Chapter 168 – Speedster vs. Speedster
The fire of rage in Uchiha Fugaku's heart was doused by Minato's exclamation.
With Minato's reminder, Fugaku now recognized Senju Tobirama.
Seeing a man long dead standing before him was not just shocking—it sent a chill down his spine.
But as he noticed the web of fine cracks running across Tobirama's body, Fugaku made a deduction.
A technique that resurrects the dead—it could only be Orochimaru's doing.
As unbelievable as it seemed, in a world where even Obito had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, what was truly impossible anymore?
But Fugaku couldn't guess Orochimaru's reason for reviving Tobirama. What was his aim?
Right now, with nearly all of Konoha's major power players present—minus Kazane—Fugaku couldn't allow his clan's dignity to falter.
As a top-tier shinobi, he also had his pride.
Even if it was Senju Tobirama, speaking ill of the Uchiha right to his face was something Fugaku could not accept.
Still, he wasn't the type to act without thought. Instead of retaliating with force, he tested the waters with a biting reply:
"Heh. The Uchiha are very much alive—and thriving. But didn't the Senju Clan die out within ten years of the Second Hokage's 'sacrifice'? Haha, all thanks to the Third Hokage, of course!"
Only Uchiha Fugaku would dare utter something so audacious in all of Konoha.
As his words echoed through the lab, silence fell like a shroud.
Orochimaru, ever averse to drama, felt a surge of irritation.
These two clans were fire and oil, and now both were standing here, sparks ready to fly.
Even though Tobirama's face couldn't show emotion in his reanimated state, the atmosphere turned increasingly tense.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
A storm of shuriken exploded from Tobirama's hands, scattering into every corner of the lab.
But Fugaku had anticipated this. He knew full well that if Tobirama could endure this insult, he wouldn't be Tobirama.
Fugaku's Sharingan spun furiously, tracking each shuriken with pinpoint precision.
He had seen Minato use the Flying Thunder God Technique before. He understood the trick—Tobirama could teleport to any shuriken at any time. Memorizing each one's landing point was critical.
If he could, Fugaku would've incinerated them all with a Fire Style jutsu, but he knew better than to wreck Orochimaru's lab. That would bring real trouble.
Whoosh!
The moment a shuriken hit the ground, Tobirama appeared behind Fugaku, blade in hand, aimed straight for his back.
But Fugaku, having anticipated the trajectory, spun 90 degrees and stepped back, dodging the strike. He followed up with a brutal backward kick.
A size-45 foot connected hard, launching Tobirama across the lab.
BANG!
Mid-flight, Tobirama transformed into a glass bottle—a common fixture of the lab.
But the real Tobirama had already reappeared above Fugaku, continuing the assault.
The battle raged on.
But Orochimaru had had enough. Everything in this lab was his. Snakes, by nature, are territorial. With his equipment taking damage, Orochimaru's patience snapped.
Stopping two top-tier shinobi was no easy task—especially not Tobirama with his Flying Thunder God Technique.
And without any control seals applied in advance, Tobirama was harder to restrain.
So Orochimaru shot a glance at Minato, signaling him to act in tandem.
In the blink of an eye, Orochimaru melted into a puddle of slime and reformed beneath Fugaku's feet.
He wrapped up Fugaku's legs, binding him in place.
Fugaku, realizing Orochimaru had intervened, stopped resisting.
But Tobirama didn't.
In his world, no one had ever dared speak to him like that—especially not a Uchiha, his most hated kind.
Uchiha Izuna, wielder of the Mangekyō, had died by his hand.
Even Uchiha Madara, who once thought himself invincible—if not for Hashirama's interference, would've died by Tobirama's hand too.
During his time as Hokage, the Uchiha Clan had been under his heel. He interacted with them only in experiments.
Now, to have a mere lab specimen talk to him this way?
Even Orochimaru's intervention didn't stop him.
Swish!
Tobirama flashed before Fugaku, who was immobilized, and aimed his blade at the thing he detested most—Fugaku's Sharingan.
Swish!
Just as Tobirama's blade was about to pierce, a flash of yellow light intercepted—Minato Namikaze, wielding a custom kunai, blocked the strike.
Clang!
Two blades collided—one from each of the fastest shinobi in history—and the room rang with the sound.
They were locked.
Minato, young and strong, met Tobirama's ferocity—but what shook Tobirama wasn't strength.
It was recognition.
This technique... it's the Flying Thunder God.
As its creator, Tobirama couldn't mistake it.
And that realization shocked him to the core.
He knew how impossible this jutsu was to master. After his death, he feared it might be lost forever.
It required extraordinary talent in space-time ninjutsu—an immediate disqualifier for 99.99% of shinobi.
Even among the rare 0.01%, it demanded superhuman reaction time. In battle, warping between markings at high speed required more than skill—it required a brain that could process blurred realities without disorienting itself.
And this boy—this Namikaze Minato—had done it.
Tobirama's blood ran cold with awe.
He dropped the thought of killing Fugaku—for now.
Orochimaru was here, after all. Killing a top-tier shinobi was no easy task in his presence.
Instead, Tobirama's eyes gleamed with interest.
He wanted to test Minato.
Swish! Swish!
Two blurs—one yellow, one white—flickered across the lab, moving faster and faster.
Even Fugaku's Sharingan began to see only afterimages.
His eyes strained with the overwhelming load. So this... is Tobirama's true power.
No wonder Tobirama had earned the title of the Fastest Shinobi of his era.
Still, Fugaku didn't believe himself outmatched.
The Uchiha didn't rely on taijutsu.
Especially him—his Mangekyō Sharingan controlled time itself, a perfect counter to speed.
He hadn't used it yet only because of the cost.
This wasn't a life-or-death duel—activating the Mangekyō would only hurt him in the end.
~
Speedster battles were often like this—deceptively simple, deceptively quiet.
But behind the blurs hid deadly force. Victory or defeat could come in a blink.
Though Tobirama had created the Flying Thunder God Technique, Minato's unnatural reaction time was tilting the scales.
Tobirama, in his reanimated body, began to struggle.
Clang!
Their blades clashed again. But this time, as they brushed past one another, Minato secretly marked Tobirama's armor with a seal.
It's over.
Swish!
Tobirama flashed behind Minato, blade at his back.
Minato stood motionless.
Seeing that, Tobirama didn't feel triumph. He felt... disappointment.
So this is his limit? he thought.
He had expected more. And even now, in his reanimated body—flesh immortal, but reactions dulled—he still had the edge?
If Minato couldn't surpass that, then perhaps this was all he had to offer.
Tobirama hadn't even used any of his forbidden techniques yet.
But what Tobirama didn't know was that Minato hadn't used his Sage Mode either—or any of his original jutsu.
Swish!
Just as Tobirama reached out to finish the fight, Minato teleported behind him—using the seal he had left on Tobirama's armor.
"Forgive me, Second Hokage."
A sharp kunai kissed the back of Tobirama's neck, and Minato's voice came from in front of him a second later.
This final exchange—
Minato had moved faster than sound.
Tobirama froze in place.
He had been defeated—by his own technique.
But rather than anger, he felt something else.
Pride.
He turned his head and asked, "What's your name?"
Though undead, he dropped all resistance.
Minato lowered his blade, stepped back, and replied respectfully:
"I'm Minato Namikaze, student of Jiraiya-sensei."
"Oh? That old fool actually produced a disciple like you?"
"Minato, your mastery of the Flying Thunder God... surpasses mine."
Hearing that Minato was Jiraiya's student, Tobirama nodded in satisfaction.
The more he learned about this new generation of Konoha, the more impressed he became.
Perhaps they were even stronger than his own generation.
He glanced at Orochimaru and Minato with growing approval.
Even though he'd been holed up in this lab since his resurrection, the elite shinobi he'd seen so far gave him a pretty good sense of Konoha's current power.
First, there was Hatake Kazane, the danger Tobirama sensed from Kazane was unforgettable.
Even Madara hadn't given him that kind of instinctual fear.
Kazane was no weaker than Hashirama.
Then there was Orochimaru—whom he had spent significant time with.
A researcher whose intellect rivaled his own, who had mastered numerous forbidden techniques—his combat ability must be formidable too.
And now today, these two...
He still didn't like the Uchiha.
But having fought them for decades, Tobirama knew exactly what those Mangekyō Sharingan eyes meant.
As for Minato—Tobirama had just experienced his terrifying speed firsthand.
Speed is power.
Among speedsters, Tobirama understood this best: against someone like Minato, unless you were top-tier, numbers didn't matter.
On the battlefield, Minato was a weapon of mass destruction.
And for Jiraiya to train someone like Minato?
Even that fool must be formidable now.
Beyond that, he still knew the strength of his own student—Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Age may have dulled him, but as the professor of all five chakra natures, Hiruzen remained a powerhouse.
Then there was Danzo and Koharu...
And his granddaughter, Tsunade.
Before his death, she had already shown extraordinary promise.
Her monstrous strength, her chakra control—it was all superb.
If she stayed on his path, her power would only grow.
Tobirama truly deserved the title of Second Hokage. From just these four individuals, he could already estimate Konoha's current strength.
But then he remembered what Fugaku had said earlier.
He turned to Fugaku, whom Orochimaru had just released, and asked:
"What did you mean earlier... about the Senju Clan? What happened to it?"