Izuna had only been guessing that Hashirama could still awaken the Wood Golem Jutsu.
No one knew he'd lost the Two-Tails.
Since Hashirama had dared to take the offensive, he had to have some confidence in dealing with Izuna. The most likely answer was the Wood Golem Jutsu.
Even so, the man's rate of growth was still jaw-dropping. Across all of Naruto, aside from those two blatant cheaters—Naruto and Sasuke—who else could compare?
Bzzzz—
A grating hum rose as Susanoo drew the two longswords from the scabbards at its waist.
For a moment, just the swords clearing their sheaths unleashed a wild wind that made both armies struggle to keep their footing.
"This isn't a place suited for the two of us to fight," Hashirama shouted at once, his expression tightening the instant Susanoo drew steel. "Izuna, you don't like the idea of the defensive base you worked so hard to build getting destroyed, do you?"
"I was thinking the same thing," Izuna replied.
Susanoo moved. One step carried it more than half a li.
The wood golem moved at the same time, striding to the side. In the blink of an eye, the two monsters had already withdrawn several li.
Watching those two gigantic shadows recede, Uchiha Enka—ordered by Izuna to keep a close eye on Senju Tobirama—was the first to snap back to himself.
"Attack!" he bellowed. "Make sure these Senju bastards don't make it out alive!"
"Ohhh!!"
On Hundred-Li Stonecastle, the Uchiha ninja roared back, raising their arms as they unleashed ninjutsu.
A new wave of attacks descended like heavenly fire upon a burning city.
"Re-form the lines and meet them head-on!" Senju Tobirama shouted.
The Senju recovered in an instant, forcing Izuna and Hashirama's duel out of their minds for the time being.
Their job was simple: take Hundred-Li Stonecastle.
...
It wasn't until they had retreated to a coastal region where even the silhouette of Congyun Mountain had vanished that Izuna and Hashirama came to a stop, as if by unspoken agreement.
But the moment Izuna's feet stilled, Susanoo twisted its wrist.
The blade came howling in, as if it meant to cleave space itself—an incomparable force bearing down.
Hashirama wasn't like Izuna, whose body was shielded behind a defensive wall. The storm driven by the sword pressure tore at his cheeks until his skin stung.
"Wood Dragon Jutsu!"
Compared to the Wood Dragons he used to summon, this one was at least 10 times larger.
The Wood Dragon Jutsu on the wood golem's back shot forward and clamped its jaws around the onrushing edge.
After absorbing chakra, branches burst from the Wood Dragon's body. It flowered and spread leaves, swelling without end until it became a forest.
That was the terror of Wood Dragon Jutsu.
The instant it made contact, it devoured the opponent's chakra completely, turning it into nourishment. In the end, it became a natural wooden prison that locked the enemy inside.
But...
Izuna poured on more power. One slash pulverized the forest the Wood Dragon had spawned, and the sword kept coming, cutting straight for Hashirama.
Absorb chakra all you want—my strike still lands!
"Raaah!" Hashirama brought his hands together. The wood golem's left fist erupted with chakra like molten gold, then swung up to smash into Susanoo's sword.
A blade that could split mountain ranges, and a furious fist that could crack the earth, collided in midair.
The shockwave kicked up a tsunami, tore open the ground, and reduced the surrounding forests to splinters in an instant.
If anything, calling this a battle between 3,000 Uchiha and a 7,000-strong Senju alliance was misleading.
This was Izuna versus Hashirama.
Once either of them defeated the other, there would be almost no one left on the losing side who could stop the victor.
They could steamroll their way to victory.
Yes. Having surpassed the limits of ninja, they could be this unreasonable.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The thunderous impacts rolled outward. Even though no one could see their silhouettes anymore, they could still guess how fierce the clash was from the shifting flow of clouds overhead and the faint tremor underfoot.
"This is..." Senju Unkan gaped as he hurriedly used Earth Release to block the Great Dragon Flame Song plunging down from above. "Is this something a human can reach?"
"Between Uchiha Izuna and Lord Hashirama, whoever wins will decide 80% of this war," Senju Tobirama said coldly.
"But we can't rely on Lord Hashirama for everything. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Tobirama-sama—we understand!" the Senju shouted back.
"Attack!!"
Tobirama's roar rang out again.
...
Bzzzt!
The coastal battle continued.
Izuna controlled the Perfect Susanoo as it whirled both swords, his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan spinning violently.
He crossed the blades into an X and slammed them down in a brutal cleaving strike, aiming straight for Hashirama atop the wood golem's head.
Smack!
Hashirama refused to yield. He brought his hands together again.
Behind the wood golem, a new Wood Dragon Jutsu grew, roaring as it thrust out from the rear to rise above Susanoo and block the blow for Hashirama.
"Raaah!"
Hashirama drove the wood golem's right fist forward, smashing it hard into Susanoo's abdomen.
Thoom!!
The dull impact made Izuna's body, inside the crystal on Susanoo's brow, lurch violently—but he forced Susanoo to hold its ground, not giving an inch.
"Graaaah!"
In a battle this intense, even Izuna couldn't keep the exhilaration from flooding his blood. With a furious shout, Susanoo lifted its right leg and snapped a side kick into the wood golem's left waist.
The wood golem flipped backward, slamming down across beach and sea, kicking up a massive cloud of sand and a wall of spray.
Izuna pressed his advantage, charging in and bringing his sword down.
"Wood Release: Hōbi Technique!"
Hashirama formed a hand seal Izuna had never seen before.
Crack-crack!!
On both sides of the wood golem, two enormous demon faces rose from the beach. They met midway and fused into a single demonic-face shield.
Boom!!!
The blade fell, a tempest swept out—and yet it didn't so much as scratch that demon-faced shield.
"So this is the Hōbi Technique that can even block a Tailed Beast Bomb?" Izuna said in a low voice.
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From behind the demon face came Hashirama's next roar.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Bloom!"
The earth shuddered. Giant vines surged up in a frenzy, and flower buds blossomed one after another, opening at blinding speed as they released pale yellow pollen.
Hashirama... Deep Forest Bloom is even faster than before. Izuna's annoyance flared, then he smiled. But don't think I'm easy prey.
Susanoo's right hand drove the sword into the ground.
Its palm opened. Izuna poured chakra into the blade.
"Sage Art: Super Wind Release Rasenshuriken!"
It was more than 100 times larger than a normal Rasenshuriken. Launched through Susanoo's body, this super Rasenshuriken was enough to be called the strongest Wind Release ninjutsu of the age.
"Take this, Hashirama!"
He hurled it, and it slammed into the Hōbi Technique.
Whether it broke through the defense or not, the explosion of wind blades would blow the pollen away and shred Deep Forest Bloom to nothing!
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