Chapter 94: Fire Support
On the battlefield, Hashirama Senju clasped his hands together, ready to block Obito at any moment.
"Hashirama."
A low shout came from nearby. Hashirama Senju looked over to see a man with jet-black hair, wearing a set of light red armor.
"Madara, so you've decided to interfere after all."
Hashirama Senju's expression was grim. Of everyone present, he understood Madara best, and he knew just how powerful Madara had been in life.
Whether it was Hashirama Senju or Uchiha Madara, neither could now unleash their full strength from their prime.
The Impure World Reincarnation granted them immortal bodies and infinite chakra, but it also diminished their power.
As he was now, Hashirama possessed roughly 70% of his living strength, while Madara had less than 70%.
If comparing this summoned Madara to Hashirama, there was no doubt that Madara was the stronger one.
First, after their final battle in life, Hashirama Senju soon died from severe injuries, while Madara, rumored to be dead, actually lived on for many years.
Through years of exploration and discovery, Madara eventually awakened the Rinnegan, surpassing Hashirama Senju by that point.
During their final battle in life, Hashirama's strength was slightly superior, but years later, Madara had become stronger, simply because he lived longer.
If these two were resurrected, Madara's combat power would absolutely surpass Hashirama Senju's by a significant margin. This was beyond doubt.
Even when Madara only had the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, he could fight Hashirama Senju to a standstill. Now, with the Rinnegan and a partial Sage Body, he was even more formidable.
"Big brother, don't hesitate. This was all part of our plan. The monkey and I can handle it."
The Second Hokage spoke, but as soon as he opened his mouth, a meteorite fell from the sky and crushed him.
"Alright, I'll leave it to you."
Hashirama Senju leaped high into the air, landing far away before sprinting toward Madara. He had to stop Madara. Even if Madara wasn't at full power, no one else could hold him back.
The battlefield rumbled with explosions. At the edge of the fighting, Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju stood facing each other.
"This time, you won't stop me."
Madara clasped his hands together, and a powerful surge of chakra erupted. He immediately activated his Complete Susanoo. Against Hashirama, he could afford no carelessness.
Black markings appeared on Hashirama Senju's face—his Sage Mode. Like Madara, Hashirama was going all out.
Yet, for some reason, a faint unease stirred in Hashirama's heart. That unease came from a pair of calm eyes. He looked toward Su Xiao, not far away.
"An ally of Madara's."
In an instant, Hashirama Senju judged Su Xiao's identity. After all, Su Xiao's aura was unmistakable—it had nothing to do with being a good person.
"See you later."
Su Xiao swung himself onto Bubu Wang's back. He needed to put distance between himself and the main battlefield.
Thanks to Madara's cover, Su Xiao smoothly retreated, reaching a spot one kilometer east of the battlefield.
By now, the sky was pitch black. The war had dragged on into the night.
Su Xiao found a high vantage point. He casually spread a blanket on the ground, lay down on it, and pulled out ten magazines while the Spider Empress appeared in his hand.
After adjusting the Spider Empress, Su Xiao used its night vision function to locate Hashirama Senju, who was still locked in combat with Madara a kilometer away.
The two were fighting fiercely. Wood Release in Hashirama's hands was completely transformed. Others might use Wood Release to create a few dozen trees at most, but Hashirama could form an entire forest, with every tree serving as a weapon.
Su Xiao didn't fire at Hashirama directly. Instead, he pulled out a slightly faded iron rod. The rod seemed to have endured high temperatures, its surface a grayish-white.
Su Xiao tapped the twenty-centimeter-long rod against a rock, judging how much longer it would last by the sound.
"Fifty shots at most, huh."
Su Xiao attached the 'iron rod' to the muzzle of his gun. This was the Spider Empress's muzzle suppressor, commonly known as a silencer.
This item was custom-made for Su Xiao at Machinery Street. Because the Spider Empress's power was so immense, the suppressor's lifespan was drastically shortened.
Su Xiao pulled the bolt, aligning the red crosshairs in the scope with Hashirama Senju.
Even from a kilometer away, Hashirama, mid-battle, immediately sensed something was wrong.
Su Xiao slowly squeezed the trigger.
Pfft~
A shockwave spread from the muzzle. The sound suppression wasn't perfect, but the noise would travel at most a few dozen meters.
The bullet left the barrel. In an instant, the Spider Empress's muzzle suppressor turned red-hot, glowing faintly in the night.
The bullet tore through layers of air, but just as it was a hundred meters from Hashirama, a mass of trees rose to block its path.
Tree after tree was pierced. The bullet punched through three trees before losing momentum, embedding itself in the fourth.
If these were ordinary trees, even forty wouldn't stop the Spider Empress's bullet. But the trees generated by Hashirama's Wood Release were incredibly tough.
A massive wooden giant stood before Hashirama Senju. This giant was ferocious, capable of going toe-to-toe with the Complete Susanoo.
Hashirama noticed the incoming bullet and immediately grew wary. The reason was simple: if it hit him, even if it didn't shatter his body, it would leave him open.
Originally, the fight between Hashirama and Madara was evenly matched. But with Su Xiao's long-range fire support, Madara gained the upper hand.
Madara's combat experience was exceptionally sharp. If Hashirama Senju showed even the slightest opening, it could result in his body being shattered.
The destruction caused by their fight was already on par with the chaos Obito and the others were creating on the main battlefield. Just two minutes into their clash, Madara casually crushed a jonin under his Susanoo's foot.
Yes, casually. The Susanoo was knocked flying by the wooden giant and a wooden dragon. When Madara controlled the Susanoo to get up, he spotted a jonin. Normally, this meant nothing, but Madara's disregard seemed to wound the jonin's pride, prompting him to form hand seals.
That jonin swore to the heavens—he only made that gesture instinctively. He had no intention of attacking Madara. When he saw Madara, his legs went weak. This was a disaster falling from the sky.
As the saying goes, every jonin's exploits could fill a book. So, these jonins had their pride.
But that hand seal gesture cost the jonin his life. The Complete Susanoo was too fast. Even Tsunade and the others couldn't react, let alone a jonin.
Noticing that someone had been caught in the crossfire, Hashirama Senju began subtly trying to lure Madara away from the battlefield. However, Madara was 'extremely uncooperative.' After Hashirama Senju took three bullets from Su Xiao and was shattered once by Madara's Susanoo, he finally managed to lead Madara away, gradually distancing them from the main battlefield.
As the two moved farther away, the chunin who had been playing support breathed a collective sigh of relief. Meanwhile, most of the jonin on the battlefield were busy surrounding Obito.
Obito, now half-transformed into the Six Paths, could ignore most ninjutsu. Moreover, he no longer seemed as lost as before. Judging by his gaze, he appeared to have regained consciousness.