Jie kept flicking tiny Rasengan from above, and Tobirama kept dodging below.
At first, Tobirama could still avoid them by instinct and by reading the faint changes they left in the air. But the attacks came one after another, forcing him into worse positions each time.
Then one of his guesses came too late.
A tiny Rasengan burst beside him and tore across his leg. Tobirama avoided losing the limb only because he reacted at the last moment, but the wound slowed him down immediately.
Dodging invisible attacks had already been difficult when he was uninjured. Now every movement became tighter, and several times the Rasengan passed close enough for Tobirama to feel death brush past him.
As for leaving the area, that was not up to him.
The rules were Jie's to decide. Whenever Tobirama tried to escape, the number of Rasengan falling around him increased sharply, forcing him back into the same range.
At this point in time, Tobirama had not yet created the Flying Thunder God Technique. Even if he had, setting up a mark under this kind of pressure would have been nearly impossible.
One miniature Rasengan gave off almost no chakra fluctuation. But after so many attacks, the space around Tobirama had started to change. The air, the ground, and the traces left by each impact were no longer the same as the rest of the battlefield.
That was what finally drew Hashirama's attention.
While holding back Madara, Hashirama glanced toward Tobirama's side and frowned.
There was no visible enemy near Tobirama, and no obvious attack either. Yet Tobirama was dodging in a panic, already covered in injuries.
Hashirama's senses spread outward.
With his perfect Sage body, he quickly noticed the figure hidden high above the battlefield.
Someone had been watching the battle from the air this entire time.
And neither he nor Madara had sensed him.
Hashirama's heart sank.
Was this another hidden Uchiha, kept in reserve for this exact moment?
That moment of distraction was enough.
Madara caught the opening immediately. Majestic Attire: Divine Descent pressed forward, and Susanoo's chakra blades struck again and again. Top Transformed Buddha was forced back hundreds of meters, deep cracks spreading through the giant wooden body.
Hashirama snapped back to the battle and poured chakra into the statue to repair it.
The chakra cost made him pale.
Against Madara, even a brief distraction was dangerous.
"Hashirama," Madara said, "getting distracted in the middle of our fight is not like you."
Madara had the advantage now, but he did not continue. He wanted a proper victory over Hashirama, not one decided by outside interference.
Then he followed Hashirama's gaze and finally noticed Jie.
"Jie?"
Madara frowned.
He looked from Jie to Tobirama's miserable state, and the situation became clear enough.
Tobirama must have tried to interfere from the side and been caught by Jie.
Madara's mood improved at once.
If Tobirama suffered for it, Madara had no reason to complain.
Hashirama stopped as well. His attention stayed on Jie.
"Is he another member of your Uchiha clan?"
His voice was low.
"Did you prepare him for this battle from the beginning?"
Madara gave a cold laugh.
"Jie is only an Uchiha who lived outside the clan. From the start, he had no interest in this war."
Hashirama did not relax.
"Then why is he here?"
"I don't know."
Madara looked toward Tobirama with clear disgust.
"As for why he is attacking Tobirama, maybe he simply cannot stand people who hide in the shadows and wait for a chance to strike."
Hashirama fell silent.
Izuna had died by Tobirama's hand, so Madara naturally had no reason to speak kindly of him. But Hashirama could not stand by and watch his last surviving brother struggle for his life.
He looked at Madara once, then released Top Transformed Buddha and rushed toward Tobirama.
He trusted Madara not to stop him.
Madara hesitated.
He knew this was the best chance he would ever get. Hashirama had released his defense. If Madara attacked now, he could end the battle and decide the war with one strike.
But his hand did not move.
The hesitation lasted only a short moment, but that was enough.
Hashirama reached Tobirama's side.
"Wood Release: Hobi Technique!"
A wooden shield grew rapidly from the ground, blocking the space between Tobirama and Jie. The next wave of tiny Rasengan struck the shield and vanished into it.
Hashirama pulled Tobirama behind him and looked up at Jie.
Now that Hashirama had stepped in himself, Jie knew the game could no longer continue.
Tobirama was injured badly enough, and Jie had already vented most of his annoyance. More importantly, Hashirama had abandoned the duel, so the fight had already lost its meaning.
Jie stopped attacking and looked toward Madara.
Madara had also released Susanoo and was coming this way.
Jie shook his head.
Madara had let the best chance slip away.
As a brother, he might be admirable. As the leader of the Uchiha, he was disappointing. That hesitation had cost his clan the victory they had fought for.
But Jie quickly let the thought go.
This was not his Uchiha clan. They shared the same bloodline, but this was another time, perhaps even another world. Whatever happened to the Uchiha here had nothing to do with the Konoha he would return to.
So Jie remained in the air and watched.
He would let Madara and Hashirama decide what came next.
The battlefield fell into a strange silence.
Hashirama looked at Jie, then at Madara, and seemed to understand something. After a short silence, he suddenly laughed.
"Looks like we lost this war."
Tobirama stiffened.
"Brother, what are you saying? The Senju have not lost!"
His voice sharpened as he looked toward Madara.
"And how can the ninja world be handed to the Uchiha? If they take control, the world will only fall into deeper war."
"Tobirama."
Hashirama's voice was calm, but firm.
Tobirama stopped.
Hashirama looked at him seriously. "A loss is a loss. The Senju are not a clan that cannot accept defeat."
His voice grew more serious.
"And I have told you before. The Uchiha are not an evil clan."
Tobirama held back his anger, but Hashirama continued.
"They feel love more deeply than most. That is why hatred can twist them so violently. But that does not make the clan itself evil."
Tobirama still had not understood the situation.
Hashirama had.
Madara was no longer weaker than him. The Senju still had numbers and recovery, but the Uchiha had the Sharingan, Madara, and now Jie. The balance between the two clans had already shifted.
Hashirama did not know who Jie truly was, but the danger he felt from him was real.
With the situation changed this much, he had to think about the Senju clan's future.
He looked back at Madara.
"Since we lost, the future of the ninja world will be left to you."
Hashirama's gaze remained steady.
"Prove that your path can bring peace, Madara."
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