Within the illusion, endless layers of dense mist coiled and folded, intertwining like serpents of vapor, trapping Tobirama in an eternal cycle of deception.No matter how fiercely he struggled, no matter how many times he unleashed the Mutual Exploding Tag, the result was always the same—an explosion of white light, a roar that devoured the world, and then… silence.

Every detonation only revealed his helplessness more clearly, the illusion mocking his defiance.He was a beast clawing at the walls of an invisible cage, and the walls simply rebuilt themselves around him.

Tobirama's sharp mind quickly pieced the truth together. This was no ordinary genjutsu—the power that bound him was far beyond the reach of a single Sharingan.He could sense multiple chakra signatures, overlapping like threads woven into a cursed tapestry.

Danzo. The Masked Man. Perhaps even another hidden presence...

A combined illusion of such magnitude, crafted by three or more Sharingan, was already beyond what even his vast knowledge of seals and counter-techniques could break.To truly shatter it, he needed outside interference—someone from the real world to pierce through this false reality.

But right now, he was alone.He had infiltrated the Hidden Mist alone—confident that the immortality of Edo Tensei and the precision of the Flying Thunder God Technique would make him untouchable.

Yet, he had underestimated them.Every step had been calculated, every layer of this illusion crafted like a web waiting for its prey. Now, even a Second Hokage was sinking deeper into the mire, unable to escape.

His own death didn't matter; he was long past such concerns.But what gnawed at him, what sent cold dread coursing through his mind, was the future of the Leaf Village.

If he were truly sealed here, if his soul were consumed by this genjutsu—Who would guide Hiruzen?Who would stand against the storm that was coming?

The curse of Uchiha Gen was still spreading through the Leaf, a malignant power infecting the very foundations of the Ninja World. If no one acted, the village might soon drown in it.

For a long, silent moment, Tobirama's heart grew heavy.He stood motionless, lost in thought, as the explosions faded into stillness.Then, with grim resolve, he once again activated the Mutual Exploding Tag—one, two, three times—each blast lighting up the illusion, only to return him again to that same suffocating street, that same mocking laughter.

Meanwhile, in the real Hidden Mist Village—

The street was eerily still. Mist hung thick in the air, swallowing the moonlight.Tobirama stood motionless, eyes glazed, completely ensnared by the illusion.

Not far away, Danzo and Obito stood side by side.Obito's single Sharingan gleamed faintly beneath his mask as he regarded the silent figure of his old teacher.

"Danzo," he said softly, voice low and mocking, "he was your teacher, wasn't he? Why not seal him yourself?"

Danzo didn't answer at first. His gaze lingered on Tobirama's face—once the stern, commanding visage of the Hokage he had admired more than anyone.

He took a slow step forward, the red Sharingan embedded in his arm swirling open, focusing on his immobilized master.The air shimmered with sealing energy, and the faint hum of chakra rippled around him. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel✶fire.net

For just a moment, a flicker of memory surfaced.He was young again—standing among the hopeful, eager students—listening to Tobirama speak of duty, sacrifice, and the will of fire.That memory burned against the cold present.

Now, that same man stood before him as an enemy, and he had to be the one to bind him.

Danzo's jaw tightened.But the flame of ambition soon smothered his hesitation. If he succeeded here—if he could control the Hidden Mist and return triumphant—then not even Hiruzen could challenge his authority in the Leaf.

His decision was made.

He raised his hand, sealing formulae glowing faintly in the air."Forgive me, Lord Second," he murmured coldly. "Your era has ended."

But before his hand could make contact—

A flash of silver.

A sudden blade gleamed under the mistlight, its edge pressing coldly against Danzo's throat.Danzo froze, feeling the steel's kiss against his skin. Slowly, he turned his head—and his eyes widened.

"Kakashi…" he muttered, his tone dark with disbelief. "So the Leaf's backup was you."

Behind them, Obito's gaze narrowed. His voice carried quiet tension."What are you doing, Kakashi?"

Kakashi said nothing. His single Sharingan glowed faintly behind the mask, his expression unreadable.He pressed the blade firmer against Danzo's neck with one hand, while his other reached out—lightly resting on Tobirama's shoulder.

A surge of chakra resonance pulsed through the air.

And then—Tobirama's consciousness snapped back into clarity. The illusions shattered like fragments of glass, dissolving into mist.

His eyes opened sharply. The first thing he saw was Kakashi—calm, steady, determined.

"You… Kakashi?" Tobirama breathed, disbelief flickering in his voice.

Kakashi nodded once. "Lord Second. We need to withdraw. Now."

For a moment, Tobirama simply stared, processing the situation—the genjutsu, the trap, the battlefield before him. Then, his gaze hardened, and the old fire returned to his eyes.

Straightening his robes, the Second Hokage stood tall beside Kakashi.Both of them turned to face Danzo and Obito—the mist swirling like ghosts around them.

"Very well," Tobirama said quietly, a faint edge of grim satisfaction in his tone."Let's end this."

"Kakashi... are you truly determined to be our enemy?"

Obito's voice carried through the mist—low, hoarse, and trembling faintly with disappointment. His Sharingan flickered beneath the mask, the light within it a mixture of sorrow and disbelief.For a moment, the endless rain between them seemed to pause.

Kakashi didn't answer right away. He merely lifted his head, meeting Obito's gaze.Through the falling mist, his visible eye reflected not defiance—but apology.It was the quiet look of a man who had accepted the burden of his choices.

Tobirama watched this brief exchange in silence. He could sense the storm of emotions beneath the surface—but now was not the time to speak of the past.With practiced precision, he unfurled a Flying Thunder God scroll, hands moving through a blur of seals as the intricate teleportation array began to glow beneath their feet.

A sudden hum of space-time distortion filled the air. Tobirama's chakra flared sharply.In the next heartbeat, he and Kakashi were ready to vanish.

But then—

Danzo's expression darkened. The faint tremor of hesitation that once lingered in his eyes vanished, replaced by pure, cold malice."Did you really think you could leave so easily?"

With a sharp motion, he thrust his hand toward the ground. The earth trembled violently, and from the cracked soil erupted gnarled, withered trees—their bark pale as bone, their branches twisting like serpents hungering for prey.A surge of sinister chakra poured from him, feeding the grotesque growths as they lunged toward Kakashi, claws of dead wood slicing through the mist.

Kakashi did not flinch.His gaze sharpened, body lowering slightly into stance—calm, deliberate, unshaken.His hands blurred into motion, weaving sign after sign with fluid precision.

"Water Release: Raining Mist!"

The air itself seemed to shudder.In an instant, the clear sky above thickened with clouds, and sheets of fine, silver rain began to fall.Each droplet shimmered faintly with chakra, forming a dense curtain that veiled the world in glistening mist.

The falling rain hissed as it struck the cursed trees, dampening their momentum, slowing their reach.

But Kakashi wasn't done.Even as the rain poured, his fingers flashed through another series of seals, his chakra now shifting in nature—sharp, slicing, frigid.

"Wind Release: Cry of the Frozen Gale!"

A burst of icy wind howled through the rain-soaked streets.The fusion of wind and water releases collided, and in that collision—ice was born.

The raindrops crystallized midair, transforming into countless jagged shards that spun outward like blades of glass.The storm became a vortex of frozen needles, tearing through the withered forest.

The trees howled under the assault, their limbs freezing over in a heartbeat. The once-roaring growth of Danzo's technique was now smothered in layers of biting frost.Roots cracked and splintered as ice crawled up their trunks, sealing them in glittering cages of blue-white crystal.

Danzo gritted his teeth, his chakra surging as he tried to resist the spreading frost, but the delay was all Tobirama needed.

The teleportation sigils beneath him blazed with light.He glanced at Kakashi—a curt nod, a silent command—and the two vanished in a flash of white, the sound of space itself collapsing in their wake.

The storm quieted.Only the frozen remains of Danzo's technique stood in the silence, the once-living wood now reduced to cold sculptures beneath the falling mist.

For a long moment, neither Danzo nor Obito spoke.The world was still—haunted only by the sound of rain dripping from frozen branches.

Finally, Danzo broke the silence.

"Water and wind release… fused into ice to suppress my technique," he muttered coldly, eyes narrowing as he studied the crystallized battlefield. "That's not something easily achieved."

His gaze lingered on the faint mark of Kakashi's blade on the ground—clean, precise, ruthless.For just a moment, something flickered in his expression. A memory. A shadow of the past.

"…So," he murmured, his voice low and bitter, "the White Fang lives on after all."

With a final snort, he turned his back to the frozen street and walked away, his footsteps echoing faintly through the mist.Obito remained behind for a moment longer, watching the ice glimmer faintly beneath the rain.

Through his mask, his lone Sharingan dimmed slightly.A complicated emotion passed across his hidden face—resentment, sorrow, perhaps even relief—before he finally turned and vanished into the fog as well.

The Hidden Mist fell silent once more.