Boom... boom... boom...
A chain of explosions rang out from the encampment nearby. Then flames set the forest ablaze, lighting the whole sky as bright as day, and countless sounds of slaughter followed. Senju Hashirama knew this surprise attack had never been part of their plan. Gritting his teeth, he said to Madara, "Madara! The people you want to kill are us, the Senju Clan. Stop dragging the innocent into this!"
"Innocent? Hashirama, are you joking? When you launched your surprise attack and plotted against us, were these people standing off to the side waving lollipops and cheering you on? Don't talk to me about innocence. Among the ninja who follow your Senju Clan, there are no innocents. They brought this on themselves. All of it, every last bit, was their own choice. I should thank you, actually. If not for you, I never would have been able to root out so many ninja harboring ulterior motives. So thank you."
After Mingye finished mocking him, Madara also crossed his arms over his chest, looked at Hashirama, and said coldly, "I only want to settle the outcome with you. Nothing else matters to me. Now put that woman down and let us continue our fight!"
"Never!"
Hashirama's reply made Madara's expression turn disdainful. In Madara's eyes, aside from his own mother, women were all beings that could be abandoned—creatures that should never have existed in this world at all. They had no strength, yet loved to seduce men, luring them into soft comfort until they lost their fighting spirit and ambition. To him, that was a regression of society itself. That was Madara's way of thinking. Susanoo charged at full speed and slammed straight into the defensive Wood Golem. The Wood Golem staggered back three or four steps in succession, making