Tobirama Senju's Decision: Defense

Chapter 50: Tobirama Senju's Decision: Defense

The Wood Golem that rose from the ground withstood the Susanoo head-on. Working together with the Wood Dragon, it launched a powerful offensive that checked Uchiha Madara's frenzied advance and prevented him from taking another step forward.

But while holding Uchiha Madara back, Senju Hashirama could not free himself either. With his powerful sensory abilities, he could only watch helplessly as Senju Clan ninja died at the hands of the Uchiha and Hyuga Clan's combined assault.

"Hashirama! Give up resisting. For the sake of our past bond, I can promise you that the Senju Clan will not be exterminated."

Uchiha Madara could allow the Senju Clan to survive, but there was no way he would spare Senju Hashirama and Tobirama Senju.

Without Senju Hashirama and Tobirama Senju, the Senju Clan was, in Uchiha Madara's eyes, worth less than even the Hagoromo Clan. As long as Senju Hashirama died, the Uchiha Clan would be the absolute victors, and the Senju Clan would never again be able to stir up trouble.

"The battle isn't over yet! Who wins and who loses is still unknown!"

Senju Hashirama's face darkened. His already terrifying aura instantly grew even more immense. He slammed his palms together, chakra boiling within him as faint steam rose from the surface of his body.

"Wood Release! Wood Clone!"

"Clones? Are you trying to surround me with clones? It's useless. You'll only be wasting your chakra."

"No, Madara, you're wrong! My clones are different. The power I'm about to show you is something even I haven't tried before. Don't let me beat you to death!"

"Hahahaha! Hashirama! Are you joking? You can beat me to death? If you can do it, then come on!"

"Fine! Wood Release! Flower! Tree World Advent!"

The battlefield belonging to those two monsters was once again reshaped by a powerful ninjutsu. Lush green trees rose one after another, swiftly claiming nearly two-thirds of the entire battlefield.

Blossoms, still shy and waiting to bloom, rose among them.

Uchiha Madara's expression changed slightly. This was getting troublesome. Though he felt that the Mangekyō Sharingan still had greater ocular power to be unearthed, even if he crazily squeezed every last drop from it, he could at most force the second-stage Susanoo into its third stage.

As he watched the battlefield turn into a forest, his gaze at Senju Hashirama grew incomparably grim. In terms of chakra reserves, he had been utterly defeated. There was simply no possibility of competing in chakra with ninja from the Senju Clan and Uzumaki Clan.

The forest alone, which had altered the terrain, was already giving Uchiha Madara a headache, let alone those blossoms still waiting to bloom.

They certainly had not been brought out merely for show. They might be a new method of attack.

Uchiha Jobu was the most surprised of all. Senju Hashirama on this timeline seemed even stronger than he had been during the original Naruto storyline. The Wood Release he had developed could summon a Wood Golem and even forcibly reshape the terrain.

It seemed Uchiha Madara was not the only one growing at an absurd pace. As a descendant of the Six Paths Family, Senju Hashirama's talent was no worse than Uchiha Madara's. Naturally, his strength was soaring by leaps and bounds, to an outrageous degree.

Izuna Uchiha came over and said, "Tobirama Senju escaped. Those Uzumaki Clan bastards had absurd vitality. They risked their lives to create an opportunity for him to flee."

Killing intent burst from Uchiha Jobu's eyes as he stared coldly toward the Uzumaki Clan. "With the Hyuga Clan there, the Uzumaki Clan is nothing to worry about."

"Mm. The Hyuga Clan will handle the Uzumaki Clan."

Izuna Uchiha paused before saying, "This eye gives me a very strange feeling. I can sense that its ocular power is almost identical to mine. If we find a way to extract and transfer ocular power, my shattered Sharingan may be repaired."

Most Kekkei Genkai clans in this world carried the blood of the Sage of Six Paths, Otsutsuki Hagoromo, and Otsutsuki Hamura. It was only natural for their genes to share certain similarities. As long as they were confirmed to belong to the same lineage, compatible ocular power was perfectly normal.

Izuna Uchiha did not know that everyone in the Ninja World was related, but throughout his use of the Ketsuryūgan, he had not suffered any rejection. Instead, he felt as though he had taken to it like a fish to water. That was enough to confirm that the Chinoike Clan's Ketsuryūgan could blend its ocular power with the Sharingan.

They simply had not found the method yet.

Uchiha Jobu exchanged some thoughts with Izuna Uchiha regarding genes and cells, then told him all his conjectures about several Kekkei Genkai experiments based on what he remembered seeing Ainsnakes do.

Izuna Uchiha, who already bore some resemblance to a shadowy ninja, remained calm after hearing everything. He silently nodded and said, "I understand. If the experiments succeed, the ocular power of the clan's ninja will be enhanced in the future. Everyone will have a chance to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan."

Uchiha Jobu did not respond to that idea.

It was simply too fanciful.

Unwilling to fight Uchiha Jobu or Izuna Uchiha, and afraid of being slain on the battlefield, Tobirama Senju repeatedly used Shadow Clones and the Body Flicker Technique to flee. With the help of Uzumaki Clan ninja, he finally escaped back to the main Senju Clan force.

"Brother Tobirama, what should we do now? We can't interfere in Brother Hashirama's battle with Uchiha Madara. We can hold back the other Uchiha, but that brat named Uchiha Jobu and Izuna Uchiha are treating us like grass to be cut down."

"Exactly. Why don't we all attack together? There is strength in numbers. If we strike together, we can definitely kill those two!"

"Don't rush into this. The biggest problem right now is the Hyuga Clan. What exactly do those bastards mean? We used to have a good relationship with them."

"Enough! Stop talking!"

Tobirama Senju let out a roar. His eyes flickered repeatedly as he analyzed the situation and concluded that continuing the fight would definitely be disadvantageous for the Senju Clan.

The Uchiha Clan was not weak. Even without counting the other ninja forces that had aligned themselves with the Uchiha, the Uchiha Clan alone could completely hold off the Senju Clan and Uzumaki Clan combined.

The forces aligned with the Uchiha Clan included the Fuma Clan, which excelled at controlling ninja tools, the Hagoromo Clan, which could alter the form of ninjutsu, and the Hyuga Clan, which had suddenly appeared on the battlefield.

Their numbers were fewer than the ninja on the Senju Clan's side, but their overall quality and strength were not much weaker.

And besides.

The ones who would truly decide the outcome of the battle.

Were those two men who seemed like gods and demons, not these ordinary ninja.

Tobirama Senju said, "Listen to me. The people who can truly decide this battle are my brother and Uchiha Madara. What we need to do now is pull back our lines and hold our ground."

"What do you mean?"

"As long as we aren't completely crushed by the Uchiha, we win once my brother defeats Uchiha Madara. Understand?"

"But if we do that, the Senju Clan's reputation will..."

"Tell me, are everyone's lives more important, or is reputation more important?"