Blue, translucent chakra spread from the Wood Golem's nose across its entire body in an instant. Clad in blue armor, it looked even more imposing, like a burly, armored general in a New Year's painting. Two enormous long swords were strapped to its waist.
The Tailed Beast Bomb at the Nine-Tails' mouth had finished forming at just the right moment. The pitch-black sphere began to glow brilliantly, growing larger and ready to obliterate everything in its path.
"You're useless, Nine-Tails!"
Madara sensed the Susanoo completely enveloping the Wood Golem. He controlled his chakra to form an arm above and to the side of the Wood Golem's shoulder, then swung its blue fist and punched the Nine-Tails under the jaw, dispersing the Tailed Beast Bomb completely.
The Nine-Tails opened its enormous, blood-red mouth in pain, its deafening roar echoing all around. Its long ears flattened against its shaking head. Its arms were held fast, leaving it unable to move, so it could only thrash its nine tails behind it.
The tails waving freely in the air suddenly shot straight up like a peacock spreading its feathers. Red chakra seeped from their surface and wrapped tightly around them. In an instant, they stretched much longer and shot toward the Wood Golem's arm.
Is that all?
So the Tailed Beasts really were only this strong.
Madara's stern face held a hint of interest as his Sharingan studied the Wood Golem beneath him. He felt like he'd found a new toy, and the novelty excited him. He'd wanted to try combining Susanoo with the Wood Golem for a long time.
He hoped the Nine-Tails wouldn't disappoint him.
Just as the tails were about to strike, the Wood Golem suddenly grabbed the Nine-Tails by the wrist and pulled it toward itself.
The Wood Golem, now wearing a blue helmet, slammed its head into the Nine-Tails'. The blow landed heavily on the beast's flesh, but only sent ripples across the chakra armor.
Madara and Hashirama, standing on the Wood Golem's nose, weren't affected by the headbutt at all. They remained perfectly steady.
"Nicely done!" Hashirama flashed his white teeth. His praise reached Madara's ears amid the dull thud of skull against skull.
Madara tamped down the pleasure he felt at his friend's praise. While the Nine-Tails' eyes were unfocused and it was still dazed, he raised the Wood Golem's arm at incredible speed. Its blue-glowing fingers spread in an instant and clamped tightly around the Nine-Tails' shoulder.
After the fourth earth-shaking impact, the Wood Golem leaned its head back, preparing for a fifth.
Perhaps sunlight had fallen into its crimson eyes. Under the relentless blows, the Nine-Tails finally began to come to its senses. Its dangling arm abruptly caught the Wood Golem by the shoulder to counter its hold, and it bit down on the Wood Golem's arm.
Its red mouth opened wide, and its white teeth, sharp as blades, glinted with a cold light as they sank into the Wood Golem's arm beneath the Susanoo's protection. The Nine-Tails strained its jaw, biting down with all its might.
Its fangs gradually tore through the Susanoo's defenses, sinking visibly into the arm. Reflected in the fox's resolute eyes were the calm expressions of the two figures standing on the Wood Golem's nose.
It worked.
Free of the Wood Golem's grasp, the Nine-Tails shuffled backward and spat out the wood chips in its mouth, gathering strength for its next attack.
"Interesting." Madara glanced at the Wood Golem, now missing a shoulder, then turned to Hashirama, who stood beside him with his arms crossed. "Want to give it a try?"
"No. I've been the one playing so far. It's your turn now." Hashirama restored the Wood Golem to its original state and shook his head. He was eager to try the Wood Golem covered by Susanoo too, but he could wait until Madara had had his fun.
"Heh. Then watch me."
Madara's words enraged the Nine-Tails. Its fur bristled like needles, and its tails began churning the sky. The white clouds overhead swirled violently, gradually forming a vortex that descended toward the ground.
A Tailed Beast Bomb began to take shape at its mouth at incredible speed.
"Be careful, Madara." Sensing the swelling sphere rapidly compress into a dense mass, Hashirama quietly warned him.
Madara didn't answer. He made the Wood Golem trample across the earth, draw a long sword from its waist, and charge toward the Nine-Tails.
The Nine-Tails opened its mouth wide and swallowed the Tailed Beast Bomb. It recombined the sphere inside its body, changed its shape, and fired it at the Wood Golem charging toward it.
The Sharingan had already tracked the fast-moving orb's trajectory. Madara calmly gripped the long sword in his hand, holding its straight blade upright toward the sky.
The vortex spinning in the heavens completely changed the color of the sky. Gloomy clouds blotted out the sun, plunging the world into darkness as if night had fallen. The long sword formed from blue chakra shone with a cold light.
The blade flashed, and its keen edge cleaved the Tailed Beast Bomb in two, triggering its explosion prematurely. The beam, thicker than the Wood Golem's round belly, split into two. The blast of energy, infused with the Nine-Tails' terrifying chakra, tore through the heavy earth and toppled ancient trees along its path.
The explosion didn't affect the Wood Golem in the slightest. It didn't even look back. Blue light glimmered in the wooden eyes beneath its armor, fixed on the Nine-Tails crouched on the ground, baring its teeth and claws.
Its first attack had failed, and the Wood Golem was already right before it. The Nine-Tails began running wildly across the ground, its movements broad and powerful. Its front paws, bulging with swollen veins, smashed the earth beneath them. Then it reared up and swung at the long sword in the Wood Golem's hand.
The fox stretched out its arms, the long claws on its fingers like slender daggers. They clashed fiercely with the Wood Golem's long sword, the metallic ringing of each impact deafening.
The long sword and white claws intertwined, their fierce exchange of flashing blades lighting up the world like the height of day.
Madara looked more and more pleased. The Nine-Tails wasn't relying on its size to launch mindless attacks. There was real technique behind each of them.
The afterimages of the long sword began to disorient the Nine-Tails, but it had a way of its own. Chakra wrapped around its tails like spears, and it sent them in to attack the Wood Golem as well.
Even the Wood Golem clad in Susanoo armor struggled to withstand such a dense barrage. Cracks began to appear across its body, clearly visible to the naked eye.
"Die!"
As if celebrating its imminent victory, the Nine-Tails opened its mouth wide and roared. It was the first time it had spoken.
"?"
Hashirama, who'd been slacking off, scratched his head, looking perplexed. Hadn't the fight just started? Why was it already ending? Chakra flowed down into the Wood Golem, restoring it to its original state.
Madara was at a loss. He couldn't figure out whether Hashirama was naturally clueless. Besides often falling into melancholy, he also had a knack for sharp retorts.
The Nine-Tails before them was practically exploding with rage. In all these years, no one had dared to bluster like that in front of it. Nearly limitless chakra surged wildly out of its body. The Tailed Beast Bombs gathering at its mouth multiplied rapidly and shot toward the Wood Golem's position with blinding speed.
"Don't get worked up, little fox."
The Nine-Tails paid Madara's words no heed. It was truly furious now, and all it could think was that the two of them would soon vanish from the Shinobi World along with the Tailed Beast Bombs—unless they could fly.
The barrage of Tailed Beast Bombs came straight at them. Madara plunged the Wood Golem's long sword into the ground and formed Hand Seals, continuing to channel chakra. The blue armor on the Wood Golem's back swelled, and in an instant, a pair of deep-blue wings burst forth. They beat against the earth, raising clouds of dust as the Wood Golem soared into the sky.
The Nine-Tails stared up at the Wood Golem flying through the gloomy sky, feeling a headache coming on. It was as if some ugly raccoon dog had possessed it, bringing misfortune in its wake.
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