"Madara..."
Hashirama smiled bitterly. Under the effects of the chakra rods, all the chakra in his body had ground to a halt.
There was no outward sign of it at all. Only he could sense the countless tiny Black Rods packed densely inside his body.
"Damn it..."
Madara struggled to move his Rinnegan, trying to locate Isshiki.
He had seen Planetary Devastation take effect with his own eyes. Planetary Devastation exerted gravitational pull at its most extreme, and the longer it lasted, the stronger the gravity at its center became. Even if Isshiki could escape, he should never have been able to slip past Madara's eyes.
Yet now, their bodies were riddled with Black Rods that completely controlled the flow of their chakra.
Did he shrink himself with his ability and then escape? Based on what he showed earlier, he shouldn't have been able to evade Madara's gaze.
Damn it. If this were my real body, there would still be a way, but with the chakra in this body under his control, I can't muster any strength at all...
Hashirama tried to struggle, but it was useless.
Suddenly, a shout rang out. "Hashirama, in front of you!"
The instant those words fell, Ōtsutsuki Isshiki appeared before Hashirama.
Only this time, his appearance had changed again. His previous form had been an eerie, snowy white, with only his hair, right eyebrow, and beard a grayish white, and a hornlike crest on one side of his head.
Now, both sides of his body had become symmetrical. The horns were no longer shaped with one jutting upward and the other forming a half-ring. Instead, both extended outward, as though a crown had grown from his forehead.
His eyes, previously one Byakugan and one black eye, had also become a symmetrical pair, with black