Tobirama Senju's Decision: Defense

Tobirama Senju's Decision: Defense

The Wood Golem that rose from the ground withstood the Susanoo head-on, attacking alongside the Wood Dragon. Their powerful offensive curbed Uchiha Madara's frenzied momentum, preventing him from advancing any further.

But while holding Uchiha Madara back, Senju Hashirama had no way to extricate himself either. With his powerful sensory abilities, he could only helplessly watch as Senju Clan ninja died at the hands of the combined Uchiha and Hyuga forces.

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

Uchiha Madara could allow the Senju Clan to survive, but he could never spare Senju Hashirama and Tobirama Senju.

Without Senju Hashirama and Tobirama Senju, the Senju Clan was, in Uchiha Madara's eyes, less valuable 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 be able to stir up trouble again.

"The battle isn't over yet! Who wins and who loses has yet to be decided!"

Senju Hashirama's expression darkened. His already terrifying aura instantly became even more overwhelming. He slammed his palms together, chakra boiling within him as faint steam rose from his body.

"Wood Release! Wood Clone!"

"A clone? Are you planning to surround me with clones? Useless. You'll only waste your chakra."

"No, Madara, you're mistaken! My clone is 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, then come on!"

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

The battlefield belonging to the two monsters was once again reshaped by powerful ninjutsu. Lush trees sprang up in waves, swiftly occupying nearly two-thirds of the battlefield.

Buds ready to bloom rose among them as well.

Uchiha Madara's expression changed slightly as he sensed the trouble. Though he felt there was still stronger ocular power to be unearthed from the Mangekyo Sharingan, even if he desperately squeezed it dry now, he could at most force his second-stage Susanoo into the third stage.

Yet as he watched the battlefield turn into a forest, his gaze upon Senju Hashirama grew incomparably grim. In terms of chakra reserves, he had lost completely. There was simply no possibility of competing in chakra with ninja of the Senju Clan and Uzumaki Clan.

The forest alone, which had altered the terrain, was enough to give Uchiha Madara a headache, not to mention the buds ready to bloom.

They definitely weren't there for decoration. They might be a new means of attack.

Uchiha Shangwu was the most astonished of all. Senju Hashirama on this timeline seemed even more formidable than he had been in the original Naruto story. The Wood Release he had developed could summon a Wood Golem and even forcibly alter the terrain.

It seemed it wasn't only Uchiha Madara whose strength had grown at an absurd pace. As a descendant of the Sage of Six Paths as well, Senju Hashirama's talent was no worse than Uchiha Madara's. Naturally, his strength was soaring forward by leaps and bounds—utterly ridiculous.

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

Killing intent flared in Uchiha Shangwu's eyes as he stared hard in the direction of the Uzumaki Clan and said coldly, "With the Hyuga Clan here, the Uzumaki Clan is nothing to worry about."

"Mm. The Hyuga Clan will deal with the Uzumaki Clan."

After a pause, Izuna Uchiha said, "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 might be repaired."

Most Kekkei Genkai clans in this world carried the blood of the Sage of Six Paths, Otsutsuki Hagoromo, and Otsutsuki Hamura. Some genetic similarities were therefore inevitable. As long as they were confirmed to share the same lineage, it was perfectly normal for their ocular powers to be compatible.

Izuna Uchiha did not know that the entire Ninja World was one family, but throughout the process of using the Blood Dragon Eye, he had suffered no rejection at all. Instead, it felt as natural as a fish in water. That was enough to confirm that the Chinoike Clan's Blood Dragon Eye could merge its ocular power with the Sharingan.

They simply had not found a method yet.

Uchiha Shangwu discussed some ideas concerning genes and cells with Izuna Uchiha, then told him all the hypotheses for Kekkei Genkai experiments based on several experiments he remembered seeing Ainz's snakes conduct.

Izuna Uchiha, who had acquired something of the bearing of a shadow ninja, remained calm after hearing everything. He nodded silently and said, "I'll remember it. 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 Mangekyo Sharingan."

Uchiha Shangwu gave no response to that idea.

After all, it was far too fanciful.

Unwilling to fight Uchiha Shangwu or Izuna Uchiha and afraid of being killed on the battlefield, Tobirama Senju continuously 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 called Uchiha Shangwu and Izuna Uchiha are slaughtering us like we're grass!"

"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 be so hasty. The biggest problem right now is the Hyuga Clan. What exactly do those bastards mean? We used to have a good relationship with them."

"Quiet, all of you!"

Tobirama Senju shouted, his eyes flickering as he analyzed the situation. He felt that if they continued fighting, it would definitely be extremely 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 fully hold back the combined Senju and Uzumaki Clans.

The forces that had 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 smaller than those on the Senju 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 the two men who seemed like gods and demons, not these ordinary ninja.

Tobirama Senju said, "Listen to me. The people who can truly determine the outcome of 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 routed by the Uchiha, we'll win once Brother defeats Uchiha Madara. Do you understand?"

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

"Tell me, is everyone's life more important, or is our reputation more important?"