A Brother

by The Right Stop

Many have heard the story of Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths, but barely any have heard the story of his brother Naruto Ōtsutsuki, the Elemental Sage. God-like Naruto.

11. Chapter 11

Title: The Brother

By: The Right Stop

"Humans Speaking"

'Human Thinking'

"Human Telepathy"

Jutsu in Use

"Bijū/Non-Human Talking"

'Bijū/Non-Human Thinking'

"Bijū/Non-Human Telepathy"

AN: Welcome to chapter eleven, the Shinobi War chapter.

Well, as it turns out in the manga, Sasuke is an evil bastard. Who knew?

A couple of people talked about Naruto being a bit too emotional or easy to anger, what you, my readers, have to realise is that Naruto has had very little human interaction for some three thousand years, meeting Hashirama and Madara was the first prolonged human interaction and human company he had, had for a very long time. Basically, what I'm trying to get across is that Naruto is socially stunted, but he won't remain that way.

On to chapter eleven.

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Chapter Eleven

In the beginning of the war, it seemed like Konoha would have a fighting chance in coming out on top of the other hidden villages.

Uzushio was handling Kiri, preventing them from reaching the coast of the Land of Fire and threatening Konoha's eastern borders, allowing Konoha to focus on Suna, Iwa and Kiri. The Uzumaki and fellow residents of Uzushio pelted the Kiri ships with multiple exploding tags of different types, to discharged electricity, others fire, while some simple exploded, living up to their original name. The residents of the Village Hidden in the Whirling Tides used their superior fūinjutsu to create seals that frustrated the Kiri-nin to no end, seals that could contain any water that the Mist threw at them, seals that strengthened their ships against damage, seals that contained hidden weapons in order to surprise their enemies, even seals that managed to hide their ships from the naked eye. Pieces of parchment with ink on them were defeating one of the Great Shinobi Villages. It frustrated the Mizukage beyond words that his ninja were being taken apart because of tiny pieces of parchment.

However, that didn't mean that Kirigakure weren't putting up a fight, the Kaguya clan proved that they were truly as barbaric people say, cutting through Uzushiogakure ninja using their bone swords with no regard for their own safety or for the people around, they simply fought until they couldn't move. The Terumi clan showed the strength of the bloodlines that Kirigakure wielded, using Futton (Boil Release) and Yōton (Lava Release) to great effect, blinding their enemies with steam and using their lava based attacks to light hostile ships on fire. In ship to ship combat, the Yuki clan were invaluable, using their Hyōton (Ice Release) to create ice mirrors to jump from ship to ship, slaughtering Uzu shinobi as they went, the fact that they were fighting over water meant that an ice mirror could come from anywhere.

Even so, Uzushiogakure managed to hold back the invading Kiri nin, their strength in seals and kenjutsu as well as their larger average chakra reserves of the entire village proving to trump the power of Kiri. It was a morale booster for the ally of Konoha, the fact that they were holding off one of the Great Shinobi Villages said much about their skills.

On the main land of the Elemental Nations, it was a literal free-for-all. There were no allies, there were only enemy villages. Iwa demonstrated the power of their Doton (Earth Release) techniques, showing how effective earth release techniques could be, using them in both defence and offence. The Village Hidden by Rocks quickly secured a stronghold along their border before pushing forward, securing supply lines, resources and troops before going on the offensive. As soon as the war began, it became obvious to Kumo, Suna and Konoha that Iwa was playing to win, using whatever was in their power to gain ground, from sending their shinobi on suicide runs to holding entire towns hostage to get enemy nin to leave. While this did make Iwa heartless in the eyes of the public, their tactics making them seem ruthless, heartless, and in some cases evil, it did prove to many clients that they would do whatever it took to accomplish the mission.

Kumo showed proved to be incredibly powerful, the majority of their shinobi being well versed in Kenjutsu, the use of weapons made many of the Kumogakure shinobi far deadlier up close than the other villages; the ability to charge their swords with Raiton (Lightning Release) chakra only enforced this. The Kinkaku Force of Kumogakure cut through enemies like butter, none of them near the skills of the highly trained team of ninja with the combined strength to take down kage level shinobi. The Gold and Silver Brothers, having gained immense chakra reserves from being in the Kyūbi's stomach, launched incredibly large ninjutsu attacks at their enemies, lighting up the battlefield with their attacks, revelling in the blood that war produced. However, Kumo also suffered the most loss, their Shodai Raikage dying early on in the war, dropping morale before the newly elected Nidaime Raikage managed to raise it back up. Kumo proved that they were a powerful village.

Suna demonstrated how they could be near unpredictable, puppet with hidden weapons and surprises made them a weary opponent, the various shapes and sizes that the puppets came in only made those going up against Suna even wearier. It also didn't help that many felt that Suna's puppeteers were crazy, rumours of the puppet users making some sort of twenty foot battle puppet were spread when the ninja had time, it made people wonder just what it took to be a puppeteer. Sunagakure's Fūton (Wind Release) techniques were vicious, blades of compressed air that could cut through rock and stone were something that everyone wanted to avoid. The desert that surrounded Sunagakure provided a natural defence that only the locals could truly navigate, this kept many invaders from pushing further than they dared into the desert; many lives had been lost in the shifting sands.

When the war began, Konoha quickly proved itself as the village most likely to come out triumphant in the war. With Hashirama and Tobirama in the lead, Konoha quickly put pressure on the other nations to create powerful shinobi or groups of shinobi that could combat the Senju brothers. The shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Leaves set up defensive outposts along the border of the Land of Fire, concentrating on places were the enemy was most prominent, though there were still several outposts scattered along southern and eastern part of the border, in case of an emergency. Tobirama's tactic was to let the enemy wear themselves out, to wait until they expend all their energy before striking when they were weak, it would involve careful planning, but Tobirama was confident it would work if they could hold out if all went to plan.

Unfortunately for Tobirama, things rarely, if ever, go exactly to plan.

From the beginning of the war, the jinchūriki were the hidden weapons, the ace in the hole, the one man army killers. They were a card that kage played close to their chest, not truly willing to commit their secret weapons to any sort of battle, wanting the enemy to play their hand before showing their own. The thought of playing their card to early, only for the enemy to counter it, especially Konoha with Hashirama Senju and his Mokuton bloodline, and to a lesser extent, the Uzumaki, for their sealing prowess, an Uzumaki had sealed the bijū once, they could do it again.

It was Kiri, surprisingly, that sent out their jinchūriki, the Mizukage, finally sick and tired of his shinobi dying against the red-head devils, and yet not desperate enough to throw everything he had yet, sent out the jinchūriki of the Sanbi to see if he could dent the lines of Uzushiogakure where his ninja had failed. Wanting to take the Uzumaki by surprise, the jinchūriki had suppress his powers for as long as he could, until he was right up close, near the front lines, before unleashing the Three-Tails on the enemy.

Taken off guard by the sudden appearance of a jinchūriki, the first few boats of Uzumaki didn't even know what hit them as the demonic chakra of the Sanbi flattened their ship, creating watery graves for those on board. By the time the Uzumaki had recovered from the sudden appearance of a 'human sacrifice', the jinchūriki had already broken through their lines and was decimating them, the cloak of chakra around the male acting as the host for the Three-Tails meant that it was almost impossible for them to get in close enough to engage in taijutsu or kenjutsu, ninjutsu proved partially effective but the chakra cloak that shrouded the jinchūriki greatly dulled the damage that they could inflict, none of the Uzumaki were particularly well versed in genjutsu, their chakra reserves too large, while the non-Uzumaki didn't have any particularly effect illusions on hand that would affect the jinchūriki. In the end, the on field commander for the lines of the Uzushiogakure shinobi decided that a retreat was necessary; none of the Uzumaki here had the skill to seal away the chakra of a jinchūriki, a regular shinobi, yes, not a person containing a bijū. Even if they did have the skill to seal one away, there were no seals to do so, they stopped bring the necessary seals a while ago when there was no sign of a jinchūriki, and it would take time to create the required seal, time that they didn't have.

The retreat of the Uzumaki at the hands of the Sanbi jinchūriki was a sign that showed just how powerful the jinchūriki were; it was this display of power that sparked the other kage to do the same. Kumo released the Nibi jinchūriki onto the battlefield, like Kiri, they didn't want something bad to happen to their strongest jinchūriki so they sent out their 'spare' instead. The male host of the Nibi set a trail of blue fire as it pushed forward closer and closer to the heart of Iwagakure. The Hachibi host was kept in case of an emergency, mostly for the defence of Kumo in case enemy ninja managed to sneak through their lines and evade capture.

Suna released their own jinchūriki though they kept it confined to the deserts of the Land of Wind, being the weakest of the bijū made the Shodai Kazekage weary that their female host would be captured, but wanted to have their jinchūriki out on the front lines. So as a compromise, he made the Ichibi jinchūriki confined to the sand, keeping the One-Tail host on its home ground, where it was most powerful and keeping the risk of possible capture to a minimum.

Iwa then decided to send out both of their jinchūriki, the Tsuchikage finally getting sick of getting nowhere in the war, Konoha shinobi keeping them out of their borders, the Ichibi host stalking the sands of Suna making crossing that desert next to impossible and Kumo steamrolling their way west across the Elemental Nations, on the way to Iwa's doorstep. In a bold decision, the Tsuchikage sent out the jinchūriki of both the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, the more powerful bijū went out to stop the advance of the Nibi jinchūriki while the Four-Tails went to break the line of the Konoha shinobi on the border of the Land of Fire. The decision paid off for the Tsuchikage as in the end, the Nibi host retreated under attack from the superior power of the Gobi while the lines of Konoha were broken under the strength of the Yonbi.

However, it wasn't the penetration of Konoha's defences that was the greatest surprise to the rest of the Elemental Nations; it was that the village didn't retaliate with their own bijū, the Kyūbi not having been spotted since the start of the war. It got the other villages whispering about how they never had the strongest bijū in the first place, rumours about how the strength of the first hidden village was waning. However, they were just that, rumours and whispers, no self-respecting Kage would act on mere rumour, for all they know it could be Konoha starting the rumour in order to trap them, or they could simply have the Kyūbi jinchūriki guarding Konoha, like the other shinobi countries have their strongest doing the same, but even so, they kept an ear to the ground to listen for more. Alone, those whispers and rumours would have made no difference to the war, all they did was plant the thought into the heads of the kages of Suna, Iwa and Kumo, but it would be the Battle of the Bloodied Leaf, three years into the carnage of war, that began the downward spiral of Konoha in the Shinobi World War.

It was Konoha against Iwa just inside the borders of the Land of Fire, the Yonbi host retreated from the battlefield at the sign of the 'Kami no Shinobi', Hashirama Senju, appearing. The Senju quickly began to decimate the Iwa shinobi gathered, pushing their forces back towards the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass. Mokuton jutsu crashed through earthen walls as if they weren't there to begin with, spears of bark rupturing through the ground, surprising the Iwagakure shinobi to no end. It was a massacre on Iwa's part, none of the shinobi anywhere near the power of the only person that could rival Madara Uchiha. But it was the results of this battle that would show the world that even a 'god' could bleed.

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Pushing forward against the Iwa shinobi, Hashirama annihilated their ranks like a hot knife through butter, using a mixture of taijutsu and ninjutsu to evict the invaders. Hashirama never noticed the invisible figure that hovering above the ground over the Iwa shinobi.

Mū was the most likely candidate to become the next Tsuchikage, his skill with his Kekkei Tōta, Jinton (Dust Release), his skill with the Meisaigakure no Jutsu (Hiding With Camouflage Technique) being good enough to hide from even the most skilled of sensors and his ability to physically split himself in half makes him one of the top contenders for the most powerful shinobi in Iwagakure. His skills were one of the reasons that he had been given the important task of maintaining the forward outpost on the border into Hi no Kuni. Yet, even with his skill he was still no match for Madara Uchiha, he could still remember how the Sharingan user had picked him apart like he wasn't trying, and Mū, as he gaze down at the man that was slaughtering his countrymen, had no doubt that in a one-on-one fight that Hashirama Senju could do the same. Unfortunately for Hashirama, this was war, and war, especially for Iwa, has no rules. When using the Hiding With Camouflage Technique, Mū knew that he was beyond the senses of any normal shinobi, including the 'Kami no Shinobi' apparently. Mū knew that he would only have one opportunity to make this chance count, and that if he was successful, that his name would be sung in songs around Iwa for decades to come.

It was when he could detect a build up of chakra that Hashirama knew something was wrong. Spinning around to face the source of the chakra build up, Hashirama came face to face with a floating figure in the sky, using the famous flight technique of Iwagakure that was associated with Dust Release users. But the flight technique wasn't the source of the chakra that had drawn his attention, no; it was the cylindrical structure that was pointed at him, a bright sphere at the end furthest from him. This same end was in between the hands of someone that Hashirama could recognise on sight, if not for his attire, than for his skill in the only known Kekkei Tōta, Dust Release. It was Mū, the protégé of the Shodai Tsuchikage.

Hashirama barely had any time to react as Mū intoned his technique.

"Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu (Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique)!" The technique fired as a pure beam of energy that smashed into the ground, spraying dust and dirt everywhere as the power of the technique tore into the earth. Everything within the area was vaporised almost instantly, the power of the technique turned the impact zone into molten rock, yet the technique wasn't done, as the beam of energy then moved, carving a groove into the land, scarring it. The ground shook as the aftershocks rocked the area, a testament to the power of the only known Kekkei Tōta. Eventually, the jutsu powered down, leaving those in the area to survey the damage.

The Konoha shinobi that had been behind Hashirama as he pursued the Iwagakure shinobi could only look in shock as the area that their leader was in was blown to kingdom come. Even with their knowledge of their former Hokage's power, they couldn't help the thought that entered their minds, that Hashirama Senju was dead. Many fell to their knees, the power behind the jutsu was immense, coupled with the fact that the technique used was from a Kekkei Tōta, something that is meant to have more potential than any Kekkei Genkai, and the ninja from the Village Hidden in the Leaves simply couldn't see how someone could survive something like that. Especially when it had taken Hashirama by surprise, none of them had sensed the Jinton user manoeuvre behind the Shodai until he had revealed himself, but by then it was too late.

Mū wasn't as doubtful in Hashirama's skills as the Konoha shinobi were, he wasn't going to relax until the dust settled, and even then he would still be weary. Madara Uchiha had proved that he had more than one trick up his sleeve and he would be damned if Hashirama didn't have any either. But, as the smoke cleared, Hashirama didn't emerge, Mū couldn't see him from the air and the Konoha shinobi were pushing forward, looking for any sign of their leader and former Hokage. It would seem that Mū would have to fall back, it would take a certain amount of ninja to be able to secure their current position and currently, Mū didn't have that much. All he could really do was fall back and regroup with his men before pushing forward; it shouldn't be too hard after all...

The Kami no Shinobi was dead.

When the Konoha shinobi arrived at the impact zone of the Jinton technique, all they could truly see was a giant scar that marked the land, from which it would take years to properly heal. There was a large crater at one end before the technique then moved along the ground, the user moving the attack in case the target had dodged the initial strike. From what the Leaf ninja could see, searching for a body was pointless, everything the jutsu had touched had been vaporised almost instantly. The shinobi prepared to retreat to their fortified camp further into the Land of Fire to inform their superior, who would in turn, inform the Hokage that Hashirama Senju.

And yet, as the all turned around to leave, a groaning sound made itself know, like the hinges of a gate, and at the site of the initial impact of the Dust Release technique, the earth split, revealing a wooden box just beneath the surface of the earth, the entrance blocked from view by the dirt kicked up by Mū's technique, with a person lying on their back, face sheen with sweat. The maroon armour the person was wearing made him instantly recognisable to the Konoha ninja.

It was Hashirama Senju.

Alive, if the small movement of his stomach was any indication, though there were numerous cuts and bruises that littered parts of his body where his armour didn't cover.

The Konoha ninja rushed to their fallen commander, gently lifting him up, before rushing back to their base of operations for this sector as quickly as possible where they could treat any injuries that the Shodai might have. The ninja knew that they needed Hashirama Senju in battle in order to win this war, if not for his skill or the high morale he inspires when out on the battlefield with his troops, then for the fear that he could instil in his enemies just by saying his very name.

But what the shinobi didn't know, what none of them could have known, was that the injuring of Hashirama Senju at the hands of Mū would have a profound effect on the war. For when Mū took the blood of Hashirama Senju, he had taken the blood of someone revered as a god in the shinobi world and by spilling his blood, Mū had made 'god' bleed.

And as god began to bleed, the sharks began to circle.

Waiting to strike and deal a decisive blow.

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Hashirama would be cleared for active ninja service two weeks later, after his chakra exhaustion had been remedied. When Hashirama had used his Mokuton: Hōbi no Jutsu (Wood Release: Wood Expulsion Technique) to create a shield, he had been forced to pump the technique with an incredible amount of chakra to block the powerful Jinton attack. Not only was Jinton a Kekkei Tōta which was naturally stronger than his Kekkei Genkai, Mokuton, but the technique used was simply a beam of condensed energy, which took much of Hashirama's chakra to keep from breaking through his wooden shield, and even then, his shield was still jolted from the attack giving him a few scrapes and bruises. Even though Hashirama had been able to stop a bijūdama (Tailed Beast Ball) using that same jutsu, the Jinton technique was a beam of condensed energy, while the energy from a bijūdama exploded outwards, and so, while the power of the attack was greater than that of the technique that Mū used, it was spread out over a larger area and so it wasn't as intense as the Jinton technique used against Hashirama. Combining this with the fact that Hashirama had expelled chakra taking down the enemy outpost that was located inside the borders of Fire Country while Mū was running on a fresh battery and that Mū had taken Hashirama by surprise, Hashirama was thankful to be alive, he knew that the encounter could have gone a completely different way had he reacted even a millisecond later than he did.

But as Hashirama returned to field of battle, the sharks began to circle.

The kages of Suna, Iwa and Kumo were all smart men, they didn't just get their positions of power simply because they flexed their muscles all over the place, they all had a head to go with their brawn. So when they saw that the advance they all had on the Konoha front be stopped by the return of Hashirama to active battle, they all knew that something had to be done.

All three powerful men knew that Hashirama Senju wasn't a man that could be taken out by simple charging him with their strength on a open battlefield, while strength would play a large part in taking down the 'Kami no Shinobi', as Mū proved, surprise would be the factor that took down the god-like figure of the shinobi world.

And so the three kage planned, each within their own home villages until they all reached the same conclusion.

An attack with a mixture of surprise and overwhelming strength, something that would take the Elemental Nations, especially Konoha, by storm and would but all their names in the history books.

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Hashirama was weary of the situation he was in. About a month after recovering from Mū's surprise attack, Hashirama was standing on the border of Fire and Grass in the dead of night, lying in wait with two hundred or so other Konoha shinobi, waiting for the opportune moment to strike at all of their enemies in one go, with the exception of Kiri, though, with the Uzumaki forcing the Hidden Village in the Mist back after their surge with their jinchūriki, Konoha may as well have been attacking all their enemies at once. With the clouds over head, blocking out the moon light, and making it harder for their enemies to see, it appeared if Kami was on their side as well, urging them to end this war, but Hashirama still felt tense, something about the situation didn't feel right to him.

Though the Hidden Village in the Whirling Tides may have forced Kiri back, and with their greatest seal masters creating and forging seals to deal with the jinchūriki of the Three-Tails, none of the shinobi of Uzushio could get close enough to place a seal on the bijū host, the multiple chakra tails and the ability to produce coral on contact meant that it was near impossible to get close and survive the ordeal. But even so, the skill of the Uzumaki was enough to be able to push the jinchūriki back for fear of having his bijū sealed away and taken prisoner.

Thought he didn't agree with Mito travelling in a time of war, he understood that the Uzushio native wanted to help her people in their time of strife, and Hashirama had to be honest, Mito's sealing prowess was a great boon for the Uzumaki clan, that along with her great chakra reserves, even among Uzumaki standards, and Tobirama teaching her his Kage Bunshin Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique) made Mito an invaluable asset to Uzushiogakure's Sealing Corps. She could create hundreds of seals in a day depending on the difficulty, all the while learning more about sealing, Hashirama was sure that Mito would be hounded by the entire village of Uzu on how to perform the technique. Hashirama only wished that he knew that technique when he was Hokage, it sure would have helped him with all the paperwork involved back then.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Hashirama made himself focus on the job at hand. Earlier in the week, Tobirama had received word from a few of his spies that Kumo had received intelligence that Iwa had a base near the border of Grass and Fire and that they were going to try and storm the base to extract information on several other outposts in the land between Takigakure and the Land of Rice. Iwagakure was known to never have information in bases that directly pertained to nearby bases, choosing to keep the information in Iwagakure itself with a copy in a different base picked at random, it helped prevent information being used against them. From another spy, Tobirama had received word that Suna also knew this, and was planning to hit both Iwa and Kumo as they were both fighting each other. The Nidaime thought that this would be the perfect time the attack all three villages at the same time, with Iwa having withdrawn the Four-Tails host, Kumo keeping the Nibi jinchūriki to the far north of where the base is and Suna keeping their jinchūriki confined to the deserts of the Land of Wind, it would be the perfect time to attack and gain minimal losses while potentially destroying a large portion of the other villages' military strength.

However, all this was simply information gathered by spies, and information could be wrong, but, even as Hashirama questioned Tobirama on the validity of his sources, Tobirama defended them, saying that his infiltrators were some of the best in the village.

But as Hashirama waited for Kumo to attack Iwa and for Suna to interfere, he began to doubt his brother's sources, this all seemed too perfect, and is shinobi senses were screaming at him to take his men and leave. And yet, Hashirama didn't, he put his faith in Tobirama's spies, and he could only pray to whatever god was listening that his gamble paid off.

"Sir." One of the shinobi beside him whispered. "Near one of the openings near the top of the outpost, I can see two people. One appears to be an Iwa shinobi but I swear that one of them looks like a Kumo-nin." That got Hashirama's attention, snapping his head towards the direction of the outpost Hashirama narrowed his vision to the spot where his subordinate pointed out the two ninja.

The Iwa outpost looked, in all honesty, looked like a giant pile of earth, usually around fifty metres tall, that had been hardened in the sun, a few openings around the bottom of the structure acted as doorways with several openings that were used as windows scattered around the rest of the building. It was a typical Iwa outpost, used to quickly set up a position in enemy territory, it could house shinobi fifty or so shinobi on a short term basis until a more permanent solution was made. The base itself wasn't that sturdy, sure it could take several high ranking jutsu, but it was quickly destroyed compared to more permanent bases. Hashirama couldn't actually see why Kumo would think any intelligence would be here, it was a hastily constructed base with no reason that there could be any information of interest in there, unless they thought that it was what Iwa wanted them to think and that they actually had information there.

Looking to where his fellow Konoha shinobi had pointed out, Hashirama saw something that put a chill down his spine. An Iwa and Kumo nin, simply standing near the top outpost, at a window, both smoking from their own pipes. Hashirama could see that both were tensed, but at the same time, he could tell that it wasn't from each other's presence. This did it for Hashirama, his instincts were practically shaking him, telling him to leave this place with his men and return to Konoha.

"Atara," The Mokuton user called the name of his second in command. "Get the men, we're leaving. Now." Just as the man began to leave, Hashirama sensed multiple chakra signatures, massing in the hundreds, making their way towards him and his men. "Never mind, it doesn't matter anymore, we have multiple enemies incoming. Everybody, be on your guard!" Hashirama shouted to his men, being stealthy was now pointless as the enemy knew they were here, though Hashirama only had any idea about who he would be facing.

As their enemies got closer, Hashirama felt a burst of demonic chakra come closer and closer, far faster than any of the signatures, and concluded that this was most likely the jinchūriki for the Yonbi or Nibi. Even if Suna was in this, they would never remove the Ichibi host from their borders, having the weakest of the bijū meant that they had to use it wisely.

"Get out of the way!" Hashirama called out to his men as he faced the direction the jinchūriki was coming from, he needed to take out the jinchūriki before it caused too much damage. Moving through hand signs at a pace faster than most in the world could track, Hashirama shouted his jutsu. "Mokuton: Mokuryū no Jutsu (Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique)!" From the ground, three wooden dragons sprouted, just in time to wrap around a man that burst through the trees around them, clad in a cloak of red chakra with three tails behind him. The dragons then began to squeeze as Hashirama signalled for them to tighten their grip on the jinchūriki, a man with brown hair, though Hashirama couldn't tell what colours the man's eyes were with him being influenced by demonic chakra.

Unfortunately for Hashirama, one of the stronger chakra signals reached the area, and fired off a technique that gave Hashirama his identity. Much like Hashirama was revered for his Mokuton, other shinobi were also revered for their Kekkei Genkai.

"Shakuton: Kajōsatsu (Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder)!" A voice bellowed as several balls that resembled suns launched themselves at several parts of Hashirama's wooden dragons that were wrapped around the Yonbi host. The balls burned their way through the wood within seconds, evaporating the moisture from the wood, and causing Hashirama's technique to crumble and for the jinchūriki to free himself, he landed on the ground but didn't move to attack again. The balls of heat then retreated back to their user. Hashirama didn't bother to try and counter act that Shakuton (Scorch Release) technique, there was no point, the balls would simply burn through the wood within seconds as long as the user kept sending the technique chakra and Hashirama couldn't afford to waste any chakra on simply nullifying a technique, not if what he was sensing about the numbers they were facing were true. No, he would most likely need all of his chakra to counter this ambush, there were possibly three thousand ninja converging on his position right now, far more than Hashirama had ever been around in his lifetime.

"Well, isn't this a surprise, Fujinma-dono." Hashirama said sarcastically as he turned to look at the user of the Shakuton technique. Fujinma Nomatu, the Shodai Kazekage of Suna and one of the only users of the Shakuton bloodline. Gaining the moniker, Netsu no Subaku (Heat of the Desert), due to his Kekkei Genkai's ability to thrive under the temperature of his desert homeland, it was one of the ways that he managed to unite the clans of the desert under the banner of Suna. He was an exceptionally powerful shinobi, mostly due to his skill with his bloodline, but even without it, Fujinma was powerful man.

"It is, isn't it, Hashirama-dono. I hope you realise that I am only doing due to threat you pose. There is nothing personal involved." Fujinma informed Hashirama without a trace of emotion on his face. This was definitely the Kazekage of Suna, the man never let any of his feelings affect his decisions when it comes to Suna, judging by the lack of emotion in his voice, the man was most likely doing this for the betterment of his village. Hashirama could respect that, but it didn't mean that he had to like it.

The first Kazekage of Suna was dressed in a dark suit which ended with a black mask that covered Fujinma's lower face, up to the bridge of the man's nose. The mask was commonly worn in the Land of Wind by Sunagakure's shinobi, used to prevent the deserts' sand from entering the mouth when one speaks a technique. Not very useful in the forests of Grass and Fire, but the Kazekage didn't seem to care.

"If you are quite done Fujinma," A baritone voice interrupted. "I believe that we are meant to destroy the Konoha-nin, Hashirama Senju included. If you are done fraternising with the enemy then please return to the plan." The baritone voice belonged to the Nidaime Raikage, Lotombi Suabuki, who stepped up next to the Kazekage. Recently chosen as the new Raikage after his predecessor fell in battle, Lotombi proved to be capable of leading his people in wartime. Chosen for his fine skill in the usage of Raiton, the current Raikage is said to be able to summon a lightning storm to strike down his foes at will, though Hashirama has never seen the proof of Lotombi being able to do this. Never the less, the Shoumei no Senshi (Lightning Warrior) was a man not to be taken lightly, if the build of the man was not enough to make one weary, the man being two and a half metres tall, his skill with Raiton would, despite being the youngest of all the kage, he could still hold his own against any of the current kage. "If two shinobi didn't have the stupid idea of smoking near a window then perhaps Hashirama would have been dead by now and I could have been home having a nice dinner." The current Raikage held no respect for any of the kage, past or present, besides his predecessor, and it showed in his words, the tall man held no regard for anyone's skill despite his predecessor's and his own, even Hashirama didn't measure up in his eyes. It wasn't arrogance, it was just that the man held no respect for anyone besides a few.

"If you three are done bickering then perhaps we can move on with tonight's proceeding?" An elder voice questioned. Turning his eyes to the person who stepped up next to the Raikage, Hashirama wasn't surprised to see the Tsuchikage on the scene. The three kages' plan was clear, team up against Konoha, then perhaps Uzushiogakure and Kiri, before backstabbing each other to come out on top. The last part wouldn't have been verbally said, but Hashirama knew that all three kages would do it when the opportunity arises, especially Iwa if their tactics in the war were anything to go by.

The latest kage was perhaps one of the oldest kage alive, competing with the current Mizukage for the title of eldest kage. Katurama Kamizuru was famous around the world for developing the world's first, and so far only, Kekkei Tōta, Jinton. While Katurama can use the combination of the earth, wind and fire chakra natures, he doesn't have the reserves to truly utilize the advance chakra nature due to using techniques with relatively low chakra requirements for the majority all his life. He could, at most, fire of one or two Jinton techniques before he was nearly drained. His protégée, Mū, had no such restrictions as Hashirama found out, being able to utilise the one of a kind chakra nature to its fullest extent. There was one difference, however, between the Kekkei Tōta and Kekkei Genkai other than being more powerful, and that was unlike Kekkei Genkai, Kekkei Tōta can be taught to anyone, regardless of their blood relation, the only requirement being that the one looking to gain the ability to use a Kekkei Tōta like Jinton must have the required affinities, in this case, wind, earth and fire as their chakra affinities, and have strong affinities at that, whether born with them or gaining them through training, one must have a strong enough affinity for the three components to be able to recreate Dust Release. And even then, there was also getting the right mixture of all three elements to successfully recreate the chakra nature, which, in itself, was an incredible challenge, much like gaining all three affinities to the strength required.

"Hashirama," The first kage of Iwagakure addressed Hashirama. "You and your troop have the honour of being the first to bear witness to the combined might of Iwa, Kumo and Suna. Today will be the day you die, be thankful that we don't spare you so you can watch the rest of your village fall." The Tsuchikage then gestured for Hashirama to look at his surroundings, which the Mokuton user did, though his eyes get his enemies at the corner of their vision. Surrounding Hashirama and his now small group of two hundred ninja were swarms of shinobi, numbering in the thousands, each one bearing the forehead protector of the villages of the three kages before Hashirama. Quickly glancing over the several shinobi that surrounded him, Hashirama could make out several that were relatively well known to the shinobi world for one reason or another.

The ones that stood out the most were the Kingin Kyōdai (Gold and Silver Brothers), Kinkaku and Ginkaku, twins who miraculously survived being swallowed whole by the Kyūbi. The eventually escaped the stomach of the strongest bijū by making it regurgitate them after two weeks of being trapped. However, when in the stomach of the Nine-Tails, they survived by eating the flesh of its stomach, this unintentionally granted them incredible chakra reserves, reserves that rivalled Hashirama's own. They also received several changes to their features, both of the twins gained two horns that sprouted from their head as well as three whisker marks on each check, as well as a thick mane of hair, longer than it was when they were swallowed by the beast. However, despite the fact that they had such large reserves, they were nowhere near as powerful as Hashirama, mostly due to fact that they lacked the skill to truly use their abilities to their greatest extent, the twins simply chose to muscle through all their enemies. They also gained the ability to develop a bijū chakra cloak at will, shrouding themselves in their potent chakra like other jinchūriki yet, they retained their minds, not having a bijū interfering with their head whenever they use the cloak.

Another renowned shinobi that Hashirama could identify was, Rikano Tirushi, the Iwa no Rannaa (Rock Runner), given the name because of his ability to use a unique form of Doton that allows him to move far faster than most shinobi. Whether this is a jutsu or some sort of bloodline is unknown, but what is known is that the man becomes incredibly deadly when moving at such speeds, faster than the naked eye can track except for those that have trained their eyes to track such speed. Rikano was a well built man with short dark hair and eyes, common features in Iwa. He wore grey amour which protected his stomach, thighs and calves, as well as his forearms, under that was a plain black shirt and pants.

Hashirama could also make out several shinobi scattered around the circle that surrounded him with golden horns painted onto their armour, a Kumo forehead protector strapped across their heads. They were the Kinkaku force, a highly trained force from Kumo, supposedly trained by the Shodai Raikage himself as a weapon before the war officially began. Rumour has it that they have the combined might to take down the four-tailed bijū, not the jinchūriki, the actual bijū, whether that's true or not, Hashirama doesn't know, but it seemed that he would find out soon. Fierce dragon masks hid their features from the public, in reminded Hashirama of that 'secret' group that Tobirama had only recently put together, he'd named them the ANBU, which was short for something put it was too long for Hashirama to really remember, all he did remember was that the members of the ANBU were required to wear animal masks in order to hid their identities.

A pair of identical shinobi from Iwa also caught Hashirama's attention, both wearing amour dyed brown, the same colour as the rest of their outfits, the two shinobi had a mud brown hair colour with dark eyes. It took a second for Hashirama to recognise the two of them, but the name eventually came to him. The two, Hijutana and Butsana Tojinto, were known as the Gooremu Futago (Golem Twins), given the name for their high Doton affinity, which allows them to perform a kinjutsu from Iwa, in which, earth is summoned around the two of them, creating a kind of rock amour. This amour is incredibly thick, a result from the amount of rocks that form the protective coating, in addition, it grants them both immense height and strength. The amour covers their entire bodies, from head to toe, making the twins look like giant rock golems, hence the name. Both were incredibly muscled, most likely a side effect of their jutsu, is most likely didn't lessen the weight of the rocks.

A shinobi wearing a similar face mask to the Shodai Kazekage made Hashirama focus on him for a second, it was all Hashirama needed to identify him. Tajunta Nomatu, brother to the Kazekage, another Shakuton user from Suna, the man was one of the most powerful men in Suna and one of the most likely candidates for the position of the Nidaime Kazekage. While not as skilled as his brother in their kekkei genkai, Tajunta was still skilled in wielding the advance chakra nature, usually kept behind for the defence of Suna as he was not quite as powerful as the Kazekage, Tajunta hadn't had the chance to gain a moniker like his brother, it was only the similarities in appearance that allowed Hashirama to know who he was. His appearance here told Hashirama that Suna was serious about eliminating him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Hashirama also noticed a figure floating in the sky, rotating his head in order to get a better look at the person, Hashirama recognised Mū. The Iwagakure shinobi was casually floating in the sky, as if it was an everyday occurrence, which it probably was for Mū. The Mujin (Non-Person) was simply starring at Hashirama from his position in the sky, eyeing him, waiting for any offensive movements or his superiors gave to signal to attack. Hashirama was surprised that he didn't automatically assume that Mū would be here, the Tsuchikage would have definitely sent out the one who wounded Hashirama Senju when they were facing the man.

It appeared that Kumo, Iwa and Suna were pulling out all the stops to get rid of him, not wanting to let anything to chance. They were going to wipe him out and send a message to Konoha and the rest of the Elemental Nations, they were going to send a message of might, of how they could crush all, even the Kami no Shinobi. Hashirama knew his death would be a crushing blow to the morale of Konoha, word of their Shodai dying would undoubtedly spread fear into the ranks of ninja back in his village. Tobirama would also most likely beat himself up for what, blaming himself when he gets word of what happened, believe that one of his spies had been compromised or turned traitor. His brother would probably go into a bit of depression with the last of his brothers dying, it would undoubtedly cause his brother much sadness. Hashirama only hoped that Naruto tried to help pick up the pieces, his former mentor would have gone through more pain than anyone in the world, if anyone could get Tobirama and the rest of his family back on track, it would be Naruto.

Hashirama, in fact, had very little doubts about what would happen here. Even with all his power, Hashirama had never tried to take on so many enemies at once, there were thousands of shinobi around him, several of which could go toe to toe with Tobirama and come out on top. Had it just been the thousands of ninja, Hashirama wouldn't have had such a problem, he doubted many of them he the skill to be classified as jōnin, all they really were was cannon fodder for the Hashirama's real opponents to get close, mainly the shinobi with the reputations behind them, or the bijū hosts. All it would take was one lucky, stray jutsu to end his life, and in a battle of this magnitude, it was bound to happen.

Looking over at the men he had brought with him, Hashirama could see that all of them realised that they would most likely not make it through this battle, even if they survived, they would most likely be taken prisoner and pumped for information. As he looked into the eyes of his comrades in arms, Hashirama could see the resignation of their fate, but also the steely determination to take down as many of the bastards that they could while they went down with fists swinging. Hashirama couldn't stop the simile that wormed its way to his face, this was the Will of Fire, the spirit of Konoha, the will to never give up, to never surrender, to fight to the bitter end, all for the family one had back home. That was Hashirama's true view of the Will of Fire.

Looking to Atara, Hashirama saw the man nod in his direction, the former Hokage knew exactly what the man was trying to say. 'We know what to do Hashirama-sama, and we will give our lives for the Will of Fire. It was an honour to serve under your command.'

Hashirama gave nod back. 'The honour was all mine.'

Turning back to look at the Tsuchikage, Hashirama could see that the elderly man, as well as his two fellow kage, seemed to be taken aback by the glint of steel that had entered his eyes. Hashirama got a grand sense of satisfaction from seeing the Tsuchikage surprised like he was.

The Tsuchikage was defiantly surprised, when Hashirama Senju had looked at him after looking around, seeing exactly who he was facing, he was sure that he would see the hope of survival slowly leave his eye, of the realisation that nothing he could do would allow him to survive.

They had the Yonbi jinchūriki, as well as the Nibi jinchūriki, even the Gobi host as back up only a kilometre away. He was not stupid enough to think that Hashirama would not have thought that they would have the other bijū hosts as back up, the man wasn't known as the Kami no Shinobi for nothing, the man would have thought of that possibility. Yet, as he stared into the eyes of the Senju, Katurama couldn't help but take a step back, instead of resignation, there was determination, he could see that Hashirama already had a good idea that he would die today, yet the man, nor his men for that matter as he spared them a quick glance, looked like they cared, there was only determination.

"I know that I may die today, Katurama-dono," Even on the eve of his death, Hashirama was still respectful. "But even so, at least I'll go down with the knowledge that my brother will lead Konoha in my steed, and he will lead it to victory in this pointless war." Hashirama's eyes then narrowed, before a small, uncharacteristic smirk made its way to his face. "I may be channelling Madara here, but right now, I just can't bring myself to care. You three want to take down the Kami no Shinobi? Well then, let me show you how I got the title." Hashirama then closed his eyes and lowered his head, all for a second, maybe two, before it snapped up again, with his face bearing markings the travelled across his face. A black circle appeared on his forehead with a dot in the middle, reminiscent of a third eye, while black markings made themselves known around and under his eyes. Only one of the three kage even had an inkling as to what those markings suggested, he could only pray that he was wrong, because if his guess was correct, then their objective was that much harder. "Konoha ninja! For the Will of Fire! Make them rue the day they crossed the Hidden Leaf!" Hashirama's cry rang out across the battle field, as all of the two hundred Konoha ninja roared in agreement as the charged towards the enemy nin, flinging any jutsu or weapons they could with tremendous speed. Their love for their village and family fuelled them on as they ran without fear, multiple fire jutsu, along with a rare jutsu from one of the other four elements, rang out across the battlefield at the Konoha ninja charged their slightly stunned enemies, none of the ninja from Kumo, Iwa or Suna expected the surrounded Lead shinobi to charge them, it was tantamount to suicide.

The veteran shinobi recovered before their new comrades, years of reflexes snapping into action as several jutsu and weapons headed their way. Several of the more recent shinobi graduates were cut down by the several jutsu and weapons before the rest of them snapped into action, returning fire to the Konoha ninja.

Hashirama didn't notice as his fellow Leaf-nin charged the enemy, he was focused on the three kage in front of him, while also keeping an eye on the more notorious shinobi and the jinchūriki that he could see. They were the most threatening to him right now, and Hashirama wasn't going to let them come to him, that was suicidal when one was out numbered, he might know that he was almost certainly going to die here, but that didn't mean that Hashirama was going reach death with open arms, he had people that wanted him on this plane of existence and he would be damned if he didn't at least try to make it out of this alive.

"Senpō: Mokuton:," He intoned as he sped through hand seals. "Mokujin no Jutsu (Sage Art: Wood Release: Wood Human Technique)." As Hashirama finished the hand seal sequence, the earth began to rumble as a mighty hand, as large several buildings, erupted from the ground and found grip on the surface of the earth, another hand soon followed making it one on each side of Hashirama. As the ground continued to churn, the several Kage level shinobi watched in shock as a massive humanoid figure pulled itself out of the ground with Hashirama Senju perched on its head. As Hashirama looked down at his opponents, he took advantage of their shock to assess his options. His Nature chakra powered version of his wood human technique was the best option he had by far to use in combat in this situation, slightly taller than its regular counterpart, the sage chakra enhanced version was not only stronger and more durable, but also taller and came with another wooden dragon that wound its way up the body of the wooden humanoid in the opposite direction of the first.

Anything bigger would most likely crush his comrades and would be too big to effectively attack his much smaller opponents, he would have to draw away those he was facing to be able to use anything bigger effectively.

"For the Will of Fire!" Hashirama cried as his large humanoid technique let off a mighty roar of its own before grabbing one of dragons that wound its way around its body before pulling it off and holding it at the tail. The Wood Human then pulled the same arm back before launching it forward, using the wooden dragon as a makeshift whip, slamming the dragon into the ground, taking out as many of Hashrama's enemies as possible. Although it missed the intended targets, those being the Golem Twins seeing as they were at the best range to attack compared to anything else, the Tojinto Twins managed to escape the attack, not being Kage level for nothing. The twins then began to go through identical hand seals before slamming their hands into the ground.

"Doton: Do No Gaadian (Earth Release: Earthen Guardian)." Both of them shouted as blocks of earth began to roll over to their position. Hashirama's focus was then taken away from the Golem Twins as several balls of heat raced towards the body of his Wood Human Technique. Hashirama's eyes narrowed as he took in the balls and began to skim over his knowledge of the Shakuton Kekkei Genkai to see if he could figure out a way to neutralise the technique. All that really came up was that the Shakuton bloodline in general was weak to Suiton jutsu, which was unfortunate for Hashirama because he had neglected his Suiton as well as Doton affinities to order to focus on developing his Mokuton techniques. The only think he used that involved Doton and Suiton were the exercises that trained his affinities, using those to help strengthen his Mokuton.

Cursing inwardly, Hashirama realised that all that was left was attacking the user while avoiding the supercharged balls of heat. Pushing more chakra into his technique to toughen up the skin of his Wood Human, a small smile came to Hashirama's face as an idea came to his head on how to deal with several of his enemies, but his eyes widened drastically as the crackling of a large amount of lightening was heard behind him. Leaping off of his perch on top of his Wood Human, Hashirama moved just in time to miss a bolt of compressed lightning race through where his body once was. Letting himself fall towards the ground, Hashirama began to channel chakra throughout his body to survive the impact of the ground while simultaneously running through several hand seals. As he neared the ground Hashirama braced himself for impact while calling out his technique.

"Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kōtan (Wood Release Secret Technique: Nativity of a World of Trees)!" As Hashirama hit the earth, hundreds of branches and roots sprouted out of the ground and began to extend themselves outwards from Hashirama's position, multiplying as they did. Trees began to move as Hashirama's chakra infected them, causing their branches and roots to wriggle and move before lashing out, wrapping around unsuspecting shinobi. The branches of the secret Wood Release technique began to ensnare enemies, wrapping themselves around shinobi before they slowly began to squeeze the life of those they trapped. The three kage of Kumo, Iwa, and Suna all managed to escape the branches that began to entangle their shinobi thanks to the Tsuchikage, the kage of Iwa managing to pass on the ability of his flight technique to his two fellow kage, the three then met up with Mū in the air, while the man in question began to fly through a series of hand seals, taking the opportunity of taking a shot at Hashirama's attention being focused elsewhere.

"Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu (Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique)!" A small cylinder with a small white orb contained within appeared in the hands of first true user of Dust Release, pointed at the former Hokage, before the orb exploded within the cylinder. Contained by the cylinder around it, the explosion only had one way out, and that way was directed straight at Hashirama. Moving with incredible speed, the three kage were sure that Hashirama's was going to die, here and now, especially with no sign of noticing the technique. That was, until Hashirama's head snapped up to face the incoming technique before the Wood Human technique, which was still standing, moved in front of the technique and took the blast. An explosion of smoke obscured the four floating figures' view of Kami no Shinobi, the black smoke being almost in possible to see through unless one had one of the doūjutsu the Konoha possessed. Taking a quick look over the rest of the battlefield, the three kage could see that a third of their force had been trapped by the wooden branches that rose from the earth, the rest of the shinobi unaffected from the technique were working to free their comrades, the three kage agreed without words that they would focus on Hashirama, while their subordinates would free each other, hopefully, they would focus on freeing the more powerful shinobi first so that they could help taking down the Senju clan head.

As the smoke cleared, all three kage were stunned to see the Wood Human technique still standing, appearing to have taken only a minute amount of damage, and even that looked to be healing.

"Damn it," The Tsuchikage swore, gaining the attention of his fellow kage and successor. "It appears that we have underestimated Hashirama Senju. Our task is now far harder."

"What are you talking about old man?" Questioned the Raikage as he kept an eye on the mountain sized wooden figure. "How has killing the Senju become harder?" The Tsuchikage, Katurama, mumbled about disrespectful brats before responding.

"According to the Bee summons, there is a special ability, called Sennin Mōdo (Sage Mode), that, when one enters, allows the user to empower known techniques, as well as create new ones. I am told that one must absorb the natural chakra from around themselves to use it. Empowered techniques are improved in every way, speed, power, durability, every attribute there is, while knew techniques can have the power of a bijūdama (Tailed Beast Ball)." Katurama began, while keeping a wary eye on the giant wooden statue that blocked their view of Hashirama Senju. The rest of the floating party tried to wrap their head around what the Shodai Tsuchikage. "These techniques are called Senjutsu (Sage Techniques), and based on the durability of that Mokuton technique, as well as the name Hashirama used at the start of the technique, 'Senpō', I would have to guess that Hashirama knows and has achieved a Sage Mode of his own. Surprising seeing as it is only achievable if one has the Snake or Toad Summoning contract, from what the Bees tell me, the locations of those two Summoning clans are the two only known places where one can learn Sage Mode. There are also the risks of turning one's self to stone if one absorbs too much natural chakra. How Hashirama managed to learn this while not having either contracts, as well as surviving the training without a guide is a mystery." Katurama's last words were said with a grudging respect towards the Senju, from what the Bees had told him, Sage Mode was truly something only the skilled can pull off. Apparently, Hashirama Senju has skill in spades.

"Are there any weaknesses, Tsuchikage-sama?" Mū questioned. If what the Tsuchikage had said was true then their chances of defeating Hashirama Senju had dropped dramaticly.

"From what the Bees have told me, no, all we can do is wear the Senju out, he will eventually run out of Sage chakra and will then be exhausted, that will be when we can strike." The Tsuchikage explained.

A small boom was heard from one side of the battlefield as two large rock golems rose above the tree line, both were about half the height of Hashirama's wood technique. The two golems who were both obviously Hijutana and Butsana Tojinto clad in their rock golem jutsus. The two suits of rock began to up root trees and crush existing branches in an effort to free their fellow shinobi.

A much louder boom and the crackle of electricity was heard from another part of the battlefield as trees began to part, being knocked down. Flashes of twin manes of hair, alone with horns emerging from said hair made it easy to identify Kinkaku and Ginkaku as the two brothers stomped through the forest, free of the branches binding them.

A blast of demonic chakra was felt from another point, a signal that the Yonbi host had broken free of his bindings, more signatures were felt as people began to slowly hack away at the trees around them.

Hashirama eventually realised that what he was doing was pointless and released his hold on the technique, turning the branches and roots back to normal. He had thought that his jutsu, would be able to hold those he had captured, especially when enhanced with Sage chakra, apparently not. Though it would make sense, he had spread his chakra to thinly with that technique, thinking that he would be able to quickly halt a large portion of the enemy ninja, he had neglected to realise that the shinobi that weren't caught would be able free their comrades, he also hadn't put a lot of chakra into that technique, thinking that the amount he gave it would be enough to hold those he had caught. Apparently he was wrong again.

A series of loud thumping was heard coming towards him, turning in the direction of origin, Hashirama spied the two golem twins running towards him, or at least as fast as they could when they were covered in such heavy rocks. With a pulse of chakra, Hashirama commanded his Wooden Human technique to meet the twins halfway, it should be able to take care of them both without any assistance, unless the twins received help.

Turing upwards to look at the four floating figures in the sky, Hashirama gave a small frown, up in the air, they had the advantage, especially with so many shinobi on the ground. He would have to thin the amount of shinobi around him before taking out those four, or at least wait for them to come closer.

A source of demonic chakra was quickly making its way towards him, thinking quickly, Hashirama faced its direction and went through several hand seals. A jinchūriki was dangerous no matter how many tails it had.

"Mokuton: Shinrin No Jabu (Wood Release: Forest Jab)." Hashirama called as several spears of wood, angled so that they were pointing at the jinchūriki, forced their way up through the crust of the earth and continued towards the bijū carrier, intent on spearing him through the stomach. But the bijū host had predicted this and was already going through his own set of hand seals.

"Yōton: Shakugaryūgan no Jutsu (Lava Release: Scorching Stream Rock Technique)!" Several balls of lava flew out of the host's mouth and collided with the racing wooden spears, their heat partially melting the ends of the spears, but unfortunately for the jinchūriki, not melting them completely like he had originally thought. The spears collided with the stomach of the jinchūriki, launching them backwards and into a tree with the wind knocked out of their lungs.

"So, this is the Yonbi host," Hashirama noted idly. "I wonder if there are any other hosts around." His musing were cut short when he felt a rumble in the earth. Ducking down, Hashirama avoided a slash from a kunai that was wielded by Iwa's Rock Runner, the man using the technique that gave him that moniker to try to blindside Hashirama. Performing a rather tight U-turn, Rikano Tirushi came back for another strike, Hashirama meeting him with his own kunai, which, after blocking Rikano's slash, found itself buried in his thigh.

The man let out a grunt of pain before he tumbled out of his jutsu. Rikano was never truly an exceptional shinobi, he only had access to a technique that was quite powerful and thought that it could carry him to glory. Granted that the man mastered the technique to an impressive level, he still didn't have the other skills to truly make him lethal, all he had was great speed that outstripped most opponents.

A quickly growing heat on Hashirama's back made him bend forwards as three balls of heat soared over where his head once was. A roll to his left made him avoid the four more that were aimed for his crouched form. Facing the source, Hashirama came face to face with Tajunta Nomatu, though he was quickly forced to move again as the spheres of heat shot towards him again. Seeing that he couldn't stay on the defensive forever, Hashirama decided to attack to source and through several kunai at Tajunta to distract him. The kunai did their job, Tajunta dodging to the side in order to evade the flying objects, though Hashirama's advance was halted when the Four-Tails jinchūriki made his way over and tried to use one of his tails of yokai to squat Hashirama.

That plan failed when the Senju nimbly dodged before leaping forward and slam several punches and kicks, only to leap back when he felt a burning sensation on his hands, his skin blistering under the contact with the demonic chakra of the Four-Tails. A leap to the left made Hashirama avoid several Scorch Release balls as they tried to evaporate the water from his body. Moving to put some space between himself and the two shinobi, Hashirama only got a moment of rest before he was set upon be several balls of heat and the Yonbi host.

Thinking quickly, Hashirama managed to come up with an idea that could turn this battle into his favour. Flying through several hand seals, Hashirama launched a technique to get him started. "Moku Bunshin no Jutsu (Wood Clone Technique)." Several wooden copies of Hashirama formed around him before they were forced to scatter to avoid the charging jinchūriki and the balls from Shakuton: Kajōsatsu (Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder). All of the wood clones, including the original, took up position to surround the two shinobi and took the opportunity of the two looking around to identify the real Hashirama, to blur through hand seals. "Mokuton: Mokuryū no Jutsu (Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique)." Behind each of the clones, a giant wooden dragon emerged, the same size as the ones that were wrapped around the Wood Human technique, who was still fighting thee Golem Twins. The Twins having more maneuverability than the giant wooden human while the Wood Technique could take far more hits than either of the rock golems could.

The several wood dragons rose into the air, ascending to a point before the all tilted down and launched themselves straight at Tajunta and the jinchūriki. Both made to jump away from the point of impact but the shockwave made by the colliding dragons was to great, the shockwave hit them both, knocking them both unconscious after being hit.

A build up of chakra made Hashirama turn, thinking that someone was attacking him, but when he looked to the source, instead saw the Shodai Kazekage hovering a good distance away from his Wood Human technique, who looked to be finishing up with the Golem Twins. Their jutsu not having enough power or strength to match up to his own, but it seemed like the Kazekage was going to change that.

"Shakuton: Shoukyaku Furea Jutsu (Incinerating Flare Technique)." Hashirama heard the man call. He watched as several of the floating balls of Shakuton began to gravitate towards his Wood Human, the balls began to join together as they moved, getting bigger, and if he had to guess, hotter as well. Eventually, the now single ball of heat touched the left side of his wood technique, getting the wood to hiss as the chakra reinforced the technique while the ball of Shakuton chakra began to evaporate the water in the wood. After a few seconds of this, with the ball not doing anything else to the technique, Hashirama felt Fujinma flare his chakra, most likely as a signal for something to happen, though for what, Hashirama didn't know. His question was answered when the Shakuton technique exploded violently, Hashirama felt the shockwave where he was, as well as the heat released, Hashirama had never felt such heat, even from Madara's Amaterasu flames were they as hot as what he was feeling.

When the force from the explosion died down, Hashirama looked to see what was remaining from the explosion. The explosion destroyed a lot of land, about half a kilometre long, and dug a crater into the earth, near the ground zero of the Shakuton technique, the technique had incredible power, Hashirama could see molten lava at the bottom of the crater. His Wood Human was still in one piece more or less, but the entire left side of the Wood Human was burnt to a cinder, an arm was missing but both legs were still intact as were the twin dragons, one wrapped around the body of the wood technique while the other was held in the right hand. His technique was on its back, having been knocked over from the force of the explosion, but it was slowly getting up, it would follow its creators will until it was told not to or it was destroyed. Hashirama couldn't see the Golem Twins, but he assumed that they would have evacuated the area as soon as Fujinma began his technique. The man himself wasn't in Hashirama's view but he was sure that the Kazekage was still alive, a shinobi worthy of the title of Kage wouldn't be taken out because they forget about an aspect of their technique, especially something like the blast radius, though Hashirama could dream.

"Raiton: Saisho No Hibana (Lightning Release: First Spark)!" Hashirama turned around in time to see the Second Raikage, along with Mū and the Tsuchikage, still hovering in the air, fire off a large stream of lightning into the clouds that covered the moon. The stream continued for several seconds before Lotombi finished as thunder began to crack over head, at the sound of the loud cracks, Hashirama was immediately on guard. It appeared that the rumours about Lotombi's ability to summon storms were true, at least, if what Hashirama just saw was any indication.

His attention was taken off Lotombi when he heard the buzzing of Tsuchikage's insect-based ninjutsu, the man had launched a jutsu at him. Looking closely at the man's attack, Hashirama almost felt insulted, it was bees with explosive tags attached, granted that there were possibly a thousand or so bees, they still flew relatively slowly for someone who had the potential to move faster than the naked eye could see.

Flipping through several hand signs, Hashirama summoned a wooden wall up through the earth to block the incoming bees and their explosive cargo. Ordinarily, that many explosive tags would have destroyed the wooden wall, their sheer repetitive explosions would have broken through the wall unless Hashirama hadn't constantly channelled chakra through it to reinforce it, but with the enhancement provided by Sage Mode, that was unnecessary, the natural chakra bolstering the strength of the wooden wall.

Floating in the air above Hashirama, Lotombi turned to Katurama with deadpanned expression. "You sent explosive tags at him, really?" The disbelief came straight through in Lotombi's voice at the Tsuchikage's actions. "Did you honestly think that it would do anything?" Before Katurama could answer, Lotombi was already shaking his head. "Never mind old man, this is just proof that you got nothing, your too old to continue being a kage, never mind keeping up in this sort of battle. Just hurry up and pick a successor." Let it be known that those from Iwa were naturally stubborn people, in death, as in life, the Tsuchikage especially so. He wouldn't take those comments sitting down, even if he was in the middle of battling against someone who was arguably one of the most powerful shinobi to ever grace the world.

"I'm not too old you brat, I was kicking people across the country side while you were still in diapers with both hands tied behind my back." The Tsuchikage argued back. He wasn't too old damn it, he still had power in spades. Though, to be fair, even he could agree that he didn't have the largest chakra pools out of all the kage, but that had nothing to do with him being too old. "I'll show you old brat." He said, turning back to the wooden wall, flipping through hand seals at a rapid pace. "Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu (Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique)!" A small cylinder with an even small light inside formed between his hands, Katurama had to hold back a frown as a looked at his technique. While he had long since gotten over the fact that he would never have the power to push Jinton to its fullest capacity, he took pride in knowing that his pupil would.

The technique fired in a beam of light that smashed into the wooden wall of Hashirama, it struggled to get through the strengthened wall as Hashirama's own chakra combined with Sage Mode strengthened it to a level where it would take Mū firing off the same technique from point blank with all his strength to even dent the wall. Katurama was quickly forced to cancel the technique as the chakra cost became too great for him to handle and still be able to fight to an acceptable level. His breathing was now visible and he was slowly feeling the strain of keeping himself in the air but Katurama felt that he had made his point to the upstart that Kumo call Raikage.

But instead of showing any sort of surprise at the Tsuchikage's show of strength, Lotombi gave a small smirk. "Getting tired old man, you should let a real shinobi show you how it's done. Do me a favour old-timer and drop me on the ground, after that, I'd suggest both you and your boot licker get out of the sky." The Tsuchikage said nothing to the Raikage but both Lotombi and Mū heard the kage mumble about 'young people' and 'no respect'. Mū made no visible action against the Raikage for his comment about him being the Tsuchikage's 'boot licker', but Katurama did see his chosen successor's finger twitch at the barb, quite an achievement considering that Mū is almost always composed and rarely ever lets things affect him personally.

The Tsuchikage lowered both himself, his successor and his fellow kage, though Katurama still wondered how in Kami's name that Lotombi got the spot as Raikage, his disrespect to almost everyone should have made most people constantly irritated. As the party of three looked over, they saw the Gold and Silver Brothers had engaged Hashirama in fierce taijutsu battle which all three of the formally floating party could see was going badly for the brothers, Hashirama was already formidable up close, but with the enhancement from Sage Mode, he was now almost unbeatable. But Lotombi wasn't going to say anything, the brothers were providing him with a distraction which was exactly what he needed to prepare his signature jutsu.

Lotombi then stepped forward before bunching one of his hands into a fist, before planting that fist into the ground, making the earth crack with his strength, showing those who saw the action that his muscles weren't for show. "Raiton: Kaminari No Kami No Kooru (Lightning Release: Call of the Thunder God)!"

All around the battlefield, everyone heard the rumble and crack of lightning as it arched its way across the sky. The sound of lightning and thunder quickly began to get louder, and louder as time passed, until, about ten seconds after the rumbling began, it suddenly stopped, and the battle field went quite.

Hashirama first thought that the Nidaime Raikage had screwed up his own jutsu and that the man may have just been all talk, at least until he began to feel the hair on the back of his neck rise, it was then that he knew something was wrong. Kinkaku and Ginkaku apparently knew this as well if the widening of their eyes were any indication, before they immediately disengaged and ran.

Hashirama knew that what Lotombi was doing would most likely be incredibly accurate, with the ability to track him if he ran, it would make the most sense because, after all, why be able to summon a lightning storm if you couldn't choose what was struck. Quickly speeding through some hand seals like his life depended on it, which it did, Hashirama summoned a dome-like defensive structure with the face of a dragon to protect him from the incoming attack.

Just in time as well, because if he had been even a second later, Hashirama would have experienced incredible pain as one of the most deadly elements rammed into his position, seeking to destroy him. Those who witness the technique would be able to watch as multiple strikes of lightning came down, striking Hashirama's dome defence, trying to blast its way through, however, none of the bolts of lightning seemed to do anything to the wooden structure except scorch the surface. Lotombi seemed to realise this too as he began to pump more chakra into his technique, causing more lightning to strike Hashirama's defence at an increased pace. Yet, the structure would not fold. Angered at this, Lotombi pumped even more chakra into the jutsu, causing the lightning to appear in as a simple beam, the lightning striking so many times, at such a speed , that it seemed like a beam was striking Hashirama's dome protection.

Around the point of impact began to heat up from the heat, the ground turning a dull red, a sign of the heat that was given of simply being near the point of impact from the Nidaime Raikage's signature technique. The light given off by the continuous lightning strikes eventually became too much for many of the shinobi watching, the pure lightning temporarily blinding many of those watching.

The Raikage then cancelled the technique as the chakra requirements became too much, he had never tried to channel that much into his technique at one time and didn't want his control to waiver because of his inexperience with such power in case something should happen.

Rising from his kneeling position on the ground, Lotombi began to move forward to inspect the damage his technique created, Mū and Katurama behind him. The three of them spied many of their other shinobi moving forward as well, none of them really believing that anyone could survive something like that, though Lotombi knew that Hashirama was alive. His technique had involved calling down lightning at a certain spot by redirecting lightning chakra through the ground and building it up over a certain position, in this case, Hashirama's position. The lightning chakra in the ground acted as a lightning rod, calling all of the lightning available in the sky to the position on the ground that the lightning chakra was underneath. His Saisho No Hibana (First Spark) technique was what charged the clouds with lightning, with the strength of his Kaminari No Kami No Kooru (Call of the Thunder God)being proportional to the amount of lightning that is released with Saisho No Hibana (First Spark). The reason why he knew that Hashirama wasn't dead was because he didn't feel the natural lightning from the clouds hit the lightning chakra that he had placed under Hashirama's position.

As if knowing that he was being talked about, the dome defence parted in order to reveal Hashirama Senju, sweat glistening on his face. Despite being protected from the lightning itself, his Hōbi no Jutsu (Wood Expulsion Technique) didn't prevent him from feeling the heat that the lightning technique gave off.

Looking around, Hashirama saw that he was surrounded on all sides, shinobi from Kumo, Iwa and Suna faced him along with the three kage from said villages. He couldn't see his Wood Human Technique anywhere, or feel it, so it must have been taken down, buried under tonnes of earth, as he would have noticed a jutsu powerful enough to destroy it.

"Give up Hashirama-dono," A voice to his right sounded, turning to the source, Hashirama found it to be Fujinma, standing on the ground instead of floating like he was before, several Shakuton balls hovering around him. "You are surrounded on all sides, give up, and I promise a quick death for you, along with your body being shipped back to your village. You have nothing to gain for fighting any longer than you already have, your men are dead and you will join them should you fight."

"But I'll die if I give as well so I don't really see how giving up should appeal to me." Hashirama pointed out. While it may seem like he was cornered, Hashirama still has one jutsu left to play, one that has never seen a true battle like this.

Your body, alone with your comrades will be transported back to Konoha, should you fight, I cannot guarantee that. Hashirama-dono, I will ask again, will you surrender?" Fujinma questioned, though himself, along with the majority of the ninja around him knew that Hashirama would not, but the Kazekage wanted to try. He respected Hashirama too much for him not to at least try.

Those watching Hashirama saw him close his eyes as if in thought, was he going to take the Kazekage's offer and surrender? Would he give up on this battlefield? There was a tight silence that permeated the battlefield, no one made a sound, not even the animals, if there were any around.

Hashirama's head snapped up, his eyes blazing with determination, as he looked into the eyes of the many shinobi surrounding him. Opening his mouth, Hashirama did not surrender at that point, no, instead, he made his final stand.

"Senpō: Mokuton: Shin Sūsenju (Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands)!" The ground rumbled, the earth shook, and on the border of Fire and Grass, three thousand shinobi bore witness to a technique that cemented Hashirama's name as one of the greatest shinobi of all time.

The earth cracked open, and from the abyss that was created, wood sprout, shaping itself, moving, growing taller and wider until the shinobi had to strain their necks looking up at the technique. The first thing that came obvious was the hands, there were thousands of them, all the size of houses, and the arms were spread out over kilometres in both width and height. At the centre of the technique stood a statue, hands clasped together as if in prayer with Hashirama Senju at the top of its head. The Senju stood at the top of the titanic structure, hands clasped together much like the statue he stood on, his eyes staring down at the many shinobi below him.

The shinobi below all looked up at the mighty structure in shock, how could someone, especially a mortal, create such a technique? With several highly skilled shinobi it was possible, but Hashirama Senju did it by himself, he made something that looked like it could have been created by Kami himself as something to pass judgement the world.

The three kage were no better than their subordinates, they had no knowledge that Hashirama could perform such a technique, if they had, they would have thought through what they were doing, they were not prepared for this, they had no knowledge of how to defeat this, of any weaknesses or even of any strengths.

The Tsuchikage was the first to snap out of his shock, his experience helping him to bring his focus back to the task at hand, which was figuring out what to do, though the answer came to him straight away. Senju wouldn't let them go, no, they were in war, he wouldn't do that. That only left taking a page out of the former Hokage's book, fighting to the bitter end.

"Iwa!" The Tsuchikage called. "For the Hidden Rock! For Iwagakure! Attack!" He cried as his shinobi, rallied by their leader, followed through with his order, launching their strongest attacks at the giant statute.

The Raikage and Kazekage then quickly followed through with their fellow kages lead, rallying their shinobi for a final attack against Hashirama and his god-like technique. Hundreds upon hundreds of jutsu were fired at the technique, at the arms, at the statue, some at Hashirama himself. Wind, earth and lightning techniques, as well as the odd fire or water, along with a few advance chakra natures were launched straight at Hashirama's direction. The Senju clan head watched as the techniques made their way towards him.

It was pointless.

The power that his Shin Sūsenju (True Several Thousand Hands) technique would destroy all of the techniques, even the two Dust Release techniques he saw the Tsuchikage and his successor performing, all would be destroyed from his technique's might.

But as he went to attack the thousand or so shinobi to attack, he felt a pulse of chakra, not just any ordinary pulse, but one he was intimately familiar with, but one that should not have been there. Forgetting about the techniques aimed at him in his shock, Hashirama's snapped over to look to the source of the chakra burst, eyes wide.

Standing atop a hill in the distance was a figure, wearing familiar maroon armour strapped around their body, long black hair waving in the wind, and a red Sharingan eye staring straight at him. The other eye, a pale white, signalling blindness.

For a moment, time seemed to stop, as the universe gave the two people a moment. Hashirama stared at the figure with wide eyes, his questions about how he survived plainly visible in his eyes, while the Sharingan user stared back, with what little emotion Hashirama could pick out in their cold, apathetic eyes.

Then time seemed to restart, Hashirama turned back to the battle at hand in time to see the thousand techniques rushing at him. He knew that he wouldn't make it through this, he would have been able to use his Chiyu no Chikara (Healing Power) to survive the techniques had there only been a few, but this many techniques would spell instant death for anyone caught in it.

But if he was going to die, he was going to die swing his fists all the way. With one last burst of chakra, Hashirama unleashed the power of his technique, with a roar, the thousands of hands behind him surged forward, smashing into the ground. Some intercepting techniques as they flew, other missing completely. As Hashirama noticed some of the techniques get through the numerous hands of his Shin Sūsenju (True Several Thousand Hands), he closed his eyes. This was always the way he dreamed of falling, fighting for his loved ones, fighting for their safety, fighting for his village. It wasn't his preferred way of dying, but something told Hashirama that he wouldn't like waiting for his death to come to him.

He didn't want to have to leave Mito, his son, his daughter-in-law or his granddaughter, he wanted to see them grow up, to see if his son would grant him another grandchild, to see Tsunade's first technique, to finally get his brother to find a wife, but he knew that this was his time, he could feel it. He wanted to be able to watch over his family more, but he took solace in the fact that they would be looked after by those he could trust.

Hashirama never felt the jutsu impact his body, sending him to the place where all good souls go to rest.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

No one noticed the figure on the hill that distracted Hashirama just enough for the Kumo, Iwa and Suna alliance to succeed in killing Hashirama Senju. No one noticed as he turned around and began walking back down the hill, his purpose for being on that hill at that moment was fore filled.

No one watched as Madara Uchiha retreated back into the shadows of the world.

XxXxXxXxXxX

The room was dark when Naruto entered, the only light coming from the moon that shone through the glass windows. It was just enough to make out the shadow of a form in the room, but the shape wasn't something that Naruto recognised, but he could guess that it was somehow a person, that light sound of breathing giving away their presence.

"Leave me alone." A voice called out, coming from the form outlined by the moonlight. "Can no one see that I want my privacy?" The words were slightly slurred, but Naruto could still make out the exhaustion in the words, it sounded like the person speaking really did just want to be left alone, unfortunately for them, Naruto couldn't do that.

With a snap of Naruto's fingers and his eyes glowing a fiery orange for a second, four balls of fire sprung up around the room, chasing away the darkness back to the shadows or the room and bathing the area in light.

The room was a mess, papers strewn across the room, littering the floor. Holes were in the walls, roughly the size of a fist, indicating that they had been punched. A couple of the windows were smashed from what Naruto could see, now that there was light in the room. The chairs that were usually on the other side of the Hokage's desk were on either sides of the room, upturned, they looked like they had been thrown. There was a broken lantern on the floor, glass broken from when it was thrown from what Naruto could see. At the other end of the room, Naruto could see Tobirama Senju, the Nidaime Hokage sitting at the desk, which was surprisingly intact, with a nearly empty bottle of sake in one hand and picture of Hashirama in the other, the one he took the day he was inaugurated as Hokage. Tobirama was staring at the picture so intently that Naruto was sure that the portrait was going to spontaneously combust.

Tobirama, however, looked to be in worse condition than the room did, his eyes were blood shot, with fresh tear tracks trailing down his cheeks. His unique forehead protector was missing, whether it was thrown or taken off is unknown. The man looked exhausted, shattered, guilty and sad all at the same time, though Naruto couldn't blame him, the word of Hashirama's death in battle at the hands of Kumo, Iwa and Suna had only reached Konoha a day ago. The entire village was mourning over the loss of their first Hokage, shinobi and civilian alike, Naruto could see it, in the way people walked, the way they talked, their eyes gave everything away.

Tobirama had taken it the worst out of everyone in the village, Mito not counting as she wasn't in the village, but Naruto was sure that she was grieving for the loss of her husband and taking almost as bad as Tobirama. Naruto said almost because Mito didn't have the guilt of believing that Hashirama's death was her fault, Tobirama did. As soon as the report came in and it was known that the entire battle was a set up from the beginning, along with Hashirama's death, something in Tobirama broke.

He ordered everybody that was in the room at the time out before closing the door, he had then proceeded to trash the office, throwing everything around in his sadness and rage. Naruto had heard the commotion and gone to investigate, when he discovered the cause of Tobirama's outburst, he vowed to talk to Tobirama later, after he had a chance to let everything out of his system. It was now later, and Naruto was standing in front of an intoxicated Tobirama, he could plainly see that Tobirama wasn't over his brother's death and Naruto wasn't going to scream at him to get over it or something like that, he had too much personal experience to believe that anyone could get over the death of someone as close as Hashirama was to Tobirama. But what Tobirama did need to learn was that Hashirama's death was not his fault. Haru was too busy grieving, he had lost a father where Tobirama lost a brother, Miki hadn't ever been in this kind of situation before and neither had she fought before, she would have no idea what Tobirama was feeling. Mito was in Uzushio, and with the death of Hashirama, she was in no sort of state to move.

And so the task of telling Tobirama fell to him.

"His death isn't your fault Tobirama." Naruto said after a period of silence, he had originally wanted the Senju to start the conversation by saying something but when no words came, it was obvious that he would have to start.

"Yes it is." Tobirama said, not taking his eyes off the portrait. "I sent my brother into a trap, he told me that it was suspicious, that it was too good to be true, but like a fool I thought I knew better without listening to his words...This is my reward for not listening."Naruto could hear that Tobirama was trying to keep the emotion out of his voice, trying to keep up a strong front even though he thought that he got Hashirama killed. But Naruto could still hear the part of Tobirama that just wanted to cry, and Naruto could not blame him. He was now the last of his brothers.

"You had no idea that your spies were feed false information," Naruto told him, trying to ease the man's pain." And while it would have been better to be wary of it than taking it as fact like you did, my point remains. You didn't kill Hashirama."

"I trusted the information and my spies too much," Tobirama denied, shaking his head. "If only I had been a bit more sceptical-"

"Tobirama," Naruto interrupted in a sharp voice. "Did you perform the jutsu that killed Hashirama?" It seemed that he would have to be a bit more force fall than before.

"No, but-" Tobirama was interrupted by Naruto.

"Tobirama look at me." Naruto snapped, if this was going to work then Tobirama was going to have to look at him, looking at the picture of Hashirama was only going to be detrimental to what Naruto was doing. When Tobirama turned to look at Naruto, he continued speaking. "If you didn't perform the jutsu then how did you kill him?" Naruto questioned him in that same sharp tone, seeing that Tobirama was about to respond the rhetorical question, Naruto spoke again. "Just because you told Hashirama to go there doesn't mean that you killed him, I could ask you to go to the Forest of Death and you could get killed by one of the giant snakes that seem so fond of the place, does that mean that I killed you? No, of course not." Naruto answered his own question, hoping that the message Naruto was trying to send was finally sinking in. "You may have sent Hashirama into that battle but you didn't stop his heart. That right solely belongs to Kumo, Iwa and Suna, don't place yourself on the same level as the Tobirama."

Tobirama said nothing to Naruto's words, but he did turn back to look at the portrait of Hashirama, staring at it as if it had the answers he was seeking. But it said nothing; Hashirama's eyes still looked at him with the same love and compassion that his brother had done in life, the artist having capture his brother perfectly.

Finally, Tobirama released a sigh. "Just give me some time to think Naruto, I...I really just want to be alone right now." Tobirama looked defeated, but Naruto could see that his words had gotten through to Hashirama's younger brother. Naruto went to exit the room but before he could, Tobirama had called out to him. "Naruto," Turning back to look at the Hokage, Naruto could see that the man's eyes took on a pleading look. "I know that...that we have never gotten on as well as I would have liked, I also know that you said that you would only attack in the defence of the village but...but could you do me this one favour?" When Naruto didn't leave the room immediately, Tobirama continued, seeing it as a sign that the ancient man would, at the very least, hear what he had to say. "Could you...retrieve Hashirama's...," By now, Naruto already knew what the Nidaime was asking, but didn't speak, it would do him a world of good to finally say the words and accept Hashirama's death. "Would you retrieve Hashirama's body...so it can be buried here, in Konoha?" Tobirama's voice cracked slightly when he spoke about Hashirama's body, but there were no signs of tears. Tobirama was truly a stronger man than Naruto originally gave him credit for if he could speak about his brother's body without looking like he was going to cry, even if it had been a day since he had heard the news.

Naruto said nothing as he thought over Tobirama request. This wasn't his war, by all rights he could tell Tobirama no since it wasn't part of the deal and for him to get some of his shinobi to get his brother's body. Tobirama might say that he wouldn't have to kill anyone if he was desperate enough to get him to go, which was a way around the wording of the agreement.

But then again, this was about Hashirama and his family and letting them be able to bury his body on his native soil. Despite being killed in the Shinobi War, Hashirama was the last of his two pupils, even if Naruto himself had stopped acknowledging it, it didn't make it any less true. The now dead man had let Naruto into his home, trusting Naruto completely even if he hadn't seen him in years or that they had fought when they last met. Hashirama had let him interact with his family whenever he pleased without being under watch, much to Tobirama's ire.

Hashirama had trust Naruto with his life, but more importantly, he trusted Naruto with his family. That was a level of trust that Naruto held above all. The very least that Naruto could do to repay that trust was let Hashirama's family give his body a proper funeral, and place it to rest in the village that he built with his blood, sweat and tears.

Without turning back to the Second Hokage of Konohagakure, Naruto told him his answer before striding out of the room, the tower, and eventually, the village itself. "His body will be in Konoha by tomorrow afternoon at the latest."

Had Naruto stayed a minute longer, he would have seen a single tear make its way down Tobirama's face and hear Tobirama mutter a sentence. "You do this for me Naruto...and I'll place my faith in you, just like my brother did."

XxXxXxXxXxX

On the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass, there was a large scar dug deep into the land, trees destroyed, craters larger than houses and trenches dug deep into the land. This was one of two places that bore witness to the strongest technique of Hashirama Senju.

The scar was smaller than one located on the border of Fire and Rice, both for the lower amount of power that it had and for the face that there wasn't a strong enough attack to oppose Hashirama's strongest technique. Yet it still resulted in a scar larger than many could imagine, the ground was barren, no life shown on the surface for miles, it was something that would make almost anyone gape and wonder what kind of destructive force could have caused such a result.

Naruto wasn't one of those people, he had seen far greater destruction than most people could dream. The barren land didn't faze Naruto in the least, when one created a desert larger than a country in their anger, one becomes quite desensitised to most destruction. He could see the remains of Hashirama's Senpō: Mokuton: Shin Sūsenju (Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands), the monolithic wooden creation lay in a heap, like it was knocked over by a strong gust of wind, several arms were missing, a surprise considering how strong the technique was.

Naruto decided to leave it there, it would serve as a monument to Hashirama sacrifice, a symbol of Hashirama's courage and strength in the face of almost impossible odds. Walking towards the more cratered and barren area, Naruto could see the remains and bloody smears that used to be people.

Several organs and body parts that weren't pulverised by Hashirama's attack lay scattered all over the scared section of earth, a section that was stained red with the blood of Hashirama's fallen foes. The red colour of earth was still visible, even in the lower light that came with the time before dawn. It made Naruto sick to see the remains of what was once people, and the smell of their blood and decaying bodies didn't help matters. Naruto could see the remains of people who were once alive, some simply following orders, some that were aiming for glory on the battlefield, some that were using war as an excuse for revenge and everything in between. Most with families that they would never see again, and all now dead.

Naruto shook his head to release himself from those thoughts, he wasn't here to confirm what he already knew; that wore never had winners and losers; only who lost the least and who lost the most. Making his way through the barren crater filled field of blood stained earth, Naruto eventually came to what he was looking for.

Set up around a hundred or so metres from the edge of the scared land was a camp consisting of Iwa, Kumo, and Suna shinobi. There were hundreds of large tents set up to house people and supplies, along with the bodies of those that had died during the battle. Naruto could see several people moving around the camp continuously, weaving between tents and people as they walked, several of them with hands glowing green when they crouched over people, others carrying supplies from one tent to another. Torches illuminated their way, along with pits of fire that those who weren't injured gathered around.

"They must have kept their camp set up so that the medics could stabilise those that they could and get them ready for travel." Naruto theorised. "Hashirama would have been able to injure and kill hundreds, not to mention if one of the commanders were killed, they would of had to stay and find out who was next in command for their orders."

This made his job slightly easy, knowing that they wouldn't have moved Hashirama's body if they had it, or if they hadn't burned it as soon as the confirmed Hashirama was dead. Suppressing his chakra as much as he could but still allowing what he was about to try, Naruto activated one of his most unused abilities.

"Byakugan (White Eye)." He whispered, as he activated what would now be called his doūjutsu (Eye Technique). The veins around the sides of eyes bulged as his vision expanded and increased. He began to see through objects and the chakra networks that the all people of the world had. Scanning his gaze over the camp, Naruto searched for Hashirama's body until he found it, lying on a table inside a tent near the centre of the camp. Nothing else was inside the tent besides Hashirama's body and the table, two shinobi stood on guard outside the tent flaps.

Hashirama's body wasn't in very good condition, obviously no one had tried to heal the legendary shinobi's body or at least clean the wounds, Naruto clenched his hands when he saw the state of Hashirama's body and level of respect it was shown. He could understand not healing the body, they would heal their own people first before worrying about the state of a dead man, but even so, Hashirama's body looked like it had been dragged through the dirt, literally, his body was half caked in dirt.

Naruto had to refrain from exposing his position, he managed to do it, barely. But even as he continued to gaze at the state of Hashirama's body he still felt anger, did these people have no respect for the dead? Was it really so hard for someone to pick up Hashirama's body?

Naruto shook his head, now wasn't the time to think about the mental deficiencies of the shinobi that were before him. All he had to do was get Hashirama's body and leave.

Gazing around the camp, Naruto could spot several sentries posted along the perimeter, standing atop an earthen wall that encircled the camp, most likely in case Konoha launched an attack to, at the very least, get Hashirama's body. Too bad they thought that Tobirama would send an army to retrieve it instead of one incredibly skilled person.

The only real problem that Naruto could see was making his way past the sentries along the perimeter along with the guards in front of the tent containing Hashirama's body. Making his way through the camp would be easy enough, his chakra signature, as long as it wasn't too large, should be untraceable among the thousands of other signatures that resided in the camp. As long as no one paid too much attention to his signature in particular, he should be fine.

After a bit of thinking, Naruto finally decided on a solid plan, he deactivated his Byakugan and moved to put it into action.

Moving forward until he was just out of sight of two of the sentries on duty, couching down to lower the chance they might have of spotting him, even if it was already tiny, Naruto focused on what he wanted to do as his chakra fluxed in response to his will, and his eyes glowed. One glowed green, the other, black.

If a ninja was witnessing what Naruto was doing, they would have coined it Onton (Sound Release). The combination of Wind and Yin gave Naruto the ability to manipulate sound waves, giving him the ability to make people hear things that aren't there, make them deaf or even disrupt their centre of gravity. It was by far one of the best elemental combinations for incapacitating and enemy, mainly because it was almost impossible to kill someone using Onton, though it was possible if one knew how. However, one of the largest downsides was that it was also one of the hardest to master, it took Naruto a good seventeen years before he declared that he had mastered it. It wasn't that it was incredibly hard to learn, it was that it required immense skill to use to its full potential, mimicking the many different sound waves that made up the sounds one hears is hard, it's something that takes years of dedication it even begin to grasp.

But, as Naruto watched as the sentries leapt off the wall and into the surrounding forest in order to investigate someone screaming for help, someone that only they could hear, he decided that the training had definitely paid off. Straightening up, Naruto quickly made his way to wall before he moved onto the next stage of his plan. Naruto's eyes once again began to glow different colours, one glowed yellow, almost white, colour while the other eye retained its pure white colour.

Had anyone been watching Naruto at that moment, they would have watched as his body shimmered and disappeared from view, completely invisible from the naked eye.

Had a shinobi named Naruto's current ability, they would have called it Kōton (Light Release), the opposite to Meiton (Dark Release). Like Onton, Kōton wasn't used in an offensive manner, though it could be used to kill if one knew how, beams of pure light were incredibly hot. Kōton was simply the ability to manipulate the light around one's self, using to become invisible, blind others and to make one see things that aren't there. Though that ability take an incredibly amount of concentration and skill to pull off even the smallest illusions, and even then, there are always several things wrong with the illusions when they are performed that will never go away, unlike genjutsu which can be overcome with practice.

But Naruto didn't need to perform an illusion, all he needed to do was make himself invisible, infinitely easier than casting illusions with Kōton. With a leap, Naruto cleared the wall and landed on the other side, still invisible. Taking a moment to make sure no one had noticed anything, Naruto then began to quickly make his way towards the centre of the camp where Hashirama's body was located.

As he walked, Naruto saw up close and personal just how much damage Hashirama inflicted on the Iwa, Kumo and Suna shinobi. He saw people moaning outside tents, various cuts and bruises littering their bodies, but as he looked idly inside the tents as he passed, he saw that they weren't medical tents, they were tents that were meant to act as sleeping arrangements for shinobi.

Naruto eventually began to pass a tent on his way to his objective that looked like it was a medical tent, once again taking a peek inside as he walked past. The tent was packed, there were beds everywhere inside the tent, so many that Naruto was sure that there were too many to be safe, each bed held a ninja with an injury far more serious than those outside. Broken bones seemed to be the least serious injury that Naruto could spot, a person's lower body being completely crushed seemed to be the worst. Medics were rushing in between them, hands alight in a constant green as they moved to heal all that they could, but even as they did, Naruto could still spot several people fading away, there injuries becoming too much.

Naruto forced himself to look away, while he would have like to be able to help those that needed it, he was here for a reason, and he couldn't afford to become distracted by the plight of others. Moving towards his destination at a slightly faster pace, Naruto didn't try to peek inside any of the other tents.

No longer being distracted by the contents of the tents of the camp around him, Naruto quickly made it to the tent he was aiming for. Hiding in the gap between two tents close to his target, a quick application of Onton (Sound Release) chakra made the two shinobi guarding the entrance to the tent run off, searching for the medic screaming for assistance in keeping someone alive nearby. Quickly reapplying his Kōton invisibility technique, Naruto swiftly made his way inside the tent.

Hashirama's body lay on a wooden table in the centre of the tent, it was incredibly unnerving to see someone who had once been so full of life, remain so still. Naruto didn't try to find out which technique it was that killed the Senju, it didn't really matter, the man was dead, that's all that really mattered.

Naruto decided that he was going to clean up his body before he showed it Tobirama, he didn't want the Nidaime to see the wounds inflicted on his brother, seeing his body would be hard enough on the man.

He was just about to touch his body and transport both himself and body to a location before he healed it when several voices from the tent next to the one he inhabited drifted over. Whatever was going on must have started recently because he didn't spot anyone in the room when looked over it with his Byakugan outside of the camp.

"...hould abandon this war Tsuchikage-dono." A voice said. Judging by the suffix they added to the Tsuchikage, Naruto deduced that this was one of the two other kage, either the Raikage or Kazekage.

"I will not abandon this war Fujinma-dono, I will have Iwa come out on top. Just because we suffered a few losses doesn't mean that this war it lost for us." The Tsuchikage argued stubbornly, Naruto didn't know who this 'Fujinma' was, but he could guess that it was the name of one of the kage.

"You call the loss of nearly a thousand shinobi 'a few losses'?" Fujinma asked incredulously, "What about the hundred or so more that we lost due to injuries, are they 'a few losses'?"

"Each one of those shinobi gave their lives for their village, we should honour their loss by pushing forward and finishing this war." The Tsuchikage replied, not answering the question.

"Look at it this way Kazekage," A new voice interrupted, Naruto assumed that this was the other kage. "If you pull out now, either side will come after you eventually, Konoha for your village's part for the death of their beloved Senju, or us for deserting our alliance. You stand less to lose if you stick with the Alliance." Naruto heard the Kazekage sigh before replying.

"I know that, it's the only reason why I'm still here. If we are going to continue this war, can we at least stop underestimating Konoha, they are one of the strongest villages for a reason." The Kazekage told the other two, though Naruto wasn't sure that the three were the only ones in the room, it was most likely that this was some sort of meeting between the village leaders only.

"Why?" The Tsuchikage asked. "Without Hashirama Senju Konoha is crippled and those Senju-lovers are doomed."

"You underestimated Hashirama-dono and look what it got us, we're only lucky that he hesitated for whatever reason before he launched his attack, otherwise we would all be dead. And even with his attack being rushed at the last minute, look at how many injuries it got us. Your underestimation of Hashirama-dono caused you to not bring your own medical tents or supplies, now we have men needing medical attention lying outside of tents, you're lucky that myself and Raikage-dono did bring medical supplies, otherwise this situation could be worse than it already is. The Iwa No Runnaa (Rock Runner), along with nearly a thousand shinobi dead, most of the Kinkaku force injured, Kinkaku himself injured along with yourself Tsuchikage-dono. We can't afford to underestimate Konoha." Naruto heard a snort, before the man who Naruto was relatively sure was the Raikage spoke.

"The Tsuchikage only got injured because he was too old to move quick enough to escape one of those wooden fists. He had to get Mū to pull his arse out of the fire." The Raikage said mockingly. "Anymore proof you need about passing your hat on, old man." Growling could be heard from the Tsuchikage before the 'old man' managed to reign in his temper.

"One of these days brat, one of these days I'll show you who should retire." The Kage of Iwagakure said through gritted teeth.

Naruto then decided that he had stayed in the enemy camp long enough, he was only meant to get Hashirama's body and leave, not gather information for Konoha. Picking up Hashirama's body as gently as possible and holding it bridle style, Naruto abandoned all pretences of stealth and quickly manipulated his chakra the way he desired. One of his eyes glowed a pale yellow while the other glowed a pale green just as the tent flaps burst open and the two guards entered, kunai at the ready.

But by the time they realised what was going on, Naruto had already vanished in a burst of speed, moving through the camp and out towards Konoha before anyone in the camp knew what was happening.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Naruto came to a sudden stop in a clearing about a kilometre or so away from Konoha, deeming it as safe enough that he could heal Hashirama's body without being interrupted by anyone, friendly or not.

Placing Hashirama's body on the ground, Naruto then proceeded to kneel beside it, before placing his palms above the corpse's stomach. Naruto's hands then began to glow green as the wounds on Hashirama's body began to close up, the cuts and bruises that littered his body disappeared, his broken arm, most likely from a fall, snapped back into place. This continued until it almost looked like Hashirama was peacefully sleeping, the only thing that denied one thinking this stillness of Hashirama's chest.

Once the healing had finished, Naruto removed his palms from above Hashirama's stomach and placed them in his lap. Naruto then looked at the face of Hashirama Senju, a man regarded as a legend by the entire shinobi world, and even beyond.

Naruto knew at that moment, that if he attended Hashirama's funeral, and he would, that he wouldn't remember the man who had created the first Hidden Village, he wouldn't remember the powerful shinobi with the amazing skill in Mokuton (Wood Release), and he wouldn't remember the only person who could rival Madara Uchiha in strength.

He would remember that little Senju child he met at the shore of a river, a child that was incredibly eager to learn the skills he would need to bring peace to the world, a child that had an amazing talent to annoy people, and a child that he was incredibly proud to call his student.

Lost in remember a better time, Naruto never felt the single, salty tear that rolled down his cheek.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Chapter End.

I know that I said that I would finish the First Shinobi War in one chapter, but this one was just getting too long, so I decided to break it up into two parts. The next chapter should be the end of the shinobi war, unless I get some insanely good idea, but that's unlikely.

Below is a whole bunch of stuff that I want to clarify about, if there is anything that you want to know more about, then put it in a review and I'll do my best to answer it in the next chapter.

When I was talking about Kekkei Genkai and Kekkei Tōta and how Tōta can be taught to others while Genkai can't, that was from Hashirama's point of view. Keep that in mind, it will most likely be important for the future, that and I don't want people sending me reviews about contradicting myself.

I know that how Hashirama being taken down by Mū was unlikely, as well as the reason for Iwa, Suna and Kumo to team up because if they did ever team up, it would be at the very start of the war, but frankly, I couldn't think of any other way for Hashirama to die or to get Iwa, Suna and Kumo to form an alliance. The Naruto Wiki says that Hashirama was taken down in some battle but doesn't say specify who Hashirama was killed by, or who was involved, it was probably Kishimoto realising that he couldn't write up another person at Hashirama's skill level to kill Hashirama without it being obvious that killing Hashirama was the character's only purpose. I hope my way seems more realistic.

I also know that the Kages for Iwa, Suna, Kumo and Kiri properly sound OCC, but this is my own interpretation, there isn't a lot of their personality shown because of the little amount of time they get in both the manga and the anime.

Anyway, now that's all over, remember to review, like and follow.

Thanks to all those who have all ready done so.

The Right Stop