Chapter 208
Just as Kaito was preparing to forcibly break through this wooden barrier, he suddenly felt an even stronger surge of chakra.
This chakra fluctuation slightly changed his expression, because he saw the trees starting to transform!
"Wood Release: Flowering Tree World Descent!"
Hidden behind the wooden wall, Senju Hashirama formed seals with both hands, now fully restored.
Immense chakra swirled wildly within his body, and vines tens of meters long sprouted from the ground, even more magnificent and grandiose than the previous Tree World Descent!
The moment plants bursting with flower buds soared into the sky, the forest initially formed by the Tree World Descent once again expanded vastly.
The flames spreading atop the trees were rapidly absorbed, leaving nothing behind. The lush forest appeared harmonious, yet so perilous!
Seeing this, Kaito's expression slightly shifted. With the appearance of the Flowering Tree World Descent, he knew this situation was getting tricky.
Yet such complications only further ignited Kaito's competitive spirit.
He voluntarily escalated this battle, intertwining it with belief, solely to genuinely engage with a serious Hashirama.
He needed such a fight, such an opponent, and to understand how the man who defeated Uchiha Madara did it.
Even if Hashirama wasn't at his peak now, Kaito too was continually growing.
"Such an opponent makes things much more interesting!"
Kaito silently mused, while the trees kept expanding.
The next second, they once again extended thick vines to entwine around the limbs of Kaito's Susanoo, binding even tighter this time.
Kaito, frowning, controlled his Susanoo to try to break free, yet the vines didn't snap under Susanoo's immense force.
On the contrary, they kept tightening, and these vines began absorbing chakra from Kaito's Susanoo.
At this moment, several more robust vines broke out of the ground.
They madly wrapped around Susanoo in an instant, and within a mere breath, Susanoo's giant-like body was tightly bound, resembling a colossal rice dumpling.
The vines grew tighter and tighter, to the point where even Susanoo's skeletal frame started to creak audibly.
And as the vines continued to absorb chakra, Kaito found that his Susanoo seemed to be shrinking in size.
"We can't go on like this."
Kaito murmured silently, as a bizarre surge of chakra began to ripple within him.
"From the looks of it, the second-stage Susanoo can't pose much of a threat to Senju Hashirama.
So..."
Suddenly, a roaring sound emanated from the chakra within Kaito.
A deep blue chakra glow constantly rippled around him, as strange armor began to manifest and solidify onto his body.
Moreover, the power of the Susanoo kept increasing, and its strength kept expanding.
Not only that, Kaito began to harness a new power, a power he hadn't used before but was exceptionally fitting for his current state!
And this power naturally could act upon Susanoo, allowing Susanoo to possess the even mightier fighting capability of 'Great Annihilation'.
Having acquired this ability, Kaito never had the chance to use it before.
Leaving aside the fact that he hadn't faced many battles for a while, common foes couldn't even force out his Susanoo, so how could he use this ability?
But now, it's the moment to test the effectiveness of this power!
"Such chakra..."
With hands clasped, Senju Hashirama remained hidden behind the wooden wall, intently controlling the Flowering Tree World Descent technique.
But at that moment, he felt a surge of chakra so formidable that it slightly shook him.
This chakra was filled with a malevolent aura, so cold and utterly destructive.
With the appearance of such power, Hashirama instantly recognized that Kaito was surely enhancing the strength of his Susanoo!
Having battled with Uchiha Madara for a lifetime, Hashirama was very familiar with the Susanoo technique.
He knew that the technique had several stages, from the initial protection of just a ribcage around the user to the final, sky-blocking, even flying, colossal giant.
Senju Hashirama had witnessed almost every stage of the Susanoo, even having battled against them.
The intensity of the chakra now erupting from Kaito made Hashirama wonder which stage of Susanoo it could be.
"The third stage? Doesn't seem like it, because the chakra of the third stage Susanoo isn't this strong.
However, this level of chakra intensity also hasn't reached the fourth stage, and if it truly was the fourth stage..."
Hashirama slightly raised his head to look upwards, evidently seeing nothing of note.
The fourth stage of the Susanoo had legs, and although it lacked the armor protection of the third stage, it possessed unparalleled agility! Such agility transformed the Susanoo from a stationary attacking and defensive technique into a strategic one capable of swift assaults.
Yet Kaito's chakra intensity at this moment seemed to fall short, and there was another thing Hashirama noticed.
"His eyes haven't undergone the transformation like Madara's."
In Hashirama's memory, Uchiha Madara utilized the fourth stage of Susanoo after obtaining his brother's eyes.
Merely recalling that scene made Hashirama sigh.
The death of Uchiha Izuna was truly a tragedy, but it was an unavoidable one.
Furthermore, with Izuna's death, Madara gained an even more terrifying and potent power: the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan!
Hashirama could never forget the intensity of those eyes. Only after acquiring them did the Susanoo undergo a complete metamorphosis.
Now, Kaito's eyes remained in the Mangekyō state, something Hashirama could discern clearly.
Without reaching that milestone, it was evident one couldn't utilize the fourth stage of Susanoo, let alone the even more formidable fifth and sixth stages.
What puzzled him, however, was that the chakra intensity emanating from Kaito's eyes seemed even stronger than Madara's back in the day.
"This young man, does he truly possess the potential to surpass Madara?"
Hashirama pondered silently, and equally troubled was Senju Tobirama, who was on the periphery.
He too felt this surge in chakra intensity, and such power genuinely made him furrow his brow.
Such power was unsettling, and it also intensified the murderous intent within Senju Tobirama.
Uchiha Madara was undoubtedly the person he despised the most and the one he least wanted to encounter. Even though he was aware of his elder brother's deep bond with Madara, it didn't mean he felt the same way!
In his view, Uchiha Madara was a full-blown ambitious schemer, undoubtedly someone who would destroy the Hidden Leaf Village.
Especially if someone like him took control of the Leaf, he would certainly drag it into an abyss!
Yes, Tobirama did support Madara's vision to unify the ninja world, but that was when there weren't so many ninja villages around.
After the establishment of these villages, he believed that it was no longer feasible.
The fact that the man before him still held such intentions at this stage was not a good sign at all.
Besides, Tobirama never believed that the Uchiha clan was fit to govern the village. This group of madmen and warmongers would only incessantly seek battle and destruction!
Thinking of this, Tobirama's chakra began to stir subtly.
The other Mangekyō hadn't made a move yet and had been constantly protecting the black-haired girl.
While this seemed strange to him, it also presented an opportunity.
An opportunity to join forces with his elder brother to defeat, or even kill, this new generation Uchiha Madara!
"It seems you can't hold back anymore."
Orochimaru stood next to Tobirama. The moment he sensed Tobirama's intentions, he had already assumed a hand seal stance.
"You're trying to stop me?" Tobirama glanced at Orochimaru, asking in an utterly indifferent tone.
"Of course not, I'm merely taking necessary precautions."
Orochimaru chuckled lightly, licking his lips as he spoke casually.
"After all, I was the one who summoned you. I am well aware of your capabilities.
The Second Hokage, in his current state, can use the Flying Thunder God Technique. So, no matter what, I must be extremely cautious.
However, does the Second Hokage truly intend to get involved in this battle?"
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