Although "Majestic Attire: Susanoo" kept unleashing tremendous energy, smashing apart the Wood Release fists raining down on it one by one, Senju Hashirama's Senjutsu was clearly superior.
After all, "Top Transformed Buddha" had once beaten Seven-Tails Chomei so badly it couldn't find its way north. Even with the Nine-Tails Fox clad in Susanoo armor, it still wasn't a match.
Countless wooden fists, packed with immense force, punched through the armor that was supposedly an absolute defense and shattered most of the "Majestic Attire: Susanoo" covering the Nine-Tails.
But that was as far as the assault went. Senju Hashirama's "Top Transformed Buddha" had exhausted its remaining power.
Perhaps because of the relentless fighting, a wave of long-unfamiliar fatigue washed over Senju Hashirama after he released the technique.
Uchiha Madara stood amid the shattered remains of Susanoo and looked toward Senju Hashirama, his heart giving a sudden lurch. It actually... broke?
Before he could finish the thought, Senju Hashirama, though exhausted, forced himself to channel chakra once more. The enormous wooden Buddha separated from the thousand-armed statue behind it, whose arms had already been shattered in countless places, and detached from its back.
Senju Hashirama immediately called out, "Kakuan Entering Society with Bliss-Bringing Hands!"
At his words, the giant Buddha seized the Nine-Tails Fox, now stripped of its Susanoo armor and returned to its original size, with one hand. On its other hand, the character for "seated" appeared, and it pressed firmly against the Nine-Tails' forehead, pinning it down on the spot.
At the same time, Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara both landed on the ground. Neither had the mind to control those enormous constructs anymore. Madara swung the gunbai in his hand and charged at Hashirama with a furious roar.
Senju Hashirama's expression darkened as well. He drew the sword at his waist and rushed to meet him.
They were both exceptional fighters, and neither could gain the upper hand after several exchanges. As they fought, they moved away from the Nine-Tails and the Buddha, their struggle carrying them into the distance.
Just then, three figures appeared quietly near the Nine-Tails Fox. They were Hibari and his companions.
"We're still a step too late." Hibari looked at the scene before him, worry in his voice.
He had planned to arrive with Uzumaki Mito, then team up with Sarutobi Sasuke and use that "S-rank compound ninjutsu" to lend Hashirama a hand, catching the Nine-Tails and Uchiha Madara off guard.
But by the time they hurried to the battlefield, Old Man Hashirama had already subdued the Nine-Tails all by himself.
Uzumaki Mito glanced at Hibari, the little one who had suddenly appeared along the way and insisted on following her here, then said, "Now's the best time. The Nine-Tails Fox has been subdued and can't fight back. We can reach our goal easily."
Hibari nodded, as if he agreed, but what truly worried him was Old Man Hashirama's condition.
If Hashirama and Uchiha Madara were allowed to fight to the death like this, even if Hashirama won, he might suffer grave injuries he could never recover from!
At the thought, Hibari looked at Uzumaki Mito's back, then glanced at Sarutobi Hiruzen. He made up his mind and quietly slowed his pace.
Uchiha Madara was still marveling at the defensive power of Senju Hashirama's "Wood Release: Wood Shield Technique," which had withstood the impact of a Tailed Beast Bomb without a scratch. Senju Hashirama, for his part, was equally impressed by Madara's abilities.
"You actually put Susanoo on a Tailed Beast like armor. You're something else, Madara," Senju Hashirama murmured.
The next second, the Nine-Tails Fox, wielding a gigantic Susanoo sword, raised its hand and brought the blade crashing down toward Senju Hashirama.
Senju Hashirama had no intention of dodging. He simply brought his hands together. In an instant, two enormous Wood Release arms burst from the ground and caught the Susanoo sword, as if stopping a blade with bare hands.
"I've seen through your attacks, Madara!" Senju Hashirama said gravely.
As soon as he finished speaking, several more huge arms burst from the ground around the Nine-Tails Fox, trying to pin it down.
"This isn't over!" Uchiha Madara roared in reply. The Susanoo sword swept sideways, cutting down every arm around it.
As the battle heated up once more, Senju Hashirama keenly sensed that the ground beneath their feet might no longer withstand the shockwaves of their clash.
If we keep fighting, this whole area might sink... Senju Hashirama's thoughts raced. A glance out of the corner of his eye caught the stretch of sea nearby. They were already close to the ocean.
I have to draw him to the shore. He made up his mind at once.
He moved immediately. Before Uchiha Madara could attack again, Senju Hashirama darted away toward the shore, stepping over the shattered wooden debris with lightning speed.
Seeing this, Uchiha Madara didn't hesitate. He controlled the Nine-Tails Fox and gave chase.
"Trying to run? Not a chance!" Uchiha Madara bellowed.
A dark red Tailed Beast Bomb began forming once more in front of the Nine-Tails' mouth. More astonishingly, Madara thrust the enormous Susanoo sword straight into the core of the Tailed Beast Bomb.
In an instant, the thing became a terrifying, rapidly spinning projectile edged with a sharp blade. With a shrill whine, it hurtled straight toward Senju Hashirama's back.
"Your wooden shell won't save you this time, Hashirama!" Madara glared, his voice full of vicious resolve.
By then, Senju Hashirama had reached the shore and just touched down. He turned and saw the fearsome, glowing "Bladed Tailed Beast Bomb" bearing down on him. He didn't panic. He brought a finger to his mouth and lightly bit it, drawing blood at the tip.
Then he slammed his bloodied palm against the ground and shouted, "Summoning Technique: Quintuple Rashomon!"
With a series of rumbling booms, five gigantic, fearsome-looking demon-faced gates, sturdy as could be, erupted from the earth before him like bamboo shoots, forming a solid barrier between him and the Tailed Beast Bomb.
The Rashomon gates were one of Senju Hashirama's trump-card defenses. Long ago, he had acquired a summoning contract from some obscure corner and subdued its owner through sheer strength. Their defensive power was truly formidable.
Still, even gates as sturdy as Rashomon couldn't possibly withstand a special attack made jointly by the Nine-Tails and Susanoo.
Senju Hashirama hadn't expected them to block it completely, of course.
Standing atop the Nine-Tails' head, Uchiha Madara raised an eyebrow at the five gates that had suddenly risen. "You're trying to change its direction with these?"
He hadn't even finished speaking before the Tailed Beast Bomb crashed into the first Rashomon gate. Then it struck the second, then the third... The gates were swept aside like so much kindling. They didn't last a second; all five were smashed to pieces and hurled backward.
However, just as Madara had predicted, although the Rashomon gates were destroyed, they managed to deflect the Tailed Beast Bomb's trajectory upward by the tiniest amount.
That slight deviation was enough for the deadly black-and-red orb to skim past the ground and plunge into the distant sea. It skipped across the surface like a stone before finally crashing into a deserted island on the other side of the strait.
Boom—!
A deafening explosion rang out. Even from far away, they could see flames and smoke billowing into the sky. The whole island seemed to tremble in the distance, then vanished from sight, wiped right off the map.
Before the smoke had cleared, Uchiha Madara was already riding the Nine-Tails toward Senju Hashirama again.
Looking down at his old friend, he spoke a little more calmly. "It's been a long time since we fought seriously... You must have noticed by now, Hashirama. I'm not the same as I used to be."
Senju Hashirama drew a deep breath and brought his hands together before his chest. But this time, he didn't attack immediately. Instead, he raised his head,
and looked at Madara with a complicated expression. "After everything we've sacrificed, all the blood and sweat we've shed, do you really want to let it all go to waste? Madara, listen to me. Stop this!
"There's nothing to gain by fighting on. You'll only destroy the village we built together and hurt more innocent people. This... this is an insult to the brothers who have passed on!"
At those words, a spark in Uchiha Madara's eyes flared up again. His voice turned extremely impatient. "There you go again... lecturing me!"
"I don't want to kill you!" Senju Hashirama roared in a low voice.
But to the proud Uchiha Madara, it sounded like something else entirely. He curled his lips into a cold sneer. "Oh? Are you saying you could take my life whenever you wanted?"
"That's not what I mean! I'm saying we're friends!" Senju Hashirama hurriedly protested.
Unfortunately, Madara could no longer hear him. He cut in sharply, "My path has already reached the other shore! Hashirama, you and I are no longer walking the same path!"
With that, the enormous Nine-Tails Fox roared and charged at Senju Hashirama again, its advance carrying the force to crush everything in its way.
Seeing this, Senju Hashirama understood that there was no point trying to reason with him anymore. Uchiha Madara had clearly backed himself into a corner, and his obsession had grown beyond anyone's ability to pull him out.
To protect the village behind him and the people who had entrusted him with their hopes and lives, the last trace of hesitation vanished from Senju Hashirama's eyes, replaced by a resolve to stake everything on this.
"Sage Art!!!"
He shouted, and an arcane Sage pattern appeared on his face.
With his Sage body, he needed no preparation to enter perfect Sage Mode. At a mere thought, a vast amount of Natural Energy poured into him.
Boom!
An immense volume of chakra mixed with Senjutsu energy surged from his body like a volcanic eruption. Senju Hashirama let out another roar that shook the battlefield. "Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands!"
The last time he had used this technique was when he beat Seven-Tails Chomei senseless in Insect King Valley, nearly sending the giant bug straight back to the afterlife to be reborn.
Now, True Several Thousand Hands had descended once more!
An immense thousand-armed Buddha rose from the earth, its body so huge that it blotted out most of the sunlight behind it.
The Nine-Tails Fox clad in "Majestic Attire: Susanoo" was already terrifying, but this thousand-armed Buddha stood two or three times taller. It was like a moving mountain.
"I'm coming for you, Madara!!!" Senju Hashirama stood atop the Buddha's head, his voice like thunder.
Though True Several Thousand Hands had a clear advantage in size, not a trace of fear showed on Uchiha Madara's face. His scarlet Sharingan spun rapidly as he controlled the Nine-Tails, charging fearlessly toward the thousand-armed Buddha.
"Come on, Hashirama!!!" Madara's roar rang through the sky as well.
In the blink of an eye, the two gigantic figures collided with tremendous force, and the shockwave pressed the surrounding seawater down into a vast hollow.
Then Senju Hashirama roared once more: "Top Transformed Buddha!!!"
The motionless thousand-armed Buddha seemed to come alive in an instant. The countless enormous wooden arms covering its back all began to move, bringing with them a terrifying force capable of splitting mountains and cleaving seas,
and rained down on Uchiha Madara and the Nine-Tails Fox like a torrential downpour!
Before you continue