Chapter 16: Duel of the Top Powerhouses

Chu Yang, crouching in the bushes with nothing to do, looked up to count the stars, but the sky was thick with dark clouds, and he couldn't see a single one.

When the dark clouds obscured the moonlight for the third time, Chu Yang’s Observation Haki sensed two incredibly powerful auras.

The auras were so formidable that they made Chu Yang’s heart race, forcing him to proactively shut down his Observation Haki.

Immediately, Senju Tobirama whispered in Chu Yang’s ear: "They're here!"

They're here!

Those two simple words made Chu Yang’s heart leap into his throat!

Chu Yang cautiously poked his head out and finally caught sight of Senju Hashirama.

Opposite him stood the legendary Uchiha Madara.

The two fated rivals stared at each other across a small stream.

"Madara, surrender! Let’s end this meaningless war together!" Senju Hashirama said loudly. "You and I could build a peaceful environment where the children of our clans can live safely and happily."

"You are as naive as ever. Sometimes, I truly envy you..." Uchiha Madara looked at Senju Hashirama with a complex expression, shook his head, and said coldly, "What about Izuna? Did you kill him?"

Senju Hashirama explained, "He is not dead."

Hearing the news that his brother was alive, Uchiha Madara’s cold expression finally softened, and a flash of relief crossed his eyes.

Uchiha Madara said, "Hashirama, unless we decide a winner today, this war cannot end. If you crave peace, then let your fists do the talking."

Hearing this, Senju Hashirama finally let go of the last shred of hope in his heart, took a deep breath, and prepared for battle.

Uchiha Madara smiled; this was exactly what he wanted—to see his opponent go all out. Their previous skirmishes on the battlefield had been nothing more than child's play.

The next second, the two figures collided, and a fierce battle began.

Under Chu Yang’s observation, he discovered that neither Uchiha Madara nor Senju Hashirama used ninjutsu very frequently; most of the battle was fought with taijutsu.

In battles between top-tier powerhouses, the ninjutsu used is so mastered that it requires no excessive hand signs, or is simplified to just two or three.

Otherwise, the window of time spent weaving signs would be a massive opening in the eyes of the enemy.

So far, Uchiha Madara had only used Fire Style to assist his combat, and Senju Hashirama had only used Wood Style.

Yet, it was precisely this simple, extreme style of combat that gave Chu Yang such a powerful visual impact.

Gradually... the speed of their battle surpassed the limits of human vision. Chu Yang could only see a series of blurred figures; he could no longer track their specific movements.

Standing beside Chu Yang, Senju Tobirama noticed his predicament and offered a few words of comfort.

There was no helping it; unless one possessed special ocular jutsu like the Sharingan or Byakugan that could significantly enhance vision, it was truly difficult for an ordinary person to keep up with the movements of top-tier powerhouses.

Even though Chu Yang’s body had been strengthened by Wood Style, he could only keep up for a little longer than an average person.

The battle between the two had a wide reach. The entire valley was ravaged; the earth crumbled, trees and flowers were reduced to ash, and everything was destroyed.

Chu Yang watched in terror, and before he could react, Senju Tobirama grabbed him and quickly fled the edge of the battlefield.

Not long after they left, a fireball the size of a three-story building landed where they had been standing, the shockwave of the explosion scouring the earth three feet deep.

When Chu Yang landed, he looked back to see only charred black earth. If he had still been standing there, forget Wood Style—not even the gods could have saved him.

In an instant, cold sweat soaked Chu Yang’s back, and he began to tremble uncontrollably.

Senju Tobirama laughed: "See that? Even a simple Fireball Jutsu has different power in the hands of different people!"

Chu Yang couldn't help but roll his eyes!

You call that a Fireball Jutsu?

Anyone who didn't know better would think a nuke had just dropped on us!

Even now, Senju Tobirama didn't forget to lecture the shaken Chu Yang: "You are smart, but your problem is that you are *too* smart. You learn everything easily, so you want to learn everything, and in the end, you just become a fool who knows a little bit of everything."

Chu Yang didn't deny Tobirama’s point, but he wasn't fighting alone, was he?

With so many clones learning from each other and merging their knowledge, the problems of an ordinary person would not become Chu Yang’s problems. The path he walked was destined to be one that ordinary people could neither imagine nor understand.

As the moon in the sky grew brighter, the battle gradually reached a fever pitch.

The trembling of the earth caught Chu Yang’s attention.

He had just looked up... when he saw an indescribably massive figure rise from the ground!

A thousand-foot-tall wooden giant blocked the moonlight, appearing like an ancient demon god descending.

[Wood Style: Wood Human Jutsu]

Standing on the shoulder of the wooden giant, Senju Hashirama’s expression was grave. With the battle reaching this point, both sides had brought out their trump cards; the outcome would be decided here.

Rumble!!!

The wooden giant moved. With every step it took, the entire valley shook.

Directly in front of the wooden giant, Uchiha Madara began to weave signs, the tomoe in his Mangekyō Sharingan spinning incessantly.

Uchiha Madara pushed his ocular power to the limit!

In one breath, he consumed ninety percent of his body’s chakra. Blue flames burned from the void, condensing into a skeletal phantom.

As the flames burned brighter, the phantom solidified, the skeleton gradually forming a complete human shape, finally condensing into a massive, armored martial god.

The mighty martial god was [Susanoo]. Its size was on par with the wooden giant, and it had a pair of wings on its back and four arms, each holding a sword.

Under Uchiha Madara’s control, the martial god closed in on the wooden giant and struck first with a sword!

The wooden giant reached out, roughly grabbing the energy-infused sword in the martial god’s hand, dragged the martial god toward it with a backhand pull, and smashed a fist into it.

The battle between the two giants made Chu Yang’s blood boil!

"My brother is sure to win. Uchiha Madara doesn't have enough stamina to maintain Susanoo; his ocular power is reaching its limit," Senju Tobirama said coldly.

At this moment, Chu Yang also noticed that as Susanoo remained active, its movements were becoming increasingly sluggish.

In the earlier battle, Uchiha Madara had accumulated quite a few injuries, while Senju Hashirama, relying on his superior healing abilities, was in much better physical condition than Madara.

Having drained his body to summon [Susanoo], Uchiha Madara was at the end of his rope!

Senju Tobirama sighed deeply, "How ironic. His current situation is exactly the same as the Uchiha clan's!"

With that sigh, the demon-like [Susanoo] collapsed with a roar!