Chapter 173: The True Trump Card — The Slug Sage

After Yuto and Madara smashed the meteor to pieces, both of their gazes fell onto Hashirama at the same time.

“Long time no see, Hashirama!”

With a faint, indistinct smile on his face, Yuto stood atop the giant-form Kongō Fūsa (Adamantine Sealing Chains), looking down at Hashirama below.

“Hashirama… last time, I lost to you. But this time, you’re not my opponent anymore.”

Madara also stared down from above, his tone flat as he looked at Hashirama beneath him.

Those eyes—

Only now did Hashirama realize that Madara’s eyes were no longer the Mangekyō Sharingan he remembered.

They were the legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths—the Rinnegan.

Hashirama’s heart jolted, his body tensing in an instant.

“Our grudge ends today. Completely.”

Madara’s voice drifted over, low and eerie.

“Madara! Why are you teaming up with Yuto? You know what his goal is!”

“Konoha is something the two of us built together!”

Hashirama shouted again, and there was a sliver of hope in his voice.

“The Konoha of today isn’t the Konoha of the past. And you and I… aren’t what we were either.”

Madara looked down at Hashirama and answered calmly.

“Don’t waste your breath, Hashirama. Today, we’re here to erase Konoha from the board—completely.”

Yuto’s indifferent voice reached Hashirama’s ears.

Hashirama stood straight, fists clenched, staring at Madara and Yuto as he roared in fury:

“Yuto! Madara! What the hell are you two doing?!”

“Senpō: Mokuton: Shinsū Senju (Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands)!!”

Hashirama let out a thunderous shout. With booming rumbles, a gigantic Kannon statue rose from the earth.

Standing atop the statue’s head, Hashirama locked eyes with the two of them, his voice sinking low.

“Have you really decided to stand against the entire shinobi world… and against justice itself?!”

Justice?

The moment he heard those words, Madara suddenly burst into laughter, brimming with scorn and ridicule.

“You’re still that naïve, Hashirama.”

“This shinobi world has never needed justice. What it needs… is rebirth through destruction!”

As Madara’s voice rang out, Hashirama’s eyes widened, disbelief written across his face.

Yuto glanced at Madara. He didn’t agree with Madara’s so-called “rebirth through destruction,” but for now, the two of them at least shared the same destination on the main road.

Whether it was destruction or absolute unification, both required overwhelming force to back it.

Of course, if you wanted true unification, you’d also need manpower—something that was ultimately the core of the rift between Yuto and Madara.

The two of them were destined to fight one day.

They just hadn’t said it out loud.

Yuto pulled his gaze back from Madara. When he looked at Hashirama again, the mockery in his eyes was just as clear, his voice quiet and cold.

“Do you still not understand, Hashirama? The peace you insist on… is wrong.”

“From the founding of the Five Great Villages until now, it’s only been sixty years.”

Yuto paused slightly, watching the stunned look on Hashirama’s face before continuing.

“And in that short span… three Great Ninja Wars have already erupted.”

Then, as Yuto’s voice settled into the air, everything went unnaturally quiet.

“Since your theory of peace is wrong… then let the entire shinobi world welcome my peace.”

Hashirama’s face tightened with bitterness. Just as Yuto said—had the peace he’d risked everything to protect really been a mistake?

But the instant hesitation surfaced, it vanished.

At their level, each of them possessed an will far beyond ordinary steadfastness.

Trying to shake someone’s resolve with words alone was nearly impossible.

Hashirama slowly raised his head, staring straight into Yuto’s eyes as he spoke with firm conviction.

“Maybe my peace was wrong… but as shinobi of the old era, this new era doesn’t need us.”

“As figures who already died once… we should stay where we belong—inside the history of the shinobi world.”

As he said that, a fierce killing intent erupted from Hashirama’s body.

He clasped his hands together and shouted:

“Chōjō Keb—”

Before his jutsu could fully activate, Hashirama suddenly spat a mouthful of blood. A mysterious force struck him—like a kick—and sent him flying off the top of Shinsū Senju (True Several Thousand Hands).

On the other side, Madara’s eyes gleamed with an eerie, special light.

“Rinbo: Hengoku (Limbo: Border Jail)!”

In Madara’s vision, one of his “shadows” had already appeared atop Shinsū Senju (True Several Thousand Hands).

And Hashirama hadn’t noticed a thing.

Naturally, with no guard up at all, Hashirama took the blow head-on.

After Hashirama was kicked away, Shinsū Senju (True Several Thousand Hands), no longer under his control, froze in place.

At that moment, Yuto controlled the giant-form Kongō Fūsa (Adamantine Sealing Chains) and, in just a few strides, arrived in front of the immobile Shinsū Senju (True Several Thousand Hands).

Boom! Boom!

In an instant, dozens of heavy strikes smashed into Shinsū Senju (True Several Thousand Hands) all at once.

Crack! Crack!

A chain of shattering sounds rang out. In only a short time, Shinsū Senju (True Several Thousand Hands) was beaten into powder by Yuto.

Hashirama’s face had gone pale, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth and dripping to the ground.

“I told you. You’re not my opponent anymore.”

“And with the two of us working together, you have no chance at all.”

Madara stared at Hashirama below, expression calm.

Yuto wore a faint smile as well, looking down at him.

Hearing Madara’s words, Hashirama suddenly laughed.

“If I have no chance at all… then why are the two of you still teaming up?”

“Obviously, there’s something you’re worried about. Something you’re wary of.”

As he spoke, Hashirama brought the massive scroll behind him across his chest.

“Aren’t you curious why my life force back then… ended so suddenly?”

“What you’re afraid of is inside this scroll.”

Hashirama wiped the blood from his lips, his voice steady.

Yuto and Madara both looked toward the enormous scroll in front of Hashirama.

Both of them frowned slightly.

They didn’t know what was inside—but neither of them felt any sense of danger.

At their level, anything capable of threatening them should be something they could sense.

Yet right now… there was nothing.

“So it’s in the scroll.”

Madara raised an eyebrow slightly. He’d thought Hashirama’s hidden move was concealed elsewhere, not simply inside a scroll.

“A scroll, huh? Fine. Move!”

Yuto clicked his tongue—and moved.

At the same time Yuto moved, Madara also controlled his shadow, sending it charging toward the scroll in front of Hashirama.

Hashirama couldn’t see the shadow, but he knew this had to be some special technique.

He retreated rapidly, constantly shifting positions as he backed away.

“Curious why this scroll doesn’t feel dangerous to you?”

“That’s because inside it is nothing more than a vast amount of my chakra and life force… and one simple summoning technique.”

As Hashirama said that, a solemn look appeared on his face.

He reached out, yanked the scroll open, and slammed it onto the ground.

“I used all the chakra and life force I had in my past life… for the sake of this one summon!”

Hashirama’s hands flew through seals, and he pressed down on the scroll, speaking with reverence and gravity:

“Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)—Katsuyu Sennin (Slug Sage)!!”

BOOM!!!!

In the next instant, a sea of white smoke surged up before Yuto and Madara, blotting out the sky.

A great terror—

An indescribable sense of dread abruptly rose in both Yuto and Madara’s hearts!