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As soon as Hashirama spoke, the four ninjas' faces turned grave. They had never seen the First Hokage, but his reputation was well-known.
In that instant, silence fell over the scene.
Hashirama's gaze swept over the four, observing their cautious expressions, and he suddenly laughed.
"You must think I'm showing off!" Hashirama chuckled, shaking his head. He appeared relaxed and nonchalant, clearly not considering them a threat.
"But that's not the case."
"If you don't make a move now, you won't get another chance."
Hashirama's tone was casual, merely stating simple facts. Yet, to the others, it naturally came off as boastful.
There was no other way!
This was the gap in their levels!
Hashirama had felt this way even before his reincarnation.
For instance...
The ambitious goals of wealthy businessmen!
The challenges of spending money over making it!
These weren't boasts but simple truths based on their circumstances.
Hashirama felt the same now!
He looked at the four Akatsuki members, characters he had liked while watching anime. He couldn't let them miss their chance to shine!
Most importantly...
Hashirama genuinely wanted to "spar" with them.
These four were fearless in their ignorance, still capable of playing seriously with him.
But if he wasn't careful and used too much force...
He might hurt them!
And then, like Kakuzu, they'd be too scared to resist in the future.
How boring that would be!
Hashirama frowned slightly as he scanned the four motionless individuals.
"What's wrong? Are you afraid? Is Hidan the only one with guts in the Akatsuki?"
Hashirama's tone was irritated.
Among the Akatsuki members, only Hidan, who wasn't too bright, dared to challenge him after learning his identity.
But...
Hidan's fate wasn't great; he was already impaled by wooden stakes.
"I'll go first!" Deidara huffed, charging at Hashirama.
As he rushed forward, Deidara raised his right hand, revealing a white clay bomb in his palm.
The clay bomb took the shape of a bird.
He flung it.
Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!
White birds flew towards Hashirama.
Numerous and fast.
Deidara's gaze towards Hashirama was filled with discontent, and his face showed anger.
Why is this guy so arrogant?
Even more arrogant than Itachi Uchiha!
Every time Deidara saw Itachi, he felt infuriated.
That face seemed to scorn his art.
But...
The First Hokage standing before him in red armor not only scorned his art but him as a person.
And he looked down on Itachi and Sasori too!
So arrogant!
Deidara was the least reverent of the First Hokage among them, charging without hesitation.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
As Deidara's birds flew out, black iron sand surged towards Hashirama.
This was the Third Kazekage's technique!
"Sasori!"
Deidara glanced at Sasori's handsome face and smirked.
"Yeah!" Sasori responded softly. Now in his true form, his voice was youthful, no longer the repressed tone of an old man.
Sasori's hands were laced with chakra threads.
Controlling the Third Kazekage puppet.
With Deidara making the first move, Sasori supported him.
"I'm coming too!" Kisame shouted, leaping forward with Samehada in hand, swinging it towards the First Hokage.
In an instant, three of the four Akatsuki members attacked Hashirama.
Only Itachi remained still.
"Their attacks are too shallow."
Hashirama looked at the tentative attacks, not even interested in countering them.
"Can Deidara's little birds even kill anyone?" he mused. "And the Third Kazekage's iron sand doesn't even compare to Gaara's sand. As for Kisame... he's just swinging a big sword!"
One of them was still just watching!
"Is this really a coordinated attack?" Hashirama wondered, feeling he wasn't receiving the respect a boss should.
Facing their combined assault, Hashirama clapped his hands together.
"Wood Style: Wood Locking Wall!"
Arched wooden pillars erupted from the ground, forming a semi-circular barrier in front of him.
The sound of the wooden barricade closing echoed through the space.
"Detonate!" Deidara formed a hand seal, triggering the clay birds to explode against the wooden wall, creating a series of deafening blasts that drowned out all other sounds.
Immediately after, black iron sand crashed against the wooden barrier.
The collision sounded like crackling beans in a hot pan.
Following these attacks, Kisame leaped forward, swinging Samehada at the wooden barrier.
Clang!
Kisame's sword struck the wood with a resounding thud.
"What is this...?" Kisame's eyes widened in shock. He hadn't expected the wood to be so incredibly tough.
After their combined assault, the wooden barrier remained almost unscathed.
Just then, Itachi's voice broke through.
"Amaterasu!"
His Mangekyo Sharingan shed a line of blood as black flames ignited on the wooden barrier, burning with an unquenchable heat.
Click, click, click...
The wooden barrier split open, pushing the black flames aside, revealing Hashirama, unscathed, standing before them.
"Is this all you've got?" Hashirama's voice carried a hint of disappointment. He had merely used a defensive Wood Style technique to block all their attacks.
"Scorpion, let's go together!" Deidara's eyes sparkled with excitement. He had long wanted to fight alongside Sasori against a formidable foe.
The enemies they had faced before were too weak, offering no real challenge.
"Alright." Sasori nodded lightly. By now, he realized this opponent couldn't be defeated through solo combat.
"C2!" Deidara's palm-mouth quickly chewed and spat out a massive clay dragon, which appeared before Hashirama.
"Bring it on," Hashirama thought, a faint smile playing on his lips, as the giant clay dragon loomed over him.
Hashirama glanced at the flurry of black iron sand converging on Deidara's C2 dragon, merging to form a black dragon.
"I guess it's time to get serious!" Kisame said, his hands moving methodically through a series of seals, albeit slowly.
"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Shockwave!"
Kisame opened his mouth wide, releasing a massive water ball that transformed the entire area into a vast ocean.
"Sorry, I went ahead and started," Kisame said nonchalantly. He had refrained from using Water Style earlier to avoid counteracting Deidara's explosions. Now, with Deidara's clay dragon merging with Sasori's iron sand, Kisame unleashed his water ninjutsu.
Instantly, the oceanic surge enveloped the area, including Hashirama, who hadn't moved an inch.
"Water Release: Thousand Feeding Sharks!"
Kisame didn't stop. He formed another series of seals, causing thousands of sharks to materialize within the newly formed ocean and rush towards Hashirama.
"It seems I'm not well-suited to team up with you guys," Kisame remarked, noting that even Itachi primarily used fire-based attacks. Water-based ninjutsu didn't synergize well with their techniques.
"Let me handle this guy!"
Kisame tore off his Akatsuki cloak, merging with Samehada to become a monstrous fusion, his appearance still vaguely recognizable.
Kisame then dove into the ocean, moving through the water with the speed of a fish. He circled rapidly, building momentum, and then launched himself towards Hashirama.
"Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Technique!"
Kisame channeled his immense chakra, forming a massive shark around himself and following the thousands of smaller sharks towards Hashirama.
"As expected of the tailless beast!" Hashirama remarked, standing unaffected in the ocean created by Kisame's Water Release. As an Edo Tensei, he didn't need to breathe, rendering the water ineffective against him.
Hashirama watched the approaching sharks and Kisame with the great shark chakra cloak, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"Kisame, you're an excellent ninja," Hashirama began. "But it's a pity..."
"Your opponents have always countered you too effectively."
Hashirama shook his head. The last time he had seen Kisame use this technique was against Guy's Daytime Tiger.
"What do you mean?" Kisame's eyes locked onto Hashirama, his anxiety growing as Hashirama remained motionless.
"In terms of Water Style, you can't match my brother. In chakra, you can't compare to me. And in chakra absorption, your Water Style pales next to my Wood Style. But..."
"You deserve the Wood Dragon."
As Hashirama spoke, he formed a series of seals, releasing an immense amount of chakra that pushed the surrounding water away.
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"
(End of Chapter)