**Hashirama's shattered arm hung limp—a puppet-string of bone shards and mangled sinew—yet his forehead pressed deeper against Kaido's scaled sternum, slick with blood and rage-sweat. The dragon's volcanic inhale stalled—steam jetting sideways to scorch a tapestry depicting Senju forest-gods into feathering ash. Crimson pupils dilated—not from impact, but shock: the Senju's raw, animal desperation flooding Kaido's nostrils—iron-rich defiance mingling with ozone-stink of shattered Mokuton.** Below them, floorboards groaned, buckling under dragon-weight and Hashirama's one-legged stance; above, Madara's Amaterasu-flames devoured rafters, dripping cursed embers like liquid stars onto Kaido's plum-cape. For five endless years—salt-crusted fleets, gutted fortresses, cowardly clan-skirmishes—only ash and brine coated Kaido's tongue. Now? *Potential*. Molten and screaming. Obsidian teeth parted—not snarl—something deeper rumbling within his chest-cavern.
Kaido *laughed*. Not the mountain-shattering roar Kenji fled from—nor the grinding avalanche Madara cursed—but a visceral, thunderclap peal of *genuine delight* that punched Hashirama's eardrums bloody and cracked the throne-room's remaining pillars. Dust hazed the air—incense-ash, powdered jade, charred cedar—as his scaled shoulders shook, plum-cape whipping in the concussion. The sound rolled—tsunami-deep—over Senju compound walls, silencing distant cannonfire, drowning child-sobs beneath rubble. Goro, reforging chains leagues away, froze mid-hammer-swing; Kenji, fleeing north with Uchiha skull-banners, stumbled as the ground trembled. Kaido's grin split his muzzle—fangs gleaming wet and wild—dragon-eyes crinkling at the corners like fissures in ancient obsidian. **"FINALLY!"** The word boomed—less speech, more tectonic plates shearing apart—vibrating through Hashirama's broken bones, amplifying Madara's cursed flames. Five years of stagnation vaporized. Crucible ignited.
He released the Kanabō—obsidian weapon thudding into buckled flagstones—a dismissal of mere tools against this surging tide of worthiness. Scaled palms snapped out—left seizing Hashirama's fractured shoulder, right thrust skyward—intercepting Madara's descending chakra-blade forged of searing hatred and liquid fire. Skin sizzled—dragon-scales blackening—as Uchiha flames met scaled knuckles. Steam erupted—a geyser scalding ceiling-beams into splinters—but Kaido didn't flinch. He grinned wider—tasting ozone-heat and the salt-tang of Madara's fury through the inferno. **"I WAS WAITING FOR THIS!"** he roared—joy a physical force crushing Hashirama's spine against his scaled bulk—eyes pinning Madara through the curtain of Amaterasu's descent. **"MADARA! HASHIRAMA!"** Names cracked like whipstrikes—echoing through forest corpse and coastal ruin. Plum-cape flared—indigo swallowing cursed flames—as he hauled Hashirama upwards—a battered shield—and slammed his scaled forehead down onto Madara's blade-arm. Bone crunched—Uchiha snarls snapped silent—dragon-laughter echoing.
**"COME AT ME!"** Kaido bellowed—spittle-blood spraying—into the smoke-choked inferno suffocating Senju ruins. His crimson gaze locked onto Madara's Sharingan—bleeding, defiant—then down to Hashirama's unfocused, sap-green eyes blazing agony-fuelled will. Scale-muscles bunched—volcanic—forging anchors in vaporizing bedrock. **"WITH EVERYTHING!"** Obsidian knuckles tightened—digging into Hashirama's mangled shoulder—fracturing Madara's forearm shield—as dragon-breath superheated the throne-air into shimmering oblivion. **"YOU! HAVE!"** Final shout detonated—a pressure-bomb shredding windows—promising annihilation or ascension. Crucible roared. Hammer fell. Legends burned.
Kaido pivoted—plum-cape swallowing Amaterasu-flames—and **hurled**. Not shove—catapult-force unleashed. Hashirama's broken form—ragdoll trajectory—shattered moon-viewing balcony into splinter-storm. Madara—ripped skyward—spun bone-crunch cartwheels—through charred roof-gap—toward dusk-stained clouds. Dragon-shadow pooled—deepening—as Kaido strode thunder-step toward courtyard carnage. Crushed Senju banners smoked beneath boot-soles; Uchiha corpses fused to obsidian teeth Kanabō still embedded deep. Crimson gaze tracked skyward—anticipating culmination—dragon-smile sharpening. Scaled knuckles whitened—Conqueror's Haki humming violet-black talisman-feast.
Madara struck earth—crouched—crimson-robes shredded—arterial spray misting twilight. Sharingan whirled—dervish-frenzy—chakra-floodgates shattering pent fury. **"** ***Ō no Mikoto—SUSANOO!*** **"** Thunder-crack answer—not summon—**creation**. Violet-ribcage erupted skyward—shattering drizzle—scaled vertebrae coiling volcanic. Skull-mask forged—liquid hatred crystallized—sword-tip scraping stratosphere. Lightning answered titan-shape—stormfront devouring compound ruins—annihilation-god roaring silent promise toward crimson-scaled silhouette below. Dragon-eyes widened—genuine appreciation—molecule-deep. **"Unleashed!"**
Hashirama slammed marsh-mud—knees folding—roots spearing stability into drowning earth. Palms met—blood-slick—over fractured Mokuton seeds weeping oak-sap. Breath hissed—final—through broken teeth. **"** ***Shinsū Senju—DAIBUTSU!*** **"** Prayer became avalanche. Thousand-hands buddha surged—golden wood-flesh cracking atmosphere—mountain-tall serenity swallowing Susanoo's violet rage. Lotus-eyes opened—judgment-glare pinning dragon-shadow—forest-god knuckles tightening continental. Kanabō vibrated—obsidian teeth shivering earth—as Kaido grinned—fangs gleaming crimson beneath twin-divine silhouettes. Plum-cape snapped—indigo storm swallowing horizon—as dragon-roar met god-thunder: **"WORTHY!"**
Hybrid-form erupted—muscle-scales thickening—horn-curves shearing rain-heavy clouds. Obsidian plates fused—armored dreadnought mechanics—as crimson steam jetted from flared nostrils. Kanabō lifted—horizontal stance shifting—point aimed skyward… past golden buddha-fingertips… past Susanoo's rib-cage lightning. Boots dug graves into mud—flagstones vaporizing volcanic foundations. Dragon-lungs inhaled—mortar-dust… ozone… Hashirama's blood-sweat resolve… Madara's hatred-fermented chakra-wine. Crucible overflowed.
Kaido *leaped*. Not flight—cataclysmic negation of gravity's chains. Ground imploded—crater-fissures swallowing Uchiha corpses—as scaled thighs pistoned annihilation-force upward. Kanabō swung—not strike… planetary pivot—obsidian arc cleaving drizzle into vacuum-scream. Golden buddha-palms descended—continental pressure—meeting violet Susanoo-blade screaming oblivion-path. Triple-collision birthed dawn.
*Laughter* detonated—volcanic bass cracking stratospheric ice. Not triumph… transcendent joy—tsunami-deep—rolling over coastal warfleets… silencing Biju whimpers… shaking Stone Crags' trembling roots. Crimson eyes blazed—dragon-pupils drinking Hashirama's exhausted glare… Madara's Sharingan-wild defiance. Plum-cape flared—indigo corona swallowing god-light—as Kaido ascended beyond gravity's corpse-chain. Below? Golden Buddha-fingertips—continental pressure—met Susanoo's violet-blade scream—triple-collision frozen mid-devastation like some cosmic painting. Above? Only void… and stars sharp enough to slit dragon-flesh. Muscle-scales bunched—obsidian plates fusing—as Conqueror's Haki condensed around scaled knuckles—violet-black nebula swirling supernovae-dense… humming… *hungering*. Air itself screamed—ripped thin as parchment toward that singularity-fist. Kaido grinned—fangs gleaming crimson beneath nascent dawn. **"GALAAAAXY—"** Voice ripped sky—shearing drizzle into vacuum-screech—whole reality warping toward spiral-arm impact-force. **"IIIIMPAAAAAAAACT!"** Final syllable detonated—pressure-bomb obliterating sound—as scaled fist hammered downward… not strike… universe-collapse given form.
Impact birthed dawn's antithesis. Violet-black nebula-fist met golden Buddha-palm—met violet Susanoo-sword—met fragile dimension-flesh. Space-time ruptured—silent—pregnant with oblivion-light. Then? ***BOOOOOOOM***. No sound… only pure concussive annihilation unspooling outward—neurological apocalypse screaming through every synapse in range. Stone Crags fortress? Gone—vaporized fortress-plinth sinking beneath kilometer-deep crater-lake. Cypress forests? Obliterated—trillion splinter-shards accelerating supersonic toward coastlines. Senju-Uchiha survivors leagues distant? Collapsed—brains liquefied by concussive aftershock—before tidal-wave debris swallowed them. Within ground-zero? Hashirama's thousand-armed Buddha vaporized—golden splinters raining like superheated shrapnel—as Mokuton seeds screamed deep within fractured earth-memory. Madara's Susanoo imploded—violet rib-cage shattering into cursed-glass hail—Sharingan vision bleaching white-hot agony. Dragon-fist dominance roared—unanswerable—through atom-scattered void.
Kaido landed—scaled boot sinking into glass-slag crater—smoke curling from obsidian knuckles fused violet-ember. Silence choked aftermath—thick as poisoned honey. Crimson gaze swept annihilation's geometry: crater-walls smelted smooth… obsidian teeth Kanabō protruding upright—totem-scorched… Hashirama's splintered legs buried waist-deep in molten quartz—ribcage fractured—breath misting crimson vapor. Twenty yards east, Madara's Susanoo-armor stripped away—revealing scorched muscle-seared to bone—Sharingan blinded-white—collapsed against fused Uchiha corpse-pyre. Dragon-lungs inhaled—mortar-dust… ozone… blood-steam… and beneath—faint—*potential's bitter dregs*. Kaido threw back his horned head—plum-cape swallowing dawn's feeble light—and **ROARED**. Not victory—demand: **"GIVE ME MORE I KNOW YOU HAVE MORE!"** Voice ripped sky—shearing reality like wet papyrus—crater-walls trembling liquid. Golden Buddha-shards rained downward—dissolving midair—as violet Susanoo-glass vibrated into powder. **"DON'T LET THIS END HERE!"**
Hashirama's shattered spine jerked—instinctual—against granite grip. Emerald eyes fluttered—oak-sap pupils dilating—pain-glaze cracking. Vision blurred: Kaido's scaled silhouette haloed by superheated haze… obsidian Kanabō weeping violet sparks… Madara's twitching fingers digging graves into ash. Memory surged—acid-sharp—*dragon-fist dominance echoing through atom-scattered void*. His breath hitched—guttural whisper lost beneath Kaido's reverb: **"M-madara…"** Mud-stiff lips split—blood pooling chin—as fractured ribs scraped lung-wall. Yet beneath pain? Roots shrieked—deep—where annihilation-fist had kissed earth core. Tobirama's ice-glare superimposed Kaido's crimson gaze: *"Weakness killed me… will it kill Konoha too?"* Hashirama's mangled fist clenched—knuckles grinding quartz-gravel—Mokuton seeds *screaming* from vaporized ground-memory. Dragon-roar vibrated marrow: **"FIGHT!"**
Madara's blinded Sharingan bled—not tears—liquid chakra-fury steaming wasted cheeks. Phantom-pain ripped phantom-wings—Susanoo's ghost-ribs phantom-shattering eternally. Kaido's roar boomed—tsunami-force hammering broken auditory bones: **"YOU!"** Memory detonated—dragon-shadow eclipsing Tajima's scorn… Izuna's corpse-cooling gaze… Uchiha banners ash-choked. Failure scraped marrow—worse than death. Then—sound. Hashirama's whisper—buried-quartz thin—piercing dragon-thunder: *"M-Madara…"* Fingertips spasmed—burnt knuckles uncurling—clawing toward crater-edge where Kanabō-thrown Senju blood-misted dusk-light. Dragon-demand echoed: **"UNLEASH IT ALL!"** Madara's jaw cracked—snarling—spitting teeth-fragments onto fused corpse-slabs. Sharingan whirled—sudden—white-blindness peeling back—revealing cosmic-dark iris where Rinnegan tomoe *blinked*. Broken inhalation—ragged—became volcanic gasp: **"Ō—NO—MIIIIKOTOOOO—!"** Not invocation… annihilation's *birth scream*. Crucible reignited.
Kaido's grin split smoke—fangs drinking vaporized-bone mist. Hashirama surged—not standing—*erupting*: quartz-ground exploding upward—roots thicker than fortress-walls spearing sky—thousand-hands Buddha's phantom-gold blazing through splintered ribs. Madara ascended—levitating—crimson-robes shredding to ash—Rinnegan iris swallowing light—as Susanoo's violet skeleton re-coalesced—dripping liquid malice—blade-edge sharpening toward event-horizon. Dragon-shadow deepened—plum-cape devouring dawn—Kanabō humming hungry. Crimson eyes narrowed—slitted—on converging legends. Perfection smelled of scorched ozone and screaming resolve. War's adulthood beckoned. **"YES!"**