Hashirama was stunned.
Not in a million years did he expect that to be the answer.
From the way Madara was speaking… Did he also agree with Uchiha Funan?
Did he believe that Funan could truly create a better world?
But—!
Once their generation was gone, wouldn't the world just revert to its original path and spiral back into war?
That wasn't just a possibility—it was practically a guarantee.
Hashirama wasn't stupid. After thinking it over for just a moment, he understood—it was almost inevitable.
Even if Funan truly did manage to unify the shinobi world, eventually, it would fracture again.
The shinobi world had only reached its current form through countless cycles of war and peace. The Five Great Nations and their respective Hidden Villages sat at the center of a fragile balance, surrounded by a swarm of smaller nations and lesser villages that clung to them like satellites.
"So that's why… you want to activate the Eye of the Moon Plan? Put the whole world to sleep inside the Infinite Tsukuyomi?"
"Exactly," Madara replied without hesitation. "It's the only way to truly prevent war."
"Of course…"
Madara let out a bitter, mocking laugh. "If you have a better solution—something that can guarantee peace—go ahead and tell me. I'm open to negotiation on that point."
Hashirama had nothing to say.
A better solution?
What better solution could there be?
And that's him thinking—and he wasn't exactly known for his brains. Even Tobirama, the sharpest thinker among them, would probably be at a loss here.
Hashirama gave Madara a weird look, ignoring his rambling entirely as he started scrutinizing him from head to toe with a strange expression.
"…What the hell?"
Madara felt a chill run down his spine from that stare. "What's with those eyes, huh?!"
"Ahem…"
Hashirama cleared his throat awkwardly and said, "Madara, I admit your argument makes a lot of sense. But what's happening right in front of me—I can't just ignore it. So, uh… how about letting me pass?"
Madara sneered. "What do you think?"
Hashirama gave an embarrassed chuckle, then looked toward the rampaging True Thousand Hands technique, sighing helplessly.
Sure, there were tons of Kage-level fighters in the Allied Shinobi Forces—but in front of True Thousand Hands, they were nothing more than slightly oversized pets.
Only Funan could match that level of power—only he could take on the True Thousand Hands.
Damn it!
Where the hell is that bastard?!
He told him to stay close—this is a battlefield, for crying out loud. Situations change in the blink of an eye!
And yet he just up and vanished—for this long?!
Hashirama was grinding his teeth in frustration.
Staring at Madara, he suddenly began forming hand signs.
Madara just stood there, watching coldly.
"Wood Release: Wood Clone!"
Another Hashirama appeared and dashed straight toward the monstrous Buddha statue.
Madara scoffed.
That thing wasn't easy to deal with.
Honestly, when he saw that full-fledged Avatar of the Buddha descend from the sky, even he was shocked.
…He had clearly underestimated Obito, that little brat.
To think he could even create something like this…
The most 'special' White Zetsu of them all.
Even more unique than the original body that birthed the countless Zetsu.
...
[BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!]
The colossal Buddha kept swinging its arms.
Each of the thousands of arms moved effortlessly, causing massive destruction with even the slightest motion.
The Allied Shinobi Forces had been whittled down to only the elite jōnin—most of the jōnin who weren't skilled in direct combat had already been evacuated.
But even these elite few—hundreds of them—were getting utterly steamrolled by the giant Buddha.
Fugaku and the others were unleashing attack after attack…
But even standing at tens of meters tall, they looked like dwarves in front of a Buddha several hundred meters high.
Even when they attacked with everything they had, they could only slow the thing for a single moment.
"Coordinate your attacks!"
Tobirama gave the order.
Countless Kage-level shinobi focused their attacks and launched them in unison.
"Hehehe… Do you guys even know what it feels like to take a dump?"
The masked man stood atop the Buddha's head. As the attacks rained down, he just chuckled darkly.
The Buddha raised a massive hand and slammed it down.
[BAM!]
The hand shattered.
The Kage-level attacks were also gone.
But then—
"Huh?"
The masked man suddenly flinched and leapt backward in surprise.
Out of nowhere, two Tailed Beast Bombs slammed straight into the Buddha's head.
Tobirama and Minato appeared on the scene.
Just moments ago, the two had used Flying Thunder God to teleport the Tailed Beast Bombs at the last second.
They had hoped to catch him off guard.
But unfortunately…
He sensed it just in time.
"Hehehe… So close. Just a little more and I could've… had the full 'dump' experience!" he laughed maniacally.
"Second Hokage, what do we do now?"
Minato's voice trembled with impatience.
What do we do?
I don't know either.
No strategy holds up in the face of overwhelming strength.
Tobirama was about to suggest they just try to stall for time when a cold, composed voice cut in.
"Leave him to us."
[Whoosh!]
Tobirama stiffened. He turned his head in shock—and there stood Uchiha Sasuke.
"You…"
He was stunned.
That brat had somehow appeared silently, right behind him.
How did he do that?
And that eerie, cold aura around him—what was that?
What about his injuries?
Last Tobirama knew, the kid had only been stabilized during the heat of battle—not fully healed.
But now… he looked completely recovered.
Tobirama's mind swirled with questions.
"Sasuke!"
"You're okay?"
Itachi and Fugaku cried out in surprise.
But unlike Tobirama, their shock was laced with relief.
"Yeah."
Sasuke gave a slight nod, his face brimming with arrogant confidence.
"Father, Brother—leave this guy to me."
Fugaku blinked, then scolded sharply, "What nonsense are you spouting? Even with the Mangekyō, the difference in power is massive!"
Itachi added, "He's right, Sasuke. Let's fight together and try to buy time for the First Hokage and the reinforcements."
"That won't be necessary!" Sasuke declared proudly. "Dealing with him doesn't require Father, or Brother… or even the Hokage. Right, Naruto?"
"Right!"
Naruto, radiating with the Nine-Tails' chakra, stepped forward to stand beside Sasuke.
"W-What is this…?"
Everyone was stunned once again.
Especially Kakashi—his eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"N-Naruto... Sensei..."
"We've got this!" Naruto said confidently. "Sasuke and I are more than enough to handle him."
"You two..." Tobirama muttered in disbelief. "Just what's going on with you?"
"You don't need to worry about that." Sasuke said coolly. "Just take the others and get out of here. Naruto, let's go!"
"Yeah!"
With a shout, the two of them leapt into the air—charging straight at the True Thousand Hands Buddha.
"Watch this—!"
[Boom!]
Naruto, cloaked in the Nine-Tails' chakra, entered full Kurama Mode.
Sasuke, his Eternal Mangekyō glowing ominously, activated his Perfect Susanoo.
The two launched forward with incredible momentum—ready to end it.
The masked man merely tilted his neck, and the massive wooden Buddha swatted its arms—
[Boom!]
Naruto and Sasuke went flying.
Over a thousand meters.
Fugaku: "..."
Itachi: "..."
Tobirama: "..."
Is this what they were so eager to show?
"That's enough!"
Tobirama barked, thoroughly irritated. "You two have impressive power—fine, I'll give you that. But you're joining the others in a coordinated attack, understood?!"
"No need."
Sasuke, face dark with determination, waved him off coldly. "We weren't ready before. Just watch this time."
"Naruto, again!"
"Got it!"
They leapt up once more.
The wooden Buddha raised its arms again.
"Watch me!"
Sasuke's Mangekyō gleamed with a deep, foreboding light—flames of Amaterasu seared toward the giant's arm.
Naruto didn't even hesitate—he unleashed a Tailed Beast Bomb.
This time, channeling it was far easier.
[BOOOOOM!]
They passed by the Buddha.
Naruto and Sasuke landed unharmed.
But the Buddha—
Lost both arms.
"Hah! Now you see what we're made of!"
Naruto turned around, grinning wildly at the result.
But before he could finish his laughter—
[SLAP!]
They both went flying again.
"You two idiots!"
Tobirama's face twisted with anger.
Couldn't they see how many arms that giant Buddha had?
What did they even have eyes for?
This time, the statue swatted Naruto and Sasuke into the ground with a single palm.
[BOOM!]
With an explosive rumble, the two of them burst back out.
They glared furiously at the statue and gritted their teeth.
"Everyone stay where you are! We're taking this guy down ourselves!"
"Enough!"
Tobirama snapped, his voice like a whip. He glared at them and barked through clenched teeth, "You two—support our attack. Is that clear?"
Naruto protested, "But we're strong!"
"Naruto!"
Even Minato couldn't help but scold him.
If it weren't his own son, he'd have smacked him already.
"Fine..."
Faced with his father, the two finally gave up on rushing in solo.
"Sasuke, your eyes… what's going on?"
Itachi, however, was focused on something else entirely.
He stared at Sasuke in a daze.
That wasn't an ordinary Mangekyō.
It was the Eternal Mangekyō—
The next evolution of the Sharingan.
Why?
How could Sasuke have awakened such eyes?
According to clan records, the only way to obtain the Eternal Mangekyō was to merge your own Mangekyō with that of your direct blood brother.
Only by combining the two could one awaken this forbidden power.
But Itachi's eyes were still in his own sockets.
Where had Sasuke gotten the second pair?
And when had he performed the fusion?
Something wasn't right.
"Brother, you mean these eyes?"
Sasuke pointed to his own with a complicated expression.
He should've been proud.
He should've been excited.
But the way he obtained them... it was far too bizarre.
All he felt now was deep unease.
A sudden wave of panic struck Sasuke.
He had awakened the Mangekyō out of nowhere—
And now the Eternal Mangekyō too, without warning?
Anyone who thought that was normal had to be a fool.
"Watch this!"
While Sasuke was still anxious, Naruto couldn't wait any longer.
With a shout, he raised both hands.
A massive Tailed Beast Bomb instantly formed in front of him.
"Go!!"
[RUMBLE!!]
The colossal sphere slammed into the True Several Thousand Hands statue.
The enormous Buddha staggered backward, reeling from the impact.
"Beautiful!"
Even Tobirama couldn't help but exclaim.
They had been fighting this thing for ages without making it budge—
And Naruto had knocked it back in one blow.
"Sasuke, what are you still doing?!"
Seeing Sasuke still talking, Naruto yelled, "If you don't hurry up, I'm taking this thing down myself!"
"Idiot!"
Sasuke shot him a fierce glare.
But Itachi spoke calmly: "Sasuke… let your brother see your strength. Even if this power is strange, it's still yours. And right now—we don't have a choice."
"We have to keep fighting."
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