Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 335 The Birth of the Tree World VS The Birth of the Tree World

"Hashiramar————"

"Madara————"

Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha stared at each other from afar, their gazes intense, locked in a tense standoff in mid-air.

The atmosphere on the battlefield suddenly became tense.

A simple greeting might not be a big deal if it's between a man and a woman, but when it's between two grown men, especially one facing a life-or-death situation, it can easily cause discomfort.

But the two parties involved don't think so.

Madara Uchiha: "Hashiramar—"

Hashirama Senju: "Madara—"

The Second Hokage immediately disowned his brother, saying to Minato Namikaze, "Fourth Hokage, aren't you getting a little annoyed?"

The Fourth Hokage was extremely embarrassed and could only laugh: "Haha, ha, haha—"

The Third Hokage: "————"

Uchiha Izumi covered her mouth with her hand and whispered, "Shisui-nii, why do I smell the stench of love?"

Uchiha Shisui didn't know where to put his hands and feet: "————(o) Don't talk nonsense, this is the First Hokage!"

""

Although the five people were talking to each other, their eyes were fixed on the two in the center without blinking.

Eating melons is human nature, but the gossip about the God of Ninjas and the Asura of the Ninja World is something you might never get to witness again in your lifetime.

Definitely not to be missed!

Finally, all the pent-up emotions were released.

Hashirama Senju transformed back into the First Hokage and greeted him gently but calmly: "Madara, it's been a long time."

Madara Uchiha, having transformed back into the Asura of the Ninja World, solemnly replied, "Indeed, it has been a long time!"

"For me, it was 36 years of torment and hardship, but for you, who died young, it was just a year of retirement."

Madara Uchiha closed his eyes, his tone gradually turning cold. When he opened his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan again, his eyes had become incredibly indifferent.

He asked with murderous intent, "Hashirama, the body resurrected by Edo Tensei cannot bear the full power of you and me, but my essence has far surpassed yours. Even if my body is weakened, I can still crush you."

"Have you come before me to die?"

Hashirama replied, "I came before you because the Fifth Hokage asked me to stop your reckless behavior."

"You're right. You used my flesh and blood as a catalyst to cultivate the Rinnegan, surpassing the level of a Kage-level ninja. Your strength far exceeds mine."

"But as a reincarnated being, I have no interest in life or death. I'm already dead, so why would I want to die again?"

Hashirama Senju talked too much, and when not in combat, he couldn't maintain his serious demeanor. Without realizing it, he put his hand behind his head and started laughing to himself.

"Hahaha, there's nothing to be afraid of about dead people!"

Hashirama Senju's sudden display of silliness stunned all the ninjas; no one had expected the God of Shinobi to be such a ninja.

The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, covered his face. It was quite impressive that he could kill his own brother with a single punch. Unfortunately, he couldn't do it in life, and he still couldn't do it after death.

But the one most affected was Uchiha Madara. The atmosphere he had painstakingly created was completely ruined by Hashirama's smile.

Hashirama Senju was practically his nemesis; a single silly grin from him was enough to break him down.

Madara Uchiha's face was extremely gloomy, with murderous and malevolent aura mixed together, emanating outwards as if it were tangible, even the dead felt their bodies turn cold.

In fact, the temperature did not change at all. It was the heart that sensed a deadly threat, and this threat was so strong that it instinctively transformed into a feeling of coldness, which more directly reminded its consciousness.

Uchiha Izumi and Uchiha Shisui exchanged a glance and immediately retreated, leaving the battlefield to the five immortal Edo Tensei resurrected beings.

Madara Uchiha looks like he's about to explode. We can't afford to mess with him.

Only Hashirama Senju seemed completely unfazed, still smiling as he faced Madara Uchiha: "Madara, you still can't take a joke—"

Madara Uchiha's mental string snapped: "You bastard Hashirama, you bastard!"

Hashirama Senju: "Hahaha, Madara, you're still as funny as ever!"

Madara Uchiha cursed, "I'm so funny! I'll fucking kill you!"

Hashirama Senju: "Oh, you can even swear like that? Your vocabulary is really extensive."

Madara Uchiha: "————, the sun!"

When Madara Uchiha met his destined soulmate, Hashirama Senju, his image as a cold-blooded, world-destroying boss immediately crumbled, and he became like a resentful woman.

Madara Uchiha, having reached his limit, vowed in his heart that he would create a world without Hashirama Senju's Tsukuyomi!

No, he cannot live without Hashirama, but he can have an understanding, gentle and considerate Senju Hashirama.

Oh, and there absolutely can't be Tobirama Senju or Mito Uzumaki, that would be the perfect world!

Madara Uchiha was so angry that he was dizzy. Tobirama Senju, who was behind Hashirama Senju, couldn't stand it either. For a moment, he wanted to pull out a specially made Flying Thunder God kunai and smear it on his older brother's neck.

But Hashirama Senju was, after all, the First Hokage. He quickly regained his composure and solemnly advised, "Madara, we have already seen the Uchiha Stone Tablet and know about your Infinite Tsukuyomi plan. Give up."

"That stone tablet has been altered. Your efforts are nothing but the result of deception and manipulation by others, and are meaningless from beginning to end."

"Madara! Peace based on illusion is an illusion, a world away from true peace. You've been deceived!"

Madara Uchiha's expression hardened. He hadn't expected that Hashirama Senju would also have seen the Uchiha Stone Tablet. Based on his trust in Hashirama, he wavered for a moment.

But a surge of warmth rushed into his mind, and he became incredibly determined.

"Hashirama! You've fallen! How dare you lie to me! Without the Mangekyou Sharingan, all I could see on that stone tablet were the most ordinary characters."

"You know absolutely nothing!"

Tobirama Senju spoke coldly, reciting a series of terms: "Gedo Mazo, Ten-Tails, Thousand Hands of the Forest, Yin and Yang Unity, Power of All Things in the Forest, Rinnegan, Infinite Tsukuyomi Plan —"

He chuckled coldly: "—And the most ridiculous thing of all: eternal peace, a perfect world."

Tobirama Senju spoke for more than ten seconds, and Madara Uchiha was stunned for such a long time. He never expected that his biggest secret would be exposed.

His unwavering belief began to waver, and Madara Uchiha asked in a death throes, "How...how did you know? You don't even have the Mangekyou Sharingan—"

He thought of the two young Uchiha from earlier and changed his words, saying, "No, you don't have the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, so it's impossible for you to see so many things."

At this moment, a surge of emotion welled up within Madara Uchiha, flowing into his brain like a stream, and he exerted all his strength to solidify his wavering beliefs. Hashirama Senju explained, "Madara, we don't have the Sharingan, but the Fifth Hokage, Sasuke, has the Rinnegan. He infused the power of the Rinnegan into our eyes, which naturally allows us to see those words."

"Furthermore, we also saw traces of alteration—"

"Ha ha ha ha----"

Before Hashirama Senju could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Madara Uchiha's maniacal laughter. Madara laughed so hard, but his eyes revealed a sorrow that was almost desperate.

"Hashirama Senju, you actually lied to me! You lied to me!"

"The Rinnegan is a product of the fusion of the Uchiha bloodline and the Senju bloodline, and it can only be born on the basis of the Uchiha clan's Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan."

"The Fifth Hokage, Natsume, is a descendant of your Senju clan. What gives him the right to possess the Rinnegan?"

Madara Uchiha's life was incredibly difficult. He lost his father at a young age, lost his younger brother as soon as he came of age, reconciled with Hashirama and founded Konoha Village, only to be betrayed by his clan shortly afterward.

This incredibly proud man's pride lay solely in his own strength, yet it was shattered by his close friend, Hashirama Senju.

After being resurrected, Madara Uchiha discovered that having lost his pride, he had also lost the desire to live.

If it weren't for the flesh and blood of Hashirama Senju that he plundered, which gave him a glimmer of hope to gain greater power, Madara Uchiha would have committed suicide at the Valley of the End.

In the decades that followed, Madara Uchiha, who had completely lost his will to live, wandered around like a rat in the gutter and caves of various places, nurturing the Rinnegan while collecting the White Zetsu left over from the God Tree according to the clues given by Black Zetsu, and gathering them all underground in the Land of Iron.

Because a section of the divine tree root that remains in the Land of Iron still retains some vitality, it can maintain the life force of the White Zetsu that has been hanging for more than a thousand years, and even allow them to gradually recover.

For more than 20 years, Madara Uchiha was like a walking corpse, as if his resurrection at the Valley of the End was a hoax.

On the day the Rinnegan was born, Madara Uchiha's confidence and arrogance were revived, and Madara Uchiha himself was truly revived.

The Rinnegan became the foundation of Madara Uchiha's pride, and his emphasis on it naturally reached its limit, with unwavering faith in its potential uses.

In order to better nourish his Rinnegan, he actually dug it out and stuffed it into the carefully selected Nagato eye socket.

In order to better utilize the power of the Rinnegan, he was willing to risk dying once and use the [Outer Path: Rinne Rebirth Technique] to regain a young body.

Therefore, when Hashirama Senju said that the Fifth Hokage, Sasuke Natsumi, had the Rinnegan, Madara Uchiha was furious, as if his sore spot had been exposed. He not only concluded that Hashirama Senju was lying to him, but also dispelled all his previous doubts.

The heat emanating from his heart was no longer raging, but it did not stop either. Instead, it took this opportunity to completely solidify Madara Uchiha's perception.

It's all a lie; Infinite Tsukuyomi is the truth!

It is well known that broken bones become stronger after healing, and a severe cold gives you strong immunity.

The current Madara Uchiha is no longer swayed by words. Even if he saw Xia Zuo with his own eyes and saw the Rinnegan with nine tomoe between his eyebrows, he would not be as swayed as he is today.

Hashirama Senju wanted to say one more thing, but before he could speak, Madara Uchiha interrupted him: "Liar! You don't need to say anything more. I won't believe you anyway, it will only increase my disappointment in you!"

"A word to the wise is enough," Hashirama Senju said, keeping his mouth shut.

He sighed deeply, his mind naturally recalling his interactions with Uchiha Madara.

From skipping stones and peeing contests as children, to reconciling with Madara Uchiha and fighting side by side to conquer the Land of Fire, establish Konoha Village, and usher in a new era for ninja villages.

Until the two joined forces to promote peace in the ninja world and fulfill their childhood dream.

That period was so busy, yet also unprecedentedly fulfilling and happy, until Madara Uchiha discovered the hidden crisis beneath the peace, ultimately leading to a falling out between the two.

Now Hashirama Senju knows that he was the one who made a mistake back then; he lacked foresight and failed to see the major flaws in his balancing strategy.

Therefore, Hashirama felt immense guilt towards Madara and desperately tried to make amends for his mistakes.

But seeing Uchiha Madara, who was originally about to be persuaded, suddenly become incredibly stubborn and go all out to push the ninja world into the abyss, Senju Hashirama knew that Uchiha Madara was wrong this time.

After a moment of silence, he said, "I will stop you, just like I did back then!"

Madara Uchiha's expression became even more ferocious: "Just like back then?"

"Hashirama Senju, are you referring to the time you stabbed me through the skin?"

"Was it the battle where the two of us destroyed dozens of mountains, blasting out a valley that was later renamed the Valley of the End?"

Madara Uchiha's Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan's intricate patterns shrank inwards, and when they unfolded again, they transformed into rings of pale purple Rinnegan.

He said arrogantly, "Haven't you realized it yet? That battle was just a scheme I devised to seize your flesh and blood so that I could awaken my Rinnegan."

"Don't even mention that I deliberately held back then. Even now that I possess the Rinnegan, you have no chance of defeating me. What makes you think you can stop me?!"

"Of course, it's through my strength and skills!"

Having witnessed the Rinnegan with nine tomoe, Hashirama Senju merely glanced at the pale purple Rinnegan and ignored this supreme eye technique that was said to control life and death.

He clasped his hands together and slapped them together sharply.

[Wood Release: Advent of the Tree World]

The earth trembled, and countless trees, like giant pythons, emerged from the ground, pushing aside the fallen stone pillars and transforming into a surging torrent of trees that swept down upon Uchiha Madara.

Madara, hands clasped together, glanced at Hashirama with an exceptionally arrogant and smug expression, and roared, "It's useless, this move doesn't work on me anymore!"

[Wood Release: Advent of the Tree World]

The birth of the tree realm versus the birth of the tree realm!

Two streams of green energy collided between the two, instantly unleashing a terrifying roar.

Everyone felt a ringing in their ears and could only watch silently as broken branches flew and wood chips filled the air.

It took a long time for the four Hokage and Madara Uchiha to regain their hearing.

Then they heard the chilling creaking and cracking sounds of the massive logs pressing against each other.

Despite Orochimaru's best efforts, Hashirama Senju in his Edo Tensei state was still weaker than he was in life.

However, thanks to the Rinnegan, Madara Uchiha was far beyond his state during the battle at the Valley of the End, and was even able to overpower Hashirama Senju in Wood Release.

Even though his Wood Release technique was a bootleg version obtained with the help of White Zetsu, it still surpassed the original version thanks to his own superior strength!