"Senju Hashirama! Do you dare face me in battle?!"
The voice ripped through the Daimyō's courtyard like a thrown kunai. Every head turned toward the challenger — an Uchiha ninja, eyes burning with old grief and new rage.
Even here, at a noble's celebration, the feud between Uchiha and Senju was a festering wound. The wars might have paused, but hatred doesn't retire.
The Uchiha warrior's fists trembled. "You laugh and drink while my brothers rot in the mud! I'll carve justice out of your damn Wood Release if I have to!"
Uchiha Shinji — a name that would've carried weight anywhere else. Here, it was a suicide note.
From across the gathering, Uchiha Izuna's voice snapped like a whip. "Shinji! Are you out of your mind?! That's Hashirama Senju! You'll shame the clan before you even land a hit!"
But Shinji didn't hear, or didn't care. Hatred makes terrible earplugs.
Hashirama stood slowly, expression shifting from mild amusement to quiet gravity. "Uchiha…" His tone deepened, a subtle tremor of memory behind it.
Madara was his friend — was. But the rest of the Uchiha? They were the ghosts of the hundreds he'd already buried.
He stepped into the dueling ring, sandals scraping against the stone. "You don't understand what you're asking for," he said softly. "If I fight you… I might kill you."
"Then do it!" Shinji roared, forming hand seals so fast they blurred. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A sphere of flame erupted from his lungs, roaring across the field. The heat seared the onlookers' faces; the air tasted like burning paper and pride.
Hashirama didn't flinch. He slammed his palms into the ground. "Wood Style: Wood Wall!"
The earth buckled and split — wooden pillars burst upward, curling like shields of living bark. The fireball smashed into them, but the wall held, embers dying against damp green wood.
The crowd gasped.
Shinji's teeth clenched. "Not bad! But let's see how your trees like this!"
"Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu!"
He spat a volley of blazing spheres, smaller but faster, spiraling through the air like fiery shuriken. They struck the wooden defenses, igniting them — for a moment, victory flickered in his eyes.
Then the flames moved.
No — the wood beneath them moved, pushing through the fire like serpents unburned. Vines of hardened chakra lashed upward, cutting through smoke and flame, coiling toward him like predatory snakes.
"What—!"
The whips struck faster than thought. One cracked across Shinji's arm, drawing blood; another wrapped around his leg, dragging him off balance.
"Wood Style: Four-Pillar Prison!"
The ground split again. Pillars of solid wood erupted around Shinji, slamming together with a deafening boom. The air filled with splinters and dust as the prison sealed shut.
Inside, Shinji's Sharingan spun wildly, tomoe burning like red suns. He slashed at the wooden bars, sparks flying from his blade — but the wood didn't even scratch. It was like cutting reinforced steel.
"Damn it! DAMN IT!" His voice broke into a hoarse scream as he hammered at the unyielding cage.
Hashirama stood before the prison, hands still clasped. His voice was calm, almost mournful. "You lose."
Gasps and whispers rippled through the crowd.
"Impossible…"
"He didn't even move from his spot…"
"That was Wood Release? Stronger than iron…"
Mito leaned forward, wide-eyed despite herself. "That's… the power of the Senju?"
Next to her, Amamiya Raizen exhaled through his nose, unimpressed on the surface, but his gaze lingered on Hashirama's calm stance.
Three jutsu. He used three jutsu.
The bastard hadn't even broken a sweat.
Raizen's fingers tightened around his cup. So this is the man who'd be called the God of Shinobi. The one even Madara couldn't tame.
He clicked his tongue softly. And here I am, still grinding like a level-one player in a warzone full of raid bosses.
He watched Shinji pounding helplessly against the prison walls, blood smearing his hands. The wooden cage didn't even groan.
If that's Hashirama's "basic set," what happens when he gets serious?
A bitter grin tugged at Raizen's mouth. I'd better live long enough to find out.