The moonlight outside Konoha Village was as cold as a freshly polished kunai, resting silently against the throat of the earth.
A complex scent filled the air; the smell of blood had faded but not yet vanished, mixing with the scorched aroma of burnt wood. There was also a strange lingering aura—the residue of a violent collision between overflowing life force and destructive energy, the battlefield's aftermath of Wood Release clashing with Fire Release and the Susanoo.
A tall yet hunched figure moved step by step from the direction of the Valley of the End. His footsteps were heavy, not like those of a victor returning in glory, but like a man dragging invisible shackles. Every step sank into the soft soil that had been plowed over several times by jutsu.
On his back, he carried a massive sealing scroll. Its surface rippled with dark red, violent chakra surging within—sealed inside was the Nine-Tails, currently recognized as the strongest Tailed Beast in the Ninja World.
He had originally thought about riding the beast back. With him there, the Nine-Tails couldn't hurt anyone. But on second thought, the creature was too large; it might crush the newly paved stone paths of the village or trample someone's carefully tended garden, which wouldn't be right.
This man was Senju Hashirama.
His body, in its prime, should have been as upright as a pine tree, but now his back was slightly bowed. No obvious wounds were visible, but a thick, inescapable sense of exhaustion and decline radiated from every pore. It wasn't an injury; it was as if something deep within had been hollowed out—the aftermath of a catastrophe that had consumed all his energy, spirit, and lifelong convictions.
In his mind, the final scenes at the Valley of the End replayed like a rotating lantern. The stubbornness and finality in his best friend's Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, and the reflection of the Konoha stone faces in his friend's dilated pupils as he collapsed in Hashirama's arms.
For the sake of their shared dream, he had personally killed the person who first understood that dream and once chased it alongside him. This thought was like a poisoned wedge driven into the center of his heart, each beat bringing a suffocating throb of pain.
Finally, he reached the gates of the Senju Clan compound.
The clansmen had already gathered in a dark mass, lanterns in hand forming a sea of light that forced the night back several yards. The moment they saw Hashirama, the noisy chatter stopped instantly. Everyone instinctively straightened their backs, their eyes a mix of awe, worship, and an undisguised fervor.
Hashirama slowly raised his head and swept his gaze over them. His eyes were hollow, lacking the light a winner should have, replaced only by a bottomless fatigue. He said nothing. He reached back, roughly tore off the restless sealing scroll, and tossed it toward the red-haired figure at the front of the crowd.
"Mito, find a way to seal this thing."
Uzumaki Mito—a woman with vibrant red hair and a gentle yet strong temperament—caught the scroll steadily. As her fingertips touched the seal, her brow furrowed imperceptibly.
"Brother!"
Senju Tobirama rushed forward. His usually calm and composed face was now filled with anxiety. Ignoring formalities, he grabbed Hashirama's arm, his sensory perception acting like a precise probe, instantly scanning his elder brother's body.
The more he sensed, the more grave his expression became.
Physical injuries? Almost none. But the cell activity within Hashirama's body was terrifyingly low! The chakra flow was stagnant, as if a rushing river had suddenly turned into a stream about to dry up. This wasn't a triumphant return; it was a sign of a lamp running out of oil, a total exhaustion of life force!
But now was not the time to ask about injuries. Tobirama suppressed the storm in his heart and asked the most critical question, one that could affect the entire Ninja World.
"What about Uchiha Madara?"
Hashirama lowered his eyelids, his long lashes casting a shadow that hid all emotion. He remained silent for a full thirty seconds, the silence so heavy the air seemed to solidify. Finally, his throat moved, and he spat out two words, the frustration and pain in his voice almost tangible.
"...Dead."
"I... killed him with my own hands."
The moment the words fell, Tobirama's figure vanished with a "shoo," turning into an afterimage as he raced toward the Valley of the End. He had to confirm Madara's body with his own eyes! That man was too terrifying; even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, he could not leave any hidden danger!
As for the clansmen, after clearly hearing "Uchiha Madara is dead," they froze for a moment as if they couldn't believe their ears, and then—
"Long live the Clan Leader!!"
Someone screamed it out first, and then a mountain-shaking cheer erupted like a long-suppressed volcano, echoing wildly over the compound.
In the midst of the deafening cheers, Hashirama's face grew even paler. A look of near agony appeared on his face. His lips moved, and in a voice that wasn't loud but reached everyone's ears clearly, he responded:
"Long live... Konoha."
For Konoha, he had personally severed his only and most important bond. The taste of this "victory" was so bitter it made him want to vomit.
He glanced at Mito, who was fully focused on studying the Nine-Tails scroll, oblivious to the thunderous cheers around her. He waved his hand weakly, his voice exhausted.
"I'm tired. I'm going back to rest."
Mito didn't look up; she knew how freakish Hashirama's recovery abilities were. She simply gave a soft "Mm." Her entire attention was focused on how to safely handle the "ticking bomb" in her hands.
The clansmen automatically parted to create a wide path, watching the figure—somewhat stumbling now but still as reassuring as a mountain—walk into the largest wooden house. The awe in their eyes didn't diminish because of his disheveled state; instead, it deepened.
No matter his condition, he was the backbone of the Senju Clan, the God of Shinobi who settled the chaotic era. That majesty was already engraved into everyone's bones.
A while later, at an exercise field on the edge of the compound that had been specifically cleared.
Mito's hands moved like butterflies weaving through flowers as she formed complex hand signs, chanting ancient sealing incantations. As the final syllable fell, she slammed the scroll onto the ground!
"Release!"
Crack!
The scroll unrolled automatically, the seals on it moving frantically as if alive. A pillar of dark red chakra, terrifying to the extreme, shot into the sky, accompanied by a roar filled with endless violence and hatred that shook all of Konoha!
"ROAR—!!!"
A massive orange figure suddenly manifested, nine giant tails dancing wildly like burning flames, kicking up a hurricane. The Nine-Tails howled at the sky, its vertical pupils filled with the desire to destroy everything. The sound waves were visible to the naked eye, making the surrounding trees rattle and leaves fall.
It, the strongest Tailed Beast in the Ninja World, was free again!
But the next second, it seemed to remember something. Those "violent" vertical pupils suddenly shrank, and its fur stood on end.
Memories flooded back—that long-haired ninja who looked a bit dazed had actually used one hand to seal it with ease.
At this thought, the Nine-Tails' eyes, full of "worldly wisdom," quickly and vigilantly scanned the surroundings. None! The long-haired idiot was nowhere to be seen!
Could it be... he and that stone-faced man killed each other?
Thinking of this, the violence that had been suppressed by fear resurfaced in the Nine-Tails' eyes, becoming even more arrogant. It was the Nine-Tails; it could never admit to being psychologically traumatized! Now, it had to run wild and re-establish its dignity as the strongest Tailed Beast!
"ROAR—!"
"Ants, feel the wrath of this Great One!"
It let out another soul-shaking roar. A giant claw rose high, carrying the momentum to crush mountains, and slammed down on the ground. The earth exploded, rocks and dirt splashing dozens of meters high. It held its head high, looking down on those tiny humans with an arrogant "I'm second only to God" expression.
On the edge of the crowd not far away, Senju Makoto had changed into clean clothes. He was eating a watermelon he'd "borrowed" from someone's house, watching the Nine-Tails' "I'm the boss again" performance, and couldn't help but shake his head.
In the future, the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, would have to pay with his life to seal the strongest Tailed Beast. But in front of Senju Hashirama, it was just a slightly larger Haji Cat.
Even after a passionate life-and-death struggle with Madara, and in a state where he wasn't at his best, Hashirama had still held back massively, using only one hand to handle the Nine-Tails. This was the man known as "Big Pillar" and the "Little Divine Tree," Senju Hashirama. His combat value was at the absolute ceiling.
Thinking of this, Makoto's gaze shifted to Uzumaki Mito nearby. This was a formidable woman who could host high-intensity Hashirama cells for years and remain unharmed. Her constitution and strength were also at the absolute top tier.
If the Nine-Tails acted up now, it would get slapped twice for every three steps it took.
Inside the wooden house, Hashirama leaned against a tatami mat. His eyes were closed, but his brow was tightly furrowed. The arrogant "awoo-awoo" howling of the Nine-Tails outside buzzed in his ears like a fly, making his already chaotic mind even more irritable.
He didn't even bother to open his eyes fully, nor did he stand up to go outside. He just lay there, clapped his hands together, and whispered: "Wood Human Technique!"
BOOM—!!!
The ground shook violently without warning, as if some gargantuan creature was waking from a deep sleep.
The open ground in front of the Nine-Tails suddenly bulged and cracked! A colossal wooden figure, reaching the sky, rose from the earth. The Wood Human's eyes, carved from timber, were indifferent and lightless, locking onto the Nine-Tails below as if looking at an ant.
The Nine-Tails' roar stopped abruptly. Its vertical pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks!
Before it could react, the Wood Human raised a giant palm like a small mountain. With the sound of wind that crushed everything, it delivered a simple, unadorned, but lightning-fast massive slap to the Nine-Tails' huge head.
SLAP—!
The crisp, loud sound of the slap even drowned out all the previous roars and explosions...
The massive force sent the Nine-Tails' head snapping to the side, its neck bones making a tooth-aching "creak." Its huge body was completely out of control, flying like a torn sack and slamming hard into the ground with a thundering crash.
Dust shot into the sky, and a bottomless pit appeared where it landed.
The Nine-Tails shook its head dizzily, seeing stars. All its arrogant thoughts were slapped clean out of its head. Its eyes instantly became "pure" and "wise," even carrying a hint of bewilderment.
Looking at the indifferent Wood Human before it, it felt like it was seeing that long-haired idiot again—the one who sealed it while mumbling, "You're too strong."
Resist? That option was completely deleted from its intelligent brain.
It gave up struggling entirely, sprawling in the giant pit and letting the dust settle on its magnificent fur. A wave of immense grievance and indignation surged in its heart, making it let out a roar of blood and tears toward the sky.
"In front of you, just how strong am I!?"
"And Uchiha Madara, that naturally evil stone-face, I hate you!"
Who did it even provoke!?
It was sleeping soundly in the wild, having a beautiful dream, when that stone-face named Uchiha Madara showed up and said it was in the way. It was the Great Nine-Tails, the strongest Tailed Beast in the Ninja World; didn't it need to maintain its dignity? Of course, it had to roar back to show its strength.
The result? That stone-face man said nothing, swung the Susanoo, and gave it a fat beating until it lost its temper, then dragged it along like a dog to a fight.
Fine, a fight is a fight, but the opponent was this long-haired idiot who kept saying, "Ah, you're so strong...", then suppressed it with one hand.
"Strong my ass!"
Hashirama, controlling the Wood Human, reached out a giant hand and precisely grabbed the scruff of the Nine-Tails' neck, like picking up a disobedient Haji Cat.
Then, he simply dragged the cursing, non-resisting Nine-Tails with thundering steps toward the uninhabited area in the back mountains of the compound.
The Nine-Tails lay flat on the ground like a giant fox rug that had lost its dreams. From its crimson vertical pupils, two lines of clear, moonlight-glistening tears slowly and humblingly flowed.
Its dignity and its pride as the strongest Tailed Beast had been trampled into the mud by these two men over the past few days, crushed until not even dust remained.
A moment later, Senju Makoto wandered to the edge of the back mountain.
He saw the Nine-Tails, which had been so overbearing just moments ago, now with a wooden "collar" around its neck. A thick wooden chain tethered it to the ankle of the silently standing Wood Human.
The Nine-Tails looked like it had given up on life, burying its head in its front paws. Only its massive back rose and fell, with an occasional muffled curse coming from it.
Seeing this, Makoto looked at the distant wooden house, still lit with a dim yellow light and eerily quiet.
He rubbed his chin, a light of contemplation flashing in his eyes...