The First Cry of the Senluo and the Biased Scales

Two pairs of Mangekyo Sharingan!

A translucent purple skeletal frame protected Izuna, who was severely wounded yet boiling with killing intent. Beside him stood Uchiha Madara, his Dojutsu Power surging like an Asura from hell. As the brothers stood together, their overwhelming hatred merged with the icy, piercing power of their eyes, forming a terrifying, soul-crushing pressure that blanketed the entire battlefield.

Every surviving Uchiha ninja felt as if they had been injected with a stimulant, fanatically shouting, "Lord Madara!" and "Lord Izuna!" as their morale soared to its peak.

The Senju side, however, was plunged into shock and terror. A single pair of Mangekyo had already made Uchiha Madara invincible; now, with a second pair added to the mix, how could this war possibly be won?

Tobirama Senju's face was ashen. He stared fixedly at the purple skeletal frame surrounding Izuna, his mind frantically calculating the limits and potential weaknesses of this unknown defense. At the same time, he felt extreme frustration at his failure to secure a kill, which only hardened his resolve to develop an ultimate technique that transcended speed and conventional Ninjutsu.

Hashirama Senju stood at the very front, feeling those two massive, identical, yet hatred-filled sources of Dojutsu Power. The immense pain and sense of responsibility nearly crushed him. He spread his arms, unleashing his vast Chakra without reservation, attempting to hold the crumbling front line together single-handedly.

"Hashirama! Get out of the way! Otherwise, I shall see to it that the Senju clan is wiped from existence today!" Uchiha Madara's Mangekyo locked onto Hashirama, his voice cold and devoid of emotion.

"Madara! Stop this! Such hatred will only destroy everything!" Hashirama pleaded, pushing his power to the limit. Thick vines and wooden structures began to surge from the ground; though crude, they were incredibly tough, struggling to hold back the Uchiha's onslaught.

"Destroy? Then it starts with you!" Madara roared, unleashing the full power of his Mangekyo. His massive Chakra condensed into a giant form of flame, blasting toward Hashirama!

Izuna also endured his agony, manipulating the incomplete purple skeletal arm to smash fiercely into the Senju formation!

The brothers fought in tandem, their power earth-shattering!

The Senju clan's defense line was instantly in jeopardy; ninjas were continuously swallowed by flames or sent flying by the skeletal arm, their screams echoing endlessly.

Hashirama's eyes were bloodshot. He poured all his Chakra into the ground, causing more vines to burst forth and grow wildly, weaving into a massive wooden shield to withstand Madara's Fire Style and Izuna's Susanoo strikes!

Rumble!

Amidst the violent explosions, wood splinters flew everywhere. The shield was covered in cracks and on the verge of collapse!

Hashirama gritted his teeth, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth as his Chakra was consumed at an unprecedented rate. He felt an immense struggle; facing the power of two Mangekyo, even with his Sage Body, he felt overwhelmed.

Just at this critical moment—

A subtle change occurred.

It did not come from anyone on the battlefield, but rather from... the entire world? Or perhaps, from the earth beneath their feet and the surrounding forest.

It was as if some will, dormant for countless years, had, at this very moment, shifted ever so slightly.

Only a very few with extremely keen perception could catch that fleeting, ancient, and vast fluctuation.

Uchiha Sou's Double Tomoe Sharingan trembled violently. He felt a bizarre disharmony in the natural energy around him, as if an invisible hand had nudged the scales, allowing a force leaning toward "life" to quietly permeate the air and subtly bolster the struggling Hashirama Senju.

Correspondingly, on the side of Uchiha Madara and Izuna, that cold, hateful Dojutsu Power seemed to be met with an indescribable, faint rejection from the world itself.

This influence was infinitesimal, almost imperceptible, and incapable of changing the course of the battle. Yet, for that one instant, it truly existed.

Uchiha Madara's brow furrowed ever so slightly. His Mangekyo swept the surroundings, but he found nothing, dismissing it as an illusion caused by the overuse of his eyes.

But for Hashirama Senju, who was in the thick of it, the sensation was entirely different!

The moment that vast fluctuation flashed by, he felt his connection to the earth beneath his feet deepen a thousandfold! The life force that had previously surged passively now became exceptionally active and docile. The faint vitality of the countless plants in the surrounding forest seemed to be cheering for him, converging upon him!

A sudden realization dawned upon him like a divine revelation!

The wood he had been trying to manifest was not merely a simple creation of Chakra, but... guidance! It was the resonance and shaping of life energy!

"Wood Style..." Hashirama muttered unconsciously. He abandoned his hand seals and spread his arms wide, as if to embrace the entire forest!

Hum—!

Vitality ten, a hundred times greater than before erupted from his body!

The next moment, to the horror of everyone present, the earth roared violently with Hashirama at its center!

No longer just crude vines and wooden stakes, countless tough, living trees burst from the ground, growing wildly! They intertwined and coiled, instantly forming a small forest domain brimming with surging vitality! Thick branches like giant pythons actively entangled Madara's Fire Style and Izuna's Susanoo arm. Though they were continuously shattered by the immense power, their growth speed and toughness far exceeded what they had been before!

More importantly, this suddenly manifested forest domain radiated a gentle yet incredibly vast life force, which actually neutralized and offset the cold, oppressive pressure of the Mangekyo Sharingan, easing the burden on the nearly broken Senju ninjas behind him!

"What... is this?" Izuna watched the living forest in shock; his Susanoo arm was being temporarily stalled by the crazily growing trees!

A flash of astonishment crossed Uchiha Madara's Mangekyo as well; his flames were being layered and weakened, absorbed by those trees radiating vitality!

"Hashirama..." Madara looked at his best friend and nemesis, who was shrouded in the lush forest and whose aura had become unfathomable, his expression grave.

The Hashirama before him seemed to have stepped into a brand-new realm.

Although this forest domain was far from the world-altering scale of later generations and could only be considered a rudimentary, limited prototype of "Deep Forest Emergence," its significance and potential were already vastly different!

Tobirama Senju watched his brother's sudden breakthrough with surprise, but even more so with deep thought. He knew better than anyone that his brother's power had come somewhat... abruptly, as if he had received some form of invisible favor.

The battlefield situation fell into a stalemate once more.

Two pairs of Mangekyo faced off against a Sage Body that had begun to master true Wood Style.

The power of hatred and destruction clashed with the power of life and growth.

Uchiha Sou watched this astonishing scene, his heart shaken beyond measure. He was absolutely certain that the subtle fluctuation from a moment ago was no illusion!

Something... or perhaps some entity, had intervened! In an extremely obscure, almost undetectable way, it had favored Hashirama Senju, allowing him to seize a critical opportunity for a breakthrough in this desperate situation!

Is this the "Causality" of the world? Is this the "favoritism" hidden behind history?

A chill rose from the bottom of his heart.

He looked at those two pairs of Mangekyo Sharingan, which might grow even more resentful and hateful due to the world's subtle "injustice," and at Hashirama Senju, whose aura continued to climb under the protection of the forest.

He knew that from this moment on, the nature of the war might have changed. This was no longer a simple grudge between two clans; it seemed that a deeper power had begun to intervene quietly.

And as an outlier attempting to peek into and control "Causality," how was he to conduct himself in this grand, biased chess game that was slowly unfolding?

The battle, due to Hashirama's unexpected breakthrough and the exhaustion of the Uchiha brothers, fell into a temporary deadlock. Both sides tacitly began to retreat to lick their wounds.

But everyone understood that the next collision would be even more terrifying.

The torrent of the era, due to this obscure, biased finger, accelerated toward an unknown direction.