Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

Watching the changes in his hand signs, the smile on Uchiha Taiga's lips deepened. His ten fingers shifted rapidly in front of him, forming the exact same hand signs as Senju Hashirama.

The two of them spoke at almost the exact same time.

"Wood Style: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"

The moment their voices echoed, the forest below surged violently.

The Wooden Golem beneath Senju Hashirama's feet trembled slightly. A fissure split open on the golem's body, and a thick tree trunk extended from within.

It was no ordinary trunk. The moment it emerged, it began to transform. The bark shifted into scales, the branches morphed into sharp claws, and the front end of the trunk shaped itself into a massive dragon's head.

The dragon raised its head, its body pulling out from the Wooden Golem section by section, stretching longer and longer.

The entire wood dragon tore its way out of the golem's body. Over a hundred meters long, it was covered from head to tail in dark brown scales. A pair of curved wooden horns sat atop its head, and its maw was lined with razor-sharp wooden spikes.

The wood dragon reared its head and let out a piercing cry. It wasn't a true vocalization, but rather the deafening creak and groan of twisting wood. Yet, as the sound echoed across the battlefield, it sounded exactly like the roar of a genuine ancient behemoth.

On the other side, the ground beneath Uchiha Taiga's feet was also quaking.

In the forest below him, the trees began to converge in a single direction, as if manipulated by an invisible hand. Trunks merged, roots intertwined, and branches twisted together, resembling countless green rivers flowing into the same ocean.

A colossal dragon's head rose from the forest.

Equally thick, equally massive, and equally ferocious.

However, the coloration of this wood dragon was more varied than Hashirama's, its scales shimmering with a faint, multi-colored luster.

The wood dragon shot out from the forest, raising its head as it charged straight toward Senju Hashirama. It whipped up a fierce gale in its wake, sending the tree canopies below swaying wildly.

The two wood dragons converged in midair, colliding head-on.

Hashirama's dragon head slammed into Taiga's with a deafening boom. Splinters flew everywhere, like two speeding trains crashing in the sky, before they began to entangle.

The bodies of the two wood dragons coiled around each other, resembling two giant pythons fighting over the same territory.

One dragon's body wrapped tightly around the other, while the second dragon whipped its tail back to constrict the first's neck. They twisted together, growing tighter and denser until it was soon impossible to tell which was which.

As they grappled, they viciously tore into each other.

Hashirama's wood dragon opened its massive jaws and clamped down on the neck of Taiga's dragon. The wooden spikes lining its maw dug deep into its opponent's body, sending a spray of splinters scattering like snowflakes from the bite.

Taiga's wood dragon refused to be outdone. Its head snaked around from the other side, biting into the shoulder of Hashirama's dragon. Its claws extended from its body, two massive wooden talons gripping its foe and tearing with tremendous force.

Splinters rained down.

Scales were shredded, and deep gouges were carved into their bodies. One of the horns on a dragon's head was bitten off, plummeting from the sky and smashing a massive crater into the ground below.

The two wood dragons frantically bit and coiled around each other in midair, the resulting shockwaves thrashing the forest below.

Standing atop his Wooden Golem, Senju Hashirama looked up at the two grappling wood dragons, the smile on his face growing wider and wider.

Hovering in midair, Uchiha Taiga watched the two wood dragons with a calm expression. However, his eyes darted constantly, tracking every movement and directing his dragon to counter accordingly.

Both men were smiling—a genuine, heartfelt smile, like children engrossed in an incredibly fun game.

Standing within the head of his Susanoo, Uchiha Madara watched the scene with a darkening expression. His Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan spun rapidly as his gaze darted back and forth between the two brawling wood dragons.

"Don't underestimate me!"

With those words, Madara raised his hands, his fingers flying through hand signs.

His forest began to quake as well.

The dark, corrupted trees converged in a single direction, trunks merging and roots intertwining. A colossal dragon's head rose from his forest. Its color was even darker than the surrounding trees, almost pitch-black, as if forged from dark iron.

The wood dragon shot out from the forest, joining the fray.

The third wood dragon soared into the sky, faster than the first two. Carrying a tyrannical aura, it charged straight toward the two entangled dragons.

It didn't pick a side. It didn't help Hashirama, nor did it help Taiga. Instead, it went straight for both of them.

The third wood dragon crashed into the tangled mass of bodies. Its jaws clamped onto the tail of Hashirama's dragon, while its body coiled around the neck of Taiga's dragon.

The battlefield descended into even greater chaos.

The three wood dragons tangled together, tumbling through the sky like a massive knot of hemp rope.

Splinters flew even more violently, raining down from the sky like a blizzard. Shattered scales, broken horns, and torn claws plummeted from above, crashing into the forest and the earth below, leaving crater after crater in their wake.

In the distance, the onlookers were completely dumbfounded.

Rasa stood beneath the town's outer wall. The Gold Dust still swirled around him, but his movements had completely stopped.

He stared up at the three grappling wood dragons, his mouth slightly agape and his eyes somewhat vacant. Only one thought echoed in his mind: 'Just what level of power is this?'

The other Kage exhibited similar reactions. Every single one of them was utterly shaken by the scene unfolding before them.

Mifune stood at the town gates, his long sword already sheathed. The samurai had also stopped, all of them looking up at the sky with their swords hanging limply at their sides. No one dared to swing a blade.

In the distance, all the Wood Style chakra was being channeled into the three wood dragons. The borders of the forest had stabilized, no longer expanding outward.

Time ticked by.

The three-way brawl between the wood dragons continued, but the situation was beginning to become clear.

The first to show signs of faltering was Uchiha Madara's wood dragon.

When his dark wood dragon first joined the fray, it had been able to contend with the other two. Its strength was formidable, and its speed was impressive.

But as time passed, it began to be suppressed.

Hashirama's wood dragon coiled around its body from the left, while Taiga's wood dragon constricted its neck from the right. One on the left, one on the right, one above, one below—the two dragons completely pinned Madara's wood dragon in the middle.

Madara's wood dragon struggled, its head thrashing from side to side as its claws tore relentlessly. But its body was bound too tightly to move. Its head was clamped in the jaws of Taiga's dragon, and its claws were snapped off by Hashirama's dragon.

Splinters flew.

Scales peeled away.

The horns on its head were snapped.

Its tail was ripped off.

Madara's wood dragon was being torn apart piece by piece.

Hashirama's wood dragon bit down on its tail and gave a vicious yank, tearing it clean off its body.

Taiga's wood dragon clamped onto its neck and violently whipped its head, snapping the dragon's head right off its body.

The wood dragon's body broke into several pieces.

The severed head, the mangled torso, and the torn tail plummeted from the sky, crashing into the earth and leaving several massive craters.

The broken segments of the wood dragon writhed on the ground for a moment before falling still, lying there quietly like a pile of dismantled building blocks.

Standing within the head of his Susanoo, Uchiha Madara watched his wood dragon get torn apart, his expression incredibly gloomy.

"Hashirama, you bastard!"

His voice carried an uncontrollable fury.

Standing atop his Wooden Golem, Senju Hashirama scratched his head.

"Ah, my bad, Madara. I used a bit too much force."

Hovering in midair, Uchiha Taiga burst into laughter as he watched the interaction between the two.

He didn't join their bickering. Instead, he shifted his gaze from Madara to Hashirama.

His hand signs changed, and the wood dragons thrashing in the sky ceased their struggle.

Hashirama's wood dragon and Taiga's wood dragon were still entwined, but their movements slowed, as if awaiting a command.

Taiga completed his hand signs, and at the exact same moment, the forest below began to quake.

In an instant, the tree trunks merged, roots intertwined, and branches twisted together, like countless green rivers flowing into the same ocean.

The trees converged in a single direction, gathering more and more mass, growing larger and taller.

A colossal Wooden Golem rose from the forest.

Hashirama's Wooden Golem looked like a giant wooden doll.

In contrast, Taiga's Wooden Golem resembled a sculpted wooden samurai. It was angular and sharply defined, its body clad in a thick layer of wooden armor.

Every plate of the armor was clearly visible. It had pauldrons on its shoulders, a breastplate over its chest, and a fauld around its waist.

A massive wooden katana hung at its waist. It hadn't grown out of the golem's body; rather, it was sheathed at its side like a true samurai's blade.

This golem stood half a head taller than Hashirama's. It loomed like a mountain, looking down at Hashirama's Wooden Golem.

Uchiha Taiga descended from the sky, landing squarely on the head of his Wooden Golem.

Hashirama stared up at Taiga's Wooden Golem, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly agape. The expression on his face quickly shifted from shock to sheer delight.

"Whoa, this is amazing!"

He shouted, his tone filled with genuine admiration.

Taiga didn't reply. With a push of his feet, the golem rumbled forward, charging straight at Hashirama's Wooden Golem.

Every step produced a deafening boom, leaving a deep footprint cratered into the earth.

Despite its massive size, the golem wasn't slow in the slightest. In just a few strides, it closed the distance to Hashirama's Wooden Golem.

It drew the wooden katana from its waist, the blade carving an arc through the air as it slashed toward Hashirama's golem.

Hashirama's Wooden Golem raised an arm to block.

The wooden fist clashed with the wooden blade, producing a thunderous boom. Splinters flew as Hashirama's Wooden Golem was forced a step back.

Taiga's golem didn't stop. It pulled the katana back and delivered another slash.

This strike was faster and more vicious, aiming straight for the chest of Hashirama's golem.

Hashirama's golem twisted sideways to dodge, but the wooden blade still cleaved into its shoulder, shearing off a massive chunk of wood.

Standing atop his golem, Hashirama's body swayed with the impact, but his footing remained steady, firmly rooted to the golem's head. There was no tension on his face—only pure, unadulterated excitement.

Standing within the head of his Susanoo, Uchiha Madara watched the two Wooden Golems brawling below and let out a cold snort.

His Susanoo spread its wings and dove straight toward Taiga's Wooden Golem.

The dark blue chakra colossus plummeted from the sky, its fist clenched tight as it aimed a devastating blow at the golem's back.

Uchiha Taiga didn't even turn his head.

His golem didn't turn around, nor did it mount a proper defense. With its right hand still gripping the wooden katana, it simply raised its left arm from its side and swatted backward.

The wooden fist collided with the dark blue chakra fist.

BOOM!!

A massive shockwave erupted, blowing the surrounding trees wildly off balance. The Susanoo's massive frame stalled in midair before being forced several steps back.

Taiga's Wooden Golem didn't budge an inch.

"Recognize the gap between us, Uchiha Madara! Step aside!"

Madara's expression darkened to the extreme. His lips were pressed tightly together, and his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan spun furiously, the crimson light practically bleeding from his eyes.

"Damn brat!"

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