"Popped again…?"
Feeling his body scatter into endless dust, Hiruzen's heart twisted with humiliation.
Even if an Edo Tensei body could regenerate—
being blown apart in front of the entire village was still unbearable.
His era was over.
If he'd known it would be this miserable…
he would've never followed the First and Second back to Konoha.
"Sever the Edo Tensei link."
Elder Shima glanced at the ashes that used to be Hiruzen, sighed, and formed a hand seal.
(For this trip, she was acting as the Great Toad Sage's proxy—maintaining the chakra tether to the Edo Tensei.)
Crack—
The dust that was slowly gathering again abruptly shattered.
A pale glow—his soul—lifted away and vanished on the spot.
The Third Hokage's Edo Tensei was dismissed.
The crowd stared, eyes wide…
but no one dared say a word.
Not Tsunade.
Not Hiashi.
Not Fugaku.
Not Jiraiya.
Not Kakashi or Guy.
Because the moment Hiruzen disappeared—
the real confrontation began.
Hashirama.
Tobirama.
And Ren.
No one spoke.
Yet the air grew heavier and heavier—until the entire square felt like it was being strangled.
Countless eyes locked onto the three figures on the platform.
After a long moment, Hashirama finally spoke—cold and sharp:
"Uchiha Ren… you're quite something."
"Hiruzen twisted the Will of Fire."
"And you?"
"You abolished it completely."
His gaze hardened.
"Do you even understand what the Will of Fire is?"
"That belief began with me."
A vast chakra pressure rolled out of Hashirama like a tide.
Ren didn't flinch.
"Yes. I abolished it—personally."
He met Hashirama's eyes head-on.
"And if you think you can use the former dynasty's sword…"
"…the founders' authority…"
"…to execute officials of the current court?"
"That won't work."
Hashirama's aura surged again.
"What did you just say?"
Ren's expression turned colder.
"Fine. I'll make it clearer."
"I'm the Hokage now."
"And from this moment on—Konoha follows my rules."
A terrifying dominance burst out of Ren—
not chakra, not genjutsu—
but a king's will that made instincts scream.
The two invisible forces collided.
The air groaned.
Just the shock of intent made everyone's hearts tremble—
and even nearby rooftops creaked like they were about to crack.
(If the two of them weren't deliberately restraining their pressure, people would've been dropping on the spot.)
Behind Hashirama, Tobirama's eyes narrowed.
For the first time, genuine surprise flashed across his face.
He could feel it clearly—
his brother's pressure…
was being pushed back.
Ren didn't give Hashirama any face at all.
He snorted.
"Break."
And then—
his Conqueror's Haki fully erupted.
In the span of a few seconds…
Ren's will crushed forward like a landslide.
Hashirama's pressure collapsed—shattered in a single blow.
The square exploded into silent disbelief.
"What…?"
"The First Hokage's pressure… got suppressed?!"
"How is that even possible?!"
Tobirama's expression darkened.
"So this is what the Great Toad Sage meant…"
"This man really is an anomaly."
He had to admit it—
even with all his bias against the Uchiha…
Ren was a once-in-an-era anomaly.
At least…
at this age—
neither Hashirama nor Madara had been like this.
Hashirama exhaled slowly.
Then, instead of raging—
he looked at Ren and said calmly:
"You're strong."
Ren's brows tightened instantly, eyes turning sharp.
He knew that line.
In the old stories, Hashirama once said "Kurama is strong"…
right before he treated Kurama like a toy.
Hashirama seemed to read his caution.
He waved lightly.
"Don't worry."
A trace of amazement crossed his face as he spoke with sincere weight:
"I thought after Madara and me…"
"the shinobi world would never see someone who could dominate an era again."
"But I didn't expect…"
"the Uchiha would produce another one."
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