Between a Rock and a Hard Place

The force behind each palm of Senju Divine Power was enough to shatter mountains and split the earth, let alone the unending barrage of a thousand palms. Even Susanoo, with its astonishing defensive power, could not withstand it.

Madara Uchiha had suffered greatly in the face of this technique, so he should have understood that Senju Divine Power was not something to be resisted head-on.

Yet when he faced Senju Divine Power again today, Madara Uchiha still chose not to avoid its edge. Instead, he confronted it head-on.

Now that he possessed the power of the Rinnegan, perhaps that was what he relied on.

The solemn giant Buddha came surging across the ground. Its thousand arms radiated pressure as heavy as mountains, and the earth trembled beneath it.

Susanoo's crystal-blue wings spread and folded, whipping up raging hurricanes that drove its enormous body skimming low across the ground toward the thousand-handed Buddha.

The two colossal beings were like warriors meeting on a narrow road. No matter how many "cycles" they went through, they always reenacted scenes that seemed vaguely familiar.

"Madara...!"

"Hashirama...!"

Even as the earth shook, dust flew, and the giants blotted out the sky, the two men could still find each other through the many obstacles obscuring their vision. Though they exchanged no words, the names that resounded from their hearts were filled with an icy, murderous intent.

It was either your death... or my survival.

That was how battles had always been: cold and merciless.

Susanoo did not swing its blade. Instead, the thousand-handed Buddha launched the first attack. The solemn, dignified palms arranged in neat rows suddenly moved. They were not slow, and they were remarkably nimble.

The thousand palms struck toward Susanoo in orderly succession, one after another.

Carrying a violent gale, the palm strikes