Hashirama was well aware that for people like him, power had reached its ceiling, and further progress would demand unimaginable time and effort.
Madara had been the same back then.
But Gensou was different.
The youngest and most gifted of the three, Gensou's strength was already formidable, yet he showed no signs of slowing down.
Hashirama deeply felt this reality.
The last time they met, when he faced Gensou alongside the other three Hokage, Gensou's strength had already surpassed what he showed during the Valley of the End, with new powers like Yin Seals and black rods.
And this time, he had Sage Mode.
It was impossible to imagine what new abilities Gensou might unveil the next time they met.
Hashirama knew, even with the challenges of advancing further, that Gensou was unlikely to stagnate.
To others, the term "god among men" referred to Hashirama himself as the "God of Shinobi."
But in Hashirama's view, Gensou was a figure with boundless potential, one who could stand shoulder-to-shoulder not with himself, but with true divinity.
Back then, their battle at the Valley of the End had interrupted Gensou's momentum.
Now, there was no one left to stop him from shining in his full brilliance.
Hashirama looked at Gensou, watching as he easily dismantled his Wood Release, his old rival moving toward him with a calm expression.
Hashirama set aside his musings, feeling an old, familiar urge to fight.
Though his Edo Tensei body couldn't use his full strength, it was more powerful than it had been during the Chunin Exams or the Shinigami Summoning.
"Sage Art!"
Hashirama clapped his hands, and the familiar sage markings appeared on his face.
In the next moment, he and Gensou exchanged a look.
No further words were needed.
Hashirama attacked without hesitation: "Sage Art: Gate of the Great God!"
Multiple red torii gates descended from above, targeting Gensou.
Gensou looked up briefly.
"Sage Art: Storm Release Laser Circus!"
Beams of Storm Release shot out from behind him, fanning out like a peacock's tail to intercept and destroy each of the descending torii gates.
Hashirama observed this but had no time to act.
Gensou didn't give him a chance.
"Bansho Ten'in!"
With sage chakra enhancing it, the gravitational pull of Bansho Ten'in had the force of a black hole, far stronger than before.
Hashirama was pulled toward Gensou's outstretched hand before he could clap his hands again.
"Rinnegan…"
Hashirama's mind flashed to Madara.
Compared to the Sharingan, with which he was very familiar, the Rinnegan was even more overwhelming.
Hashirama decided not to waste energy resisting Bansho Ten'in.
As they drew closer, Hashirama's eyes sharpened, preparing to release his full sage chakra.
Gensou smirked and threw his hand downward.
Boom!
Hashirama's body was slammed into the ground, creating a large crater.
Gensou moved into the crater, hand outstretched to finish him off.
Suddenly, vines and tree branches erupted from the ground, wrapping tightly around Gensou.
Before they could do more, a deafening explosion rang out.
In an instant, Gensou's clone detonated, destroying the vines and sending Hashirama flying backward.
At the same time, the real Gensou appeared beside Hashirama, grabbing him by the neck, ready to send him back.
Abruptly, Hashirama's body transformed into a wooden decoy, while his real self emerged from the other side of it.
Gensou tossed the wooden clone aside, pivoted, and unleashed a powerful punch towards Hashirama.
Hashirama met the attack head-on, throwing a punch of his own.
In the next moment—
Everything around them froze.
Then, a massive shockwave erupted.
With a deafening sound and earth-shaking tremor, the ground beneath them collapsed, while dense waves of energy rolled outward in thick clouds of smoke and dust.
Nearby, Orochimaru, who had barely freed himself from Gensou's Sage Art: Frozen Impact Technique, was blown backward by the sheer force of their clash.
By the time he managed to steady himself and look forward, he found he could barely make out the movements of the two combatants engaged in close combat.
All he could sense was the deafening roar of their strikes, and the overwhelming force of each blow, rivaling the power of an S-rank jutsu.
For what felt like an eternity, the ground quaked, space distorted, and even the thick cloud cover above was cleared by the rising waves of pressure, revealing a bright blue sky.
Witnessing this apocalyptic scene created by just two individuals, Orochimaru was shaken to his core, much like the Second Mizukage and others who had witnessed the battle at the Valley of the End.
"This is the true power of the God of Shinobi and a man who stands beside the divine?"
"Is this… really something a human can achieve?"
Orochimaru felt a deep despair.
Though he prided himself on his brilliance and mastery of numerous jutsu and forbidden techniques, he realized that in the face of these two, he was utterly insignificant.
"Senju… Gensou…"
Orochimaru had always considered himself not far from Gensou in talent, yet the gap was immense.
The answer was simple:
Bloodline.
Some people were born in Rome, while others would spend a lifetime struggling to reach it.
Ninja were no different.
Through countless experiments, Orochimaru had concluded that every ninja had a limit to their potential.
No matter how gifted or hardworking, a person's body and bloodline set a cap on their growth.
Just as common ninja often had less chakra than those born into clans, the oldest clans—Senju, Uchiha, Uzumaki—produced shinobi with more chakra than clans like Sarutobi, Shimura, and the Ino-Shika-Cho.
It wasn't just chakra. In all aspects, the advantages of ancient bloodlines were undeniable.
Orochimaru didn't know the full story of Otsutsuki Hagoromo or his sons, but he understood that clans like the Uchiha, Senju, and Gensou's own had inherited an exceptional bloodline, one that placed them on a different plane altogether.
The emergence of Madara Uchiha, Hashirama Senju, and Gensou was proof of this.
As someone born of common blood, Orochimaru envied it deeply.
He had every means to ascend, but an invisible ceiling held him back.
Throughout ninja history, the main players were always descendants of the Sage of Six Paths.
That was why Orochimaru coveted Sasuke so much.
For someone as ambitious as him, it was unacceptable to remain beneath others.
(End of Chapter)
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