Chapter 15: No Choice

"Not good!"

Orochimaru and Kabuto exchanged glances, each seeing the panic in the other's eyes.

They were completely surrounded by the First Hokage, and there were at least a dozen of them.

There were some on the ground and others on the branches of trees.

This made it impossible to distinguish the real one from the clones because each of the First Hokages had the same aura.

"Orochimaru-sama, what should we do?" 

Kabuto asked in a low voice.

He would have been more confident if their opponents were living people, but standing before them were reanimated corpses with infinite chakra.

They could all regenerate no matter how many injuries they received.

Faced with such an opponent, Kabuto had no strategy at all and couldn't even begin to think of how to fight them.

There was only one thought in his mind.

Run.

But escaping was impossible now.

"What else can we do…"

Orochimaru shot a glance at Kabuto, inwardly blaming him.

"Lord First Hokage, I'll follow you and cultivate the Senju cells for you."

Orochimaru immediately surrendered, feeling no inclination to resist in the face of such a formidable opponent.

This was related to his own nature.

Orochimaru had no desire for world domination or the Hokage position because his goal had always remained unchanged.

That was immortality!

He was well aware of the current situation. 

The most important thing was not to force his way out but to survive.

"Are you not going to attack at all?"

The First Hokage clones spoke in unison, their combined voices creating a formidable presence.

"We're not going to attack!"

Orochimaru shook his head, forcing a pale smile as sweat increasingly beaded on his face.

"No… not going to fight!"

Kabuto followed suit, his glasses sliding down his nose, sweat beads forming on his own face.

In such a scenario, both Orochimaru and Kabuto struggle to hold onto their composure.

"No."

The dozens of First Hokage clones shook their heads in unison, each face showing dissatisfaction.

"You must fight! How can you give up without even trying? You must at least try even though you're definitely not going to escape!"

The First Hokage clones spoke in unison.

This left Orochimaru and Kabuto utterly bewildered. Their expressions became extremely complex, and their eyes filled with deep resignation.

"Lord First Hokage, we surrender!"

Orochimaru's mouth twitched violently as he hurriedly raised both hands to show his sincerity.

He couldn't tell if the First Hokage's earlier words were sarcastic or serious.

He didn't want to act rashly.

"Yes! Yes! We surrender!"

Kabuto mimicked Orochimaru's gesture, raising his hands high. He had no spirit left and dared not fight against the First Hokage.

"Are you two idiots?"

The First Hokage clones gave Orochimaru and Kabuto disdainful looks.

"I made my intentions very clear! I won't allow you to surrender! You must attack! If you give up resisting… I will kill you."

The tone of the First Hokage clones suddenly turned grim, and the sudden surge of their imposing presence made Orochimaru and Kabuto shiver uncontrollably.

"This…"

Orochimaru and Kabuto's brows twitched violently. 

They had never been asked to play such a game before.

Whoosh! 

Whoosh! 

Whoosh!

In an instant, the wooden clones flickered and rapidly merged into one single wooden clone.

One wooden clone remained on the scene for a moment.

The rest of the wooden clones had returned to this one wooden clone.

"Alright. I've lowered the difficulty of the game. Now you can run, but the one who runs slower will suffer more!"

The wooden clone of Hashirama's gaze swept over Orochimaru and Kabuto.

It looked like he was just playing a game.

It was the kind of game where everything was under control.

The sense of a max-level player entering a beginner's village!

It wouldn't be that easy to solve.

Otherwise, it would be so boring.

"…"

Orochimaru and Kabuto were left speechless. 

Apparently, even surrendering wasn't an option, and they still had to continue running?

The most critical thing was… This struggle was utterly meaningless, and they couldn't escape!

They felt a profound sense of despair when realizing they had become mere toys.

"Run!"

Orochimaru and Kabuto exchanged glances, took a deep breath, and quickly ran in different directions.

The wooden clone of Hashirama watched the two fleeing figures with a faint smile curling at the corner of its mouth, showing no sign of concern.

Snap!

The wooden clone of Hashirama instantly placed its hands on the ground, and dense chakra surged from its palms into the earth.

"Mokuton: Tree Wall Barrier"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In an instant, countless rectangular wooden planks rapidly grew from the ground. 

These planks twisted and intertwined, weaving into a complex wall like a braided rope.

The formation of the wall happened in an instant.

The area around the wooden clone instantly turned into a round wooden barrier.

The wall trapped Orochimaru and Kabuto inside.

"Then let's start with you!"

The wooden clone of Hashirama's gaze fell on Kabuto.

Boom!

The wooden clone of Hashirama suddenly exerted force, and his ankle and foot crashed down on the ground, causing a massive crack to form on the surface.

Whoosh!

Immediately, the Hashirama clone charged toward Kabuto extremely fast, the distance between them visibly closing.

At this moment, Kabuto was drenched in cold sweat.

He would rather surrender and face punishment from the First Hokage than experience the fear of being chased.

It was terrifying!

Whoosh!

At that instant, Hashirama appeared right in front of him to block his path.

Their eyes met.

Kabuto's eyes were filled with a deep fear that had etched itself into his soul and would be unforgettable for the rest of his life.

"You have a technique called Yin Healing Wound Destruction, right?"

"It allows you to accumulate chakra at the site of the injury and start healing before you even get hurt."

"I'm not wrong, am I?"

He spoke words that shocked Kabuto deeply.

Kabuto never expected that.

"So…"

"Are you ready?"

Hashirama raised his fist, gesturing towards Kabuto and pointing at his chest.

"My big, sandbag-sized fist is about to punch your chest!"