The familiar voice echoed in Kinkaku's ears, but it was Black Zetsu who truly trembled with shock.
It never imagined that Arima could survive unscathed from that severely damaged Six Paths seal.
Before it could even turn around, Arima had already appeared before Hiruzen and the others with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
A golden figure appeared beside him, the moment Black Zetsu saw Mito, it realized she had entered Nine-Tails Mode.
As Black Zetsu observed her, Mito was also sensing its presence.
To her surprise, she couldn't sense any emotions from it, only pure, overwhelming malice.
If an average person's malice could be likened to the pale gray of storm clouds, then Black Zetsu's was pitch black, thick and suffocating.
The depth of that darkness sent a chill through Mito's heart.
Arima quickly assessed the battlefield. Both sides had suffered devastating losses.
Without delay, he entered Sage Mode and released chakra stored within his Yin Seal.
Forming the hand seal, he instantly created over a thousand shadow clones.
He then summoned Katsuyu, instructing her and her clones to follow each of his own clones to treat as many injured Konoha shinobi as possible. Every life saved counted.
Only after these arrangements did Arima turn to inspect his granduncle's injuries.
He found them grave, multiple internal organs damaged, most of his chakra pathways ruptured from the blast, and his bones shattered in numerous places.
Still, it wasn't beyond saving. Arima could stabilize him, but his granduncle would never be able to return to the battlefield again.
To him, that might be a worse fate than death.
His granduncle had always said.
'The greatest honor for a shinobi was to die on the battlefield, not to waste away in a bed.'
This injury hadn't just broken his body, it shattered everything he was.
A proud warrior like him could never accept becoming a cripple. Retirement would be an unbearable humiliation for someone who had lived such a glorious life.
Arima didn't have time to dwell on it, he had just noticed that Kagami's injuries were even worse.
He quickly examined Kagami, and with every moment, despair grew. His injuries were beyond Arima's ability to heal.
All he could do was have Katsuyu preserve the last bit of Kagami's strength, barely enough for him to say his final words.
Seeing Kagami like this, Arima's heart erupted with fury. The rage burned so hot it threatened to consume his sanity.
His Sharingan flared to life, spinning wildly, the tomoe nearly linking together.
Hiruzen and the others were stunned, they had never expected Arima to possess Uchiha blood.
Just then, Kagami slowly regained consciousness. As his eyes opened, the first thing he saw was Arima's Sharingan.
With a weak smile, Kagami murmured, "No wonder... that sense of kinship in our blood... so that's what it was..."
Arima opened his mouth to explain, but Kagami suddenly spoke, deadly serious, "Arima... come closer."
Arima gently pulled Kagami into his arms and brought his ear to him.
Summoning all his remaining strength, Kagami whispered.
"Arima, I know that eye of yours was transplanted. I only sensed that connection in our blood during that gathering…"
He paused to take a labored breath, trying to hold on for just a little longer.
Seeing his brother on the brink of death, Arima felt powerless and guilt-ridden.
He remembered the time his grandfather lay weak and dying in bed.
He had felt just as helpless. He had sworn then to master every form of ninjutsu, to never again watch someone he loved die while he stood by unable to help.
But now, this scene mocked that vow. It laughed at his arrogance. It sneered at his weakness.
Kagami's fading voice pulled him back from his self-loathing.
"Take my eyes... When you return to the village, tell them I gave you mine. The Uchiha won't trouble you then…"
Tears blurred Arima's vision. If only he had arrived a little sooner, just a moment earlier, he might have saved his brother.
His heart brimmed with sorrow, regret, hatred, and helplessness.
Then, in his eyes, the spinning tomoe began to twist into triangular shapes, merging… until they became one. The Mangekyo Sharingan had awakened.
Seeing it, Kagami laughed with sudden joy, his eyes lighting up one last time.
"Hah… I see… That's good, that's really good. Now I can die without regrets."
Clutching Arima's hand tightly, he gazed sincerely into his eyes and said softly, "Arima… someday, please go to the Uchiha shrine and read the stone tablet. And... take care of our clan."
Those were Kagami's final words, he died with a smile, still thinking of his family.
Arima stared down at the peaceful expression on his brother's face and felt as though a blade had pierced his chest. His aura turned cold, dark, and heavy.
At that moment, Mito, still facing off against Kinkaku, sensed the storm of emotions inside Arima.
She immediately called back, "Arima. Calm yourself. Steady your heart."
Her voice rang like a bell through his soul, snapping him out of his fury. Realizing how unstable he had become, Arima took a deep breath and forced himself to focus.
Meanwhile, Black Zetsu was growing wary of Mito's Nine-Tails Mode. Seeing her momentarily distracted, it tried to flee, manipulating Kinkaku's body to retreat.
But before it could move, Arima's voice echoed coldly from behind it.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Instinctively, Black Zetsu leapt into the air with Kinkaku's body, only to meet Arima's crimson Mangekyo gaze.
"You… You're a descendant of the Uchiha Clan." it hissed.
It tried to speak further, but then realized with growing dread that the surrounding space had become thick and sluggish, as though time itself had turned to molasses.
It was trapped, frozen in place.
This distorted space… it was Arima's Mangekyo ability. Kamigami, a space-time dojutsu.
It was the worst possible counter for Black Zetsu, whose greatest strength lay in its ability to move freely across time and space.
That power had allowed it to manipulate the shinobi world in secret for centuries. But now, before Arima… it had nowhere to run.
Forced to make a split-second decision, Black Zetsu severed part of its essence, sacrificing it as a decoy. Its true body slipped away, vanishing from the distorted space.
Arima had noticed the escape, but at the moment had no way to stop it completely.
Still, it comforted him somewhat to have obtained a fragment of its body. He planned to study it, uncover its nature. Next time they met, he would make sure Black Zetsu paid for everything.
But first, there was a war to end, between Konoha and Kumogakure.
He turned to face Kinkaku. There were old scores to settle, and Arima still needed to earn virtue points. Kinkaku would do nicely for that.
As for the Second Raikage, Arima had already checked on his condition, his injuries were even worse than his granduncle's.
If not for A's incredibly durable body, the man would've died long ago.
The morning sun was rising, light spilling over the mountains.
Arima looked to the sky, murmuring.
"If I had the choice, I'd spend every day peacefully with my family, living a quiet life in the village. Isn't that sky beautiful? So why…why do you insist on forcing my hand?"
The moment those words left his lips, his hands began weaving hand signs with blinding speed.
"Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands."
A colossal wooden statue, nearly a thousand meters tall, erupted in the center of the battlefield.
In a flash, Arima used Flying Thunder God to appear atop its head.
His Mangekyo Sharingan glowed, and the wooden statue became encased in a purple chakra armor, it was like a fusion of Susanoo and the True Several Thousand Hands.
Mito watched in awe. Seeing Arima combine Susanoo with Hashirama's ultimate Wood Release, she smiled warmly.
"Hashirama… perhaps you were right. That child… might truly change this twisted world."
Elsewhere, Tsunade had been stationed far from the battlefield, on a distant mountaintop. She was killing time, playing dice with one of Arima's wooden clones.
She had begged to join the battle with her brother and grandmother, but they had flatly refused and brought her here despite her protests.
Though annoyed, Tsunade understood they were only trying to protect her. She couldn't really stay mad.
Still, being her mischievous self, she took the opportunity to bargain with Arima's clone.
She clung to him, whining and pleading until he finally agreed to several deals, ten hair-washes, morning wake-up calls, double birthday presents… the whole lot.
Just as they were playing happily, the earth began to tremble.
Tsunade looked up, eyes widening. In the distance stood a massive purple figure, towering so high that even the nearby mountains only reached its waist.
She jumped into the clone's arms, cheering excitedly.
"I know what that is... Arima-nii, that's the Grandpa's Wood Release jutsu that brought peace to the world. I finally got to see it for real."
The clone laughed along with her.
But his eyes were fixed on the giant statue… and the purple armor that coated it. His expression turned solemn. He frowned and fell silent.
Back on the battlefield, Arima stood atop the colossal statue, his icy voice booming across every corner of the field:
"I want Kumogakure to surrender, immediately. No negotiations. No conditions. Who agrees? Who opposes?"
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