On the other side of the battlefield, Deidara's C4 Garuda detonated, releasing invisible, microscopic clay bombs into the air.
Tobirama, who with his men had only managed to advance a short distance, froze, his eyes widening.
"Everyone, move! Now!" he roared at the ninjas around him. "If you value your lives, run!"
To the naked eye, the air looked empty, but Tobirama's senses screamed otherwise. A massive storm of chakra, tainted with Kurama's power, was expanding outward from the battle at impossible speeds.
The Sarutobi Clan ninjas hesitated, confused. They didn't see the threat, but they saw the terror on the Second Hokage's face. Desperate to avoid the fate of their fallen comrades, they scrambled in the direction he pointed.
"Damn it, this is too fast!" Tobirama cursed, feeling the storm closing in.
He stopped running. Forming hand seals, he shouted to the fleeing ninjas, "It's too late to run! Get back here! Now!"
His cheeks bulged. "Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
A tidal wave erupted from his mouth. Instantly, a massive sphere of water materialized, encasing him and the ninjas nearby, slamming into the invisible cloud of nano-bombs head-on.
Then, the screaming began.
Those closest to the edge of the water sphere shrieked as their bodies began to disintegrate.
"Ughhhhh!"
"My hands! They're vanishing!"
"Second Hokage! You promised Lord Hiruzen you'd bring us back!"
"I haven't even used my wedding savings yet! I don't want to die!"
Tobirama's face went pale. Is this what Hiruzen's clan produced? A bunch of pampered brats whining about money while their bodies turned to ash?
"Shut up!" he bellowed, his voice cracking with fury.
He looked at the remaining ninjas. There was no discipline, no composure, just raw, pathetic terror. He made a mental note to strangle Hiruzen when he got back to the village.
"Use Earth Release! Burrow deep! If you can't, dig with your hands and cover yourselves completely!"
The trees and rocks around them remained untouched, but the nano-bombs were pervasive. They slipped through everything. Only the ninjas who managed to dive deep underground survived. The others, digging frantically with their bare hands, were reduced to nothing but dust in the soil.
Tobirama dropped the water sphere and instantly formed Earth Release seals. He and the handful of survivors beside him sank into the ground.
He didn't get far before he fell through empty space, landing hard on a stone floor. He looked up. Rows of experimental containers lined the walls. A giant, empty water tank sat in the corner.
"Orochimaru's old base," he realized grimly.
Seconds later, the surviving Sarutobi ninjas dug down from above, clustering around him like frightened children.
"Only nine of us made it," Tobirama counted. The rest were gone. He had to get these nine back. If he returned with zero survivors, Hiruzen would never listen to him again.
Then, a familiar scream echoed from the depths of the facility.
"Was that... Homura? And Koharu?"
Tobirama's expression darkened. Those two had slipped away from the group. Had they been trying to find Orochimaru's base on their own?
"Stay close," he ordered the remaining ninjas, and led the way toward the sound.
After navigating several turns, they entered a large, open hall. The scene was pathetic.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were pinned to the wall. Eight chakra tails pierced through their hands and feet, pinning them like insects. Standing before them was a figure wearing a four-star mask—Menma. Around him lay a pile of Root ninjas who had accompanied the advisors.
"Wind... Akatsuki member!" Tobirama shouted, keeping his voice steady. "Release my subordinates!"
He instantly recognized the silhouette. The eight fox tails confirmed it. This was Menma—the dark personality.
Menma was torturing them, just as he had tortured Hiruzen and Danzo: crippling them, but leaving them alive. Only the dark personality would do this.
Tobirama knew who he was facing, but he couldn't say it. If he acknowledged Menma, the dark personality might react unpredictably. Or worse, he might never leave this base alive.
Homura and Koharu looked at the Second Hokage with desperate relief.
"Second Hokage! Hurry! He killed all our men!" Homura screamed, trying to frame his rival. "It's Uzumaki Kaze—kill the traitor!"
"Shut up!" Tobirama roared, cutting him off with a voice full of killing intent.
Menma, standing to the side, simply smiled beneath his mask, feigning confusion.
"A traitor named Uzumaki Menma?" he asked innocently. "I think you've mistaken me for someone else."
The air grew heavy. The gaze behind Menma's mask turned deadly.
Tobirama suppressed his unease. He needed to buy time, to get these two out.
"Why waste your time here?" he said calmly. "Go outside. Your comrades are fighting the First Hokage—an immortal Impure World Reincarnation. If you release these two, I won't stop you."
The killing intent radiating from Menma dropped slightly.
"The First Hokage?" Menma mused. "That sounds like a fun challenge."
He looked back at Tobirama. "As for you..."
Menma swept his tail, ripping Homura and Koharu from the wall and tossing them at Tobirama's feet. A chilling coldness emanated from the eye sockets of his mask.
"I suggest you run," Menma said, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Don't look back. If you see what I'm about to do... you won't live to regret it."
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