Susanoo's greatsword trembled inches from my face, stopped dead in mid-air like someone hit pause on reality.
"What kind of power can block Susanoo…?"
Madara's voice cracked, his Sharingan narrowing in raw disbelief. Kid or not, he knew exactly how terrifying his avatar was. Even without Mangekyō enhancement, that thing chews through forests, armies, and probably my retirement plan.
And yet here it was, frozen.
Not by strength. Not by some heroic destiny.
Just… me holding it back with everything I had and a prayer I wasn't sure was getting delivered.
"This is bad," I muttered, arm shaking. "Shinra Tensei and Universal Pull aren't built for slap-fighting a giant skeleton god."
Jaded salaryman logic: correct.
My chakra reserves: filing for bankruptcy.
Susanoo's blade shivered again. Madara pushed harder. The sky itself seemed to groan.
Yeah. If he actually used Mangekyō output, my arm would be a red mist.
"In the end, I need equal firepower… tch."
The Rinnegan pulsed. Purple light bled across my vision.
A moment later, crimson chakra burst out of me like a flare.
Susanoo rose behind me — my Susanoo — towering, armored, and very much ready to throw hands with its blue counterpart.
I grit my teeth. "Fine. Let's do this."
My Susanoo drew its sword and swung.
The air detonated.
Madara stepped back instantly, instincts sharp and wild even under the armor. His Susanoo retaliated with a downward slash.
"BOOM!"
The two titans collided, hurricanes tearing through the field. Uchiha clansmen nearby went flying like leaves in a storm.
My stomach twisted.
If we kept swinging here, these guys were going to die by friendly giant monster fire.
"Can't fight here," I growled. "Konoha troops will get shredded."
Not that I'm sentimental about Uchiha casualties… but thousands of rampaging shinobi on both sides? That ends in a massacre no one wins.
I pushed chakra into my Susanoo's legs. The giant avatar leapt backward, sprinting toward the ridge-line. Trees snapped underfoot.
Madara shouted behind me, "Running from the battlefield? Convenient… I needed space too!"
He followed, his Susanoo tearing up the earth with every step.
In seconds, both our giants vanished from the main warfront, two glowing demons racing into the mountains.
Back on the battlefield—
Hashirama watched us leave. His shoulders sagged.
"Raizen… Madara…"
His voice was heavy, older than he looked. "This war has dragged on far too long. If peace is finally within reach… then this battle must end."
Sage markings swirled onto his face. Nature chakra flooded around him, rippling through the air like rising stormwater.
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
The earth cracked open.
Massive trees erupted upward, gargantuan vines lashing toward the Uchiha lines. The screams started instantly.
"Konoha shinobi, pull back!"
Hyūga Tennin commanded sharply, dragging our side out of range.
His Byakugan flickered, taking in the devastation with a mix of awe and fear.
Then the flower buds sprouted.
Great. Hashirama just pressed the "biological warfare" button.
The buds burst open all at once.
Pollen — thick, golden, deceptively gentle — drifted down like a deadly fog.
Uchiha shinobi coughed.
Then choked.
Then collapsed, twitching violently.
Hyūga Tennin's jaw tightened. "Konoha shinobi! Fire Style! Now!"
A hundred fire jutsu roared. Flames surged over the vines, burning pollen into superheated poison.
Uchiha fighters clawed at their throats, collapsing in heaps. Hundreds down in seconds.
"Retreat!"
Uchiha Mikado's voice cracked with desperation. "Everyone fall back!"
They were right to run.
Even ten thousand Uchiha couldn't endure Hashirama on a rampage.
But Tennin… Tennin wasn't letting them go.
He stepped forward, all chakra focusing into his palms until the air hummed.
"Eight Trigrams… Eighty Gods Air Strike."
The world split.
A barrage of invisible fist-shocks hammered through the forest, tearing vines, crushing earth, and slamming straight into fleeing Uchiha ranks.
The screams… yeah, even from the ridge you'd feel that in your bones.
Hundreds more were flattened in moments.
Konoha shinobi roared behind him, fired up by the display of overwhelming power.
Hashirama stared at Tennin, stunned.
Only now realizing the quiet, gentle-looking young commander was a monster standing toe-to-toe with legends.
The battlefield shook, echoing with death and victory both.
And somewhere beyond the mountains, two Susanoo kept clashing…
mine and Madara's…
each blow a reminder:
If we slipped even once, every dream we had about peace would die with us.
...
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