Kagami looked at the two shameless old men playing their parts in this charade and sneered. "Who destroyed the Uchiha clan? Who was pulling the strings? You know the answer better than I do. Do you really want me to spell it out for you?"
He hadn't even bothered with these two relics, but they had the audacity to corner him. They were practically begging for death.
Hearing this, a cold glint flashed in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes. He stared at Kagami, his expression hardening as a flicker of doubt entered his mind. "Could he really know the truth?"
Whether Kagami truly knew the details didn't matter now. Hiruzen had already decided: Kagami had to die here. The power Kagami had displayed was simply too terrifying, even more so than Itachi's Susanoo. If left alive, he would become an insurmountable threat. Hiruzen had secretly watched Kagami's battle with Itachi and the mysterious masked man, so he knew exactly how monstrous his strength was. He had waited for the battle to end, waited for Kagami to exhaust his energy healing his wife, before moving in with the Anbu and Danzo's Root. He refused to believe that after fighting two Kage-level opponents and expending his power on healing, Kagami would have much fight left in him.
Kagami was too powerful. He had to be eliminated. They could not tolerate such an uncontrollable force.
This was not only Hiruzen's thought but Danzo's as well. From Kagami's attitude, it seemed he already knew the truth behind the massacre. If they didn't kill Kagami today, their own deaths would be inevitable. However, Kagami's ability to attack without hand seals was terrifyingly effective. Even they weren't confident they could completely defend against it. To avoid a desperate, last-ditch attack that could drag them all down with him, they thought it best to try and force his surrender.
Knowing Kagami valued his family, Hiruzen narrowed his eyes and delivered his threat. "Uchiha Kagami, surrender immediately! You wouldn't want your wife and child to get hurt in the crossfire, would you?"
He was certain that for a man like Kagami, who so clearly cherished his family, this threat would be enough to make him surrender without a fight.
But he didn't realize that his words had just flipped a switch, unleashing Kagami's killing intent in its entirety. For Kagami, his family was his absolute line. Anyone who dared to threaten them had to die. He had originally planned to let Hiruzen and Danzo live for a few more days, at least until Rinne had recovered. But now, these two old fools had sealed their own fates.
The moment Hiruzen finished speaking, a murderous aura, so dense it was almost tangible, erupted from Kagami. The air itself seemed to freeze, and the entire area was bathed in a blood-red light. Under this terrifying pressure, ordinary shinobi were frozen with fear, many losing control of their bodies. Hiruzen and Danzo, being the closest, felt as if a mountain had been dropped on them. Their faces went pale, and even breathing became a struggle. Their bodies felt imprisoned, completely unable to move.
Fear, like a bottomless abyss, swallowed everyone, leaving them trembling. They looked at Kagami in horror, as if they were seeing a demon that had just crawled out of hell.
"This man... how many people has he killed? This much killing intent. Kagami you are a monster!"
Hiruzen's face was a mask of terror. He had never imagined a single sentence could provoke such a terrifying response. He was filled with a deep regret; he had severely miscalculated. With the pressure Kagami was now exuding, they stood no chance.
But regret was useless now. Though his skills had long since rusted from years of neglecting his training in favor of spying on the women's bathhouse, he was still the Third Hokage.
Even in this suffocating, terrifying aura, Hiruzen forced his body to move. He flew through a series of hand signs with practiced ease. As the final sign was formed, he slammed his hands on the ground and shouted, "Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation!"
This was the trump card he had prepared for just such an emergency—the ability to summon the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. He hadn't expected Kagami to force his hand like this. But now that it was done, he was confident this was the end for Kagami. No matter how strong he was, he stood no chance against the combined might of the first two Hokage.
At the same time, Kagami stood calmly amidst the swirling, murderous aura, his eyes as cold and sharp as a surgeon's scalpel. He was completely unfazed by Hiruzen's desperate gambit. A cold, chilling smile spread across his lips. "Since you're so eager to die, I'll grant your wish."
He slowly raised his hands, interlacing his fingers into a complex, unique seal. A deep voice rumbled from his throat:
"Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine."
As the low, majestic words echoed, the entire space seemed to be seized by an invisible force. The air began to ripple and warp, a circular domain expanding outwards from Kagami's position. Within the domain, the light grew dim, and the air filled with the thick, coppery scent of blood. A gruesome shrine, constructed from countless corpses, materialized at Kagami's feet, a throne fit for the god of death.
Under Kagami's control, the domain rapidly expanded, swallowing the entire Uchiha clan territory before halting its growth.
At the same time, the two coffins summoned by Hiruzen burst open. From the swirling dust, the figures of Hashirama and Tobirama Senju slowly emerged, exuding an aura of indescribable majesty and ancient power.
But before the two legendary brothers could fully acclimate to their sudden return, a biting chill and an invisible, overwhelming killing intent swept over them from all directions, like the calm before a hurricane.
Senju Hashirama, the man known as the "God of Shinobi," instantly reacted, his eyes as sharp as an eagle's. Without a hint of panic, he quickly formed a series of hand signs. The chakra in his body surged, and in response, thick tree roots erupted from the ground, rapidly weaving themselves into a massive wooden sphere. The sphere enveloped him, Tobirama, Hiruzen, and Danzo, shielding them from all attacks.
The next moment, countless invisible slashes rained down upon the wooden sphere and the surrounding Anbu and Root members. The shinobi left unprotected by Hashirama's Wood Release were instantly shredded into pieces.
The surface of the wooden shield was covered in a web of deep cracks, looking as if it would shatter at any moment.