But very soon, Hashirama realized something was off.
Normally, anyone caught by his Wood Release would have their chakra continuously drained away.
But from Naruto—he didn't feel even a trace being absorbed.
Then, Naruto's eyes flashed with light.
"Preta Path."
Instantly, the tables turned—
Instead of absorbing Naruto's chakra, the entire forest began being drained dry!
The massive grove of Deep Forest Emergence was devoured in a blink.
Hashirama and Tobirama both widened their eyes in disbelief.
This… defied all reason!
"His Chakra is even more domineering than yours, big brother! What kind of technique is this?"
Even Tobirama, the man known as the Professor of the Shinobi World, couldn't analyze what Naruto had just done.
Naruto only gave a faint smile.
"Wood Release, huh? You think you're the only one who can do that?"
"Wood Release—Wood Dragon Technique."
A towering, radiant Wood Dragon descended upon Konoha.
Unlike Hashirama's earthy brown vines, Naruto's dragon gleamed like crystal, speckled with starlight and overflowing with vibrant life energy.
"What—!"
Both brothers gasped aloud, staring up at the enormous dragon stretching hundreds of meters long.
Then Tobirama's gaze turned odd as he slowly looked toward Hashirama.
"When did you leave behind a descendant, brother? And what about Lady Mito—have you no shame?"
Hashirama was dumbfounded.
"I—I didn't!"
"We can talk about that later! This kid's not easy to handle!"
Drawing deeply from his current vessel's chakra, Hashirama's aura exploded.
"Sage Art—Wood Release—True Several Thousand Hands!"
A colossal, several-hundred-meter-tall Thousand-Armed Buddha towered over Konoha.
The Wood Dragon and the Buddha stood face to face, their presence drawing the attention of the entire village.
Perched atop the statue, Hashirama looked down across the village below—already regretting that he'd started this fight here.
Now that he knew Naruto could also use Wood Release, his gaze grew complicated.
He hadn't expected that another person in the shinobi world could wield his jutsu.
Tobirama stood beside him atop the Buddha's head.
Under normal circumstances, he'd be proud to stand alongside his brother again, conquering the battlefield shoulder to shoulder.
But against Naruto… even this True Several Thousand Hands didn't inspire much confidence.
From atop his Wood Dragon, Naruto tilted his head.
"A Buddha, huh? Who doesn't have one of those?"
"Sage Art—Wood Release—True Several Thousand Hands!"
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM!!!
A crystalline Buddha, more than two thousand meters tall, manifested from thin air—
Its polished surface shimmered like glass, with several Wood Dragons coiling around its frame.
Compared to it, Hashirama's statue looked like a child's toy.
The wind howled across the battlefield as both brothers stared up in shock.
"Brother… can we even win this one?"
Hashirama didn't respond.
Whether in scale or power—his Wood Release was utterly outclassed.
From the ground below, Tsunade sighed helplessly.
"Told you not to provoke him… and now look what you've done."
The two Buddhas' thousands of fists unfolded and collided in midair.
The result was exactly what one would expect—
Like an adult disciplining a child.
The violent shockwaves from each clash blasted through Konoha, tearing up buildings and streets alike.
In less than five seconds, Hashirama's True Several Thousand Hands shattered completely, reduced to splinters.
The brothers' physical bodies were obliterated along with it, leaving only their souls standing amid the ruins.
Looking up at Naruto's colossal figure, Tobirama let out a long breath.
"Today's youth… truly something else. Brother, you messed up again."
Hashirama sighed helplessly.
"Seems those Konoha villagers brought this upon themselves—picking a fight with a monster like him."
Inside the sealed space, Kurama howled with laughter.
"Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful!
The man who once toyed with me… look at him now!"
A week later.
Naruto floated high above the shinobi world.
The chaotic Pure Land had been completely subdued—
And absorbed into one of seven personal dimensions via Amenominaka.
"No… counting Kamui, that makes eight worlds."
Every soul from the Pure Land was now under his command.
Holding dominion over it all, Naruto felt as though he were grasping the Banner of the Dead itself.
Centuries of strong souls—
all now within his reach.
Returning to Konoha, Naruto planned to visit Hinata and Ino for a quiet reunion.
But before he could even settle in, Sasuke appeared.
The boy had grown taller since they'd last met.
He stepped forward, eyes sharp with determination.
"Naruto, my strength has grown a lot.
I'm going to find him—and end this."
Naruto glanced at him calmly.
"Your strength improved, huh? How much?"
"Enough to shock even you!"
Sasuke's Sharingan spun—
The three tomoe linked together, forming a glowing six-pointed star.
The Mangekyō Sharingan.
Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly.
So the Sage really did give him a power-up…
"With these eyes," Sasuke said confidently, "I can take on the Seven Swordsmen by myself! It's time for that man to pay for everything!"
Naruto, however, just shook his head.
"If that's all you've got… you're still not Itachi's match."
Sasuke's face darkened instantly.
"Naruto, you don't understand! These eyes are incredible!
They grant me two powerful jutsu—and the divine might called Susanoo!"
"There's no way that man could stand against me now!"
He was brimming with confidence.
To him, progress meant victory.
He never considered that Itachi might have grown stronger too.
Because while effort narrows the gap—
genius widens it even faster.
"Itachi already awakened the Mangekyō years ago.
You once called him an untouchable genius—
So why, now that you've got the same eyes, do you think you've surpassed him?"
Naruto's calm words froze Sasuke mid-breath.
Memories flooded in.
That night—the massacre.
He had returned home from school to a field of corpses and rivers of blood.
Running in terror, crying, begging—
"Brother… please don't kill me!"
And back then…
Itachi had already possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan.
"I've actually met him," Naruto said quietly. "And fought him."
That caught Sasuke's full attention.
"You fought him? Then tell me—how strong is he now?"
He didn't bother asking who won.
Even Sasuke couldn't deny it—Naruto had become something beyond comparison.
"Stronger than you," Naruto said simply.
The words hit like a bucket of ice water.
In truth, during their original battle, Itachi had held back massively—
He'd let Sasuke win.
And even now, though Sasuke had awakened the Mangekyō, he was far from that level.
Grinding his teeth, Sasuke finally asked:
"Then what do I need to do… to surpass him?"
Naruto placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You can't beat him as you are.
But if you go to him… you will win."
The contradiction puzzled Sasuke.
"What do you mean?
If I'm not his equal, how could victory be mine?"
Then Naruto told him—
the truth of the Uchiha massacre.
When he finished, Sasuke's Mangekyō spun violently, veins bulging at his temples.
His fists clenched so tight they creaked.