Tobirama couldn't help but frown after hearing Orochimaru's explanation. "The most ideal Shinobi?" he wondered.
He immediately looked down at the remnants of the altar beneath his feet and studied the numerous Fuinjutsu carved on the altar's ruins; after a while, he looked along the chakra-carrying lines and his face turned solemn.
Remember, Nidaime Hokage is one of the top Ninjutsu innovators and researchers in the world of shinobi... Senju Tobirama created some of the most famous and dangerous ninjutsu in the shinobi world, including but not limited to Kage Bunshin, Edo Tensei, Flying Raijin, and so on. As a result, he was able to understand the outline of the ritual ceremony performed in this volcanic cave in a matter of seconds, and couldn't help but be more regretful. "Danzo... I'm beginning to think my decision was incorrect... Sarutobi is not deserving of the title of Hokage..."
Tobirama's abrupt remarks, 'Sarutobi not deserving' caught all three of them off guard, whether it was Hashirama, Orochimaru, or Homusubi. "What are you trying to say?"
"Hahahahahaha... do you finally realize that instead of Sarutobi, you should have picked me?" Danzo laughed menacingly and mockingly inside the volcano " But it's already too late..."
"Don't get me wrong, Danzo," Tobirama replied with a shake of his head, " Even if I had another chance to pick between Sarutobi and you, I would choose Sarutobi... The only reason I believe Sarutobi is unworthy of being Hokage is that, despite knowing exactly what kind of person you are, he did not get rid of you while the situation was still manageb-..."
Boom!
Tobirama was about to finish his sentence when Danzo appeared in front of him and punched him in the stomach...
Bang!
Tobirama flew away like a cannonball and smashed against the volcano's granite wall, accompanied by a deafening loud roar...
Smash!
The form of Danzo became clearer after Tobirama was shot within the wall... He had used the Swift Release to its utmost limit in that blow just now, and as a result, his speed was so quick that only Homusubi, with the help of her Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, was able to catch his figure; aside from her, no one could see Danzo's figure...
Hashirama would have been able to sense Danzo with ease if he had been in Sennin Mode, but because he wasn't, tracking Danzo with just his eyes was a difficult chore even for him.
No one else, including Tobirama and Orochimaru, was able to grab Danzo's figure.
"Die...!" shouted Danzo at this point. "Die, die, die... You must all perish!" and instinctively weaved the hand signs...
Thousands of Exploding tags buried beneath the rocks erupted and shook the entire volcano, bringing it to the active stage.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
At the same time, blood-red crystals emerged at the cave's openings, sealing all possible exit routes from the volcano.
…
Outside the Volcano.
All the shinobi outside the cave looked in the direction of the cave with worrisome expressions due to the strong shaking and explosions.
"What the hell is going on inside?"
Whether Konoha shinobi were tied to the Charka Transmission Array or the Root Shinobi confronting Kakashi, they were all overcome with doubts and anxiety at this moment.
As the tremors became more intense, bottomless cracks began to form all around the volcano. These fractures were large enough to start hundreds of meters away from the volcano's foot and extend all the way up to the volcano's peak, giving the impression that the volcano and the surrounding land were about to be buried!
"Is this volcano going to erupt?" a nagging doubt emerged in their minds.
In the face of such a crisis, the Root Shinobis turned their backs on Kakashi and focused on how to assess the situation on the inside.
Their master Danzo is still inside, therefore they must discover how to contact him and, if necessary, save him.
Even Kakashi was concerned; he had no idea what was going on inside the volcano or why it was displaying indications of collapse... He was, however, relieved that he now had the possibility to save all of the Konoha Shinobi here... He still hasn't worked out how he'll save over a thousand shinobis, though.
Of course, Kakashi had no idea that the creation of a Rinnegan had been stopped because of his hasty resolve to save the Konoha Shinobi...
If he were to learn of it, he wouldn't know whether to be pleased or disappointed...
…
Somewhere on the Edge of the Land of Fire
Rumble…
The Yondaime Raikage questioned one of the Kumogakure Shinobi standing behind him, "Is that the direction?" after hearing a small rumbling sound in the distance and feeling the vibrations on the earth.
"Well... the sound is indeed coming from the location where the Konoha Shinobi have collected," the Kumogakure Shinobi confirmed. " Although…"
"If that's the case, then we can't wait any longer...," Yondaime Raikage said." start right away!"
Yondaime Raikage's attendant, Dodai, instantly halted him, "Raikage-sama... Over fifteen hundred Konoha shinobi have gathered there, according to Anbu's report... Our total number, including all Anbu teams, is less than a hundred... If we ventured into Konoha's territory irresponsibly in such a situation, the situation would quickly spiral out of control...
Please, at the very least, wait for the preliminary investigation squads to return so that we can devise an effective plan."
Because Raikage's goal is to sneak into the Land of Fire, Ay didn't bring many shinobi squads with him; aside from himself and his personal guards, there are only roughly 20 four-man squads in the area.
They've been waiting for the preliminary investigation teams to return for this reason.
Although Ay is impatient, he understands that he is Kumogakure's backbone and cannot afford any mishaps. In the current state of the shinobi world, if something happened to him, the entire Kumogakure would be terrified, so he kept his cool and asked, "How long would it take for all of them to return?"
"I have already relayed the order to assemble here, it should take no more than 15 minutes for all the squads to return..." said Mabui (Yondaime Raikage's assistant).
"Ten minutes at most... no matter how many squads have assembled by that time, we will depart in ten minutes!" Raikage said, waving his hand.
…
Somewhere else in the Land of Fire.
"How far is it, Naomi?"
Naomi replied, "Homusubi-sama, we're almost to their base..."
"Alright then," Homusubi said, nodding, "as soon as we arrive, I'll take charge of attracting all the attention, and while I battle against them, you'll sneak inside their base and rescue the girl..."
"Understood..." Naomi nodded.
As a result, Homusubi and Naomi sped up and dashed for one of Root's secret strongholds in an attempt to save Senju Mika from Shimura Danzo's clutches.
…
Inside the Volcano.
Because Danzo used Crystals to close all of the Volcano's apertures, the volcano was filled with the dust, smoke, and heat produced by the detonation of hundreds of thousands of explosive tags... The entire volcano was engulfed in smoke and dust in a matter of seconds as if it were the epitome of hell on Earth.
Homusubi and Orochimaru exchanged worried glances while standing inside this hell.
The issue is that the volcano's activity is increasing as a result of the earthquake, and it has begun to show signals of eruption, which may be extremely harmful to everyone.
Furthermore, the volcano's walls have become increasingly fragile as it begins to crumble as a result of the incessant shaking...
Shodaime pushed his palms to the ground and yelled, "Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!" as the walls of the Volcano began to crumble.
Countless robust trees appeared out of nowhere, entwined, and protected the volcano's walls from collapsing like sturdy pillars...
Everyone exhaled a sigh of relief as they realized the collapse had been avoided.
At the same time, everyone was blown away by Shodaime Hokage's strength. Only the legendary Shodaime Hokage could prevent a 500-meter-high volcano from collapsing with such ease.
Orochimaru was the person who was most surprised.
Despite the fact that he knew Shodaime Hokage's Wood Style was highly powerful, he had no idea it could be this strong... Senju Hashirama accomplished something that he thought was practically impossible.
"Tobirama, the might of the current Danzo is more than you can bear alone...," Hashirama exclaimed after preventing the volcano from collapsing. We'll have to get serious about this!"
"It appears you are correct Elder brother...," Tobirama said as he walked away from the damaged wall, nodding to Hashirama. "So, let's get started..."
.
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