The golden, red, and black blade descended, radiating overwhelming power. Hashirama's eyes widened. He reacted instantly, manipulating the giant wooden construct beneath his feet to raise its hands and block the devastating blow.
Just like Madara's attack. A technique that covers the Tailed Beast with Susanoo's armor.
Hashirama remembered it clearly. Madara had called that move the "Calamity of Divine Fall," a combination of the Nine-Tails' immense physical power and chakra with Susanoo's terrifying defense and destructive force. The result was a nightmare.
Hashirama had only managed a pyrrhic victory against it in the past, sacrificing 99% of his True Several Thousand Hands Buddha's arms to secure a narrow win. He never thought he'd see it again.
But his current strength was far from his peak. This impure, borrowed body couldn't handle his ultimate technique, the Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands.
With a heavy heart, the wooden dummy's clasped hands met the black blade.
The impact made Hashirama's mind reel. He couldn't help but recall catching Madara's blade barehanded all those decades ago. But the circumstances were different now. He wasn't at his peak, and this wasn't Madara.
The moment the wooden palms caught the blade, a blinding brilliance of gold, red, and black erupted between them.
Whoosh!
The bright sky was instantly plunged into darkness. A crushing force descended, intent on destroying everything.
The wooden dummy's palms were scorched instantly, turning a charred black, the wood surface flaking away like charcoal.
"What is this?!"
Sensing the lethal power of the attack, Hashirama didn't hesitate. He severed the connection, abandoning the dummy's hands. His own body tumbled away, rolling across the ground.
"Trying to dodge now? Too late."
Menma's voice rang out, cold and emotionless.
The blinding light on the blade transformed into a colossal, towering sword beam that cleaved straight down.
Whoosh!
It cut through the sky like a sunrise piercing the dawn. The beam instantly bisected the wooden dummy, tore a massive trench in the earth, and sliced through the buildings in its path. It continued, carving through the distant mountain range.
A beat of utter silence.
Then, a deafening explosion rocked the world.
BOOM!
Terrifying flames shot into the sky. A massive fireball, golden-red with black markings, expanded rapidly. The distant mountains were engulfed, annihilated. Trees, soil, and rock were vaporized. In the end, all that remained was a crescent moon of fire, burning red and pointing toward the sky.
"Gulp."
From a safe distance, Deidara swallowed hard, his throat dry. He looked up at the two giants—each fifty meters tall, like ancient gods—then bit the center of his own hand.
"Ouch! It's real! I'm not dreaming!"
He turned to Sasori, shouting excitedly. "Lord Sasori, did you see that? The art of wind is also an explosion! And those eyes—they're the same as Itachi's, but he's pursuing the same art as me! That golden-red explosion, as dazzling as the sun... it's the ultimate, unsurpassable art!"
Deidara's admiration for Menma hit an all-time high. It was like a junior encountering a master in his own field.
Sasori ignored the dazed Deidara. His eyes were fixed on the devastation. He looked back at the wooden doll, which was missing over half its body.
"Just... one strike?"
The wooden doll had been unstoppable, beating them mercilessly just moments ago. Yet the black-armored giant Menma had created destroyed it with a single blow.
Is this the difference between us? The gap between ninjas?
It was cruel.
Deidara saw sublime art. Sasori saw only despair.
Previously, Sasori had thought Menma was merely a level above him. Now, he felt like an insect. The difference was like that between an elephant and an ant. That single slash carried a cataclysmic aura. Even if Sasori had ten thousand puppets, they would be reduced to ash without a trace.
He was now certain that even Pain, their leader, was no match for Menma. The entire Akatsuki combined would be nothing more than a swarm of ants, easily crushed.
Just as shocked as the two Akatsuki members was Hashirama himself.
Unable to block the strike, he immediately ordered his wooden doll to retreat at lightning speed. The doll scrambled across the ground, using one hand and one foot like a desperate animal.
For a Shadow Clone to have this kind of power... the Void Reaper himself must be as strong as Madara and I at our peaks, Hashirama thought bitterly. If only he weren't worried about Naruto...
He smiled grimly, a mix of relief and resentment.
"You monkey! Ruining someone who could change the ninja world like this... you're a sinner against Konoha!"
Hashirama's complaint was cut short. His expression froze as the wooden dummy beneath him suddenly stopped, then turned around on its own.
"My body... I've lost control?"
"No. This is the Mangekyō Sharingan."
BOOM!
As Hashirama shouted in realization, a colossal figure landed in front of him.
It was a golden-red giant clad in black Susanoo armor. Without a word, Menma—now in his true form—swung his longsword, burning with Amaterasu, cleaving the wooden dummy and Hashirama to pieces.
The shockwave from the blade carved several new trenches, each tens of meters long, into the earth.
When Hashirama's body reformed, the black-armored giant was gone. In his place stood Menma, chains fluttering from his back.
"The Adamantine Sealing Chains," Hashirama murmured. "It seems I've lost completely."
Sensing his end, he didn't resist. He knelt on the ground, submitting.
The chains snaked out like serpents, coiling around him, sealing him shut. Through the gaps, Hashirama sighed deeply, pressing his forehead to the dirt with his hands crossed before him.
"Menma, I can no longer handle the feud between Konoha and you. But please, grant me one last request... absorb the innocent Konoha ninja into the Four-Star Village you've built. If you need to, use me as leverage to convince them. Please..."
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