HSU: Ch. 319

Hearing Masashi's words, Minato chuckled.

"You noticed, huh? Alright, I'll explain on the way."

Masashi's expression remained unchanged, but he had already decided that once this was over, it would be time for a long-overdue session of "Fugaku's Calligraphy Appreciation Game."

There was no way Fugaku wouldn't be involved in this.

The Uchiha clan was a clan of warriors. The old Uchiha reveled in battle, relished the thrill of combat.

But ever since the Warring States period ended, and the village system began, the clan had become obsessed with power.

Yet they focused too much on surface-level power.

What a pity, everyone could clearly see what a "Hokage" really was: the ultimate village pet.

In the distance, constant tremors shook the land. Massive trees were occasionally seen being hurled into the air.

Madara and Hashirama were now going all out. Here, they had no need to hold back.

Masashi and Minato hurried in that direction.

The battle was so intense that even Flying Thunder God wasn't ideal for approaching directly.

At present, there were only four living people in Konoha capable of spectating such a battle safely, and aside from Minato, the rest were Uchiha.

If we're talking about watching without feeling any pressure, it was just these two.

The Forest of Death was a relatively untouched forest. The trees here, some hundreds of years old, were tall, massive, and still in their prime.

In the central plains centered around the Land of Fire, such giant trees were quite common. Not only was the land fertile, but the plant life was astoundingly resilient.

This world still had its own strange and unique qualities. That was probably why the Ōtsutsuki clan had taken an interest in it, as an ideal place to cultivate God Trees.

At that moment, shattered remains of trees rained down like a storm. The debris, launched sky-high by tremendous force, now began to fall.

Halfway through their run, a massive chunk of a tree happened to fall directly toward Masashi and Minato.

With perfect timing, Minato held back by half a step, very tactfully.

The message was clear.

White chakra surged from behind Masashi and formed a Susanoo arm, which casually swatted the large chunk of debris off to the side.

"As Hokage, you really shouldn't slack off," he said pointedly.

"Don't say that," Minato replied with a cheerful smile, catching up to Masashi again. "Stuff like that… you're better at handling it."

Masashi didn't respond to that, and the two of them ran faster and faster, zipping through the forest and dodging countless pieces of airborne debris. Eventually, they arrived at the heart of the action.

There, two figures were locked in a blazing hot battle.

Susanoo and Wood Golems were going at it like a schoolyard brawl. They grabbed whatever they could find and used it to bash each other. The flying debris was coming from this chaos.

Masashi and Minato landed on a massive tree at a safe distance.

This too was a giant tree, with branches so thick five or six people could walk side by side on them.

Most of the Susanoo wielded giant tree trunks torn from the ground and were trading blows with wooden golems furiously.

Masashi activated his Rinnegan.

If Kaguya wanted to watch, then fine, he'd treat it like a livestream.

He timed it perfectly: just as one Susanoo's makeshift weapon shattered, it turned and began striding toward the tree Masashi and Minato were on.

As the huge hand reached out to grab them, Masashi responded without hesitation, firing off a targeted Shinra Tensei that launched it right back into the melee.

Trying to steal the audience seats? Shameless.

Suddenly, a beast-like roar thundered through the forest as a group of wooden dragons burst from the wooden golems and charged into the Susanoo, headbutting and binding them.

[Masashi! Why did you suddenly jump in?]

As expected, Kaguya's angry voice rang out.

Then, it abruptly stopped.

[Huh?]

She fell silent.

If Masashi could see into the mindscape at that moment, his eyes would probably pop out of his head. Because she was wearing something completely inappropriate for her status, a sailor school uniform.

If not for the horns on her head, her Byakugan, and a few other barely recognizable features, nothing about her now even suggested she was an Ōtsutsuki.

But right then, she was watching Hashirama's Wood Release techniques through the Rinnegan.

In the Rinnegan's vision, the wooden dragons roared, and the wooden constructs ran wild.

She had no interest in the spectacle itself. To her, as the progenitor of chakra, this meant nothing. What intrigued her were the functions being demonstrated through Wood Release.

She also recognized the user, the original Asura.

No wonder these ninjas had struggled against him. The original Asura really had managed to bring out the God Tree's power that resided in his body.

Hamura inherited some of that power from her, and Asura inherited some from him, it all made sense.

Though compared to true God Tree power, this was minuscule. In the face of the real thing, it wasn't worth mentioning.

Still, this livestream was worth watching.

Kaguya's outfit shimmered and reverted to what she wore when she first met Masashi. All the snack wrappers scattered around vanished without a trace.

[Come see me later.]

Her voice transmitted through.

The original Asura's power had piqued her interest in the Pure Land once again.

Who knows, maybe that rebellious son of hers really could do something useful with it.

Naturally, with his Rinnegan activated, Masashi heard everything, but he decided to pretend he didn't.

You say, "Come see me," and I just drop everything and go? Not happening!

[Masashi! Masashi! Did you hear me or not!? Kaguya began to nag endlessly.]

"Masashi, what's wrong?" Minato asked.

Although Masashi's expression remained neutral, Minato could clearly sense that his comrade's anger was spiking rapidly.

Was he angry that they hadn't talked about this issue earlier?

"Listen, Masashi, you have to understand, Fugaku really can't keep up anymore. In your clan, only you can step up. No one else will do."

"You overstate things," Masashi said coldly. "The Uchiha clan is full of talented individuals these days. Don't you all like Shisui so much?"

Minato was startled and quickly waved his hands.

"That's not something to joke about! Don't drag Shisui into this, he's your own kin!"

Masashi: "…"

How little do you people think of Shisui? The guy has made huge strides over the years, okay?

[Masashi! How can you ignore me! Don't forget what I'm capable of!] Kaguya's voice was now laced with fury, on the verge of explosion.

Such poor patience... no wonder her own children sealed her away.

Masashi sighed internally.

[Kaguya-hime, I'm really too busy right now. Can't we talk later?]

[No! You interrupted me without permission. Since you've interfered in my affairs, I feel it's necessary to take further action. You've been thinking about this for long enough, it's time to give me a proper answer!]

Who interrupted you!?

I'm a married man, can you please not use such ambiguous phrasing!

[Fine. Once this matter is resolved, I'll come. Right now really isn't the time, I need an absolutely secure environment.]

Masashi was now multitasking, tracking the position changes of the two fighters while also mentally replying to Kaguya.

Thanks to the Rinnegan, Kaguya could see everything that was happening as well.

Her tone was scornful.

[With your chakra, as long as I lend you power, you'd be invincible.]

Masashi tried to imagine that scenario, and immediately got chills. It was horrifying.

As the most stoic man in Konoha, he had a reputation to uphold, this was not how it was going down.

[Do you even realize how great an honor it is to be the vessel of "this humble lady"?] Kaguya grumbled. In her current state, she could sense Masashi's thoughts, though not in detail, she could still hear his intentions.

She couldn't understand his stubborn resistance.

[People these days no longer understand how magnificent I am. Back when I ruled the earth, just seeing my face was enough to make men die without regrets.]

[Well, times have changed. It's been a long while since you disappeared, and customs are a bit different now.]

Masashi was unmoved.

Let a woman control his body? Absolutely not.

He reaffirmed his conviction. This was his bottom line, and it would not be crossed.

[So I'm sorry. I have my principles.]

[How insolent, you even want to control me now!?] Kaguya seemed angry but ultimately decided to forgive him. [Still, I forgive you. But from now on, whenever you eat something you enjoy, you must activate the Rinnegan.]

[You like watching that?]

[Fool! In that state, I can experience the taste as well. I'm quite curious about how modern food has developed.]

Masashi found this request… very strange.

What if he ate something… unspeakable?

[Fine. I'm having ramen tonight.]

[Good. Remember, once you finish this boring business, come see me immediately. If you keep avoiding me, then I'll have no choice but to appear before you myself.]

With that, Kaguya's voice finally fell silent.

Masashi figured she was really done this time.

The duel between Madara and Hashirama was still ongoing. Though their chakra reserves weren't quite what they were in life, they certainly had no shortage of energy.

From Masashi's perspective, it felt like Madara was trying to prove, "You only ever had more chakra than me, that's all."

This battle between him and Hashirama, he wasn't using any of the powers he took from Hashirama, nor his Rinnegan. It was just like their final battle at the Valley of the End, pure Sharingan combat.

Flames pierced the sky as Madara once again unleashed Fire Release, clashing with Hashirama's Wood Release.

Even from a distance, the blazing heat was undiminished, roaring past Masashi and Minato like a furnace wind.

Madara was using an enormous amount of chakra, and the heat from his attack was intense, so intense that if it lasted long enough, it could roast an ordinary person alive.

Although Masashi and Minato weren't ordinary people, they still felt the heat.

Masashi had no choice but to rely purely on Ice Release for the first time in a while to lower the temperature around them.

"Your jutsu is really convenient," Minato said sincerely.

It really was unbearably hot.

Madara's Fire Release truly was terrifying, compared to that, Minato, despite being the Hokage, felt rather ashamed.

He was the Hokage, but he rarely used Fire Release himself, unless you counted explosive tags.

His jutsu, by Five Kage standards, was quite average.

"Having a variety of jutsu makes going out much easier," Masashi said with a smile. "Back then, when you visited the clan, you even asked me to show you some Ice Release."

Minato chuckled at that. He remembered those days. Back then, Masashi wasn't well-known yet, and he had just taken up the role of Hokage.

The first time he saw Masashi, the guy was holed up training in the practice grounds and didn't even show the new Hokage any courtesy.

At that time, the ANBU weren't so lacking, and as Hokage, he had already learned that while Masashi wasn't famous, he was incredibly powerful.

Thinking about the past and looking at the present, he could only think, It's unbelievable how strong the village has become.

Masashi had played a critical role in that development, and even the Sarutobi faction couldn't deny it. That's exactly why he hoped Masashi could become the next Hokage.

Only with Masashi as Hokage could the last lingering wall between the village and marginalized clans like the Uchiha and Hyūga finally be broken down. And that... that was his final mission as Hokage. Once he fulfilled that, he could finally step down with peace of mind. These years had worn him out. He was honestly impressed that he'd even managed to maintain his current level of strength.

Boom!

A deafening explosion, more powerful than anything before, shattered Minato's thoughts.

He looked up, and saw a blue-glowing avatar of a warrior rising from the earth. It had torn the wooden dragon apart with its bare hands.

"Hashirama! That warm-up should be over by now!" Madara's voice echoed through the air. "Keep using the Wood Release: Wood Human Technique, and you're going to lose."

"Hey, that's going too far," Hashirama's grumbling voice rang out. "We're too close to the village here, you'll end up destroying it."

"Weak and indecisive!" Inside the fully manifested Susanoo, Madara's body was encased in a crystal-like cube. He slowly drew a chakra blade with the massive Susanoo he controlled. "This village is swimming in money now, what's a little building damage?"

This was the northern side anyway, far from Uchiha territory.

Too bad the Senju clan was gone, or he'd have taken a few swings at their old compound too.

Speaking of which, the fact that those two clans, once sworn enemies, had actually allied, it still felt surreal. Sure, both were war-weary, but the support of the two clan leaders was key to the alliance.

Complementary in strengths and weaknesses, the Senju and Uchiha swept through the land like a storm once united, unstoppable, and together, they built Konoha.

Looking at his old friend standing on the wooden golem's shoulder, Madara's eyes briefly flickered with complex emotion, but only for a moment.

He was sure now: the Senju brothers had stayed behind just to keep an eye on him.

Right now, the Uchiha were gaining dominance in Konoha, and this generation was their golden age, totally led by the Uchiha.

If it weren't for the Senju brothers, Konoha wouldn't have much left that could stand in his way.

And that... that was why Hashirama's attitude made Madara furious.

We're already dead, and you still won't acknowledge me? You still think that ridiculous dream of yours was right?

He was on the verge of storming into Konoha. There were two tailed beasts just sitting there, after all. But he glanced toward the outer edge of the forest. There, another pair of Rinnegan eyes was watching. And he hadn't truly been resurrected yet, his strength had not returned to its peak.

For people like them, even a one-percent difference in power could be decisive.

Moreover, Setsuna's time was running out, just a few days left.

Thinking of that, the rage in his heart calmed significantly.

"Hashirama," he said as his Susanoo raised its blade in both hands, assuming a ready stance for a downward strike. "Take this blow from me, and we'll call it even."

As he spoke, his eyes surged with growing ocular power, and something began to change.

The signature pattern of the Mangekyō Sharingan vanished.

The explosive surge of ocular power broke through the limits and stepped into a new realm.

A pair of Rinnegan appeared in his eye sockets.

In his Edo Tensei state, this strike would be his full power.

On the other side, Hashirama could also sense that this strike was extraordinary.

Madara wasn't aiming at the village, but in that direction stood a mountain range… and Hokage Rock was carved into the mountainside.

Technically, he should respond with the Quintuple Rashōmon, but being in Edo Tensei, he had no blood to offer the technique.

Hashirama brought his hands together, and Sage Mode markings emerged on his face.

True Several Thousand Hands was, in essence, a supercharged version of the Wood Human Technique, chakra pushed to its absolute limit.

But since his power was restricted in Edo Tensei, he couldn't bring out Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands at full scale.

Still, summoning a super wooden golem was no problem.

Clap!

As the sound of his palms echoed, Hashirama shouted, "Come on, Madara!"

One by one, wooden figures and dragons gathered in front of him.

Madara's expression twisted slightly, becoming fierce.

His Susanoo raised the massive sword high above its head, then brought it down with terrifying force.

This slash cut through everything.

Blue chakra erupted into a blinding flash, and the mere motion of the Perfect Susanoo's arms created a hurricane.

The brilliance painted everything around in blue and white. The wooden dragons were too light, the blade hadn't even landed yet, and they were already swept up by the wind, crashing straight into the Susanoo's blade.

They shattered instantly on contact.

Next came the wooden golems.

These golems had previously fought evenly with weaker versions of Susanoo, but now, they fared no better than the dragons.

It was like slicing paper, when the blade's light flared, it was already inches from Hashirama's face.

In his vision, light flooded from all directions, and from dead ahead, a radiant beam of light came crashing down.

But his jutsu was finally complete.

A super-sized wooden golem, far larger than any he'd summoned before, nearly rivaling the scale of True Several Thousand Hands, rose from the earth. Its hands formed the classic "bare-handed blade catch" pose, ready to receive Madara's mountain-splitting strike.

At the same time, layers of wooden armor stacked atop the golem's body, one over another, thick and dense.

For a brief instant, the Susanoo's sword paused on impact, but that was the final moment of resistance.

With even greater force, it shattered the golem's palms, slicing through half its body, and continued onward hurtling toward the mountains.

And there, another full-body Susanoo rose to its feet.

Masashi didn't hesitate in the slightest. With full force, he swung his blade to meet the oncoming slash.

As a mere sideline referee he now had to put in this much effort?

Unbelievable.