There was no need to question Hashirama's strength—it was absolutely formidable.
Back in the Battle of the Valley of the End, he could fight Uchiha Madara even when Madara had the Nine-Tails.
During the Fourth Great Ninja War in the original story, he could still contend with Edo Tensei Madara, who possessed the Rinnegan.
As for where his true upper limit lay, Kaede honestly wasn't sure.
What's more, this time Hashirama's arrival had the Sage of Six Paths meddling behind the scenes.
Would he reveal some even stranger power?
Kaede watched him intently, curious.
Kaede narrowed his eyes. "Let me see—how many surprises can you give me?"
At that moment, chakra erupted from Hashirama's body, almost to the point of becoming tangible.
He pressed his palms together and roared, "This battle ends here!"
"Top Transformed Buddha!"
Instantly, the colossal Thousand-Armed Kannon's many hands began to spread open, revealing enormous palms.
The arms kept growing until the towering figure reached nearly a kilometer in height.
This was Hashirama's full-power release!
In comparison, even a Perfect Susanoo—unless it was Kaede's—wasn't large enough to reach the Kannon's head.
Countless massive palms fanned out like a peacock's tail, descending toward Kaede.
"Come!"
Kaede showed no fear. Susanoo activated its three heads and six arms, wielding six blades as it met the Kannon head-on.
With each slash, more than ten Wood Release arms were severed.
All six blades moved in a dense, impenetrable defense, stopping the advance of the wooden arms entirely.
In just a few breaths, a third of the Kannon's arms were gone!
However, Hashirama wasn't idle. With his endless chakra and nature energy supply, those arms regenerated quickly.
This was destined to be a battle of attrition.
The ground beneath Susanoo and the Kannon began to sink—the earth simply couldn't withstand their clashes.
Soon, Susanoo's legs were buried deep in the ground.
The surrounding mountains crumbled to dust under the leaking force of their blows.
From afar, it looked like a massive crater was spreading, now encompassing four kilometers in every direction.
Even Tsunade's group could feel the suffocating pressure from here.
If they were any closer, even a trace of that leaking power would be enough to kill any one of them instantly.
Seeing the pit expanding toward their position, Tobirama's expression changed.
He turned to Konoha's shinobi and shouted, "Run! Take the villagers and get as far away as possible!"
He could already sense it—a battle even more terrifying than the Valley of the End was about to erupt, and Konoha would be caught in the blast zone.
On the other side, Tsunade didn't hesitate and ordered her troops to retreat.
Against two "Gods of the Ninja World," even being several kilometers away wasn't safe from the shockwaves.
To them, Kaede and Hashirama truly were gods.
Tobirama took one last look at the two colossal figures.
"Big brother… you must win!"
He couldn't imagine what hope Konoha would have if Hashirama lost.
...
Kaede and Hashirama's stalemate dragged on.
Hashirama's face grew more serious. "Just how much chakra does this guy have?"
He was an Edo Tensei body—his chakra was infinite.
In life, maintaining a technique like the Top Transformed Buddha would drain him in ten to twenty minutes, even with Sage Mode holding strong.
But Kaede had already been matching him for nearly ten minutes without any signs of fatigue.
Clearly, even at such a young age, Kaede's chakra reserves rivaled his own from when he was alive!
Then—"Not good!"
Hashirama's face suddenly changed—he couldn't maintain Sage Mode any longer.
The Top Transformed Buddha required not only his chakra but also Sage Art energy.
The Kannon's color began to fade.
Kaede looked up at him. "Oh? Running out of Sage Art already?"
The markings on Hashirama's face were rapidly vanishing.
Kaede smirked. "Looks like I've won."
With the God Tree behind him, his chakra and Sage Art hardly depleted at all.
Even if Hashirama's Edo Tensei body gave him infinite chakra, his Sage Art energy was limited—and recovering it could take a long time.
Susanoo began cutting down the Kannon's arms at a speed visible to the naked eye, leaving large sections bare.
"So… break for me!"
Susanoo gathered its full strength, raising the Futsu-no-Mitama sword high.
Sage Art and chakra flooded into the blade until it shone with blinding light.
Hashirama tried to interrupt, but Susanoo's other five arms were enough to pin him down.
He could only watch as Kaede unleashed his strongest slash.
This time, no sword energy was released—Kaede poured every drop of power into the blade itself.
As it fell, the sheer force of it shattered the ground beneath the Kannon's feet.
"Slash!"
The sword cut straight through the Thousand-Armed Kannon.
From the fissure, pure white light erupted, consuming its entire form.
Hashirama jumped clear, but even brushing the white light destroyed one of his arms instantly.
When the light faded, the colossal statue was gone.
Kaede stood atop Susanoo's forehead, gazing down at Hashirama like an insect.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared behind him.
"It's over."
Pointing a finger at Hashirama's head, Susanoo condensed a Yin-Yang Release Rasengan and pressed it down.
Still waiting for his body to heal, Hashirama was startled.
"I can't move!"
His regeneration stopped entirely.
"This is Yin-Yang Release," Kaede said calmly. "It's enough to disable your Edo Tensei body."
Hashirama froze for a moment, then gave a bitter smile. "Is that so? I've… lost."
Kaede placed his hand on Kyōka Suigetsu's hilt, slowly drawing the blade.
"You're already dead. Why bother worrying about the present?
This rotten Konoha… should be destroyed."
He swung toward Hashirama's neck—this strike would erase his soul completely.
But—
"Wood Release: Wood Clone!"
Countless wood clones burst from Hashirama's body, each wielding wooden kunai and striking at Kaede's vital points.
Kaede's eyes narrowed, and he instantly vanished.
Hashirama didn't give chase. He destroyed the Yin-Yang black rod embedded in his body, and his form quickly regenerated.
A few meters away, Kaede stood watching him calmly.
"This is… the power of the Sage of Six Paths."
"What an annoying guy."
(End of Chapter)
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