Chapter 347: The Battle Concludes, unmatched Strengthening of the Imperial Heaven Space
Crack! Crackle!
Like fine porcelain struck by a heavy sledgehammer, dense, jagged fissures spread wildly across the colossal wooden Buddha statue. The destruction radiated outward from the exact point where the armored fist had made contact.
In the next fraction of a second, Hashirama's True Several Thousand Hands was utterly obliterated by the iron-like fist of the Susanoo-Clad Great Buddha.
The enormous wooden head of the deity was the first to detonate, exploding into a sky-blotting cloud of splinters. The chain reaction was merciless. The wooden chest, the massive waist, and the towering lotus throne followed suit. Everything was annihilated within the violent purple torrent of chakra, shredded like dry autumn leaves swept away by a raging typhoon.
A terrifying shockwave erupted, forming a highly visible, expanding white ring of compressed air that tore in all directions. The ground ripped apart in massive swathes, peeling back like a cheap carpet. Thick clouds of pulverized rock and dust soared into the sky, completely obscuring the firmament.
Then, the devastated battlefield fell into a heavy, doomsday-like silence.
Pinned firmly to the shattered earth by a chakra-disrupting black rod, Senju Tobirama stared upward. His usually sharp, calculating crimson eyes were wide, completely devoid of their usual intellect. A rare, blank expression overtook his rigid features.
'Big Brother's... True Several Thousand Hands...'His lips moved, though barely a whisper escaped his throat.'It's just... gone?'
The elder brother he had always revered, the man the entire world hailed as the invincible God of Shinobi, had just been crushed. Along with that colossal, mountain-dwarfing wooden Buddha, Hashirama had been blasted into absolute smithereens. And it had been done by an Uchiha brat—done in a manner far more arrogant, far more domineering, and far more absolute than anything Madara had ever achieved.
Rustle...
Amidst the smoking craters and splintered ruins, countless scraps of ash and dust began to swirl. The debris gathered, knitting together in the air as Senju Hashirama's Edo Tensei body slowly reassembled itself.
The First Hokage stood upon the devastated, overturned earth. He tilted his head back, gazing up at the towering Susanoo-Clad Great Buddha. The purple-armored construct exuded an endless, suffocating demonic pressure that weighed heavily on the atmosphere. Hashirama's shoulders slumped. A deep, heavy sense of bewilderment and utter helplessness washed over his cracked, reincarnated features.
He had lost.
He had lost completely and utterly.
Both his unmatched physical power and his lifelong ideals had been violently crushed by this opponent in an overwhelming, indisputable display of supremacy.
The battlefield remained deathly quiet, save for the crackle of residual lightning and the shifting of loose gravel. High above, Uchiha Akira stood with his arms crossed. At his silent command, the colossal Great Buddha beneath him, clad in its impenetrable purple Susanoo armor, began to dissolve into wisps of fading chakra.
The battle was over.
"I lost." Senju Hashirama let out a long, weary sigh, the sound carrying across the ruined landscape. He offered a bitter, yet strangely relieved smile. "Perhaps... perhaps Konoha, under your leadership, can truly achieve a brilliance I have never seen. A future I could not build."
A short distance away, Senju Tobirama gritted his teeth, feeling the cold sting of reality piercing his long-held prejudices.
'This evil Uchiha... his strength is actually terrifying to this extent...'Tobirama's jaw locked tight. He remained verbally silent, refusing to offer the Uchiha any words of praise, but deep within his pragmatic heart, the Second Hokage had already accepted the harsh truth.'He possesses such formidable strength, yet he is not burdened by the naive softness that plagued Big Brother...'Tobirama analyzed, his sharp mind churning despite his immobilized state.'Perhaps... under his ruthless leadership, Konoha can truly accomplish the great feat that Big Brother failed to complete. The absolute unification of the entire Ninja World.'
Once that treacherous thought took root in Tobirama's mind, it spread like wildfire through dry grass, impossible to suppress.
Floating gently down to the scarred earth, Uchiha Akira looked down at the defeated former Hokage. His dark eyes were cold, calculating, and utterly devoid of pity.
"Your era has ended," Akira stated, his voice smooth but carrying an obvious weight. "As the original founders of Konoha, I will not obliterate your souls." He paused, his gaze sweeping over them. "But your continued existence in this world is an obstacle to my plans."
Akira slowly raised his right hand. Within his palm, the concentric ripple patterns of the Rinnegan quietly flared to life with a faint, eerie glow. The air around his hand warped as an invisible, crushing suction began to emanate from the eye.
"So, for now, you will be suppressed within my personal dimension for a period of time."
The very moment his words fell, an irresistible, terrifying gravitational pull erupted violently from Akira's outstretched palm.
"What?!" Tobirama's expression twisted in alarm. He could feel his very soul, along with the ash and dust of his Edo Tensei vessel, being violently dragged forward by an unfathomable, divine force. He tried to mold chakra, to resist, but the black chakra receiver pinning his body to the dirt had already completely suppressed his chakra network. He was powerless.
Senju Hashirama felt the same overwhelming pull tearing at his spiritual essence. Yet, the First Hokage simply closed his eyes. He offered no resistance, allowing Akira's supreme sealing technique to wash over him, accepting his fate with quiet dignity.
Nearby, Hiruzen Sarutobi—already trapped and sealed within the glowing confines of the chakra pyramid—could not even muster a struggle. The Third Hokage's withered form was involuntarily yanked into mid-air, dragged helplessly toward the vortex in Akira's palm.
"Six Paths Sealing: Spirit Binding!" Akira declared coldly.
In a flash of blinding, distorted light, the three legendary figures were instantly sucked into the void, perfectly sealed within the absolute core of the Imperial Heaven Space.
Having completed the suppression of the former Hokage, Akira slowly lowered his hand and closed his eyes. A deep sensation washed over his mind. He could clearly feel the internal structure of his personal world—the Six Paths: Imperial Heaven—undergoing an devastating transformation.
Although the three Hokage were not living beings of flesh and blood, the sheer density and presence of their powerful souls granted his dimension an unmatched level of reinforcement. Deep within the void, the core of the Imperial Heaven Space—the central energy nexus that had been operating at a stable, quiet hum—suddenly erupted with a brilliant, blinding light the exact moment it devoured and assimilated those three massive soul signatures.
Within his mind's eye, Akira watched as the physical landmass of the Imperial Heaven Space began to extend wildly into the endless, starry void. The borders pushed outward at a visible, astonishing speed. The addition of three Kage-level souls acted as the highest-grade nutrients for the dimensional fabric, feeding its growth.
Ultimately, the rapid expansion slowed, stabilizing at a new, permanent growth rate.
Eight hundred meters.
The dimension would now passively expand by an additional eight hundred meters every single day.
A faint smirk tugged at the corner of Akira's lips. The mechanics were beautifully simple. The more powerful the individuals he suppressed within his domain, the stronger the Imperial Heaven Space became. And in turn, the more terrifying the passive power bonus he received in the real world.
It was a flawless, virtuous cycle of absolute power—one that could theoretically grow indefinitely.
Snapping back to reality, Akira's mind stirred. He cast his gaze across the ruined landscape of his domain, his eyes settling on the terrifying, bottomless canyon that had been violently gouged out by the Susanoo Hogyoku during the climax of his clash with Hashirama.
He focused his chakra, connecting his will to the very fabric of the environment.
'Restore.'
It took only a single, absolute thought.
Rumble... Rumble... Rumble!
The entire ground began to shake violently, vibrating like a massive tuning fork. The terrifying, jagged canyon that had torn the earth in half suddenly came alive. The massive banks of soil and stone rapidly converged toward the center, knitting the deep wound shut. Mountains that had been reduced to rubble re-erected themselves, thrusting back up into the sky. Forests that had been crushed into splinters and ash rapidly sprouted anew, thick trunks and green canopies bursting forth from the soil in a wave of vibrant life.
In the span of just a dozen breaths, every single trace of the apocalyptic battle within the Six Paths: Imperial Heaven Space was completely erased. The terrain was flawlessly restored to its original, pristine state. The air cleared, the dust settled, and the greenery swayed gently in the breeze.
It was as if the world-destroying clash of gods had never even taken place.
In the distance, two small figures were rushing frantically toward his position. It was Naruto and Gaara.
"Tea... Teacher!" Naruto was the first to arrive, skidding to a halt as he stared up at the completely unharmed Uchiha Akira.
"Are you... are you alright?" Naruto panted, his chest heaving. His blue eyes were wide as saucers, practically sparkling with awe. "That... that wooden Buddha statue bigger than a mountain just now! And... and the other Buddha statue wearing the purple armor! It was... it was amazing!!!"
Naruto gesticulated wildly with his arms, completely at a loss for words to properly describe the sheer, overwhelming shock in his heart. He only knew one thing for certain: the battle he had just witnessed from afar had completely and utterly shattered his understanding of the word 'Ninja'.
Gaara followed closely behind, landing softly on the grass. He didn't shout or flail like Naruto, but his pale face was equally flushed, his sea-green eyes filled with an undisguised, burning fervor and absolute admiration. He walked up to Uchiha Akira, stopped, and bowed deeply from the waist.
"Teacher."
Naruto clenched his fists tightly at his sides. An unmatched, blazing flame ignited within his bright blue eyes.
"I want to become as strong as you someday!"
Today's battle had violently kicked open the door to an entirely new world for the young Jinchuriki. It turned out that the power of a shinobi could actually reach such a terrifying, world-destroying pinnacle.
Uchiha Akira looked down at his two disciples, taking in their fiery, determined gazes. A faint, rare smile touched the corners of his lips. He slowly extended his hands, resting his palms gently on top of their heads.
"Very good," Akira said, his deep voice connecting with quiet authority. "But the path you have to walk is still very long. The truth of this world is far more cruel, and far more unforgiving, than you can possibly imagine."
He patted their heads once before letting his hands fall.
"Strive to become stronger. Keep pushing your limits... until one day, you can truly be qualified to stand by my side."
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