On one side stood Hashirama Senju, fully prepared and surging with senjutsu power, alongside the terrifyingly huge golden Giant Hound, poised to strike. They guarded the boy at their center, whose red hair streamed in the wind and whose Rinnegan gleamed, as though he were preparing an earth-shattering attack.
On the other side was Madara Uchiha, going all out.
Both sides were on a knife's edge, ready to clash at any moment, as though the decisive, ultimate collision would erupt in the very next second.
Madara Uchiha even shifted his center of gravity slightly, his Rinnegan fixed intently on Yūji as he tried to anticipate the opening motion of his "Ultimate Move" or the point where its energy would gather.
Hashirama Senju's Wood Release had already taken shape. Enormous trees rose from the ground like living ramparts, forming an intricate barrier.
At that tense moment, when even the air seemed about to ignite-
Yūji Uzumaki moved!
But what he did caught everyone completely off guard.
He formed no complicated hand seals, nor did he unleash any earth-shaking surge of chakra.
He simply flipped with blinding speed and leaped nimbly onto Big Yellow's broad back beside him.
The instant he landed on the hound's back, Yūji gripped the thick, stiff mane behind Big Yellow's neck with his left hand to steady himself, while his right hand... shot out like lightning and seized Hashirama Senju by the back of his collar.
Then Yūji patted Big Yellow.
"Run for it!"
We're getting out of here, boys!
Big Yellow turned and ran without a moment's hesitation.
Hashirama: Huh?
Madara: ?
Dangling from Yūji's grip, Hashirama was left flapping in the wind. Why had they just started running?
"Good. Very good!"
Madara laughed in fury and charged after them with great strides.
The four Limbo: