"Ha ha ha, Takenaka, let's try again. Sage Mode!"
Land of Whirlpools, Uzushiogakure, in the courtyard.
As Hashirama Senju's voice fell, an even more powerful surge of Chakra burst forth from his body.
At the same time, perfect Sage Mode markings appeared on Hashirama Senju's face.
"What terrifying presence. The natural energy around him was absorbed into his body almost instantly."
Opposite him, under the monitoring of Advanced Observation Haki, Takenaka Kaguya clearly saw the surrounding natural energy get drawn into Hashirama Senju's body in an instant.
Such absorption speed showed that Hashirama Senju's Sage Mode had absolutely reached perfection.
Looking across Shippuden, those capable of using Sage Mode were Hashirama Senju, Jiraiya, Naruto Uzumaki, and Kabuto Yakushi.
However, whether it was Jiraiya or Kabuto Yakushi, their Sage Modes both displayed corresponding traits.
When Jiraiya used Sage Mode, frog markings appeared on his face. When Kabuto Yakushi used Sage Mode, his entire body resembled the snakes of Ryuchi Cave.
Although Naruto Uzumaki had also mastered perfect Sage Mode, he needed a certain amount of preparation time to enter it.
Even though Naruto Uzumaki later came up with a way to store Sage Chakra in clones, compared with the Hashirama Senju before him, that lengthy preparation time would be enough for Takenaka Kaguya, at his current speed, to kill him ten times over with time to spare.
At that thought, intense fighting spirit appeared in Takenaka Kaguya's eyes. He immediately smiled and said, "Big Brother Hashirama, be careful."
"Come..."
Opposite him, Hashirama Senju laughed. Just as he was about to say "come on," before he could even finish the words, he suddenly discovered that Takenaka Kaguya had vanished.
Clang!
The next second, Takenaka Kaguya appeared behind him, and Shusui, coated in Armament Haki, was already slashing toward his neck.
So fast!
Hashirama Senju thought to himself, then quickly raised a hand to block the strike.
Whoosh!
The immense force sent Hashirama Senju's body rapidly backward.
He slid back more than three meters before coming to a stop. At that moment, surprise filled his eyes once more.
From the move where Takenaka Kaguya had suddenly vanished and then appeared behind him, he could tell that Takenaka Kaguya had not used Chakra.
In other words, it was purely taijutsu.
Yet after searching his memories for quite a while, he still could not think of any clan in the Shinobi World whose taijutsu could achieve such an effect.
"Heh heh, Big Brother Hashirama, this is a taijutsu I created myself. That move just now is called Soru.
Next, let Big Brother Hashirama see the other moves." Takenaka Kaguya chuckled. Seeing the confusion in Hashirama Senju's eyes, he immediately explained.
"Soru? It's truly impressive, Takenaka. If I hadn't entered Sage Mode, that slash just now might have cut off my neck." Hashirama Senju nodded and gave a very serious evaluation.
"Ha ha ha, Rankyaku."
Opposite him, Takenaka Kaguya laughed, then swiftly lashed out with both legs. The next second, two sharp slashes like sword energy shot forth again, racing toward Hashirama Senju.
"Good grief, you can produce slashes with your feet too!"
Hashirama Senju quickly dodged, then discovered that the wall two meters behind him had been cut clean through.
Hiss!
Not far away, Mito Uzumaki, who was watching the battle, could not help drawing in a sharp breath when she saw that move.
Even with her vast experience, she had never seen such an absurd method of attack. A kick could actually create slashes like those made by a blade.
"Rankyaku? What strange taijutsu."
At that moment, Hashirama Senju also noticed Rankyaku's effects. While inwardly astonished, he decided to use offense as defense.
Thus, Hashirama Senju suddenly exerted force beneath his feet. The next second, his body rapidly closed in on Takenaka Kaguya, and he threw both fists forward. Yet he discovered that Takenaka Kaguya's body had actually become like a sheet of paper.
No matter how fast or fierce his attacks were, Takenaka Kaguya evaded them all like a paper figure.
"Big Brother Hashirama, this is another move—Kami-e!" Takenaka Kaguya introduced it with a grin as he used Kami-e to dodge.
Hearing this, Hashirama Senju was just about to respond when Takenaka Kaguya suddenly seized an opening in his attacks and jabbed a finger forward.
Ding!
Hashirama Senju reacted quickly and blocked it with his hand.
However, feeling the sharpness coming from Takenaka Kaguya's finger, along with the force that nearly pierced through his arm, he had no choice but to retreat and evade.
"Big Brother Hashirama, this move is called Shigan." Takenaka Kaguya introduced it again.
After forcing Hashirama Senju back with Shigan, he did not pursue the attack. Instead, he stood where he was with Shusui in hand, smiling at Hashirama Senju.
"Remarkable, Takenaka. You truly are remarkable. This kind of taijutsu is extremely useful in actual combat.
Whether attacking or evading, it is impossible to predict. It can attack and defend alike. No wonder you are so confident." Hashirama Senju nodded.
Then he grinned, reached out to take a Kunai, and shot forward again.
Watching the Kunai in Hashirama Senju's hand fly toward him, Takenaka Kaguya did not move. Not only did he not resist, he smiled as though he had not seen it at all. "Tekkai: Steel."
"Move!"
"Takenaka, move!"
Seeing Takenaka Kaguya fail to dodge, Hashirama Senju immediately cried out in alarm. He had originally thought Takenaka Kaguya could evade it, but never expected him to stand motionless and let the Kunai stab toward him.
Not far away, Mito Uzumaki also cried out anxiously.
Ding!
However, just as both of them thought Takenaka Kaguya would definitely be injured, the sound of metal clashing rang out. Then Hashirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki witnessed a scene that overturned everything they knew.
Hashirama Senju's Kunai had indeed struck Takenaka Kaguya in the chest, yet he was completely unharmed.
Seeing this, Hashirama Senju did not continue the fight. He withdrew the Kunai, quickly looked at Takenaka Kaguya, and asked, "Takenaka, did you use Chakra?"
In the Naruto World, there was a Kekkei Genkai called Steel Release, formed by combining Earth Release and Lightning Release.
The defining trait of this ability was that it could harden the user's body like metal, granting extremely powerful defense and even allowing the user to withstand attacks from hard materials such as steel.
But regardless of the Kekkei Genkai, Chakra was needed to sustain it.
That was why Hashirama Senju asked.
"Heh heh, Big Brother Hashirama, this is also one of the moves in my taijutsu. It is called Tekkai!"
Before you continue