Chapter 323: Madara and Hashirama vs. Gengetsu
Whoosh! Whoosh!
As soon as they entered his attack range, two Truth-Seeking Balls shot toward Hashirama and Madara, controlled by Hagoromo Gengetsu.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Madara extended his hand, and with a mere thought, his Rinnegan unleashed a powerful repulsive force. The Truth-Seeking Balls briefly halted and began to reverse course, heading back towards Gengetsu. However, Gengetsu's own Rinnegan flared to life, releasing an opposing Shinra Tensei.
The two invisible forces clashed violently in the air. After just a few moments, Madara’s repulsion was overpowered, and the Truth-Seeking Balls sped up, hurling back towards the duo with even greater force.
Madara’s eyes narrowed in irritation. If only the true Rinnegan were still his...
A moment later, the two Truth-Seeking Balls struck both Madara and Hashirama. However, their expressions remained unchanged as their bodies instantly transformed into wooden logs, the real figures slipping out from behind the wooden replacements, continuing their charge toward Gengetsu.
The two missed Truth-Seeking Balls began to turn back, but wooden tendrils extended from the logs, wrapping around the orbs, slowing their return.
Gengetsu observed all this with a calm demeanor.
Before Hashirama and Madara could close the distance, Madara quickly clasped his hands together, and with a substantial expenditure of chakra, two black spheres resembling Truth-Seeking Balls materialized in front of him. He hurled them at Gengetsu, and they flew rapidly to his sides, unleashing a powerful gravitational pull, akin to black holes.
Gengetsu remained unaffected, but the two Truth-Seeking Balls behind him wavered under the influence of the jutsu, slowly drifting toward the dark orbs.
Despite the years apart, Hashirama’s battle instincts were as sharp as ever.
"Sage Art: Gate of the Great God!"
The moment Madara's Deva Path powers unleashed the gravitational force, Hashirama clapped his hands together. One by one, massive crimson torii gates, imbued with powerful sealing energy, descended from the sky, crashing down towards Gengetsu.
Even now, Gengetsu couldn’t take lightly a combination of sage arts and sealing techniques like this. With the ground beneath him fracturing under the force of the Deva Path, he quickly summoned a dragon made of earth to carry him backward, avoiding the descending gates.
Madara and Hashirama burst forward at maximum speed, charging towards Gengetsu, who no longer had the Truth-Seeking Balls at his side. During their approach, Madara attempted to pull Gengetsu closer with Bansho Ten’in, only for it to be met with an identical counter from Gengetsu.
“You think that just because my Truth-Seeking Balls are not with me, I’m defenseless?”
As Gengetsu dodged the falling torii gates, he noticed that Hashirama and Madara were closing in from either side, intending to flank him. He recalled the last time someone underestimated him this way; it had been Naruto and the Great Toad Sage.
Gengetsu cracked his neck, the joints popping audibly.
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Release Song Technique!"
As Madara drew closer, he quickly weaved hand signs and unleashed four streams of searing dragon-shaped flames. Each dragon targeted Gengetsu from a different direction—above, below, left, and right—ensuring there was no escape.
Fully aware of this jutsu’s properties, Gengetsu slowed his pace, letting the dragons reach him, and then unleashed a sealing technique to absorb them.
“This is the moment!”
Taking advantage of the fire’s distraction, Hashirama appeared at Gengetsu’s side, aiming a powerful punch directly at his temple. Despite the speed of the attack, Gengetsu was even faster.
Boom!
The sound of air being shattered echoed loudly as Hashirama’s eyes widened, his fist striking empty space. As his body followed the momentum forward, he suddenly felt a sharp pain.
Thud!
A stabbing noise rang out, and before Hashirama could react, a black rod pierced through his back.
When Hashirama lunged, Gengetsu had abruptly halted his absorption technique, using the momentum to vanish and reappear behind Hashirama at lightning speed. Now, as small flames still flickered across his body from the earlier technique, Gengetsu showed no emotion, firmly gripping the black rod and driving it into Hashirama’s back. Like a cursed seed, the rod sprouted dozens of thorns inside Hashirama, disrupting most of his chakra pathways.
Hashirama froze, unable to move.
Before Gengetsu could finish him off, another Shinra Tensei from Madara surged forward, though it was quickly negated by an equal force from Gengetsu. However, the shockwave pushed Hashirama’s limp form away, and several wood tendrils pulled him back to Madara’s side.
Madara yanked the black rod out of Hashirama’s back with a smirk. “Hashirama, I’ve never seen you get taken down so quickly.”
As his chest began to heal, patching itself together with the aid of his cells, Hashirama scratched his head with a sheepish grin. “Gengetsu’s strength is overwhelming in every aspect. Even if we fight him with taijutsu, it’s likely we won’t stand a chance, even together.”
Madara’s expression turned serious as he eyed Gengetsu. The residual flames had now been fully absorbed by his sealing technique, and any minor injuries had already healed.
“He’s even mastered Hashirama’s unmarked healing.”
Madara knew that this battle was going to be far from easy, yet the Eye of the Moon Plan couldn’t be allowed to fall into anyone else’s hands.
Just then, a sharp whistling sound filled the air. Both Hashirama and Madara leaped aside as they looked back to see the four Truth-Seeking Balls breaking free from their constraints and flying back to Gengetsu’s side.
Seeing this, Madara’s voice was calm. “It seems we’re left with no choice but to use our strongest techniques.”
Even if they could restrain the Truth-Seeking Balls again, the earlier events proved it was ultimately futile. Now, they had no other option but to go all out.
For Hashirama, it would be the final stand. For Madara, it was not yet over.
“Black Zetsu...”
Madara’s thoughts flickered briefly. Hidden away from both Gengetsu and himself, Black Zetsu awaited his moment. Thanks to Black Zetsu’s stealth and his ability to meld into surfaces, Madara had one last contingency plan.
If Black Zetsu could bind Gengetsu even for a fraction of a second, Madara would reclaim his Rinnegan. Once he had that, the Eye of the Moon Plan would be back under his control, and he would truly return to life.
Madara knew he had to buy time for Black Zetsu.
“Let’s do this, Hashirama!”
As Gengetsu started moving toward them, Madara quickly said.
Hashirama nodded, clapping his hands together.
“Wood Release: Wood Human Technique!”
A vast amount of sage chakra surged forth, causing a small sapling at Hashirama’s side to rapidly grow into an enormous wooden warrior, towering far above even the tailed beasts.
Following close behind, Madara’s eyes darted across the wooden warrior. In an instant, a fully formed Susanoo manifested, encasing the wood human in a massive suit of armor.
Hashirama and Madara stood atop the armored wood human, their gazes fixed on Gengetsu, who continued his approach, undeterred.
Gengetsu looked up and smiled faintly.