The "Solution" to the Problem

"He actually managed to hold his own against Hashirama Senju in this state?"

Ōnoki's tone was one of horror. While it was certainly a good thing to stop the God of Shinobi from attacking this direction, what Future would Iwagakure have if Ryuuzaki Eiji became too strong?

Ryuuzaki Eiji is not the easy-going type Hashirama Senju; he's clearly a strong-willed person.

Hashirama Senju died after his battle with Madara Uchiha at the Battle of the Valley of the End due to excessive physical exhaustion. So what will become of Ryuuzaki Eiji now?

If he exhausts his strength to resolve the immediate problem, will he end up like Hashirama Senju?

Although cursing allies is despicable, Ōnoki just couldn't help but think that way.

Seeing this, Orochimaru thought to himself that he had said Eiji had lost out by exchanging the Kusanagi Sword for the Third Kazekage's corpse, but now he felt like he was the one who had lost out.

However, since he couldn't imbue the sword with that azure light, he probably wouldn't be able to cut through Wood Release either.

◇

"Phase," "Pāramitā," "Pillar of Light"

Cursed Technique Reversal "Heh"--!

Eiji began to gather red energy in his hands, while Hashirama reacted quickly, biting his finger and slamming his hands to the ground!

Three enormous doors burst forth from the ground, shaking off sand and gravel. The huge, menacing iron faces on the doors were none other than Rashomon!

At that moment, Eiji's "Haku" suddenly fired!

Thump! Thump! Thump!

With a whoosh, the weapon hurtled across the ground, leaving a trail of dust as it blasted through the three doors in succession, leaving huge craters in the doors. However, the force of the blow was also dispersed through the third door.

Hashirama leaped out of the smoke and landed on a distant Giant Rock!

Eiji pondered to himself, "Isn't this supposed to be the Fivefold Rashomon? It must be that Hashirama is struggling for control of his body with Black Zetsu, which is causing his inconsistent performance."

Wait a moment!

Eiji's eyes widened instantly, a ray of light piercing through his chaotic thoughts.

Why can Impure World Reincarnation body use Summoning Technique!?

Eiji narrowed his eyes slightly, revealing a thoughtful expression.

In the original work, the Second Mizukage also used the Impure World Reincarnation technique to summon a giant clam. However, the prerequisite for Summoning Technique is the blood of the Contractor. This means that even in Impure World Reincarnation body, the original's blood still flows within it to some extent.

That makes sense, since the medium used for Impure World Reincarnation is the original owner's body tissue, which contains blood, so it's perfectly normal.

Eiji felt as if he had vaguely grasped something, and a faint, black-haired figure gradually appeared in his mind.

He didn't know why he was bringing up this vague figure at this moment, but he felt that as long as he remembered who he was, he would be able to find the solution to the problem.

That's right, I must have found the key to solving this problem!

Just like Orochimaru said, he wanted to find the "solution" to the problem!

◇

"This is the last one!"

Jiraiya used all his strength to smash the last tree trunk.

Finally, thanks to Jiraiya's persistent efforts, Gamabunta managed to twist his body and break free from the Wood Release's Binding Vow.

Click! Click! Click!

Gamabunta was covered in broken branches that had fallen to the ground, and he lay helplessly on the ground.

"Finally... I'm finally out!" Gamabunta said weakly, lying on the ground, then glared at Jiraiya, "Hey Jiraiya! You bastard, you dared to trick me into coming here to get beaten up, do you want to die?!"

"Uh haha... Sorry, I didn't expect it to turn out like this either." Jiraiya scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed.

At this moment, with Orochimaru's help, Manda broke free from the tree trunk's control. Now free, Manda immediately raised his Upper Body and roared at Orochimaru, "Orochimaru! You bastard! My Chakra is almost completely drained! If you don't offer a hundred Living Person as sacrifices this time, you'll regret it!"

However, just as Gamabunta and Manda managed to escape, two enormous torii gates crashed down on them from the sky!

"What?!" That's...!?"

Gamabunta and Manda simultaneously looked up at the sky, and then their pupils suddenly contracted!

The nearby Ninja had already fled the scene when they sensed something was wrong, but Gamabunta and Manda, being large and slow-moving, didn't have time to react.

"Oh no--"

They cried out in alarm almost simultaneously. Gamabunta and Manda were both struck on the neck by the falling torii gate, which then crashed heavily to the ground with a loud bang, kicking up a huge cloud of dust!

As the smoke cleared, Gamabunta and Manda lay sprawled on the ground, their heads pinned to the massive wooden torii gate, their faces contorted in pain.

"Jiraiya... I can't take it anymore. Jiraiya, I can't get involved in that battle. And time is almost up, so don't bother me for now. I need to rest for half a year..."

Gamabunta was truly at his wit's end. The fighting over there was so intense that they still had time to worry about him. Even if he ran over to help, he would probably just get beaten up. So he decided to run away.

Bang! A large cloud of smoke exploded, Gamabunta disappeared into the Forest of Trees.

The Manda, also trapped underneath, flicked their tongues. "I'll remember this time! Next time I'll make you pay! And don't forget the hundred Living Sacrifice!"

Orochimaru looked up and said, "Eiji- kun and I are friends."

The Manda's eyes narrowed, then with a "bang," they vanished into smoke.

◇

"Damn it, why can't I take you down even after I've used this trump card!"

Inside a cave, Black Zetsu gritted his teeth.

He originally thought that Hashirama Senju was Impure World Reincarnation body, even if he couldn't break through Ryuuzaki Eiji's defenses, he could at least wear him down. However, the delay had gone on for too long, and there was a risk that things might get out of control.

"No, we must finish this quickly!"

Black Zetsu decided to unleash his ultimate move, even though it would greatly shorten the time he could control Hashirama Senju, but he had no other choice!

"Ryuuzaki Eiji, remember this: you brought this all on yourself. May you die in despair!!!"

◇

On the battlefield at that moment, Hashirama Senju's body trembled violently, and then his expression turned solemn.

He clapped his hands, and the giant wooden figure burst forth from the ground once more. Seeing Tobirama, Tobirama also leaped onto the wooden figure and stood shoulder to shoulder with Hashirama.

The two figures rose higher and higher as the wooden figure was lifted. Tobirama asked with a puzzled look, "Brother, isn't it ready yet!?"

"I'm sorry, it seems I can't break free from this spell's control."

"The Impure World Reincarnation technique has Limitless amount of Chakra. If this continues, it will become uncontrollable, brother!"

"That's why I said this is an extremely dangerous technique!" Hashirama frowned, looking at Eiji was still standing on the ground. "Young man, can you hold on?"

"Phew... barely passable."

Eiji's breathing had become unstable; he and Hashirama Senju had already exchanged blows countless times.