The entire earth trembled violently as a massive Wood Release arm shot up from the ground, swinging toward the nearby Susanoo.
Where the Wood Release arm passed through, a terrifying explosion echoed across the sky, forming a powerful shockwave!
A massive amount of Chakra gathered on Susanoo's arm, forming a gigantic Chakra longsword that slashed down fiercely at the Wood Release arm!
The Chakra longsword collided with the Wood Release arm, producing a deafening roar as the two forces briefly held each other at bay.
Under the razor-sharp edge of the Chakra longsword, the giant Wood Release arm was instantly cleaved in two.
However, using the Wood Release arm's obstruction to his advantage, Senju Hashirama pressed his hands together and let out a low shout.
Accompanied by a tremendous rumble from beneath the ground, several thick Wood Release hands burst forth.
Susanoo, which had just been about to take flight, had its feet instantly seized by the Wood Release hands. Under Senju Hashirama's control, the Wood Release hands dragged Susanoo back down to the ground.
"What meaning does this battle have, aside from adding countless casualties!"
Senju Hashirama let out a roar, pushing off the ground with tremendous force. His entire body rocketed into the sky as he swung his arm toward Uchiha Madara.
Accompanied by a mighty dragon's roar, an enormous wooden dragon materialized out of thin air, surging toward the Susanoo that had been pulled to the ground.
In an instant, the wooden dragon had coiled around Susanoo's neck. The terrifying binding force caused dense cracks to appear across Susanoo's form.
"After experiencing so much, have you still not grasped anything from the past, Hashirama!"
"Our battle is no longer about right or wrong. Have you felt the 'destiny' that exists in this world?"
"What I must do is shatter this so-called cycle, this so-called destiny!"
Uchiha Madara similarly let out a roar, and even as he spoke, the ocular power in his eyes poured forth.
The wooden dragon's powerful binding force had caused countless cracks across Susanoo, but they repaired themselves in an instant.
At that moment, the wings on Susanoo's back rapidly retracted, transforming into two arms that braced against the ground, allowing it to quickly rise to its feet.
At the same time, Susanoo's other two arms shot toward the wooden dragon coiled around its upper body!
With Uchiha Madara's roar, Susanoo's arms ripped the wooden dragon binding its body apart with raw force.
Susanoo held a severed half of the wooden dragon in each hand. Seeing Senju Hashirama rushing through the air, it whipped the dragon's remains forward like a long lash.
The severed wooden dragon's body sliced through the air, producing a violent sonic boom. Everywhere it passed was like the storm generated by an S-rank Wind Style jutsu!
Savage power exploded across the sky overhead. If such an attack were to connect, even a great mountain would likely be reduced to dust in an instant.
Facing the wooden dragon that Susanoo was whipping toward him, Senju Hashirama, who had no leverage in midair, formed a hand seal at his chest.
The wooden dragon in Susanoo's hands dissolved at a visible rate, vanishing completely in the blink of an eye.
However, before Senju Hashirama could launch a counterattack, another thunderous boom rang out from the sky above.
Under Uchiha Madara's control, Susanoo's massive form, hundreds of meters tall, executed an astonishingly agile and clean backward kick!
Susanoo's enormous leg engulfed Senju Hashirama as its brutal force erupted in that instant.
Senju Hashirama's eyes widened slightly as a mouthful of blood spewed from his lips. He was blasted thousands of meters away by that overwhelming force.
Under the crushing impact of that savage power, Senju Hashirama's body was driven backward by the compressed air, tracing a streak of black light across the sky.
Uchiha Madara drove Susanoo's massive foot into the ground, making the entire earth shake violently.
Susanoo's two rear arms transformed back into wings, and in an instant it took to the sky, pursuing the Senju Hashirama it had just sent flying.
Susanoo's enormous wings beat rapidly, catching up to the airborne Senju Hashirama in the blink of an eye.
The massive silhouette loomed like a dark cloud covering the sky above Senju Hashirama.
Uchiha Madara roared, and two Chakra broadswords materialized simultaneously in Susanoo's hands.
They crossed in an X-pattern and slashed down ferociously toward Senju Hashirama below!
Senju Hashirama's already formidable aura, which had been surging from the moment he was sent flying, suddenly doubled in that very instant!
A wave of overwhelming pressure radiated outward from Senju Hashirama, spreading terror in every direction.
Senju Hashirama, who had mastered the Eight Gates, pushed open the third gate right then and there.
Though it was only the third gate, one had to remember that Senju Hashirama's base strength was on an entirely different level from Might Guy's, whether in pure power, physical durability, or recovery ability.
In a battle between fighters of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama's caliber, doubling one's strength was enough to completely shatter the earlier stalemate!
Senju Hashirama's rapidly retreating body came to an abrupt halt as he forcibly broke through Susanoo's devastating shockwave.
The moment he sensed the change in Senju Hashirama, Uchiha Madara's pupils contracted involuntarily.
Under the augmentation of this jutsu, the boost to Senju Hashirama's strength was no simple addition!
Uchiha Madara cursed inwardly. He knew that Yuto had played him for a fool.
Yuto must have known that Senju Hashirama had learned the Eight Gates. No wonder he had agreed so readily back then!
Countless thoughts flashed through Uchiha Madara's mind, but his hands didn't slow for even a moment. If anything, they moved even faster.
Senju Hashirama's gaze gleamed with cold light as a massive amount of blue Chakra converged on his hands, becoming nearly solid.
Susanoo's two longswords sliced through the air with sonic booms, crashing down with earth-shattering force.
Senju Hashirama let out a powerful shout, raising his hands, now coated with nearly solidified Chakra.
The enormous Chakra longsword collided with Senju Hashirama's hands, producing a tremendous roar.
What was truly staggering was that Senju Hashirama had actually caught the blade barehanded.
The sight before them was like an ant lifting an entire tree, delivering an overwhelming sense of impact!
Senju Hashirama grabbed the Chakra blade and pulled himself along it, shrinking to a black dot in an instant before appearing at Susanoo's fingertip.
Senju Hashirama let out a low roar, wrapping his arms around Susanoo's thumb. The veins on both arms bulged prominently.
With Senju Hashirama's monstrous strength, the colossal Susanoo was helplessly thrown over his shoulder in a devastating judo slam!
The mountain-sized figure plummeted from the sky at breakneck speed.
Senju Hashirama followed close behind, using Susanoo's massive body as a series of stepping stones. In a few bounds, he reached Susanoo's forehead.
Through Susanoo's translucent form, Senju Hashirama could faintly see Uchiha Madara within the forehead region.
Senju Hashirama drove a fist down directly onto Susanoo's forehead. Cracks spread outward in every direction from the point of impact like a spiderweb.
Uchiha Madara was well aware that at this moment, Senju Hashirama's mobility far surpassed Susanoo's.
With that thought, Uchiha Madara's Mangekyo Sharingan pulsed. The massive Susanoo began to rapidly disperse, vanishing in an instant.
Now both Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara appeared in midair, plummeting toward the ground at extreme speed!
Under the Eight Gates, Senju Hashirama's speed was blinding. He closed the distance between them in a flash and appeared right before Uchiha Madara.
Senju Hashirama raised his Chakra-infused fist and drove it straight toward Uchiha Madara's heart.
Overwhelming power erupted from his fist. The air ahead seemed to shatter as his strike passed through.
Uchiha Madara's Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan switched to the Rinnegan in the blink of an eye.
A terrifying repulsive force radiated outward from Uchiha Madara, spreading rapidly in all directions and forming an absolute defense of concentrated repulsion.
Senju Hashirama's fist collided with the force of Shinra Tensei, producing a thunderous boom.
Against this powerful repulsive force, Senju Hashirama was not sent flying. Instead, his fist pressed forward inch by inch.
Seeing this, Uchiha Madara's Rinnegan flickered with an eerie glow, and he suddenly withdrew the repulsive force of Shinra Tensei.
Senju Hashirama's attack accelerated abruptly, and he appeared before Uchiha Madara as if teleporting.
However, his fist didn't strike Uchiha Madara's body. It landed about half a meter in front of Uchiha Madara's chest.
Uchiha Madara had already split off a shadow clone, placing it before himself to absorb Senju Hashirama's attack.
Uchiha Madara activated another forbidden jutsu from his Rinnegan. A high-density, compressed black Chakra sphere appeared in the palm of his hand.
The shadow summoned by Limbo: Hengoku was blasted apart by Senju Hashirama's devastating punch.
Senju Hashirama's fist, brimming with purple Chakra, broke through the shadow and slammed into Uchiha Madara's chest.
In that same instant, the high-density black Chakra sphere in Uchiha Madara's hand was pressed against Senju Hashirama's chest.
Uchiha Madara spewed a massive mouthful of blood as his body broke the sound barrier, crashing from a height of roughly a hundred meters into the ground, making the entire earth shudder.
Meanwhile, Senju Hashirama was firmly pinned by the black, high-density Chakra sphere on his chest!
Already suspended in midair with nothing to push against, Senju Hashirama was unable to break free from Chibaku Tensei's grip!
Senju Hashirama's expression changed as he realized he couldn't escape.
Under Chibaku Tensei's overwhelming gravitational pull, massive fissures rapidly spread across the ground. Enormous boulders and chunks of earth continuously tore free and ascended.
They gathered toward the black Chakra sphere of Chibaku Tensei, sealing Senju Hashirama inside along with them!
A rocky sphere with a diameter exceeding two hundred meters, like a meteor, now hovered in midair.
Neither Senju Hashirama, sealed within Chibaku Tensei, nor Uchiha Madara, who had been driven into the ground by that full-force punch, showed any sign of movement.
For a moment, the entire battlefield fell silent, as though both men had perished at the same time!
If Yuto were standing on this battlefield right now, even he would likely be unable to determine the outcome.
Regardless of who won or lost in that final exchange, at the very least, neither of them would be in mortal danger. They might be injured, but they would certainly survive.
On a massive scroll roughly two meters across, covered in mysterious sealing formulas, Tsunade sat weakly in the scroll's center.
In front of Tsunade stood a Kirigakure shinobi, his hands maintaining a special hand seal, his eyes closed and his forehead dripping with sweat.
This Kirigakure shinobi slowly opened his eyes, a trace of exhaustion in his gaze. His complexion was far from good.
The shinobi quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead and walked toward the side.
The Kirigakure ninja approached Yuto and Terumi Mei, who had been waiting nearby, and spoke respectfully.
Yuto, standing to the side, didn't say a word. But from the expression on the shinobi's face, he could roughly guess that there were no results.
Yuto frowned slightly, already considering whether he needed to resort to a cruder method.
[
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