Chapter 497

"You're already at such an age, why are you still acting like a half-grown kid?"

Listening to the continuous explosions in the distance, Senju Tobirama, who was holding a shovel and digging into the ground, raised his head and shook it with a speechless expression.

Although he had quite a few opinions about Uchiha Madara, Senju Tobirama still highly recognized his strength, so he was not worried that the other party would flip over here.

"Huh?"

The shovel in his hand suddenly stalled. Senju Tobirama raised an eyebrow; he had finally dug up his spoils of war.

Clone No. 5, killed by gravitational potential energy, had now turned into a thin slice about 2.5cm thick. Senju Tobirama was not picky; upholding a scientific research attitude, he carefully collected this corpse.

"It actually still has activity; it is worthy of being Big Brother's cells."

During the collection process, he was surprised to find that the flesh and blood of the clone, which was already dead beyond death, was still slightly squirming. It was not the spasm of nerves after death, but a restlessness rich in vitality.

"Interesting."

Senju Tobirama rubbed his chin, gave up the crude collection method, and instead took out a pile of bottles and jars. Raising his standard-issue scalpel, he began to dismember it on the spot.

After a segment of bloody footage that could not be broadcast, Senju Tobirama wiped the fine sweat from his forehead and nodded with satisfaction at the filled bottles and jars.

There will be plenty to keep me busy after I go back~

"Right, there is one more."

After finishing the collection, Senju Tobirama cast his gaze on the location where the gas explosion had just occurred. There was another clone there that had been besieged and killed by the F6 group.

Putting on the gas mask he carried with him, Senju Tobirama stepped on the scorched ground and walked into the place where Clone No. 6 had met its end.

"This is..."

After a carpet-style search, Senju Tobirama did not find the remains of the clone, but unexpectedly discovered a hole that could accommodate one person. Judging from the freshness of the soil inside, this hole had just been dug.

"Did it run away?"

Squeezing the damp soil in the hole, Senju Tobirama's brows furrowed tightly. He always felt that this missing clone would be a significant hidden danger.

"Boom—!"

"That guy hasn't finished fighting yet?"

Just as Senju Tobirama was pondering, violent explosions rang out again in the distance. His train of thought interrupted, he curled his lip.

Turning around just as he prepared to go and investigate, Senju Tobirama suddenly stopped his steps. His scarlet eyes swept over the slightly raised hill in the distance, and his heart stirred slightly.

"Come out!"

"..."

"Don't hide, Danzo, I can see your butt."

As soon as the words fell, the raised hill trembled, and then the F6, who should have left, were seen walking out from behind the hill one after another.

"Oh my! It's all your fault, Danzo, you let the Master find us!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen scratched his head and viciously complained toward the hill that served as cover.

"This can be blamed on me too?"

He didn't expect the hill to actually speak. However, looking closer, the raised hill was actually Danzo's giant buttocks in disguise.

After Danzo stood up, the hill began to shrink rapidly, eventually returning to its normal size.

"You actually learned to defy orders?"

Looking at the group of rebellious disciples, Senju Tobirama asked with a cold face.

"Master, if you want to blame someone, blame me; it was I who let them stay."

Uchiha Kagami gritted his teeth and stood out. As the executor of the Master's orders, not only did he not urge the others to leave, but he instead indulged them in staying to watch the battle.

"Don't blame Kagami, it was I who insisted they stay."

Sarutobi Hiruzen also stepped forward, deciding to take the blame.

"It was me."

"It was all me!"

"..."

"Enough! Stop arguing."

Looking at the two disciples scrambling to take the blame, a flash of relief crossed Senju Tobirama's heart, but he still spoke with a straight face.

"Kagami, Hiruzen, come to my office once we get back."

It's time to quit~

"Yes."

The two, who had been arguing until their faces were red, stopped their dispute and nodded respectfully.

"Good thing I didn't stick my neck out, otherwise I'd have plenty of suffering to endure when I get back."

Seeing this scene, Danzo let out a long breath of lingering fear, his eyes full of schadenfreude as he looked at Hiruzen and Kagami.

"Since you haven't left, continue executing the mission now."

The battle situation was now very clear; the advantage was firmly on their side. Uchiha Madara even had the mind to "camp the fountain" there, so the safety of the F6 could be fully assured.

"Let's go, let's go see what our Hokage is playing at~"

Rolling his eyes with a hint of mockery, Senju Tobirama waved his hand and led the F6 toward Uchiha Madara's direction.

On the battlefield,

Uchiha Madara's situation was not as relaxed as Senju Tobirama had imagined. At this moment, he was suffering from the encirclement and interception of seven clones, his disheveled appearance a far cry from his relaxed state just moments ago.

"Clang!"

"Ugh... how is this possible?"

Raising his hand to block the incoming giant chainsaw by a hair's breadth, Uchiha Madara forcibly suppressed the blood churning in his chest and looked at the purple minotaur in front of him in disbelief.

They were clearly so trashy just a moment ago, how are they like different people now?

"Whoosh!"

Just as he was stunned, a silver figure flashed by like a ghost. Uchiha Madara, reacting a beat too late, felt a pain in his waist and then shifted his gaze downward.

"Pfft!"

A delayed arrow of blood sprayed out; there was actually a hideous wound on his lower back.

And not far away, Clone No. 2, having succeeded in its sneak attack, licked the blood remaining on its sharp claws with an expressionless face.

"Damn it!"

Feeling the pain, Uchiha Madara swung away Clone No. 8's chainsaw, his fox tail rising behind him, preparing to take revenge.

"Swish!"

As a result, before the wounded Uchiha Madara could act, a surging wave of sand fell from above his head. Unable to dodge in time, he was directly swallowed by the yellow sand.

"Boom!"

The next second, Uchiha Madara, clad in dark blue outer armor, broke out of the sand. With a flick of the gun-blade in his hand, countless Tailed Beast Bombs poured out instantly, aimed directly at the clones in front of him.

"Pop-pop-pop-pop~"

A water curtain rose, turning Uchiha Madara's Tailed Beast Bombs into duds.

Seeing the clones suddenly become perfectly coordinated and battle-hardened, Uchiha Madara's heart was full of confusion.

The reason he could easily handle these clones before was not because his power was strong, but because the other party's combat experience was basically zero and there was absolutely no teamwork.

This was what gave Uchiha Madara the opportunity to take down these clones in short order.

"This is going to be difficult~"

Looking at the seven clones surrounding him, a sense of foreboding arose in Uchiha Madara's heart; he might actually flip over here.

"Heh heh~ How could my works have any defects?"

Jigen, who was inspecting the quality of his works, filled himself a cup with a triumphant face.

These clones were cultivated by him over many years; they were the best products of the Otsutsuki clan's technology. How could a native possibly compare to them?

Even if this native was a high-quality descendant of their Otsutsuki clan, it could not hide the rustic aura emanating from his entire body.

Hmph! Smelly outsider country-bumpkin Otsutsuki~

"Clang!"

Blocking the diving attack of Clone No. 7 again, the gun-blade in Uchiha Madara's hand almost flew out of his grip. After retreating a few steps, he found that the encirclement against him was getting smaller and smaller. The clones, eyeing him covetously, were closing in step by step, as if they would swarm him at any moment.

"Whoosh~"

At this extremely critical moment, a blue light flashed. Senju Tobirama, holding a Flying Thunder God kunai, landed in a very handsome posture.

"I'm not late, am I?"

"I #￥%#￥%#￥... &%&"

Uchiha Madara was so angry he spouted a string of Konoha slang. At a time like this, you white-haired guy, if you don't hide far away, are you trying to come here to die?

"Eh? Why are you cursing for no reason?"

Glaring at Uchiha Madara with dissatisfaction, Senju Tobirama just wanted to retort, but found that the atmosphere seemed a bit wrong. Slowly turning his head, he happened to meet seven pairs of compound eyes full of killing intent.

"Holy crap!"

Fell into a wolf's den!

Senju Tobirama cursed loudly and quickly raised his hand to prepare to run, but after raising his fingers for a long time, the surrounding space power acted as if it didn't know him, giving no face at all to his summons.

"Huh?"

Lowering his hand with a gloomy face, Senju Tobirama used a Body Flicker to land beside Uchiha Madara.

"Why aren't you running?"

Looking at the white-haired guy beside him with confusion, Uchiha Madara actually felt a trace of emotion in his heart.

A friend in need is a friend indeed. After going back, I must instruct Izuna to change the Senju clan's mission commission from 80% to 50%.

"Can't run."

Senju Tobirama tried a few more times, but the result remained the same. His complexion instantly turned even gloomier.

His Flying Thunder God Technique had truly malfunctioned.

"Heh, you annoying fly, can't fly anymore, can you?"

Above the void, Jigen smiled, slowly lowering his large hand that radiated mysterious energy.

When he encountered the Senju brothers last time, his preparations were not sufficient, which was why he let Senju Tobirama, who knew Flying Thunder God, show off his power.

This time, he was fully prepared. The anti-air curse seal had just been laid down; Senju Tobirama would not be able to escape this time even with wings.

"What do you mean by that?"

Senju Tobirama's words were like a heavy blow to the head, smashing fiercely into Uchiha Madara's heart. He had originally thought about letting Senju Tobirama be the fallback for a retreat so he could fight with all his might. Now, this was great; the last way out was gone too.

"My Flying Thunder God Technique has failed."

Biting his lip hard, Senju Tobirama, as if not believing it, wiped the blood from his bitten lip onto his hand and then slapped it onto the ground.

"Summoning Technique!"

"..."

"As expected."

Looking at the motionless summoning formula, Senju Tobirama said with a dark face.

"Space power is being interfered with; all space ninjutsu cannot be used."

"Pah! What use are you?"

In Uchiha Madara's mind, the only thing about Senju Tobirama he could look up to was that elusive space ninjutsu. Apart from that, this white-haired guy was useless.

His taijutsu couldn't beat Izuna, his ninjutsu couldn't compare to his own, and his research ability was left far behind by his cousin.

Just a mediocre Kage-level ninja~

"But fortunately, only you came. Remember to cover the retreat for me later."

However, the silver lining in the misfortune was that Senju Tobirama came alone. This way, he only needed to sacrifice the white-haired guy, and he could retreat unscathed. He could be considered to have died for a worthy cause.

"Don't worry, after I go back, I will erect a monument and write a biography for you, letting your heroic deeds spread forever in the Land of Fire."

"Are you wishing for me to die?"

Hearing this, Senju Tobirama was almost angered to the point of fainting. He flicked the kunai in his hand, shooting it toward Uchiha Madara's head.

"Don't worry, I will take good care of Hashirama, and Tsunade too; I will cherish her like my own granddaughter."

Tilting his head to dodge the backstab from his teammate, Uchiha Madara promised solemnly, signaling Senju Tobirama to rest assured in his "glorious sacrifice." *I will raise your brother and granddaughter for you. *

"Hoo... be serious, it hasn't reached the point where death is inevitable."

After actively filtering out Uchiha Madara's outrageous words, Senju Tobirama backhanded another kunai and turned his gaze to the group of covetous clones, his eyes full of confusion.

"What's going on with them? How did they transform too?"

"I don't know either."

"How is their strength?"

"About the same as the originals, no, even stronger."

After clashing with the Different Riders transformed from the clones, Uchiha Madara had a rough judgment of their comprehensive strength.

The power of these counterfeits was no weaker than the original Tailed Beast Riders, and they were even better in terms of taijutsu.

"Really?"

Senju Tobirama's pupils shrank upon hearing this. He had the experience of being besieged by the Gin and Kin brothers, so he had a certain understanding of the power of the original Riders.

"How should I put it... it's like every Rider's transformer has been replaced by Hashirama."

"It's over, just wait for death."

Senju Tobirama dropped his hands in despair. What's the point of fighting? A mediocre bounty hunter can go toe-to-toe with Uchiha Madara without falling behind after gaining Rider power.

Not to mention the clones that perfectly inherited Big Brother's abilities. If they get Rider power, what's the point of fighting? It would be better to commit suicide on the spot.

"Konoha F6, here to pay respects!"

Just at this moment, six long-awaited figures landed on the field. After landing and posing in the Ginyu Force style, the F6 said to Senju Tobirama with a slight smile.

"Master! You flew too fast~"

"..."

"Is this the good deed you've done?"

After the awkward silence, Uchiha Madara turned his head to look at Senju Tobirama, who had a "poker face," his tone extremely cold.

Kagami is Big Cousin's favorite child. If he falls here, you white-haired guy won't have enough heads to pay for it.

"My bad, my bad."

Senju Tobirama was also full of regret at this moment. Just on the road, he had been boasting that their side already had victory in their grasp.

Hokage Uchiha Madara was already invincible, and he, the secretary, didn't even need to make a move; the enemies were already just "clay chickens and pottery dogs," vulnerable to a single blow.

"You shouldn't have come."

"Ah? Master, didn't you say to let us come and help clean up the battlefield?"

Uchiha Kagami blinked, his eyes revealing a purity rare in the Uchiha clan, which made Senju Tobirama's inner self-reproach increase by a few points.

"Lord Hokage, aren't you already invincible?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen also looked curiously at the stiff-looking Uchiha Madara. When he was watching from the sidelines just now, he had witnessed the other party's heroic performance, beating the clones into a panicked retreat after a few rounds.

"The past is the past, now is now. Children, the times have changed."

Senju Tobirama stood out with a heavy expression, the Flying Thunder God kunai in his hand flashing with a murderous cold light. In the F6's astonished gaze, he threw it at Clone No. 1, the leader among the clones.

"I will lead the charge!" (End of chapter)