War's End

Clang—

Two long blades met in midair, sparks bursting between them. Tobirama and Izuna exchanged a glance, then pushed off and each retreated several steps, their hands forming seals at the same time!

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!

Boom—

The water dragon bit through the fireball, raising a great cloud of white steam that instantly obscured both figures.

Whoosh—

A round hole suddenly opened in the smoke, and a brilliant blade flashed through the air. Tobirama held his sword one-handed. There was no flourish, only a simple thrust, yet it carried an intimidating force!

Clang—

Izuna raised his blade, the three-foot edge striking Tobirama's sword spine with perfect precision and knocking the attack aside. Following the momentum, he spun and launched a side kick, his whip-like leg sweeping in a half-circle straight toward Tobirama's waist!

Bang—

Tobirama's face flushed crimson as his body flew backward uncontrollably. While still in midair, he hurled the kunai in his hand, sealing off every possible retreat for Izuna!

Whoosh—

"Tricks." Izuna's Sharingan emerged in his eyes, instantly seeing through the kunai's flight paths. He tilted his head slightly to evade them, but from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a strange mark engraved on one of the kunai. "That mark!"

Yan Hong's warning before the battle flashed through Izuna's mind.

On the night before the decisive battle, Yan Hong had specifically sought out Izuna, who was polishing his katana. His face was graver than ever before. "Second Brother, you must be careful of Tobirama Senju in this battle, especially any ninja tools bearing strange marks."

"Ninja tools with strange marks? What are those?" Izuna was somewhat dismissive. "This isn't my first fight with Tobirama Senju. I hate to admit it, but we're evenly matched. He can't do anything to me, so you don't need to worry about me."

"Second Brother, you know about my ocular technique." Yan Hong pointed to his left eye. "I saw the ninjutsu Tobirama Senju has mastered. One of them is called Flying Thunder God, a space-time ninjutsu that lets its user instantly move to locations marked with a Flying Thunder God seal. Used properly, it can kill an enemy by surprise."

"Space-time ninjutsu?" Izuna frowned. "Space-time ninjutsu is considered an advanced evasion technique. Its difficulty far exceeds that of ordinary evasion techniques. But if it's that Tobirama... it really isn't impossible."

Though it sounded rather unbelievable, Izuna chose to trust his younger brother's warning. "I understand. I'll be careful."

Now, the moment he saw that strange mark with his own eyes, Izuna's body reacted instinctively. The next second—

Flying Thunder God Slash!

Slash—

A sharp blade pierced through Izuna's ribs and burst out his back in a spray of blood. Tobirama glanced sideways, but his eyes were filled with disbelief!

"He actually dodged it! How is that possible?"

"Pah!" Izuna spat out a mouthful of blood. Even though he had reacted in advance, his waist and abdomen had still been torn open with a wound deep enough to expose bone. It was not fatal, but it severely affected his combat strength. "What a move, Flying Thunder God. If I'd been a fraction slower, you might really have killed me!"

"He even knows the name of the ninjutsu?" Tobirama's eyes were full of confusion. "Flying Thunder God is a technique I only perfected in recent days. Other than me, only my elder brother knows of it. How did he find out?"

The thought flashed through his mind in an instant. The next moment, Tobirama turned and rushed back, intending to take Izuna down in one stroke while he was badly wounded!

Izuna drew a deep breath and endured the agonizing pain from his waist. His right hand gripped the sword hilt, while an unusual light bloomed from the Mangekyō Sharingan in his eyes!

Boom—

Just as the two prepared to fight to the death, a heaven-shaking chakra storm swept in from the side. The gale it raised pressed down so fiercely that every ninja present was unable to move!

At the center of the battlefield, the once-flat East River Plains had long been rendered unrecognizable. A vast, dense forest had risen from the ground, only to be severed across the middle by some sharp weapon, leaving nothing but bare stumps scattered everywhere!

Two figures collided fiercely in midair before separating, each landing atop a tree stump to face the other. Steam rose from their bodies like white mist, and their heartbeats boomed like war drums!

"Pant... pant... pant..."

Madara was gasping for breath. His armor had shattered completely, revealing his lean, muscular body. His eyes were bloodshot, his pupils dim and lifeless. He had already reached the brink of collapse!

The Mangekyō Sharingan granted immense ocular power, but it also brought the drawback of backlash. Even someone as powerful as Uchiha Madara could not escape this unavoidable curse, eventually sinking into eternal darkness!

On the other side, although Hashirama looked equally battered, with half his body exposed and his long black hair hanging messily down his back, his breathing was steady. Judging by his condition, he was clearly in much better shape than Madara.

"Madara, let this end here. It's over."

"Pant... pant..." Madara swept his gaze around. The battle had reached its final stage. The Uchiha Clan was clearly at a disadvantage, and every clan member wore deep exhaustion on their face. Just as Hashirama had said, the victor had been decided.

"Hm?" When Madara saw half of Izuna's body drenched in blood, a flash of panic crossed his brow. He no longer cared about fighting Hashirama and rushed toward Izuna. Hashirama followed closely behind.

"Izuna! Are you all right?" Madara leaped to Izuna's side and caught his body. Only after sensing that Izuna's life was not in danger did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Seeing Madara arrive, Tobirama stopped his attack as well, though his blade remained pointed at the two of them. He said sternly, "Madara, you have lost."

Seeing that the four strongest fighters had finished their battle, the other ninjas also stopped fighting and slowly gathered around.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on Madara, because they all knew that if he insisted on continuing, this battle could not yet end.

Izuna struggled to continue fighting. "Cough, cough... Big Brother, don't worry about me. We absolutely cannot surrender so easily."

"Enough." Madara's voice was low, yet beyond doubt. "We lost."

"Big Brother... you..."

"A loss is a loss." Madara helped Izuna up and turned to Hashirama. "Hashirama, you won. The Land of Fire is yours."

"That's wonderful, Madara. The war is finally over." A delighted smile appeared on Hashirama's face. He paid no attention to the complicated expression on Madara's face and eagerly continued, "First, we'll each withdraw our troops. Then how about we build a ninja village together? Just like we dreamed of when we were children. We can build it beneath that cliff we visited back then... Uh... Madara?"

Madara watched Hashirama's smile gradually stiffen. There was neither sorrow nor joy on his face as he said in a deep voice,

"The Uchiha Clan will leave the Land of Fire!"