Inside the Hidden Rain Village.
"Madara! This guy is really strong! Hahahaha!" Standing on the shoulder of a Wood Golem clad in purple armor, the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama, laughed heartily at the Uchiha Clan's "strongest" representative, Uchiha Madara.
"Tsk... we teamed up and still haven't defeated this junior. What are you laughing at?" Madara looked utterly speechless at his one-track-minded teammate. "If it weren't for the controller of this Impure World Reincarnation ordering us to fight this 'Great Enemy of the Ninja World,' I'd have fought you first."
Madara held the hand signs to release the contract of the Impure World Reincarnation and could easily escape Orochimaru's control. However, he knew the later stages of his plan hadn't arrived yet, and Orochimaru had described Number Two and the other Reincarnators as "Great Enemies of the Ninja World"...
So, Madara simply went along with it without performing the release seal.
"Don't say that, Madara!" Senju Hashirama laughed, repeatedly slapping Madara's shoulder.
"Hashirama, here he comes!" Madara reminded him with a cold face.
Hashirama immediately dropped his playful expression, for he too sensed the opponent's attack.
"Super Large — Split Chain Opening!" Number Two's voice echoed from below.
Suddenly, a colossal zipper opening—matching the size of the mountain-like Wood Golem—manifested in front of it. The interior was a swirling void of illusory chaos, surging forward to engulf the golem.
"Watch out, Hashirama. Any attack that enters the zipper will be teleported away. It might even be redirected at us from another opening, so try to dodge," Madara said calmly, crossing his arms.
"I know, I know, Madara. You don't need to tell me," Senju Hashirama said, waving a hand.
"If you actually knew, the previous Wood Golem wouldn't have been hacked to death by its own blade," Madara retorted.
"Haha, well, I learned my lesson..." Hashirama gave a sheepish laugh.
Immediately, he controlled the Wood Golem to shift rapidly to the side, attempting to evade the zipper.
However, as Number Two pulled the slider at the edge of the opening, the massive zipper suddenly tilted and swept horizontally toward the Wood Golem.
"He's fast, Madara!" Looking at the closing zipper, Hashirama realized the Wood Golem's movement speed wasn't enough to dodge it.
After all, objects of such massive size were inevitably slower. Number Two's zipper attack, however, was significantly faster.
"Move." Without another word, Madara flickered away from the Wood Golem's shoulder.
"Wait for me, Madara!" Hashirama followed suit.
Once the two controllers left, the Wood Golem was predictably swallowed by the zipper.
"Close." Since maintaining such a large opening consumed a significant amount of power, Number Two waved his hand to seal the gap.
In an instant, the battle in the Hidden Rain Village returned to a clash in human forms.
"Looks like we can't keep playing around like that, Madara! Hahahaha!" Senju Hashirama stood on the ground with his hands on his hips, laughing. He actually quite enjoyed the idea of the two of them teaming up to pilot "Gundams" to crush people.
"Humph." Uchiha Madara wore an expression that suggested he was embarrassed to be seen with him.
"By the way, how should we defeat this junior... We're getting pressured even while working together," Senju Hashirama said to Madara while looking at Number Two.
"I don't know," Madara replied.
[Two seniors, you are in Impure World Reincarnation bodies and possess near-infinite chakra; use it to continue wearing down the enemy.]
As the user of the Impure World Reincarnation, Orochimaru's message surfaced in their minds.
"The junior who resurrected us makes a good point! Though it is a bit underhanded, hahaha!" Hashirama's smile never faded.
"Hmph... What he means is that the two of us can't beat that kid over there, so we can only rely on this method to fight." Madara's expression was clearly one of annoyance. This feeling of being underestimated made him somewhat unhappy.
Yet, it felt accurate. He and Hashirama—the only rival he acknowledged—had used their combined secret technique to coat the Wood Golem in Susanoo armor twice, only for it to be easily neutralized. Right now, he truly didn't have a solid plan against this "zipper brat."
"But the problem is that the opponent seems to be waiting for someone. If we just wear him down, we might just be stalling until his teammates arrive," Hashirama noted.
"Then let's just go two-on-one," Madara said decisively.
In the next moment, he led the charge, his chakra surging as he rushed toward Number Two. Following him, Hashirama activated Sage Mode within his resurrected body. Strange markings emerged on his face.
He clapped his hands together.
"Sage Art: Gracious Deity Gates!"
The ninjutsu, empowered by Sage chakra, was unleashed instantly. Massive red torii gates fell from the sky, crashing toward Number Two.
However, any long-range ninjutsu within Number Two's reaction range was difficult to land. He flicked his finger upward, opening a zipper above him, letting the gates crash into the illusory chaos within the void.
"Stop using ninjutsu from a distance, Hashirama!" Madara shouted as he closed in on Number Two. He intended to engage in close-quarters combat, using taijutsu and ninjutsu to subdue the opponent.
Number Two naturally perceived his intent, but he didn't show the slightest panic. Flicking his finger forward gently, another zipper appeared out of thin air.
Madara frowned slightly.
'What is he trying to do?'
In the next instant, the Gracious Deity Gates that Hashirama had just released shot out of the zipper, flying toward Madara at extreme speed.
What?
Madara was momentarily stunned. This zipper couldn't just teleport attacks; it could even temporarily store them and release them later? Only then did he realize the versatility of the zippers.
This is bad...
Madara felt a surge of unease. Hashirama's Gracious Deity Gates were sealing jutsu with powerful binding effects. They could suppress even those in Impure World Reincarnation bodies and could even block the flow of chakra.
Madara had no desire to get hit by it.
"Susanoo!"
The massive, blue samurai figure rose from the ground. However, the moment the gates touched the Susanoo, they disrupted its chakra flow, causing it to dissipate.
But this allowed Madara to buy a small amount of time.
Body Flicker Technique.
Madara's speed suddenly spiked as his figure flashed to another location. In the distance, the corners of Number Two's mouth curled up. It seemed Madara's evasion was exactly as he had predicted.
"Expand..." Number Two whispered.
An inconspicuous zipper at the edge of the flying red torii gates suddenly expanded, completely enveloping the gate.
Whoosh—
A sudden gust of wind came from behind Madara. It was the gate released by Number Two through a zipper he had placed in the Hidden Rain Village beforehand.
Behind me...
Madara realized it, but although his resurrected body gave him infinite chakra, its reaction speed was still a step slower than his original body.
Bang!
Madara's body was slammed by the torii gate, pinning him firmly to a wall. He was unable to move. All of this happened in the blink of an eye. It was too fast to react to!
Having witnessed the entire scene, Senju Hashirama couldn't help but scratch his head.
'Did I just screw over Madara?'
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