This was unexpected.
To think he would run into Hashirama here—so he had been waiting all along.
Uchiha Madara felt a tinge of regret for wasting time recently.
Had he known, he would have stormed the Hidden Cloud Village sooner.
That way, he could have reunited with Hashirama earlier.
"Hahaha! Come, Hashirama! Let's continue our battle!"
"Hashirama!!!"
"Madara!!!!"
The two shouted each other's names as they charged forward.
The shinobi watching: "...."
Are we in the wrong place? Should we be watching this from behind cover instead?
"Boom!!!"
A breathtaking exchange erupted in an instant. Their speed was so intense that most eyes couldn't keep up.
In terms of combat awareness and experience, both Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama stood at the absolute pinnacle.
Their gazes burned with pure conviction as they clashed, trading blows that could kill lesser shinobi instantly.
It was like watching old friends turned bitter rivals, fighting with both passion and hatred.
"So this is the power of the legendary Uchiha Madara and the God of Shinobi?"
"Unbelievable!"
Many shinobi swallowed hard, watching in awe.
Compared to this, their own taijutsu skills were nothing more than child's play.
"So strong…"
Minato and Nawaki felt immense pressure.
Takuya glanced at them, crossing his arms.
"When it comes to battle awareness and experience, these two are at the top of the ninja world. Compared to them, everyone else is second-rate at best."
"Hashirama!!!"
"Madara!!!"
Perhaps they found barehanded combat unsatisfying, because both simultaneously activated summoning techniques.
Two massive scrolls unfurled, releasing an array of weapons as the battle escalated.
Every technique imaginable was being thrown into this fight.
As Madara's Sharingan spun wildly, the battle began tilting in his favor.
At their level, where their taijutsu, kenjutsu, and combat experience were near equal, the advantages of the Sharingan were undeniable.
"Wood Release: Birth of the Trees!"
Hashirama discarded his broken weapon, slamming his palms together.
The ground trembled violently as enormous tree roots burst forth like serpents, intertwining to form thick vines that lunged at Madara.
Madara's Sharingan flickered, allowing him to weave through the attack with remarkable agility.
Before long, the vines grew into towering trees, transforming the battlefield into a lush artificial forest.
"Boom!!!"
Suddenly, an explosion erupted within the forest.
A massive purple blade cleaved through the dense trees, cutting them down in a single sweep.
"Hashirama!!!"
Shrouded in a skeletal frame of glowing purple-blue energy, Madara roared.
"Come! Show me your full power!"
Hashirama remained silent, merely continuing to manipulate the trees around him.
At their level, this battle wouldn't be decided in mere moments.
The only way it would end quickly was if Madara decided to go all out from the start.
Watching the rapidly growing forest, Tsunade felt a sudden realization.
She might as well give up on Yamato.
Forget making an entire forest—he could barely grow a few trees without running out of chakra.
Takuya, noticing her thoughts, patted her shoulder in amusement.
"It's not the Wood Release that's powerful. It's Hashirama. Even if others inherit the technique, all they'll be good for is farming."
"Except for Madara, of course."
"...What do you mean by that?"
The first part of his statement made sense, but the second part didn't sit right with her.
"Are you saying that Madara's Wood Release is as strong as Grandpa's?"
"You'll see soon enough."
Takuya smirked.
He was certain that Madara wouldn't hold back for long.
After all, what could be more satisfying than defeating your rival with his own technique?
Madara had no choice but to use the Wood Release.
Without it or the Rinnegan, he had no way of truly overpowering Hashirama.
Both were in Edo Tensei form, meaning they had infinite stamina and regenerative abilities.
Hashirama in this state was downright terrifying.
He could use Wood Release techniques endlessly, and even if Madara didn't need to worry about running out of chakra either, he'd still struggle to keep up.
"Haaah!!!"
Countless vines erupted from the ground, forming wave after wave of dense forest.
The Hidden Cloud Village was slowly being consumed by greenery.
Even the remaining buildings were collapsing under the weight of the trees.
To these techniques, structures were nothing more than flimsy obstacles.
The Third Raikage twitched as he took in the devastation.
"So this is the power of the God of Shinobi?"
For a moment, he imagined himself being trapped in the forest.
"How the hell would I escape?"
The conclusion was obvious—he'd be strangled to death by the vines.
People underestimated Wood Release.
They thought it was just about throwing trees around.
But these trees didn't just attack.
They absorbed chakra.
The longer you fought inside the forest, the weaker you became.
Just look at Madara.
At first, his skeletal Susanoo had been enough to keep him in control.
But as the trees kept multiplying, even he couldn't keep up with their sheer volume.
Slowly but surely, Madara was getting swallowed by the forest.
"Boom!!!"
A massive wave of scorching flames erupted from within, burning the trees to cinders.
But before the fire could spread too far, new trees replaced the fallen ones.
The balance wasn't shifting.
Madara chuckled.
Despite being trapped, he wasn't angry.
Instead, he was excited.
"Yes! This is what I wanted!"
Blue chakra flames flared around him.
His skeletal Susanoo evolved, growing muscular arms and brandishing four massive swords.
The speed at which he was cutting down trees suddenly increased.
This wasn't enough to contain him.
Hashirama clapped his hands together.
"Wood Release: Flower Tree World!"
Within the dense forest, enormous flowers bloomed, releasing clouds of red pollen that spread throughout the battlefield.
Madara scowled.
"Again with this technique?"
He had unpleasant memories of this jutsu.
It had given him plenty of trouble in the past, long before Konoha was even established.
"Enough!"
A blinding blue light surged skyward as his Susanoo expanded.
Armor plates formed over its body, giving it a fully realized humanoid form.
Madara had activated his Perfect Susanoo.
"Holy crap!!!"
Takuya gawked at the mountain-sized warrior before them.
Compared to this, Uchiha Fugaku's Susanoo looked like a toddler.
Fugaku had only ever reached the matured Susanoo stage—a cloaked warrior wielding a weapon.
But here, Madara's Susanoo was massive.
One of its feet alone was bigger than Fugaku's entire matured Susanoo.
Uchiha Mikoto shot Takuya a glare.
"Of all times, you choose now to insult the clan leader?"
Kushina gulped.
"Takuya… is yours that big?"
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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read the rest of the Chapter at Patreon com/ Emik01.
DO NOT FORGET POWER STONE AND CHATTING