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The turmoil at the Uzumaki clan's settlement had subsided, and peace was gradually returning. Meanwhile, near the Hidden Leaf Village, the negotiations between Hashirama and Madara had completely fallen apart.
"Hashirama, it's been a long time since we've had a real fight! And this time, there's no old man around to risk his life to kill the Nine-Tails! Summoning Jutsu!" Madara shouted. With a ferocious roar, the Nine-Tails once again appeared before Hashirama.
Several kilometers away, one of Akio's remaining shadow clones was lying in wait. Hearing the commotion, he let out a soft sigh.
"Madaraā¦ this time, I'm not fighting the Nine-Tails."
As he mused, Madara and Hashirama had already clashed.
"Wood Style: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"
Hashirama began with a grand moveāa colossal wooden dragon coiled tightly around the Nine-Tails. The beast roared furiously, forming a Tailed Beast Bomb that blasted through the wooden dragon's head.
"Wood Style: Wood Golem Jutsu!"
From within the wooden dragon's body, a familiar wooden golem emerged. It caught the Tailed Beast Bomb with its right hand and forced it back toward the Nine-Tails.
A massive explosion obscured Akio's view. Once the dust settled, he looked toward the battlefield again.
Madara had entered his Tailed Beast Mode, while Hashirama's body was wrapped in layers of mask-like wooden armor.
"That's a technique I haven't seen before..." Akio muttered.
On the battlefield, Madara actually responded to his unspoken question. "You managed to block Beast Mode? Wood Style: Ranking Pillar Jutsu, was it?"
As the defense faded, Madara struck at Hashirama with a slash, only to be stopped by the wooden golem's hands.
"I've seen through your attacks, Madara!" Hashirama shouted. "Wood Style: All-Encompassing Bag Technique!"
Giant wooden hands emerged all around Madara, reaching out to restrain his Tailed Beast Mode.
Madara's eyes narrowed. The wooden golem's sword emitted a blinding light and slashed through all the hands at once.
Hashirama frowned, quickly leaping through the splintered debris. "If this keeps up, the village and the land will be destroyed... I have to move the battle to the coastline!"
"Hashirama, don't run!" Madara roared, chasing after him.
As the two grew farther away, Akio's shadow clone sweatdropped.
"I don't think I can catch up to them... What should I do?" With that thought, he quickly followed.
Nearing the shoreline, the Nine-Tails beneath Madara formed another Tailed Beast Bombābut this time, it didn't fire. Instead, Madara slashed at it, adding a spiraling force to the sphere.
"Hashirama! Let's see you block this one!"
Hashirama's expression hardened. "Summoning Jutsu: Five-Fold RashÅmon!"
The five gates were obliterated instantly, but the Tailed Beast Bomb's trajectory was also diverted.
Boom! A deafening explosion echoed from across the sea.
Akio arrived just in time to see it. His mouth twitched.
"That's... the Land of Water, isn't it? Sucks to be them."
"Hashirama," Madara began, "It's been a long time since I fought you seriously. You must've realizedāI'm not the same as before."
Hashirama clasped his hands together.
"Madara! Everything we've fought for, all our dreamsāyou'd really throw that away?! Our fight benefits no one. We're only hurting the village and the shinobi! We're insulting our comrades and friends!"
"You'reā¦ preaching to me?!" Madara narrowed his eyes.
"I don't want to kill you!" Hashirama shouted.
Akio sighed from a distance.
"Hashirama, you damn fool..."
As expected, Madara's chakra surged violently at those words.
"So what you're saying isāif you wanted to kill me, you think you could?!"
"No! I'm saying... we're friends!"
"I just blew up the Land of Water!" Madara roared, and the Nine-Tails let out a piercing scream.
"No choice, then..." Hashirama muttered. "Sage Art: Wood Style: True Several Thousand Hands!"
Once again, Hashirama summoned the giant Buddha with countless arms, now even larger than during the Warring States Eraāthe number of arms multiplied several times.
"Hashirama!!" Madara roared, charging straight at him.
"Top Transformed Buddha!" Hashirama bellowed, as thousands of wooden arms smashed toward Madara.
Madara focused his chakra and unleashed countless mini-Rinnegan tomoe projectiles, shattering nearly half the arms.
But the remaining hands struck Madara's Susano'o-armored Nine-Tails. Hashirama, panting, directed the Buddha to release its extra limbs.
As the dust settled, most of the Susano'o had been shattered. The Buddha's right hand clutched the Nine-Tails firmly.
"Now!!" Hashirama shouted. The wooden golem leapt onto the Nine-Tails. "Kokuan Anraku Kaijū!"
A "seat" kanji appeared in the wooden golem's palm as it pressed down on the Nine-Tails' head.
Madara snorted and leapt away from the Nine-Tails' head.
The golem's hand pressed down. The Nine-Tails' crimson eyes slowly cleared, then closed, falling into slumber.
Hashirama, too drained to maintain his Wood Style any longer, released the technique. Now face to face, he and Madara prepared for close combat.
However, from a distance, Akio's clone nodded slightly and whispered,
"This is the moment. Sorry, Madara..."
"Sage Art: Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"
The massive chakra fluctuation immediately alerted the two fighters. Madara turned slightly, his expression changing.
"Damn it! That old man still had a shadow clone?!"
Hashirama's expression turned complicated. He murmured,
"Second Grandpa... Madara..."
But the Dust Release in Akio's hand never fired at Madara. Instead, it slowly turned toward Hashirama. As Akio formed hand seals, a shadow dove into his body.
"Damn it! Black Zetsu?! You dare show up now?!" Akio cried in his mind. Watching helplessly as the Dust Release charged toward Hashirama, his clone gave a wry smileāthen poofed out of existence.
"Second Grandpa!" Hashirama shouted in confusion, unaware of Black Zetsu's presence. He sighed in reliefādeep down, he truly didn't want to kill Madara.
Madara also relaxed for a brief momentāthen tensed again.
"That guyā¦ he claimed to be the embodiment of my will, and he could possess the old man to manipulate him?"
Madara wavered. He no longer knew whether continuing the fight with Hashirama was the right choice. That embodiment of will gnawed at his thoughts.
But Hashirama, having exhaled deeply, suddenly shouted,
"Madara!" and charged once again.
Madara glanced at him and stopped thinking. The battle resumed.
Meanwhile, at the Uzumaki Clan's settlementā
Akio, who had been concentrating on recovering his chakra, suddenly paused. The flood of information from his shadow clone caused his face to darken.
He stood up immediately. Despite only recovering 20% of his chakra, and to the confusion of his clansmen, he shot out of the compound at top speed.
Over an hour later, Akio arrived near the battlefield and sighed.
At this point, he could only sense Hashirama's and the Nine-Tails' chakra. The battleā¦ was over.
He walked to the center of the battlefield and saw the slumbering Nine-Tails and Hashirama meditating beside it, trying to regulate his breath.
"Hashirama..." Akio sighed. Hashirama's life force was gravely depletedāhad it been anyone else, they would've died already.
Hashirama slowly opened his eyes and looked at Akio. He murmured,
"Second Grandpaā¦ I killed Madara..."
Akio let out a long sigh.
"I know..."
A line of kanji flashed before his eyes:
"You have witnessed and participated in a main story event of the Naruto World: The Battle at the Valley of the End. Witness Points gained: 50."
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