As the lightning dragon shot toward Tobirama Senju, its lack of chakra made it almost undetectable. Even Tobirama only noticed it when it was nearly upon him.
His eyes narrowed, and he quickly activated Flying Thunder God to evade, but he was just a fraction too slow. The water-conducted lightning had already affected him, leaving his body momentarily stiff upon reappearing at his kunai.
"Another one?" Hui called, unleashing a second lightning dragon that surged toward Tobirama.
Lightning was fast, whether in water or air, and in seconds, the dragon was snapping its jaws right beside him.
Boom!
A tremendous explosion echoed as the lightning dragon detonated, leaving a deep crater where Tobirama had been.
He had managed to escape with Flying Thunder God, but Hui's eyes were sharp, tracking each of Tobirama's teleportation points. The moment Tobirama reappeared, Hui smashed one of the kunai marked with Flying Thunder God's seal to pieces.
One by one, he systematically shattered every marked kunai around them. Finally, only a single kunai remained.
"This is it!" Hui charged toward the last kunai with unshakeable confidence, sure of victory.
But Tobirama didn't appear at the expected spot. Instead, he appeared directly behind Hui, aiming a kunai straight for his back. Flying Thunder God could be engraved on more than just kunai, after all.
In his mind, Tobirama was already celebrating.
Deceiving his enemies into overconfidence, only to strike when they least expected it, was a strategy he'd often used—one that had even taken down Izuna Uchiha.
But Hui had anticipated this. He knew full well that Flying Thunder God could be marked on any object.
With remarkable agility, Hui twisted his body, catching Tobirama's arm mid-attack.
This reaction was nearly impossible for a typical shinobi, but Hui wasn't an ordinary ninja—he was a Sage, always in a heightened state of perception. His control and reflexes had reached superhuman levels.
Hui activated his jutsu.
Sealing Jutsu: Body Binding Seal!
In an instant, Tobirama felt his chakra getting sealed off.
"A sealing jutsu?!" he gasped.
Hui's proficiency in a technique not recorded in the Scroll of Seals caught him completely off guard. Although Tobirama knew how to break the seal, he had no chance to do so.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
With Flying Thunder God temporarily disabled, Tobirama was forced into close combat, where Hui's taijutsu prowess—comparable to the Third Raikage in his prime, and even enhanced by his Sage state—put him at a clear advantage.
Tobirama, who specialized in ninjutsu rather than hand-to-hand combat, was quickly and thoroughly suppressed.
"The Second Hokage… is actually losing!" one of the hidden Anbu murmured, barely able to process what he was seeing.
Konoha's leader, one of the strongest shinobi in the world, was being dominated by Hui. Despite knowing of Hui's strength, witnessing him besting Tobirama firsthand was staggering.
"Hui is only sixteen, and yet he's already reached this level. Incredible!"
"I'm sure of it now—he's going to be the next God of Shinobi!" another Anbu muttered.
Tobirama, meanwhile, was equally astounded. He had sensed Hui's immense strength from their initial clash, but now, feeling the numbness in his arms and the ache throughout his body, he truly understood the extent of Hui's power.
Hui's agility and perception were almost unnatural, allowing him to deftly avoid Tobirama's combat tactics.
These traits reminded him of his older brother, Hashirama, but coupled with the natural energy aura Hui emitted, Tobirama suddenly blurted out, "Sage Mode?!"
Hui paused, a slight smile at his lips. "It is Sage Mode, but… not entirely."
"Let's end here," Tobirama finally conceded, nodding thoughtfully.
Continuing would mean escalating the fight to life-threatening levels, something he preferred to avoid.
He had exhausted almost all his usual techniques, and genjutsu—his weakest skill—was practically useless against Hui, who far surpassed him in that area.
Tobirama had a few unorthodox techniques remaining, but they were mostly forbidden jutsu designed for mutual destruction, a path he wasn't willing to take here.
Reflecting on the battle, Tobirama felt a pang of nostalgia and pride. The boy he had watched grow up had, without him realizing, reached a level that surpassed even his own.
And he was only sixteen! At this rate, Hui would soon be among the most powerful shinobi ever to walk the earth.
For the first time, Tobirama had a thought: Mochizuki Hui could truly reach the level of his older brother, the legendary God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju. And if he did…
Tobirama's eyes lit up with inspiration. Unlike Hashirama, Hui shared his political ideals, inheriting his beliefs and vision for Konoha.
If Hui ascended to the status of a God of Shinobi, Konoha would be unstoppable. The entire shinobi world would be united under one banner.
At that moment, Tobirama understood why Hui had been so confident when he declared his future ambitions.
He could truly become the next God of Shinobi.
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