Naruto: Tsunade’s Reincarnated Older Brother

"With the assassination of the Hokage looming, our numbers have dwindled, haven't they?"

"Huh?"

Kakuzu's words, spoken with a hint of amusement, caused veins to bulge on Tatami's temples.

Tatami is a reincarnated being. He knows that Senju Hashirama is aware of this fact.

Since the memory leakage began, recollections had gradually surfaced as he aged. Memories and experiences that should not exist tormented young Tatami. Though they weren't concrete memories but rather blurred impressions, like moonlight reflecting on water, Tatami understood that his existence differed from others.

Tatami struggled with his nature, feared it, and suffered. There were times when he felt himself teetering on the edge of madness, but an eerily calm knowledge and rationality would well up from somewhere deep within, preventing him from succumbing. To reassure those around him who were confused by his changes, Tatami went so far as to "perform his natural liveliness", and thanks to this act, those around him were easily deceived, saying in unison, "It was just a sensitive phase."

Only Hashirama noticed Tatami's "deterioration." It might have been Tatami's misunderstanding, but Hashirama seemed to possess a vague certainty about it.

One day, Hashirama took Tatami out and had him stand atop the Hokage Rock. Tatami felt nothing about the view of the village below. Hashirama spoke about how that was his home, how that was Sarutobi's house, but Tatami merely pretended to listen.

Only the sound of Hashirama's voice echoed strongly in Tatami's ears. The "feelings" seeping through that voice were something Hashirama couldn't hide. His voice grated on Tatami's nerves. Seeing Hashirama's cheerful smile, Tatami felt an overwhelming urge to punch him. It might have been frustration stemming from projecting his own troubles onto his grandfather.

Tatami's consciousness, which had been clouded by irritation, snapped back to reality when Hashirama asked, "Do you like the village?"

Tatami couldn't answer. Hashirama didn't seem to notice his reaction and spoke again.

"I love it. The village is my treasure!"

"So what?" Tatami thought. "Your mouth moves so easily. Should I smash it to pieces?" He even entertained such dangerous thoughts.

Then Hashirama's voice stopped. Looking up, Tatami saw his grandfather staring intently at the village with a serious expression. Tatami braced himself, wondering what Hashirama would say next, overwhelmed by the sudden change in his demeanor.

"The village is home, the people are family. That is the Will of Fire that transcends all barriers and connects everyone—family."

His voice was filled with strong determination, yet incredibly gentle. Tatami held his breath.

Hashirama knelt down to meet Tatami's gaze. Tatami was confused. His grandfather's serious expression suddenly softened into a smile as he tapped his own forehead with his thumb. Engraved there was the mark symbolizing the Hidden Leaf Village, a spiral with a pointed tip. It was a symbol of his bond as a village member, proof that he was a "ninja of the Hidden Leaf."

Hashirama removed his forehead protector and tied it around Tatami's forehead. He tightened the band and patted Tatami's head. Then he stood up and started talking about trivial things again: "There's a good gambling house over there..."

Tatami stared intently at Hashirama's profile. The irritation was gone.

After that, Hashirama continued to treat Tatami as he always had.

Sometimes he took Tatami with him on village patrols, other times to indulge in his gambling hobby. He never gave him "special treatment," but instead spoiled him thoroughly as his beloved grandson, letting him do whatever he wanted. It was that "grandfather's gaze" that filled Tatami's empty vessel with love. "That" was something very precious, Tatami thought. He came to deeply respect and love his great grandfather from the bottom of his heart.

Tatami knew his grandfather's noble character. The words he had spoken to Hashirama, "I want to become Hokage", were his sincere desire to repay his grandfather's kindness.

If anyone tried to tarnish that legacy, if anyone tried to destroy the way of life of the Konoha family, this single dream, this form of love, Tatami would not hesitate to become a demon to protect it. It was the same resolve that his grandfather, Hashirama, had upheld in his final battle with his former ally, Madara.

"Multi-Shadow Clone Technique!"

Fiery passion surged from the depths of his abdomen, causing chakra to overflow.

The Multi-Shadow Clone Technique, passed down from Tobirama. An advanced ninja technique that divides one's chakra evenly to create physical clones. It was a forbidden technique that could lead to exhaustion and even death if used by someone with insufficient chakra.

First, he used disposable shadow clones to gauge the enemy's strength.

"Shadow Clone? I've never heard of that technique."

Kakuzu tilted his head in confusion.

The Shadow Clone Technique was a relatively new ninja art developed by Tobirama during the war. Only Tobirama and his disciples knew how to use it. The information restrictions imposed by Tobirama were strict, so it was unlikely that ninjas from other villages would know about it.

The front shadow clones spread out to the left and right, surrounding Kakuzu, and hurled the wooden swords they carried at their waists toward the enemy.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

The shadow clones in the rear leaped into the air and unleashed ninjutsu at the thrown wooden swords. The fire dragons engulfed the wooden swords and rushed toward Kakuzu and the others.

"Fire Release: Wooden Sword Shadow Clone Technique!"

The flame-wrapped wooden swords multiplied into several times their original number. The flames from the countless fire dragons spread to the surrounding trees, illuminating the area. The hidden ninjas emerged, seemingly unable to endure any longer. There were four of them. Including Kakuzu and the man Tatami had killed, there were six in total. Sakumo's detection had been accurate.

"Water Release: Water Cutting Wave!"

The shadow clones concentrated their attacks on the first enemy ninja to emerge from the shadows. The Water Cutting Wave pierced through the wall of flames and closed in on the enemy ninja.

At the same time, the shadow clones at the rear dashed forward, targeting the ninjas who had revealed themselves. Dozens of shadow clones closed in on each ninja, forcing them to retreat and scatter.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!" "Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"

The water dragons unleashed by the pursuing shadow clones were blocked by earth walls created by the enemy ninjas. The scattered water droplets rained down on the flickering flames.

As the water vaporized, the view became shrouded in white mist, but Tatami used Earth Release: Underground Submarine Voyage to dive into the ground.

Preparing for another strike, the shadow clones closing in on Kakuzu fired Fire Dragon Flames. The mist mixed with the flames, and the entire area descended into chaos.

"Did we get him...?"

"They underestimated us. I never thought a kid would actually challenge us to a fight..."

From the flickering flames, Kakuzu emerged. His upper body, exposed by his burnt clothes, showed no signs of injury. The black, writhing tentacles that had been hidden beneath his garments were now revealed.

"Ugh..."

Tatami couldn't help but grimace. However, despite its grotesque appearance, he carefully observed it, suspecting it to be some type of secret technique. Kakuzu's body had cuts and sutures at every joint, and tentacles writhed between them, connecting one body part to another. It was like a tentacled monster wearing human skin.

Kakuzu glanced around, and Tatami, who was on guard, unconsciously twitched his finger.

At the end of Kakuzu's gaze lay a bloodied ninja, defeated. It must have been hit directly by Tatami's technique. The body was split into upper and lower halves, riddled with holes.

"However, you're no ordinary child. The grandson of the Hokage is no pushover, I see. You're quite impressive."

As he spoke, Kakuzu's tentacles moved. They approached Tatami from all directions, aiming to pierce his body. The tentacles bunched together into a single, sharp weapon that could easily pierce through a human body.

The shadow clones at the front line were easily impaled by the tentacles and vanished, and the water barrier created by the middle layer of shadow clones was no match for Kakuzu's assault.

The remaining shadow clones created new duplicates. These weren't regular shadow clones, but attribute-based clones made of water and earth. Water Release Shadow Clones and Earth Release Shadow Clones differed from regular shadow clones, which were composed entirely of one's own chakra. Instead, they utilized physical materials as a medium, allowing them to be created with relatively less chakra. Tatami had created a large number of shadow clones using water and earth generated by his own Water Release technique, requiring only a small amount of chakra.

However—

"Annoying."

Kakuzu's response was swift.

A massive ball of flame appeared before Tatami.

Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work (Zukokku). The enormous fireball unleashed by Kakuzu easily swallowed the clones.

At the same time, a dull, heavy sound echoed from underground. Tatami's true body, which had been buried below, burst out of the ground and struck at Kakuzu from beneath with the Water Dragon Bullet technique.

"Did you think I didn't notice?"

"Ugh!"

Stepping back to avoid Tatami's attack, Kakuzu delivered a powerful kick to Tatami's abdomen. Tatami let out a groan and was blown away, colliding with a tree trunk.

"Die!"

To escape Kakuzu's approaching tentacles, Tatami endured the pain and quickly stood up.

As expected, Tatami's position couldn't be hidden. Such surprise attacks were useless against a skilled ninja.

Tatami frowned and dodged the tentacles while glancing toward Kakuzu's rear. He was being pushed back by Kakuzu, but he had successfully held back the remaining ninjas who had tried to use the same counterattack tactic.

Then...

"Earth Release: Mountain Earth Technique!"

Earth walls appeared from both sides of Kakuzu, closing in to crush him. Kakuzu blocked the earth walls with his tentacles, then jumped up safely, avoiding the attack. Taking advantage of the moment when the tentacles shifted to defense, Tatami created shadow clones and sent them toward Kakuzu.

"Struggling against a single child..."

The shadow clones fought to get close, tossed around by the tentacles. Before they could act, more tentacles spilled out from Kakuzu's back, swelling his body and forming a thick wall of writhing appendages. Each face embedded in the wall bore a different expression—or so it seemed, until three masks slipped out from within the tentacles, revealing more writhing tentacles beneath. They gradually took on human form. The sight was bizarre, to say the least.

Seeing an opening, Tatami immediately unleashed a fireball at maximum power, but it was negated by the violent wind created by Kakuzu's Wind Release: Pressure Damage technique. Tatami was blown away by the aftermath.

The masks, now possessing bodies, scattered in different directions. Their destinations were the battlefield where Tatami's dozens of clones were holding back the Takigakure ninjas.

"This is bad."

Tatami, who had guessed it was some type of puppet technique, clenched his teeth.

He had charged at Kakuzu with the intent to kill and had finally managed to stall him, but this situation was nothing short of a desperate battle.

The shadow clones fighting the other Takigakure ninjas were also struggling, and their numbers seemed to be dwindling. Some of the chakra used on the shadow clones was returning to Tatami as they were destroyed. Even as the grandson of the Hokage, who possessed an immense amount of chakra, he was still just a child who had not yet become a proper ninja. There was no way he could match the ninjas who were undertaking such a daring mission as assassinating the Hokage.

The leader of these ninjas was Kakuzu, who was bound to be strong. While Tatami had been fighting with all his strength from the start, Kakuzu hadn't received so much as a scratch. Meanwhile, Tatami was slowly accumulating injuries and losing stamina from Kakuzu's tentacle attacks.

This disparity in strength was evident from the original clash. Even his Shadow Clones, which maintained their quality fairly well, would be easily eliminated as before. If the puppets from earlier reached the Shadow Clones' battlefield, the clones would inevitably be wiped out. The battle on the Shadow Clones' side was also evenly matched. If reinforcements were sent to the enemy's side, the outcome would be clear as day.

Moreover, the scattered Takigakure ninjas were certain to converge on their battlefield. The overwhelming ninja technique attack that had taken out the first enemy had been a result of them underestimating Tatami as a child. Now that they were on guard, the same method wouldn't work to divide the gathered ninjas.

We have to settle this before they converge.

Tatami made up his mind.

He created several shadow clones and used earth walls to create a barrier. The walls would be destroyed by the tentacles, but that brief opening would be enough.

"Summoning Technique!"

He formed the hand seals, bit down on his thumb to draw blood, and let it flow freely. He struck the ground with his palm, and the summoning technique array spread across the ground. A summoned beast, bound by contract with Tatami, emerged from the smoke.

What emerged while sweeping aside trees with its massive body was a creature from the Shikkotsu Forest, said to be the dwelling place of the Slug Sage. An incredibly huge slug lived there.

"Tatami! What on earth is this situation?!"

"Katsuyu, we don't have time to explain. Kill that writhing thing. Lend me your strength."

The giant slug—named Katsuyu.

It was one of the slugs bound by summoning contract with Tatami's grandfather, Hashirama, and the summoned beast Tatami had inherited. Katsuyu surprised everyone with her distinctive, adorable voice that didn't match her appearance. Though slugs have no gender, Katsuyu was considered female in terms of personality.

This was the same technique Tatami had used in his battle against Sakumo.

He had summoned a small slug during a moment when Sakumo was distracted by water splashes, hidden it in his hair so it wouldn't be noticed, and had it track Sakumo's position. This way, the slug would blend with Tatami's chakra, making it difficult for even highly perceptive individuals to detect. The fact that Ina had detected it but Sakumo had not was due to the difference in their skills.

"A slug...?! That's slimy and disgusting!"

"Don't say that! Hurry up, Katsuyu!"

The amount of chakra consumed by summoning animals varies depending on their size. Summoning a giant slug like Katsuyu, who was as large as a mountain, consumed an enormous amount of chakra, even for Tatami.

Furthermore, the summoning technique had a limited duration. Once the chakra was depleted, Katsuyu would disappear, making this summoning a gamble since he could no longer perform powerful techniques afterward.

"—Nothing special. Just a bluff."

Kakuzu's tentacles, which had been approaching from a blind spot, pierced Katsuyu, and Kakuzu raised the corner of his mouth in a smirk.

"Divide!"

At Tatami's unflinching command, smaller versions of Katsuyu began to appear one after another from the main body's surface.

Slug Great Division—a technique that split Katsuyu's massive body into countless tiny slugs. These weren't clones but actual divisions, sharing consciousness while possessing physical form. The tiny slugs multiplied like an overflowing tide, moving toward Kakuzu along his tentacles.

The tentacles were gradually being swallowed by the swarm of slugs, but Kakuzu, whose tentacles were anchored to Katsuyu's main body, couldn't escape.

Tatami formed the hand seals for Water Cutting Wave and aimed for Kakuzu's head.

"Behind you!"

"Gah..."

"Tatami!"

Just as the small slugs were about to swallow Kakuzu, a water spear pierced Tatami's abdomen from behind. Had it connected fully, Tatami's torso would have been split in two.

Overcome by pain and shock, Tatami's consciousness began to fade, but he regained his composure through sheer willpower and used a kunai infused with earth chakra to deflect the water spear at his back.

"Don't you think it's unwise to turn your back during battle?"

"Ugh..."

"Heal him immediately!"

After deflecting the water spear and turning to face his attacker, Tatami's shoulders were pierced by Kakuzu's tentacles. Most of the tentacles were blocked by the smaller slugs, but two had found their mark.

Kakuzu moved the tentacles that had pierced Tatami's body and tried to drag him away, but Katsuyu's divided bodies clung to the tentacles and refused to let go. The smaller slugs spat out acidic fluid, dissolving the tentacles and freeing Tatami.

Freed from the tentacles' grip, Tatami spat blood and crouched down. Katsuyu's divided bodies overflowed around his feet and hurriedly covered him. At the same time, the ground around Tatami began to sink, and he disappeared into Katsuyu's body. Above where his head had been, the second and third water spears passed by harmlessly.

"There's someone who can use Water Cutting Wave... A skilled fighter..."

The enemy ninja that the shadow clones had been holding back had joined the battle. And that water spear that had pierced Tatami—it was undoubtedly the Water Cutting Wave technique that Tatami was also skilled with. Had it been copied in that brief moment, or had they been holding it in reserve? Either way, it was undeniably a decisive move in the battle.

"Katsuyu... How many... are there?"

"Two. Another one is approaching from behind."

"So... they're more skilled than I thought. We couldn't even hold them back, let alone defeat them."

Three in total, matching the number of enemies being held back by the shadow clones.

Crunch, Katsuyu retrieved a "Blood Replenishing Pill" from her pouch, crushed it, and had Tatami swallow it.

The wounds on his shoulders and abdomen vanished before his eyes. This wasn't the effect of the Blood Replenishing Pill, but rather Katsuyu's ability to heal injuries, a gift of medical ninjutsu.

The wounds healed, and the blood lost from his body was replenished. However, the chakra he had expended couldn't be restored. Due to her healing abilities, Katsuyu had few direct attack methods, and for now, she could only focus on hiding Tatami from the surrounding enemies.

Whether Sakumo and Ina, who had gone to call for reinforcements, would arrive in time, not much time had passed since then. Even if someone nearby had noticed Katsuyu's gigantic form and they managed to arrive in time, they would need to be highly skilled to make a difference. A glimpse of Kakuzu's power, even his Fire Release technique alone far surpassed Tatami's abilities.

Only someone like his senior, Sarutobi Hiruzen, or perhaps the Uchiha clan, who excelled in Fire Release and possessed the Sharingan that could discern any technique or martial art, could stand a chance.

As he thought this, Katsuyu was growing weaker. There was no time left. Clenching his trembling fists in despair, Tatami steeled himself to return to the battlefield.

***

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