Rain hammered down into the Valley of the End.
For Tsunade, this was the bleakest day of her twenty-year life.
As a child, as the granddaughter of the First Hokage, she had been doted on by Hashirama Senju and adored as the village's beloved little princess.
Later in life, the Third Hokage personally guided her training, with Orochimaru and Jiraiya—her two closest friends—standing silently by her side.
You could say Tsunade had always had it easy, never facing a single real setback.
Let alone experiencing heart-wrenching loss.
Yet now, gravely wounded and paralyzed on the ground, she could only watch helplessly as her younger brother Nawaki was brutally murdered before her eyes—killed for protecting her.
This pain was unbearable.
So she could do nothing but scream in agony until her voice gave out and her tears dried up.
Throughout all this, she slowly became dazed and emotionally numb, falling into a stunned, hollow state.
"Foolish woman, feel this pain and despair thoroughly, then learn to hate! After all, only intense hatred can lead to growth."
Madara Uchiha looked down at Tsunade coldly. "It's your honor to receive guidance from someone like me."
"From today onward, live on cowardly with this hatred, running and surviving. Until one day you obtain the same power as Hashirama, return before me. Then I'll give you a chance at revenge."
With that, Madara burst into laughter.
He had killed Nawaki on a whim—just to provoke Tsunade and see how far she might go.
After all, to him, the ninja world without Hashirama Senju had become so unbearably dull.
He wouldn't mind seeing Tsunade become someone like Hashirama.
However...
By then, he would likely have already awakened the Rinnegan; even if the real Hashirama returned from death, he'd be no match.
Just thinking about it made Madara suddenly lose interest.
At that moment—
Whoosh!
A figure took advantage of Madara's lowered guard, sneaking up silently from behind and launching an attack.
It was Sakumo Hatake.
Clutching his chakra-infused white-glowing tanto, he slashed straight toward Madara at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
"Hm?"
Sensing danger, Madara instantly activated his Wood Release without hesitation.
[Wood Release: Exploding Spear Tree!]
Thick wooden vines erupted from Madara's right arm, rapidly growing into a massive tree blocking his front.
This was a powerful Wood Release technique—a dual offensive-defensive move.
But Sakumo Hatake was no ordinary opponent either.
Swish!
A flash of cold light cut through.
Avoiding the large tree formed from Madara's right arm, Sakumo appeared instantly to the left side of Madara's body. With one slash, he severed Madara's left arm.
Thud.
Madara's severed arm crashed onto the ground, blood splattering everywhere.
After landing the strike, Sakumo shot away from the battlefield, vanishing more than dozens of meters in an instant to the riverside.
This was the power of the White Fang.
In his youth, Sakumo Hatake was, much like Heiyan now, the most outstanding prodigy among Konoha's ninja, a name renowned across the lands.
Even Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru paled in comparison to his brilliance.
Later, after joining the Anbu, he gradually faded from public attention, until many forgot about this former genius.
Now, White Fang had been unsheathed once more.
Even the invincible Madara Uchiha had one of his arms severed.
In the distance, Sakumo Hatake wiped blood from White Fang and made a provocative gesture toward Madara.
"Damn it!"
How could Madara bear such humiliation? Enraged, he immediately charged toward Sakumo.
"He really fell for it."
"Activate the barrier now!"
"Remember, we must capture her alive. Don't let this woman take her own life before we secure her."
Several Anbu ninjas were already lying in ambush, ready to trap Madara with Barrier Ninjutsu.
This was part of Sakumo Hatake's battle plan.
When Madara summoned the Three-Tails moments ago, Sakumo immediately knew there was no way he could fight such an opponent head-on.
Unless the Third Hokage himself arrived at the scene.
Therefore, he immediately sent someone back to Konoha to request reinforcements.
Meanwhile, he ordered the rest of his subordinates to prepare barrier traps.
Then, he launched a surprise attack on Madara and deliberately provoked him, luring him into the range of the barrier ninjutsu.
Mission accomplished.
"Just keeping this woman trapped for a few minutes will be enough."
Sakumo murmured quietly.
Unfortunately, although he'd already overestimated Madara's strength, his power still exceeded his expectations.
"A bunch of ignorant insects."
Looking around as black barriers began rising, Madara's expression remained cold and ruthless.
Then, slamming his single palm into the ground, he finally activated a large-scale Wood Release technique.
[Wood Release: Adamantine Tree Summoning!]
BOOM!
In an instant, centered on Madara, countless wooden spikes erupted from deep beneath the earth, covering an incredibly wide area spanning dozens of meters.
"Aaaaaaargh!"
One after another, several Anbu shinobi maintaining the barrier ninjutsu screamed out in pain as they were pierced through by the wooden spikes bursting from underground.
"What?!"
Sakumo's heart pounded with extreme shock.
The next second, Madara spread open his right hand, aiming his palm directly at Sakumo.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Dozens of thick, vine-like tendrils shot from Madara's palm like lightning, each as thick as a python. They twisted and entangled midair, howling toward Sakumo in a frenzy.
This was [Wood Release: Great Forest Technique].
[Hatake Swordsmanship!]
With White Fang in hand, Sakumo moved swiftly, gracefully retreating while slicing apart most of the vines.
However, to his shock, those wooden vines could regenerate. As soon as they were cut, they immediately restored themselves—multiplying endlessly.
In no time, he found himself trapped, unable to break free.
Yet, Madara did not move in for the kill.
Because after multiple battles, the chakra reserves within this sacrificial body were nearly depleted.
Moreover, what alarmed and enraged Madara even further was that his Sharingan was beginning to lose control over the Three-Tails.
This meant Heiyan was nearing victory.
Thus, Madara no longer concerned himself with anyone else.
"Die!"
He turned his head and immediately leapt into the air, spreading his palm toward Heiyan from over a hundred meters away.
Shshshshsh!
Hundreds of Wood Release spikes shot from his fingers, covering the sky as they flew toward Heiyan, engulfing even the Three-Tails.
Was he truly destined to fail after all?
Heiyan's expression grew extremely serious as he watched the incoming storm of Wood Release spikes.
He had seen everything during the fight earlier.
But to keep the sealing technique on the Three-Tails, he didn't have the strength to fight back — doing so would undo everything.
"Heiyan, don't lose focus! I'll help you!"
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out from the distance.
Fugaku Uchiha had returned to the Valley of the End despite protests from his clan members, braving the heavy rain.
As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his right hand, flames erupting between his fingers with a roaring sound. Then he placed his palm on the ground, instantly summoning a massive barrier.
[Uchiha Flame Formation]!
This was a sealing technique gifted to him by Black Zetsu when he first made contact under Madara Uchiha's orders — an ultimate secret technique of the Uchiha clan.
Boom!
A cylindrical flame barrier rose around Heiyan and the Three-Tails.
The Uchiha Flame Formation used the earth itself as a catalyst to amplify its holy fire, capable of burning anyone near the protected target to ashes.
In the original series, Obito Uchiha once used this move to defend against the Eight-Tails' attack.
Although Fugaku couldn't reach that level, his Flame Formation was still strong enough to withstand [Madara's Rain of Spikes].
Sure enough —
Pfsssh!
Countless Wood Release spikes slammed into the Flame Formation, bursting into flames instantly. Even the pouring rain couldn't extinguish them.
Eventually, all the Wood Release spikes became black ash, falling from the sky under the rain's bombardment, swept away by the waterfall without leaving any trace.
To Fugaku, Heiyan wasn't just an opponent he longed to defeat, but also his savior.
He never forgot how, back during his fight with Kurokawa, it was Heiyan who stood up for him and saved his life.
Therefore, this was his moment to repay that debt.
"This double-crossing scumb!"
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