Chapter 417: Shocking! Susanoo and the Great Buddha Reappear!!
As soon as the words fell, Madara immediately activated Susanoo. From its skeletal form to muscle, then armor, and finally wings sprouting from its back.
The fully realized Susanoo soon stood towering on the battlefield.
In front of Madara's Perfect Susanoo, the fifty thousand ninja alliance appeared like mere ants, as if to say, "You are surrounded by me."
Seeing Madara's display of power, Hashirama immediately clapped his hands, summoning the Wood Human Technique and the Wood Dragon Technique.
However, his Wood Human was significantly smaller than Madara's Perfect Susanoo.
Madara sneered, "Hashirama! It seems you haven't made much progress since our last battle."
Hashirama, being ridiculed to his face, initially didn't want to go all out, but then clapped his hands again.
The Wood Human transformed into the Thousand-Armed Buddha, with thousands of fists pounding the ground, each strike akin to a meteor crashing into the Earth, causing the ground to tremble repeatedly.
The Fourth Raikage, Han, and Killer B were shocked by the sight before them.
Han recalled the fear that Onoki had described about Madara and Hashirama in those past years—an unstoppable force.
Back in the early days of the ninja villages, Senju Hashirama was known as the God of Shinobi, while Uchiha Madara was the Shura of the Ninja World.
Both were legendary figures of their era!
Han, in his fully transformed Five-Tails state, seemed no more than a pet before the Thousand-Armed Buddha and the Perfect Susanoo.
Killer B, seeing the two, recalled the man also known as the God of Shinobi.
Back then, Uchiha Haneda had single-handedly dealt with an army of ten thousand ninjas, two Perfect Jinchuriki, and one Kage.
Was history about to repeat itself?
Killer B couldn't believe it. He looked toward Han, who immediately understood and began forming a Tailed Beast Bomb.
The two simultaneously moved to Madara and Hashirama's flanks, taking positions on the left and right for a pincer attack.
Killer B and Han aimed to destroy the Buddha's arm through the explosion caused by their Tailed Beast Bombs, crippling it first.
This was the only strategy Killer B had come up with after years of reflection on how to deal with Uchiha Haneda.
Madara folded his arms, watching with a detached amusement, showing no intention of intervening.
He was curious whether his old friend, whom he both loved and hated, could withstand this attack.
Logically, he could, but with an Edo Tensei body, who could say for sure?
Unlike Madara's detached gaze, the fifty thousand-strong ninja alliance had already sunk into despair.
Han and Killer B were their only hope, and they gave their all to support the duo's actions, even at the cost of their lives, especially the ninjas from Kumogakure and Iwagakure.
"Go, Lord Killer B!!"
"Fourth Raikage-sama, you must defeat him!!!"
…
Despite the noisy cheers, Hashirama could make out the encouragements for Han and Killer B.
Watching the two fighting with all their might, Hashirama hesitated.
He wasn't sure if his actions were right. After being summoned by Orochimaru's Edo Tensei, he had come straight here.
He didn't know the specific reasons behind the war, only that these fifty thousand were preparing to invade Konoha.
But he understood Madara. Madara being here definitely had his own reasons, likely contrary to Hashirama's ideals.
Thus, he held back, pretending to struggle, letting the Buddha lose half of its arms instead of using one hand to slap the Tailed Beast Bombs away and another to grab the Tailed Beasts and drain their chakra.
The anti-Konoha alliance below immediately erupted in cheers.
However, Han and Killer B remained tense.
Inside them, the Five-Tails and Eight-Tails both warned them of Hashirama's deliberate act.
"Hashirama, you disappoint me too much!" Madara said, his tone filled with irritation and displeasure.
"Madara, being too harsh on the younger generation is not good. Even if we kill them, their next generation will only harbor more hatred toward Konoha," Hashirama explained.
"Foolish," Madara scoffed, ceasing his passive stance and unleashing Chibaku Tensei.
The sky darkened instantly.
All the ninjas standing on the desert ground looked up in confusion, seeing a massive meteor hanging overhead.
They were stunned. They were terrified. They gave up resisting, letting their weapons drop helplessly from their hands.
Could they even block such a meteor?
Even if they tried to escape, where could they run to at their speed?
As soon as Madara activated Chibaku Tensei, the outcome seemed sealed.
Those trapped inside the encirclement had no chance. They gave up resisting and started praying to their gods.
Those outside the encirclement fled madly, stabbing anyone who slowed them down, especially ninjas from other villages. They showed no mercy, only desperation to survive.
Madara smirked, "Hashirama, is this the world of peace and mutual understanding you wanted to create?"
"See? When faced with the threat of death, humans don't choose unity; they only think about themselves."
"Humans are selfish. The desire to survive will crush so-called morals. In the face of absolute benefit, former allies are nothing but a joke."
Hashirama frowned, "Madara, what's the point of such killing?"
Madara laughed, "There's no point, but it's entertaining—a perfect chance to enjoy a good show."
As Madara and Hashirama spoke, Han and Killer B struggled.
Using their massive Tailed Beast forms, they tried to hold up the descending Chibaku Tensei with their numerous tails.
Seeing this, the other ninjas began to hope. Suna ninjas used sand to support the meteor, Iwa ninjas used Earth Release to create numerous pillars to prop it up…
Everyone seemed to see hope, uniting against the seemingly insurmountable crisis.
For a moment, the meteor stopped falling, unable to threaten those below.
Hope had truly arrived!
Hashirama said, "Madara, shinobi never lack the courage to face difficulties, nor the quality of unity in the face of large-scale disasters."
"Oh?" Madara smiled, "What about the second one?"
With those words, another meteor descended!
Two massive meteors stacked together, doubling the impact, immediately shattering the newfound hope.
The two fully transformed jinchuriki had no strength to resist.
The nearly twenty thousand remaining ninjas were even more powerless.
The supporting sand fell away, and the Earth Release pillars crumbled.
In the face of absolute power, shinobi had no hope.
At that moment, except for Madara, someone unexpected stepped in.
Hashirama summoned the Wood Human Technique, lifting the meteors with the Wood Human's hands, creating a safe space beneath.
The anti-Konoha alliance couldn't comprehend why Hashirama would do such a thing.
Only the high-ranking members like the Fourth Raikage A, the Fourth Tsuchikage Han, and Killer B understood.
Hashirama had always been a legend worthy of praise and respect in the ninja world.