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Chapter 235: Supremacy of Bloodline
Chapter 235: Supremacy of Bloodline
Hashirama Senju was keenly aware that those like him had essentially reached their peak, and further progress would require an immeasurable amount of time and effort.
Tobirama Senju had faced the same predicament in his time.
However, Uchiha Madara, who had once been their equal, was an exception.
As the youngest and most talented among the three, Madara's power had already reached formidable heights, and yet his rate of progress showed no signs of slowing down.
Hashirama Senju understood this all too well.
The last time they had met, Madara had displayed strength that surpassed their battle in the Valley of the End, and he had also unveiled new abilities like the Yin Seal and the Black Rod.
And now, he had acquired the Sage Mode as well.
It was hard to fathom what new power Madara would unveil the next time they crossed paths.
The notion of stagnation was foreign to him.
Even Hashirama, who was intimately familiar with the challenges of improving his strength, did not believe that Madara would ever face such an obstacle.
A being who rivals the gods.
To many, this title implied a comparison to Hashirama, the God of Shinobi himself.
But Hashirama believed that Madara, with his limitless potential, stood shoulder to shoulder not with him, but with true divine beings.
During their battle in the Valley of the End, Madara's rhythm had been disrupted.
Now, nothing and no one could prevent him from shining brilliantly.
Hashirama gazed intently at Madara.
Seeing his old rival, who had casually broken his Wood Release jutsu, Hashirama set aside his thoughts and, for the first time in a long while, felt the urge to engage in an all-out battle.
While this current Edo Tensei body still couldn't unleash his full power, it was significantly stronger than the one he had during the Chunin Exams, or when he had been summoned by Orochimaru.
"Senjutsu!"
Hashirama clapped his hands together, and the Sage Mode mask appeared on his face.
The next second, Hashirama and Madara locked eyes, needing no further words.
Hashirama took the initiative and declared:
"Senjutsu: Bright God Gate!"
Numerous red torii gates descended from the heavens, aiming straight for Madara.
Madara glanced up.
"Senjutsu: Storm Release Laser!"
Beams of Storm Release laser shot out from behind Madara like a peacock's tail, destroying the torii gates one by one.
Hashirama, witnessing this, prepared to make his next move.
But Madara didn't give him the chance.
"All Creation Spin!"
Enhanced by senjutsu chakra, this activation of the Rinnegan's power was infinitely more potent than before, akin to the arrival of a black hole.
Hashirama didn't have time to clap his hands again as he was pulled inexorably toward Madara's outstretched palm.
"Rinnegan."
Hashirama immediately thought of Madara.
Compared to the Sharingan, which he had encountered numerous times, the Rinnegan seemed even more domineering in Hashirama's eyes.
This time, Hashirama didn't struggle against the All Creation Spin.
As the distance between them closed, Hashirama's senjutsu chakra was about to erupt when Madara hooked his lips into a smirk and flicked his outstretched hand downward.
Boom!
Hashirama crashed into the ground, creating a large crater.
Madara stepped into the pit, about to reach out.
Vines and trees sprouted wildly from the ground, entangling Hashirama tightly.
Before these plants could do anything further, a loud explosion rang out.
Madara's clone detonated, destroying the trees and vines and sending Hashirama flying backward from the blast.
Hagoromo casually tossed the wooden statue aside, spun on his right foot, and threw a punch infused with immense power straight at Hashirama.
Hashirama did not back down and threw a punch of his own.
The next instant!
With Hagoromo and Hashirama as the center, everything around them froze.
Then, it erupted like a thousand waves.
Amidst the heavy sonic booms and earthquakes, the ground beneath their feet instantly caved in. The materialized blast of energy, accompanied by billowing smoke, forcefully rolled outwards.
Having expended a large amount of chakra to break free from the Sage Art: Deep Snow, Orochimaru had not even caught his breath when he was swept away by the aftermath of Hagoromo and Hashirama's clash.
By the time he managed to stop himself, slowly rising to his feet, he looked on in a disheveled state, only to find that he could barely make out the movements of the two who were engaged in close-quarters combat.
The only thing he could sense was the deafening roar of battle, like the thunderous beat of war drums, and the aftermath of their clash, no less powerful than S-rank ninjutsu.
BOOM!
In the time that followed, the earth shook violently, space twisted, and even the cloud-filled sky turned azure as waves of energy rose.
Watching the scene before him, Orochimaru witnessed the impact of just two people, causing the heavens to collapse and the earth to fissure.
At that moment, Orochimaru was as deeply shaken as he had been during the battle at the Valley of the End, when the Kage bodyguards brought by the Five Kage, and the future Second Hokages, had faced a similar situation.
"Is this the true power of the God of Shinobi, a man who rivals the gods?"
"Is this... something that humans can achieve?"
Orochimaru felt a sense of despair.
Despite his exceptional talent, having developed countless ninjutsu and kinjutsu, he was insignificant in the face of these two.
"Senju... Hagoromo."
Orochimaru acknowledged that his talent was not inferior to Hagoromo's, yet the gap between them was immense.
There could only be one answer.
Bloodline.
Some are born in Rome, while others may never reach it in their lifetime.
The same was true for ninjas.
Through countless experiments, Orochimaru had already concluded that a ninja's growth had its limits.
No matter how hard a person tried or how talented they were, their body and bloodline had already determined their upper limit.
Just as the amount of chakra possessed by civilian ninjas was often inferior to that of ninjas hailing from ninja clans.
And among the ninja clans, ancient clans with long histories, like the Senju clan, the Uchiha clan, and the Uzumaki clan, had larger chakra reserves compared to clans with weaker foundations, such as the Sarutobi, the Shimura, and the Inuzuka.
It wasn't just about chakra quantity; in every aspect, the older and more ancient a ninja clan's bloodline was, the greater the advantage it conferred.
Orochimaru was unaware of the story of Hagoromo Otsutsuki and his two sons.
However, he knew that ancient ninja clans with millennia-old legacies, like the Uchiha clan, the Senju clan, and the Otsutsuki clan, possessed bloodline advantages that far exceeded the imagination of ordinary people.
The appearance of Uchiha Madara, Senju Hashirama, and Hagoromo Otsutsuki was the most typical representation of this.
Orochimaru, of civilian birth, envied them greatly.
He had all the means to climb higher, but there seemed to be an invisible ceiling that restricted him from ascending further.
Throughout the history of the ninja world, the descendants of the Sage of Six Paths had always been the protagonists.
This was the very reason why Orochimaru coveted Uchiha Sasuke.
Being ordinary, he refused to be content with living in the shadow of others.
(End of Chapter)
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