Clouds moved over the decimated battlefield, cooling Tobirama Senju. The ground was destroyed, trees were split in two, and everything seemed either charred or damp. Scores of dead Cloud shinobi lay scattered throughout the area where minutes ago a fierce battle had taken place. Now only three remained. It was a shame that of those three, two were the Gold and Silver brothers, who drove the Second Raikage and him to the brink of death not long ago. Kinkaku and Ginkaku pushed their remaining comrade forward while Tobirama prepared himself.
Dodging a lightning jutsu with minimal effort, he wondered what else those two had inherited from their affair with the Nine-tails besides its chakra. He brought a hand up and a bullet of water escaped his mouth at such a high velocity that his opponent had no time to move—now only two remained. Tobirama knew these beasts were a threat his village, as well as the Elemental Lands. They had to be killed. He felt uneasy after weaving the hand seals necessary to his plan.
The earth shook as a coffin emerged from the ground, and the Second Hokage knew his jutsu had succeeded. A man clad in red armor sauntered out of the open coffin. "Brother," Tobirama said. Hashirama Senju's head snapped to his right. Widened eyes and a slightly open mouth indicated that he realized what was happening; he scowled. "I know. I wouldn't have done it if the situation was any less dire." His expression steeled as Tobirama gestured towards the Gold and Silver brothers.
Kinkaku and Ginkaku, for their part, seemed more confused than Hashirama initially was. "What the fuck is going on Kinkaku?" Ginkaku asked.
"I'm not sure, Ginkaku" Kinkaku began, "but whatever it is we'll have to get serious. Tobirama would've been entertaining on his own, but with the Beast Tamer here things are complicated."
"Yeah. You'll have to get rid of him quickly."
The wind howled as each pair of brothers stood alongside their sibling, facing their respective enemy—both groups settled into taijutsu stances while the clouds parted overhead, leaving all of them squinting for a moment.
The battle was on. Hashirama and Kinkaku traded punches, kicks, and elbows until Hashirama slipped into his opponent's guard and delivered a fierce knee to his stomach. Leaping backwards, the golden brother parried the next hook-jab combo with a glancing strike of his own. Kinkaku ducked under a high kick and lunged at Hashirama with a kunai in hand, though when kunai met skin nothing happened. Or rather, instead of bleeding, Hashirama's damaged skin simply repaired itself. Distracted by the uselessness of his attack Kinkaku left his guard open long enough for Hashirama to weave hand seals, causing a medium-sized wooden dragon to erupt from the ground. It slithered towards a retreating Kinkaku while wooden tendrils shot up to hit him in the back. He noticed the ploy and suddenly stopped, stringing together his own seals before a burst of lightning destroyed the dragon's head. Kinkaku dodged the tendrils and sped towards his opponent with spheres of lightning emanating from each hand. As he began his assault, something occurred to Kinkaku.
A few yards away darkness had engulfed Ginkaku, so he acted on pure instinct as Tobirama targeted his joints, organs, and face. Each blow was as precise and harmful as the one that preceded it, though Ginkaku thought he had started to detect a pattern. Just before he made his move the darkness faded to reveal his opponent inhaling in midair. A stream of water impacted Ginkaku in the chest and sent him backwards into a tree with an audible crack. Tobirama speedily wove a few more hand seals, and a great water dragon materialized. Ginkaku opened hazy eyes in time to see it rushing towards him; as it hit amplified electricity coursed through his body. Bloodied and exhausted, Ginkaku stood and vomited a large red-white fan into his hand. He pushed chakra through his arm and into the fan, swinging it in a cutting motion. With but a mental cue, a blade of wind sailed towards his opponent at an incredible speed. A massive fireball met the blade of wind and the attacks cancelled. Ginkaku tried again with the other elements, all of which his opponent countered with ease. A new plan had taken form in Tobirama's mind, but before anything could occur Kinkaku jumped to Ginkaku's with a wide grin on his face.
Violent, foul shrouds of chakra engulfed the Gold and Silver brothers. "You know what Tobi? That was real smart of you. If that thing's attacks weren't so weak, I might've thought Hashi was still alive" Kinkaku began. "I bet it can't even hold our Biju chakra down, let alone the real thing."
"Ha, Kinkaku, looks like we didn't have to worry after all. Still, I'm fucking mad now. Those water techniques of yours are damn annoying." Tobirama silently thanked whatever deity gave those idiots their mouths as he finished adjusting his plan from earlier. Of course, this one was a bit different in that Tobirama died, and it hinged on a gamble, but at least there was a high likelihood of taking one of them to the afterworld as well.
"Brother," Tobirama said in a hushed voice, still facing the enemy. "Where are you in terms of power? The math says five percent to start, but you could have used a sizable amount."
"Well, not too much. I guess four and a half or so. Haven't had this little chakra since our childhood so it's hard to tell."
"That'll do. Here's what I need you to try… "
"Anyway, that's all pointless now. You'll be joining the First soon enough." Kinkaku finished.
It seemed Tobirama's first assumption was right: the brothers disregarded Hashirama's absence entirely to focus on killing him. They dashed forward in a veritable blur, raining down excruciating hits to the stomach, ribs, and happuri. Luckily Tobirama evaded or blocked a few of the strikes, and the ones that landed weren't immediately crippling. He hopped over a low kick and painfully deflected an uppercut by rolling away. As he stood, he felt Hashirama's signature approaching fast. An instant later his reincarnated brother was there. Dark markings surrounded his eyes and a similarly colored circle with a dot in its middle appeared on his forehead. He nodded and closed his eyes in concentration. Not a moment later, countless thick roots sprung from the ground, chasing after Kinkaku and Ginkaku as they shook off a look of surprise. The brothers headed straight for Tobirama, but before they could reach him a large wooden dome with a dragon's face surfaced and shielded him from injury. The Gold and Silver brothers' every attempt was worthless, and they both knew Hashirama was untouchable. The next seconds were a blur of red shrouds racing away from capture until one branch went unnoticed and Kinkaku was trapped in a tangle of deceptively strong branches.
Suddenly the dome opened, but Tobirama wasn't there. No, he was in front of Kinkaku, twisting a sword that somehow found its way into the golden brother's chest. Ginkaku stilled, and branches wrapped around him too. Tobirama withdrew his sword and turned too ready himself, but found he didn't have the strength to move.
Looking down, a forearm surrounded by acidic chakra jutted from his sternum. The power in him vanished rapidly as the arm was removed from his body. He fell to the ground, eyes drifting towards his brother. Hashirama seemed to be saying something as the reanimation ceased and his spirit drifted away; Tobirama figured he could ask about it soon. Mind numb and vision fading, Tobirama Senju's last bit of consciousness was spent observing the leaf above him, gently swaying until it landed safely on his chest.