Warnings blared through the alliance's formation as several tailed beast bombs slammed into the ground. A wave of white, hot light exploded outward, disorienting even the most seasoned clan leaders.
"Why… doesn't Uchiha only have one tailed beast?"
Confusion passed over their faces just long enough for the next threat to unfold, every bomb ignited with simultaneous brilliance.
"Defense! Now!"
Stone erupted from earth as dozens of shinobi dropped into hand seals. "Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Massive slabs of rock shot from the ground, linking into jagged barriers that slowed the oncoming destruction. Explosions ripped into them regardless, sending cracks up the walls and throwing chunks of stone into the rear ranks.
Thump, thump, massive shadows loomed behind the walls. Members of the Akimichi clan stood tall, their bodies swollen with chakra. They braced against the shockwaves with nothing but reinforced armor and dense muscle, their bare feet dragging furrows into the earth as they softened the blow for everyone else.
Shards lanced past them, sharp and fast enough to gouge flesh but not armor. The rocks curved through breaks in formation, heading straight for vulnerable support ninja at the rear lines,
"Now!"
"Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm!"
Whip, crack! A wall of compressed air ruptured forward as every Hyuga in sight activated their palm strikes in perfect sync. Blurred hands slammed into empty space again and again until stone shattered mid, air and fell harmlessly at their feet. Wind hissed around them, sharp, precise, undisturbed by panic.
Though startled, the Senju alliance held firm enough to minimize casualties from the surprise assault. Rear ranks broke apart and reshuffled on instinct under orders from the surviving clan heads.
Tch. Sarutobi Sasuke frowned and turned to the others sharply. "They've secured multiple tailed beasts, but how many?"
Shimura's clan head laughed low under his breath. "It's just a few beasts. What are you worried about?"
Similar scoffs echoed in the huddle of commanders, hardened killers, used to surviving worse than exploding monsters. Outside of Hashirama and Madara themselves, there were few forces left that could make these veteran leaders flinch.
One tailed beast? Two? Without the Nine, Tails involved, they weren't impressed.
"Even if Uchiha Izuna appears himself," one of them said coldly, "we'll grind him down too."
They came for blood, and glory. The Three Heroes of Senju fighting side by side? A historic moment to hitch their names to power that would dominate the ninja world once this war ended. They brought elites, not scouts or bait, but second sons and prized heirs primed to carve history into corpses.
Heads nodded in agreement as glances passed between them. The message was unspoken but clear: Let's do it now, and make ourselves unforgettable.
"Since everyone agrees, then we, "
"Chief!"
Panting, a messenger slid to a stop in front of Sarutobi Sasuke. "Immediate retreat ordered from headquarters!"
"What?!"
Shimura's voice cracked as he rounded on the courier, anger swelling fast. "Retreat? Over what? It's just a goddamn beast!"
"HUMMM…"
An unfamiliar hum vibrated through every chest in earshot. The ground trembled lightly, as if warning them, and every head turned upward at once.
"There!" one of the sensory ninja shouted. "Above!"
Roaring past cloud cover, a massive beast crashed downward, six insect wings buzzing while a distorted tail snapped behind its body like a whip.
"The Seven Tails…?"
More chakra flared below as aggressive clan heads passed orders down without waiting for orders from above, ignoring retreat protocols entirely. This was another fight, and another chance to claim a legendary kill before higher command stole the credit.
"Take it down!" someone shouted, and hands flew into seals immediately.
Too late, the beast wasn't charging a tailed beast bomb. It pulsed instead, a wrong kind of chakra surge that burned hotter and brighter than anything they expected.
Sarutobi Sasuke's eyes widened. "SELF, DESTRUCT! MOVE!"
No time, most had already begun casting offense, based ninjutsu or forming strike teams around the point of impact. Only a handful, the Hyuga nearest the center, spun into defense with Kaiten just in time to shield themselves from full exposure.
FWOOOOOMMM!
Light spilled outward in a perfect sphere as a massive rumble flooded the battlefield, the Seven Tails exploded above formation with enough force to flatten trees beyond visual range. Dirt launched skyward in waves before falling back down in raining sheets of ash and grit.
BOOM!
Pressure rolled across hills, the impact zone engulfed by dust clouds and twisted steel plating that slammed outward faster than anyone could outrun it. Dozens were hurled back through broken terrain, unconscious bodies tumbling alongside chunks of metal debris and splintered armor pieces.
Groans echoed faintly from scattered figures as they stirred beneath soot, stained cloaks, somehow alive.
One Genin gasped sharply as he sat up, coughing and grabbing at his limbs in disbelief before blurting out, the only words he could find:
"I, I'm okay…? I'm not dead?"
Dozens followed suit, scanning themselves for blood or missing limbs, only to find bruises and scrapes where they expected gore and shattered bones.
He turned slowly toward ground zero,
Buried partially beneath half, melted iron monoliths stood a lone figure in red armor, unmoving and firm against the wind blasting across open terrain.
Someone whispered, reverent and stunned: "Hashirama-sama…?"
"It was Lord Hashirama! He saved us!!"
Voices gathered like wildfire, shouts cracking in relief and awe, as survivors cheered wildly across formation gaps. The sound traveled across the battlefield within seconds, building fast enough to reach even Hashirama himself mid, fight against the Nine, Tails far to the east.
"Hah…" Hashirama exhaled after sensing the reaction behind him. "I figured I'd end up needing that backup plan."
Madara stood opposite him atop a rising bluff, her gaze fixed on the aftermath silently until her lips curled into a weightless grin.
"So… that was your clone?"
Hashirama nodded without breaking stance. "When my opponent is Senju Akira, I don't take chances."
Madara's eyebrow arched as she processed those words, and suddenly laughed out loud amidst falling debris and Nine, Tails roars behind her.
"Akira?" Her grin spread wider now. "No wonder… Next time I see him, I just might give him a little reward."
"…Why are you laughing?" Hashirama frowned, not out of anger, but confusion that grew stronger each second she kept chuckling like that,
And then Madara dropped her voice again, with intent layered behind each syllable:
"If you have one clone… then so do I."
Hashirama's entire body tensed at that, and his head whipped toward the distant formation just in time to sense it happening,
SCHLLACK!
Wood splintered as his own clone, the one he'd left behind to protect their rearguard, was carved straight down the middle by a towering blue lightsaber that erupted from underground with no warning at fucking all.
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