The colossal Susanoo swung its massive blade, cleaving a ravine into the battlefield. The blade light didn't fade—it continued forward, crashing straight toward the Wood Golem.
The Wood Golem raised its thick arms, catching the strike head-on. Even so, a deep gash formed across its wooden limbs.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!!"
A roaring inferno erupted from Madara, far stronger than any Fire Release he had used earlier. Heat distorted the landscape, and smoke boiled upward.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
A vortex of water surged upward from Hashirama's side, forming a towering barrier to block the flames.
The watching shinobi were overwhelmed.
Even Mei Terumī felt a sting to her pride.
I'm the Mizukage… why is Senju Hashirama better at Water Release than me?
But for shinobi of this caliber—Hashirama, Madara, the legends of old—it was only natural. Shinobi of their level had long mastered all five basic chakra natures, and their chakra reserves seemed nearly bottomless.
"Wood Release: Wood Spikes!"
Countless sharpened wooden lances materialized midair, dense with devastating chakra, and rained down upon the Susanoo like a storm of spears.
Under the overwhelming barrage, the Susanoo shattered.
Madara formed hand signs instantly—five clones materialized, and each one manifested its own Perfect Susanoo.
"Yasaka Magatama!"
Five discs of spinning chakra shot forward, pulverizing the Wood Golem into splinters.
Hashirama didn't hesitate. His hands clapped together.
"Sage Art: Wood Release — True Several Thousand Hands!!"
The earth ruptured.
A colossal wooden Buddha, towering and divine, rose from the ground—its many hands spreading outward like a thousand-armed deity.
Madara's lips twitched. As Hashirama's eternal rival, he knew this technique far too well. He had been crushed under these hands more times than he cared to remember.
His Susanoo lifted into the sky, unleashing countless sword slashes at the massive Buddha.
But the True Several Thousand Hands was an ultimate Sage Art—the attacks only destroyed a few hundred hands.
In return, hundreds more giant palms swung downward.
Madara countered with a massive Fire Release combination technique. Flames engulfed the battlefield, smoke thickening the air as explosions thundered.
The Susanoo's chakra blade carved through the Buddha's arms, destroying hundreds more hands. But the backlash struck the Susanoo's chest—its chakra sternum cracked and then shattered completely. Under the rain of colossal blows, the Susanoo dissolved into fading sparks.
Madara clicked his tongue.
Troublesome… Who starts a fight by spamming their ultimate techniques right away?
Another massive fist descended from the Buddha. Madara blurred out of the way.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!!"
Thick roots erupted from the ground in a tidal wave, entangling the giant Buddha's limbs. Using the opening, Madara appeared directly in front of Hashirama and kicked him clean off the Buddha's head.
He followed immediately, tackling Hashirama downward.
Boom!!!
They crashed into the ground, the height meaningless to shinobi of their level.
Then the real fight began.
Their Taijutsu clashed violently, each blow a shockwave. Their speed, precision, and technique were unmatched. Even among the Five Kage, few could match either of them in pure Taijutsu.
Weapons flashed into their hands, sparks flying as blades collided.
"Hashirama!!"
"Madara!!"
Dozens of clashes resounded in the space of a heartbeat.
Madara inhaled sharply and then—
"Fire Release!!"
Flames erupted from his mouth.
Hashirama instantly wrapped himself in Wood Release: Hobi Technique, his strongest defensive Wood Release, capable of withstanding even a Tailed Beast Ball. Against Madara's current attack, it was absolute overkill.
But Hashirama had no intention of merely defending.
When the Hobi Technique opened, Hashirama was gone.
The earth behind Madara split open quietly.
A massive wooden limb burst out, binding Madara—and a sharp wooden blade swung down toward him—
Bang!!
White smoke exploded.
A Substitution Technique. Simple, fundamental… yet perfectly timed.
Madara reappeared several steps away. Although Hashirama could have used many other methods, he had chosen the most basic—and most unexpected—option.
This was why Madara respected him.
Despite Hashirama's goofy, carefree personality…
his combat instincts were unmatched.
His ability to read, react, and adapt in battle was unparalleled.
Even Madara, with all his pride, acknowledged it.
Both men were natural-born prodigies, masters of Ninjutsu and combat instinct.
Through the rolling smoke, Madara's Sharingan gleamed. Countless shuriken shot forth—yet Hashirama saw every trajectory, intercepting them all. In the next instant, Hashirama appeared in front of Madara, blade slicing toward Madara's neck. Madara simply tilted his head, avoiding the strike, and countered with a sweeping hand.
No blood spilled.
Of course not—both were fighting in Edo Tensei bodies.
Hashirama's form then split apart—revealing it to be a Wood Clone.
Behind Madara, a massive Wood Dragon rose from the shattered earth, Hashirama standing atop its head. The dragon opened its maw, unleashing a torrent of chakra. Around Madara, a blue skeletal structure formed—the beginning of Susanoo. In mere moments, the complete Susanoo manifested.
The watching shinobi were awestruck. Compared to this duel, Madara's earlier battle against them had been nothing.
Back then, Madara had been toying with them.
He hadn't used his Perfect Susanoo.
He hadn't exerted himself.
He hadn't even been serious.
A casual strike from either Hashirama or Madara carried the destructive force of an S-Rank Ninjutsu.
The Wood Dragon's tail swung horizontally, smashing into Susanoo. Susanoo's blade immediately pierced the Wood Dragon's skull—but the dragon, being constructed from Hashirama's Wood Release, did not die. Its massive tail lashed again, striking Susanoo's ankle.
A living creature would have been instantly crippled.
Madara was caught off-guard and toppled from the sky, crashing into the ground. But with a flap of Susanoo's wing-like chakra plates, he glided thousands of meters away, barely escaping Hashirama's next strike.
"Hashirama!!"
Madara's voice shook with exhilaration.
"It's been so long! This feeling—this thrill—I've missed it!!"
He prepared to launch himself forward again—but a thunderous roar tore across the sky.
Madara froze.
Hashirama stopped as well.
All shinobi across the battlefield turned toward the distant horizon.
An ominous pressure washed over them, primal and suffocating—like sensing a predator at the top of the food chain.
"What… was that?"
Someone whispered, trembling.
Madara's expression sharpened, turning grim.
"Hashirama… it seems we must end our battle here."
In a flash, Madara appeared before Hashirama, grabbing his shoulder. A powerful suction force erupted—Madara directly absorbed Hashirama's Sage Art chakra.
With the Rinnegan glowing, Madara unleashed a Genjutsu. And with the Rinnegan's power behind it, even the First Hokage was momentarily caught.
"Farewell, everyone!"
Madara sneered—
—and his entire body turned into wood.
Bang.
He vanished.
"W-What?!"
Many shinobi were stunned speechless.
Uchiha Madara—who had fought Hashirama so fiercely—had been nothing more than a wood clone the entire time.
Hashirama alone looked toward the spot where Madara disappeared, murmuring softly:
"Madara… it seems you truly have surpassed me."
There was no bitterness in his voice—only a faint smile.
He then turned his gaze toward the distant horizon, where he sensed a terrifying chakra signature.
A Tailed Beast.
No… something far worse.