Meanwhile, Tobirama used the Flying Thunder God Technique to instantly appear within the formation.
"Dispatch orders! The entire village is to enter Level One Alert. Sarutobi, you and the others proceed according to plan!"
A short, brown-haired boy with a spiky hedgehog-like hairstyle responded, "Understood, Master!"
"Sarutobi, you should address him as Lord Tobirama!" Another black-haired boy scolded him before also accepting the orders and departing.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Under Tobirama's command, the jōnin performed Earth Release as planned to raise the ground beneath the conference room.
Earth Release: Moving Earth Core!
Another group simultaneously began forming a barrier.
Outside the village, Shukaku the One-Tail also cooperated with them by using Magnet Release to seal the area.
At that moment, a pool of "dark shadow" was exposed due to the shifting earth; although it was only for an instant, Tobirama's keen senses caught it.
Tiger → Dog → Serpent!
Water Release: Water Severing Wave!
This technique was incredibly fast, striking Black Zetsu directly. Unfortunately, unless it was a technique of Sage Art level or above, no matter how powerful, it could not harm him.
"If ninjutsu won't work, then physical it is!"
He immediately threw a Tri-pronged Kunai and teleported to it.
"Flying Thunder God Slash!" The sound of the blade cleaving through the air followed only after the sword's edge had already traced towards the shadow.
But unexpectedly, the target instantly melded into the earth and vanished.
After Tobirama's sword struck nothing, he landed and pressed his index and middle fingers to the ground.
Savor of Mind Technique!
"How is this possible? I can't sense it at all?!"
Magnet Release was too slow; by the time Shukaku executed it, the target had already disappeared.
At that moment, Hashirama and Madara rushed out!
Hashirama shouted, "Close the barrier! These things are useless against it!"
Kurama urgently said, "He's reached the village gate!"
The gathered ninjas once again performed Earth Release: Moving Earth Core!
But this time, Black Zetsu had learned his lesson and deliberately guarded against this move, not revealing himself.
Hashirama dropped from mid-air and stomped down with all his force!
"Boom!" Like a miniature Tailed Beast Ball, the ground instantly shattered, creating a massive circular crater spreading out from Hashirama, twenty-five meters in diameter!
"Brother!" Tobirama shouted from afar, "Physical attacks and ninjutsu are ineffective against him!"
Seeing this, Madara immediately bit his right thumb.
Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram
Summoning Technique!
"Madara, I didn't expect you to summon me so soon. Who requires you to need help to deal with?"
After the smoke cleared, it turned out to be the White Snake Sage?
"Spare me the talk. Use Inorganic Reincarnation on the area outside the gate!" Madara commanded without a hint of emotion.
"So cold~"
Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation!
The ground immediately became connected to the White Snake Sage.
"Oh? So there was a little mouse."
As he manipulated it, the earth began to quake violently from beneath.
However, the target remained unaffected, continuing to move swiftly through the ground.
"If that's the case… then try this." Sage Art energy enveloped that area of land and began to compress inward relentlessly.
Sage Art: Dungeon Seal!
Forced by this, the black, tar-like substance had no choice but to coalesce into a humanoid form.
"There's actually such a skilled person in Konoha?" Black Zetsu swiftly used Yin-Yang Release, suddenly exerting immense force at a single point.
Crack! A gap was drilled through the sealing technique. He desperately escaped through the breach.
Just then! A massive chakra blade, covered in natural energy, plunged down from above, thrusting deep into the earth, forcefully diverting Black Zetsu's path.
Following that, three more blades stabbed down, restricting Black Zetsu's movement.
The White Snake Sage continued to mobilize his chakra.
Sage Art: Earth Release—Earth Tremor Technique!
A high-intensity earthquake, imbued with natural energy, left Black Zetsu dizzy and disoriented, forcing him out of the ground. The moment he surfaced, two furious shouts rang out:
"Adamantine Seal!"
"Sage Art: Wood Release—Cutting Technique!"
This time, it finally had an effect. After being struck by the Sage Art, a fine crack split open on Black Zetsu's pure black body!
"It's working! Everyone, keep pushing!"
An excruciating, drilling pain coursed through him, yet no blood flowed. Despite his seething rage, Black Zetsu kept his mind clear.
"Regardless of how I was exposed, the situation is extremely unfavorable for me now. I'll have to use that." Resolving himself, he ignored the cost.
Without any hand seals or warning signs, his body suddenly dissolved into a pool of black liquid. After breaking free from his restraints, countless Black Zetsus surged out from the black water.
In doing so, he exhausted himself, yet hundreds of Black Zetsu clones were spawned, each diving into the ground and scattering in all directions.
"He can even do this? How come I never saw this in the original work?" Hashirama was astounded. He urgently asked, "Kurama, can you lock onto him?"
Kurama shook its head, indicating, "It feels like each one is his real body."
"If that's the case, Madara, let's try that technique!"
"Tch. Even with all this preparation, we still couldn't capture him. And now we have to use that."
He didn't voice any objection, so Hashirama took it as agreement. He pressed his palms together and roared:
Sage Art: Wood Release—True Several Thousand Hands!
The colossal, sky-obscuring Thousand-Armed Buddha rose instantly. Compared to it, the Perfect Susanoo seemed no more than a child.
And it wasn't over yet!
"Susanoo Clad!" Madara formed the Tiger hand seal and bellowed.
The Susanoo flew atop the Great Buddha, slowly merging with it. The Great Buddha was now draped in a blue ceremonial robe, its two main hands wielded an Extermination Pestle and a Dharma Staff, and every arm behind it was enveloped in blue flames!
"This is our bond! Madara, let's go!"
Madara, standing beside Hashirama, allowed a flicker of excitement to cross his face before calmly stating, "Insect, your struggle ends here!"
Hashirama roared, "Summit-Style Buddha!"
Countless wooden fists from behind it rained down. No matter how many clones you have, die!
Everyone in Konoha was frozen in place, overwhelmed by the successive, horrifying, colossal entities they had witnessed.
They thought the White Snake Sage and the Perfect Susanoo were already terrifying enough; no one expected Wood Release to be even more despair-inducing!
That cheerful, somewhat overly kind "Lord Hashirama" was actually this horrifying!
On a mountaintop observing the battlefield, two youths, Hiruzen and Danzō, had stars twinkling in their eyes. "The other master is this strong? I'm going to stick close to him and learn as much as possible!"
Beside them, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado advised, "Lord Hashirama was just kind enough to teach us a bit of ninjutsu knowledge; he's not our official master. Besides, our talents could never reach that level. It's better to ask Lord Tobirama for guidance."
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a bit reluctant, muttering to himself, "Well… it's still worth a try, I suppose."
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the battlefield, the White Snake Sage and the nine Tailed Beasts were working together to clean up the stragglers.
Shukaku used Sand Release and Magnet Release to seal the Black Zetsu clones.
Matatabi released blue demonic flames to block off paths.
Isobu used Coral Parasitism on the Black Zetsu clones.
Son Gokū… Kokuō… Saiken… Chōmei… Gyūki… Kurama…
"Among you few, only that little fox is worth anything. The rest of you can only manage to bully ordinary people."
"What did you say?! Don't think that just because you've lived long, you're so great. We are Tailed Beasts!" As Shukaku spoke arrogantly, the violet markings on his body twitched. "Old snake, you better hope you can be reborn after you die, or else…"
"Esteemed Sage, he's the one provoking you. If you beat him, please don't beat me~" Matatabi, equally proud, said something that surprised the other Tailed Beasts, her pupils shifting slightly.
But before the White Snake Sage could revel in his triumph, "Little tanuki, you…"
The sky-covering Great Buddha, now clad in a blue robe, had countless fists, each the size of a hill, hammering down towards the ground!
The relentless bombardment sounded like the earth itself was wailing…
The beasts immediately focused their chakra to steady themselves. The intense earthquakes and explosive roars continued for a full ten minutes before they finally began to subside.
As True Several Thousand Hands was deactivated and vanished, they felt a profound sense of relief, like survivors of a catastrophe. It was worth noting that only the White Snake Sage and Kurama had witnessed this technique before; the others had been subdued before it could even be used against them.
This was also why Hashirama and Madara had arrived slightly late—they had spent a little extra time at Kurama's location.
"Thud!" The two landed simultaneously.
"How did it go?" Hashirama asked with a smile.
The Tailed Beasts all hurriedly nodded. "We can guarantee not a single one escaped from our side!"
The White Snake Sage also replied gravely, "That's correct."
"Hmph. To die by our combined assault is a privilege for him."
"Is it really that easily settled? With that many clones, there were bound to be ones that slipped through. And he can liquefy. Madara, we need to prepare for the worst."
"Fine. I actually hope he's alive, so I can deal with him slowly myself!" Madara's eyes glinted fiercely as he spoke.
Hashirama called out to the Tailed Beasts, Tobirama, and the others to handle the cleanup and reconstruction, then had everyone return so he could announce the results.
…
Under the expectant gazes of all, Hashirama stood in the plaza and raised Uchiha Madara's right hand. According to the vote count, he declared:
"The First Hokage of Konoha is—Uchiha Madara!"
Thunderous applause and cheers erupted below.
"Heaven favors the Uchiha… our clan will rise again!"
"Heh heh, looks like the Senju will have a tough time now."
Silence!
Next, Hashirama announced, "Senju Tobirama will serve as the Shadow Deputy. Sarutobi Sasuke will serve as the Hokage Assistant. Shimura Tensō and Nara Shikashi will serve as Hokage Advisors.
Furthermore, departments for Finance, Personnel, the Academy, Research, Medical Corps, and others will be formally established. The village will not neglect anyone who achieves merit."
"That's wonderful! Lord Hashirama is so kind!"
Feeling the enthusiasm directed towards Lord Hashirama, Senju Aoi was excitedly bouncing around, failing to notice the shadow beneath his feet twitch.
Meanwhile, at the outskirts of Konoha, Kurama was somewhat puzzled. "Is it because I separated too many? I still feel a faint residual presence nearby."