"The Giant of Light? Interesting."
Hashirama paused for a moment, the seriousness in his eyes turning into pure fighting spirit.
"In that case, let's see whether your Giant of Light is stronger…"
"…or if my Wood Golem is stronger!"
He felt excitement rising in his chest.
In the past several decades, aside from Madara, no one had ever stirred such battle intent in him.
BOOM!
The gigantic Wood Golem raised its massive fist.
Wrapped in golden Sage energy capable of splitting mountains, the punch tore through the sky with a destructive roar.
It smashed straight toward the head of the Light Susanoo.
At the same time—
The Sage Art Wood Dragon surged upward like a green lightning bolt and wrapped itself around the Susanoo's legs.
A perfect pincer attack.
Above and below.
Sage energy boiled violently, even warping the surrounding space.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!
Facing the two-sided assault, inside the Light Susanoo—
Kai simply raised his left hand calmly.
RUMBLE!
The Light Susanoo raised its massive arm and struck forward with a palm.
Eight Trigrams — Vacuum Palm!
But this time—
It was a Vacuum Palm launched by the power of the Light Susanoo.
BOOM! BOOM!
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Explosions erupted across the sky.
The blazing sun halo above the Susanoo's left shoulder flared brilliantly.
Streams of blazing light and heat compressed along its arm—
Condensing into a single beam of pure energy.
Colorless.
Formless.
Only the air itself compressed violently.
Then—
From the Susanoo's palm—
It erupted.
WHOOSH!
For a brief moment—
The world seemed to fall silent.
A palm-shaped shockwave tore through space.
It pierced directly through the Wood Dragon's open jaws.
Straight through the seventh vertebra of its chakra spine.
Strike the snake at its weak point.
The Wood Dragon was no exception.
SHHHH!
The instant the attack landed—
Time seemed to freeze.
The next moment—
The mighty Sage Wood Dragon vaporized instantly.
No explosion.
No fragments.
Its enormous body disintegrated into particles of light the moment it was struck.
Gone.
"…What?!"
Hashirama's brow finally furrowed.
"Even Madara would find dealing with a Sage Wood Dragon troublesome…"
His expression turned extremely serious.
He hadn't expected the dragon he created with Sage energy to disappear in a single exchange.
"Whew…"
Hashirama exhaled slowly, suppressing the shock.
Then he continued controlling the Wood Golem.
WHOOSH!
At that moment—
The Wood Golem's devastating punch had already reached the Light Susanoo's face.
If it landed—
The blow would connect perfectly.
Below—
The Susanoo flickered slightly.
Seeing this, Hashirama smiled faintly.
"Trying to dodge?"
"It's too late now."
But something unexpected happened.
Even as the punch came crashing down—
The Light Susanoo did not dodge.
Instead—
It simply turned slightly.
Its crystal-like right arm rose and lightly grasped the incoming fist.
Kai spoke calmly.
"Three-Foot Domain — Repulsion."
HUM.
HUMMMMM.
The cold moon halo above the Susanoo's right shoulder flared with brilliance.
An overwhelming repulsive force suddenly appeared.
The domain was only three feet.
But—
The Susanoo itself was no longer three feet tall.
The twenty-meter-tall giant meant—
The entire Susanoo body became the domain.
CRACK!
Just before the Wood Golem's massive punch could land—
An irresistible repulsive force twisted its trajectory.
Because the Wood Golem was so enormous—
Only its fist had entered Kai's domain.
So instead—
The punch was redirected downward.
From the outside—
It looked like the Wood Golem swung its punch in a full arc…
…and smashed it straight into its own groin.
BOOOOOOM!!!
A dull, world-shaking impact echoed across the battlefield.
The Wood Golem's iron-hard lower body collapsed inward under its own punch.
CRACK! CRACK!
Cracks spread like spiderwebs across its entire body.
Golden Sage energy burst out like blood.
"AAOOOOW!!!"
The Wood Golem let out a loud, miserable howl.
Its massive body staggered backward.
Each step left a giant crater in the ground.
Watching this scene—
Many male ninja instinctively clenched their legs.
"…That punch…"
"…I can feel the pain from here."
Their scalps tingled.
Using someone's own attack against themselves—
And hitting that spot—
This kind of control completely shattered their understanding of ninjutsu.
"Tch…"
"The power of Edo Tensei really is weaker…"
"Just a little longer… Big brother, hold on."
Tobirama's pupils shrank.
Even he hadn't expected his brother's signature technique to be countered so easily.
Yes, their strength wasn't at its peak due to Edo Tensei.
But even then—
Hashirama was still far beyond ordinary Kage-level fighters.
Yet now—
This ten-year-old boy could completely suppress the Wood Golem Technique.
"Just a bit more…"
"I'm almost finished."
Tobirama sighed deeply.
Behind him—
A dark shadow began forming.
Space twisted.
Cold Yin energy spread outward.
The Shinigami was about to appear.
Meanwhile—
Hashirama stared blankly at the Wood Golem beneath him.
For the first time, his usually calm face showed an expression that clearly said:
"What the hell just happened?"
His Wood Golem…
…had just punched itself in the groin.
If Madara ever heard about this—
He would laugh for a hundred years.
Hashirama clapped his hands and stabilized the Wood Golem.
Then his Sage Mode eyes ignited with fierce determination.
BOOM!
An ocean of Sage chakra surged violently into the broken Wood Golem.
"Sage Art — True Several Thousand Hands!!!"
The ultimate technique of Wood Release.
He intended to finish the battle in a single strike.
Just as the shattered Wood Golem began glowing with even brighter golden light—
And countless giant arms started forming behind it—
A metallic sound suddenly echoed.
CLANK.
CLANK.
The cold sound of chains rattling pierced through the battlefield.
Inside the Light Susanoo—
Kai's thoughts spun rapidly.
"True Several Thousand Hands?"
"That's too slow."
"Let's end this quickly."
Even Kai didn't know exactly how strong that technique was.
But fully blocking it would definitely take time.
And this had nothing to do with technique—
It would be a pure clash of Sage energy and raw power.
But the Shinigami was about to appear.
Kai didn't want to wait.
So he brought his hands together.
Murmuring softly:
"Heart Chain of All Creation… Bind."
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