The Battle Reaches a Fever Pitch

Kaguya watched Hashirama Senju with a calm expression. She didn't take him seriously. To be honest, even with Sage Mode activated, Hashirama wasn't her match.

In Kaguya's eyes, Hashirama's strength was no more than that of a child. She didn't consider him a threat at all.

After all, Sage Mode came in varying degrees of strength. Jiraiya's Sage Mode, with its minimal fusion, was naturally the weakest kind. Next came the fusion-type Sage Mode used by Orochimaru Kabuto.

Though it wasn't especially powerful in combat, it had its own unique qualities. Beyond that came Hashirama's Sage Mode and Naruto's Sage Mode at Mount Myōboku. Those were relatively powerful, but still fell short against Kaguya.

Sage Mode was best known for its mastery of Natural Energy. To put it in perspective, if Hashirama could control one unit of Natural Energy, Kaguya could control five hundred. With such a vast gap between them, it was obvious who was stronger.

But Hashirama had never intended to take Kaguya on head-to-head. He was only there to buy time. As long as he could hold out until Naruto woke up, his task would be complete.

"The younger generation is fighting with everything they've got. How could we elders just stand by and watch? Even if we aren't strong enough, we still have to do what we can. If you want to get to that little brat Naruto, you'll have to step over my corpse!"

Hashirama bent his knees slightly, ready to fight to the death.

"Stubborn fool!" Kaguya snorted, then sprang toward Senju Tobirama.

Seeing Kaguya charging at him, Hashirama didn't dare let his guard down. He cautiously formed Hand Seals.

"Wood Release: Wood Clone Technique!"

Several Wood Release clones appeared behind Hashirama. Naruto had used this technique with ease earlier.

When the odds were