Subconscious waiting
Time, stretched between the tip of the ninja sword, etched with cold murderous intent, and the swaying curtains of the sedan chair, was stretched into a viscous, long-drawn-out jelly. For Tobirama Senju, this fleeting moment felt like a separate dimension, separate from the bloody battlefield, where a silent yet brutal war raged. On one side was an absolute rationality, ingrained in his bones, tempered by countless battles and family obligations: eliminate the target, complete the mission, and eliminate all potential threats to the Senju. This rationality was cold, hard, and unquestionable, driving every muscle in his arm, striving to push the stagnant blade forward a little further, to complete the intended slaughter. On the other side, a torrent of unpredictable, unfamiliar emotion surged from nowhere—from the dark eyes filled with fear and despair behind the slit in the curtain, from a deeply buried memory of a moonlit night, and from a fierce resistance, even he himself could not comprehend, resisting the imposition of the blade upon this particular being. This force was equally powerful, like an invisible giant hand, tightly gripping his wrist, causing the sharp tip of the knife to tremble slightly in vain, emitting an almost inaudible, whimpering hum.
Reason screamed in his mind, listing countless reasons why he had to take action; emotion remained silent, using only the reflection of those eyes as the most powerful rebuttal. His will was madly torn between these two extremes, almost splitting.
However, the cruel battlefield never gives anyone the luxury of hesitation.
In this lightning-fast, turbulent standoff, another member of the Senju "Shadow Fang" squad—a jonin known by the codename "Black Bee," skilled in assassination and lightning-fast strikes—sharply detected their leader's unusual hesitation. In Black Bee's experience and understanding, Lord Tobirama was like the most sophisticated war machine, and it was impossible for him to hesitate so fatally with his target within reach. The only explanation was that the strange sedan chair or the Uchiha woman behind the curtain had cast some unknown, powerful illusion or defensive barrier, temporarily trapping Lord Tobirama.
The instincts of duty and loyalty instantly overwhelmed all doubts! A cold light flashed in Black Bee's eyes. Without the slightest hesitation, his figure merged into the shadows like a ghost, silently but swiftly cutting in from the flank of the battle group, precisely bypassing the motionless Tobirama! The specially crafted kunai in his hand, gleaming with a faint blue sheen, drew a cunning and vicious arc, avoiding all possible obstacles and piercing the defenseless, pale figure behind the tiny gap in the curtain of the sedan chair - aiming directly at the heart! This strike condensed all his speed and strength, carrying the deep hatred and resolute killing intent accumulated by the Senju for generations of Uchiha, aiming to kill with one blow!
The second shadow of death suddenly descended with a purer and more direct killing intent than Tobirama's complex and indescribable killing intent!
Uchiha Aoi, inside the sedan, barely had time to recover from the shock of Tobirama's stagnant blade before her pupils shrank to the size of a pinpoint in terror at this sudden, even more deadly attack! Absolute fear, like icy water, instantly flooded her limbs and bones, strangling her throat, preventing her from even a desperate scream. She could only watch helplessly as the poisonous, cold light rapidly expanded within her field of vision, the breath of death bearing down on her, icy and bone-chilling!
At this critical moment, when even thoughts couldn't be transmitted——
The body, stiff as a rock due to the intense inner conflict, erupted into a reflexive action that was deeply rooted in instinct and even beyond the control of the will, before any rational thinking!
Senju Tobirama's scarlet eyes suddenly glared, the complex emotions swirling within them replaced by a swifter, almost reflexive, fierceness! The stagnant ninja sword retracted and flipped almost instantly with the slightest thought! His body completed a half-turn with a fluidity and precision that defied common sense, and his left hand shot out with lightning speed! Instead of forming a hand seal, he instantly concentrated pure and vast chakra on the tips of his index and middle fingers, transforming them into invisible steel clamps. Just before the tip of the subordinate's poisoned kunai was about to completely pierce the curtain and sink into the flesh behind it, he accurately and fiercely clamped the kunai's blade!
“KENG——!!!”
An extremely crisp and deafening sound of metal clashing suddenly rang out, even briefly drowning out the surrounding shouts and screams!
A tremendous, yet gentle yet firm force erupted from Tobirama's fingertips, like ripples on the water, forcibly ripping the kunai, imbued with the will to kill, from Black Bee's tightly grasp, sending it careening into the air! The kunai spun at high speed, transforming into a streak of piercing cold light, whistling through the air. Finally, with a muffled thud, it lodged itself deeply into a nearby tree trunk, scorched black by the flames. The remaining immense force on its tail shank trembled violently, emitting a humming whine!
Black Bee was completely stunned by this sudden, unpredictable obstruction from his superior! A powerful recoil sent him stumbling back, and a sharp, tingling pain shot through his wrist, where he was gripping the kunai. His face was filled with incomprehensible shock and immense confusion, and he blurted out, "Master Tobirama?! What are you doing...?"
He didn't finish his question.
Because the moment Tobirama had sent the kunai flying, he had already spun completely around, facing the sedan chair once again. But his posture now was completely different from that of his attacker a moment earlier! He used his entire body to block the gap in the sedan curtain, leaving no room for maneuver. Like a silver barrier suddenly rising, he blocked off the stunned subordinate and all possible external attack routes! He firmly protected Uchiha Aoi, the original target of the mission, behind him!
This movement was as smooth as flowing water, as if it had been honed through thousands of trials and tribulations, yet it was filled with a determination that even the caster himself could not have anticipated!
After the action was completed, time and space seemed to freeze again. Tobirama himself was the first to be stunned.
What did I...do?
A chilling sense of dread, accompanied by intense self-doubt, instantly washed over his sanity like a tsunami. He had just… in front of everyone, to protect an Uchiha, a target he was supposed to eliminate, he had attacked his own men?! Although he had only knocked the kunai away, causing no actual damage, the signal this act sent was a complete betrayal of his responsibilities as a commander, the Senju clan's stance, and the code of conduct he had always believed in!
The doubtful look of "Black Bee" and the mixed looks of disbelief, confusion, and even a hint of hidden horror from several other "Shadow Fang" team members who noticed the strange situation here were like invisible needles, densely piercing Tobirama's back, making him feel a rare, burning embarrassment and anger.
Damn it! He's so out of control!
This is a completely brainless, instinctive reaction that defies all training and logic!
For him, who has always been absolutely rational, this loss of control made him panic and furious more than any threat from a powerful enemy!
Inside the sedan, Aoi, on the brink of death, was suddenly pulled back to reality. She collapsed on the cold seat, feeling completely exhausted. Her heart pounded so hard it threatened to shatter her sternum. She could only gasp for air, as if struggling to wake from an endless nightmare. Through the fatal gap, she gazed at the silver-haired figure standing before her like a mountain, her mind spiraling into a vortex of utter chaos.
This Thousand-armed ninja... he clearly wanted to kill me just now, so why did he suddenly... protect me?
Is he... a friend or an enemy? What on earth does he want to do?!
Standing before the sedan, Tobirama was in an even more dire and dangerous predicament. With him standing in the way, the mission was stalled, his men's morale wavered, and doubts abounded. Even more fatal was the Uchiha reinforcements. The violent chakra fluctuations approaching from far and wide clearly indicated their imminent arrival!
The situation is sliding towards the abyss of being completely out of control.
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