Senju Tobirama felt his strength draining uncontrollably from his body, as if an invisible dam had burst. He had been prepared for this and tried to control his chakra to resist the alien absorption. It was futile. No matter how hard he tried, his own energy wouldn't obey him.
"This power... it's absorbing more than just chakra?"
With effort, Tobirama pulled his hand out of the dead zone and took a step back.
His analytical mind instantly kicked into gear. A body resurrected by the Edo Tensei technique is essentially a corpse with an inexhaustible source of energy and the ability to constantly regenerate. What if he used this ability to break through the anomaly and reach Uchiha Yue?
Having shared his thoughts with Orochimaru, Tobirama ordered a rope to be tied around himself and stepped into the void.
He took only a few steps, and his face distorted. Movement became impossible. The body, animated by Edo Tensei, was merely a vessel driven by chakra. As soon as the energy depleted to a critical point, the dead flesh froze.
But that was only the beginning. Tobirama realized with horror that his regeneration, his immortal nature, had failed. His energy was not being replenished, and layers of dust began to crumble from his body.
The Impure World Reincarnation technique was crumbling. He wasn't being attacked—his very presence in this zone violated the fundamental laws of the jutsu.
Outside, Orochimaru, peering at the blurry silhouette, noticed that the Second Hokage had frozen. Without a second's hesitation, he pulled the rope with all his might. With great difficulty, he managed to pull out Tobirama, whose body had almost disintegrated into atoms. Another moment, and not a trace would have remained.
"Now do you see, Second-sama?" "Orochimaru hissed right next to the barely recovered Hokage's ear. "This is Uchiha Yue's power! If we remain idle, the entire shinobi world will fall. Such a thing shouldn't exist in the human dimension!"
His words were followed by a detailed report with all the data Orochimaru had managed to gather.
Tobirama remained silent, his head bowed. A dead field stretched before him, and it continued to grow. Within it, all life had perished, and the ground was frozen—the zone sucked out even heat, turning moisture into ice. A true natural disaster, created by man.
And yet... Uchiha Yue, Mangekyo Sharingan?
"Orochimaru," he suddenly asked, breaking the silence, "does Uchiha Yue have brothers or sisters?"
Hearing the question, he shook his head.
"No, Second-sama." According to our records, he's an orphan. No parents, no siblings. A complete orphan.
"No... Strange. Very strange."
Tobirama Senju frowned, peering into the spreading darkness. Something didn't add up. If this zone was the result of Yue's dojutsu, then his eyes were activated. But without close relatives, he couldn't awaken the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan like Madara. Which means there must be a limit to his power. How much strength does it take to maintain such a colossal technique? And how long can he last without the ability to restore his vision?
A sudden smile touched his lips, turning into a quiet laugh. He even clapped his hands lightly, which stunned Orochimaru.
"Second-sama? What are you laughing at? Have you found a way to defeat him?"
"Exactly. Or rather, you're all mistaken. You've monstrously overestimated Uchiha Yue. He's a paper tiger. Fearsome on the outside, empty on the inside. You just don't know..."
Tobirama shook his head and revealed the secrets of the Mangekyo Sharingan to Orochimaru: its inevitable price—blindness. Obito and the others apparently hadn't shared this information. They probably believed that Yue somehow replenished his eyes' power; otherwise, how could he have maintained the jutsu for so long without going blind?
After listening to him, Orochimaru froze for a moment. His gaze was fixed on the zone, whose power showed no sign of weakening. More than ten days had passed, and it was only steadily expanding.
"It doesn't look like that, Second-sama," he finally said. "Does this look like something with a limit? Look into this darkness. The light can no longer escape. It's... a black hole. And where does all the energy it absorbs go? I have a terrible suspicion... it's converting it into its own dōjutsu power. It's... getting stronger! We must stop it! Kill it!"
Orochimaru's voice trembled; he almost screamed, spreading his arms.
"It's devouring the world to grow! And we're sliding right into its jaws!"
Orochimaru shuddered at the thought. How can we kill a monster that combines invincible power with a flawless self-renewal mechanism?
"Impossible!" "Absolutely..." Tobirama began, but stopped himself.
He, an expert on the Uchiha clan, had rejoiced just a moment ago, considering Yue an orphan, doomed to blindness. His power seemed like a fleeting flower, which would wither as soon as the power of his eyes faded.
But now he understood the fundamental difference. The other Uchiha expended their power. Yue absorbed it. He took from the excess to make up for the deficiency.
What if Orochimaru was right? What if he was using the absorbed energy to fuel and strengthen his dojutsu? That would explain everything. It meant this wasn't just an Uchiha. This was a monster born of their blood, yet transcending its laws. A natural disaster capable of consuming the world.
"Orochimaru... you're right," Tobirama stammered, his earlier confidence vanishing. "It's a possibility."
He could take the risk. Bet his first guess was correct and just wait. But that would be like holding a gun to his head and hoping for a misfire. Winning means you're just alive. Losing means instant death. No sane person would take such a risk.
"We must find a way to kill him," Tobirama concluded firmly, staring into the abyss that spread across the ground.
They immersed themselves in research, trying to develop a defense against the all-consuming power. The most obvious method was a brute-force attack. Possessing enough chakra reserves to kill after partial absorption. But that also required an incredibly resilient body, one capable of withstanding exhaustion.
And while the Second Hokage and Orochimaru were searching for a solution to this impossible task...
Meanwhile, in another corner of the shinobi world, in Ryuchi Cave...