Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama

As countless D- and E-rank ninjutsu shot from Otsutsuki Yuhao's palm.

Flames, water balls, wind blades, Earth Release, lightning, and the Five Basic Nature Transformations attacked Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama.

Any Chunin could easily deal with these low-level techniques.

But for Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, there were simply too many of them.

Even as Special Jōnin, the two could barely withstand such a barrage of low-level techniques.

Half an hour later, they were both looking exhausted. Their clothes were in tatters, their steps unsteady, and they looked utterly miserable.

"Out of chakra? Then it's time to start basic strength training!"

As he spoke, Otsutsuki Yuhao casually flicked two fingers on his left hand. The gravity within a hundred-meter radius centered on Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara increased tenfold.

[Earth Release: Tenfold Gravity]

"Damn, my body feels so heavy!"

Uchiha Madara gritted his teeth.

"Mine too!"

Senju Hashirama was in slightly better shape than Uchiha Madara; at least he could still stand.

"From now on, you'll both come here every morning to train for three hours!"

Otsutsuki Yuhao smiled at them.

But to the two boys, that smile was utterly terrifying.

One year later.

[Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Technique, B-rank]

Uchiha Madara formed hand seals in an instant and launched a flame shaped like a five- or six-meter-wide dragon's head at Otsutsuki Yuhao's clone.

[Wood Release: Tree Binding Eternal Burial]

Senju Hashirama formed hand seals.

Several trees rapidly sprouted from the ground, their vine-like branches wrapping around Otsutsuki Yuhao's clone.

The Fire Release and Wood Release struck Otsutsuki Yuhao at the same time. The resulting destructive force rivaled an S-rank technique, and everything within a hundred meters was caught in the blast.

Boom!

Yamato used Wood Release for landscaping, while Hashirama used it to conquer the world.

However, Senju Hashirama's Wood Release hadn't yet reached its full potential. At this point, his Wood Release was still a little weaker than Yamato's.

Although Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama were only eight years old and had the strength of upper-level shinobi, the two could defeat an ordinary elite Jōnin if they teamed up.

Thanks to their perfect teamwork, even Otsutsuki Yuhao's clone took a hit.

"Haha, that's great!"

"We hit him!"

Senju Hashirama cried out excitedly.

"Good teamwork. You can defeat an ordinary elite Jōnin.

But you're still far from being able to take me on!"

[Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Technique]

Otsutsuki Yuhao spat out a fire dragon twice as large as Uchiha Madara's Great Fire Dragon Technique. It was a twenty-meter-long Five-Clawed Divine Dragon.

"What? It's huge!"

"Is that really a B-rank technique?" No one would believe it was anything less than A-rank!

Uchiha Madara stared at the enormous fire dragon in alarm and hurriedly dodged with the Substitution Technique. But Otsutsuki Yuhao used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind him and kicked him down.

"You're next, Hashirama!"

[Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence]

He brought his hands together and poured chakra into the ground. Several trees rapidly sprouted, seemingly uprooting themselves as a forest sprang up within a hundred meters in an instant. It engulfed Madara and Hashirama, leaving only their heads exposed.

"That move again!"

Uchiha Madara said with a bitter smile.

"We're both using Wood Release. Why is his so much stronger?"

Senju Hashirama protested indignantly.

"Not bad. You lasted ten minutes longer than you did a week ago."

Otsutsuki Yuhao smiled at them.

The trees holding the two boys slowly receded, sinking back into the ground.

"One day, I'll break your clone."

Uchiha Madara said in frustration.

"Oh, is that all you aspire to? Just breaking my clone?"

Otsutsuki Yuhao teased him.

"Hmph, your clone is only the first target.

Once I defeat your clone, I'll naturally come after your real body."

Uchiha Madara said with a smug expression.

"Hahaha, I don't really mind either way.

As long as I get stronger, that's what matters. Whether I defeat Uncle Yuhao or not doesn't really matter!"

Senju Hashirama laughed heartily.

Just then, Senju Hashirama's expression changed. He sensed two groups of powerful chakra rapidly approaching.

"What's wrong?"

Uchiha Madara's sensing ability wasn't as good as Senju Hashirama's, so he hadn't noticed as quickly.

But it wasn't long before Uchiha Madara's expression changed, too.

The two boys exchanged a glance. They could both see the worry in each other's eyes.

Although neither had openly revealed his identity, they both knew who the other really was.

One belonged to the Uchiha Clan, and the other to the Senju Clan.

Their clans were sworn enemies.

"Ignore them. Let's keep training!"

Otsutsuki Yuhao said calmly, completely unsurprised by the arrival of Senju Butsuma and Uchiha Tajima.

He acted as though it didn't matter at all.

Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama had made a habit of not showing up in the mornings. The two clan leaders had long since noticed, though at first they hadn't thought much of it. They assumed their sons had gone off to train.

After all, Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama always returned home looking exhausted.

But the two boys carried the chakra of their respective clans, which made Senju Butsuma and Uchiha Tajima begin to suspect that something was amiss.

The two men independently arrived at the same idea: use their sons as bait to lure the other side into a kidnapping plot, then take further action.

But the story was different from the original. In the original, the two boys' sincere friendship caused both plans to fail. Now, however, Otsutsuki Yuhao was involved.

Before long, the two groups of shinobi arrived. One was led by Uchiha Tajima, the other by Senju Butsuma.

The two strongest Kekkei Genkai clans in the Ninja World had appeared at the same time.

"Madara, what are you doing?"

"Hashirama, get back here right now!"

They had just arrived and found their sons training together with the sons of their enemies.

Both men were furious.

As they shouted, they attacked each other almost simultaneously.

Uchiha Tajima charged at Senju Hashirama, while Senju Butsuma attacked Uchiha Madara.

But before either man could get close, an invisible force instantly flung them away.

"Thud!"

Thud!

Uchiha Tajima and Senju Butsuma crashed heavily to the ground at the same time.

"You two little brats, go back where you came from.

Don't interrupt my training with my pupils."

Otsutsuki Yuhao lounged lazily on a tree, his voice drifting down from above.

"Who are you?"

Senju Butsuma watched Otsutsuki Yuhao warily.

Uchiha Tajima's eyes had also shifted into the Mangekyō Sharingan, and he fixed them on Otsutsuki Yuhao.

Both men were at the level of clan leaders, yet a young man had sent them flying with ease. They were astonished.