And as Kazuki silently observed—

The legendary shinobi Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara had already begun their true battle.

The shockwaves from their clash in the heart of the Land of Water were powerful enough to reach the sea, sending tsunamis crashing across the surface!

Elsewhere, the other Kage-level ninja were unleashing equally colossal jutsu, each collision echoing across the battlefield…

Only Uchiha Izuna and Senju Tobirama had yet to escalate to physical combat. Their duel was still one of words.

"A fine trick, Uchiha Izuna. You managed to resurrect yourself—and Madara—right under my nose... But if I could kill you once, I can kill you again!"

"Even being the Sage of Six Paths' lapdog won't save you!"

Tobirama shouted furiously, "To protect Kazuki, I will eliminate anyone who stands in my way!"

Izuna actually laughed, provoked by Tobirama's apparent sincerity. He clapped sarcastically and sneered, "Still playing the noble act, are you? You damned hypocrite..."

"You expect me to believe you'd save an Uchiha?"

Tobirama scoffed and shook his head. "With that narrow little mind of yours, how could you possibly comprehend the Will of Fire?"

At the mention of those words—

A sly, knowing glint flashed in Izuna's eyes.

In a sudden movement, he formed a string of hand seals!

Tobirama immediately entered combat stance.

But Izuna didn't attack. Instead, he summoned a single Reanimation Coffin…

From within it, Shimura Danzō slowly stepped out. His eyes blinked with confusion as he scanned his surroundings—until they locked onto the man before him.

"Sensei?!"

Tobirama's expression darkened instantly. A wave of dread surged in his chest.

Izuna watched the scene with relish, laughing aloud. "This one—he's your beloved disciple, isn't he, Senju Tobirama?"

"Surely his Will of Fire… was shaped by your own teachings?"

A red gleam flickered in Izuna's eye. "Go on then, Shimura Danzō—tell your teacher what you've done in Konohagakure."

For the first time, fear flickered in Tobirama's eyes.

It had already been a terrible blow to his legacy that someone like Shimura Danzō came from his lineage...

And now Izuna had found out?

He wasn't just going to expose it—he was going to stage a public execution.

Especially with nearly every major figure in the Shinobi World present for this war!

As Izuna's words rang out across the battlefield, the intensity of the other ninja's clashes visibly lessened. Everyone, it seemed, understood what was about to unfold—and slowed their attacks, eager to eavesdrop.

Shimura Danzō, dark mastermind of the shinobi, now revealed as Tobirama's chosen pupil, was about to be put on trial—

Senju Tobirama's face was pitch black with rage.

He deeply regretted it…

Back when Shimura Danzō framed Hatake Sakumo, he should never have listened to the Monkey and given that disgraceful fool a chance to redeem himself.

He should've just cut him down on the spot!

As expected, the Monkey's very existence was wrong—erroneous, guilty, and deserving of death…

Ever since he scored a zero on Tobirama's Will of Fire exam, this disgrace of a student had never once brought him peace of mind.

If it hadn't been for his rush to rescue Kazuki, Tobirama would've long since led the people of Konoha to gang up on Sarutobi Hiruzen and teach him a proper lesson!

Uchiha Izuna's summoning of Shimura Danzō had inadvertently handed down a death sentence to another of Tobirama's students.

Two birds with one stone, really.

"Shimura Danzō, tell your teacher everything you've done…" Uchiha Izuna commanded. "Speak!"

Still unaware of the situation, Danzō's eyes suddenly lost focus. With pride swelling in his voice, he shouted: "To correct Sarutobi Hiruzen's mistakes as soon as possible, I aimed to become the Fourth Hokage and lead Konoha back onto the right path!"

"I created Root under the banner of the Will of Fire. I experimented with Hashirama-sama's cells—sacrificing a few unwilling shinobi—but the results were remarkable…"

"I also persuaded various clans to provide me with geniuses. I used curse seals and torture to turn them into tools loyal only to me…"

"But Sarutobi Hiruzen's power runs deep. He used sensei's cells to cultivate that monster, Uchiha Kazuki, who seized the authority to interpret the Will of Fire and bolstered Hiruzen's prestige in the village. So I had to slowly trim his wings, step by step."

"I almost succeeded in killing Hatake Sakumo, but I was stopped—"

Amplified by chakra, his voice spread over a kilometre…

The entire battlefield fell into a silent and awkward vortex.

Countless curious gazes—near and far—landed squarely on Senju Tobirama.

Even someone with Tobirama's iron will was starting to crack…

What the hell are you looking at?

A Flying Thunder God kunai shot out like a bullet, blasting Danzō's head to pieces with pinpoint precision.

Tobirama's eyes were full of murderous intent. "Uchiha Izuna, did you really think childish tricks like this would work on me?"

"Next time… I'll summon Uchiha Tajima from the Pure Land and have him tell everyone how the mere mention of the Senju name made you wet the bed when you were little!"

"No—there won't be a next time… I'll kill you today and send you back to the Pure Land myself!"

Since Izuna used Tobirama's disciple as a weapon, Tobirama retaliated by dragging out Izuna's father as ammo for verbal warfare…

...

"Who's Uchiha Tajima?"

Kaguya, who had been pondering how to convince Kazuki to flee, noticed the faint smirk on Kazuki's face as he listened to the insults flying back and forth. Curiosity flickered in her heart.

"Is that Uchiha Izuna's student?"

"No. Uchiha Tajima is his biological father," Kazuki replied blandly.

"Ah… This Senju Tobirama guy really has terrible manners," Kaguya muttered, frowning in disapproval.

"True," Kazuki nodded slightly. "His reputation in the shinobi world… is rather complicated and controversial."

Kaguya sighed inwardly. And Kazuki still wanted her to become the Sage of Great Love…

In Kaguya's eyes, only Kazuki possessed a mindset worthy of such a title.

Despite knowing full well that the mortals before him were crude, despicable creatures—

He was still willing to sacrifice himself to save them.

Now that was true compassion!

...

Hearing Tobirama's brutal insult, Uchiha Izuna narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"Can't handle the truth coming from your own disciple? So now you want to blame me for manipulating him?"

"How laughable, Senju Tobirama… You know full well what's true and what's false. If your disciple is that shameless, what does that say about you, his sensei?"

After hearing Danzō's entire confession… even Uchiha Izuna had to admit—he was almost impressed.

The command he'd given to Shimura Danzō was simple: tell the truth.

What no one expected was that Shimura Danzō truly seemed to believe that everything he had done was right. He mentioned the Will of Fire at every turn, slandered Sarutobi Hiruzen, and didn't forget to insult Kazuki's origins in the process.

He really believed his actions were justified—all for the good of Konoha!

Uchiha Izuna couldn't help but wonder—how had Senju Tobirama managed to produce such an arrogant, foolish, and utterly rotten disciple?

To think that Shimura Danzō was a student of Senju Tobirama… It made Izuna feel as if it tarnished his old rival's legacy, casting a shameful shadow over his name.

Could it be that after narrowly defeating him, Tobirama had become conceited?

How else could he have shown such poor judgment of character?

And deep down… Tobirama also knew—

Izuna really hadn't manipulated Danzō at all. That idiotic speech, full of self-righteous delusions wrapped in the Will of Fire, was far too genuine to have been fabricated. With Izuna's prideful nature, there was little chance he could even imitate such shameless nonsense.

In other words…

Shimura Danzō really believed everything he had done was right! And he even believed Kazuki had been created by the Monkey using his cells…

'Danzō… before I deal with the Monkey, your teacher will send you off first,' Tobirama delivered a mental eulogy for his second disciple: 'Don't even bother going to the Pure Land. Just vanish from existence.'

The headshot Danzō suffered via Flying Thunder God didn't kill him, of course. As an Edo Tensei, his body reassembled piece by piece…

But just as he finished regenerating—

A blood-red glint flared in Tobirama's eyes. The intricate pattern of his Mangekyō spun into motion, and a sinister black fire instantly erupted over Danzō's body.

"Dōjutsu: Wakatsuki…"

A cursed blaze that could corrupt and burn chakra—capable even of incinerating the soul—devoured Danzō in the blink of an eye.

Normally, Edo Tensei felt no pain. But this time, Danzō howled in agony, writhing uncontrollably, his eyes filled with disbelief: "Sensei! Why are you attacking me?! What's going on with your Mangekyō Sharingan?! Aaaaaahhh!"

Through the flames, he saw Tobirama's cold, crimson eyes glaring down at him.

"Have you been corrupted by Uchiha power too?! Are you betraying the Will of Fire?!"

"This forbidden technique… No! Only I should wield it! For Konoha! For the shinobi world, I must—"

Shimura Danzō collapsed in an ugly, desperate heap on the ground, trying to crawl away and escape.

He had always known how terrifying Uchiha power could be…

He now believed Tobirama, like himself, had sought the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan—but had succumbed to its curse and turned against him.

But as for himself—Shimura Danzō—

Even after using the Sharingan for all those years, he still held Konoha and the Will of Fire in his heart! He had never been swayed!

Hearing such an absurd proclamation, Tobirama's face darkened completely—while Uchiha Izuna burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"Bwahaha! Hahahahahaha!"

This might well be the most humiliating moment in his old rival's entire life.

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