After undergoing intense training and refinement, Hashirama had fully grasped the techniques required to open the Eight Gates.
But in the end...
When it came down to physical constitution...
Yamato's body and his own remains were nowhere near comparable in quality.
One was like a ten, the other practically nine hundred and ninety-nine—light-years apart.
Using his own remains...
In theory, Hashirama could've opened that last gate without a problem—but unfortunately, the Death Gate had already vanished from the corpse, so there was no way to unlock it.
As for using Yamato's body...
At this moment, barely opening the Sixth Gate already placed immense strain on it.
In fact, Yamato with Six Gates open
was likely only equivalent to Hashirama's normal state.
The difference in their natural physique was simply too vast!
But inside this [Forbidden Barrier], which suppressed all ninjutsu and dojutsu,
this level of strength alone was more than enough.
Especially when significantly enhanced by [Sage Mode].
Though far from reaching Six Paths Level, it was still far superior to Madara at this moment.
After all, the Uchiha Clan had never been known for taijutsu.
Genjutsu and dojutsu were what they took pride in most...
On the other side,
when Obito saw Hashirama immediately unleash his power without hesitation,
feeling the sharp pressure radiating from dozens of meters away,
he couldn't help but feel his scalp tingle and his ass clench tight.
This wasn't his former teacher, the Fourth Hokage.
This was someone who could thrash Madara, who himself could easily defeat him—a true apex predator in the ninja food chain!
There's no way he wasn't sweating bullets!
"Get out."
"Go outside the barrier and try to destroy those pillars."
"Staying here is useless..."
Madara bluntly ordered him to leave.
Without the advantage of dojutsu, how much could Obito really contribute—he understood that perfectly.
Remaining here would only become a burden.
Upon hearing this, although Obito's face darkened,
he didn't hesitate even slightly.
Immediately activating [Kamui], he sucked himself into another dimension,
escaping this [Inverse Life Pure Realm].
In the blink of an eye, outside the barrier,
space twisted and Obito's figure reappeared.
He let out a startled whistle:
"What terrifying drain..."
Inside the barrier, he had used [Kamui] just once, yet nearly half his ocular power had already been siphoned away.
If he'd stayed any longer,
his chakra would've been completely drained—leaving him unable to sustain his Mangekyō Sharingan.
At that point, even if Hashirama simply let out a fart,
it might be enough to blow him to pieces!
Better to escape first and stay safe.
If Madara wanted to play with death, he certainly didn't want to die alongside him.
Moreover, as Madara said,
even from outside the barrier, he could still support Madara,
and attempt to destroy these eight divine trees to dismantle the barrier.
That was definitely better than staying inside, waiting helplessly to be captured.
...
Right now, watching Obito actually escape,
Tobirama grew anxious too, unable to stop himself from urging:
"Elder Brother, act quickly!"
"That masked brat's ocular technique appears to manipulate space-time. Don't let him activate it again and rescue Madara..."
Truthfully, Tobirama hadn't expected this either.
Obito's dojutsu was in fact a rare form of Space–Time Ninjutsu!
Indeed, this was really troublesome!
"I understand."
Hashirama acknowledged and immediately launched an attack.
In a flash, he shot forward like lightning, dashing toward Lord Madara.
They collided, unleashing a thunderous explosion!
The tremendous shockwave could easily rupture a person's eardrums.
Fortunately, right now within the barrier were only the two of them; no innocents would get hurt.
After their first clash,
Madara straightforwardly went flying backward.
Crashing hard against the inner wall of the barrier.
Deprived of his [Susanoo] as defense, in pure hand-to-hand combat, there was no way he could rival Hashirama at this moment.
Although back then, he'd had plenty of duels with Hashirama.
But during those times, Hashirama definitely wouldn't casually activate [Sage Mode], let alone use [Eight Gates]!
Times have changed!
Encouraged by that bastard Tobirama, Hashirama has indeed become more ruthless!
Even so—
Lord Madara suddenly felt regret for having given his [Uchiha Flame War Fan] to the kid, Shimoku.
Otherwise, if he still possessed a divine artifact in hand,
When facing Hashirama's fierce assault just now, he wouldn't appear so helpless...
"Puh!"
Lord Madara spat out a mouthful of blood but remained spirited.
"So this must be a directional barrier jutsu; it's difficult to break from inside, huh?"
"Damn you, Tobirama, you beast!"
"You've calculated things well indeed!"
"But this suits me perfectly."
"Come on, Hashirama! Let's keep clashing!"
Lord Madara let out a mad laugh, unflinching.
He even took the initiative to strike first.
Clashing fiercely with Hashirama once again.
Despite knowing that Hashirama currently held overwhelming strength over him,
This advantage wasn't nearly as great as when Hashirama previously forced open seven gates, reaching Six Paths Level power.
There was no way Hashirama could completely overpower him directly.
Therefore, even if Hashirama wanted to defeat him, victory wouldn't come through just one or two blows.
Moreover, infused with Hashirama's cells, Lord Madara's natural healing ability was incredibly powerful.
Though this barrier suppressed ninjutsu,
It couldn't suppress his natural regenerative abilities.
It was clear that this deadly clash had just begun!
...
Meanwhile, outside the barrier,
Tobirama also needed both hands forming seals to maintain this forbidden barrier jutsu, unable to move away.
Let alone—
He must also direct everyone outside the barrier to protect the eight Divine Trees.
After all, when he originally designed this forbidden technique,
His mind focused solely on how to enhance control?
How to strengthen internal defensive power to prevent Madara from escaping!
Never anticipating that Obito could use his Space–Time dojutsu to break free and escape outward instantly.
And from the outside, launch attacks against the eight Divine Trees.
"Guy, Kazekage, quickly stop that guy!"
"The rest of you, assist those two!"
"Under no circumstances should you allow that guy to destroy the Divine Trees!"
"This is our sole opportunity to eliminate Uchiha Madara!"
Tobirama shouted loudly while directing.
Upon hearing this, Might Guy didn't hesitate in the slightest.
Immediately forcing open the sixth gate of [Eight Gates].
A massive cyan vortex exploded around his entire body as he soared skyward, charging straight toward the distant Obito.
Meanwhile, the Fourth Kazekage Rasa hesitated for a moment.
In the end, he still decided to assist Konoha.
After all, according to Sunagakure's ancestral records,
if Hashirama were in power, the Five Great Hidden Villages could still coexist peacefully.
But if that evil "War God of the Ninja World," Madara Uchiha won, the other Hidden Villages would surely perish without exception!
Therefore, they could only side with Konoha now...
Thinking thus, Rasa immediately took action.
His Gold Dust wasn't fast enough to catch someone elusive like Obito,
but as a defense,
it worked well when spread over several Divine Trees.
It greatly weakened Obito's attacks and strengthened the trees' defensive capabilities.
...
"Frustrating nuisances! Damn, this is so annoying!"
Obito maneuvered around while launching ninjutsu at the Divine Trees.
Without exception, however,
they were all blocked by the Konoha ninja.
Even if the rare technique managed to land on the Divine Trees,
their power had mostly been weakened by the Fourth Kazekage's Gold Dust, making it impossible to damage the trees.
Moreover, since these eight Divine Trees had the ability to drain chakra forcefully,
Obito dared not touch them directly with his real body.
Otherwise,
he might end up failing to destroy them and instead have his own chakra siphoned dry.
That'd be like throwing meat buns at a dog — there's no coming back...
Additionally,
he also had to constantly watch out for that green-clad guy.
Might Guy, after opening the Six Gates, had become incredibly powerful!
Although Obito possessed Intangibility as a passive skill, making him largely unafraid of Guy's taijutsu,
when casting jutsu,
his mouth and hands inevitably needed to materialize, didn't they?
If Guy seized the opportunity and landed a kick,
it might very well leave him severely injured.
Thus, he was forced to divert much attention toward avoiding Guy's attacks,
further slowing his assault on the eight Divine Trees.
Continuing like this,
there was no way he could destroy this barrier in a short time!
Moreover, The Lord Madara inside the barrier won't hold out much longer either.
Then maybe...
it's time to fall back?
After all, if Madara dies, isn't that exactly what I wanted?
As long as he himself survived, there would always be another chance to complete the Eye of the Moon Plan!
A sinister thought quietly rose within Obito's heart.
Truthfully, their relationship had always been one of mutual exploitation.
They never shared any real bond.
Betraying the other wouldn't cause him any pain whatsoever...
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