Chapter 21: The Spectator
A day after Tobirama's departure, Uchiha Tenchi slipped away from the camp. He moved like a shadow, ensuring no one saw him leave. The camp was quiet, lost in the uneasy calm after a war, making his exit easy.
*'By now, Hiruzen and the others should be running for their lives,'* Tenchi thought as he sped through the dense trees. *'The Kumo pursuers will be right behind them. Perfect for finishing my mission. And if I'm lucky, I might even get a front-row seat to a Kage's final stand.'*
He moved with purpose, his senses sharp. After a while, the sound of frantic footsteps reached his ears. He immediately channeled chakra and, with a subtle swirl of space, vanished from sight, hiding within the fabric of reality itself using the Kamui.
From his invisible vantage point, he watched. Hiruzen, Homura, and Koharu flashed by, their faces tight with panic and grief. Behind them, Danzo ran with a dark, thunderous expression of pure failure. The look on his face told Tenchi everything.
*'So, it's happened,'* Tenchi mused silently. *'Tobirama named Hiruzen as the Third Hokage. No wonder Danzo looks like he's swallowed a lemon. His dream, shattered in an instant.'*
He stayed hidden, not making a sound. There was nothing to say to them. This was their tragedy, not his. He waited until the four Konoha shinobi had disappeared into the forest, their chakra signatures fading into the distance.
Only then did he emerge, a ghost stepping back into the world. He didn't follow them. Instead, he ran in the opposite direction, heading straight toward the source of the pursuit.
After covering another three kilometers, he found them. A squad of Kumo-nin, five in total, were tracking Hiruzen's trail with brutal efficiency. They were the hunters, and they were good at it.
Tenchi didn't hesitate. There was no warning, no shout. One moment, the lead Kumo-nin was running. The next, the space around his head twisted violently into a vortex. There was a sickening, wet *crunch*, and the man's head was gone. His body stumbled for two more steps before collapsing to the forest floor, a headless corpse.
The other four skidded to a halt, their eyes wide with shock and horror. But before they could even raise a kunai, Tenchi was already among them.
Suddenly, a searing, white-hot pain shot through Tenchi's eyes. He grunted, stumbling to one knee and clutching his face. Two trails of warm, thick blood trickled from the corners of his eyes down his palms.
"Damn it!" he hissed through gritted teeth. "The cost... It's not the Eternal Mangekyo. Using its power so much is taking its toll."
The world swam before him, the edges of his vision blurring. He forced his eyes open, blinking away the tears of blood. His sight was dimmer, like a candle flickering in a draft.
*'This is the path to blindness,'* he realized with cold clarity. *'Just like the stories say. Without a solution—without the Eternal Mangekyo or a Sage's body—this power will consume my sight completely.'*
***Ding!***
**Congratulations, Host, on completing the mission. Reward: 30 System Points. Total Points Remaining: 45.**
The system's voice was a welcome sound in his pain. A grim smile touched his lips. "Good. One step closer to the Eternal Eye."
Ignoring the gruesome scene around him, he focused inward, pulling up the system interface. He navigated to the shop and quickly found what he needed: **[Kaleidoscope Pupil Power Restoration - 1 Point]**.
It was a steal. He spent the single point without a second thought. A cool, soothing sensation washed over his eyes, the pain receding and his vision snapping back into sharp, perfect focus.
"Now for something new," he muttered, browsing the available ninjutsu. He found a standard, B-rank Lightning Release technique and exchanged another point for it.
***Ding!***
**Exchange successful. Total Points Remaining: 44.**
With his eyes restored and a new technique learned, Tenchi stood up. He didn't spare a glance for the dead Kumo-nin. His business here was done. He had a much more important appointment to keep.
He shot forward again, a blur of motion through the trees. After another few minutes of travel, the ground beneath his feet began to tremble. A low, powerful *boom* echoed through the forest, followed by the sound of splintering wood.
He had found them.
Pushing through the final line of trees, he saw a scene of pure destruction. The forest was gone, replaced by a shattered landscape of craters and fallen timber. And in the center of it all were the Gold and Silver Brothers, transformed into monstrous beings cloaked in the raging, red chakra of the Nine-Tails. They were as big as small mountains.
And facing them, looking like an ant before giants, was Tobirama Sarutobi.
The Second Hokage was a blur of motion, dodging massive, crushing blows and swipes of chakra-clawed hands. He was completely on the defensive, unable to mount a proper counter-attack against their overwhelming power.
Tenchi found a thick, sturdy branch on a tall tree overlooking the battlefield and settled in to watch. He was a spectator now, here for the main event.
*'What a show,'* he thought, a cynical smile playing on his lips. *'Watching a Hokage get pushed around isn't something you see every day. He's nothing like his brother. Hashirama could suppress Tailed Beasts with his Wood Style. Tobirama... he just doesn't have that raw power. It's a shame, really.'*
While Tenchi was relaxed, Tobirama was sweating, his mind racing.
*'Where did they get such pure Nine-Tails chakra?! I finally dealt with their damned ninja tools, and they pull this out? There's no escaping this... I just have to hope the Monkey made it out. Fine. If this is my end, I'll take these two monsters with me.'*
"Water Style: Raging River Jutsu!" Tobirama slammed his hands together.
In an instant, the world changed. Water erupted from the ground, flooding the entire battlefield for a full kilometer in every direction. The shattered forest was now a vast, churning ocean.
From his perch, Tenchi's eyes widened slightly. *'I don't believe it. An S-rank Water Style with this range... it's bigger than my Great Fire Annihilation. If you factor in elemental advantage, this technique is superior. Is the legend true?'*
He'd heard the stories whispered among the older shinobi—that Tobirama Sarutobi had a contract with the ocean itself, that his mastery of Water Style was unmatched in the world.
*'A contract with the sea? It sounds impossible... but then, how else do you explain this?'*
Down on the newly created water, Tobirama stood firm, the element his to command. "So what if you have the Nine-Tails' power?" he called out, his voice echoing across the water. "You think that's enough to crush me? You have another thing coming!"
"Really?!" Gold Brother roared, his voice distorted by the Tailed Beast cloak. "Today, we become the number one in the ninja world! We killed a Raikage, and now we'll kill a Hokage!"
With that, he opened his mouth. A swirling mass of blue and black chakra formed, compressing into a terrifyingly dense sphere—a Tailed Beast Bomb.
*'They're insane!'* Tobirama thought. He knew he couldn't block it. The moment the bomb shot towards him, he performed a single hand seal and vanished. The space where he stood was erased, replaced by a colossal explosion that sent a geyser of water high into the air.
*'Whoa,'* Tenchi thought, gripping his branch as the shockwave rattled the trees. *'That's the power of a Tailed Beast. No wonder every village wants one. Who would be crazy enough to face that head-on?'*
He looked around for Tobirama. *'He used the Flying Thunder God to escape at the last second. He talks a big game, but he's just running away. Pathetic.'*
"Hahaha! What Hokage?! He's nothing!" Silver Brother laughed, seeing the empty space where Tobirama had been.
"Water Style: Twin Water Dragons of the Raging Sea!"
Tobirama's voice cut through their celebration. He had reappeared behind them. Two enormous water dragons, as large as the brothers themselves, erupted from the ocean and slammed into their backs, sending them stumbling forward.
"You should save your gloating for after you've actually won," Tobirama stated coldly.
"Damn you!" Gold Brother snarled, pushing himself up from the water. He turned, his monstrous face a mask of pure rage. "Tobirama Sarutobi! We will kill you! We swear it!"
The two titans began charging across the water, each step creating massive waves that rippled outwards.
Watching the water churn and the two behemoths advance, Tobirama knew the time for dodging was over. He had to end this.
*'Hiruzen... Konoha is in your hands now. Protect our home.'* He took a deep breath, his hands coming together to form a sequence of seals. *'It's time to go all out. Come on, you damned Golden Horn! Silver Horn! Let's finish this!'*
On his branch, Tenchi leaned forward, his Sharingan spinning intently. *'Here it comes. He's going all out. Let's see this famous technique, Tobirama. Show me what the legendary Second Hokage can really do.'*
He didn't want to miss a single detail of the final, desperate battle unfolding below.