Chapter 240: Uchiha Tatsuhata's Flight
"Byakugan, Shikotsumyaku, and... Wood Release?"
"Horns growing from his head—that's a characteristic of the Kaguya clan."
"So this is Hyuga Ritsu?"
The reanimated Uchiha Madara stared at Ritsu, a trace of wariness flickering through his crimson eyes.
His knowledge of Ritsu, this rising star of the Hyuga clan, came entirely from intelligence provided by Black Zetsu and Uchiha Tatsuhata. But now that he was actually seeing Ritsu in person, he realized the intelligence gap was unexpectedly massive.
Or rather, the information Black Zetsu and Tatsuhata had provided was already outdated, even though not much time had passed.
"Yes."
Black Zetsu answered.
He perched on the reanimated Madara's shoulder, his pitch-black body curled into a ball. Without careful observation, he could easily be mistaken for part of that crimson armor.
Like Madara, he stared fixedly at Ritsu, his eyes burning with intense killing intent. "That's Hyuga Ritsu. The Fourth Hokage's most trusted right hand. Every failure Tatsuhata has suffered bears Ritsu's mark. Without him, things would never have deteriorated to this point."
"He is the sharpest blade in the Fourth Hokage's arsenal!"
Black Zetsu spoke with absolute certainty, his murderous intent completely unconcealed. His hatred and killing intent toward Ritsu were genuine and unfeigned. In his mind, the Fourth Hokage and Ritsu were equally detestable—both obstacles preventing him from rescuing his mother.
It was simply that Tatsuhata considered the Fourth Hokage the greater threat, which was why they'd focused their efforts on him first.
They'd even risked the Rinnegan potentially falling into Orochimaru's hands, using him to pin down Ritsu, all to eliminate the Fourth Hokage and Ritsu one at a time.
Though Ritsu had ultimately been retrieved from Iwagakure by the Fourth Hokage, it was already too late.
The Fourth Hokage now resembled a candle guttering in the wind, barely clinging to life. He wouldn't last much longer.
At this moment, they could eliminate Ritsu as well.
If they truly could kill Ritsu here, combined with Uchiha Shisui's eyes being overtaxed, Konoha's top-tier combat strength would be more than half destroyed. Advancing the Moon's Eye Plan afterward would surely proceed much more smoothly.
Black Zetsu's internal calculations clicked away rapidly.
However, the reanimated Madara had no idea what Black Zetsu was thinking. His attention focused entirely on Ritsu. Though his current body possessed only a three-tomoe Sharingan, even with those three tomoe, he glimpsed Ritsu's overwhelmingly powerful life force and high-quality chakra.
"Truly exceptional. This life force... even Hashirama couldn't compare!"
Words tinged with wariness emerged from the reanimated Madara's mouth.
He didn't attack rashly.
The difference between the Ritsu he was seeing with his own eyes and the Ritsu described in the intelligence reports was simply too great. And ninja battles were battles of information.
So he'd let Tatsuhata test the waters with his replicas first.
In the next second, the replica Hashirama moved. Controlling the massive Wood Golem, he viciously kicked toward Ritsu.
"Planning to eliminate me as well?"
Ritsu murmured to himself.
His expression remained impassive as he watched the enormous foot hurtling toward him.
Then he threw his punch without hesitation.
Sage Art: Nine Aspects Rotation Kill.
Nine torrents of devastating force struck the Wood Golem's right foot, instantly shattering it to pieces. Wood fragments and splinters scattered like rainfall.
The Wood Golem, its right foot destroyed, lost balance and toppled over.
The replica Hashirama standing atop the golem's head leaped down. Devoid of emotions or consciousness, he felt no surprise or fear. Like a cold machine, he simply assessed the situation, made his choice, and took action.
Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees.
The replica Hashirama formed hand seals mid-air to release the technique.
However, he never completed it.
Sage Art: Wind Release Chakra Mode granted Ritsu speed within a limited spatial range that rivaled space-time techniques. In an instant, he appeared before the replica Hashirama.
In his right hand, he held a pale white chakra sphere shaped like a shuriken.
Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
The thrown Rasenshuriken struck the seal-forming replica Hashirama, instantly pulverizing him completely. It tore him into individual pale white threads of life, then destroyed every single thread without leaving a trace.
But as the price for this, the ghost-like replica Tobirama appeared behind Ritsu. The blade in his hand precisely and silently pierced through Ritsu's heart.
Seeing this, beneath his tiger-head mask, an excited flush rose on Tatsuhata's cheeks. Tonight, not only had they eliminated the Fourth Hokage, but they'd also dealt with the White Demon. What came next would be—
His elation shattered as Ritsu launched a second Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
Ritsu, his heart pierced through, acted as though nothing had happened. He twisted his body, grabbed the replica Tobirama's arm, then fired another Rasenshuriken, completely pulverizing it along with his own left hand.
Blurred flesh on his bare wrist rapidly writhed. Bone, blood vessels, muscle, and skin regenerated at visible speed. Within just a few breaths, Ritsu's left hand had completely regenerated.
Then he reached up, pulled out the broken blade embedded in his chest, and casually tossed it to the ground.
"...Monster!"
That was the only word Tatsuhata could force out.
His mood plummeted from the peak like a roller coaster crashing to the valley floor. Worse still, after hitting bottom, the damn thing had lost power—he no longer had the strength to climb back to the summit.
"What incredible vitality!"
The reanimated Madara's expression turned grave.
His greatest rival in life, Senju Hashirama, had possessed similarly terrifying vitality. Without forming seals, his injuries would automatically heal.
But even that hadn't been exaggerated to the point of being fine with his heart pierced through!
And this limb regeneration was completely impossible!
His brow furrowed involuntarily. This kind of opponent wouldn't be easy to handle. He might even be more difficult than the Fourth Hokage. That yellow-haired brat was fast, certainly, but his body was exceptionally fragile, and his chakra wasn't particularly abundant. As long as they exploited his weak points and forced him to fight rather than flee, they could wear him down to death.
They'd used Konoha village itself as leverage, forcing Minato to stay and fight rather than escape thousands of miles away. Ultimately, he'd been severely wounded, reduced to a candle in the wind with death imminent.
But Ritsu was different. This was a genuine monster.
A heart pierced through meant nothing. Instant limb regeneration. Combined with chakra as vast and immeasurable as the ocean—how long would it take to wear down someone like that?
While Madara frowned in thought and Tatsuhata stood somewhat dazed and lost, Ritsu launched his counterattack with decisive speed.
He had no extraneous thoughts at this moment.
His only intention was to destroy this bastard Tatsuhata first, then deal with everything else.
His Byakugan could see clearly just how dire Minato's condition was. The horrific external injuries were actually insignificant. The truly terrifying damage was internal—his organs were almost completely in chaos, nearly every organ operating beyond its limits. His stomach still contained more than ten undigested soldier pills.
Death approaches.
Beyond salvation.
This was the assessment Ritsu reached after examining Minato.
Precisely because of this, his killing intent now surged to explosive levels. Not that he particularly revered Minato as the Fourth Hokage, but rather because he was terrified by the possibility of what would have happened if he hadn't managed to contact Minato before his chakra completely ran out.
In that case, he would have been trapped in Iwagakure.
And then Konoha village might have simply vanished from the ninja world.
Thinking of how his parents, family, and friends had just barely brushed past death, Ritsu's killing intent climbed endlessly upward. This was why he'd used thunderous methods to eliminate both the replica Hashirama and replica Tobirama.
Wood Release: Wood Human Technique.
Ritsu summoned another towering Wood Golem.
The golem immediately charged toward the pale yellow Susanoo without a moment's hesitation.
"White Demon! The Fourth Hokage is finished. You think you can still run rampant?"
Seeing Ritsu charging toward him, Tatsuhata's eyes showed no fear whatsoever. Even though his two trump card replicas had just been destroyed in succession, his hand wasn't limited to just those.
Toyoakitsushihime.
His eye technique activated.
The replica Third Kazekage and replica Fourth Kazekage simultaneously appeared on either side of the Susanoo. One wielding iron sand, the other gold dust, they formed claws resembling Shukaku's—one of iron sand, one of gold dust—and seized the Wood Golem's legs.
This move caused the golem to lose balance and pitch forward.
At the same time, the pale yellow Susanoo moved. The sword in its hand viciously cleaved toward the golem's head. If this strike connected, not only would the golem's head be split in two, but Ritsu standing atop it would be crushed to pulp.
Unfortunately for Tatsuhata, Ritsu faced the descending massive blade directly.
He threw his punch cleanly and efficiently to meet it.
Sage Art: Nine Aspects Rotation Kill.
Nine torrents of astonishing destructive force collided with the blade, directly deflecting it and creating serrated notches along its edge. The technique's devastating power was evident.
Even the pale yellow Susanoo stiffened for an instant from the force transmitted through the sword.
In that brief instant, Ritsu attacked again.
He opened his mouth, and a dark red chakra dragon emerged, its claws gripping a pitch-black dragon pearl. This dragon didn't lunge at the Susanoo but instead circled around the black pearl before plunging headfirst into it.
Sage Art: White Rage Technique.
The pitch-black pearl burst forth with blindingly brilliant white light!
Simultaneously, an extremely intense explosion echoed outward. The buzzing noise struck Tatsuhata's head like a heavy blow, as though hammered by iron. His entire body fell into an indescribable state of numb rigidity.
Even the reanimated Madara felt discomfort. Though his body was immortal and indestructible, it couldn't prevent him from being affected by this sonic attack.
Seizing Tatsuhata's moment of frozen rigidity, Ritsu swept in like a violent storm, closing the distance to the pale yellow Susanoo. He raised his fist and delivered another Sage Art: Nine Aspects Rotation Kill.
He'd grown exceptionally fond of this sage technique he'd created.
Convenient to use.
And devastatingly destructive.
Thanks to this terrible destructive power, it worked equally well for both offense and defense.
This strike tore a massive hole in the pale yellow Susanoo's body, exposing Tatsuhata hiding within.
Then—
Sage Art: Nine Aspects Rotation Kill.
Ritsu didn't hold back.
He decisively threw a lethal punch at Tatsuhata.
But this time, he failed to kill him.
A golden-haired, dark-skinned elderly man with a physique as robust and imposing as a bear appeared before Tatsuhata. Like a shield, he solidly absorbed Ritsu's attack and appeared completely unharmed!
"Third Raikage!"
Ritsu's brow furrowed.
After Tatsuhata's collusion with Orochimaru, his troublesome nature had indeed escalated to another level. From the looks of things, Tatsuhata's eye technique and Orochimaru's Reanimation Jutsu had produced an excellent chemical reaction.
However, it was still just the difference between troublesome and more troublesome.
Not an insurmountable problem.
Ninja Art: Wild Lion's Mane.
Ritsu's long black hair danced wildly like a lion's mane, binding the replica Third Raikage tightly. His hair, strengthened by sage chakra and his Level 5 Physical Regeneration superpower, possessed a toughness far beyond Tatsuhata's imagination.
The Third Raikage couldn't break free from the restraints.
Fortunately, Tatsuhata had finally recovered somewhat from the sonic attack. While using his Toyoakitsushihime technique to deploy replica after replica as shields, he activated the Flying Thunder God technique he couldn't use skillfully but could barely manage.
He fled!
He'd sensed a fatal threat from Ritsu. His previous confidence had completely evaporated. His fighting spirit lay at the bottom of the valley, utterly unable to rise.
Seeing the replica Third Raikage—whom he'd considered his strongest shield—easily dealt with by Ritsu, he cleanly abandoned any thought of pressing his advantage to kill Ritsu as well.
Having eliminated the Fourth Hokage tonight was already a complete success. There was no need to risk trying to execute Ritsu as well. That task could wait for next time!
With Tatsuhata's departure, the replica Third Kazekage and replica Fourth Kazekage scattered like burned ash, blown away without a trace by the slightest breeze.
The reanimated Madara remained unaffected.
He'd been summoned by Tatsuhata's technique, but then had voluntarily released the Reanimation Jutsu as the subject, making himself no longer dependent on Tatsuhata's chakra supply. He'd transformed into a neither-living-nor-dead monster with nearly infinite chakra.
Tatsuhata's escape had no impact on him.
However, he also had no intention of fighting Ritsu to the bitter end only to be sealed by Konoha's ninja at the first opportunity. Tonight's battle ended here!
Wrapped by White Zetsu, the reanimated Madara vanished without a trace, leaving only this devastated battlefield outside Konoha village, along with the dying Fourth Hokage and the grievously wounded Uchiha Shisui collapsed on the ground.
At that moment, a ray of morning light broke over the horizon. The long night had finally ended.