Chapter 12

Clang, clang, clang...

The continuous sound of metal clashing echoed as Gensou and Hashirama transformed into two black streaks, colliding and intertwining at speeds difficult for the naked eye to follow atop the heads of the Wood Giant and the Flame God.

Deflecting Hashirama's incoming punch with one hand, Gensou moved in close, the fingers of his other hand transforming into a blade, slashing towards Hashirama's neck with a sound that seemed to tear through the air.

Hashirama leaned his upper body backward, narrowly dodging the hand blade, and then swept his right leg upwards like a whip.

Gensou raised his arm to block, but Hashirama's monstrous strength burst forth like a flood.

Crack, crack.

The Steel Release, known for its defense, finally gave out after enduring multiple blows from Hashirama's immense strength, emitting a shattering sound.

Blood splattered.

Ignoring his injuries, Gensou used Hashirama's force to propel himself, appearing beside him in an instant.

Boom!

Caught off guard, Hashirama was kicked away.

Gensou followed up quickly, gripping Hashirama's arms with both hands, and using the Dark Release to rapidly absorb his chakra.

Hashirama trembled slightly, but quickly recovered, ramming into Gensou with force.

Not being greedy, Gensou twisted his waist, leveraging his strength to throw Hashirama away.

Sizzle~~

The chakra absorbed from Hashirama started to work within Gensou's body.

In the blink of an eye, the wounds that had just bled were fully healed.

"As expected of Hashirama, and this is just his regular chakra. If it were Sage chakra, the effect would be even more pronounced."

Gensou glanced at Hashirama, who had stabilized himself not far away and seemed unscathed, and sighed inwardly.

Of course, if it were Sage chakra, he wouldn't dare to absorb it.

While Dark Release was impressive, it couldn't compare to the Rinnegan.

The Rinnegan could absorb Sage chakra without issue, but the Dark Release would cause one's body to be destroyed by the rampant natural energy if absorbed.

Additionally, despite absorbing a large amount of chakra from Hashirama, which would leave anyone else severely weakened, Hashirama remained as vigorous as ever.

For Hashirama, what was a large amount of chakra to others was just a drop in the bucket. His lost chakra was replenished quickly.

"The Sage Body is truly cheating."

Seeing Hashirama charging at him with undiminished vigor, Gensou sighed, his eyes sharpening as he rushed to meet him.

The grand battle continued.

The Flame God and the Wood Giant, resembling deities and demons in a mythical era, clashed fiercely with simple punches and kicks, yet each strike was intensely dangerous and destructive, turning the surrounding landscape upside down.

The battle between Gensou and Hashirama didn't stop either.

As time passed, their battlefield extended from the heads of the two giants to the pockmarked plains below.

"Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees!"

Hashirama unleashed his signature jutsu once more.

Though Gensou was now panting heavily, he responded swiftly and skillfully.

Seeing that the Advent of a World of Flowering Trees couldn't subdue Gensou, Hashirama crossed his fingers and shouted again:

"Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees!"

Vines rapidly grew out.

Among them, giant flowers, larger than houses, rose up, their petals closed.

Seeing the giant flowers about to bloom, Gensou's expression changed dramatically.

Once the flowers bloomed, their pollen would be released, causing anyone who inhaled it to faint.

Both Madara during the Warring States period and the Five Kage in the future knew this well.

"I can't let these flowers bloom."

Gensou's expression hardened, and he pressed his hands together in front of him.

"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"

A semi-transparent cube appeared in Gensou's hands.

With a push, the fist-sized cube rapidly expanded, enveloping the entire World of Flowering Trees.

There was no explosion, no tremor.

As if an eraser had wiped a blackboard clean, a blinding white light flashed, and the vast World of Flowering Trees vanished without a trace, leaving only a cracked, dry land.

Time seemed to freeze.

Outside the battlefield, this time it was Tobirama's turn to look deeply at the future Second Tsuchikage, Mu.

Not only him, but everyone present, including the First Tsuchikage, Ishikawa, turned to Mu after witnessing the devastating white light from Gensou's hand.

Dust Release.

Before this, Mu was the only one in the entire ninja world who could use it.

Mu, who had also been shocked into silence, saw himself become the center of attention and could only smile wryly and shake his head.

"It's not surprising for someone who can develop so many Kekkei Genkai to also develop Dust Release."

"His Dust Release is far superior to mine."

Though Mu had developed Dust Release, its power was far less than what Gensou had just demonstrated.

Despite the shock, his heart was full of admiration and longing.

Mu's explanation was accepted by everyone.

There was no way he could have personally taught Gensou.

But this deepened everyone's impression of Gensou's talent.

Ranking by the word "blood," Bloodline Selection was above Bloodline Elimination, which was above Kekkei Genkai.

Gensou had not achieved Bloodline Selection, but after developing so many Kekkei Genkai, he had mastered Bloodline Elimination.

After all, if Mu and Onoki could master Bloodline Elimination, how could Gensou, with his superior talent, not?

This was the most powerful jutsu he had mastered so far.

Combining everything, Gensou's power was fully demonstrated.

Even with other miscellaneous abilities and secret techniques, they would not have much effect against the formidable Hashirama.

"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"

Another conical semi-transparent barrier shot out from Gensou's hand, aimed directly at Hashirama not far away.

Knowing its immense power, Hashirama didn't try to block it. He leaped away swiftly.

Though he dodged, the massive Wood Giant behind him couldn't.

Under Gensou's precise aim, the Dust Release engulfed the Wood Giant's head in white light.

Without any resistance, the Wood Giant's head disintegrated into atomic particles.

"Strike while the iron is hot."

The Flame God roared, steam billowing from its body, and its six arms exerted force.

In the end, the headless Wood Giant collapsed and couldn't rise again.

(End of Chapter)