The Naruto world loves its heroes a little too much.
If someone's strong enough, the entire battlefield tilts around them. Morale spikes, enemies panic, and suddenly every normal shinobi is just background noise for whichever demigod is swinging around chakra the size of a small mountain.
And in the Warring States era? That obsession is even worse.
Because out here, one monster can erase a clan.
Today's battlefield shows exactly that. Senju and Uchiha elites, feared across the land, are being torn apart by the descending Wood Release and Konoha's encirclement. Their confidence cracks. Even warriors shaped by a century of bloodshed start to look desperate.
It doesn't matter.
The moment the forest swallowed them, most of their chakra was drained. Even when some of them managed to break free, Konoha's forces closed in like wolves on weakened prey.
They never stood a chance.
A breathless Konoha shinobi rushed toward me just as I finished putting down another Senju.
"Raizen-sama! Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara are on the way. Twenty minutes at most!"
"Oh? Finally decided to show up."
I'd been wondering why those two hadn't personally led this raid. Turns out they had. They just wanted to test me first, so they threw Senju Chisaka at me like bait.
Didn't work out for him.
The poor bastard died in under half an hour, and his support squad was already buried under Konoha blades.
Once Hashirama and Madara heard their man got diced, they bolted toward the battlefield at full speed.
"Then we end this before they arrive."
My voice cooled. No more slow cleanup.
Susanoo thundered forward, cutting through the snaking vines as the Amaterasu-forged blade ignited the forest in black fire. Screams ripped across the sky.
"All units! Full assault! Eradicate the remaining Senju and Uchiha!"
Susanoo unleashed everything. Konoha charged behind me, steel flashing beneath the flickering canopy.
The forest turned into a butcher's den.
Blood, splintered wood, severed limbs… every breath tasted like iron.
Then two shouts cracked the sky.
"STOP!"
"You'll regret this!"
Two streaks of red chakra sliced through the air. Senju and Uchiha survivors, beaten half to death, erupted into cheers when they saw their leaders approaching.
"The patriarchs are here!"
"We're saved! Patriarch, destroy these butchers!"
I didn't bother replying. My right eye ignited with eternal tomoe, and Susanoo's blade roared with Amaterasu.
The last survivors never even had time to beg.
"Flame Control."
The black fire twisted into a colossal dragon, its silent maw opening as it tore across the battlefield. Terror finally appeared in the eyes of the remaining Senju and Uchiha.
"Wood Release. Wood Ingot Wall!"
Hashirama slammed his hands together.
Massive wooden walls erupted from the earth, shielding the survivors. The dragon of black fire crashed against the barricade and died down with a frustrated hiss.
I pulled Amaterasu back. Not because I wanted to.
Because two legends now stood directly in front of me.
Senju Hashirama.
Uchiha Madara.
For a moment, the battlefield just… breathed.
Hashirama exhaled in relief now that I wasn't roasting his men alive. His eyes softened with something like nostalgia.
"To think we'd meet again like this…"
Madara scoffed. "You've gotten sharper since we were children, Raizen. Not much hesitation left in you, is there?"
I stared back, eye burning like a crimson furnace.
"…Are you really planning to stop me?"
Hashirama's expression twisted. Duty weighed on him like chains.
"In my heart, no. But as the head of the Senju… I can't ignore this."
"You've changed," Madara admitted, tone oddly approving. But then his gaze hardened. "Even so, as Uchiha patriarch, I can't back down either."
Hashirama stepped beside him.
"This is our choice… both of us."