Boom! Boom!
The entire mountain range trembled with violent earthquakes as the massive artificial mountain created by the First Tsuchikage's technique collided with the earth below. The rocks that had appeared from nowhere were shattered by the tremendous force of impact, sending fragments flying in all directions like deadly projectiles.
A huge cloud of smoke and debris rose up from the point of collision, mixing with the mist that already hung hazily in the air and extending all the way to the peaks of the surrounding mountains. The scale of destruction was so immense that it seemed to reshape the very landscape itself.
"This battle will end soon," Black Zetsu observed calmly as he watched the chaotic scene unfold from his concealed position.
His confidence was well-founded. Madara had undergone fundamental changes since their last major conflicts. Having obtained the power of the Senju clan through his genetic modifications and awakened the Rinnegan through his manipulation of Indra and Asura's chakra, Madara had become significantly stronger than he had ever been during his original lifetime.
Even these five legendary warriors who represented the pinnacle of the Warring States period would not be able to match his current capabilities. Therefore, this battle—despite the impressive display of power from both sides—would not continue for much longer.
As the smoke and dust began to settle, the true extent of Madara's overwhelming victory became apparent. At the edge of the artificial rocky mountain, the First Tsuchikage stood motionless like a statue, his eyes completely blank and devoid of consciousness. The powerful genjutsu of the Rinnegan had completely overwhelmed his mental defenses.
On the water-soaked ground where the Mizukage's technique had left its mark, both the First Mizukage and the First Kazekage had collapsed, their bodies pierced through by several black receiver rods that pinned them to the earth like insects in a collection. The chakra-disrupting properties of these weapons made it impossible for them to move or resist.
Bang!
A muffled impact sound echoed across the battlefield as another figure was sent flying backward through the air. The dark lightning that had surrounded the First Raikage's body flickered and dissipated as his legendary Lightning Release armor finally failed him.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Several more black receiver rods followed his trajectory through the air, piercing his limbs with surgical precision and nailing him to the cave wall behind him. Despite his incredible physical strength and speed, he found himself completely immobilized by Madara's chakra-disrupting weapons.
"What is happening here?" the Second Hokage demanded, his voice carrying both alarm and confusion as he stared at Madara with a solemn expression.
Although he had not directly witnessed Madara's attack on the Raikage, the man had already been defeated and restrained. During the entire process, Tobirama had not seen Madara perform any hand seals or obvious jutsu activation—suggesting that his power had evolved beyond the need for conventional techniques.
"You're allowing yourself to become distracted, Tobirama," Madara said with cold dismissal, extending his palm toward the Second Hokage.
A black chakra receiver materialized in his hand and shot forward with deadly intent, aimed directly at the space between Tobirama's eyes. The attack moved with such speed that most opponents would have been unable to react in time.
Swish!
At the very last moment before the attack could connect, the Second Hokage's figure suddenly vanished from its original position, leaving behind only the faintest trace of spatial distortion to mark his departure.
"Flying Thunder God Technique?" Madara murmured with mild interest, recognizing the signature characteristics of his old enemy's most famous jutsu.
The Second Hokage reappeared behind the motionless First Tsuchikage, taking advantage of the positioning markers he had strategically placed among the shattered rocks during the earlier exchange. His analytical mind was already working to develop a counter-strategy that might allow him to turn the tide of this seemingly hopeless battle.
He began forming hand seals with the intention of dispelling the genjutsu that held the Tsuchikage in its grip, hoping to restore at least one ally to consciousness so they could coordinate their efforts against Madara.
However, at that crucial moment, some invisible force directly disrupted his hand seal sequence, preventing him from completing the dispelling technique. A black receiver rod appeared seemingly from nowhere and pierced through his chest with devastating accuracy.
Madara materialized directly in front of the Second Hokage, having used his own spatial manipulation abilities to anticipate and counter Tobirama's movement.
"Impossible!" Tobirama cried out in alarm, realizing that his opponent had somehow predicted and intercepted his Flying Thunder God technique.
Just as he prepared to activate the spatial jutsu once again to escape from this deadly situation, the chakra transmitted through the black receiver rod began to interfere with his body's natural energy flow. His movements became sluggish and unresponsive as the foreign chakra disrupted his own internal systems.
The flow of chakra through his body was completely interrupted, making it impossible for him to perform any advanced techniques.
"You cannot hope to defeat me using such primitive tactics," Madara said with cold indifference, looking down at his old rival with something approaching pity.
The Second Hokage stared into Madara's right eye, which was gradually expanding to fill his entire field of vision, and managed to speak through gritted teeth: "Where did you acquire those eyes? What technique could have granted you such power?"
"You have no need to know such things!" Madara replied dismissively.
As soon as he finished speaking, the Second Hokage was completely enveloped by the overwhelming genjutsu of the Rinnegan, his consciousness suppressed and his will subordinated to Madara's commands.
After casting an indifferent glance across the devastated battlefield, Madara walked systematically to each of the fallen Kage—the Mizukage, Kazekage, and Raikage—and subjected them to the same consciousness-suppressing illusions that he had used on their colleagues.
Bang!
Having successfully defeated and subdued all five legendary warriors, Madara brought his hands together in a final hand seal. Ornate coffins rose from the earth to encase each of the controlled Kage, and then gradually sank back into the ground where they would await his summons.
With his immediate objectives accomplished, Madara slowly turned around to face the final figure on the battlefield—the First Hokage, who had been standing motionless throughout the entire engagement. For the first time during the battle, Madara's expression became genuinely serious.
Although his current power level far exceeded what it had been during their original conflicts, and he was confident that the First Hokage was no longer capable of matching him in direct combat, the emotional significance of this confrontation could not be ignored.
Decades ago, during the peak of the Warring States period, Madara had never been able to achieve a decisive victory over this particular opponent. Hashirama represented not just a powerful enemy, but the one person who had consistently frustrated his ambitions and challenged his worldview.
Apart from the current Fourth Hokage of Konoha—who had earned his own reputation as a legendary figure—the First Hokage remained the only opponent worthy of Madara's complete attention and respect.
Madara formed the necessary hand seals to restore Hashirama's consciousness, and the First Hokage immediately raised his head, awareness returning to his eyes like the sunrise breaking through darkness.
After regaining full consciousness, Hashirama first surveyed the devastated environment around them, taking in the evidence of the tremendous battle that had just concluded. Then his gaze settled on Madara, and his expression shifted to one of surprised confusion.
"Madara, why are you and I both here?" he asked, his voice carrying the same gentle authority that had made him such an effective leader during his lifetime.
At this moment, an expression of extreme excitement and twisted satisfaction appeared on Madara's face—the look of someone who had been anticipating this confrontation for far longer than any normal person could endure.
"Hashirama, I have been waiting for this moment for so very long!" he declared, his voice carrying decades of accumulated anticipation and barely contained emotion.
"Answer my question first!" Hashirama demanded, his tone becoming more authoritative as he sensed the dangerous currents flowing beneath this reunion.
The First Hokage had noticed something disturbing and looked toward the pile of rocks where debris from the earlier battle lay scattered. From that location, he could sense the distinctive chakra signature of the Second Hokage—but it felt wrong, somehow corrupted or suppressed.
"Those are the remnants of Tobirama's presence," Hashirama muttered, his expression growing darker as he understood the implications.
He lowered his eyelids and fixed Madara with a penetrating stare that demanded honest answers.
Madara responded with a casual shrug, as if the fate of the other legendary Kage was a matter of minimal importance. "Do you remember the dream that I once shared with you during our younger days?"
"The time has finally come for me to make that vision a reality."
"To accomplish this ultimate goal, I require your power to help me destroy the current generation of ninja and reshape this world according to my design."
"You used Edo Tensei to resurrect us?!" Hashirama exclaimed, his voice carrying both surprise and growing horror at the implications.
Madara nodded with calm confirmation, and surprisingly, the solemn expression on the First Hokage's face was suddenly replaced by a gentle smile.
"What could you possibly find amusing about this situation?" Madara asked, his brow furrowing with confusion at his old friend's unexpected reaction.
"If even someone with your incredible power has been forced to resort to the technique of Edo Tensei," Hashirama explained thoughtfully, "then that means there must be ninja among the current generation who are powerful enough to pose a genuine threat to your plans."
"Regardless of which village or nation these ninja represent, their existence is something worth celebrating." The First Hokage expressed his thoughts without any attempt to conceal his genuine pleasure at this revelation.
"Before I completely subjugate your will and consciousness, I suppose I can satisfy your curiosity about this matter," Madara said with a sneering smile.
"The current Fourth Hokage is the individual who seeks to thwart my ultimate plan."
"And interestingly enough, he has also been granted the title 'God of Ninja' by the people of this era!"
The smile on Hashirama's face gradually faded as he processed this information, though he did not seem particularly surprised by the news that another had achieved such legendary status.
"As someone who is already dead, I have no desire to cause additional trouble for the next generation," he said with quiet determination.
"Therefore, I will not allow you to control me!"
An absolutely tremendous amount of chakra began emanating from Hashirama's body, so intense that the ground beneath his feet immediately collapsed under the pressure. Deep cracks spread outward in all directions like a spider web of destruction.
Madara's eyes grew serious for the first time during the entire engagement, and an equally terrifying aura of chakra began radiating from his own form. The two legendary powers were about to clash in a battle that would determine the fate of the ninja world.
The opposing forces collided in mid-air, and the ground in the space between where Hashirama and Madara stood was instantly shattered by the conflicting energies.
Both warriors moved simultaneously, as if responding to some unspoken signal. Blue chakra began glowing around Madara's body while the First Hokage's hands flowed through a complex sequence of hand seals.
Boom!
The entire mountain range shook with violent earthquakes as their powers began to manifest in physical form.
"The real spectacle is about to begin," Black Zetsu observed with anticipation, a faint smile crossing his features as he watched from his distant vantage point.
The earth beneath them cracked and split as enormous trees began growing with supernatural speed. Pillars of chakra light surged upward and shot into the sky like beacons visible for miles around.
"Susanoo!" Madara called out, his voice echoing across the landscape with supernatural authority.
"Wood Release: Wood Human Technique!" Hashirama responded, his own technique manifesting with equal dramatic effect.
Two colossal figures, each one taller than the mountains themselves, appeared on the battlefield and stood facing each other across the devastated landscape. The scale of their confrontation transcended anything that normal ninja could comprehend.
"Hashirama, you should understand that I am fundamentally different now than I was during our previous battles," Madara declared from within his perfect Susanoo.
"Even you cannot hope to stop me anymore. Surrender your will to me and end this futile resistance!"
As soon as Madara finished speaking, his complete Susanoo immediately drew the massive blade that hung at its waist. The simple act of unsheathing the weapon caused the wind and clouds above them to tremble and shift.
"Although I possess only one Rinnegan eye at present, its power is greater than anything I commanded during my original lifetime," Madara continued, his voice carrying absolute confidence in his enhanced abilities.
Atop his wooden giant, the First Hokage frowned as he recognized the distinctive characteristics of Madara's transformed eyes. The Rinnegan represented power that went beyond normal ninja abilities and entered the realm of the legendary Sage of Six Paths himself.
Although he understood that Madara had become significantly more powerful than before, Hashirama still felt compelled to try to stop his old friend from carrying out his apocalyptic plans.
"ROAR!"
The wooden giant immediately launched its counterattack, its massive fist shooting forward with tremendous force. As the punch was delivered, a wooden dragon actually grew from the body formed by the Wood Release technique, producing a thunderous roaring sound as it wrapped around the wooden giant's fist and arm before attacking Madara.
"Hmph!" Madara snorted with disdain, and the enormous sword in his perfect Susanoo's hand suddenly swept downward in a devastating arc.
BANG!
When the two legendary attacks collided, the violent force of their impact created an explosive shockwave that raged wildly across the entire battlefield, reshaping the landscape for miles around and announcing to the world that the ultimate battle between old enemies had finally begun.
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