Esdeath's laughter echoed across the shattered ruins of the Imperial Palace.
Suspended in mid-air, Uchiha Tobirama looked down calmly at the blue-haired general below. Her battle intent burned so fiercely it was almost tangible.
"So you want to fight me?" Tobirama said lazily, one hand in his pocket.
"Fine. But before that—these people you brought are in the way."
His gaze swept past Esdeath to the remaining Imperial elites.
"I don't like spectators."
The words ignited instant fury.
"You're asking for death!" Dr. Stylish shouted, pointing upward. "Even if General Budo fell, you think you can face all of us at once?"
Wave drew his sword. "For the Empire—attack!"
Run spread his wings, feathers sharpening into blades. "He must be stopped here!"
They surged forward together.
Tobirama exhaled softly.
"Heh."
The air rippled.
---
Time Acceleration
An invisible wave expanded outward from Tobirama.
Time did not stop.
It accelerated.
"What—my hands?!" Dr. Stylish screamed as his skin withered before his eyes.
Wave's hair turned white in an instant, strength draining from his limbs. Run fell from the air as his wings lost all vitality.
Three seconds.
That was all it took.
Five hundred years of time crushed down upon them.
Bodies collapsed, flesh turned to dust, and moments later even bone disintegrated. A faint breeze swept the ruins—
—and the Empire's top Teigu users were gone, reduced to drifting ash. Their masterless Teigu clattered uselessly onto the marble floor.
Only one person remained untouched.
Kurome hung suspended in mid-air, sealed within a pocket of isolated space. Tobirama had separated her from the flow of time at the last instant.
Her eyes were wide, mind reeling as she stared at the empty space where her comrades had stood.
"Stay there," Tobirama said calmly, shifting her aside with a gesture.
"I'll deal with you later."
He turned back to Esdeath.
"The distractions are gone," he said. "Now we begin."
---
Ice Versus Power
Behind Esdeath lay only ash and silence.
She showed no grief—only exhilaration.
"Incredible," she laughed, eyes shining. "Manipulating lifespan… bending time itself. How can anyone resist power like this?"
She slammed her hands down.
"Ice Storm Commander-in-Chief!"
Absolute zero spread outward. Glaciers erupted across the palace ruins, titanic ice spikes stabbing toward the sky from every direction. The air itself froze, turning into razored shards.
A city-level catastrophe.
Tobirama did not move.
"Vacuum Attack."
He threw a single, casual punch.
The shockwave detonated outward.
Ice shattered like brittle glass. Spikes disintegrated, storms collapsed, and the compressed force slammed directly into Esdeath.
She was hurled backward, crashing through layer after layer of ice before skidding to a halt.
Blood stained her uniform.
One blow.
The Empire's strongest general had been driven back.
"Too weak," Tobirama said flatly. "You can't bridge this gap."
Esdeath wiped the blood from her mouth and stood.
She was smiling.
"Yes… ordinary power won't reach you," she said softly. "That's exactly why this is thrilling."
The blue mark on her chest blazed.
"Then I'll use the technique I created to face the absolute strongest."
She raised her saber, eyes fixed on Tobirama.
"Mahapadma!"
---
Frozen World
An unnatural cold swept across everything.
The wind stopped.
Ice fragments froze in mid-air.
The ruins, the distant figures, even falling dust lost all motion.
Time itself had been frozen.
Within this silent, colorless world, Esdeath alone could move.
She stepped forward through the suspended air, blade raised, walking toward Tobirama's unmoving figure.
"In this frozen time," she said quietly,
"victory should belong to me."
She lifted her sword—
and brought it down.