"Get out of here!"
Tsunade gripped one end of the wooden vine and suddenly swung with full force, hurling Madara like a hammer throw into the sky.
Whoosh!
Wrapped up like a giant green dumpling, Madara shot straight up, flying directly toward the back mountains behind Konoha.
That place—was Gamamaru's temple.
Clap! Clap!
Tsunade clapped her hands and shot a sharp glance.
The reason she threw Madara toward the back mountain was twofold. First, to avoid causing more damage to Konoha's buildings and civilians from continued fighting. And second—to give that old toad Gamamaru something to do, so he wouldn't sit idle in his temple all day.
In Tsunade's mind, since Gamamaru held the position of Honorary Elder of Konoha, he should step up when danger arrives instead of hiding safely at the back while letting others fight on the frontlines.
Tsunade's throw had been extremely accurate.
Madara flew through the air following a graceful parabolic arc. By the time he broke free from the Wood Release bindings, he was now like a falling cannonball, smashing straight through the temple roof.
Boom!
With a heavy thud, Madara landed inside the main chamber, punching a crater into the floor.
Gamamaru, who had been napping peacefully on the Sage Throne, jolted awake in shock, staring dumbfounded at this unexpected "visitor."
"Great Elder, what's going on?"
Outside the temple, Fukasaku and Shima hadn't walked far away yet. Upon hearing the commotion, they quickly ran back, just in time to see Hashirama Senju rise from the ground.
"My dear, doesn't this man look familiar?" Grandma Shima examined Hashirama carefully while nudging Fukasaku with her elbow.
"This is the First Hokage carved onto the Hokage Rock! Could it be that Great Elder has successfully mastered Impure World Reincarnation so soon?"
Fukasaku recognized Hashirama's identity and stared at Gamamaru with wide-eyed surprise.
"It wasn't me. He plummeted from the sky," Gamamaru replied helplessly.
Meanwhile,
Hashirama Senju—or rather, Madara Uchiha—rose to his feet and scanned the room. After spotting Gamamaru and the married frog couple Fukasaku and Shima, he sneered.
"Frogs from Mount Myoboku? Pathetic creatures pretending to live like humans. How ridiculous."
Before his words even faded, under the shocked and furious gazes of the three frogs, he slammed both hands onto the ground and roared loudly:
[Tree Creation: Birth from a Divine Tree]
Rumble!
Countless trees erupted from the earth, wildly growing as they rapidly filled the entire chamber.
Thick trunks burst through the doors, windows, and roof from inside the temple. Soon enough, the entire temple had been completely destroyed, transformed into a dense forest.
Swoosh!
A towering figure leaped gracefully from within the woods, landing steadily on the open lot outside.
Leaning on his cane, Gamamaru narrowed his eyes toward the forest. On his shoulders stood Fukasaku and Shima, having escaped together.
Emerging slowly from among the trees was none other than Madara Uchiha.
"I've heard the frogs of Mount Myoboku practice Sage Art. But let's see how yours hold up against Hashirama's!"
"Good, I'll take this chance to test the so-called depth of the Great Toad Sage."
Madara muttered under his breath, bringing his hands together with a clap. Soon, he sensed natural energy gathering toward him, and sage facial markings of the Great Sun appeared on his face.
But Gamamaru was faster.
Gamamaru was a creature who once stood as an equal to the Sage of Six Paths. At his peak, his strength rivaled that of Hagoromo Otsutsuki. Even though his power had weakened with age, he still wielded strength on par with the Six Paths.
Thud!
He raised his cane and struck the ground heavily, like dropping a stone into water, causing ripples of orange energy to spread outward in circles.
These ripples rapidly expanded around Madara, transforming into a sealing formation that surrounded him from all directions, tightening step by step.
Huh?
Instinctively sensing danger, Madara had no choice but to interrupt his incomplete Sage Mode transformation and used the Body Flicker Technique to attempt an escape.
However, no matter how wildly he rushed in every direction, he was always bounced back by the orange sealing formulae, just like a wild beast trapped inside a cage, without any way out.
"It's useless. This is Immortal Sage Power rivaling the Six Paths chakra. Under this force, all living beings in the mortal world are mere ants."
Gamamaru said indifferently, tapping the ground again lightly with his cane.
Swish!
All the sealing techniques instantly accelerated their contraction, wrapping Madara up tightly like a tightly-wrapped zongzi.
Hashirama Senju hadn't even managed to display one tenth of his abilities before being sealed away like this, covered entirely in orange runes, falling into a deep sleep.
"Such a convenient catch will make perfect material for researching Impure World Reincarnation."
Gamamaru said slowly, then ordered Fukasaku and Shima to carry Hashirama Senju down the mountain. With the temple destroyed, they had no choice but to stay in the village for now.
Just at this moment,
Whoosh.
Tobirama Senju suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He gave Fukasaku and Shima a cold smile before directly using the Flying Thunder God Technique to take Hashirama away.
"Oh well, what a pity."
Seeing this scene, Gamamaru sighed in disappointment, realizing his plans had come to nothing.
Tsunade, hiding far away in the woods, observed everything closely, witnessing the entire brief battle unfold from start to finish.
She originally intended to let Uchiha Madara test Gamamaru's strength, never expecting Gamamaru to be so unfathomably powerful, sealing Hashirama's Edo body in one fell swoop.
Tsunade's expression darkened. She had finally realized—Gamamaru was far more formidable than she had ever imagined.
Suddenly,
As space twisted in vortex-like distortions, Heiyan reappeared nearby in the clearing, taking the appearance of Obito Uchiha.
"Did it end so soon?"
Heiyan mused inwardly while scanning the area. His eyes spotted Gamamaru and company, along with Tsunade hiding in the woods.
"And who might you be?"
At this point, Tsunade no longer needed to hide either. Stepping out from the bushes, she regarded Heiyan warily.
"Tsunade, watch out!"
Jiraiya shouted from below the hill. Not only him — Orochimaru, Minato, Kushina, Sakumo Hatake, Fugaku, Hiashi, and even The Third, Hiruzen, had arrived at Konoha's rear.
In an instant, experts from Konoha gathered behind the mountain.
Heiyan glanced at Tsunade. Taking advantage of the others not having arrived yet, he leaned in close and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"I'll wait for you at the cabin in Shikkotsu Forest. Remember, don't tell this to anyone."
Just as his words faded, before a stunned Tsunade's eyes, Heiyan quickly formed the hand seal for Reverse Summoning and with a loud "pop," vanished from the spot.
Tsunade's pupils sharply contracted, her eyes filled with disbelief. She stood rooted to the spot. It wasn't until the Konoha ninja arrived at the clearing that she barely managed to regain her composure, desperately pretending nothing had happened.
In a secluded forest on the outskirts of Konoha—
Whoosh.
Tobirama appeared here along with the sealed Hashirama, using Flying Thunder God.
Another failure, he muttered bitterly.
Madara muttered while controlling Tobirama's body.
During this operation, he had constantly monitored the two brothers Hashirama and Tobirama from afar. After both Tobirama and Hashirama were successively defeated, Madara could only manipulate them to retreat.
From the current situation, these two Tailed Beasts from Konoha would have to be temporarily abandoned for now.
Setting aside other considerations first, Madara experienced Gamamaru's terrifying power for the very first time. Even with the Rinnegan's strength, he might not necessarily defeat that old frog.
For Madara, an even bigger crisis was unfolding back home—his secret lair was under threat. Those suddenly emerging powerful figures like the masked figure and the Immortal sage were poised to invade the Mist at any moment.
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