Showdown * Tobirama

They left the village and headed north.

After passing through the last security Barrier and crossing the winding forest stream, there is an open riverbank ahead.

This is the upper reaches of the Naka River, where the water is much more turbulent than downstream, splashing white spray as it crashes against the rocks. The banks are lined with bare rocks and sparse shrubs, and further on, dense primeval forests stretch out.

The open space is large and spacious enough to be an excellent battlefield.

Hashirama stopped, stood in the middle of the riverbank, and turned around.

Sunlight shone from behind him, gilding him with a golden edge and casting a long shadow on the riverbank at his feet.

Izuna stopped about thirty meters away from him.

"This place is nice." He looked around, his tone relaxed. "Spacious and quiet."

Hashirama smiled.

"Izuna, I'll really play seriously."

"I know."

"He might get hurt."

"I know."

"Shall I begin?"

Izuna did not answer, but simply squatted down slightly, assuming a starting stance.

Hashirama was very familiar with that posture.

The basic stance of the Senju-style Taijutsu involves lowering the center of gravity and holding both fists in front of the chest, ready to unleash a powerful impact at any moment.

But there are subtle differences.

The stance he was taking was not the standard bow stance of the Senju Style, but a more agile parallel stance, with a lower center of gravity and a greater angle of knee bend, like a cheetah ready to pounce in any direction at any moment.

"The foundation of the Senju Style, the footwork of the Uchiha," Hashirama couldn't help but exclaim, "Truly beautiful."

As soon as he finished speaking, he disappeared.

He shattered the ground beneath his feet and shot towards Izuna like an arrow, his right fist slamming into Izuna's face with a whooshing sound!

The attack was too fast and too fierce; before the fist even arrived, the wind from it was so strong that people couldn't open their eyes.

Izuna did not retreat.

He slightly shifted his body to the side, letting the fist barely graz his ear, while simultaneously sweeping his right leg like a whip, aiming straight for Hashirama's lower Hashirama!

Hashirama neither dodged nor evaded, taking the kick head-on.

"Bang!"

A dull thud.

Hashirama's body remained completely still, but Izuna felt as if he had kicked an iron pillar, and his calf went numb.

"So hard..."

The thought had barely formed when Hashirama's left hand reached for his shoulder.

Izuna leaned back, his body almost parallel to the ground, dodging the grab while simultaneously using his hands to brace himself against the ground and perform a backflip to create distance.

Hashirama pursued relentlessly, stomping his right foot on the ground, causing the entire ground to tremble and countless fragments of stone to fly up, raining down on Izuna!

Izuna was suspended in mid-air, with nowhere to gain leverage.

But he swiftly formed hand seals— Fire Style: Great Fireball!

"Call--"

Blazing flames erupted from his mouth, engulfing the oncoming rubble. The flames collided with the rubble, creating crackling explosions and bursting into a cloud of fire in the air.

The flames subsided, but Hashirama was no longer in the same spot.

Above!

Izuna looked up abruptly and saw that Hashirama had somehow leaped into the air, his hands clasped together like a hammer, and was about to smash down on him!

There's no escaping it.

Then let's go at it head-on!

The moment Izuna landed, instead of retreating, he advanced, his body spinning like a top. Using the momentum of the spin, he slammed his right fist into Hashirama!

"Boom--!"

The moment their fists collided, a shockwave erupted from the point of impact, blowing away all the surrounding rubble and withered grass!

The riverbed couldn't withstand the impact and cracked inch by inch!

A hint of surprise flashed in Hashirama's eyes.

His downward momentum was abruptly stopped, and the impact sent him flying backward, flipping in the air before landing steadily on a rock ten meters away.

Izuna also retreated several steps, each step leaving deep footprints on the ground.

He steadied himself, shook his numb right fist, and grimaced as he took a deep breath.

"Wow—that's really powerful."

Hashirama stood on the rock, looking at his hands with an incredulous expression.

That punch just now was a real, head-on attack.

A pure head-on collision.

Izuna caught it.

You must know that he is Hashirama Senju.

In terms of physical strength and Monster Strength, he is second to none in the entire Shinobi World.

But Izuna actually caught it.

"That's amazing!" Hashirama couldn't help but smile, a smile filled with pure excitement and joy. "Izuna, you're amazing!"

Izuna smiled, shook his hand, and resumed his fighting stance.

"Again!"

The next second, they both vanished from the spot.

On the riverbank, two figures moved like ghosts, their fists and feet striking each other like a rapid drumbeat, one after another, each faster than the last.

The ground trembled, the river churned, and the surrounding rocks and trees were blasted to pieces by the escaping shockwave.

In the distance, Madara and Tobirama stood on the branches of a giant tree, silently watching the battle.

In Madara's eyes, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan had already quietly emerged, capturing Izuna's every subtle movement.

The Senju Style Taijutsu.

From beginning to end, Izuna used only the Senju Style of Taijutsu.

The powerful and sweeping punches, the technique of using the opponent's force against them, and the fighting style of constantly adjusting one's center of gravity and searching for weaknesses in head-on collisions.

It's all in the style of the Senju Clan.

He also possesses Monster Strength.

Every time Izuna clashed Hashirama with Hashirama, every time they collided head-on, Izuna used that astonishing power to directly confront him.

Madara had witnessed Izuna's Senju-style Taijutsu in the battle within the Uchiha clan before, so this wasn't surprising to him.

Izuna said that he and Tobirama learned each other's Taijutsu when they were young. If they started learning from such a young age, then it is perfectly reasonable that they reached this level.

Moreover, when facing an opponent of Hashirama's caliber, using the Senju Style to fight head -Hashirama on is indeed the optimal solution.

While the Uchiha Style is also strong, it places greater emphasis on technique, speed, and the coordination of Dōjutsu.

To truly enjoy a head-on confrontation with a monster like Hashirama, you really have to go for it.

Madara himself did the same thing.

Every time he sparred with Hashirama, he would confront him head-on, occasionally using a few Fire Style to harass him.

The Uchiha Style's exquisite techniques proved useless against Hashirama.

Izuna made the right choice.

But.

Ban narrowed his eyes slightly.

Hashirama realized something too.

He suddenly jumped back, creating distance, and his hands rapidly formed hand seals.

"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"

The ground shook violently, and countless thick Vines burst forth from the soil, surging towards Izuna like mad snakes!

Izuna did not retreat.

With a push of his feet, he charged into the Vines like a cannonball, his body flipping and dodging in mid-air to avoid several attacking Vines. At the same time, he swung his hands and tore the Vines blocking his way into pieces with his bare hands!

Hashirama's lips curled into a smile, and his hands formed hand seals once more.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

The river behind them suddenly burst open, and a huge Water Dragon soared into the air, rushing towards Izuna with immense force!

Izuna was suspended in mid-air, with nowhere to gain leverage.

But his hands moved swiftly, forming hand seals.

Fire Style: Great Fireball!

Blazing flames erupted from his mouth, colliding violently with the Water Dragon!

"Laugh--!"

Steam burst open, filling the entire riverbank, instantly reducing visibility to its lowest point.

Hashirama's senses spread out, searching for Izuna's whereabouts.

The next second, a figure burst out of the steam with astonishing speed, and was already in front of him in the blink of an eye!

Izuna's right fist, accompanied by the sound of wind being cut, slammed fiercely towards his chest!

Hashirama raised his hand to block.

"Bang!"

The shockwave erupted again.

Izuna seemed intent on seizing this opportunity to launch a series of attacks.

The fists rained down like a storm, each punch carrying the Monster Strength to shatter rocks, forcing Hashirama to defend with all his might!

Hashirama's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Marvelous!

This battle was fantastic!

He couldn't help but want to burst into laughter, to unleash his full power, to see just how many of Izuna's attacks he could withstand.

But he held back.

Because there was a gaze fixed intently on him from afar.

Ban's eyes held a clear warning.

Try hitting me hard.

Hashirama sighed silently to himself.

Okay, let's just keep it this way then.

His blocking motion suddenly changed, switching from defense to offense. He used his left hand to deflect Izuna's fist, while his right fist clenched and aimed straight for Izuna's face!

Izuna dodged to the side, but Hashirama's fist suddenly changed direction in mid-air, turning from a fist into a palm, and slapped towards his shoulder!

The attack was too fast and too sudden; Izuna didn't have time to dodge completely and his shoulder was grazed.

A tremendous force struck him, sending him flying sideways. He rolled several times on the ground before barely managing to regain his balance.

He got up, grimacing as he rubbed his shoulder.

"Ouch—that really hurts."

Hashirama stood there, watching him with a smile.

"Izuna, you're really amazing," he said. "But why don't you use your Sharingan?"

Hashirama a low voice, "I told you, you'd get hurt if you didn't go all out."

Izuna paused for a moment, then reluctantly lowered his waving hand.

"It's not that I don't want to use it, it's that I can't," he said. "No matter how I try, I just can't awaken the Sharingan."

The air on the riverbank was still for a moment.

Hashirama's expression froze.

In the distance, Ban's fingers suddenly tightened.

"Why?" Hashirama's voice was filled with confusion. "Didn't you awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan in the Capital City?"

"So I have absolutely no memory of that," Izuna said. "Since it's just you guys here, I'll just be blunt."

"Actually, ever since I appeared in this world, I've been trying to awaken the Sharingan, but I've never succeeded."

Hashirama blinked, looking somewhat nervous. "Have you looked into the cause?"

Izuna shrugged. "How am I supposed to find the reason? Well, maybe Tobirama's eyes weren't done properly. After all, my left eye isn't very good, and that might be why my Sharingan can't be activated properly."

Upon hearing this, Tobirama gritted his teeth.

The three sentences written on the black scroll kept appearing uncontrollably in his mind.

Take good care of Izuna.

Don't mention me to him.

As long as he feels happy, that's all that matters.

That was the Parallel World of myself that had vanished without even showing up... and was now being criticized by Izuna.

Tobirama's breathing became rapid.

That's not true!

He screamed inwardly, "That guy values you more than anyone else!"

He's tried everything he could to fix that eye!

Even if that guy disappears forever, he wants you to live happily ever after! How could you... how could you say that?!

But he couldn't bring himself to say it.

He couldn't say.

The scroll is still in his Laboratory. He has read it countless times and can almost recite every word from memory.

But Izuna didn't know that.

Izuna had no idea how much effort his Tobirama had put into creating that eye.

He had no idea about the truth.

And I...

Tobirama's fingernails dug deeply into his palm.

And I can't say anything.

Hateful!

In the distance, Madara's gaze shifted slightly and landed on Tobirama.

He saw Tobirama clench his teeth, and for the first time, his usually expressionless face showed such intense emotional fluctuation.

Anger? Pain? Or something else entirely?

Ban didn't know.

He didn't want to know.

Madara's gaze swept coldly from the spot where Tobirama had disappeared, then returned to the battle on the riverbank.

This guy was indirectly responsible for Izuna's death.

It was already quite generous of him not to kill Tobirama.

As for what he's thinking now, or what he's suffering from.

It has nothing to do with him.

The battle continues on the riverbank.