Clang. Clang. Clang.
Steel rang against steel, each strike so fast that the eye could scarcely follow. Yui Xuanyue and Senju Hashirama became little more than black streaks as they clashed atop their towering avatars, the Flame God and the Wood Colossus.
Xuanyue brushed aside a crushing fist, closing in with blinding speed. His other hand cut like a blade, the very air tearing with its passage as it carved toward Hashirama's throat.
Hashirama leaned back just in time. The strike sliced past, and his leg whipped upward like a steel lash. Xuanyue raised his arm to block—only for Hashirama's monstrous strength to explode like a bursting dam.
Crack. Crack.
The Steel Release armor that had withstood so many blows finally gave way. It split, fragments scattering as blood spattered through the air.
Xuanyue ignored the pain. Using Hashirama's force, he twisted his body and slipped to the Senju's flank. His foot lashed out—
Boom!
Hashirama was hurled across the battlefield. Xuanyue followed like a shadow, seizing Hashirama's arms before the man could recover. Chakra surged into his palms. The cold pull of Dark Release devoured Hashirama's energy in an instant.
The First Hokage's body shuddered, but only for a heartbeat. With a sudden surge, Hashirama slammed forward, forcing Xuanyue to release him. Xuanyue pivoted, twisting away and flinging the Senju patriarch across the torn earth.
Sparks crackled inside Xuanyue's veins as stolen chakra raced through him. His wounds closed in the span of a breath.
So this is Senju Hashirama's chakra… And this is only his normal reserves. If it were Sage Chakra, the effects would be far greater.
But even as he marveled, Xuanyue knew the truth: Dark Release was not the Rinnegan. He dared not absorb Sage Chakra—nature energy would ravage him from within before he could harness it.
Still, even with Hashirama's power siphoned, the man stood tall, unshaken. Anyone else would have collapsed from the drain. Hashirama bellowed, his chakra surging back as swiftly as it was drained.
"The Sage Body… It's nothing short of cheating," Xuanyue muttered with a sigh.
And then they were moving again, their clashes echoing like thunder across the plain.
Below, their colossal summons mirrored them. The Flame God and the Wooden Colossus traded blows, fists and claws colliding in a primal struggle that tore the battlefield apart. Mountains shuddered. Rivers shattered their banks. Trees were uprooted in the shockwaves.
Hashirama pressed forward, hands flashing through seals.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
The earth split. Trees surged upward, branches coiling like serpents toward Xuanyue.
The flame-clad shinobi responded with practiced calm, weaving counters with speed born of exhaustion and experience.
But Hashirama's eyes narrowed. His hands locked together once more.
"Wood Release: Flowering Forest Emergence!"
Vines erupted, carrying colossal blossoms that loomed high above, their petals trembling on the edge of bloom.
Xuanyue's face darkened. If those flowers open, the pollen will put me under instantly. He had read the records—Uchiha Madara had once fallen prey to this technique, and even the Five Kage in a future age would taste its terror.
"I can't let them bloom."
He slammed his palms together.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
A pale cube of light flickered into existence between his hands, expanding outward in a blinding rush.
No roar. No explosion.
It was as if reality itself had been erased.
The forest vanished in a blaze of white, reduced to nothing but a barren wasteland of cracked earth.
For a moment, the world fell silent.
All eyes turned toward Xuanyue.
Senju Tobirama's gaze lingered on the young shinobi, then shifted toward the future Second Tsuchikage, Mu. Ishikawa, the First Tsuchikage, stared with wide eyes. Even Retsuto and A could only gape.
Dust Release.
Until now, only Mu had commanded that power.
Mu himself gave a wry smile as the attention burned into him. "With that many kekkei genkai at his command, it's no surprise he reached Dust Release. His is far stronger than mine."
His words were true. His Dust Release had never held such overwhelming force. It was the first time he had ever felt admiration and envy burn side by side.
Xuanyue had achieved what others could scarcely imagine: mastery over not just several kekkei genkai, but even kekkei tōta—the Bloodline Supremacy that eclipsed them all.
Bloodline Limit. Bloodline Supremacy. Bloodline Web.
He has not attained the final stage, but Dust Release made his power monstrous.
Xuanyue's eyes sharpened. He raised his hand once more.
"Dust Release: Origin World Severing Technique!"
A cone of white light shot toward Hashirama, tearing through the air.
Hashirama's instincts screamed. He leaped aside, the attack grazing past.
But his Wooden Colossus was not so fortunate. Xuanyue had aimed true.
The Dust Release engulfed its head, and in an instant, the massive construct dissolved into motes of nothingness.
The Flame God bellowed, six arms heaving with fury. Seizing the moment, it tore into the headless giant, wrenching its body apart in an explosion of steam and ash.
The Wooden Colossus fell with a thunderous crash, never to rise again.
To be continued…