Hyūga Tennin's rampage was tearing through the Uchiha lines like a storm. Hashirama watched the battlefield tilt in Konoha's favor, but his eyes kept drifting to the mountains where Raizen and Madara had vanished.
"Tennin's strong enough to break their front. But those two… something's wrong."
He whispered it like a confession, then bolted toward the ridge, red armor flashing through the smoke. In moments, he was gone.
With Hashirama and Tennin holding the battlefield, Konoha's forces surged forward. But far from them, two titans were still running, one chasing and one dragging the other along.
"Raizen! Where do you think you're going?!"
Madara's voice cracked with rage. He already knew the truth: Raizen had baited him away from the main engagement. Classic "lure the tiger from the mountain."
And the worst part? Madara fell for it.
If he had stayed, even Raizen and Hashirama together wouldn't have broken the Uchiha so quickly. But once he left… who else could stop Hashirama? Who could stop twenty thousand Konoha shinobi when they were finally fighting as one?
Raizen didn't answer. He just kept his Susanoo moving, legs smashing through trees like kindling.
Madara hesitated, torn between duty and fury. Then he let out a frustrated roar and charged after him.
"Get back here!"
Blue Susanoo surged forward, speed spiking. Its massive blade came down in a brutal arc, chakra screaming through the air.
The world exploded.
Raizen jerked his Susanoo sideways, barely dodging as the slash carved a canyon into the forest. The beam of chakra kept going, slicing an entire mountain clean in half.
Yeah. Definitely a good place to not stand.
Raizen stopped atop his crimson Susanoo, scanning the forest around them. A creek wound through the clearing below. Old oaks swayed gently, untouched despite the war tearing the world apart.
Something flickered in his chest.
"…Here?"
Madara slowed. His eyes widened with recognition.
"This forest… the stream…"
He looked shaken for the first time in years.
Raizen exhaled. "You remember it too."
This was the place where three stupid kids had once skipped stones and argued about the future. Back when Raizen was just a half-starved stray trying not to die before dinner.
Back when Madara wasn't a demon-in-training, and Hashirama wasn't carrying the dreams of a clan on his back.
"Of course I remember," Madara muttered, voice low. "I didn't think we'd ever come back."
"Neither did I." Raizen smiled bitterly. "And look at us now. Same river. Same stones. Zero trust."
A voice drifted from the trees.
"It shouldn't have turned out like this."
Hashirama stepped out, red armor glinting. He walked to the stream, crouched down, and picked up a flat stone. His throw skipped across the water, soft splashes echoing in the quiet.
"You couldn't hit the far bank back then, Madara," he said with a small smile.
Raizen dismissed his Susanoo, walked over, and tossed his own stone. It skipped a few times before landing on the far shore.
Madara snorted, but his armor faded too. He walked to the stream silently, stone in hand.
"When we stood here before," Hashirama said softly, "we talked about our dreams. What the world could be."
"This isn't that year anymore," Madara replied. His voice was calm. Too calm.
He flicked his stone.
BOOM.
It punched through the water like a bullet and cratered the far bank.
"Yeah," Madara said quietly. "Not the same at all."
Hashirama flinched at the tone.
"Madara… are you still blaming Tobirama for Izuna's death?"
Madara's Sharingan spun slowly, dangerously.
"No. I'm blaming myself." His words were a blade wrapped in regret. "For being too weak to protect anything. So this time, I'll follow my own path. No one will change it."
Chakra surged around him, wild and heavy. Blue ribs formed. Then muscle. Then armor.
His full Susanoo rose like a giant god looming over them, swords at its waist, eyes burning.
"Hashirama. Raizen."
Madara's voice echoed from within the titan.
"At the place where it all started… I'll cut the past away. All of it."
He pointed both enormous blades downward.
"Draw your weapons. Today, we finish this."
Hashirama's face tightened with grief.
Raizen's stomach dropped like a stone.
There was no more talking. No more childhood.
Just three men and one broken promise.
The battle was inevitable.