Chapter 460: Saving Private White-Hair

"Despicable White-Hair!"

Looking up at the massive fireworks exploding in the sky, the brothers Gin and Kin were instantly furious; if this signal flare had drawn Uchiha Madara here, there would be no point in fighting anymore.

"Do you have no shame left? Where is your dignity as a powerhouse?"

Blue veins bulged on Kin's forehead as he looked at the smug-faced Tobirama Senju, his teeth grinding with a creaking sound.

"Idiots."

Holding his Hard Whirlpool Water Blade, Tobirama Senju curled his lip, though the gravity in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

Although he had already fired the distress signal, he could not let his guard down; whether nearby reinforcements could arrive in time remained an unknown, and for now, he still had to rely on himself.

"Tsk."

His stealthily dispersed perception was interfered with once again, and Tobirama Senju gave a soft click of his tongue, covertly scanning the surrounding environment, only to find that the terrain here was extremely disadvantageous to him.

Dry air, a claustrophobic canyon, pursuers behind, and a cliff ahead—it was practically a death trap tailor-made for him.

"Tobirama Senju! Do you know how many years our brothers have waited for this day!?"

Seeing an enemy makes one exceptionally resentful; recalling the inhumane slaughter of the Hagoromo clan by the Senju clan back then, the anger in Kin's heart was instantly ignited, his large ox-like eyes nearly spitting fire.

"My father and my clansmen all died at the hands of you two brothers; now that it has come to this, do you feel even a shred of remorse?"

"A ninja is a profession that walks on the edge of a blade; the day I picked up a kunai, I cast life and death aside. Besides—"

Facing Kin's interrogation, Tobirama Senju shook his head expressionlessly, his eyes revealing a resolve that looked past life and death as his gaze slowly fell upon the gnashing brothers.

"—didn't my father also die under the siege of your Hagoromo clan?"

"Uh..."

Hearing Tobirama Senju state the cause of his father's death in an extremely calm tone, the brothers' expressions stiffened, and the scene instantly fell into a dead silence.

"When will this cycle of vengeance end? Why don't we shake hands and make peace? A strong alliance between Konoha and the Hidden Cloud will surely unify the ninja world."

Seeing the brothers influenced by his words and sensing an opportunity, Tobirama Senju immediately employed his most proficient "pie-in-the-sky" technique, intending to make these two seemingly dim-witted brutes lower their guard.

"Big brother..."

Gin raised his head from the silence, looking at Kin who was frowning in thought, and spoke with a conflicted expression.

"I think what this white-hair says makes some sense. Why don't we turn hostility into friendship and together..."

Kin smoothed his furrowed brows, his expression softening considerably, and he nodded at his brother with a complex look in his eyes, though a smile of ambiguous meaning flashed across the corner of his mouth.

"That sounds great~"

Tobirama Senju showed a rare display of goodwill and nodded along with a smile, though he felt utter contempt in his heart.

*Hmph, two blockheaded brutes, still being led around by my few words. Once they lower their guard, that will be the moment of their demise. *

"Together... attack!"

Just as Tobirama Senju waited for the brothers to shake hands and make peace, dazzling lightning suddenly erupted from the two, who had previously dissipated their killing intent.

The two brothers transformed into two streaks of lightning, reaching Tobirama Senju in the blink of an eye, their hand-blades wreathed in violent lightning slashing straight toward his white head.

The event happened too suddenly; even with Tobirama Senju's prior precautions, he could not dodge in time and had to raise the short sword in his hand, taking the brothers' fan-sized palms head-on.

"Clang!"

The collision between flesh and the chakra-metal short sword actually produced the metallic ringing of blades.

The terrifying force made Tobirama Senju's hands sink, and he cursed inwardly. In a flash of lightning, he chose to twist his body, offloading the irresistible giant force to the side.

"Snap!"

The brothers' hand-blades followed the direction of the short sword and slashed directly into the rock beside Tobirama Senju, instantly turning the hard stone into powder.

"Hoo... hoo... hoo..."

Taking the opportunity to put some distance between himself and the brothers, Tobirama Senju looked at his trembling hands, his expression gradually turning gloomy.

"Are you playing me?"

The brothers had not been bewitched by his words at all; the reason they pretended to hesitate was merely to make him lower his guard.

"Wasn't it you who played us first?"

Kin, wreathed in Lightning Release chakra, sneered, the mockery in his eyes plain to see.

"A ninja must be prepared to kill and be killed; the living are destined to carry the will of the dead."

Hearing this, Tobirama Senju suddenly realized that the brothers were not as crude as they appeared on the surface.

Frowning, Tobirama Senju calculated the time since he had fired the signal flare; logically, his teammates should be arriving soon.

"Damn it, why aren't they here yet?"

"Big brother, don't let him keep stalling for time, do it!"

Gin, standing to the side, rubbed his hands together with a cruel smile, and under Tobirama Senju's grave gaze, he took a gray driver out from the pack on his back.

"I wanted to play a little longer, but since it's come to this, let's send him on his way~"

Kin shook his head with regret and likewise pulled a driver from behind him.

"Henshin!" *2

The brothers transformed in sync, and accompanied by a flash of brilliant light, the silver-blue Wild Tiger and the purple Water Buffalo Knight appeared once again.

One holding a buzzing chainsaw and the other extending sharp, chilling claws, the two walked toward Tobirama Senju with steps full of oppressive force.

Sensing the terrifying aura radiating from the two knights, Tobirama Senju's heart sank to the bottom; if he were to fight one of them alone, he could still manage by relying on his endless array of methods.

But facing two knights at once, and a pair of brothers as tacitly coordinated as Gin and Kin, he didn't know if he could hold out.

"What exactly is that guy Uchiha Madara doing?"

Gritting his teeth, Tobirama Senju raised his short sword with his left hand and began forming hand seals with his right. The dry air suddenly became humid, and a ferocious dragon head condensed behind him, letting out bursts of roars.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"

Sitting and waiting for death was not Tobirama Senju's character; let him test the depth of these Tailed Beast Knights!

"Crackle!"

The F6, traveling through the heavy rain under the lead of Uchiha Madara, were heading toward the border of the Land of Fire when suddenly, a familiar signal flare lit up in the distance to the side. Everyone stopped in their tracks to identify it.

"Hiruzen, that is the distress signal of a Konoha ninja."

Homura Mitokado pushed up his glasses and quickly determined whose hand the signal had come from.

"Lord Shadow Assistant, are we going?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen, who worked in the Anbu, also recognized the source of the signal, but since he was not the leader of this squad, he immediately asked Uchiha Madara in front.

"What a nuisance."

Anxious to return to visit his best friend, Uchiha Madara was very impatient with this sudden situation. He looked toward the thick smoke that had not yet dissipated in the distance and frowned slightly, but soon smoothed it out.

Recalling those two menacing brothers, Gin and Kin, Uchiha Madara understood immediately.

At this hour, who else could it be but that bastard Tobirama Senju?

"You lot go provide support; such a small scene doesn't require me to take action."

After thinking for a moment, Uchiha Madara sent the eager F6 off directly. In this situation, it wouldn't be good not to go, so he might as well send a few people to make a gesture and avoid criticism.

"Yes!"

Upon receiving the mission, the F6 immediately perked up. They were all hot-blooded youths in their prime, and having just witnessed the tense and exciting knight battle, it would be a lie to say their hands weren't itching.

"Kagami, wait."

Just as they were packing their gear and preparing to set off, Uchiha Madara suddenly called out to Uchiha Kagami, who was about to leave, and under the other's puzzled gaze, handed over a card emitting a faint blue light.

"Ah~ Clan Leader, what is this?"

Taking the card with a puzzled expression, Uchiha Kagami shivered from the cold, chilling touch.

"Susanoo Card."

With his gaze falling on the towering Tengu giant on the card, Uchiha Madara spoke indifferently.

"Huh?"

Uchiha Kagami widened his eyes in confusion, looking completely bewildered.

"This card is condensed from my Susanoo power; it can save your life at a critical moment."

The card Uchiha Madara gave to Uchiha Kagami was something he had "rubbed" out via his driver after transforming; once loaded, it could summon Susanoo heavy armor.

It was just that he had a stronger belt, which saved him the process of swiping cards, so this card had become a decoration, usually left to gather dust in the card box.

"Uh... how do I use this?"

Excitedly flipping through the card in his hand, Uchiha Kagami naturally couldn't put down this new toy, but without a driver, he didn't know how to use the power of this card.

"I am the master of the Susanoo power, so naturally I will authorize it for you. Just keep it on your person."

As he spoke, Uchiha Madara raised his hand and tapped the Susanoo card. Following the sound of an electronic chime,

"Authorization successful."

As cool energy swept across his fingertips, Uchiha Kagami widened his eyes in surprise; he discovered that he suddenly had a feeling of blood-connected intimacy with the card in his hand.

"That's all it takes. Can you feel it?"

Having finished the authorization, Uchiha Madara nodded with satisfaction.

Unlike cards with their own consciousness like the Tailed Beast cards, the Susanoo card Uchiha Madara gave Uchiha Kagami contained only pure Susanoo power. As the master of this power, he could designate the user.

"Thank you, Clan Leader."

Having obtained a life-saving item, Uchiha Kagami was incredibly moved and was about to kowtow to Uchiha Madara, only to be stopped by the man's quick reflexes.

"Don't call me Clan Leader in private anymore; come to think of it, you can be considered my cousin."

A rare softness appeared on his stern face. Uchiha Madara looked at the fluffy curly hair of Uchiha Kagami, and his voice carried a bit of warmth.

Uchiha Gin had often instructed him to take good care of his nephew Uchiha Kagami. Although he didn't say it out loud, he had always kept this matter in his heart and would help out at critical moments.

"Thank you... Cousin~"

Since Uchiha Madara had said as much, it would be impolite for Uchiha Kagami to continue being distant, so he immediately changed his address.

"Alright, go on, be careful."

The few people not far away had been waiting for a long time, so Uchiha Madara did not continue to exchange pleasantries with Uchiha Kagami.

"Yes!"

"Kagami, what did Lord Shadow Assistant tell you?"

The F6 members ran together along the rugged mountain road; Sarutobi Hiruzen had been bursting with curiosity, and in the end, he could not hold it in and asked aloud.

"Nothing much, Lord Clan Head just gave me a small task."

Facing the curious gazes of his classmates, Uchiha Kagami hesitated for a moment and did not mention the matter of the Susanoo card.

After all, no one knew if their destination would be dangerous; it might just be a simple rescue mission.

"Is that so?"

Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned slightly; he always felt that Uchiha Kagami was not telling the truth, but he did not delve deeper, as that was the private business of the Uchiha clan, and it would be rude for them to ask.

"You guys, who do you think is sending the distress signal?"

Koharu Utatane, who was in the center of the group, suddenly spoke up; from her grave expression, it was not hard to see that the young girl already had a guess in her heart.

"Sigh~ I just hope it isn't the Master."

Homura Mitokado, who was beside her, let out a heavy breath, his eyes hidden behind his lenses filled with deep worry.

"No matter who it is, as long as they are from Konoha, we cannot abandon them."

Danzo, who was trailing at the very back of the group, shook his head with a firm gaze.

"Do you guys want some snacks? I have some treats I just bought from the Snow King~"

Just as the atmosphere of the group became heavy, Akimichi Torifu, holding several bags of snacks, spoke up to break the damn silence.

"Uh, give me a bag of fries~"

"Give me the melon seeds!"

The few of them exchanged glances, the previous heaviness swept away, and they reached out without ceremony to divide up Akimichi Torifu's snacks.

"Leave a bag for me!"

"Thud!"

Tobirama Senju, dressed in blue armor, knelt on one knee in a sorry state, his scarlet eyes filled with exhaustion; the short sword in his hand had long since snapped in two and was discarded carelessly to the side.

"Plop~"

"You guy, you really should go to the Hidden Mist Village; you're even more 'watery' than the Mizukage."

Stepping through the ankle-deep water, the Silver-Gold Brothers looked at the ground around them, which had turned from dry gravel to a waterlogged swamp, and could not help but click their tongues in secret.

This white-haired guy's mastery of Water Release absolutely crushed that guy with the mustache from the Hidden Mist Village.

"Huff~ huff~"

Panting heavily, Tobirama Senju looked at the faint scratches on the armor of the two opponents and could not help but feel a sense of despair; his sword skills, which he took pride in, could not even break through these guys' defenses.

"Since that's the case, then..."

If sword skills couldn't break through, he would use his most powerful attack technique; Tobirama Senju was seen quickly forming hand seals, and dense water-natured chakra condensed in his mouth.

As his cheeks puffed up high, the Silver-Gold Brothers standing not far away smiled disdainfully.

"Water Release again? Don't waste your energy; our defense can even withstand a One-Finger Piercing... uh?"

They had just taken quite a few Water Release attacks head-on, and it hadn't hurt them in the slightest, but soon, they sensed something ominous from the Water Release Tobirama Senju was brewing.

It was too late for the Silver-Gold Brothers to dodge; a thin water jet containing terrifying destructive power had already sprayed from Tobirama Senju's mouth, cutting toward the two at a speed invisible to the naked eye.

【Water Release: Water Severing Wave】

"Whoosh~"

The Water Severing Wave, which could easily cut through diamond, swept across; the Silver-Gold Brothers hurriedly reached out to protect their vitals, and the high-speed water jet cut into their armor, emitting a harsh cracking sound.

"Crack~ crack~"

The knight's indestructible armor actually began to develop cracks under the baptism of the Water Severing Wave; seeing this, Tobirama Senju immediately increased the power.

The sharp water blade soon cut through the thick knight armor, and a glaring spray of blood burst out from the two's waists.

"Ah!"

The Silver-Gold Brothers let out a pained cry, a ruthless glint flashing in their eyes; Kinkaku endured the pain and threw the chainsaw in his hand, the roaring blade spinning rapidly, looking as if it were about to land on Tobirama Senju's head.

"Swish!"

To avoid this fatal blow, Tobirama Senju had no choice but to dodge the chainsaw, and the Water Severing Wave in his mouth naturally stalled; after landing not far away, he looked at the Silver-Gold Brothers clutching their waists, his eyes full of disappointment.

Give him a few more seconds, and he could have cut these two in half at the waist.

"Cough, cough, cough... As expected of the man who legend says signed a contract with the ocean, your Water Release is truly not to be underestimated."

Wiping away the blood seeping from his faceplate, there was no longer any contempt in Kinkaku's eyes; it turned out that the pile of flashy Water Release techniques Tobirama Senju had just thrown out were merely to pave the way for this killing blow.

Just as they were speaking, bright red chakra spread from the wounds at their waists; within a few breaths, the bleeding wounds had recovered as before, and the damaged armor was also repairing itself at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Knights, they really are troublesome."

Witnessing the terrifying recovery ability of the two, Tobirama Senju's brows locked tightly.

Before the Knight War began, he had never taken the emerging profession of "Knight" seriously; the only thing that had garnered even a little of his attention was the Tailed Beast sealed within them.

But after a Knight War, he suddenly developed a great interest in the Knight system, and after experiencing it personally—especially the fist-to-flesh combat—his impression became even deeper.

Small workshops really do use heavy materials; the Knight system is simply a work far ahead of its time.

"This move should be your final trump card, right?"

The fully recovered Silver-Gold Brothers revealed a fierce glint, looking at Tobirama Senju as if they were looking at a shivering little lamb.

"Hmph~ you guess."

Tobirama Senju was not foolish enough to spill his bottom line to the enemy; after a cold, bluffing snort, the exhaustion in his eyes grew heavier. He had few tricks left, and if reinforcements didn't arrive, he might really lose his life here.

"Stop, don't act rashly yet. Kagami, I'm counting on you."

Not far from Tobirama Senju and the Silver-Gold Brothers, six figures landed quietly; acting as the temporary leader, Sarutobi Hiruzen signaled for the others to mask their presence, then nodded toward Uchiha Kagami behind him.

"Leave it to me."

Uchiha Kagami immediately activated his Sharingan, six tomoe radiating an arcane aura slowly rotating, taking in the situation on the field at a glance.

"Oh no, it's the Master; he is being besieged by the Silver-Gold Brothers of the Hidden Cloud Village."

Uchiha Kagami's expression changed drastically, and he immediately relayed the scene he saw to the others present; hearing this, everyone's hearts sank, and their faces turned extremely ugly.

The power of the Two-Tails Knight and the Eight-Tails Knight was something they had witnessed with their own eyes not long ago; if the few of them went up, they probably wouldn't even be enough to fill the gaps between the two brothers' teeth.

"It's actually the Silver-Gold Brothers. Kagami, you go notify Lord Shadow Assistant, we will go to stall for time."

The situation was extremely critical; Sarutobi Hiruzen made a prompt decision, taking only five seconds to arrange the tactics. The others had no objections and began to organize their last-resort ninja tools, preparing for a desperate fight.

"No! How can I abandon you all!"

Uchiha Kagami shook his head; having been educated in ideology and morality by Uchiha Gin since he was young, he simply could not bring himself to abandon his teammates and run away.

"This is an order! Even with you, we cannot win."

Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was counting his explosive tags, frowned, but looking at Uchiha Kagami's resolute expression, he could not help but feel immense relief in his heart.

"The situation is urgent now; it's too late to go find the Clan Head."

In Uchiha Kagami's field of vision, Tobirama Senju had already been forced into a desperate situation by the Silver-Gold Brothers, and was on the verge of suffering extreme humiliation.

"Uh... then at least we must arrange a tactic."

Sarutobi Hiruzen gritted his teeth; fighting without a plan is a major taboo in warfare.

"In a moment, Koharu will poison the air first, we will act after taking the antidote; Torifu and Danzo will go to draw aggro, Hiruzen and Homura will provide long-range harassment, and Koharu will take the opportunity to heal the Master."

Before Sarutobi Hiruzen could even think of a tactic, Uchiha Kagami rattled off a simple and unadorned plan like beans falling from a pod, arranging everyone clearly.

"And you?"

After listening, everyone's gazes fell squarely on Uchiha Kagami.

"Me? I'm going to sneak up on their butts~"

"Hehehe, white-haired one, stop struggling and obediently accept our humiliation~"

Forcing the exhausted Tobirama Senju into a dead end, the Silver-Gold Brothers licked their lips, their eyes revealing an ambiguous light that made one involuntarily clench their buttocks.

"A gentleman can be killed but not humiliated!"

Lamenting that his life was over, Tobirama Senju quietly reached into the ninja tool pouch behind him with one hand, clutching the few remaining explosive tags, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes.

As things stood, he only had the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags technique left to use, but this jutsu had immense power, and as the caster, he would very likely be caught in the explosion and perish together with the enemy.

"It's a pity that the move meant to be paired with the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags technique hasn't been fully developed yet."

Taking a deep breath, Tobirama Senju's gaze became incomparably firm; looking back on his life, these few decades had seen him witness the changes in the ninja world.

But if he had to name his greatest regret, it might be not seeing his younger sister get married.

Itama, if that curly-haired guy dares to bully you, just go to your second brother's grave and say so; see if I don't deal with him!

"What are you trying to do?"

Seeing Tobirama Senju pull out a few unremarkable explosive tags, the Silver-Gold Brothers stopped their advance and asked with faces full of confusion.

"I invite you to watch some fireworks."

"Fireworks? You're actually a pretty decent guy."

Tobirama Senju forced himself to stand up, flicking the explosive tags in his hand; before they even landed on the Silver-Gold Brothers, he began to form hand seals.

"Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags... cough, cough, cough!"

As a result, when he reached the final seal, he was abruptly interrupted by some irresistible force.

Tobirama Senju suspiciously refined the chakra in his body, only to find that its speed of flow through his meridians was like a turtle crawling.

"No way, you guys are too cautious, right? Even in a guaranteed win, you still use poison?" (End of chapter)