Chapter 317 – The True Susanoo-Armored Buddha! I'll Send You Ahead First
"I didn't expect… that we would ever fight like this."
Inside the crystalline cockpit of the Susanoo-Armored Wood Golem, Uchiha Madara glanced at Hashirama beside him, tone strangely nostalgic.
"Yeah…"
Even Hashirama felt complicated emotions stirring.
Back in their era—when they swept across the entire shinobi world—
the two of them had never once fought side-by-side like this.
Because they were simply too strong.
They never needed each other's help.
He then noticed Madara's eyes—
now unmistakably in their Rinnegan form.
"So these are your Rinnegan… the so-called 'powers of creation and destruction'?"
"That's right. In the end, I still surpassed you first."
Madara smiled faintly; battle-lust burned fiercely behind his calm tone.
"No wonder the Sage of Six Paths' brother said Ashura was mediocre… and Indra was the truly gifted one!"
"…"
Hashirama sighed.
Whatever Indra and Ashura were, both he and Madara right now were Edo Tensei zombies.
Hardly glory to brag about.
Then an odd thought hit him.
"Don't tell me… the Pure Land was really something the Sage built? A place to let souls sleep until a crisis hits—then drag them back out to fight?"
"Of course it is! That insidious Tobirama just happened to stumble onto it first!"
Madara said this with absolute conviction.
With Ōtsutsuki already descending from the heavens, that explanation suddenly felt all too possible.
Staring at the ever-calm "Ōtsutsuki Genshiki," he growled:
"Enough. Let's go. I only hope that useless Tobirama manages to pull his weight."
"Hey, now—!"
Hashirama wanted to defend his little brother, but there was no time.
Under Madara's control, the Susanoo-Armored Wood Golem roared and charged toward Gen!
With its massive frame, even the slightest movement made the earth quake violently.
"Tch… so they can combine jutsu like this?"
Tobirama muttered as the enormous hybrid construct thundered forward.
Minato beside him sighed helplessly.
"Second Hokage… isn't this exactly what we needed? We should focus on coordinating with them."
"I know. Ōtsutsuki Genshiki is too troublesome—his mastery of space is far beyond ours."
Tobirama quickly organized the intel in his mind.
"And he can absorb our ninjutsu, strengthen them, and throw them back at us.
Any ordinary technique is useless."
"Right. Gen once said the only thing that can hurt him is Yin–Yang Release."
Minato frowned.
"Unfortunately… none of us possess that."
"Hmph. I refuse to believe only Yin–Yang Release can harm him."
Minato blinked.
"What are you suggesting, Lord Second?"
"I have an idea. A jutsu only Edo Tensei can use.
When their attack pauses, work with me—I want to try something."
"…Understood."
Minato didn't know what Tobirama was planning—
but at this point, any move was better than none.
"Since you're all enjoying yourselves…"
Gen suddenly smiled.
"…why don't I play along?
And since Momoshiki senpai is here, you can evaluate this jutsu for me."
At those words, Momoshiki (controlling Nagato's body) froze.
He forced Nagato's head up—
and his face instantly twisted.
Because the earth began to rumble—
and from the scorched battlefield, a colossal Stone Ape erupted from below.
It towered nearly a hundred meters high, wreathed in flames, radiating brutal power—
far more terrifying than even the Susanoo-Armored Wood Golem.
"Damn…! I knew it looked familiar!
This is my power—!"
Momoshiki's voice cracked.
He had personally attempted the Path to Godhood, devouring Kinshiki and inheriting his might—
Only to be killed before he could even use it properly.
Reduced to nothing but a Karma mark.
"And that aura… it's stronger than before.
Don't tell me this 'Path to Godhood'…"
A chilling possibility surfaced in Momoshiki's mind.
Ishiki and Urashiki sensed it at the same time in the shared mind-space.
That thing Gen summoned—
it felt like the result of Kinshiki's godhood ascension…
Except more complete.
"Could it really be…?"
Their expressions twisted—
fear, greed, and an indescribable longing mixing together.
BOOM—
Outside, the hundred-meter Stone Ape let out a deafening roar.
Its flaming fist smashed down toward the Susanoo-Wood Golem, splitting the air into a hurricane.
"Wood Release: Hōbi Technique!"
Hashirama didn't dare underestimate it.
A massive demonic face-shield of wood formed instantly—
but the Stone Ape's punch obliterated it in a single impact—
BOOOOM!
The fist did not stop.
It continued downward toward the armored golem.
"Haaah!"
Madara roared, drawing the golem's massive blade for a counter-slash—
—but the Stone Ape simply caught the blade one-handed,
and slammed its burning fist straight into their chest.
KRA-KOOOOOM—!
Susanoo shattered.
The Wood Golem cracked.
Madara and Hashirama were blasted out of the cockpit, crashing through the ground as the earth convulsed beneath them.
"This thing…"
Both landed hard, skidding through rubble—
faces grim.
Just one punch—
one punch—
had completely broken their combined ultimate defense.
Even though they knew this enemy was terrifying, the gap in power still felt overwhelmingly large.
"This is bad… your Rinnegan doesn't seem to be doing much at all."
Hashirama grimaced.
Even after only two exchanges, the enemy hadn't even moved seriously, yet they were already in this condition.
The frustration stung deeply.
"The Rinnegan's true power can only be used once I'm fully revived.
Right now, these Rinnegan are nothing but an echo—a reflection."
Madara snorted and cast a sideways glance at Hashirama.
"What about you, then?
Do you have anything else up your sleeve?
Because if this is all we can do, we're—"
Before he finished, Hashirama took in a long breath.
"I need time.
I'm not sure what this body is currently capable of."
As he spoke, a vast surge of natural energy erupted from him.
Sage markings spread across his face in an instant.
"Sage Mode? Don't tell me you're planning—"
Madara immediately understood, and a feral grin tugged at his lips.
"If you're going crazy, then I'll go crazy with you.
Besides—someone seems to be handling the stalling for us."
"Huh? Tobirama and Minato?"
Hashirama froze when he saw his younger brother and the Fourth Hokage launching forward, flanking Ōtsutsuki Genshiki from both sides.
Their sudden attack made him frown.
"Focus! This isn't the time to get distracted."
Madara barked sharply as he raised his hand.
"Ninjutsu doesn't work.
The Wood Golem and Susanoo aren't nearly strong enough either.
So…"
Super—Banshō Ten'in!
VWOOM—
Madara unleashed all the chakra in his body, forcefully driving the Rinnegan's gravitational power.
A titanic gravitational vortex detonated in his palm, ripping violently downward toward Gen.
"Hm?"
Gen lifted a brow.
The gravitational pull actually affected him, and the Stone Ape he controlled was dragged and immobilized.
"For this imperfect state, he's extracting quite a bit from the Rinnegan…
Orochimaru did a fine job tuning this body."
To unleash full power at their level, there were only two paths:
revival, or acquiring a perfectly compatible vessel.
And Madara's temporary body was clearly performing well.
But Gen also noticed something else—
Tobirama was already rushing him again.
"You still haven't learned your lesson?
This kind of attack won't do—"
Gen tilted his head and smiled—
—but Tobirama instantly swapped positions with Minato.
"Sage Art—Rasengan!"
"Oh?"
Gen raised his hand—
—but he suddenly sensed something inside the hidden space-time folds:
Tobirama and Minato were simultaneously pushing chakra through the connected dimensional channel!
"Let's see if your ability…"
Tobirama reappeared—
a torrent of chakra roaring inside him.
Thousands of explosive tags peeled off his body like falling petals.
"…can absorb explosions.
Ninja Art—Mutual Multiplying Explosive Tags!"
At the same moment—
Hashirama, watching this, couldn't help but grin.
"Impressive… in that case—"
His expression hardened.
He pressed his palms together, and chakra erupted violently.
"Sage Art—Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands!!"
From the blazing, trembling earth—
a colossal Buddha, over a thousand meters tall, rose toward the heavens.
Its massive frame rivaled even the Ten-Tails.
Infinite hands unfurled behind it like a divine halo.
Its overwhelming chakra turned the battlefield silent.
Every ninja froze—
They recognized this technique.
They had seen Gen use a version of it before.
"This level… this should be enough, right?"
That hopeful thought barely formed when—
—blue chakra spread across the Buddha's giant form.
"What…?"
Hashirama stared wide-eyed at Madara.
"You're sure this is okay?"
"I'm already dead.
Why would I care about using up a little chakra?"
Madara growled as chakra surged even higher.
"This time… we go all in!"
BOOOOM—
Under Madara's influence, the colossal Buddha was instantly clad in thick, blue Susanoo armor.
The armor spread across every limb, every palm—
transforming the once serene Buddha into an enraged war god.
What stood now was no longer merely the "True Several Thousand Hands."
It was—
The True Susanoo-Armored Buddha.
A god of destruction staring down from the heavens.
"Tch… you really managed to create something like this?"
Floating in the air, Gen's expression twisted strangely while his Divine Tree clone tilted its head in amusement.
"Well… if we've reached this point…"
He turned toward Obito, Kimimaro, and the violently struggling Nagato.
"I can't take too long either.
Let me send you three ahead first."