Battle, Part Eight

"Boom!!!"

The wooden figure staggered backward, its massive body swaying wildly from side to side, barely able to maintain its balance.

Wood chips rained down, and the wooden figure's body was covered with dense cracks. Its right arm had been bitten off by the Wood Dragon, and its strength was less than half of what it used to be. Faced with the Hashirama Senju simply couldn't withstand it.

"Wood Dragon."

Nawaki swung his right hand down, and a ferocious Wood Dragon with fangs and claws flew out with lightning speed, opening its blood-red maw and viciously biting the wooden figure's neck with two rows of steel-like sharp teeth.

Click!

Before the wooden figure could raise its left arm to resist, its rough head was bitten off.

Hashirama Senju fell along with the wooden doll's head.

Immediately, the Wood Dragon spun around and fell like a star, lunging at the Hashirama Senju, who was standing on it, whole.

However, in the very next instant—

"Bang bang bang!!!"

A tremendous roar came from inside the Wood Dragon's body. A large bulge suddenly appeared on its neck. Then, amidst the Wood Dragon's mournful cry, the bulge exploded, Hashirama Senju emerged unarmed. He had used the unparalleled strength of his fists to forcefully break through the Wood Dragon's body.

"I knew my grandfather wouldn't be so easy to suppress."

Nawaki muttered something, and the wooden figure beneath his feet continued its movements. It grabbed the Wood Dragon's tail and pulled it violently, dragging the Wood Dragon back at high speed. Hashirama Senju, who was standing on the Wood Dragon's back, also appeared before him.

"Bringer-of-Darkness Technique"

Hashirama Senju ran swiftly on the back of the Wood Dragon, and in the blink of an eye, he pounced on the Wood Dragon's tail, jumped onto the wooden dummy's arm, and charged upwards at top speed, heading straight for the Nawaki standing on the wooden dummy's head.

The attack had already begun while he was running.

The boundless darkness engulfed his vision; no matter how wide he opened his eyes, he could not see a single ray of light, only endless darkness.

"Bringer-of-Darkness Technique... I never thought my grandfather also liked to use this trick to scheme against people."

These Impure World Reincarnation have no minds; they fight entirely based on the instincts remaining in their bodies from their previous lives. In other words, given the power they possess, they use their most common methods without considering tactics; everything they do is driven by their fighting instincts.

On the other hand, the methods used by those Impure World Reincarnation are inevitably the same techniques they used most often in their previous lives.

"However... I'm quite familiar with this move too!"

Nawaki closed his eyes, refusing to look any longer. His ears twitched slightly as he listened to the whistling wind in the sky, the footsteps of Hashirama Senju, and the sound of fists tearing through the air...

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Fists and feet clashed, and in the darkness, the two seemed to have eyes, each punch landing with a visceral impact, aiming for the other's vital points, fighting with all their might.

If someone could see through this Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, they would discover that both Nawaki and Hashirama Senju's bodies were covered in a layer of Chakra, like armor, shining brightly. With a single gesture, they could unleash powerful shockwaves, easily shattering gold and rocks. Unfortunately, this imposing presence could not be seen at all in the darkness.

"Boom!!"

Nawaki unleashed a punch, sending a fierce gust of wind howling and forcing Hashirama Senju to retreat violently.

The First Hokage was certainly not that weak, but he was only retaining 20-30% of his strength, which was incomparable to his peak. Meanwhile, Nawaki was at the peak of his combat power. With this disparity, Nawaki naturally couldn't withstand such a fierce attack.

"Bang!!"

Another punch landed, breaking one of Hashirama Senju's arms.

Hashirama Senju's expression was blank, his eyes lifeless, and he fought purely on instinct, completely unaware that his arm had been severed.

This tedious battle displeased Nawaki, causing his Chakra to boil like magma as he unleashed a barrage of punches, pounding heavily on Hashirama Senju's body.

This era belongs to them. The dead should just lie obediently in their graves and rot. Even a grandfather should go wherever he is supposed to go. It's better for the dead not to break the rules of the world.

He had Mind's Eye no liking for the forbidden technique developed by his great-uncle.

The darkness vanished instantly after Nawaki unleashed its powerful punch.

A strong wind blew by, Hashirama Senju crashed to the ground, most of his body shattered, with gray dust rapidly gathering at his wounds.

However, it's clear that Nawaki won't let this opportunity slip by.

"Wood Release: Ten Bull Painting"

Ten wooden oxen sprouted from the top of the wooden figure's head, swarming forward, some opening their mouths to bite, some lowering their heads to butt their horns, and some raising their hooves to stomp wildly. The wooden oxen and the figure of Hashirama Senju gradually flattened, and with a thud, a wooden painting fell down, which was caught by Nawaki's clapper.

The wooden painting depicts ten wooden oxen and Hashirama Senju, but it's not a particularly bloody scene. Instead, Hashirama Senju is sitting on the back of one of the wooden oxen, looking relaxed as if he's herding cattle.

Ten Bull Painting.

The Senju Clan's unique Sealing Jutsu can seal enemies within wooden paintings; as long as the wooden painting remains intact, the seal will not break.

"······grandfather!!"

Holding the wooden painting, Nawaki's eyes were filled with complex emotions. He sighed heavily, his brows furrowing as he watched the winds raging in the sky once again.

The First Hokage was just one of his enemies; there were many other formidable foes he needed to deal with.

For example, the guy who rode a big white bird and flew around aimlessly in the air for ages.

"Wood Dragon."

Nawaki stomped its foot, and the Wood Dragon, whose body had been repaired at some point, soared into the sky, charging towards the snow-white bird.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Sparks erupted above the Wood Dragon's head. Deidara dodged at lightning speed on his flying bird. He wasn't one of those unkillable creatures below. With his physique, even a slight glancing blow from the shockwave created by the Wood Dragon's advance or retreat would be fatal.

Although he is a Stone Ninja.

However, he had been obsessed with the art of explosions since childhood, focusing solely on its study, and had never put any effort into Hardening Technique.

"The head of the Senju Clan in Konoha, Nawaki Senju? What a troublesome fellow."

Seeing the Wood Dragon with only a few blackened marks, Deidara's eye twitched violently. This damned guy was not easy to deal with at all!

The enormous size of the wooden Wood Dragon posed a significant challenge for Deidara. He didn't have enough clay to blow up such a behemoth... It seemed he had no choice but to target the caster, resorting to a decapitation tactic.

White Clay Bomb drifted down in the wind and snow, and the explosions continued, like fireworks during a festival, dazzling and beautiful.

Having defeated Hashirama Senju, Nawaki and Deidara began a new round of battle. (To be continued)