blue light lit up again.

"Daikokuten."

But in the next moment, what greeted him was endless darkness.

Senju Hashirama's punch was ultimately a step too late. Isshiki, who had sent Senju Tobirama's clone into a special space, retreated a few steps and easily dodged the blow.

"Boom!"

Senju Hashirama, who smashed into the open space, suddenly looked up, his eyes meeting Isshiki's different pupils. Even though he had seen all kinds of pupils, he couldn't help but widen his eyes.

"What kind of pupil technique is this?"

That was an eye that had never been recorded before, golden in color, with eight triangular patterns circling the pupil.

The pupil power emitted from it was far superior to Uchiha Madara, whom Senju Hashirama was familiar with.

"You don't need to know."

This was the first time in a thousand years that Isshiki had used the power of Karma, making him miss the time when he dominated everything.

However, the price of this power was not low. The current usage life of this body would be shortened quite a bit because of this, estimated to only last for about fifty years.

"Where did you send Tobirama?"

Senju Tobirama had suddenly disappeared in front of him just now, but it wasn't the kind that was beaten into smoke; he could only have been snatched away by the person in front of him or sent to another place.

"Oh? You want to go too?"

Isshiki lowered his eyelids, his golden rice-shaped eyes revealing an inexplicable color.

"Hand over Tobirama!"

Even though it was his younger brother's clone that was snatched away, Senju Hashirama couldn't guarantee whether this mysterious monk had any means to harm the main body through the clone.

"Wood Release: Wood Human Technique!"

The honest Wood Human Arhat started again. Isshiki looked up, looking at Senju Hashirama standing on the head of the Wood Human with great interest, the appreciation in his eyes becoming even stronger.

"Truly an exquisite work, very collectible."

The next moment, the Wood Human's giant fist fell with a bang.

"Boom!"

The Wood Human punched the cliff, shaking up the sky full of dust. Countless rocks fell with a rumble, and were caught by the Wood Human's palm.

"Sigh... almost made a mistake."

Senju Hashirama, standing on the head of the Wood Human, let out a long sigh of relief.

Senju Tobirama poked his head out from the top of the cliff with an unhappy expression: "Brother, be careful; there are houses below!"

"Got it, I'll be careful."

Senju Hashirama smiled awkwardly, manipulating the Wood Human to place the rubble in the waste area, and then began to deal with the cliff in front of him with full concentration.

The giant palm carefully brushed over the hard rock, smoothing out all the protruding edges and corners.

"Lord First Hokage is truly thoughtful, actually carving the Hokage Rock for Lord Second Hokage himself."

The giant movement of the Wood Human naturally attracted the onlookers of the Konoha residents. Some of the masses who knew the inside story expressed their emotion one after another, praising Senju Hashirama's hands-on actions.

"This is called 'returning the favor'; wasn't the First Hokage's rock painting made by the Second Hokage working overnight?"

"This is truly a beautiful story in Konoha~"

"Exactly, exactly..."

No, Uchiha Madara did it back then to show off his skills.

And Senju Hashirama...

Simply because he had no money.

"Tobirama, can you let me rest for a while? I'm not the main body; I'm just a physically weak wood clone~"

Under the Hokage Rock, Senju Hashirama's wood clone looked up, his face pale as he begged Senju Tobirama, who was supervising the work.

"No! Tomorrow is the day of the handover ceremony. The shadow clone hasn't sent back any news, and brother's side will probably be delayed for a while, so you just fill in for now."

"Wuwuwu..."

Life is not easy; the clone sells his art.

On the other side, on the roof of the towering Uchiha building, Uchiha Madara looked at the Wood Human working overtime in the distance, a rare smile appearing on his face.

"Brother, what are you squatting here giggling about?"

Uchiha Izuna, who walked in with a pile of documents, asked in confusion.

"Izuna, look, how is Hashirama's carving?"

"Hmm... this... tsk... how should I put it..."

Uchiha Izuna looked at the slightly sloppy rock painting in the distance and found it hard to speak.

"What are you mumbling about?"

"It's not up to us to say; this should be evaluated by you, the person involved."

Uchiha Izuna, who was in a high position, had also learned to play Tai Chi, directly throwing the question back without a trace.

"I think it's okay!"

"Then it's okay!"

Uchiha Izuna, who breathed a sigh of relief, piled the documents on Uchiha Madara's desk.

"Where did all these documents come from?"

Uchiha Madara, who turned his head, frowned.

"These are all flow lists; that stinky kid Fuyu actually really did it."

Although he was scolding the stinky kid, the pride on Izuna's face couldn't be wiped away no matter what.

Uchiha Fuyu's business talent was actually higher than his cultivation talent. At a young age, he could earn so much money for the clan. Just this wave alone was more than what he, the father, had earned in ten years.

"Oh my, isn't it because I gave him a good name!" (End of chapter)