Chapter 285: The Hope of Defeating Him
Senju Hashirama ignored Uchiha Madara's deliberately mocking words, instead fixing his eyes sternly on him and replying, "I already said, if you intend to cause trouble, no matter what, I will stop you, Madara!"
"Can you do that, in your current state?"
"Why don't you try me and see?"
Uchiha Madara spoke offhandedly, crooking a finger at Hashirama.
He hadn't even exerted himself—just by casually unleashing a burst of chakra, the vines binding his body instantly shattered.
At this point, Madara wasn't in a rush to reclaim his Rinnegan. He intended to properly teach Hashirama a lesson first.
This once-formidable opponent, who used to be such a headache for him… now looked so weak in his eyes, someone he could crush at will.
As Madara spoke, Hashirama not only activated Sage Mode, but immediately entered his Thousand-Armed Buddha form.
Without hesitation, he unleashed Sage Art: Deep Forest Emergence.
In an instant, the entire battlefield was transformed—countless colossal primordial trees erupted skyward, turning the terrain into an environment that gave Hashirama absolute advantage.
"Still the same old tricks?"
Madara merely cast a disdainful glance around him.
Once upon a time, this very jutsu had caused him tremendous trouble and annoyance.
But now…
Madara slowly raised the Six Paths staff in his hand.
An invisible, formless blade of chakra erupted outward from his body in all directions at once.
"Rumble…"
In the blink of an eye, the vast primeval forest Hashirama had just summoned was obliterated, reduced to ashes.
"Sage Art: Myojin Gate!"
Hashirama immediately launched his counterattack, intending to suppress Madara with this technique.
"Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud…"
One after another, massive red torii gates imbued with sealing power and indomitable will slammed down upon Madara, pressing him little by little toward the ground.
But when all of the torii had fallen, Madara was still suspended above the earth.
Seeing this, Hashirama instantly realized something was very wrong.
Every time he had used this jutsu in the past—whether against the Nine Tails or Madara—it had always been 100% effective in pinning his opponent down.
But now, this Sage Art seal was failing. It could no longer exert the same suppressive force as before.
Madara lifted his head slowly, sneering coldly at him. "Is that all you've got?"
"Sage Art: Wood Release—True Several Thousand Hands!"
Hashirama ignored him, immediately unleashing another ultimate technique.
At once, the countless arms of the towering Thousand-Armed Buddha beneath his feet surged into motion. Tens of thousands of fists, each indestructible, rained down on Madara.
Madara looked at the incoming assault and once again sneered with contempt.
This technique, too, had once given him a great deal of trouble.
It could easily pulverize even his Complete Susanoo, and even the Nine-Tails armored in Susanoo had been crushed by it.
But now, in the eyes of the Six Paths Madara, Sage Art: True Several Thousand Hands was nothing special.
He didn't dodge, nor did he resist directly.
In the instant before the storm of fists struck, his nine Truth-Seeking Orbs fused together into a single eggshell-like barrier, sealing him inside completely.
The next moment, deafening explosions thundered one after another.
Uncountable fists hammered down on Madara.
The barrier of Truth-Seeking Orbs shook violently under the assault, driven closer and closer toward the ground.
But Hashirama could see it clearly—his Sage Art: Wood Release—True Several Thousand Hands was actually damaging this defense.
His heart stirred slightly.
"What's going on?"
"That strange defense is weakening? But just a moment ago…"
He remembered clearly—when Nagato had attacked Madara with the Asura Path's cannon, Madara had blocked it with this very defense.
And even with the power of the Rinnegan, the attack hadn't so much as scratched him.
Yet now, his own Sage Art was working.
Within moments, Madara's Truth-Seeking Orb defense collapsed entirely.
But by then, Hashirama's barrage had already reached its limit. The countless fists vanished without a trace.
"So, Sage Jutsu can damage that defense!"
Hashirama quickly confirmed his deduction.
Pinned against the ground, Madara seemed irritated by this.
His gaze suddenly sharpened, the calmness of earlier gone.
An overwhelming surge of chakra erupted from him, and in an instant the torii gates binding him shattered into nothingness.
The violent shockwave demolished everything in every direction, carving a massive crater over three kilometers wide into the battlefield.
Easily breaking free from the gates, Madara rose into the air until he was face to face with Hashirama. "Your Sage Chakra really is a nuisance."
His words only further confirmed Hashirama's judgment.
"So Sage Art can indeed harm you."
Hashirama's expression grew serious.
If Sage Jutsu could bypass Madara's defenses, then he still had hope of defeating this terrifying foe.
Madara clearly understood this as well, and without another word, he launched his counterattack.
Two Truth-Seeking Orbs shot straight toward Hashirama.
Hashirama split off two Wood Release clones, using Wood Human Technique to block the incoming orbs, while his true body, infused with Sage Chakra, launched another attack on Madara.
The two clashed at blinding speed, exchanging several moves in quick succession.
But Hashirama soon noticed something alarming—when a Truth-Seeking Orb struck one of his wood clones, its body was obliterated, unable to regenerate.
His heart clenched.
Even in Edo Tensei form, his Wood Clones should share the same regenerative ability as his real body.
Theoretically, they were also immortal.
Yet the reality was different.
"It must be those spheres… the power of Yin-Yang Release?"
Hashirama's eyes shifted back to the orbs floating around Madara, reaching a new conclusion.
At that moment, Madara unleashed another attack.
"Sage Art: Yin Release—Lightning Dispatch!"
He raised his Six Paths staff, pointing it toward Hashirama's direction. A surge of violet lightning burst forth, engulfing the entire area in its radiance.
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