Chapter 100: You Die, I Live — Su Xiao vs. Hashirama
Hashirama’s reaction was not slow. Almost the moment Amu grabbed him, his leg kicked forward with full force.
With a splash, mud surged upward, and Amu was dragged out of the mire by Hashirama’s kick.
Just as Amu was midair, Hashirama punched it square in the chest.
Bang!
Amu broke through a shockwave, hurtling toward Su Xiao at ultra-high speed. At that moment, Su Xiao had just leaped up from the Counter Shield, finding himself airborne with no place to dodge.
Amu’s speed was too fast; it crashed directly into Su Xiao.
Hashirama’s combat experience was exceedingly seasoned. Just this kind of on-the-spot adaptation alone lived up to his title as the God of Shinobi.
With a crackling sound, Su Xiao and Amu both fell into the mud pit.
In the mire, Su Xiao pressed both hands against Amu, biting the hilt of Dragon-Slaying Flash between his teeth, while Amu held onto Su Xiao’s feet, gradually sinking.
Boom!
Mud splattered as Amu instantly vanished into the sludge, and Su Xiao was thrown out by Amu.
Midair, Su Xiao grasped the sword hilt and slashed rapidly, sending over a dozen pale blue blade auras toward Senju Hashirama.
“Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall.”
A wall of earth formed in front of Senju Hashirama. As the blade auras struck, several shattered, but the earth wall also crumbled.
Senju Hashirama leaped upward. The remaining blade auras cut into the ground, splitting the only foothold within a hundred meters into several sections, which gradually sank into the mire.
“Earth Release: Rock Prison.”
As Hashirama landed, the mud beneath him began to rapidly petrify. This technique was a combination jutsu with the Swamp of the Underworld: first using the swamp to trap the enemy underground, then using Rock Prison to completely seal them beneath the earth. The pressure of the rock layers and suffocation would quickly kill the enemy.
The mire rapidly turned to stone. Midair, Su Xiao pulled his arm, and the line wheel beneath his left wrist spun quickly, emitting a harsh creaking sound, as if bearing a heavy load.
With a splash, Amu was yanked out of the mire. Tied to its ox horn was the Realm Severing Thread.
The surrounding mire had completely petrified, with most of Amu’s body fixed within the rock.
As soon as Su Xiao landed, he stomped the ground and charged toward Senju Hashirama, who was only six meters away.
The two closed in again. Blade light flashed, and two wounds instantly appeared on Hashirama’s arm. Hashirama was undoubtedly strong, but close combat was not his strongest ability—this was evident from the battle between Madara and Might Guy.
Back then, Madara had said, “In taijutsu, among those I’ve fought, no one is better than you.”
Madara acknowledged Guy’s taijutsu and admitted Guy was the strongest in that field. Madara had also fought Hashirama, whose taijutsu was formidable, but not strong enough to earn Madara’s recognition.
Blade auras crisscrossed. Fighting Su Xiao in close quarters was far from a pleasant experience.
Whoosh.
Another shallow wound appeared on Senju Hashirama’s arm. His physical defense was astonishing.
Cyan Steel Shadow Energy surged into Senju Hashirama’s body. Suddenly, he felt his body go numb. The energy rushed straight to his brain, causing dizziness.
The Soul Electrocution ability of Cyan Steel Shadow Energy had finally triggered. The moment Su Xiao sensed Hashirama’s body stiffen, he slashed at his throat.
Pfft.
The long blade cut through Senju Hashirama’s throat. The edge broke through skin and outer muscle, but just as it was about to sever the artery, it could not advance another inch.
The sensation of the cut reached Su Xiao’s hand. It felt like slicing through tough rubber—he could cut it, but not deeply.
The blade passed through. Su Xiao swung back with another strike, again aiming for the throat.
Pfft.
Blood splattered. Senju Hashirama’s eyes were no longer dazed, but his body remained immobile.
Pfft, pfft, pfft…
Throat, chest, arm—Su Xiao delivered several more slashes. When he realized Hashirama’s body was too tough, he stopped hitting the same spot repeatedly, as that would slow his swing speed and prevent maximum infiltration of Cyan Steel Shadow Energy into the enemy’s body.
Hashirama’s body regained sensation. He raised one hand to guard his throat while the other fist attempted to punch Su Xiao back.
Whoosh~
Su Xiao slashed at Hashirama’s elbow. Hashirama’s eyes showed disbelief—his body went numb again. This was the second trigger of Soul Electrocution.
If Su Xiao abandoned precision in favor of swing speed, his attack frequency would reach terrifying levels.
With enough luck, Su Xiao could hack Hashirama to death. The wounds weren’t severe? No problem. Cyan Steel Shadow Energy dealt true damage, and the Demon Mark and Living Creature Severing added true damage and defense-ignoring damage.
Theoretically, Su Xiao had no ultimate moves. Sky-Rending barely counted. What he pursued was explosive damage potential in every single slash.
Blood sprayed as Su Xiao relentlessly cut into Hashirama, who stood like a wooden dummy, one arm blocking in front, the other poised to punch.
Su Xiao knew he could not give Hashirama a moment to breathe. A war of attrition was impossible.
Hashirama was rapidly adapting to his current state. The Senju bloodline limit, not fully dormant, was gradually awakening. Soon, Hashirama would be able to use Wood Release again, and then Su Xiao would be dead.
As Su Xiao slashed at full speed, a “marble” slipped from his sleeve. The marble shattered, and a cloud of black smoke enveloped Hashirama.
This marble was a gold-quality item Su Xiao had obtained long ago but never used. With time running short, he reluctantly activated it.
[Fate Block]
Quality: Gold
Type: Single-use item
Effect: After use, perform five forced judgments on the designated target: Strength Attribute Judgment, Agility Attribute Judgment, Stamina Attribute Judgment, Charm Attribute Judgment, and Luck Attribute Judgment. If any judgment fails, the target’s fate will be blocked for 5 minutes.
Note: If fate is blocked, Luck Attribute -8. Any action may lead to severe consequences.
…
A wisp of golden flame burned on Su Xiao’s hand—the Lucky King state of Destiny Redemption. The Lucky King state originally required lighting a cigarette to activate, but back then, Destiny Redemption was called “Flame of Fortune,” later upgraded to Destiny Redemption.
Flame of Fortune (Active): After using Flame of Fortune to light a cigarette, temporarily increase Luck Attribute by 2 for 15 seconds.
Fortune Power (Active): Release the stored luck in “Destiny Redemption.” The holder’s Luck Attribute +4 for 3 minutes. If no luck is stored in “Destiny Redemption,” pay 500 Paradise Coins instead to achieve the same effect.
…
Lighting a cigarette every time he used Destiny Redemption was Su Xiao’s personal habit. Besides, directly releasing the fortune came with flames that could burn his palm.
Su Xiao went to such lengths—using a gold item and activating Destiny Redemption mid-slash—for a reason: he wanted to paralyze Senju Hashirama to death with Soul Electrocution.
First, after using the gold item [Fate Block], Hashirama would undergo five attribute judgments, including a Luck Attribute judgment. That was why Su Xiao used Destiny Redemption—to increase the chance of success.
The black smoke enveloped Senju Hashirama. First judgment, second judgment, third judgment. After the fourth judgment passed, Hashirama suffered the “Fate Block” effect: Luck -8.
At that moment, Hashirama regained clarity and immediately leaped backward.
Pfft.
The tip of Dragon-Slaying Flash grazed Senju Hashirama’s cheek. His body stiffened again.
Su Xiao delivered a few more slashes. Having fought in Reincarnation Paradise for so long, he had never seen such a robust physique as Hashirama’s—and this was after being weakened. If not weakened, how strong would he be? And how strong would the contractors who could handle such plot characters be?
Hashirama had already endured dozens of slashes from Su Xiao. Even with his absurd regeneration, he was on the brink of death. The true damage from Su Xiao’s strikes was no joke.
Just as Su Xiao was frantically slashing at Senju Hashirama, Amu also lunged forward.
After a few more slashes, Hashirama regained consciousness for the third time.
With a rumble, thick trees sprouted from the ground. Hashirama’s Wood Release ability had returned, because the heavy blood loss from the slashes had significantly reduced the concentration of alchemical potions in his body.
A thick branch pierced through Su Xiao’s abdomen. Su Xiao was sent flying by the towering tree that erupted from the earth.
Amu threw itself at Hashirama without regard for its own safety. The battle had reached its most critical moment. If Hashirama fully recovered, Su Xiao and the others would die.
Su Xiao slashed off the branch that had impaled him—it was as thick as an arm. As soon as he landed, he grabbed the branch at his abdomen and pulled with all his might. The thing was rapidly absorbing his life force. His health was dropping at 20% per second.
Pfft.
A gush of blood sprayed from Su Xiao’s abdomen. He tried to stand but his legs gave way.
Seeing this, Su Xiao’s sharp eyes swept the battlefield. Soon, he found Karin.
There was no time to call out and have her run over step by step.
The Realm Severing Thread shot out, wrapping around a terrified Karin. Two seconds later, she was dragged to Su Xiao’s side. Though uninjured, Karin nearly wet herself.
Rip. The upper part of Karin’s clothes was torn off. Su Xiao bit down on her.
“There… don’t… ah~”
Five seconds later, Su Xiao stood up and charged at full speed toward Senju Hashirama.
Boom!
Amu flew toward Su Xiao. Now, Amu had one arm broken and its lower body gone. During the time Su Xiao was sent flying by the tree, Amu had successfully held off Hashirama, preventing him from recovering.
Su Xiao sidestepped Amu and continued charging at Senju Hashirama.
“Cough, cough, cough…”
Senju Hashirama knelt on one knee, coughing up large amounts of blood. As he looked up, a blade swung toward his face.
From the start of the battle, neither Su Xiao nor Senju Hashirama had spoken a word. Both were focused solely on killing the other.
Senju Hashirama had led his clan in years of battle against the Uchiha. Was he truly the kind-hearted person he seemed? Of course not. He was a gentle elder and a benevolent leader, but never soft-hearted. The kind Senju Hashirama of the past had long since died—died when he stabbed Madara in the back for the sake of Konoha.
Pfft.
Senju Hashirama blocked Su Xiao’s slash with his arm. The two were locked in a clash.
“Today, you die, I live.”
A smile appeared on Su Xiao’s face as blood dripped from his chin.
“For Konoha, for the ninja world, an old relic like me shouldn’t keep living. And you… shouldn’t exist in this world either.”
The moment Senju Hashirama finished speaking, Su Xiao’s left hand pressed against the spine of Dragon-Slaying Flash. The blade gradually cut deeper into Hashirama’s arm as Cyan Steel Shadow Energy surged along the longsword.