Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha lacks motivation.

"Hahaha."

In the center of the battlefield, the white fox knight knelt on one knee. Senju Tobirama, slightly out of breath, forced his blurry eyes open.

Through the crack in the mask, the grotesque fox-like monster before him was reflected in his scarlet pupils.

The surrounding environment was in complete disarray. The solid ground had been torn open with several bottomless wounds, and the area within several miles had been turned into scorched earth. No signs of life could be found, and everything was eerily silent, as if the end of the world had arrived.

After settling the unconscious Uchiha Kagami, he took the lead, luring the suddenly appearing unfamiliar enemy to a place far away from his disciples.

After a fierce battle, Tobirama Senju, who had just experienced a brutal fight, quickly showed signs of fatigue and was easily overwhelmed by Another Rider, who had transformed into Number Nine.

He was only spared a hasty defeat because his opponent intentionally or unintentionally let him win, but now he is also forced into a desperate situation.

With such a strong enemy, did that annoying guy really lose like me?

Tobirama Senju gritted his teeth, trying to stand up, but the excruciating pain throughout his body caused him to stumble and almost fall. Fortunately, he managed to reach out his hands for support, preventing an even more embarrassing scene.

"."

Number Nine looked down at the fox knight he had easily defeated, a look of triumphant satisfaction spreading across his face beneath his mask. He had avenged himself on the humiliation he had suffered at the hands of Madara Uchiha.

Sure enough, what I encountered before was Hell mode, while this was the normal level.

Nodding to himself, Number Nine raised his hand, and a tiny twig emerged from his palm, eventually coalescing into a seed that exuded a decaying aura.

"That is."

Upon seeing the strange seed in the enemy's hand, Tobirama Senju's heart tightened. Based on the detailed information brought back by Gin Uchiha, he naturally knew the purpose of this seed.

"Don't even think about it."

Even at the brink of despair, Tobirama Senju did not give up the fight. With a death wish, he contacted the Nine-Tails in the Tailed Beast Card at his waist.

Inside the Tailed Beast Card's space, Kurama (the Nine-Tails) had long lost its former vigor. Now, it looked utterly dejected, showing no intention of even acknowledging Tobirama Senju's arrival.

"Nine-Tails, lend me some more of your power."

Upon entering the space, Tobirama Senju stated his demands bluntly, his tone leaving no room for argument. Kurama, upon hearing this, slowly turned his head, his shrill voice filled with a deep sense of dejection.

"Don't waste your energy. You're no match for him. If it were that despicable human..."

Facing the spirited Tobirama Senju, Kurama ruthlessly poured cold water on his confidence. As a long-lived being who had seen countless people, Kurama could naturally judge the upper limit of the white-haired man before him.

Compared to the ridiculously powerful Uchiha Madara, this human, who was only somewhat pleasing to the eye, was like a greenhorn, completely unable to defeat a clone possessing the combined power of Senju Hashirama and the Nine-Tails.

How will you know if you don't try?

Although Kurama didn't directly admit it was weak, Tobirama Senju could clearly sense the disdain emanating from the behemoth before him. Therefore, he submitted his application again, hoping to prove the beast wrong with his own performance.

"Don't try it. I heard from other beasts that you won't die anytime soon after planting this seed. When you get back, find a good doctor and cut off the part of the seed that you planted."

But after so many years in prison, Kurama is no longer the honest and simple fox it once was. Even with Tobirama Senju's silver tongue and claims that he speaks from the bottom of his heart, Kurama remains unmoved.

Human nature?

It's too cold, I dare not touch it.

"Okay, okay, okay!"

Seeing the Nine-Tails standing idly by, Tobirama Senju uttered three "good"s, his crimson eyes filled with ruthlessness.

The bond that had just been established between the human and the beast quickly crumbled, and the golden divine fox's fleeting beauty became its swan song.

In reality, Tobirama Senju, whose negotiations with the Nine-Tails had broken down, expressionlessly removed the golden Nine-Tails belt, and the shattered armor on his body immediately turned into golden particles and dissipated.

"Give up? That saves us some trouble."

Seeing this, Number Nine raised an eyebrow, assuming that Tobirama Senju had lost his will to fight. He then raised his hand, and countless wooden branches burst forth from the ground.

"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"

However, he underestimated Tobirama Senju's will. Even without the Knight System's support, he didn't give up the fight. Facing the wooden branch hurtling towards him, he puffed out his cheeks, and a jet of water gushed out instantly.

"Sizzle~"

A piercing cutting sound followed, and pieces of wood, split in two, fell to the ground. Number Nine, seeing this, looked displeased.

"To put up a stubborn resistance."

His figure transformed into a streak of light and vanished from the spot. Senju Tobirama, who was spraying water, felt alarm bells ringing in his mind, his sensory radar screaming wildly. He immediately retreated, but it was too late.

"Where do you want to go?"

The phantom figure of Number Nine appeared behind him without him noticing. Tobirama Senju's gaze sharpened, and a hard vortex water blade instantly materialized in his hand, which he then slashed fiercely behind him.

"Splash!"

Unfortunately, his attack seemed to be a few inches too short for some reason, grazing past Number Nine's chest without causing any damage.

"Your judgment based on what's behind you is a bit outrageous."

Having narrowly escaped harm, Number Nine shook his head and sighed, which made Tobirama Senju's already dark face even darker.

"I simply don't have an air defense system!"

In a fit of rage, Tobirama Senju unleashed a tornado of water around his body. The tornado rapidly expanded, threatening to engulf Number Nine.

Not only that, Tobirama Senju also took out a stack of explosive tags from his ninja tool pouch, threw them into the water tornado, and clasped his hands together...

"Bang~ bang~ bang~"

As a plume of white smoke rose, the initial few explosive tags multiplied to over several hundred.

"Multiplicative Explosive Tags Technique!"

The water tornado, now infused with countless explosive tags, instantly changed its damage, and a faint look of seriousness appeared on Number Nine's face.

Although he possessed exceptional defensive capabilities, he was still struggling to cope with such a massive number of explosive tags.

"ha!"

With a wave of his hand, Tobirama Senju unleashed another tornado, determined to take Number Nine down with him. Even in death, he would not yield to his enemy.

"I think you've gone mad."

Number Nine, unable to retreat in time, was swept into the waterspout. He stared in disbelief at Tobirama Senju, who seemed doomed, unable to comprehend why humans didn't cherish their hard-won lives.

These clones all lived to become human; their greatest dream was to experience this vibrant and colorful world as humans.

Therefore, every clone that awakens its intelligence cherishes life immensely.

"I don't care about this or that, just explode! Explode! Explode!"

Tobirama Senju had no time to deal with the bewildered Number Nine. After successfully trapping him in his water tornado, he pressed the detonation button without hesitation.

The explosive tags simultaneously emitted blinding light, instantly illuminating the entire waterspout, and a scorching heat swept over us.

"hateful!"

Sensing the immense destructive power contained within the explosive tags, Number Nine roared in anger, unleashing a surge of dense Tailed Beast power from his body. The nine fox tails trailing behind him rapidly expanded.

The surrounding explosive tags began to smoke, a sign that an explosion was imminent.

Number Nine's fox tail trembled, and its body began to move.

Seeing this, Tobirama Senju curled his lip in disdain. No one could escape the range of his attack.

"What a waste of this body."

Following the original steps of this move, he had already used the Flying Thunder God Technique to escape the blast radius, arms crossed, back to the explosion—the whole scene looked incredibly cool.

However, with the Flying Thunder God Technique currently banned, he has no choice but to sacrifice this body and complete the feat of exchanging one body for one with the clone.

"Huh? What do you want to do?"

Just as he was lamenting his current body, Tobirama Senju noticed a figure flash before his eyes and immediately widened his eyes in surprise.

"You can't die now!"

Using its fox tail to enter a high-speed movement state, Number Nine grabbed Tobirama Senju by the neck and pulled him close. The surrounding explosive tags suddenly heated up.

Just before they were engulfed by the explosion, the fox tail behind Number Nine swelled and grew larger, enveloping the two of them.

"Boom!"

The next moment, a towering flame shot straight into the sky, and the intense heatwave from the violent explosion engulfed everything around it; hard rocks were burned into fragments, and gravel turned into glittering crystals.

Fortunately, the battlefield is still some distance from Uchiha Kagami, otherwise poor Kagami would definitely have been roasted into a freshly baked suckling pig by the aftershocks of the explosion.

As the smoke and dust cleared, a bottomless crater appeared in the center of the explosion, and at the bottom of this crater, a charred sphere was slowly rising.

"Crunch~ Crack~ Sizzle~"

The surface was broken and cracked, with debris constantly falling off.

A moment later, the black sphere unfolded, revealing the two unharmed figures inside.

Why did you save me?

Tobirama Senju frowned deeply. Although he was dazed and confused by the shock of the explosion, he didn't have a single wound on his body.

"My tail!"

Number Nine looked at his charred fox tail with a pang of heartache. It was formed from the last of his Nine-Tails chakra, and each use diminished its value.

"Save you? You think I want to save you?"

Number Nine, furious, met Tobirama Senju's bewildered gaze and instantly became even angrier.

Without exchanging many words with the other party, Number Nine directly showed this white-haired man why he wanted to save him through his actions.

"Get in here!"

He grabbed Tobirama Senju by the neck with one hand, and with the other, he forcefully plunged the seed he had just condensed into the back of Tobirama's head.

"what!"

The sudden, devastating blow to Tobirama Senju caused him excruciating pain, his eyes wide with agony. The tearing pain in the back of his head made him believe that his opponent was sucking his brains.

However, the reality was not as he had imagined. After the seed was inserted into the back of his head, it quickly sprouted roots and took hold. The hard outer shell turned into a green, viscous liquid, which seeped in with the roots.

A few seconds later, the seed vanished without a trace, and there was no wound left on the back of Tobirama Senju's head, as if the pain just now was just an illusion.

Having completed the planting of the Divine Tree spores, Android 9 casually tossed Tobirama Senju aside. Having learned from the failures of the previous clones, he now knew that not only should the seeds not be planted in conspicuous places, but they should also be planted in the vital points of the Tailed Beast Riders.

"Hmph! I refuse to believe I can fail this time."

Looking at Tobirama Senju writhing on the ground clutching the back of his head in pain, Number Nine's lips curled into a smug smile. Unless this white-haired guy had a death wish, he couldn't possibly cut off his own head, could he?

"Aaaaah! What did you do to me?"

The inexplicable tearing sensation deep within his brain caused Tobirama Senju to lose his usual composure. Amidst his painful screams, he gritted his teeth and questioned the culprit before him.

"Mere nutrients."

Number Nine had completed his mission. He took one last deep look at Tobirama Senju lying on the ground, offered no explanation, and leaped off the ground, heading towards the direction where Jigen and Madara Uchiha were fighting.

As for the fruit that belongs to him, all he needs to do is wait for it to blossom and bear fruit.

"Huff, huff."

Watching helplessly as Number Nine departed, Tobirama Senju, lying on the ground, was powerless to stop him. The last vestiges of his strength were being absorbed at a visible rate by the deep roots of his brain.

After being implanted with the spores, he was extremely weak, and even his chakra refining speed became incredibly slow.

"Is this the seed that the curly-haired guy was talking about?"

Once the pain deep in his brain subsided somewhat, Tobirama Senju straightened up, stroking the slightly raised back of his head, a strange light flickering in his eyes.

"Is this a misfortune or a stroke of luck?"

After resting for a while, Tobirama Senju, relying on his memory, found the location where he had previously placed the Uchiha Mirror. Looking at his still unconscious disciple, his face was filled with relief.

"It's good that you're alright, otherwise that curly-haired guy would have fought me to the death."

The purpose of the clone planting the seed within the Tailed Beast Rider is most likely to plunder the Tailed Beast's primordial chakra through some means. If Madara Uchiha were to fall for it, Konoha would likely suffer a double loss of lives and resources.

But now, things have changed. He has replaced Madara Uchiha as the second Nine-Tails Knight.

Although his term was very short, he took a bullet for Madara Uchiha.

But even better things were yet to come.

The one who has now had the seed planted is not the real her.

"Now, your plans have backfired."

Looking down at the shimmering Tailed Beast Card in his hand, Tobirama Senju's eyes revealed a hint of smugness.

After a moment, his eyes turned wistful again.

"Nine-Tails, although I haven't spent much time with you, I can sense that you are not as evil as the legends say."

"Human, what do you want to do?"

The Nine-Tails inside the Tailed Beast Card space was completely bewildered. Just moments after actively accepting Tobirama Senju's call, it had already established a connection with this white-haired human.

Even though their views later diverged, the bridge of communication between the human and the beast did not disappear. Tobirama Senju could still use the Tailed Beast Card to transform, but he could no longer transform into the Golden Divine Fox.

"I hope you can continue to be the tailed beast of Konoha and protect everyone's smiles in the future."

Tobirama Senju chuckled and deliberately severed his connection with Kurama (the Nine-Tails), the tailed beast chakra that had been flowing into him vanishing instantly.

"No, you're crazy."

Kurama's eyes widened, and its voice disappeared as the bridge between them collapsed. The light of the Tailed Beast Card gradually dimmed until it turned gray.

Deprived of the supply of tailed beast chakra, the God Tree spores buried in Tobirama Senju's brain rapidly went berserk, instantly devouring his already depleted chakra.

On his deathbed, Tobirama Senju placed the driver and the shackled Tailed Beast Cards in the arms of the unconscious Kagami.

After completing this series of actions, all his life force dissipated, and he slowly fell backward.

The peerless genius Tobirama Senju has fallen (laughs)~

The Senju clan lowered their flags to half-mast in mourning, while the Uchiha clan decorated their homes with lanterns and streamers, offering congratulations to everyone they met, and holding banquets for three days straight, then another three days, and then yet another three days. (End of Chapter)