"What is this? The Wooden Giant Jutsu?"
"Madara, you've actually mastered the Wood Release too?"
"That face..."
"You've fused with my cells? And gained my Kekkei Genkai—the Wood Release?"
Hashirama's eyes narrowed as he stared at the towering wooden giant rising before him.
Clenching his fists in rage, he roared with fury.
Never in his wildest imagination...
Had Madara not only returned to life!
But secretly fused with his cells, stealing the power of the Wood Release!
And even imprinted his face onto the giant's chest!
How despicable!
Was he that desperate to obtain my strength? So determined to surpass me?
"Madara! Is this the strength you seek? Is this what you call an improvement?"
"The power of the Wood Release is no ordinary gift!"
"Snap out of it, won't you!"
Hashirama bellowed fiercely.
He utterly condemned Madara's treacherous act of obtaining Hashirama's own cells to wield the power of the Wood Release.
Enough.
Today, he'd show Madara once again just what true Wood Release feels like!
This time, he'd smash Madara into the ground for good!
Senya Mokuton: True Thousand Hands!
[Sage Art: Wood Release – True Several Thousand Hands!]
Outside the walls of Konoha Village, the earth shook violently as tectonic forces erupted.
Once more, the colossal wooden Buddha statue, over a kilometer tall, rose from the ground, its might radiating across all directions.
Seeing this, Lord Madara's spirit soared, filled with excitement.
So Hashirama's finally getting serious, huh?
That was exactly what he had been waiting for!
After so many years, the crushing defeat he once suffered at the hands of this giant Buddha still burned in his chest.
Today, he would finally overcome Hashirama head-on!
Crush him under his power and wipe away his shame once and for all!
"Wood Release – Advanced Wooden Giant Jutsu!"
"Majestic Attire: Susano'o!"
An overwhelming surge of chakra flooded into the wooden giant.
The giant shot up dramatically, reaching nearly five to six hundred meters in height.
At the same time, Perfect Susanoo quickly manifested, cloaking the wooden giant in divine armor, arming it with deadly weapons—it now resembled a demon god truly descended from the heavens.
Though lacking Sage Arts, making it impossible to perform the [True Several Thousand Hands] and summon forth the true Great Buddha,
Using the Wooden Giant Jutsu to host the Susanoo greatly enhanced its defense and attack capabilities.
Together, they were just as powerful—if not more so—than the old combination of [Susanoo + Nine-Tails], known as the Wild Beast Calamity.
In fact, some aspects surpassed it!
This was precisely why Madara had longed so desperately to obtain Hashirama's cells in the first place.
It wasn't simply to cast a few techniques like [Tree World Descent]...
From the very start, he had dreamed of mounting Susano'o atop a Wooden Giant—to gain strength beyond Hashirama, an unprecedented power!
Back then, due to their clashing ideologies,
He had been unable to realize that vision.
Now, reborn and returned, he could finally put that idea to the test with his own hands!
At this moment, Hashirama couldn't help but feel startled, murmuring in astonishment:
"So, you've mounted your Susano'o onto the wooden giant?"
"What a fascinating idea!"
"Well then, let me test your strength as it is now!"
Hashirama: "Madara!"
Madara: "Hasegawa!"
"Boom—"
The Giant Buddha and Susanoo clashed violently, creating a deafening sonic boom.
Even the wind generated by the impact uprooted vast swaths of trees around them.
It also left the ninjas inside Konoha Village frozen in terror like wooden chickens.
Just like a few days ago.
Such 'mountain-shifting, sea-filling' level battles were far beyond what ordinary ninjas could ever participate in.
Being able to peek from behind the village walls was already considered an honor for their lifetime.
Enough to brag about later in life.
...
At the same time.
Far away, within the forest.
Shimoku watched with great interest as the intense battle raged between Susanoo and the Giant Buddha.
Although watching from afar wasn't as thrilling as personally joining the fight,
A showdown at this peak level was still quite fascinating to observe.
It was also a good opportunity for Shimoku to gain some combat experience.
After all, Lord Madara had vast experience wielding Susanoo, so observing his control and application techniques was worth learning from.
Moreover, combining Perfect Body Susanoo with the Wooden Giant externally—
They were truly overwhelming together.
In fact, they were slightly stronger than Shimoku's own combination of Perfect Body Susanoo and Sage Body.
As for Hashirama's side,
His current use of Sage Art's Giant Buddha was somewhat more powerful than the last time a few days ago.
Clearly, using his original corpse as the base allowed him to unleash Hashirama's true power far better than borrowing Taka's body.
Of course,
Shimoku didn't feel the least bit intimidated either.
After all, he had already defeated Hashirama head-on once before.
And now, he even possessed the Baryon Mode, which he could activate anytime.
Even if he rushed out right now,
There was a high chance he'd be able to wipe them both out in one strike!
However, there was no need to actually step in.
Because activating Baryon Mode prematurely
Eliminating the current Madara—what would he gain?
Earning himself a legendary title of "Patricide"?
Then causing Black Zetsu, that scheming bastard, to lose hope and hide again while plotting new schemes?
Like he had nothing better to do all day?
Instead, it made more sense to use Madara as bait to lure out Black Zetsu and eliminate him altogether—once and for all!
As for Hashirama?
Just an Impure World body—it couldn't truly be killed anyway!
Wasting another ten thousand coins on him would be downright foolish.
Better to observe from the sidelines for now.
Of course,
Shimoku wasn't dumb—he wouldn't let such a golden opportunity go to waste just for entertainment.
Soon, Shimoku quietly created a Shadow Clone and ordered it to infiltrate Konoha Village.
Precisely while these two were locked in their love-hate, drawn-out battle.
He wanted to conduct a covert sweep through Konoha.
Maybe capture the Nine-Tails if possible.
If not,
He could always infiltrate the Konoha Vault and extract valuable items.
That would work too!
...
Less than half a minute later,
Shimoku's clone had already sneaked into Konoha Village.
Silently apprehending two Anbu ninja, he placed them under a genjutsu.
Then interrogated them regarding Konoha's current situation.
Among the known facts:
The entire leadership of Konoha had already been overhauled.
The former advisors Homura Mitokado and Danzo Shimura had both been removed from office and placed under house arrest.
Currently, Jiraiya still officially served as the Provisional Hokage, with Tsunade acting as his assistant.
But in reality—
Tobirama was overseeing all village affairs.
Meanwhile, Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, had moved into the [Hokage Tower] for residence.
Thus, Shimoku's clone swiftly infiltrated the [Hokage Tower], quickly finishing a full search of the entire building.
Unfortunately, there was no trace of Naruto anywhere.
However, inside one of the offices, he unexpectedly encountered a small red toad.
[Message Toad]: A subordinate of Elder Sage Fukasaku, specifically tasked with delivering messages between [Mount Myoboku] and [Konoha Village].
"Kero!"
"Who's there?!"
"Uh-oh..."
Detecting an intruder, the message toad immediately croaked loudly.
But before it could say more,
its consciousness was caught in the Sharingan's genjutsu.
Shimoku took a few quick steps forward and grabbed the [Message Toad] off the table.
He focused his eye's power harder.
Soon enough, through the illusionary technique, he obtained the information he desired.
Just as suspected. Jiraiya had already taken Naruto into hiding at [Mount Myoboku], which explained why he couldn't be found within the tower.
Shimoku hesitated briefly.
He considered whether to use this 'message toad' to send word back to [Mount Myoboku], tricking both Naruto and Jiraiya into returning here.
In the end, though, he abandoned the idea.
After all, [Mount Myoboku] harbored many hidden masters—
especially the Great Toad Sage, who had lived for over a thousand years.
His strength was no less than that of the Sage of Six Paths!
Basic genjutsu would never fool him.
Rather than risk exposure, it was wiser not to take the chance.
Once decided, Shimoku wasted no time.
He continued using genjutsu to forcibly erase this particular memory from the [Message Toad].
Then—
he left a tiny [Flying Thunder God Mark] on its behind, just in case future needs arose.
Once the message toad returned to [Mount Myoboku],
he could use the [Flying Thunder God Mark] to slip in right behind it.
After finishing all this, Shimoku wasted no time and slipped out of the [Hokage Tower].
Since obtaining Naruto proved unfeasible for now, he might as well shift his target toward the Konoha Vault.
After coming all this way, he absolutely refused to return empty-handed!
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