A vast projection slowly unfolded across the Heavenly Screen, revealing a breathtaking showdown to everyone. In the image, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha stood facing each other amid towering mountains, as though the whole world were holding its breath for this fateful battle.
Madara Uchiha's scarlet Sharingan gleamed coldly in the shadows, his eyes filled with complicated emotions—nostalgia for his once-dearest friend and anger at the injustice of fate. He slowly raised his hands and formed Hand Seals almost too quickly to follow. With a low command, he summoned the enormous Nine-Tailed Demon Fox before him. The Nine-Tails' nine tails lashed wildly through the air like burning flames, and his golden beast eyes blazed with boundless savagery and destructive power. He threw back his head and howled, shaking the land around him as though he would tear heaven and earth apart.
Facing Madara Uchiha's fierce attack, Hashirama Senju looked grave but showed no fear. He pressed his palms together, and Chakra surged from his body like a river, instantly becoming countless enormous Wood Release vines that burst from the ground and shot skyward. Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence! Under his control, countless towering trees grew rapidly into a dense forest, firmly blocking the Nine-Tails' assault. Their branches and trunks wound upward like living things, seeking to bind the Nine-Tails.
The scene on the Heavenly Screen grew more intense as the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox and Hashirama Senju's giant Wood Release trees engaged in an earth-shaking struggle. The Nine-Tails' nine tails lashed madly like blazing flames, each sweep whipping up fierce winds that snapped the surrounding trees in half. Its claws tore open the earth, flames soared skyward, and thick smoke billowed. Yet Hashirama Senju's Wood Release power flowed without end. The destroyed trees sprouted new branches in the blink of an eye and swept toward the Nine-Tails like an endless tide. The giant trees' vines coiled around the Nine-Tails like enormous snakes, trying to bind it, but its savage strength shattered their bonds again and again. Its roars were deafening.
Meanwhile, Madara Uchiha held a gigantic flame Gunbai and flitted through the trees like a ghost. His Sharingan gleamed coldly, and every swing of the Gunbai stirred up fierce winds and sparks, blocking every one of Hashirama Senju's attacks. His movements were swift and fierce, as though he had already anticipated Hashirama's every move. The two figures crossed paths among the trees, moving almost too fast to see, while the thunderous collisions between the Gunbai and Wood Release echoed without pause.
Hashirama Senju's expression was grave. He rapidly formed Hand Seals, unleashing Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique once more. An enormous Wood Dragon soared out of the ground and lunged at Madara Uchiha with its jaws wide open. Madara sneered, the Tomoe in his Sharingan spinning rapidly as he swung the Gunbai and deflected the Wood Dragon's attack...
The battle on the Heavenly Screen entered its fiercest phase. Madara Uchiha stood atop the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's head, his scarlet Sharingan gleaming coldly in the shadows. His figure seemed to merge with the Nine-Tails, as though he had become the embodiment of destruction. As he formed Hand Seals, a vast torrent of Chakra erupted from his body. Blue energy rapidly gathered into a massive suit of Susanoo armor that completely encased the Nine-Tails. Now the Nine-Tails possessed not only its own savage Tailed Beast power but also the sturdy armor of Susanoo, making it look like a demon god risen from hell.
"Majestic Attire: Susanoo!" Madara Uchiha shouted. The combined form of the Nine-Tails and Susanoo leaped up, its enormous body blotting out the sky. Nine tails lashed through the air like blazing flames, and waves of energy distorted the air around them. With an earth-shaking roar, the Nine-Tails stood upright and swung a massive sword down at Hashirama Senju.
Facing this devastating assault, Hashirama Senju looked grave but showed no fear. He pressed his palms together, and Chakra surged from his body like a river as he instantly entered Sage Mode. Red markings appeared on his face, and powerful Natural Energy radiated from him. He shouted, "Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands!"
As his words fell, the earth shook violently, and an unimaginably enormous thousand-armed Buddha statue slowly rose from underground. Hundreds of meters tall, the statue had countless massive Wood Release arms stretching out behind it, each containing enough power to destroy heaven and earth. Its face was solemn and compassionate, as though it were looking down upon the strife and suffering of the world.
The thousand-armed Buddha's countless arms swung out to meet the combined form of the Nine-Tails and Susanoo like a raging storm. When the Tailed Beast Bomb collided with the Wood Release arms, a blinding light erupted, and an energy shockwave swept in every direction, changing the color of heaven and earth. The Nine-Tails' roars intertwined with the Buddha statue's low humming, as though sounding an earth-shaking battle song.
Standing atop the Nine-Tails' head, Madara Uchiha controlled Susanoo's massive sword and brought it crashing down on the thousand-armed Buddha. Hashirama Senju controlled the statue's countless arms, blocking the sword's attacks one after another. Their battle reached a fever pitch. Every collision made the earth tremble, tore the sky apart, and scattered the clouds.
The Shinobi World in reality
Beneath the Heavenly Screen, everyone stared up at the cataclysmic battle, dumbstruck, as though they had forgotten even to breathe. The air was thick with stifled shock and awe, as if the whole world were trembling at a showdown beyond mortal comprehension.
"Is... is this the power of the legendary God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, and Madara Uchiha?" a young ninja murmured, his voice trembling with disbelief. He had once read accounts of the two legendary figures in his clan's records, but compared with the astonishing sight before him, those written descriptions were like fireflies beside the full moon.
"It's terrifying... This isn't a level humans can reach!" another ninja said quietly. Cold sweat had already broken out on his forehead, and his hands clenched involuntarily. He had once thought he stood at the pinnacle of ninja, but only now did he truly realize that the gulf between him and those two legendary ninja was like that between an ant and a dragon.
"They're like gods fighting each other..." an older ninja sighed, his eyes filled with complicated emotions. He had lived through two Shinobi World wars and seen countless powerful ninja, but never a sight so astonishing. The combined form of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox and Susanoo, Hashirama Senju's Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands—these legendary Ninjutsu truly existed in the world, and their power far exceeded anything he had imagined.
The battle on the Heavenly Screen grew fiercer. The Nine-Tails' roars intertwined with the thousand-armed Buddha's low humming, as though sounding an earth-shaking battle song. Every collision made the earth tremble, tore the sky apart, and scattered the clouds. Everyone felt the ground shaking beneath their feet, as though the whole world were trembling at the battle.
"Power like that... If it really exists in the world, wouldn't it completely destroy the balance of the Shinobi World?" a ninja said quietly, a trace of fear in his voice. He dared not imagine what kind of hell the Shinobi World would become if such power were used in war.
At his words, everyone fell silent. They gazed at the two legendary figures on the Heavenly Screen, an indescribable mixture of emotions welling up in their hearts: awe of power and reflection on conviction.
"Perhaps that's why they're called the God of Shinobi..." a ninja said quietly, his voice full of deep feeling. His gaze held both admiration for the two legendary figures and resignation at his own insignificance.
Tsunade stood beneath the Heavenly Screen, gazing up at her grandfather Hashirama Senju's imposing figure in the image, her heart filled with emotion. Her long golden hair fluttered gently in the wind, and complicated feelings flickered in her eyes—pride, nostalgia, and deep resignation.
"Grandpa..." she murmured, her voice trembling slightly. As Hashirama Senju's granddaughter, she had heard countless legends about him since childhood and knew he was a great ninja, a legend of the Shinobi World. But only after seeing the power her grandfather displayed in battle with her own eyes did she truly realize that those legends fell far short of describing his strength.
"So... Grandpa's power was this terrifying..." she said quietly, a trace of bitterness in her voice. As one of the Sannin, she had always been proud of her strength, but only now did she truly realize that the gap between her and her grandfather was like that between a firefly and the full moon. They could not be compared at all.
Scenes from her childhood surfaced in her mind. Back then, her grandfather had always worn a gentle smile as he softly patted her head and told her, "Tsunade, a ninja's power isn't for destruction, but for protection." At the time, she hadn't fully understood what he meant; she had only thought that her grandfather was a strong and gentle man. Now, seeing the power and conviction he displayed in battle, she finally understood that his strength lay not only in his Ninjutsu, but also in his heart, which had always held fast to peace.
"But... Grandpa, the Shinobi World today is no longer what you hoped it would be..." A shadow passed through Tsunade's eyes. She remembered the brutality of the Shinobi World wars and the countless ninja and civilians who had lost their lives in them. A sense of helplessness welled up in her, as though no matter how hard she tried, she could not change the state of the world.
Orochimaru watched the battle on the Heavenly Screen, his golden snake eyes fixed on Madara Uchiha's scarlet Mangekyō Sharingan in the image, gleaming with greed and desire. His tongue involuntarily slid over his lips, as though he were savoring some exquisite delicacy. The power contained in those Mangekyō Sharingan filled him with excitement and obsession.
"So this is... the power of the true Mangekyō Sharingan?" Orochimaru murmured, a hoarse fervor in his voice. The scene of his defeat at Uchiha Itachi's hands rose unbidden in his mind—in that instant, his Genjutsu had been easily broken, his body completely subdued, and he had not even had a chance to resist. That feeling of helplessness still frightened him.
"Uchiha Itachi... those eyes truly are an incomparable treasure." A cold glint flashed in Orochimaru's eyes. He had once coveted Itachi's body, wanting to claim those Mangekyō Sharingan for himself, but ultimately he had been defeated by Itachi's power. That frustration made him crave the power of the Sharingan even more.
His gaze slowly shifted to Madara Uchiha in the image, his eyes full of greed and calculation. "Madara Uchiha's power has surpassed the limits of mortals... If I could obtain such power, no, if I could master this power." A mad ambition surged in his heart, as though he could already see himself succeeding.
Just then, Sasuke's image appeared in his mind—that young descendant of the Uchiha Clan, those Sharingan that had yet to fully awaken. A chilling smile curled Orochimaru's lips. "Sasuke... your body, your eyes, are the vessel best suited to me." He had already made up his mind: no matter what, he would obtain Sasuke's body and take complete control of the power of those Sharingan.
"With the power of the Sharingan and my forbidden techniques, I will become a being who surpasses all others!" Orochimaru's heart was filled with feverish fantasies. It was as though he could already see himself standing at the pinnacle of the Shinobi World.