Madara crossed his arms, his eyes burning with eagerness, clearly impatient.
"Nagato, give me back my Rinnegan."
Nagato nodded slightly and calmly said, "As we discussed, I'll return these Rinnegan to you."
Shun snapped his right fingers, and the Rinnegan instantly detached from Nagato's eye sockets, floating in mid-air.
Seeing this, Madara's eyes flashed with fanaticism. He unhesitatingly raised his hand and removed the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan currently in his eyes.
Instantly, the floating Rinnegan, as if summoned, transformed into two purple streams of light, accurately flying into his eye sockets and perfectly fitting with his optic nerves.
Madara slowly opened his eyes. As his profound Rinnegan rotated, purple ocular power spread out like a tide.
He clenched his fists, feeling the surging Chakra within him, several times stronger than his peak. Every heartbeat resonated with the Chakra, and his eyes were filled with unbridled excitement.
"Hahaha! This is complete power! This is the power I should possess. Hashirama, do you feel it? This is the power I have always sought."
Then, his gaze locked onto Hashirama beside him, and a playful look flashed in his Rinnegan. He casually tossed the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan he had just removed.
"Hashirama, catch it. With your body, combined with my Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, it shouldn't be difficult to awaken the Rinnegan. Then, we can have a proper fight again."
Hashirama subconsciously reached out his hands, steadily catching the pair of cold, smooth eyeballs, as if holding rare treasures.
He scratched his head a little shyly, his gaze somewhat evasive. "Madara, this... isn't really appropriate. My own eyes are quite good, and the power of Sage Mode and Wood Release is already enough for me."
In truth, he was curious about this power, but years of interaction had made him accustomed to "deferring" to Madara. More importantly, directly accepting the other party's eyes felt like taking too much advantage, making him a bit embarrassed.
"What? You don't dare to take it? Or are you saying you think my eyes aren't worthy of you?"
Madara raised an eyebrow slightly, and the Rinnegan's ocular power suddenly locked onto Hashirama, pressing down on him like a tangible force, mixed with a hint of exasperation.
Hashirama quickly waved his hands, a little flustered. "No, Madara, I just feel... it's too sudden..."
Madara scoffed as if he had heard the biggest joke, and the bones of his Susanoo instantly formed.
"Hashirama, when did you become so timid? Where's the courage you had fighting tooth and nail in the Valley of the End? Since you don't dare to take it, then I'll beat you until you do."
He couldn't stand Hashirama's indecisiveness.
If he wanted to protect peace and fight the Ōtsutsuki, how could he do it without absolute power?
Today, he had to push him and make him face reality.
"Madara, calm down." Shun quickly tried to dissuade him, but was cut off.
"Shun, this is between Hashirama and me, don't interfere."
With that, Madara manipulated his Susanoo and swung a punch at Hashirama.
The power of the Rinnegan made this punch far exceed its usual speed and force. The wind from the punch whistled, carrying a sharp sound that tore through the air, heading straight for Hashirama's face. The air along its path was compressed into white shockwaves.
Hashirama's pupils suddenly constricted, and he could only hastily use Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence.
Countless thick trees sprouted from the ground, coiling around like flexible tentacles, attempting to block the Susanoo's attack.
"Madara! Are you really going to hit me?!"
Hashirama retreated repeatedly, stumbling, trying to block the attack.
But these Wood Release creations were as fragile as paper in front of the Rinnegan-enhanced Susanoo. They were shattered with a single punch, sending wood chips flying.
Madara's Rinnegan had already locked onto Hashirama.
Bansho Ten'in!
The sudden burst of attraction pulled Hashirama back. Then, the Susanoo's fist struck, sending him flying.
Bang!
Hashirama spat out a mouthful of blood and quickly flew backward, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Madara used Bansho Ten'in again, and a powerful suction force forcibly pulled Hashirama in front of him.
Hashirama grunted, his face instantly turning pale, and he was sent flying again. "Madara... you're hitting too hard..."
"Hard? With your recovery ability, you call this hard? Why didn't you say it was hard when you backstabbed me back then? To protect peace and fight the Ōtsutsuki, you must possess enough power."
Madara roared while manipulating his Susanoo, launching a relentless, storm-like assault on Hashirama.
The Susanoo's fists rained down continuously. Each attack precisely avoided vital points, yet inflicted intense pain and helplessness on Hashirama.
Hashirama was beaten without any chance to retaliate, covered in wounds, his battle armor shattered. His exposed skin was covered in purple bruises, and his face and body were stained with blood, yet he never fought back, only gritting his teeth and enduring.
"Enough, Madara!"
Hashirama suddenly pushed Madara's Susanoo away, stumbling back several steps, his eyes burning with fighting spirit.
"Do you think only you've gotten stronger? Since you insist on forcing me, then I'll show you that my Wood Release isn't just for show."
With that, Hashirama clapped his hands, and Chakra surged wildly around him, with Natural Energy rapidly gathering towards him.
Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands!
With a deafening roar, a thousand-meter-tall wooden creation rose from the ground. Countless massive wooden arms spread out like a forest, each arm thick enough to easily crush mountains.
The Buddha's form was solemn and majestic, yet it exuded a world-destroying pressure.
The Buddha phantom's eyes gleamed with pale green light, locking onto Madara's figure. Countless wooden arms swung simultaneously, smashing fiercely towards Madara. The wind from the punches howled, even causing ripples in space.
"Finally taking this seriously?"
Seeing this, Madara showed no fear. Instead, he revealed a fanatical smile.
His Rinnegan suddenly glowed, and purple ocular power shot up like a tangible entity. "Perfect timing to let you witness the true power of the Rinnegan."
Chibaku Tensei!
He clapped his hands together, then abruptly spread them apart, and the Rinnegan's ocular power tore through the sky, reaching deep into the Universe.
In an instant, a violent energy fluctuation came from the Universe. A massive meteorite, over five hundred meters in diameter, engulfed in blazing flames, crashed down as if the apocalypse had arrived.
The meteorite's surface was covered with charred patterns, emitting suffocating high temperatures and pressure. The air along its path ignited, forming a long trail of flames.
"Is that... a meteorite?"
Hashirama's pupils constricted. He quickly manipulated the wooden arms of the True Several Thousand Hands, trying to block the falling meteorite.
Countless wooden arms simultaneously reached upward, colliding fiercely with the giant falling meteorite.
Boom!!!
A deafening roar echoed throughout the Ancestral Star. The training ground's energy barrier instantly became covered in cracks, nearly shattering.
The immense impact caused the ground to tremble slightly. Flames and wood chips splattered, thick smoke billowed, and the training ground was a mess.
The previously unstoppable True Several Thousand Hands appeared fragile in the face of the terrifying power of Chibaku Tensei.
Countless wooden arms were smashed to pieces by the meteorite, sending wood chips flying. The Buddha phantom's body was covered in cracks, and its pale green light gradually dimmed.
Crack!
The wooden statue completely disintegrated, turning into a sky full of wood chips that vanished into the air.
Hashirama was sent reeling by the enormous impact, spitting out a large mouthful of blood, his face ashen, and his aura instantly withered.
He looked in disbelief at the giant meteorite that had smashed True Several Thousand Hands and then heavily impacted the edge of the training ground. A huge crater was left in the ground around the meteorite, with flames and thick smoke continuously rising.