Boom—
Boom—
Boom—
Tsunade's fighting style had always been simple.
Break the enemy's spirit with overwhelming force.
Facing Kakuzu and Hidan, her attacks were as brutal as ever. Every punch carried explosive power, the kind that made anyone watching feel their scalp tingle.
Her body had already undergone improvements.
Even if her Wood Release was mediocre, her monstrous strength had only become more terrifying.
"Damn it…"
Hidan felt miserable.
He had absolutely no answer for the blonde monster in front of him.
Worse—
She was targeting him specifically.
Kakuzu seemed to be doing just fine fighting elsewhere.
This is hell.
Hidan felt like his brain was getting rattled loose.
More importantly—
He couldn't get Tsunade's blood.
Without that, his ritual was meaningless.
How the hell am I supposed to fight like this?!
"Rumor says you slaughtered your entire clan."
"How does that feel?"
Itachi Uchiha's mood was terrible.
When he chose to destroy the clan, he had already prepared himself to face accusations.
But reality was worse than he imagined.
Everywhere he went—
Someone dug open that wound.
Inside Akatsuki.
Outside Akatsuki.
And now—
This ugly shark-faced ninja from the Mist Village.
"Your Mist Village isn't much better," Itachi replied coldly while parrying Kisame Hoshigaki's blade.
"I heard you had to kill your classmates just to graduate."
Kisame snorted.
His attacks became even faster.
"And whose fault was that?"
"Your Akatsuki partner—the Uchiha behind the Nine-Tails incident."
"What a perfect pair."
"One kills his teacher."
"One kills his whole clan."
"How poetic."
Itachi's eyes darkened.
"Shut up."
But Kisame wasn't finished.
"Oh, you're angry?"
"You can do it but others can't talk about it?"
"I've killed teammates before to protect secrets when I worked in ANBU."
"But it still haunted me."
"You and your friend?"
"One murders his teacher's family."
"The other exterminates his clan."
"And your little brother is still in Konoha, isn't he?"
"If I get the chance, maybe I'll recommend something interesting to the Hokage Advisor."
"I said… shut up!"
For the first time in a long time—
Itachi truly lost his composure.
Meanwhile elsewhere—
Hikari and Pain fought with surprising restraint.
She knew who this man really was.
After all—
Ren had once taken this man to assassinate Danzo.
And that blue-haired woman often visited Konoha.
Hikari had no intention of exposing that secret.
So instead—
She simply asked.
"How far do you plan to take this fight?"
Pain paused slightly.
"…That depends on you."
"I only brought one body here."
"But I can escalate if necessary."
Hikari nodded thoughtfully.
Then glanced toward the distant battlefield—
where forests were erupting and titanic chakra pulses shook the earth.
She made a decision.
"I'm activating Susanoo."
"Match my power."
"No problem."
Pain formed a seal.
Several massive summoned beasts roared into existence.
At the same time—
Hikari's eyes opened.
Her Mangekyō Sharingan spun.
Scarlet chakra erupted around her.
Inside Konoha—
Obito was furious.
"…They all disappeared?"
Everything had been planned.
Yet somehow—
His entire force had been transferred outside the village.
Before he could figure it out—
A voice spoke behind him.
"Found you, Obito."
Kakashi stood there.
His Sharingan locked onto him.
"And this time…"
"I'm ending this myself."
Obito's chest tightened.
Before he could respond—
The earth shook violently.
The real battlefield had begun.
Back outside Konoha—
Ren faced Hashirama Senju.
"Jealous?"
Ren chuckled.
Hashirama clearly saw echoes of himself.
A Wood Release user.
A close Uchiha companion.
The parallels were obvious.
Ren himself couldn't deny it.
Sometimes he even wondered—
Was Hikari another inheritor of Indra's chakra?
Her abilities were absurd.
Her Mangekyō technique—
Yachimata Spear.
A terrifying power.
If fully expanded—
It resembled a simplified version of Infinite Tsukuyomi.
So…
Am I the new Hashirama?
And she's the new Madara?
Ren shook the thought away.
Because Hashirama was already attacking again.
"Careful!"
Hashirama warned.
"Wood Release!"
"Wood Golem!"
The titanic wooden warrior surged forward.
Ren responded instantly.
"Wood Release!"
"Wood Golem!"
Two mountain-sized constructs collided.
The ground shattered beneath them.
Each punch caused earthquakes.
Even nearby battles were affected.
Tenzō stared in awe.
"So this… is true Wood Release."
His own Mokuton felt like a toy in comparison.
But he quickly shook himself out of it.
"…This is interfering with my fight."
Across from him—
Sasori manipulated countless puppets.
Tenzō rushed forward again.
"If the Hokage Advisor can do it—"
"Then I can't embarrass Wood Release!"
Meanwhile—
Hashirama laughed happily.
"Excellent!"
"Your Wood Release is incredible!"
But he couldn't help asking:
"What happened after my death?"
"Why is Monkey still Hokage?"
"What happened to the Uzumaki?"
"And the Senju?"
"And the Uchiha?"
"Don't skip anything!"
Below them—
Tobirama nearly exploded.
Is this idiot really my brother?
Ren answered calmly while fighting.
"The Uzumaki clan fell during war."
"You distributed the tailed beasts."
"But other villages lacked sealing techniques."
"Without Uzumaki expertise…"
"Chaos followed."
Hashirama froze.
Then Ren continued.
"And there were three world wars."
Silence fell.
Hashirama's mind went blank.
Three… wars?
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon!"
Ren's Wood Dragon wrapped around Hashirama's Wood Golem.
The next punch smashed into it.
BOOM.
The golem's head shattered.
Hashirama simply smiled.
"Wonderful!"
He quickly regenerated a new one.
Ren clicked his tongue.
Ridiculous recovery.
At that moment—
Pain landed atop Hashirama's Wood Golem.
Hikari's Susanoo arrived beside Ren.
Wood Golem.
Scarlet Susanoo.
Standing together.
Hashirama stared in disbelief.
The memory flooded back.
The Valley of the End.
Himself—
And Madara.
"…This is nice."
He smiled softly.
Ren barely noticed.
"The Senju clan faded because of Tobirama's policies."
"They integrated into the village."
"War reduced their numbers."
"And the Uchiha…"
"That's Tobirama's responsibility."
"Hey!" Tobirama shouted angrily.
Ren shrugged.
"You gave them opportunities."
"But after your death…"
"Danzo inherited your suspicion."
"And pushed them away."
"The result?"
He pointed toward the battlefield.
"That Uchiha down there."
"He slaughtered his own clan."
Hashirama's breathing stopped.
Tobirama's fists clenched.
Suddenly—
Orochimaru's voice echoed.
"I think it's time for the next stage."
Pain nodded.
"I'll cooperate."
Orochimaru grinned.
"First Hokage… show me your limit."
Hashirama suddenly felt a surge of chakra.
His eyes widened.
"Careful!"
"I'm entering Sage Mode!"
Natural energy flooded his body.
His Wood Golem grew larger.
Larger.
Larger.
Until—
It reached colossal scale.
Pain summoned the Gedo Statue.
A massive skeletal giant rose from the earth.
Even Hashirama was impressed.
"…That power."
"But why do I feel Madara's presence?"
He shook his head.
No time to think.
Ren exhaled.
Natural energy surged around him.
Yin and Yang chakra intertwined.
Golden patterns appeared along his cloak.
He grabbed Hikari's hand.
"First Hokage…"
"I have a question."
Hashirama blinked.
"What is it?"
Ren smiled faintly.
"Do you really know…"
"…how Senju and Uchiha powers should work together?"
Far away—
The ground trembled again.
A colossal statue emerged.
A Thousand-Handed Buddha towering into the clouds.
Everyone froze.
Naruto stared with wide eyes.
"…Is that humanly possible?"
Even Jiraiya shivered.
"That's… Ren."
Sasuke's eyes burned with desire.
If I had even one percent of that power…
Hashirama laughed loudly.
"True Several Thousand Hands!"
"You can use it too?!"
"Wonderful!"
Meanwhile—
Hikari's Susanoo spread across the giant Buddha.
Armor formed.
Helm formed.
The Buddha transformed into a crimson armored god.
Ren raised his hand.
A golden sword of light appeared.
The heavens trembled.
Then—
Ren spoke calmly.
"First Hokage."
"You must have used this with Madara before."
The sword descended.
The world tilted.
Even Hashirama could only smile bitterly.
"…If only I still could."
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