As Second Tsuchikage 32

Chapter 32: The Successors of the Kage (Part 3)

“Sand Burial!!”

Shamon launched another attack, sending a colossal wave of sand surging toward Hashirama Senju. This time, the sand was laced with explosive tags, each one primed to detonate on impact.

Hashirama’s eyes narrowed, calm and focused. In an instant, he formed a series of hand seals.

“Wood Style: Nativity of a World of Trees!”

The ground responded immediately. Towering trees burst upward, thick and powerful, forming a dense green barrier that stood firm between him and the oncoming sandstorm.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions erupted one after another as the tags detonated violently. Sand and shattered wood splinters blasted outward in all directions, filling the battlefield with noise and chaos.

But the wooden defense held strong. Despite the relentless barrage, the trees didn’t fall. They stood unmoving, absorbing the punishment without yielding.

“This man... Hashirama Senju really lives up to his reputation. His chakra reserves are nearly bottomless...”

Shamon’s frown deepened. Inside, a growing sense of unease gnawed at him. He had already unleashed two large-scale sand techniques, and his chakra was dwindling fast. Yet Hashirama looked as if he hadn't even begun to tire.

Suddenly, using the smokescreen created by the trees, Hashirama darted forward. In a blur of motion, he appeared directly in front of Shamon and threw a heavy punch.

Shamon reacted fast, twisting his body to the side to dodge. At the same moment, he manipulated a spear-like blade of sand, directing it toward Hashirama’s torso.

Hashirama slipped away without effort, his movements fluid and precise. In retaliation, he activated his Wood Release again. From the ground below, thick vines erupted, snaking around Shamon and binding him tightly in their grasp.

Shamon struggled with everything he had. His muscles strained as he tried to tear the vines away, but they held firm. Though they looked like simple growths, they were as strong as steel cables.

A cold chill shot down his spine. Sweat ran down his temple. The pressure of death pressed in on him.

If he didn’t break free now, he wouldn’t get another chance.

And just as he feared, Hashirama surged forward, preparing to deliver the finishing blow. His aura intensified, and the power behind him became suffocating.

Shamon froze. He wasn’t like the Raikage, he didn’t have that monstrous endurance. If Hashirama’s punch landed, he’d be reduced to nothing more than a red smear on the battlefield.

Then, without warning, a fierce shout split the air.

“Don’t even think about it!!!”

It was Gengetsu Hōzuki.

Seeing Shamon, his team’s only controller, trapped and moments from death, Gengetsu made a split-second decision. Without hesitation, he unleashed his trump card.

A massive pink steam doll erupted from his body, moving like a thunderbolt as it hurtled toward Hashirama.

“Wha!!”

With a tremendous roar, the steam clone slammed its elbow into Hashirama’s side. Instantly, a deafening steam explosion detonated from the impact point.

Hashirama was sent flying like a cannonball, engulfed in smoke and flames. The surrounding terrain, sand and wood alike, was scorched black and vaporized by the blast’s searing heat.

Shamon wasn’t spared either. The right side of his body was badly burned by the aftermath of the explosion.

“Sorry! I can’t control the area of effect with this move!” Gengetsu shouted, clearly frustrated.

Shamon gritted his teeth, pain shooting through him like fire, but he forced a bitter smile. “You saved my life. That’s more than enough.”

He glanced down at his charred side, skin blistered and scorched. The pain was real, but the gratitude ran deeper. He silently promised himself: if he lived through this war, he’d tattoo something over the scar, anything to keep the memory, but not the ugliness.

Mū, who had been observing from a distance, finally allowed himself a moment of relief. Both Shamon and Gengetsu were still alive. The knot in his chest loosened. For now, they had survived.

In their four-man team, losing even one of them would drastically reduce their odds of victory.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Gengetsu, working in flawless tandem with his Steam Clone, continued dismantling Hashirama’s Wood Release defenses. One layer after another crumbled under their relentless assault.

Meanwhile, up in the sky, Mū finally had an opening to launch an offensive of his own.

“Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!”

“Wood Style: Deep Forest Bloom!”

“Wood Style: Great Forest Emergence!”

With calm, practiced ease, Hashirama transformed the battlefield yet again. Massive trees surged from the earth, restoring the very forest Mū had just spent chakra destroying. The land shifted and expanded beneath Hashirama’s will as if nature itself obeyed his commands.

“This is insane…!”

Even Mū was beginning to feel numb. The man’s chakra didn’t just feel vast, it felt endless, like he wasn’t human at all but a living Tailed Beast in the shape of a shinobi.

Clack.

Without a sound, a hand clasped Mū’s from the side.

“Don’t give up. We’re all still here. Stand firm. Endure. We’re the successors of the Kage, remember? Weren’t you the one who taught us that?”

Gengetsu met his gaze with a firm smile, gripping his hand tightly. “That’s right! We won’t give up! We’re the successors of the Kage!”

“Our villages are behind us. We fight for them!”

Then the Second Raikage stepped forward and placed a steady hand on Mū’s shoulder.

“When all seems impossible, that’s exactly when a man must act. And when the path turns against you, remain calm.” Shamon, burned and weary, nodded with unwavering determination.

Their words struck deep. Mū’s pulse steadied. His doubt vanished, replaced by fierce clarity.

“Thank you… all of you.”

He closed his eyes briefly.

The world expected them to be crushed beneath Susanoo-armored Buddha fists, forgotten in the shadow of legends. But they refused to be stepped on like insects. They would make the world watch as they rose, rising high enough to challenge heaven itself, tearing down the myth of the so-called “twin gods,” Hashirama and Madara.

They weren’t supporting roles. They were the champions of their own villages.

“Today, I’m going to challenge the fate! Let’s go!”

With renewed fire, Mū drew in a single deep breath and gathered his chakra.

“Alright! Here I go!”

Gengetsu Hōzuki sent his Steam Danger Tyranny charging straight at Hashirama once more. Shamon formed a giant sand spike and hurled it like a javelin. The Second Raikage shot forward, transformed into pure lightning, streaking directly toward their enemy.

Hashirama stood at the center of the chaos, calm and composed.

His hands blurred through seals.

In an instant, the battlefield was flooded with Wood Release. Wooden dragons coiled up from the ground. Towering giants rose beside them, their fists poised to strike. Layers of barriers formed in rapid succession, shielding him from all sides.

Yet the four attackers moved with perfect timing. Their waves of strikes flowed together seamlessly, the rhythm so precise that even Hashirama was forced to increase his output, meeting them with his full strength.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

“Gengetsu! With me!” the Second Raikage shouted, eyes blazing.

Gengetsu instantly understood the signal. Without a word, he directed the Steam Danger Tyranny to flank alongside the Second Raikage for a synchronized, close-quarters assault on Hashirama.

At the same time, Shamon began laying down preemptive sand traps around the battlefield, preparing for the next stage of their coordinated attack. Mū, ever the tactician, vanished into the shadows using Dust Concealment, waiting in silence for the perfect moment to strike with Particle Style.

Boom! Boom!

The Steam Danger Tyranny and the Raikage moved like twin storms. Lightning and steam detonations struck in rapid rhythm, slamming into Hashirama from both sides. The battlefield lit up with flashes of white and pink, smoke rising in plumes.

Hashirama countered with his Wood Release, parrying attacks with thick wooden limbs and shifting roots. Even while retreating, his form remained composed. His eyes never lost focus. He continued tracking Mū’s chakra signature in the background, alert to the possibility of a sneak attack.

Even while facing this onslaught from three fronts, Hashirama maintained control of the battlefield.

Crack!

Then, without warning, the ground beneath him rippled.

His feet sank into a pool of shifting sand. Shamon’s trap had activated.

“Now!!”

The Second Raikage and the Steam Danger Tyranny moved as one, crashing toward Hashirama from either side with explosive speed.

Hashirama’s pupils contracted. At this range, dodging was no longer possible. He had no time to prepare Wood Release defenses.

CRACK!!!

The Raikage’s fist slammed directly into Hashirama’s chest.

His wooden armor shattered like glass under the impact, and his body reeled back, hair whipping wildly in the air.

“Take another one!”

Gengetsu followed immediately. He formed seals in a flash, commanding the Steam Danger Tyranny to launch another brutal punch, this one driving straight into Hashirama’s abdomen.

Then, without delay, Gengetsu’s hands blurred through an even more complex sequence of seals.

“This was meant for Mū, but you can have it instead, Hashirama Senju!!”

“Secret Technique: Steam Danger Tyranny – High-Pressure Liquid Burst Jutsu!!!”

In a heartbeat, the Steam Doll shrank violently in size, collapsing inward.

At the same time, Hashirama’s abdomen began to expand unnaturally.

From above, Mū’s eyes went wide in sheer disbelief.

This technique...!

As a master of chakra manipulation and scientific ninjutsu theory, he grasped the concept instantly. And it was horrifying.

The Steam Doll had transferred all its compressed steam pressure directly into Hashirama’s body. In that split-second exchange, Hashirama had unknowingly become the container.

The internal pressure was now inside him, building, boiling, stretching his organs and tissues to their limit.

The body of the God of Shinobi was now a ticking time bomb.

The Steam Doll hadn’t exploded.

It had turned Hashirama into the explosion.

BOOOOOOM!!!!!!

The blast ripped through the battlefield with terrifying force. A blazing pillar of steam and chakra erupted into the sky. The shockwave tore up the ground, hurling chunks of earth into the air. Trees snapped, sand blasted outward, and smoke swallowed the horizon.

As silence began to fall, so did the rain.

Gentle droplets landed over scorched terrain, mixing with ash and dirt. They sizzled where they touched the heat still radiating from the blast site.

Gengetsu dropped to one knee, steam rising from his shoulders. His breath came in ragged gasps, his chakra nearly depleted. But a fierce smile tugged at his lips. He had done it.

He had struck down a god.