Madara's sudden outburst of power was too terrifying—even Yuto couldn't absorb it all at once.
"Damn it!"
His face twisted. At this moment, moving was impossible. He could only take it head-on.
The towering energy blade fell from the heavens, its mere aura slicing a distant mountain clean in two before even striking the ground.
"Absorb it, damn you!"
Yuto thrust out his left hand, bracing against the descending giant sword, roaring.
Boom!
The crushing pressure swept away everything nearby. The battlefield cleared to utter emptiness—without even a trace of dust.
Madara and Hashirama's pupils shrank in unison at the sight.
Yuto had stopped it—with one hand.
It looked like an ant holding back a giant's foot.
No one knew the sword's true weight better than Madara. Even Hashirama, if struck, would have had no choice but to evade.
"Kh!"
Blood trickled from Yuto's lips as surging energy raged wildly inside him.
Madara growled, forcing Susanoo's hands to press the sword down harder. But no matter how much strength he used, the blade would not drop a single inch.
Yuto's left hand clamped tight on the sword's edge, draining away its power. His arm glowed ghostly blue.
"A terrifying move… but if you don't kill me in one strike, then it's you who'll die!"
Madness flickered in his eyes as he raised his free right hand overhead.
From it burst a flood of azure light, shaping itself into a sword.
One meter… two… three… ten… fifty… a hundred…
In seconds, Yuto's sword matched Madara's, and it was still growing.
"Madara! Pull back—he's sucking in your chakra!"
Hashirama's fingers flew through seals, his voice roaring.
Wooden dragons sprang to life, dozens of them soaring into the air, each snapping toward Yuto, their sealing force aimed to cut his absorption short.
"Damn… I can't move!"
Madara's expression darkened. He could feel Yuto draining his chakra away, but his own body was paralyzed.
Cold sweat streamed down his forehead as Susanoo's massive blade visibly shrank.
Meanwhile, the energy sword in Yuto's right hand swelled.
It now held Madara's chakra, Yuto's gathered energies, and even traces of Hashirama's power.
How strong it was—Yuto himself couldn't say.
His eyes flared. "My greatsword is ready!"
The colossal weapon took form, six or seven hundred meters long, piercing the clouds. Compared to it, Yuto looked like an ant beneath a mountain.
Slash!
He swung, and the gigantic blade carved through the air.
A flash of blue light—dozens of wooden dragons shattered to dust in an instant.
Without pause, Yuto leapt dozens of meters skyward and brought his titanic blade crashing down toward Madara.
Crack!
Ear-splitting detonations, the sound of glass shattering, filled the heavens.
Madara's full-form Susanoo—hundreds of meters tall—was cleaved straight in half.
Blood sprayed from his chest as his face went pale. If not for his reflexes, that cut would have split him in two.
Yuto showed no surprise that Madara survived. Raising the giant sword again, he swung for another strike.
Madara's genjutsu was too dangerous—taking him out came first.
Hashirama's face hardened. His hands blurred, his roar shaking the field.
"Mokuton—Mokujin no Jutsu (Wood Release: Wood Human Technique)!"
Rumble!
A gigantic wooden warrior manifested before Madara, clasping its hands together to block Yuto's descending blade.
Hashirama flickered forward, placing glowing green palms on Madara's chest wound.
Life energy surged. The deep gash closed, flesh knitting, skin sealing. Within moments, Madara was whole again.
"…Thanks, Hashirama."
Madara gave him a complicated look, offering rare gratitude.
"My wood golem won't hold long. Yuto's strength is beyond what I imagined."
Hashirama didn't answer the thanks, only stared ahead gravely.
More than ever, he knew joining forces with Madara was the right choice.
Yuto was too strong—so strong that no one else in the shinobi world could suppress him.
So strong that neither of them, alone, could ever win.
And such a man aimed to unify the entire shinobi world.
That was something Hashirama could never allow.
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