Madara froze, but then saw the serious look in Hashirama's eyes.
"Hashirama, are you afraid?"
"Yes." Hashirama nodded without shame. "I'm afraid I won't be able to defeat you, that you'll become our descendants' enemy and cause the younger generations needless suffering..."
"So think it over again, Madara. As I once told you, back then, you were better suited to becoming Hokage than I was. If we'd taken a harder line, perhaps the Shinobi World wouldn't have suffered so many years of war.
But for various reasons, we chose the wrong path, and we've already reaped its bitter consequences. The world today is no longer the world we knew. Let go..."
As Madara listened to Hashirama, he suddenly frowned and changed the subject. "This is our battlefield, Hashirama! Stop worrying about anything else. Let's fight to our hearts' content! If you can't stop me, I'll take revenge on the Konoha you cherish and the world you hold dear!"
Madara looked deranged. Fierce winds swept dark clouds around his Susanoo as immensely powerful chakra gathered.
"I'll destroy everything!"
Heaven and earth resonated with him, as though confirming that Madara meant every word.
Now that he was going all out, even Hashirama had no confidence that he could win.
Yet as Hashirama stood atop the great Buddha's head and watched Madara, he suddenly smiled. "Your acting is truly terrible this time."
Then Hashirama clapped his hands together.
The eye markings of Sage Mode appeared on his face.
"Sage Mode? You think a move like that can still amount to anything at this point?"
Madara sneered, but a moment later, shock entered his eyes.
"It's a stretch, but I can still give it a try..."
Hashirama raised his head and removed the Konoha Forehead Protector from his brow.
Revealed between his eyebrows was