Chapter 345: Susanoo vs. Wooden Golem
At the epicenter of the ruined battlefield, Senju Hashirama stood dwarfed by the colossal purple demon god. The ethereal construct radiated a suffocating pressure that warped the very air around it. The First Hokage stared up at the towering Susanoo, his usually jovial features hardening into a mask of unmatched solemnity.
"Uchiha Akira..." Hashirama's voice carried over the howling wind. "Your strength has far surpassed Madara's from back then. It should have been a blessing for Konoha to have a junior like you."
He paused, his brow furrowing deeply. "But..."
Hashirama's tone shifted, the heavy weight of a founder's sorrow bleeding into his words. "After I was awakened, I learned of everything that transpired since you took the mantle of the Fifth Hokage."
He clenched his fists, the wood beneath his feet groaning in response to his turbulent chakra. "You annihilated Sunagakure. You annexed Kirigakure by force. Konoha's borders have indeed expanded to an unmatched scale, achieving a dominance I never imagined."
Hashirama took a step forward, his voice rising to a booming roar. "But at what cost?! Countless shinobi, countless civilians—dead! Their homes reduced to ash, their families torn apart!" The First Hokage's gaze burned with righteous indignation. "Uchiha Akira, you are using war to end war! Such a path only breeds deeper hatred! If Konoha continues down this blood-soaked road, it will inevitably ignite the entire continent and trigger a new Ninja World War! When that happens, how many more innocent lives will be ground into dust by this catastrophe?!"
High above, safely ensconced within the glowing crystalline forehead of the Susanoo, Uchiha Akira looked down at the legendary God of Shinobi. Facing the First Hokage's furious accusations, Akira merely let out a low, mocking laugh. The sound echoed outward, amplified by the immense chakra of his avatar.
"A new Ninja World War?" Akira's voice drifted down, laced with cold amusement. "Senju Hashirama... it seems the dirt of the grave has clouded your eyes. You have slept for far too long. You know absolutely nothing about the reality of this world."
Hashirama stiffened.
"After you died," Akira continued, his tone turning razor-sharp, "those so-called Ninja World Wars you fear so much have already broken out. Three separate times. One after another."
Akira's crimson Mangekyo Sharingan spun slowly in the gloom of the cockpit. "Each time, corpses littered the fields until the earth choked on them. Blood flowed like rivers, staining the soil permanently red. That precious Konoha you so deeply cherished? It was bled dry in those three wars. Countless juniors you swore to protect were butchered on the battlefield, all while you slept."
Every word struck Hashirama like a physical blow. The First Hokage's eyes widened, the righteous anger faltering as the sheer weight of history crashed down upon him.
"You accuse me of starting a war?" Akira sneered, the purple flames of his Susanoo flaring violently, casting long, demonic shadows across the cratered earth. "I am not starting the Fourth Ninja World War. I am ending the endless cycle of slaughter that has plagued us for decades! A cycle that should have been completely eradicated by you, but was left to rot and fester because of your pathetic naivety!"
Akira raised a hand, and the Susanoo mirrored the gesture, its massive armored gauntlet clenching into a fist that shook the heavens. "This time, it will be the last! The Ninja World, held firmly within my grasp, will finally usher in true, eternal peace!"
Hashirama fell dead silent. His lips parted, but no words came out. Akira's ruthless logic left him entirely unable to refute the claim. The brutal truth was glaringly obvious—after his death, the world had not embraced the harmony he envisioned. Instead, it had plunged headfirst into an even more savage quagmire of bloodshed. The hidden village he built with his own two hands, the one-country-one-village system he had pioneered... it had all failed to prevent the slaughter.
A flicker of doubt crossed Hashirama's dark eyes. 'Could it be... that I was truly wrong?'
But the moment of confusion was fleeting. Hashirama took a deep breath, his gaze hardening into unyielding resolve. The immense chakra of the Senju clan began to surge around him, cracking the ground beneath his sandals.
"Perhaps your tyrannical methods can enforce a temporary ceasefire," Hashirama declared, his voice ringing with absolute conviction. "But that is by no means true peace! An order built entirely on violence and fear will inevitably collapse! True peace requires people to open their hearts, to understand one another, and to practice tolerance! Your path is fundamentally wrong!"
"Oh?" Akira's voice dripped with dark playfulness. "Then I suppose your path was the correct one? The path that paved the way for three global wars and the slaughter of millions? Tell me, Hashirama—what right does a failure like you have to judge my methods?"
Akira's eyes narrowed, the crimson irises glowing with lethal intent. "Enough of this pointless drivel. Words are useless against the dead."
Hashirama ceased his arguments. He recognized the cold, unyielding iron in the young Uchiha's eyes. Words would never shake Akira's resolve. Since their philosophies were irreconcilable, only their fists could dictate the future of the Ninja World.
Hashirama slammed his palms together, the sheer force of the clap creating a shockwave that kicked up a ring of dust.
"Wood Release: Wood Golem Jutsu!"
The earth ruptured. A colossal wooden giant, easily rivaling the sheer scale of the Perfect Susanoo, tore its way out of the bedrock with a deafening roar. Thick, intertwined roots and massive timber logs rapidly formed its muscular physique. Its face was a mask of ferocious wrath, resembling an angry Vajra deity guarding a sacred temple. Slithering out from the shattered ground, a massive Wood Dragon coiled itself tightly around the Golem's torso, its wooden scales grinding together with a heavy, groaning sound.
"Oh? Finally showing some real skill, are we?" Akira's lips curved into a sharp, bloodthirsty smile. His Mangekyo Sharingan spun wildly, burning with raw fighting spirit.
With a mere thought, he drove the purple Susanoo forward. The ethereal titan charged fiercely toward the Wood Golem, each massive footstep triggering a localized earthquake.
There were no feints. No complex tactics. The two towering giants collided head-on in a brutal display of pure, unadulterated power.
The purple Susanoo drew back its arm, manifesting the glowing Sword of Kusanagi, and brought the massive blade slashing down with the force of a falling meteor.
The wooden Vajra roared, drawing back its own gargantuan fist. The Wood Dragon coiled around its arm acted as a living gauntlet as Hashirama threw a devastating punch upward, directly meeting the descending edge of the ethereal blade.
BOOM!
A terrifying, eardrum-shattering explosion erupted at the dead center of the battlefield. At the exact point where the glowing sword and the wooden fist clashed, the sheer kinetic force seemed to warp the very fabric of space for a split second. The violent collision of chakra birthed a visible, ring-shaped shockwave that expanded frantically in all directions. The surrounding terrain was instantly pulverized, the earth peeled back layer by layer like an onion.
CRACK—!
A sharp, agonizing sound of splintering timber pierced through the roar of the explosion.
Hashirama's expression shifted drastically. He looked up to see a terrifying, canyon-like fissure carved directly into the seemingly indestructible fist of his Wood Golem. The Sword of Kusanagi had bitten deep into the dense timber, sending logs the size of houses and countless jagged splinters flying wildly into the air.
'What terrifying destructive power!' Hashirama's heart gave a violent jolt. The sheer offensive output of this Susanoo completely eclipsed the one Madara had wielded at the Valley of the End.
Before the First Hokage could even channel chakra to repair the damaged limb, Akira's second strike arrived with merciless speed.
The Susanoo abruptly twisted its wrist. The Sword of Kusanagi blurred, drawing a cunning, horizontal arc aimed directly at the Wood Golem's thick neck.
It was too fast.
Hashirama gritted his teeth, exerting every ounce of his will to force the colossal Wood Golem to lean backward. The glowing purple blade sheared through the air, narrowly missing a fatal decapitation. Instead, the edge violently grazed the Golem's heavy wooden chin, carving a deep trench and sending a blinding shower of chakra sparks and shattered timber raining down upon the battlefield.
Seizing the momentary opening, Hashirama clasped his hands together in a tight seal.
The massive Wood Dragon coiled around the Golem's torso flared to life. Detaching from its host, the serpentine beast lunged forward, opening its gaping, jagged maw to bite fiercely into the Susanoo's armored waist.
From within the crystalline cockpit, Akira let out a cold, dismissive snort.
Without missing a beat, he rotated his wrist. The Susanoo mirrored the fluid motion, bringing the Sword of Kusanagi around in a brutal downward cleave aimed squarely at the incoming beast.
A dull, thunderous explosion rocked the air.
The menacing Wood Dragon did not even stand a chance. The ethereal blade sheared cleanly through its thick wooden skull, splitting the colossal beast perfectly in half right down the middle. The severed halves violently detonated into a chaotic storm of shattered logs and crushed branches.
But the dragon was merely a distraction. In that exact same instant, the Wood Golem lunged forward, swinging both of its massive palms in a devastating pincer attack aimed directly at the Susanoo's ribs.
Yet, Akira did not retreat. The Sword of Kusanagi, having just bisected the dragon, showed absolutely no sign of retracting to block the incoming strike. Instead, Akira pushed his ocular prowess to the absolute limit. The purple blade accelerated, thrusting forward with terrifying velocity, aiming straight for the Wood Golem's wide-open chest.
He was trading blow for blow. Attack against attack.
Realizing the blade would pierce his Golem's core before his own attack landed, Hashirama forcefully aborted his offensive. In a flash of tactical brilliance, he altered the trajectory of the Golem's massive hands. Instead of slamming into the Susanoo's ribs, the wooden palms snapped shut, clamping down violently from both sides onto the thrusting blade of the Sword of Kusanagi.
The glowing purple edge was halted a mere meter away from the Wood Golem's chest, caught in a desperate, two-handed grip.
Creak... Screeeech...
An agonizing groan of straining timber filled the air. The Wood Golem's iron-hard palms shuddered violently against the razor-sharp edge of the ethereal sword. The dense wood was entirely unable to bear the immense cutting force. Countless jagged fissures began to spread wildly from the point of contact, spider-webbing their way up the Golem's thick arms.
Despite the severe damage, Hashirama let out a short, heavy breath of relief.
He had blocked it.
From high within the Susanoo, Akira's cold, mocking sneer cut through the tension.
"Naive."
Even before the word fully left his lips, Akira had already shifted his assault. The moment the Wood Golem committed both of its arms to restraining the sword, it left its lower guard completely exposed. The Susanoo shifted its weight, drawing back its colossal right leg.
With the force of a localized hurricane, the armored foot lashed out, burying itself deep into the Wood Golem's midsection.
The brutal front kick connected with a deafening crash. The sheer kinetic impact lifted the Wood Golem's massive frame entirely off the ground, sending it skidding violently backward.
As the Golem was thrown back, Akira ruthlessly twisted the Sword of Kusanagi. The sudden rotation of the trapped blade, combined with the Golem's backward momentum, violently tore open the wooden giant's palms. Two massive, canyon-like gouges were shredded into the timber hands, exploding into a blinding cloud of pulverized sawdust and jagged shrapnel.
"Senju Hashirama." Akira's freezing voice echoed from within the towering purple construct, carrying the absolute authority of a conqueror. "Your era is over."
The Mangekyo Sharingan in his eyes spun into a furious blur. "Now, let me show you what true power looks like!"
As his final words fell over the ruined landscape, the glowing Sword of Kusanagi dissolved into wisps of purple chakra. The colossal Susanoo raised its arms, slowly bringing its massive armored hands together.
Between its palms, a terrifying, heart-palpitating mass of pure, destructive energy began to gather with frantic, apocalyptic intensity.
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