Yuto understood Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama's personalities. Similarly, Uchiha Madara naturally knew the personalities of Senju Hashirama and Yuto.
Don't want to be discovered? A cold smile suddenly appeared on Uchiha Madara's lips. Recently, the entire shinobi world had been turbulent, especially with the constant movements of Konohagakure and Kirigakure.
In contrast, Uchiha Madara seemed unusually quiet. It was time to implement his plan!
But before that, this plan must not be disrupted by Senju Hashirama and Yuto. As Uchiha Madara pondered, Tobi, standing beside him, eyes flickering, suddenly spoke softly: "Uchiha Madara-dono, should we head to Konohagakure now? Something might have already happened there."
After speaking, Tobi lowered his head slightly and fell silent, waiting for Uchiha Madara's response. Although Tobi didn't know Uchiha Madara's ultimate goal, he knew that before the plan was completed, Uchiha Madara would not want the current balance of mutual restraint to be broken.
Hearing Tobi's words, a sharp glint flashed in Uchiha Madara's eyes as he slowly stood up from the top of the Gedo Statue. "Not to Konohagakure, but to Kirigakure," Uchiha Madara said flatly, a hint of a smile in his eyes.
Although Senju Hashirama's strength was not as great as Yuto's, that man had many tricks. It was possible for Yuto to defeat Senju Hashirama, but killing him completely would not be so easy.
Meanwhile, at the center of the battlefield. Explosive booms continuously echoed across the ground. Using the power of the Eight Gates, Senju Hashirama temporarily filled his somewhat weakened body with a massive amount of chakra.
Various Wood Release ninjutsu crashed down, but Yuto broke them one by one while simultaneously unleashing even greater energy back toward Senju Hashirama. A piercing sound ripped through the sky.
Empowered by the Eight Gates, Senju Hashirama became like a blur, instantly rushing before Yuto. Dozens of Diamond Seals, resembling whips, violently lashed toward Senju Hashirama.
Where the chakra chains passed, the air itself let out mournful wails. Massive vines rapidly grew from beneath Senju Hashirama's feet, entangling all the incoming Diamond Seals and fixing them on either side of his body.
"It's over, Yuto!!" Senju Hashirama shouted at Yuto across from him. With a mighty clap of his hands, the unique sealing marks of the Uzumaki clan densely appeared on both of his palms.
Immediately after, Senju Hashirama quickly thrust both palms toward Yuto. "The Eight Gates? I hope you can hold out until I return," Yuto said with a cold smile.
With his current physical condition, continuing to fight would undoubtedly lead to defeat. At this thought, Yuto's eyes widened violently.
Explode!! The normally docile energy within Yuto instantly transformed into seven different tailed beast chakras. The moment these seven chakras appeared, they quickly became berserk.
The nine tailed beasts were separated from the Ten-Tails, so normally, their chakra should have originated from the same source. But the reality was completely opposite—the chakra of the nine tailed beasts was extremely repulsive to one another.
Once they collided, it was like a powder keg being ignited. This was also why, during his research on the withered wood from Takigakure, Yuto had tried to replicate that special chakra.
Although he failed, he unexpectedly discovered the repulsive nature of tailed beast chakra, especially how the more chakra there was, the more terrifying the repulsive energy became. This was likely why no one in the shinobi world had ever attempted to seal more than one tailed beast within their own body.
Yuto's only hope was that when all nine tailed beast chakras were gathered, this strong repulsiveness might disappear through a transformation from quantity to quality. And now, without Yuto's restraint, these seven tailed beast chakras immediately began to expand the moment they appeared.
BOOM!!! A massive explosion erupted from Yuto's body. Without Yuto's constraint, the terrifying energy easily reduced his body to ash.
At the same time, this enormous energy continued to erupt in all directions, with Senju Hashirama right at the center of the explosion. An aura of death instantly enveloped Senju Hashirama, making him feel a chill all over.
He wanted to dodge, but it was already too late. The surging energy instantly engulfed everything around them, as if the ground had been neatly sliced away.
After a full half-minute, the massive explosion energy finally dissipated completely. The power of this explosion was so immense that even Konohagakure, some distance from the battlefield center, could clearly feel the tremors through the ground from the explosion.
In the Hokage's office. Tsunade paced back and forth with an anxious and worried expression on her face.
Clearly, Tsunade was extremely agitated at this moment, with a faint sense of unease deep in her heart. The distant battlefield had been continuously echoing with loud booms and tremors, especially the sudden explosion that had just occurred.
Thinking about the massive explosion and the ground tremors, Tsunade couldn't imagine what was happening at the battlefield center. On the other side of the office, Jiraiya, seeing Tsunade's state, though also worried, tried to comfort her: "Believe in Senju Hashirama-dono's strength. He'll be fine."
Even so, a shadow still lingered in Jiraiya's eyes. Hearing Jiraiya's words, Tsunade, who had been pacing, suddenly stopped.
Before Jiraiya could sigh in relief, Tsunade walked to the window and looked toward the direction from which the explosion had come: "Wait... it seems quiet on the battlefield now. Could the battle be over?"
Jiraiya was slightly stunned, then quickly walked to the window, looking in the same direction. "Those two terrifying auras seem to have disappeared. The battle might really be over."
Jiraiya frowned, his expression grave, as he spoke softly. "No, I have to go check!"
Tsunade remained silent for a moment, then her figure flashed as she leaped out the window, heading toward the battlefield center outside Konohagakure. Jiraiya's expression changed, then he showed a wry smile and quickly followed Tsunade.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Just then, two piercing sounds came from ahead. Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatame saw Tsunade and Jiraiya's movements and tried to stop them to ask what was happening.
But before they could speak, they saw Tsunade's icy expression. "Get lost!"
Tsunade glanced at Homura and Koharu, then forcefully leaped over them, continuing forward. Jiraiya, following Tsunade, flashed a strange expression but didn't speak, following Tsunade as he leaped over the two men as well.
Homura and Koharu froze, their faces instantly darkening. Under Tsunade and Jiraiya's full speed, they didn't take long to reach the outskirts of the battlefield center.
Looking up, they saw the distant scene and couldn't help but stare in unison. The cracked, scorched yellow land filled their vision, while the once dense forest around them seemed to have vanished as if by magic.
If Tsunade and Jiraiya didn't know this was Fire Country territory, they might have thought they had entered the Land of Wind. This battle that had nearly changed the terrain sent a chill through both Tsunade and Jiraiya.
Tsunade stepped on the ground, looking around, but saw no sign of Senju Hashirama or Yuto. "Where is Senju Hashirama-dono?"
Jiraiya couldn't help but swallow, his face filled with worry. Tsunade's eyes reddened slightly, then she quickly began moving, searching for Senju Hashirama's figure.
Grandpa will be fine! Jiraiya remembered the terrifying explosion earlier, bad thoughts surfaced in his mind, but he instantly suppressed them and quickly followed Tsunade in the search.
After a full half-hour, Tsunade and Jiraiya finally found Senju Hashirama buried underground at the very edge of the area. Senju Hashirama's entire body was charred black, with numerous wounds covering him.
More importantly, his chakra was extremely weak, as if he could die at any moment. "Such severe injuries!"
Jiraiya's pupils contracted at the sight of Senju Hashirama's wounds. Tsunade's eyes were bloodshot as she quickly knelt on the ground to check Senju Hashirama's condition.
As she examined him, Tsunade's expression grew increasingly grim. Senju Hashirama's chakra was nearly depleted, which Tsunade found unbelievable.
Moreover, his internal organs had also suffered severe damage. "Senju Hashirama-dono has suffered such injuries, then what about the First Mizukage Yuto? He couldn't possibly be unharmed. Could he already be dead?"
Jiraiya surveyed the surroundings, muttering to himself. Earlier, he and Tsunade had already searched the entire area thoroughly, and besides Senju Hashirama-dono, they hadn't found any other person.
"Impossible. Grandpa once said that besides sealing, Yuto the First Mizukage simply can't be killed." Hearing Jiraiya's words, Tsunade spoke in a low tone.
Jiraiya trembled slightly, then fell silent as well. Both had considered a certain possibility, but neither Jiraiya nor Tsunade voiced it.
"How is Senju Hashirama-dono's condition?" Jiraiya asked, his face filled with concern.
[
Hey everyone,
I need to tell you what's actually happening.
I just got hit with mass cancellations. On top of being buried in academics until the 9th. I'm in deep financial trouble right now—like, genuinely don't-know-how-I-cover-next-month trouble.
I want to do more for you. I have another Naruto fic ready to drop the moment this academic hell ends. But I can't keep creating if I can't survive.
I'm not powerless about the work—I know I can deliver for you. But I'm powerless to stop the bleeding alone.
If you've ever thought about supporting, this is the moment. Not "someday." Now.
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Every new member literally buys me another week of doing this. Every existing member staying is the reason I'm still here.
]