Qingshui couldn't say how high his Qimen Dunjia Arts had reached, but he had at least gotten a grasp of them.
At the very least, he could adapt to local conditions, setting up a formation and making calculations based on the current season and environment.
As for the environment, Senju Hashirama had already transformed this place into a forest. The Zhen Character, which belongs to Wood and is located in the East, represents Lightning in the Eight Trigrams.
Using Qimen Dunjia Arts with the Zhen Character at this moment to enhance lightning-related skills was enough to multiply their power.
"Clap!"
Senju Hashirama clasped his hands together, and layers of massive Ghost Masks enveloped his body, protecting him.
"Boom!!!"
Lightning and wood collided, exploding in an instant with earth-shattering force.
On a slightly elevated hill in the distance, Orochimaru held binoculars, watching the blurry combat in the image.
"Is this the Wood Release of the God of Shinobi? What tremendous power. He's only using less than half his strength, and he's fighting Qingshui from the Sand Village like this."
Orochimaru licked his lips with his long tongue, a hint of excitement in his eyes.
He seemed to have rekindled his desire to research Wood Release.
A few years ago, he and Danzō had secretly researched Wood Release quite a bit, but unfortunately, it yielded no results, and his attention had shifted to other areas since then.
Now, after witnessing the power of Wood Release, Orochimaru was once again considering restarting his Wood Release experiments.
Tobirama Senju also held binoculars, standing next to Orochimaru and watching.
No one in the Ninja World had used these before, but the principle was simple. After they appeared in the Sand Village, Orochimaru only needed a few glances to reverse-engineer them based on their appearance and usage. Now, they were popular throughout the Ninja World.
"My brother probably has about 40% of his peak strength, but is the other party also holding back? You told me before that this guy deciphered my Flying Thunder God and has various strange Ninjutsu he hasn't used yet. I'm worried..."
"Worried that the First Hokage will be sealed?"
Orochimaru chuckled, taking off his binoculars and speaking to Tobirama Senju.
The latter also lowered his binoculars at that moment, sharing a tacit glance with Orochimaru, seeing the unique cunning in each other's eyes.
"If we just step in like this, my brother will blame us when he returns."
"But if there isn't someone skilled in the Flying Thunder God Jutsu to assist, I'm afraid Lord First will indeed be sealed. However, as long as you go and give Lord First a little help, and I take the opportunity to attack the Sand Hidden forces, which lack top-tier fighters, with a large army, the tide of war can be completely rewritten.
Of course, Lord First and Sand Hidden will surely be displeased, so I will bear all the blame. After the war, I will voluntarily step down from the position of Fourth Hokage to atone to Lord First.
At that time, I'll have to trouble you to help persuade him further."
Tobirama Senju nodded in satisfaction.
This kid is good. His heart is dirty enough, dark enough, and he's willing to take the blame.
His intelligence was impressive, and he possessed outstanding Ninjutsu talent, especially in the field of forbidden jutsu. Orochimaru truly made Tobirama Senju, a master of forbidden jutsu himself, look at him with new respect.
If Orochimaru weren't already his grand-disciple, Tobirama Senju would have genuinely wanted to take him on as a direct student.
He truly felt like he had found a kindred spirit in this grand-disciple.
The two were not alike; at least, Orochimaru would never sacrifice himself and stay behind alone like Tobirama Senju did.
But they indeed shared significant commonalities in many aspects.
"You don't need to bear the blame. Just say it was all my command. You're the Fourth, I'm the Second; it's normal for you to follow my orders. My brother won't overly blame me for it."
Tobirama Senju crossed his arms, looking at Orochimaru.
"Then... I wish you all the best."
Orochimaru bowed gracefully to Tobirama Senju.
"I'll set off first."
Tobirama Senju nodded slightly to Orochimaru, formed a hand sign with one hand, and vanished in a *Body Flicker*.
...
A fierce wind swept up lightning, and across the land, countless broken wooden fragments turned to charcoal.
Senju Hashirama stood on the scorched earth, his cracked face filled with seriousness.
In his lifetime, the only person who could make him show that expression was Uchiha Madara.
After his Impure World Reincarnation, there was one more.
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"
A monstrous, massive wood dragon roared forth, meeting a Chi Dragon glowing with lightning from Separation Release head-on.
"Separation Breathing: Sixth Form: Parting Dragon Night Dance!"
The two dragons collided, producing a tremendous sound.
The Chi Dragon vanished, and the surface of the wood dragon became pitted, though it quickly regenerated.
Qingshui's eyebrows slightly twitched. His Kusanagi Sword instantly lengthened, slicing the vine-like Wood Release tentacles around him into pieces.
The Wood Dragon Jutsu's ability to absorb Chakra was even stronger than other Wood Release techniques.
At that moment, Big Ivan's thrusters flared, accelerating. Its arms clasped together, assembling and expanding into a battering ram, striking the wood dragon's head with overwhelming force and halting its forward momentum.
The Fatty Puppet also charged out of the forest, tearing off the wooden splinters clinging to it. Its arms emitted a mechanical whirring sound as they transformed into giant hands, as if it had used the Partial Expansion Jutsu of the Akimichi Clan. It grabbed the tail of the Wood Dragon, swung it around, and repeatedly slammed it against the ground.
A Puppet that had been converted into a Magic Tool was far stronger in combat than Big Ivan.
Moreover, the Fatty Puppet specialized in brute strength and used physical attacks that couldn't be absorbed by Chakra, making it particularly effective against the Wood Dragon.
At that moment, Senju Hashirama summoned a second Wood Dragon, which charged towards Qingshui.
"Seeing that Wood Release Ninjutsu won't gain the upper hand, do you want to engage me in close combat?"
Qingshui chuckled softly.
Good, he thought. This is also creating an opportunity for me to seal Senju Hashirama up close.
The Kusanagi Sword gleamed with a cold blue light, aiming directly for Senju Hashirama's head, but it was deflected by an arm adorned with red armor plates.
Qingshui extended his left hand, catching Senju Hashirama's right fist with a single palm. He then closed the distance, kneeing Senju Hashirama in the abdomen, and immediately retreated a step.
This was because several wooden splinters suddenly shot out from Senju Hashirama's right arm, striking at him.
Senju Hashirama's eyes lit up, and he pressed forward, but unexpectedly, Qingshui pulled back, leaping out from the Big Ivan, which had been restrained by the wooden splinters. He then threw a punch towards Senju Hashirama's head.
The more they fought, the more surprised Senju Hashirama became.
He felt as though he was looking at his younger self.
An overflowing vitality, a powerful physique, and an immense amount of Chakra coupled with incredibly fast recovery.
Minor nicks and scrapes healed in a blink, and even when he managed to land a hit with Wood Release, the wounds recovered at a visible rate.
Senju Hashirama realized he was in a difficult situation.
He had clearly underestimated Qingshui's close-combat abilities.
It would have been fine if he were alive.
Impure World Reincarnation was a significant weakening for Senju Hashirama, who possessed a high-level Sage body. His current Impure World Reincarnation body was only at 40% of his peak strength.
At this level, in close combat, it was certainly enough to deal with other Kage-level experts. Even against a Kage-level expert specializing in close combat like Hatake Sakumo, as long as he could break through their defenses and find an opening, Senju Hashirama could wear them down with the infinite recovery ability of his Impure World Reincarnation body.
Senju Hashirama had extensive experience in wars of attrition.
Unfortunately, Qingshui was also very suited for a war of attrition.
The recovery ability of the Perfect Demonization body was such that even a peak Senju Hashirama, still alive, would likely fall short.
In terms of strength and speed, Qingshui surpassed Senju Hashirama, who was only at 40% of his strength. Qingshui's combat experience was also sufficient. He didn't know if he was inferior to the battle-hardened Senju Hashirama, but it was definitely enough.
Perhaps bringing his confidence from life into this situation, Senju Hashirama made a misstep.
So, he could only retreat repeatedly, trying to find an opportunity to escape.
Because if the fight continued like this, he would be the one more likely to be caught and sealed.
*"Bang!"*
A large portion of Senju Hashirama's body was kicked apart, and his torso was embedded in the ground.
Amidst the flying dust, Senju Hashirama's figure leaped out of the crater he had just created, spreading his fists and charging violently towards Qingshui.
Through the Transparent World, Qingshui saw it clearly.
This was a Wood Clone released by Senju Hashirama while using the dust to obscure vision.
Another clone was currently burrowing through the ground using Earth Release, attempting to ambush him.
The Kusanagi Sword drew a perfect circle in mid-air, encompassing the Wood Clone like a bright blue mirror.
"Separation Breathing: Seventh Form: Separation Mirror!"
The bright mirror shattered, and along with it, Senju Hashirama's Wood Clone disintegrated into pieces of wood.
The Kusanagi Sword extended downward into the ground, piercing the other Wood Clone and severing its head.
At this moment, the scattered pieces of Senju Hashirama's body were repaired by fluttering paper, and he clapped his hands together, a Sage face appearing on his own.
"Sage Art: Wood Release: Wood Golem Jutsu!"
As the ground trembled, a massive, half-bodied wood golem emerged from the earth, swinging its giant palms down towards Qingshui.
Qingshui didn't directly engage. Instead, he sensed a Kunai with a "Kill" Cursed Seal nearby and instantly teleported away.
The next second, Qingshui seemed to sense something, slightly tilting his head, turning, and drawing his sword to deflect several Kunai.
Instantly, Tobirama Senju's figure appeared at the location of one of the Kunai. He caught the Kunai with his left hand, and his right hand transformed into a water gun, a swirling vortex of water, thrusting towards Qingshui.
"Ha!"
Qingshui spun the Kusanagi Sword in his hand again.
"Separation Breathing: First Form: Ion Cut!"
As their weapons clashed, the water gun and Tobirama Senju's right arm were cut apart simultaneously.
Tobirama Senju decisively abandoned his right arm, retreating rapidly, and then spat out several Senbon towards Qingshui before using Flying Thunder God to leave.
Qingshui saw through Tobirama Senju's movements but couldn't predict whether the guy was genuinely retreating or planning to use the Senbon to activate Flying Thunder God for a pursuit. So, he also used Blood Demon Art to instantly teleport away.
"Hmph, you Konoha ninja are truly insidious and despicable. I sensed that evil white-haired Senju lurking outside long ago, waiting for a chance to ambush. Now, on the battlefield, Orochimaru has probably already led Konoha's main forces to attack our Sand Hidden people, hasn't he?
"How shameless of you Konoha shinobi!"
On a scorched patch of land, Qingshui emerged from a kunai buried in the ground. He looked at the Senju brothers, who had appeared atop the partially formed Wood Golem in the distance.
If it were just Senju Hashirama, Qingshui was confident he could seal him.
But with Tobirama Senju, who could use Flying Thunder God, was elusive, and no less powerful, it became difficult.
Fortunately, Sasori was with the team, so Orochimaru wouldn't be able to stop them.
Although Qingshui called the Konoha shinobi evil, the Sand Village had turned the Third Hokage into a Human Puppet, which was also quite evil, to be honest.
He really wanted to see the reaction of those Konoha shinobi when they saw the Third Hokage as a Human Puppet.
Unfortunately, he was currently tied up with the Senju brothers.
He hoped Sasori would record it so he could enjoy it later.
"This is how shinobi fight, young man. If you can't accept it, then take your people and retreat to the Sand Village."
Tobirama Senju, unaware that his former student had been turned into a Human Puppet, spoke to Qingshui in a cold voice.
"Tobirama, why are you here? Orochimaru, he..."
"Shut up, Big Brother! If I didn't do this, you would have been sealed, and then I'd have to watch the village be destroyed with my own eyes, wouldn't I?"
Tobirama Senju snapped at Senju Hashirama without ceremony.
After being scolded by his brother, Hashirama hunched his back and slumped his shoulders, exuding a heavy aura.
But then he quickly straightened his posture again.
"Tobirama, and Mr. Qingshui, let's stop fighting for now."
Senju Hashirama took the initiative to speak.
"Big Brother!"
Tobirama Senju was anxious.
He felt that with Orochimaru on the front lines, they had the advantage, and Senju Hashirama's actions would undoubtedly squander that advantage.
"This war was never necessary in the first place, Mr. Qingshui. Let's negotiate. Even with Tobirama here, we can't defeat you, and you can't defeat us either. There's no need for us to fight a war where there's no clear winner. Let's talk again."
Senju Hashirama said loudly.
To show goodwill, he even voluntarily exited Sage Mode.
Even though if he wanted to, he could clap his hands together and instantly re-enter Sage Mode.
Tobirama Senju also stopped speaking after two seconds of thought.
Because he felt Senju Hashirama was right.
They couldn't defeat Qingshui, so what good would it do to defeat the Sand Hidden army, let alone destroy the Sand Village?
On the contrary, they would have to guard against a powerful individual, far surpassing the Five Kage and second only to his older brother and Madara in their prime, retaliating against Konoha.
He and Senju Hashirama couldn't protect every Konoha shinobi at all times.
Instead, keeping those people alive gave them something to worry about.
This person wasn't a madman like the Uchiha; surely he wouldn't sever all ties and defect from the village like Madara, would he?
Against an individual with the power to overturn the chessboard, even Senju Hashirama and Tobirama Senju, brothers who had lived through the Warring States period and founded the new shinobi village era, had no recourse if they couldn't kill their opponent.
Aside from negotiations, they were helpless.
And whether or not to negotiate depended on the other party's intentions.
But currently, they had no choice.
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