Chapter 205

Kaito said with a hint of helplessness, causing both Hokages to frown. But what Kaito added next left them speechless.

"Oh, by the way, I was the one who killed his son."

"You killed his son, and that's why he declared war on Konoha?"

Hashirama massaged his brow, feeling that the situation was hard to judge.

"But why did you have to kill him?"

"Instead of asking me why I killed him, why don't you ask yourself why you initially refused Uchiha Madara's idea to unify the shinobi world?"

Kaito didn't mince words. He didn't answer Hashirama's question, instead countering with his own.

His words caused a slight change in Hashirama's expression, while Tobirama remained silent. 

Tobirama's disdain for Uchiha Madara was well-known, but he strongly agreed with Madara on one thing: unifying the shinobi world! However, Tobirama couldn't express this openly, as his elder brother firmly believed that peace had already arrived.

Had he not intervened back then, his elder brother might have given away all the tailed beasts!

"I truly don't understand why you believe that establishing a ninja village symbolizes the arrival of peace," Kaito said, his expression changing as he spoke.

"When the family-based system ended, replaced by village-based armed forces, did you consider the extent of their combat power? I've read reports. The conflicts during your time were just small-scale, low-intensity skirmishes. Back then, you only had to consider vendettas and the interests that could sustain a clan. 

But when a shinobi village is established, you have to consider the collective interests of the entire village and the livelihood of all its inhabitants.

A village needs to expand to develop. Konoha might not have this concern, but what about other villages?

Expansion will lead to wars, and these wars orchestrated by shinobi villages are on a massive scale. Have you ever imagined the devastation they can cause?

While you were alive, you could dominate the era, so you could see the dawn of peace."

"But to put it bluntly, all you did was force everyone to acknowledge you through might.

And after you died, did you ever ask your younger brother what exactly happened?

Is this what you call 'peace'?"

Kaito's continuous questioning caused Hashirama's face to darken, and his fist began to tighten slightly.

The only other person who ever doubted him, and said words of similar intensity, was Uchiha Madara!

Now once again faced with such a situation, how could he feel at ease inside? 

He wanted to retort, "If you hadn't killed that guy, wouldn't everything be fine?" 

But he couldn't voice these words. During missions, it was either kill or be killed. His own hands were stained with blood; how could he possibly utter such words? 

He silently looked at Kaito, and after a while, he sighed softly, "Indeed, you really do resemble Madara, both in strength and in thought."

"But I am not him because I don't have someone like you standing in my way."

Kaito slowly spoke as chakra began to surge within him.

"Come on, let me see your conviction. Even though I know that compared to you in your prime, I'm nowhere close. 

But I still want to see what a person highly regarded by Uchiha Madara is truly like."

"I really don't want to fight you because I always believed the dead shouldn't intervene in the affairs of the living."

Hashirama sighed softly, but in the next moment, his expression became stern, and his tone turned serious.

Forming a hand seal and pressing it to the ground, a massive sword materialized. He lifted the heavy sword effortlessly with one hand.

"However, since you want to see me at my earnest, I won't disappoint you.

You say I'm wrong, but this is my conviction. This is a clash of beliefs.

Be careful. This time I wield even more power than before. Don't underestimate me!"

Hashirama remained true to himself, even when facing an impending battle, especially one rooted in conflicting beliefs.

Yet, this guy still reminded Kaito of something, perhaps that's just his character.

In the world of "Naruto," many things can actually be let go, even life and death vendettas.

But a clash of beliefs is something that can neither be tolerated nor compromised.

The ultimate confrontation between Uchiha Madara and Hashirama was largely due to their differing convictions.

The two stood silently, and though they hadn't engaged yet, the intense atmosphere made the spectators extremely nervous.

Hashirama's gaze shifted slightly, pondering if he should confront another Uchiha.

But in just a moment, he noticed that Uchiha's eyes had turned into the Mangekyou Sharingan!

This left him taken aback, and he couldn't help but suppress his thoughts. However, he was also filled with doubts and unease.

With such a powerful Uchiha emerging, and more than one Mangekyou Sharingan in play, what was the state of the Senju clan now?

Didn't the Senju clan have anyone capable of opposing these guys?

The two still stood quietly in place, but when the ninja blade in Kaito's hand slightly moved, his momentum suddenly peaked.

Suddenly, his figure vanished.

Ding!

The sound of clashing metal echoed. When they reappeared, they were a full twenty meters away from their original position.

A long knife clashed with a heavy sword, sparking dramatically.

Neither of them was exceptionally fast at this point. After all, it was just the beginning, and neither would go all out so readily.

After all, they had clashed once before and were somewhat familiar with each other.

Moreover, Hashirama was very clear that confronting an Uchiha with an activated Sharingan in hand-to-hand combat was somewhat irrational.

In his prime, he might not have cared about these details, but now things were different.

Even if he had gained strength this time, he was still far from his prime, and he had to be careful.

However, even if Hashirama was far from his prime, his combat skills were still intact.

While constantly clashing blades with Kaito, he was constantly assessing the way Kaito used his power.

After all, Kaito also possessed Yang Release, and his physical constitution was strong, so he wouldn't be at a disadvantage in terms of strength.

Only by determining the level of power Kaito was using could he counter more effectively.

"Now's the time!"

Hashirama's eyes became focused, and he suddenly exerted force. The next moment, his massive heavy sword unleashed a terrifying power when it collided with Kaito's ninja blade!

Caught off guard, Kaito's ninja blade was almost sent flying. The sudden burst of power and the attack it formed might not necessarily be detected even by the Sharingan.

Kaito could see the flow of chakra, the mode and angle of the attack, but not the internal changes in the human body.

Of course, he could see muscle movements, but Hashirama was a reanimated body and was wearing traditional Warring States armor.

Confronted with this blow, Kaito could only step back to dissipate the tremendous force.

But Hashirama was relentless, and with his Body Flicker Technique, he instantly appeared in front of Kaito.

The heavy sword in his hands seemed as light as a feather, slashing down fiercely towards Kaito.

Three tomoe spun in his eyes, and in an instant, he had perceived everything!

Facing the descending blade, Kaito subtly shifted his body to the side.

This slight movement allowed him to narrowly dodge the attack. Without even looking, his ninja blade lashed out.

A cold glint flashed as the ninja blade met the changing trajectory of the heavy sword, and the sound of clashing metal echoed once more.

This engagement, sometimes close and sometimes distant, saw their speeds evidently change, with the sound of clanging metal ever-present.

"Truly impressive."

From a distance, Orochimaru watched the two exchange blows in hand-to-hand combat, involuntarily licking his lips.

He seemed to grow excited, realizing that he might be able to discern Hashirama's power!

Even though Hashirama's current strength isn't all that impressive, he is still Hashirama.

"Such intensity in battle..."

Shisui watched everything quietly while being on guard against Orochimaru and the Second Hokage.

The fight unfolding before him was too captivating to ignore.

Even for him, achieving such speed was not challenging, and he could display such speed in combat whenever he wished.

But the techniques and various countermeasures used by the two during their fight were truly mesmerizing.

Even someone as powerful as Shisui couldn't help but observe with deep attention.

Yaneko, at this moment, was also intently watching everything. For her, this level of combat seemed a bit beyond her grasp.

In previous battles, she could at least discern two shadowy figures clashing.

But now, it had morphed into a very fine shadow, making it impossible for her to see the details of their exchange.

As for Kaito's combat level, Yaneko's understanding wasn't deep.

Even though she had seen many of Kaito's fights, almost every time there were unexpected obstructions, either something blocking her view or she was too far away to see clearly.

This time, being so close to watch Kaito in action, she realized he seemed even more formidable than she had imagined.

After all, Kaito's opponent was the First Hokage who founded Konoha, a legendary figure!

Moreover, she noticed that where the sounds of clashing metal emanated, the ground was cracking inch by inch.

Every time the sound echoed, the ground would crack without exception.

This level truly surpassed Yaneko's expectations. No matter how hard the Nara clans tried, they probably couldn't achieve this.

Yet what made her feel somewhat complicated inside was that Kaito seemed unchanged when with her.

On the other hand, Tobirama seemed very composed. After seeing Shisui being extremely cautious of him, he simply watched his elder brother's performance.

However, while watching, he was always ready to strike. He had long believed that this Uchiha Kaito was the new generation's Uchiha Madara.

He even felt that this Uchiha Kaito might be more troublesome than Uchiha Madara in the future because his physique is incredibly mysterious.

Not only does he possess the power of his elder brother, but the enhancement of his physical attributes is also unbelievably rapid.

If he continues to develop like this, who knows what kind of monster he might become.

But at that moment, a loud bang echoed as if the air itself exploded, and two figures suddenly appeared in the sky before quickly separating.

Kaito stood not far away, looking at Hashirama, reflecting on how much more advanced Hashirama was this time compared to their last encounter.

The Hashirama from before couldn't unleash much of his power due to physical limitations.

His most potent technique was just the Wood Dragon Jutsu, and based solely on physical combat, he couldn't exert much pressure on Kaito.

Aside from that, there was his fighting spirit. That time, he didn't seem very eager to battle with Kaito.

However, this time, not only was his physical performance much stronger, but his combat spirit was also significantly more robust.

As a result, even though he couldn't match Kaito's speed physically, his experience and combat instincts could still hold Kaito back.

Furthermore, this guy's strength was incredibly massive, and his rhythm in controlling power was surprisingly good.

He seemed to know how to evade the observation of the Sharingan, and how to alter the rhythm of his power to put Kaito at a disadvantage.

Perhaps, this is the experience gained from battling Uchiha Madara so often.

"These Senju clan members, not a single one of them is easy to deal with."

Kaito muttered to himself. Meanwhile, his chakra began to gather rapidly.

After fighting with physical techniques for so long, Kaito still doubted he could match Hashirama's intensity.

Moreover, their earlier skirmish could at best be considered a warm-up, so the real battle should now escalate!

In a blink, the three tomoe in his eyes spun, transforming into a Mangekyō pattern.

The pattern in his right eye started to spin rapidly, and a mysterious power began to spread around.

"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"

With the eruption of chakra, in an instant, the stark black and white of the greatly amplified Great Fire Annihilation was spewed out by him.

The raging flames spread far and wide, rushing forward like the descent of celestial fire!

"Such flames again, is this a Dojutsu?"

Hashirama Senju, upon seeing this, furrowed his brow. Kaito's abilities were too enigmatic, making it hard for him to ascertain the true nature of many of his techniques.

Moreover, Kaito possesses the ability to enhance the power of techniques, a trait seemingly identical to Uchiha Madara's.

However, Hashirama, being highly experienced, didn't show the slightest fear.

If it had been his previous body, he might have opted to release a jutsu as a shield and then turn to flee.

But now, he might not need to retreat, affording him more opportunities and space to act.

"Wood Release: Wood Formation Wall!"

Hashirama's chakra surged quickly, and he suddenly thrust a heavy sword into the ground, subsequently bringing his hands together in a seal.

In the blink of an eye, the ground before him trembled, and three vines sprouted out madly, weaving together to form a thick wall.

Wood inherently feeds fire, being highly flammable.

Yet, astonishingly, the intense flames of the Great Fire Annihilation, upon hitting the Wood Release, didn't ignite it even slightly. Instead, they split into two parts, continuing to race forward.

Perhaps this is the magic of Wood Release, or more specifically, the magic of Hashirama's Wood Release!

"Yang Release?"

Kaito keenly sensed the power imbued within this Wood Release, and this Yang Release was perfectly integrated into the Wood Release.

Such integration was so seamless it seemed indistinguishable.

In truth, Kaito had always been curious about something: whether Wood Release was a Kekkei Genkai or fell into the category of bloodline selection.

Typically, a Kekkei Genkai requires the fusion of two types of chakra to form a new technique, and that's it.

Of course, while it sounds simple, the number of Kekkei Genkai possessors in the entire ninja world is actually a very, very small figure.

Within the ninja world, ninety-nine percent of the shinobi actually do not possess a Kekkei Genkai.

Constructing a Kekkei Genkai is already incredibly difficult, let alone fusing three types of chakra to create a Kekkei Tota.

Currently, in the entire ninja world, the only one who possesses a Kekkei Tota is Ōnoki. From this, one can gauge the level of difficulty involved in achieving such a feat.

As for the power of Wood Release, to be honest, Kaito is somewhat at a loss for words.

If one were to create it using the typical Kekkei Genkai method, the greatest, or perhaps best outcome, would likely be at the level of Deep Forest Emergence.

Hashirama Senju has showcased similar Wood Release techniques, and the last time he did, it was of that caliber.

However, once such a Wood Release incorporates Yang Release and perfectly integrates it, the Wood Release undergoes an incredible transformation.

That is to say, in reality, Wood Release should be categorized under Kekkei Tota. But has no one ever noticed or realized this?

Kaito gently shook his head, not particularly wanting to ponder over these issues.

Right now, the most pressing matter was for him to secure his own seal.

As for the Wood Release, couldn't he experiment with it once he returned?

With that thought, Kaito's figure swiftly took to the air. In just a moment, he stood high in the sky, and his chakra began to erupt violently.

"Like hiding behind your Wood Release, do you? Now, I want to see how you'll evade this!"

"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"

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