Seeing Hashirama Senju's serious face, Madara Uchiha, standing beside him, suddenly burst into laughter for some reason.
Hashirama looked puzzled and cautiously asked, "Madara… don't tell me you've lost your mind?"
Madara's face darkened, and he held back the urge to punch Hashirama as he spat out a single word: "Get lost!"
Hashirama scratched his head, his eyes lighting up as he looked at Madara, clearly understanding something.
"Hashirama, after our battle just now, did you notice something strange?"
Madara's eyes sparkled as he spoke in a low voice.
Hashirama's expression turned serious and he nodded. "Yes, I noticed that Yuto has mainly targeted you from the start. I actually thought you had a personal grudge or something."
"In battle, the one dealt with first is usually the greater threat. Right now, it's obvious your Wood Release jutsu poses the bigger threat to him, so why didn't he deal with you first?"
A cold smile crept across Madara's lips.
Hashirama and Madara exchanged a glance. Their eyes flickered before they said in unison:
"It's genjutsu!"
Hashirama's eyes lit up. The two had gathered vast intel on Yuto, but had somehow overlooked the fact that in his battles, Yuto rarely fought against true genjutsu masters.
Even if there were such battles, the opponents were almost always instantly killed by Yuto.
This led many to falsely assume that Yuto was immune or resistant to genjutsu.
Additionally, at their level, top-tier shinobi rarely used genjutsu unless absolutely necessary—if it was broken, it could cause a significant backlash to their own spiritual energy.
What's more, in this level of battle, any distraction or flaw could result in deadly consequences.
Right now, Madara didn't even have the power of the Six Paths, nor had he awakened the Rinnegan.
"Of course, it's also possible that he thinks I'm weaker than you, and that's why he went after me first," Madara added with a hint of self-mockery.
If Yuto had heard that, he would've been utterly shocked. Who would've thought that Lord Madara was even capable of self-deprecating humor?
Still, neither Hashirama nor Madara believed that. They understood Yuto's personality well.
Whoever could pose a threat to Yuto—he would eliminate them first.
"If that's the case, then we only have one shot at this!"
Hashirama's face grew solemn.
Madara nodded, and Hashirama immediately understood.
SPLASH!
With a thunderous crash, the massive wooden golem in front of them was sliced clean in half by Yuto's enormous energy blade.
CRACK!
At the same time, a deep fissure split across the entire ground under the force of the blade.
Hashirama and Madara leapt back simultaneously!
"Hashirama, Madara… where do you two think you're going?"
Yuto sneered coldly, his enormous energy blade swinging without pause.
"Wood Style: Nativity of a World of Trees!"
Hashirama rapidly weaved hand signs and slammed his palms to the ground. An immense wave of chakra surged outward.
In an instant, giant trees burst from the earth, growing at a terrifying speed into towering forests, forming the first defensive line with an overwhelming wave of natural power that swept across everyone's field of vision.
At the same time, it was as if the trees came alive—countless branches exploded forth and surged toward Yuto like a flood.
Yuto's expression remained calm. With a casual swing of his giant blade, the incoming branches were swept away and obliterated.
In just a few swings, the forest that Hashirama had summoned was almost entirely cleared away.
Huh?!
A terrifying surge of chakra suddenly erupted from ahead.
Yuto's expression shifted as he looked forward. When he saw Hashirama's form, his pupils contracted slightly.
"Sage Mode? Looks like you're finally getting serious."
ROAR! ROAR!
A deafening roar echoed across the battlefield, shaking the entire area. The ground trembled as the giant Nine-Tails emerged, with Madara standing atop its head.
Madara's Mangekyō Sharingan spun violently.
"Now!"
Hashirama shouted, his hands forming seals at lightning speed until they became a blur.
"Sage Art: Wood Style — True Several Thousand Hands!!"
BOOM!!
The entire earth trembled as a colossal Buddha statue with thousands of arms slowly rose from the ground.
Compared to it, the several-hundred-meter wooden golem from before didn't even match the head of this new titan.
"Complete Susanoo!!"
On the other side, Madara roared as well.
The massive Susanoo took form like armor around the Nine-Tails, fully manifesting in its majestic, armored glory, with multiple wings and weapons forged from chakra.
This was a move on par with Hashirama's True Several Thousand Hands.
Both Hashirama and Madara unleashed their full power at once, their terrifying aura sweeping through the battlefield like a storm.
For a brief moment—even Yuto felt the pressure.
BOOM!!
With a thunderous rumble, the True Thousand Hands Buddha statue advanced.
It was so enormous that Yuto had no place to dodge—even if he wanted to.
"Yuto! Take this! Buddha Of The Summit!"
Hashirama slammed both hands onto the Buddha's head.
Thousands of enormous arms came crashing down like lightning, all striking Yuto simultaneously.
Yuto raised his massive energy blade in defense, but before he could even react, the blows smashed through his defenses and crushed him into the earth.
Even with his energy absorption ability, Yuto was overwhelmed. The ground trembled violently under the assault.
Meanwhile, Madara, holding nothing back, controlled the Susanoo-clad Nine-Tails and launched a relentless barrage toward the spot where Yuto had landed.
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