Outside the Hidden Leaf Village, at this moment,
At the base of the thousand-meter-tall Senju Daibutsu,
Amid swirling dust, a small patch of Impure World earth spun in reverse, gradually converging.
Taking the form of Hashirama Senju.
"Cough—"
Hashirama spat out a mouthful of blood, his aura noticeably weakened.
If it weren't for his Impure World body—which was immune to physical attacks—that punch just now would've sent him straight back to the Pure Land already...
But fundamentally,
He was currently using his Impure World body to assimilate Yamato's living flesh.
So even though Hashirama's body was immune, Yamato's real body still took serious damage from that hit.
That's what made Hashirama spit out a mouthful of blood.
"What incredible Taijutsu!"
"Just from one punch..."
"In terms of pure hand-to-hand combat, he's already far surpassed both me and 'Madara,' right?"
"This kid, despite being so young, has truly refined his physical techniques to an unbelievable level!"
"No—it must be multiple forms of Taijutsu combined with Dojutsu effects working together to unleash such power..."
Hashirama lifted his head in admiration. He quickly deduced the truth,
And exclaimed again in shock:
"Either way, this kid is absolutely extraordinary!"
"If a genius like him could remain in the village, what a tremendous asset that would be!"
"Don't let me find out who exactly drove away such a prodigy? Or who's been persecuting the Uchiha Clan?"
"Otherwise, I'll make them wish they never crossed paths with me!"
Hashirama frowned in frustration.
He simply couldn't fathom how the current village leadership could act so recklessly.
How much crap must they have swallowed? How waterlogged must their brains be...
To move against the Uchiha Clan?
Driving away such a genius! Such an unmatched powerhouse!
Angry as he was, Hashirama became even more aware—
In today's battle, victory had already become extremely difficult.
And if he kept pushing further,
Considering this brat's abilities, although he might not completely defeat him,
He could certainly bypass him and keep attacking the Hidden Leaf Village.
In the end, even if he survived...
The entire village would be wiped out.
So he'd better try negotiating peace first!
[Wood Release: Clone Technique!]
[Wood Release: Hand Tool Manipulation!]
Hashirama quickly created four clones.
Then he used Hand Tool Manipulation to hide his real body inside a "square wooden shield,"
Before retracting the entire wooden shield into the interior of the Senju Daibutsu.
Leaving only the clones to gather intelligence while manipulating the Daibutsu from within.
This way,
They could effectively defend against Shimoku's fierce Taijutsu attacks.
Unless Shimoku could completely shatter the entire thousand-meter-tall Senju Daibutsu, getting within striking distance of Hashirama would be next to impossible.
Moreover, even if this Daibutsu were destroyed, Hashirama could quickly create another one.
Keeping enemies constantly occupied and worn down trying to cope.
That's what you call the ultimate evasion strategy...
"Shwshwsh—"
Several whistling sounds rang out.
Four Hashirama clones leaped onto the head of the giant Buddha, arriving before Shimoku.
"Indeed, you're not dead!"
"Such absurd power from an Impure World body?"
"Even reduced to dust, he can still be restored..."
Seeing the four clones of Hashirama, Shimoku wasn't surprised.
He muttered with a slight sigh.
If it weren't for the Impure World body, but instead a physical form,
That punch just now would've already sent Senju Hashirama to the grave.
What a pity indeed!
This Impure World body is truly effective against regular ninjutsu,
Except against Yin–Yang Release and sealing techniques.
Back then, if Lord Madara had been using an Impure World body, even Guy with his Eight Gates wouldn't stand a chance—he'd just flail around uselessly and die for nothing...
'It seems I'll have to use sealing techniques then?'
Shimoku stared at the Hashirama clones while sensing for their original body, secretly plotting his next move.
Trying to seal someone as powerful as Hashirama wouldn't be easy.
Only by completely defeating or trapping him would it work.
Otherwise, the sealing attempt would never succeed...
"Kid, you're truly strong!"
"You must have already reached the peak of the ninja world!"
"With strength like yours, please don't provoke war anymore! It will only cause more innocent deaths..."
One of the Hashirama clones quickly tried persuading again, activating its Kutogen technique.
Clearly, after that punch earlier,
Hashirama had already abandoned any idea of defeating this brat head-on.
What could he do?
He just couldn't win!
Meanwhile,
Shimoku, who was currently using Spirit Transformation Technique, finally sensed it too.
The four Hashiramans facing him were merely clones.
And the true original body was actually inside the massive Wood Release Daibutsu beneath them, slowly moving about...
Well I'll be damned! He actually hid his real body inside the giant Buddha?
Now he's playing it *way* too safe!
Where's that so-called [Ninja God] spirit? Where's the dignity of a great warrior?
How come he's even more cautious than me?
Shimoku mentally ranted furiously.
After all,
Now that the opponent had chosen this ultra-cautious approach, he'd become the one at a disadvantage.
He couldn't possibly keep activating the Eight Gates Formation every time, stacking buffs just to destroy this 'gigantic thousand-meter Buddha'?
Every time he used it, he'd suffer serious injuries!
And it hurts like crazy!
Plus, it couldn't even kill Hashirama, who possessed an Impure World body...
As Shimoku's gaze shifted toward the interior of the Daibutsu,
Hashirama hesitated momentarily, then calmly replied:
"You're sharp as ever!"
"Kid, it seems you've already realized my true self isn't here, but hidden within the Great Buddha."
"So stop already!"
"Don't continue fighting."
"There's no point going further..."
Shimoku sneered, deliberately taunting:
"I didn't expect the honorable First Hokage to have learned how to play hide-and-seek."
"This isn't worthy of the [Ninja God] reputation!"
With a sigh, Hashirama lamented:
"Kid, you've never experienced the warring states era filled with sins."
"In that age, to survive and achieve victory, anything was permissible..."
"That's not really something to blame me for."
"So stop now!"
"That last move of yours was indeed powerful!"
"Even I found it hard to resist..."
"But that must've been an explosive ultimate technique, right? It must have taken a heavy toll on your body too?"
"Can you really keep using it without limits?"
"Continuing this fight won't bring any good..."
"Let's both stop!"
Clearly, as one of the Warring States' Twin Great Heroes,
Hashirama wouldn't be easily provoked by just a few simple taunts.
He continued to firmly advocate for peace.
On the other hand, this was also a helpless move on his part.
After all, he was currently borrowing Yamato's body.
He had to take responsibility for that junior ninja.
The previous attack had already severely injured Yamato's physical form.
If there were a couple more attacks like that, Yamato would certainly die...
Therefore, Hashirama had no choice but to adopt this 'roundabout' tactic.
When he heard that, Shimoku realized.
In a situation where both sides' powers were not significantly different,
Facing an opponent determined to evade,
Relying solely on explosive ultimate moves,
It would be difficult to kill Hashirama.
Not to mention, the opponent possessed an Impure World body, which could only be sealed through Sealing Techniques...
This significantly increased the difficulty.
Right now, wanting to seal Hashirama again was nearly impossible.
Truly worthy of being one of the Warring States' Twin Great Heroes!
His 'cowardly evasion tactics' were actually deployed so boldly and masterfully!
"Hashirama Senju!"
"You're definitely hard to kill while hiding inside this great Buddha..."
"But remember, Konoha is right at your back! Just inches away!"
"I'll just destroy Konoha first! You can keep playing the head-in-the-sand ostrich!"
Shimoku sneered coldly.
His eyes brimming with overwhelming killing intent as he issued his threat bluntly.
He didn't believe that when confronted with the village he cherished the most,
Hashirama could still remain unmoved.
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