Just as Naruto and Minato reached their agreement, the distant horizon turned into a blazing crimson gold.
Moments later, Susanoo savagely overwhelmed the towering wooden giant before it, crashing into another one slightly smaller in size.
"Looks like the battle's about to end!" Naruto's eyes were filled with admiration.
Minato murmured, "The First Hokage… will never lose!"
On another battlefield, only Tobirama had the attention to glance toward Hashirama's fight.
Seeing Hashirama's wooden giant being suppressed by Susanoo, Tobirama's expression grew grim.
"Damn it, this Uchiha Kaede is even more troublesome than Uchiha Madara back then!"
Back in the day, even Madara had never suppressed Hashirama's Wood Style like this.
He had to think of a way to help his brother…
Tobirama looked at Tsunade and Daiburu rushing at him again and felt a headache.
Dealing with two opponents was bad enough, especially since Tsunade had entered Sage Mode, making her even more of a hindrance to his offense.
Though he had destructive jutsu like Tandem Paper Bombs, using that here would absolutely kill Tsunade, the last pure-blooded Senju left.
Even if there were still scattered clansmen within Konoha, their bloodlines had long been diluted, and after decades they probably didn't even identify as Senju anymore.
So, for Tsunade's safety, he could only fight a battle of attrition.
"Big brother, you must not lose!"
Gritting his teeth, Tobirama once again engaged Tsunade and Daiburu.
Elsewhere, Mifune and Sakumo were evenly matched, while Kagami, Sarutobi Slash, and Danzo were locked in a stalemate with Orochimaru.
The fate of the war still rested on Kaede and Hashirama.
…
Inside Susanoo.
Facing four incoming wooden dragons, Kaede snorted coldly.
"The same trick won't work on me twice!"
With a thought, the five free hands of Susanoo conjured gleaming blades.
Before the wooden dragons could coil around him, those blades struck first.
Wood splinters exploded in every direction.
In a single breath, all four wooden dragons met the same fate as their predecessor—shredded into lifeless fragments.
"Annoying!"
Hashirama gritted his teeth. As Susanoo's six blades swung toward him, he clapped his hands together.
The wooden giant sprouted four more arms, each reaching to seize the blades.
As expected, the moment they touched, the arms were sliced apart.
But with Hashirama's immense chakra fueling them, they regenerated instantly, just enough to keep Susanoo at bay.
Hashirama roared, "Wood Style: Advent of the Bagworm Technique!"
With a deafening rumble, the earth beneath the two titans shook, and countless massive wooden arms burst upward.
Two seized Susanoo's legs first.
As Susanoo tried to slice them, more arms surged up, grabbing one limb after another until he was overwhelmed.
Under the crushing strength of those arms, the ground beneath Susanoo cracked apart with sharp groans.
These arms absorbed chakra as well, rapidly weakening Susanoo's defenses.
"You're not easy to deal with," Kaede frowned slightly.
He unleashed the full power of the Futsu no Mitama Sword.
Lightning crackled, blue light spread like veins across the battlefield, and the wooden arms began to split.
"Break!"
With a thunderous shout, the wooden arms shattered in an instant, splinters filling the air as the four-armed Susanoo emerged wreathed in lightning.
"Shatter completely!"
Raising the Futsu no Mitama Sword high, Susanoo swung it down, unleashing a massive deep-blue slash toward Hashirama.
Even the stray aura spilling from the blade became bolts of lightning that gouged craters into the ground.
"This is bad!"
Hashirama's face changed. If this hit, both he and the wooden giant would be destroyed.
He slammed his palms down.
"Summoning: Quintuple Rashomon!"
Five colossal demonic-faced gates erupted from the ground to block the strike.
The slash struck.
Boom! The first gate shattered instantly.
Boom! The second lasted less than a second.
Third… fourth… until the fifth, which seemed to hold—
Crack!
Hearing the sharp fracture, Hashirama's face twisted, and he leapt away.
The fifth gate exploded, and the wooden giant, equal in size to Susanoo, was cleaved in two before erupting into splinters.
"That was close!"
Far away, Hashirama caught his breath. This slash was even stronger than the combined strike Madara and Kurama had unleashed at the Valley of the End.
Back then, the Quintuple Rashomon had diverted the attack's path.
Now, it was reduced to rubble.
Susanoo advanced step by step, Kaede's cold voice booming:
"Stop wasting time—show me your full power!"
"This level of Susanoo isn't enough for me to enjoy myself!"
"Is that so?" Hashirama closed his eyes, deciding to go all out.
White-green smoke swirled at his feet—Sage Mode.
Clapping his hands, he roared:
"Sage Art: Wood Style: True Several Thousand Hands!"
A colossal Thousand-Armed Kannon erupted from the ground, hands folded in prayer, countless arms unfurling behind it.
Standing over 500 meters tall, it made Susanoo look like a child.
The earth shook violently, and even Tsunade and the others miles away staggered, their eyes fixed on the towering figure.
They knew this was the final clash.
"So this is your strongest power?"
Feeling its immense aura, Kaede's eyes shone with excitement.
Finally, he could fight without restraint.
Closing his eyes, golden markings formed as vast natural energy surged into Susanoo, swelling its size.
Its hollow frame filled with white natural energy, and its faceplate lifted to reveal a visage resembling Kaede's, carved from pure nature chakra.
"Sage Art: Susanoo!"
This was Kaede's strongest form.
After absorbing the energy of two great sacred lands through the God Tree, his natural energy reserves far surpassed before.
Now, Susanoo's size exceeded 600 meters—close to the legendary thousand-meter Susanoo of the Sage of Six Paths.
Kaede smirked at Hashirama atop the Thousand-Armed Kannon.
"Hey! You've got so many arms—mind lending me two?"
Hashirama's face remained solemn. He knew Kaede wasn't mocking him.
"You've far surpassed Madara. This time, I'll fight with everything I have!"
Kaede narrowed his eyes.
"This time, Susanoo will not lose to you!"
(End of Chapter)
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