Hashirama took a deep breath and stepped forward a few paces, his voice steady but pleading. "Madara, come back. Konoha needs you, and I... don't want to cross blades with you again."
"I won't pursue what happened before. As long as you're willing to come back, there's still room to turn things around."
Madara listened quietly, but the corners of his mouth slowly curved into an almost mocking smile.
"Hashirama, you're still the same."
"You always think friendship can solve everything."
Madara raised his head, his Sharingan staring directly at Hashirama. "Answer my question. How did you know my location?"
Hashirama was stunned for a moment, then scratched his head awkwardly, his tone carrying his usual absentmindedness. "Akira told me."
"He wrote me a letter, saying you were coming here to look for some 'Nameless,' and that there might still be a chance to turn things around... I couldn't sit still after reading it, so I came here on my own without even telling Tobirama."
The air seemed to freeze at that moment.
Uchiha Akira stood beside Madara, his entire body as if struck by lightning, his face instantly turning pale, almost transparent.
He... told Hashirama?
But he clearly hadn't done anything.
Madara slowly turned his head, his gaze falling on Akira.
In those Mangekyo Sharingan eyes, killing intent almost instantly solidified.
"Uchiha Akira."
"You really are a spy Konoha planted by my side."
Uchiha Madara's voice was frighteningly low.
Akira opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
He wanted to explain, wanted to say that he had never written a letter, wanted to say that someone was framing him, but when the words reached his lips, he realized he had no evidence at all.
Madara had already completely decided that he was guilty.
"I thought... you at least had some sincerity."
"So you were Senju Tobirama's pawn from the very beginning."
Madara's voice was cold, as if it had come out of an ice cellar.
He raised his hand, and the long-handled sickle at his waist instantly appeared in his palm. The blade reflected a dazzling cold light under the sunlight.
"In that case, die."
The moment the sickle swung out, killing intent descended like something tangible.
Uchiha Akira did not even have time to react and gather his chakra before he felt the breath of death already at his throat.
Just then...
"Madara! Stop!"
Senju Hashirama suddenly stepped forward, Wood Release erupting from beneath his feet. Thick branches instantly wrapped around the sickle's trajectory and forcibly knocked it aside.
"Akira is a member of Konoha! You can't kill him!"
Madara's eyes instantly became even colder.
"A member of Konoha?"
"Then he's even more deserving of death."
Madara let out a cold laugh.
The next second, he no longer hesitated.
"Summoning Jutsu! Come out."
In the distant valley, the Nine-Tails, which had been temporarily sealed, suddenly opened its eyes.
The next second...
The Nine-Tails dropped in from above.
The ground shook violently.
The Nine-Tails raised its head and let out a low roar, its nine tails rising at the same time.
Madara leaped onto the top of the Nine-Tails' head, the Mangekyo Sharingan in his left eye suddenly spinning.
"Susanoo..."
The enormous blue skeleton instantly extended from outside the Nine-Tails, quickly forming a complete suit of armor.
Susanoo glimmered with terrifying light under the sunlight, perfectly merging with the power of the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb.
The Battle of the Valley of the End erupted early at this moment.
Hashirama's expression darkened.
He knew that Madara had made his decision completely.
"Madara... do you really have to take it this far?"
Madara stood atop the Nine-Tails and Susanoo, his black hair whipping in the strong wind, his voice cold and without a trace of warmth. "Hashirama, from the day you chose Konoha, we had already reached this point."
"Come."
"Use your Wood Release to stop me."
The battle erupted in an instant.
The Nine-Tails suddenly opened its huge mouth, and a deep purple Tailed Beast Bomb rapidly condensed inside.
The terrifying energy distorted even the air.
At the same time, Susanoo's katana suddenly thrust forward, carrying enough force to tear through space as it went straight for Hashirama.
Hashirama did not retreat.
He formed hand seals, and the earth beneath his feet instantly cracked open.
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"
A huge wooden dragon burst from the ground, its scales clearly defined and its eyes scarlet.
The Wood Dragon opened its huge mouth and directly bit down on the Tailed Beast Bomb, forcibly absorbing and dispersing its energy.
Immediately afterward, the Wood Dragon's body wrapped around the Nine-Tails and Susanoo, attempting to bind them completely.
Madara snorted.
"Is that all?"
Susanoo's power surged, and the katana swept sideways, directly cutting the Wood Dragon's body into several pieces.
The Nine-Tails' tails struck at the same time, every blow causing the ground to collapse several feet.
Hashirama moved, avoiding the shockwaves, and formed hand seals again.
"Wood Release: Wood Human Jutsu!"
A wooden giant even larger than the Wood Dragon rose from beneath the ground, its height almost matching the Nine-Tails covered in Susanoo.
The Wood Human swung its fist down, colliding head-on with Susanoo's katana.
BOOM!!
The shockwave spread outward with the two at its center. The remains of the ancient shrine were instantly flattened, and large sections of the surrounding forest collapsed.
"Cough cough, Wood Release really is....."
Madara controlled the Nine-Tails and retreated half a step, condensing another Tailed Beast Bomb.
This time, he did not fire it directly. Instead, he poured the energy into Susanoo's katana.
"Take this."
The katana turned into a streak of light and slashed out with enough power to destroy an entire mountain.
Hashirama's eyes narrowed.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
Countless giant trees grew wildly from beneath the ground, instantly forming a dense forest that blocked out everything, forcibly stopping the trajectory of the spear.
The trees were cut through, burned, and shattered, yet they continued to grow anew, slowly wearing down that destructive force.
The battle between the two became extremely fierce.
Every collision made the earth tremble, and every clash of ninjutsu changed the surrounding terrain.
Hashirama's Wood Release continued to evolve, with the Wood Dragon, Wood Human, and Deep Forest Emergence taking turns.
Madara, meanwhile, relied on the Nine-Tails' power and Susanoo's defense to dispel the attacks again and again, then countered with even more violent blows.
The battle continued for an unknown amount of time.
During the initial chaos, Uchiha Akira was thrown away by the shockwaves and crashed heavily onto a distant hillside.
He had no time to care about his injuries. He struggled to get up and watched the two torrents of chakra in the distance collide with enough power to destroy everything, leaving only endless fear and despair in his heart.
"Fuck! How did it turn into this!? Madara doesn't believe me anymore....."
Uchiha Akira was utterly hopeless. He needed to run now.
Otherwise, once the battle ended, no matter who won, he would not survive.
Akira gritted his teeth, turned around, and ran toward the depths of the mountain forest with all his strength.
His one-tomoe Sharingan spun desperately as he tried to find the most concealed route.
But before he had even run a mile...
A black figure quietly emerged from the shadows.
Black Zetsu.
"What's the rush?"
"The game is already over."
Black Zetsu's voice was frighteningly calm.
"It's you!?"
Uchiha Akira cried out in surprise. The person before him was Black Zetsu, the mastermind behind the Hokage.
Then Uchiha Akira seemed to realize something, his expression darkening with anger.
"It's you! You must be the one who drove a wedge between us, right?!", Uchiha Akira demanded.