Hikaru struck without warning.
The impact instantly triggered a violent tide of energy.
That surge not only ignited the forest around them, but also sent a powerful shockwave straight toward Konoha.
Once someone reached their level, they truly could not afford to act carelessly.
Every movement they made after channeling chakra could cause unimaginable destruction to the surroundings.
That was why Hikaru absolutely could not let this battle spread to Konoha.
At the very least, he could not allow it to cause irreparable damage.
He had wasted so much time talking with Urashiki precisely to buy time for his shadow clones.
And now, no matter how he looked at it, his clones should have completed their tasks.
Since that was the case, Hikaru no longer hesitated.
He intended to draw Urashiki's attention, then use the Flying Thunder God Technique to leave this area.
Only after dragging this man far away could he fight without holding back.
Of course, to prevent Urashiki from refusing to follow, Hikaru had also prepared in advance.
Hashirama's role was not only to withstand the aftershocks of their clash.
He also had to protect Konoha directly from the battle's fallout.
That was why Hikaru's shadow clone had spoken to him so seriously.
Hikaru wanted every possible risk cut off before it could grow.
His first attack was meant to seize the initiative, anger Urashiki, and test just how strong he really was.
But what made Hikaru frown was that Urashiki had not moved at all.
He still hovered calmly in the air, watching Hikaru's golden chakra cloak with an amused expression.
A ring of red chakra quietly surfaced around Urashiki's body.
That chakra completely blocked Hikaru's black chakra sphere.
At the same time, Hikaru clearly saw the fishing rod behind Urashiki turn red as well.
"A barrier?"
Hikaru thought silently.
He had not expected Urashiki to have a technique like this.
In fact, Hikaru had considered developing something similar before.
After all, shinobi had obvious weaknesses.
If he could improve his defense, Hikaru would naturally be more than happy to do so.
Unfortunately, chakra was a flowing, irregular kind of energy.
Gas?
Hikaru honestly did not know how to describe it.
To make that kind of energy fully solid and stable was not simple.
Even though Hikaru had completed the two critical steps of chakra shape transformation and nature transformation, he still could not make chakra both flow and solidify well enough to form a proper defensive barrier.
"Your power doesn't seem like much."
Urashiki smiled at Hikaru in a slightly mocking tone.
Although Hikaru's attack looked impressive, it had not harmed him at all.
"You used natural energy and the broken power of the Ten-Tails, yet this is all you can do?
"Are you testing me, or are you truly only capable of this much?"
"Why don't you guess?"
Hikaru's tone remained calm.
He really had not used much power.
After all, he was not like Urashiki.
He had reservations.
No wonder many people said the strongest warriors did not necessarily need bonds.
The power of protection was indeed frightening, but when one had people to protect and faced an enemy who did not care about reason, those bonds became the deadliest weakness.
People without attachments did not have that concern.
But those without attachments also had no moral or rational restraint, so it was not strange for them to eventually destroy themselves.
Becoming strong was never easy.
Reaching the very peak was even harder.
But no matter how difficult that road was, Hikaru had already been walking it for years.
His eyes swept over Urashiki's barrier.
He was searching for its flaws.
His eyes had incredible insight.
Perhaps their dynamic vision could not compare to the Sharingan, but when it came to finding weak points, Hikaru's eyes were absolutely first-rate.
In only a short moment, Hikaru had roughly understood the chakra flow of the barrier.
"Guess? Sorry, I have no interest in guessing. I only summarize what I see."
Urashiki shook his head disdainfully.
His expression remained calm and arrogant.
"Your body is decent. It has been tempered by Ōtsutsuki blood, after all, but its strength is only that much.
"If not for the protection of that broken Ten-Tails power, you would have been injured just now.
"The power you released is barely presentable, but if this is all you have, then you can die."
As soon as he finished speaking, Urashiki reached behind him with his right hand.
The fishing rod wrapped in red chakra fell into his grasp.
In an instant, an overwhelming chakra swept outward.
A terrifying force containing Yin-Yang Release erupted.
"If this is your limit, then it is my turn."
The next moment, his gaze sharpened.
A destructive aura burst from his body.
Without warning, the spot where Hikaru stood exploded.
A deep crater appeared in the ground, and dust spread outward with the blast.
However, his attack had clearly missed.
In the distance, Hikaru stood quietly atop a tree branch.
His gaze remained fixed on Urashiki, and a faint trace of doubt appeared on his face.
He had suddenly noticed a problem.
Why did Urashiki not have Truth-Seeking Orbs?
If Urashiki had used them just now, Hikaru could still have escaped, but that cursed power would definitely not have allowed him to remain this relaxed.
According to Hikaru's understanding, Truth-Seeking Orbs should be created after one possessed and fused Yin-Yang and the five basic chakra natures.
Yet in his memory, aside from Kaguya's bloodline, none of the other Ōtsutsuki seemed to use them.
In the original story, only Kaguya's lineage had used Truth-Seeking Orbs.
Hamura and Hagoromo went without saying.
Later, Asura, Madara Uchiha, and Obito Uchiha could also use them.
Naruto and Toneri had also fought using Truth-Seeking Orbs.
But Momoshiki, whom Hikaru had seen before, never used them in battle.
"Could Truth-Seeking Orbs have some other requirement?
"Maybe they're not created simply by fusing Yin-Yang and the five chakra natures?"
Hikaru thought silently.
But in the next second, his expression changed slightly.
He clearly saw a "door" open behind him.
A hand shot out from inside it.
Space-time ninjutsu.
To ordinary shinobi, it was an incredibly difficult technique, almost impossible to learn.
But for the Ōtsutsuki, it did not seem difficult at all.
…
"Hashirama, what exactly is going on?"
Mito Uzumaki's expression changed as she felt the terrifying energy surge.
Although it was difficult to believe, she had confirmed several times that this young Hokage was absolutely no weaker than her husband.
According to Hashirama, the young Hokage had even surpassed him.
That sounded absurd, but Mito did not believe her husband would joke about something like that.
And now, both her husband and that young Hokage looked extremely serious.
With the terrifying energy wave and their conversation, Mito had already realized that the situation was probably very bad.
She truly could not understand it.
She had only been gone from this world for a little over twenty years.
How had the world become so unfamiliar?
Besides that, her husband had mentioned the moon to her.
But he had stopped after only mentioning it and had not explained any further.
Mito was intelligent.
Since her husband did not wish to say more, she would not ask too much.
No matter how curious she was, she would not make the same mistake again.
But the situation was different now.
Judging by how things were developing, the battle seemed to have already reached Konoha.
Mito could no longer suppress her curiosity and concern.
She knew her husband would not answer this question directly.
She only asked it to confirm one thing.
She wanted to know whether her husband could handle it, and whether he would be safe.
"It is dangerous and complicated, but don't worry."
Hashirama took a deep breath and spoke seriously.
"With me here, with Tobirama and Hikaru here, everything will be fine.
"Do not forget, we are all Hokage.
"Even if we must risk our lives, we will protect Konoha!"
Hashirama did not make too many direct promises.
He knew his wife too well.
Back then, before his final battle with Madara Uchiha, she had asked him in the same way.
His answer back then had also been that everything would be fine.
But that time had led his life toward its end.
In Hashirama's view, this situation was even more dangerous than that one.
Even so, he had to show enough confidence.
Just as he said, to protect Konoha, he would risk his life without hesitation.
After saying that, Hashirama rushed out the door.
The earlier surge of energy proved that Hikaru had already attacked.
The first exchange could not have been too intense.
It was a probe between the two sides, and it also gave Hashirama's side a moment to prepare.
Hashirama naturally would not waste that time.
After stepping outside, he immediately saw shinobi quickly and orderly evacuating Konoha's residents.
That satisfied him greatly.
But he also noticed many shinobi rushing toward the source of the explosion, which filled him with concern.
If ordinary shinobi charged into a battle like this, how was that any different from suicide?
With that thought, Hashirama sped up.
At that moment, he suddenly sensed a kunai flying to his side.
In the next instant, a figure appeared and took him away.
Space twisted.
Hashirama's vision blurred.
When everything returned to normal, he was already on the outskirts of Konoha.
Standing beside him was Tobirama, whose expression was extremely grave as he looked into the distance.
"Thank you. I suddenly feel like the Flying Thunder God Technique is actually quite useful sometimes."
Hashirama said quietly while quickly forming hand seals.
"Wood Release: Wood Clone Technique."
"Shadow Clone Technique."
Tobirama formed a seal with one hand.
The next moment, he summoned the same number of clones as Hashirama.
Only then did he speak calmly.
"Hikaru has already found me. I know what happened.
"Damn it. A legendary being like this is truly troublesome."
"Don't think too much. Our job is to protect Konoha."
Hashirama shook his head, his expression now completely serious.
"And as shinobi, we should not fear the enemy.
"As long as we stay calm and trust Hikaru to gather enough information, we can defeat this opponent.
"But for now, we have another mission.
"Are you ready?"
"Hmph."
Tobirama did not answer.
His shadow clones had already placed their hands on Hashirama's wood clones.
Chakra stirred lightly.
In an instant, they vanished.
At different points around Konoha's perimeter, their figures appeared one after another.
At the same time, their chakra began to move.
Hashirama smiled faintly.
Although they had not worked together like this for many years, his coordination with his younger brother had not faded at all.
"Since we're ready, then…"
Hashirama formed seals again.
The next moment, the chakra inside him erupted completely.
"Ninja Art: Four Crimson Ray Formation!"
The Four Crimson Ray Formation was a secret barrier technique of the Uzumaki Clan.
It required four top-class shinobi with enormous chakra reserves to stand in the four cardinal directions and form seals, creating a red, transparent, flame-like rectangular barrier.
This technique isolated the target from the outside world, and its walls burned with red chakra flames.
It prevented those outside from entering and those inside from escaping.
Anyone who touched the barrier's walls would be burned by chakra flames.
Most importantly, its hardness was strong enough to withstand the Ten-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball.
In the original Fourth Shinobi War, Hashirama had used this technique to trap the Ten-Tails.
Now he was using it to surround Konoha and prevent anyone inside from rushing out recklessly.
After completing all this, Hashirama began moving his chakra again.
This time, however, he did not form seals.
What he needed to do now was maintain his chakra at maximum output, ready to unleash ninjutsu at any moment.
He knew what came next would be the truly terrifying part.
Sure enough, after the red barrier rose wildly, two powerful waves of chakra surged toward them.
…
The instant space tore open and a hand reached toward Hikaru, Hikaru immediately used Flying Thunder God to dodge.
But the moment he landed, he suddenly discovered another black space door opening behind him.
Hikaru immediately understood.
His Flying Thunder God had been countered again.
This Ōtsutsuki was even more troublesome than Hashirama.
Because this man had the Byakugan.
That meant Hashirama needed to use perception to lock onto Hikaru's seeds, but Urashiki only needed to look.
Hikaru was increasingly realizing that if Flying Thunder God did not undergo a more complete, all-around reform, it would eventually become useful only against weaker enemies or for travel.
"If you like chasing me so much, then chase all you want!"
Hikaru immediately activated Flying Thunder God again.
This time, however, he kept a trick ready.
After using the technique, he quietly condensed a Tailed Beast Ball.
Over the past three years, Hikaru's improvement had been enormous.
Even though he rarely used Kurama's power, his mastery of it was not weak at all.
With the system's assistance, his Tailed Beast Ball formed both quickly and violently.
However, Hikaru had little confidence in this ambush.
His goal was only to disrupt Urashiki's movements.
When he emerged from Flying Thunder God's teleportation, a space door appeared behind him again without any surprise.
But what Hikaru never expected was that when he threw the Tailed Beast Ball straight into the space door behind him, he saw Urashiki's slightly stunned face.
The man did not seem to react at all.
Boom!
There was no response.
No attempt to evade.
Hikaru's attack struck Urashiki directly.
The powerful spiral mixed with Hikaru's terrifying chakra, creating a destructive force beyond imagination.
Amid the violent roar, Urashiki's body was forced back several steps, and the black space door began to close.
Hikaru quickly pulled his hand back out of the dark opening.
He had no intention of letting space cut off his arm.
"Blue Rinnegan?"
At that moment, Hikaru noticed a change in Urashiki.
And Urashiki was, after all, extremely powerful.
The destructive force of the Tailed Beast Ball had not erupted for long before it abruptly disappeared.
Clearly, the remaining power of the Tailed Beast Ball had been absorbed by his Rinnegan.
Even so, Urashiki looked somewhat battered.
His body was slightly charred.
The clothes on the left side of his body had completely vanished, clearly shredded by Hikaru's Tailed Beast Ball.
His body looked strange at that moment.
The half struck by the Tailed Beast Ball looked badly damaged.
But soon, white smoke rose from his body.
A surge of Yang Release quietly appeared, and his injuries began healing rapidly.
His expression was gloomy.
Clearly, he had not expected this.
But neither had Hikaru.
That counterattack had been meant purely to disrupt the enemy's pursuit and force him to create room to move.
Yet it had actually worked this well.
Hikaru's expression turned strange.
He was absolutely certain that if he used a move like this against Hiruzen Sarutobi, even that old man would be able to counterattack.
Even though Hiruzen was now so old that Hikaru considered him practically unable to move, that did not mean the old man lacked that ability.
So why would this absurdly powerful Ōtsutsuki make such an idiotic mistake?
"Was he too arrogant, so he got careless?"
Hikaru thought silently.
After considering it, he found that this seemed to be the only explanation that made sense.
Unless this man's combat experience was truly terrible, and that was why he had made such a mistake.
Hikaru did not have time to think too much about it.
Because he also noticed another detail.
Urashiki did not seem to possess senjutsu!
Earlier, Hikaru had been wondering why these Ōtsutsuki did not have Truth-Seeking Orbs.
Meanwhile, Kaguya and her descendants could use them.
After striking Urashiki directly with a Tailed Beast Ball enhanced by senjutsu, Hikaru seemed to realize something.
Because he possessed senjutsu himself, he naturally discovered through this exchange that Urashiki did not have senjutsu chakra at all.
In other words, these people did not seem to possess natural energy.
Whether it was Urashiki in front of him, or Momoshiki and Kinshiki in Hikaru's memory, none of them had it.
Among those who had used Truth-Seeking Orbs, Hagoromo had learned senjutsu from the old toad.
Hamura likely learned it from him, since he also possessed Truth-Seeking Orbs.
Further down the line, Asura was practically Naruto's predecessor, so it was not strange that he could use senjutsu.
Future Madara absorbed Hashirama's senjutsu.
Naruto went without saying.
As for Obito, he had never learned senjutsu, but one must not forget that he became the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki.
Naruto had once sensed the Ten-Tails' power.
What he sensed was a monster with endless natural energy.
The Ten-Tails' power came from nature itself.
By becoming the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, Obito could be considered someone who possessed natural energy.
And by relying on the Ten-Tails, he reached the so-called Six Paths level, appearing almost like an Ōtsutsuki.
The source of his power was likely the Sharingan, Madara's Rinnegan, and the Ten-Tails.
So he could be considered to have senjutsu as well.
Was that why he could use Truth-Seeking Orbs?
"So the key to using Truth-Seeking Orbs is actually related to senjutsu?"
Hikaru felt the idea was not completely reliable, but it seemed to be the only explanation for why these Ōtsutsuki did not have them.
Looking at Urashiki, who was still recovering, Hikaru forcefully suppressed the urge to attack and sighed helplessly.
This was such a good chance.
According to his instincts as a shinobi, he should be pressing the attack.
There was no way he should let Urashiki recover so comfortably.
Unfortunately, Konoha's defense had not been fully established yet.
If Hikaru attacked now, he would have to use even stronger power.
The result might be that he could suppress Urashiki, but not necessarily kill him.
Meanwhile, Konoha would suffer an even stronger shockwave and unimaginable destruction.
So Hikaru could only endure it for now.
Once the defensive barrier behind him was completed, he would no longer need to hold back.
"It seems I did underestimate you."
At that moment, Urashiki suddenly spoke.
"Your reaction speed is indeed impressive.
"And I must admit, with natural energy, you are worth taking seriously."
That was underestimating him?
Hikaru's expression became even stranger.
Wasn't what he had just done normal shinobi behavior to escape pursuit?
He had simply used a stronger power source.
Even a properly trained genin could make that kind of judgment.
But Hikaru had no time to dwell on it.
Because at that moment, a barrier rose behind him, covering Konoha.
The scorching crimson barrier enveloped the entire village.
At that moment, Hikaru knew he could increase the intensity.
…
As the burning barrier rose, Hikaru decided to stop holding back.
The chakra in his body surged wildly.
His Yin-Yang Release began running without the slightest restraint.
Only at that moment did Urashiki realize just how troublesome the person in front of him truly was.
Yin-Yang Release.
This was one of the powers the Ōtsutsuki Clan was best at.
It was also a power capable of harming, even killing, the Ōtsutsuki.
There were actually many powers the Ōtsutsuki feared.
Whether Yin and Yang were separate or fused together, both could injure them.
And once they fused into Yin-Yang Release, that power became terrifying enough to suffocate anyone.
Aside from that, there was natural energy.
Although natural energy was not as intense as Yin-Yang Release, it was still a force no one dared underestimate.
Once possessed, natural energy could adapt to any power.
It could even merge with Yin-Yang Release.
But natural energy was incredibly difficult to obtain.
Even beings as strong as the Ōtsutsuki could not absorb natural energy from the outside world.
They could capture someone with senjutsu and forcibly absorb that power, relying on their own strength to suppress it.
But if they could not gain more afterward, what meaning was there in absorbing it?
As for using the Ten-Tails to obtain Truth-Seeking Orbs?
That was not impossible.
But the Ten-Tails was a tool they used to plant the God Tree.
Why would they seal such a thing inside themselves?
Urashiki had noticed earlier that Hikaru was using senjutsu, but senjutsu alone had not concerned him too much.
Now, however, this man was also releasing Yin-Yang Release.
Together with his earlier reaction speed, it truly made Urashiki wary.
"But that is normal enough. He has Ōtsutsuki blood. It is not strange for him to be special."
Urashiki stared coldly at Hikaru.
Then he suddenly smiled.
"Still, I cannot be careless from this point on.
"Otherwise, the result may not look very good."
Urashiki was still thinking when Hikaru appeared directly behind him.
This time, Hikaru took the initiative to attack.
A new ninja sword appeared in his hand, and with Yin-Yang Release flowing through it, he slashed toward Urashiki without hesitation.
But in the next moment, Urashiki's body scattered into red paper cranes.
Under Hikaru's Jōgan, Urashiki's movements were visible.
The man had already appeared behind him.
In the next second, Hikaru turned around.
His blade slashed toward Urashiki again.
This time, Urashiki responded.
The fishing rod that had been on his back was now in his hand.
Clang!
With a slight movement, the fishing rod blocked the path of Hikaru's blade.
The sound of metal clashing rang out.
Hikaru's sword was stopped so casually.
No matter how hard Hikaru pushed, the blade could not move forward even a little.
"What strength.
"This man's physical body is far too strong."
Hikaru thought silently.
But as a veteran of the shinobi world, he had experienced countless battles.
Especially since he had joined the Anbu as a child.
He had fought far too many battles where the difference in raw strength was overwhelming.
Even now, although his own body had become terrifyingly strong, he had not forgotten any of the experience he had gained back then.
If he could not gain an advantage through strength, or if he had even fallen behind, then he would find another way through technique.
With that thought, Hikaru pulled back his blade first.
This was a newly prepared sword.
What annoyed him was that the moment he drew it back, he noticed cracks had already appeared on it.
But he could not be bothered with that now.
The material of this weapon limited its upper ceiling.
Besides, Hikaru had better options.
He simply had not reached the point where he needed to use them yet.
After drawing back his sword, Hikaru immediately leaned forward.
When one withdrew a blade, the opponent would often lose balance for a brief moment due to their own force pushing too far forward.
At that moment, their first instinct would be to regain balance and prevent him from pressing in.
More skilled opponents might even prepare a counter during that instant.
If Hikaru pushed forward, they could counterattack and turn defense into offense.
But in the next moment, Hikaru froze.
Because the moment he pressed in, Urashiki also rushed straight toward him!
"A counter? Such a decisive one?"
Hikaru had taken the initiative to step forward.
No matter how excellent his bodily coordination was, he could not suddenly change direction now.
The only thing he could do was bite the bullet and keep going.
At the same time, power began to flicker in his eyes.
Using his Jōgan to activate the Jōgan Chakra Mode would definitely ease the current situation.
But the distance between them was too close.
It also took time to mobilize and activate that power.
Hikaru knew it most likely would not make it in time, but he still tried to salvage the situation.
Thud!
In the next instant, a dull sound rang through the forest.
Hikaru stared blankly at the man who had collided with him.
He had already prepared himself to possibly be injured.
But in the end, he realized he and Urashiki had only crashed into each other.
The counterattack he imagined never came.
This made Hikaru genuinely confused.
What exactly did this guy mean?
He had predicted Hikaru's intention and countered so decisively, yet the exchange ended in such an absurd way?
Chakra stirred lightly, and Hikaru quickly pulled back.
He still had not fully understood what had happened.
However, a thought appeared in his mind.
Could it be that this guy really had no proper combat experience?
Once that thought appeared, Hikaru found that he could not stop thinking in that direction.
After a while, he seemed to finally reach a conclusion.
This guy was not pretending.
He really was just bad at fighting.
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