Above the waterfall at the Valley of the End.
From the front view, on the right side stood the statue of Hashirama Senju, which had remained intact under Heiyan's deliberate protection.
On the left, however, Madara Uchiha's statue had been severely damaged not once but twice. One could only say—poor, unlucky guy.
Right now, the once-majestic "Madara Uchiha" statue had its skull completely split open, while its right eye had turned into a gaping hole—truly a sight too pitiful to behold.
Of course, such trivial details didn't matter to anyone except Madara himself.
What interested everyone far more was the result of this battle.
Heiyan had won. Fugaku Uchiha had lost.
Therefore, down below at the lakeshore, a wave of uproar surged through the crowd.
This outcome had caught most people by surprise.
Heiyan "Little Tobirama" had actually defeated both Hiashi Hyuga and Fugaku Uchiha, surpassing the two geniuses from Konoha's prestigious dojutsu clans—truly unbelievable.
Looks like the nickname "Little Tobirama" wasn't just for show!
At this moment, many people began seeing Heiyan as an equally brilliant genius compared to Tobirama Senju.
All in all, today's two battles had been absolutely spectacular.
Especially the second match—it was a full-on clash between ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. Their battle practically reached Kage-level combat, and the crowd couldn't stop cheering.
It was worth every single minute.
"They're just way stronger than me..."
Standing on the lake surface, Hiashi Hyuga gazed upward at Heiyan and Fugaku above the waterfall, murmuring to himself.
Though people referred to him, Heiyan, and Fugaku collectively as Konoha's three great geniuses, deep inside he knew very well that right now, he simply couldn't compare with them.
Although he was three years younger than the other two, did he really have any chance of catching up or approaching their level within three years?
After all, he'd already mastered all his clan's ultimate techniques—reaching the peak of his cultivation.
In other words, there would be no substantial improvement in his power anymore.
Thinking about this, Hiashi's eyes dimmed, filled with immense helplessness.
Sinking deep into despair, he slowly turned away, trudging forward step by step under the protection of several elders from the Hyuga main branch.
"No wonder you're the man I set my eyes on."
Pakura crossed her arms over her chest, watching Heiyan with a smile, pride evident in her expression.
"Hahahaha!"
From afar came a burst of excited laughter, drawing sidelong glances from many people.
"A whole one hundred million ryō! I'm going to get rich!"
Tsunade stood with her hands on her hips, looking smug as she laughed heartily.
In her memory, ever since she learned gambling from her grandfather Hashirama during childhood, she hadn't won much at the gambling tables in these many years.
She had even built up a reputation as a human cash machine.
But today, finally things turned around—after deducting her initial stake of twenty million ryō, she directly made eighty million ryō profit.
Such a huge sum indeed.
She felt like she'd finally shaken off years of bad luck, totally renewed and refreshed!
"Now that I think about it, winning this amount was entirely thanks to Heiyan. How should I thank him?"
Calmly reflecting after her excitement faded, Tsunade mused quietly, chin resting on her fingertips.
She actually knew very well that these eighty million ryo weren't won through her "skillful" gambling techniques, but because she understood Heiyan better than anyone else and had absolute faith in his strength.
"Onee-chan! I want to learn Monster Strength too. I want to be just as amazing as Heiyan. No, I'll become even stronger than him!"
Right then, Nawaki's impatient voice interrupted Tsunade's thoughts.
"Haha."
Upon hearing this, Tsunade chuckled and gently ruffled Nawaki's hair, speaking tenderly, "If you want to learn Monster Strength, your Onee-chan will naturally teach you. However, don't think for a second that it's easy to surpass someone like Heiyan."
"Hmph, what's so special about Heiyan anyway?"
Nawaki shot back with a defiant, indignant look on his face, boldly declaring, "When I grow up, I'm going to become the man who holds the title of Hokage!"
"Good! What ambition. Truly worthy of being a man from the Senju clan."
Tsunade gave him an approving thumbs-up.
Afterward, she thought for a moment before taking off a crystal necklace hanging around her neck, doing so under Nawaki's curious eyes.
"Onee-chan, what is this...?"
"This was once worn by Grandpa, imbued with the Will of Fire."
Tsunade said softly, her face showing a nostalgic expression.
She explained the origin of the necklace to Nawaki.
Originally, this string of crystal beads had accompanied Hashirama Senju through many difficult times. At its core, it contained the crystallized essence of Hashirama's chakra and could, to some degree, suppress both Tailed Beasts and their Jinchuriki hosts.
Later, he gifted this necklace to his beloved little granddaughter Tsunade, hoping she would inherit his legacy and achieve great things in the future.
However, Tsunade herself wasn't particularly interested in becoming Hokage.
"So now, I'm giving it to you."
Tsunade said as she put the crystal necklace around Nawaki's neck while he looked at her with delight in his eyes.
Then she even gave him a kiss on the forehead.
"Nawaki, good luck. I hope one day you can become as great a Hokage as Grandpa."
Tsunade affectionately patted his head while encouraging him.
"Yeah, I'll definitely work hard!"
Nawaki clenched his fist tightly, exclaiming enthusiastically.
Just like Nawaki's excitement, other children at the Ninja Academy were equally thrilled.
Inoichi, Choza, Shibi, Shikaku... After witnessing the genius showdown between Heiyan, Fugaku Uchiha, and Hiashi Hyuga, they were all profoundly awestruck.
From this moment on, many children came to see Heiyan — the victor of the Battle at the Valley — as their hero.
"In the future, will I become someone like Senior Heiyan?"
Among a group of kids, Minato Namikaze murmured quietly among the children.
"It's over."
On a tree branch above, Sakumo Hatake sighed wistfully—truly, the younger generation is something else.
In his view, Heiyan, Fugaku Uchiha, and Hiashi Hyuga had already surpassed most Anbu members in strength.
Especially Heiyan.
By instinct, Sakumo always felt that Heiyan hadn't used his full potential yet and seemed to have many hidden trump cards left.
Even Sakumo himself, as a deputy captain of Anbu, didn't hold any confidence in defeating Heiyan in a duel.
It was time to return.
Sakumo Hatake collected himself and sent messages to several of his Anbu subordinates, ordering them to regroup in preparation for returning to Konoha.
After all, the battle between the three geniuses had already concluded successfully, and many spectators along the riverbank were gradually dispersing.
Their Anbu squad should also return to Konoha and carry out a more important mission—to continue investigating the whereabouts of that mysterious blue-haired woman.
In the woods,
two Anbu members wearing animal masks were still savoring the genius battle they'd witnessed earlier.
"Earlier when I heard Heiyan was called 'Little Tobirama,' I didn't take it seriously. But now I see he truly deserves the title."
The Anbu ninja with the codename "Ox" expressed his approval toward Heiyan.
He wasn't just an ordinary Anbu member, but rather an elder who had joined Anbu during the Second Hokage's tenure, tasked with monitoring the Uchiha clan. His experience ran deep.
"Senior, why does it feel like every ability Uchiha Fugaku possesses is perfectly countered by Heiyan? Is it just coincidence?"
Beside him, the younger Anbu ninja codenamed "Frog" asked in confusion.
"Hehe. Do you know why the Second Hokage, despite naturally possessing seven chakra natures, deliberately chose to cultivate Water Release intensively and developed numerous Water Release techniques?"
Ox asked.
"You mean... was it specifically to counter the Uchiha clan famous for their Fire Release?"
Frog guessed quickly, his mind working fast.
"Exactly."
Nodding, Ox continued solemnly, "The Second Hokage once said the Uchiha were a naturally evil clan who would eventually bring great disaster upon Konoha. Therefore, throughout his lifetime, he conducted comprehensive research on the Uchiha, devising countermeasures for each of their abilities."
"You could say no one ever understood the Uchiha like he did."
"Inheriting the legacy of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, Heiyan naturally completely nullifies Fugaku Uchiha."
Understanding dawned on Frog. "So that's how it is."
Just then, both received a message from their captain, Sakumo Hatake. They didn't dare delay and immediately wrapped up their conversation, preparing to gather at Sakumo's location.
However, they remained completely unaware that just a few meters behind them, cloaked within a genjutsu illusion, stood Madara Uchiha and Black Zetsu...
Every single word of their conversation had been clearly overheard by Madara Uchiha.
And at that exact moment, the hatred buried deep inside Madara finally boiled over into pure, unrestrained killing intent.
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