Naruto, Madara is my girl.

Tobirama moved first, unleashing his chakra the moment the enemy flinched. In the chaos of battle, there was no room for hesitation not when wrong intel could twist the odds in seconds.

Thud- two bodies dropped. A third tried to warn the others, but-

Fwip!

-his words ended in a wet crunch as Akira's kunai arced through the air, drawing eyes. It forced their attention off Tobirama-

"Rasengan!"

Boom!

right as Akira appeared in front of the speaker and slammed the spiraling sphere into his face. The man's skull caved inward with the sound of cracking bone as his face distorted completely, erasing any trace of who he used to be.

Gasps rang out as it sank in, Akira hadn't moved from his position across the battlefield. They hadn't even seen him step forward once.

"That's impossible…"

"How do we fight that?"

No one had answers and Tobirama didn't wait for them. He darted forward and slaughtered two unguarded enemies before they could regroup.

Seven-on-two flipped fast into three-on-two, and then-

"Split up! Pass this back-!"

Fwsh-crk!

Blood sprayed. Akira drew his blade sharply across another ninja's neck before the words finished leaving his mouth.

"You talk too much."

Tobirama sighed and vanished with Flying Thunder God again, the now exposed technique is used openly now. The remaining enemy stood alone, trembling. When Akira and Tobirama approached at walking pace, the last man's knees buckled.

Akira tilted his head and smiled faintly. "C'mon over, I've been eating clean lately."

Tobirama wanted to scoff, but he held it in. This wasn't the time to call out Akira's attitude so instead, he killed the last man without effort or sympathy.

Akira brushed nonexistent dust from his shoulder. "So Where to next?"

Tobirama hesitated. Every move felt like one step closer toward being backed into a corner.

'Have I missed something? No… he's been dead over ten years. Before he died, he rarely left the Uzumaki compound. Even his people answered to me directly…'

Nothing should've been left behind by that man, and certainly not anything Akira could use now. Yet somehow it felt like Akira had dug this plan up from two decades past just to use it today. (T/N: AINZ SAMA!)

Tobirama exhaled and made his decision. "You lead."

"Okie dokey." Akira grinned easily and gestured toward distant trees. "We'll pretend to retreat, with just enough desperation that they'll think we've thrown everything into escaping."

He pointed toward the stone needle forest taking shape beneath his large-scale ninjutsu attack.

"This should sell it too. We look desperate when we burn this much chakra. Make 'em think we're trying to avenge your 'death.'"

"You are taking revenge on me," Tobirama thought bitterly, but he kept it to himself as he observed Akira work.

It wasn't surprising that Akira had predicted their enemies's reactions in advance. He didn't operate in straight lines, he planted traps years in advance and waited for the perfect moment to spring them open.

Tobirama clenched his jaw slightly and asked-flat and even. "And?"

"Two routes." Akira raised two fingers. "We head for the border or toward enemy territory. Either way, I'll use large-scale ninjutsu to kill whoever we meet. With how tightly they guard information, I doubt they know that [edo tensei] exists or understand what it means."

clarity crossed Tobirama's eyes now, he finally saw what had been happening behind every move since they set off together.

"The louder our attacks the weaker they'll assume we are," Tobirama said aloud. "And desperate enemies get sloppy."

"Exactly," Akira replied without humor. "And those chasing us won't resist the bait if they think it'll earn them credit."

Tobirama stared at him again, this time genuinely unsettled by how quickly Akira had built their situation into bait for the perfect trap.

He started forming plans of his own, but Akira shut that down immediately.

"Don't overthink it."

Tobirama frowned tightly and Akira continued, tone clipped with irritation as he gestured forward again.

"They want you dead and you don't have enough strength left to escape on your own. I'm buying time for Monkey and his people, not you."

"Right." Tobirama gave him another glance, empty of resentment now, only resignation settling in behind narrowed eyes.

Akira had every reason to kill him already. The fact that he hadn't spoke volumes louder than anything else said between them since their reunion.

"I really am dead already..."

No fear followed that thought, just certainty and resolve. As long as someone strong was left to guide Konoha, then Tobirama could rest knowing their future was safe.

"Let's go," he said.

Akira nodded once before vanishing ahead of him in a flicker of chakra.

…

In another part of the forest, one of the enemy scouts raced through underbrush with wind whipping past him until-

"We found him!"

Kinkaku turned immediately as news reached him from below.

"Senju Tobirama was spotted!"

"Perfect!" Kinkaku's booming laughter scattered birds from nearby branches as he slapped his thigh once and stared skyward with wild ambition burning behind his eyes.

"I already killed the Raikage and now the Hokage will die by my hand too! Nobody will stop me from becoming Raikage after this!"

He looked back at his gathered troops and grinned wide enough to show teeth.

"You brought me good news, I'll remember your face."

"Th-thank you, Lord Raikage!"

"Hahaha!"

More laughter followed his march forward-and one single order bounced off every tree around them:

"Move out!"

"YES!"

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