Chapter 98: The Final Requiem

Naruto silently watched as Hashirama gave a fearsome battle-cry, the Hokage's power went off the roof and dark lines started forming beneath his eyes. The ground beneath their feet literally split apart, hundreds of houses collapsed instantly and the screams of several terrified people echoed across the entire Reich capital.

In the midst of all this madness, the Kaiser remained unmoved. His sharp gaze fixed on another opponent who emerged from the rubble, and had apparently transformed into a gigantic snake.

"So this is your final form. To think you would twist your own human body like this..." said Naruto distastefully,

Hashirama seemed stunned as he marveled at the gigantic eight headed snake which was almost as large as the Kyuubi. The monster loomed over the entire Reich capital as a symbol of death and destruction. Right in the center of the monster, Orochimaru had somehow merged himself into one of the slithering tongues of the middle snake and was now triumphantly glaring at the cornered Kaiser.

"I brought the strongest warrior of all time, and my most powerful form. It's over, Naruto-kun..." hissed Orochimaru,

Both Hashirama and Orochimaru frowned when Naruto started chuckling, until it turned into a full blown mad laughter.

"Have you truly forgotten as to who I am?"

Hashirama's eyes widened on hearing those words, without wasting a moment he started performing a set of hand seals. But alas, it had already began...

Orochimaru had to back away quickly when an even more monstrous wave of chakra washed over the entire area, destroying anything that came in its path. A malicious killing intent as fierce as the Nine Tails descended on them, and then he saw it.

Naruto's entire body started getting covered by Susanno, but it didn't just stop there as the monster started growing in size. Bigger and Bigger...

The Susanno's rear formed nine large tails, and there was something different about them. Each tail started assuming the face of a dragon and its entire body started getting covered in ice crystals. One tail headed dragon opened its mouth showing fire burning inside, the next water, the third lightning, the fourth earth goblets, the fifth seemed to be formulating sharp blade winds judging from the constant crumbling and reforming of ice.

The sixth and seventh tail headed dragons formed an ice beam and an orb of Amaterasu black flames respectively.

The eight had small reddish colored balls swirling in its mouth.

And the ninth was made up of pure yellow colored energy.

The entire Susanno was larger than Orochimaru's eight headed snake form and was sporting various forms of energy that had the color of blue, yellow, red and black. It had a large ice sword in one of its hands and a gigantic wooden shield powered by the yellow colored energy.

Its demonic dark black eyes glared at its two opponents.

And finally, it unleashed two massive wings from the upper half of its back. A few seconds later, the monstrous Susanno was flying several feet high in the sky.

Hinata and several terrified Reich soldiers grabbed the coffins which held the bodies of Rei, Shin and Sai. They had been scared when Hashirama and Orochimaru unleashed their power, but seeing that...

Anko hesitantly turned around. Her lips trembled even as her eyes couldn't tear themselves apart from that thing in the sky...

''Run..." said Anko fearfully,

Hashirama saw the Reich soldiers flee faster than rabbits despite the barrier which Naruto had formed to contain the damage. Even his own eyes could only marvel at the sight of this power...

"It seems your descendants have surpassed you Madara. But then again he is part Senju, the power of both clans runs through his veins..." thought Hashirama gravely,

Naruto remained floating in the midst of that monster, his Mangekyo Sharingan burning brighter than ever.

"There are only two people in the world who can claim to match my power. And neither of them are here..." said Naruto icily,

The Kaiser's murderous gaze landed on Orochimaru and he instantly clenched his fists.

"Mokuton: Sashiki no Jutsu (Wood Release: Cutting Technique)"

Hundreds of gigantic wooden spears rose from the ground rapidly piercing the eight headed snake form all across its body. The creature and Orochimaru howled in unison as showers of blood drenched the entire area. The Snake Sannin yelled in agony when his damaged body started getting frozen in ice.

He desperately tried to get out of this bloody trap, but the more he struggled the more awful the pain became.

"These wooden tendrils are sucking my chakra and using it to freeze me..." thought Orochimaru worriedly,

Terrified he looked upwards only to see Naruto pointing two fingers at him. And...

"This is not over. I am the Snake Sannin!" yelled Orochimaru, his eyes promising bloody murder.

"You may have once been a great warrior but now your era is over. Disappear, trash!" declared Naruto icily,

A gigantic black colored ball formed in one of the ice dragons mouth, while another had already prepared a barrage of large red colored smaller balls. All of them aimed at the frozen form of Orochimaru...

Hashirama had already anticipated this and had finished his preparations. As soon as the Kaiser raised his hand, the Senju slammed his own hand on the ground...

"Mokuton: Hōbi no Jutsu (Wood Style: Wood Expulsion Jutsu)"

A large dome like structure with a dragon's face emerged from the ground quickly engulfing the First Hokage in its belly. Orochimaru trembled as his attempts to escape went in vain, he was completely trapped. His eyes fixed on the glowing sky, and he was mesmerized with that power.

"If only I could have that power. If only..." thought Orochimaru disappointedly,

"FIRE!" yelled Naruto

"Yasaka No Magatam!''

"Bijudama (Tailed Beast Ball)!"

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

When Hashirama stepped out of his dome, he found himself standing in the midst of a deep crater. So drastic was the impact of the attack that nothing in an entire kilometer had survived.

There was no sign of Orochimaru, as if the man and his gigantic snake form was wiped out from the face of the earth.

Smaller crystal forms of ice fell from the sky, and Hashirama looked up to see Naruto still standing there with a satisfied smile on his face. The purple flame barrier which the Kaiser had formed was destroyed alongwith the clones maintaining it.

"If not for that barrier, half of the capital would have been destroyed. But even such a powerful barrier couldn't survive that attack..." thought Hashirama gravely,

Wordlessly, he made a few hand seals and made 4 wood clones in different directions. All of them concentrated their power and slammed their hands together...

"Shisekiyojin (Four Red Yang Formation)"

A gigantic square shaped barrier which was red in color started forming around the last two fighters. Naruto made no move to stop its formation, and simply stared at its beauty and the power he sensed from this jutsu. It was far more powerful than the barrier he had formed.

In a move which surprised Hashirama, he gave a slight bow to the older Senju.

"Thank you for being gracious, Hashirama-sama..." said Naruto gratefully,

"There is no need for anymore innocents to die in our battle. This barrier can survive any attacks we throw at each other, you can go all out Kaiser..." challenged Hashirama,

"I never thought I would get the honor of fighting the strongest shinobi. I respectfully accept your challenge, let the better fighter prevail..." said Naruto respectfully,

Naruto narrowed his eyes when Hashirama got a mysterious smile on his face.

"You are forgetting one thing Kaiser..." reminded Hashirama,

"What is it?" asked Naruto curiously,

"You may have the combined powers of the Uchiha, Senju, Uzumaki and the Kyuubi inside of you. But in the end you are a man, and all men can be killed..." threatened Hashirama,

"And I have an endless source of chakra, but you don't..."

Those words managed to send a cold chill down Naruto's spine, Kurama was also tense as memories of his defeat to the Hokage all those decades ago came flooding back in his heart. History was either on the course of repeating itself again or...

"Bring it on, Hashirama..." shouted Naruto,

Hashirama joined his fingers creating a hand seal which Naruto was very familiar with.

"Mokuton Bunshin (Wood Clones)"

Nearly 100 identical Hashirama clones popped into existence instantly, and started scattering across the entire barrier with great speed. Even for the almighty Kaiser, this was too much to process that quickly. His Mangekyo spinned rapidly in order to find out the original and put an end to this army with one single strike.

And it costed him immensely...

"Senpō: Myōjinmon (Sage Art: Gates of the Great God)"

Naruto was alarmed when he heard Hashirama's voice from somewhere across the field of clones. The Kaiser sensed an enormous attack on coming from...

He looked up to the sky only to have his eyes widened in shock...

CRACK!

Atleast Ten gigantic red gates fell from the sky, the first two of them directly hitting the wings which were holding Naruto's Susanno in the sky. The damage was massive as the ice wings shattered due to the monstrous power and the Susanno fell from the sky crashing into the ground with a loud...

BANG!

Debris larger than several buildings flew everywhere due to the crash eliminating some poor Hashirama clones who were too close to the crash site.

Barely had the smoke cleared, and Hashirama saw that Naruto's Susanno was just slightly damaged and was on the verge of standing back again. Pointing his right hand forward, a seal glowed on the Senju's hand.

"HA!" yelled Hashirama,

Naruto gasped in pain when several more monstrous gates rained from the sky pining each and every one of his Susanno's dragon tails.

"What is this?" thought Naruto in horror,

He couldn't move any of his tails.

"Naruto, this attack was capable of stopping mine and Madara's combined power. Don't lose focus, or this man will kill you for sure..." warned Kurama,

"What is he?" asked Naruto painfully,

"He is the man who defeated Madara Uchiha and every Biju of this world. Hashirama is the strongest warrior I've ever seen, and that Sage Mode of his..." cursed Kurama, and saw Naruto gritting his teeth.

"I have not come this far to lose..." said Naruto fiercely,

Nearly 50 Hashirama wood clones leapt towards their immobilized opponent with the intent of tearing him apart. A ferocious snarl escaped from Naruto's lips as he pointed his glowing ice sword forward.

"Hyorinmaru, it's time to show him our power..." thought Naruto furiously,

"Sensatsu Suisho (A Thousand Needles of Death)!"

Every Hashirama looked up in the sky to see an endless rain of ice needles forming. So large was the attack that it blocked the moon itself, and then they rained.

Naruto grinned in satisfaction when hundreds upon hundreds of ice needles rained down on his powerful enemy. The clone army that was about to attack him was brutally slaughtered. Until the last clone hissed in pain and vanished, Naruto continued his attack. Every defense the clones created was shattered due to the sheer power of the Kaiser's attack.

In the end, only the real Hashirama remained whose entire body was covered in ice needles. Alas, the wounds had already started to close up...

The Senju gave a subtle nod, a gesture which the Kaiser returned with a bittersweet smile of his own.

Naruto didn't know why but despite the danger this man posed to his life, to the Reich, to everything they had built so far; Naruto felt happy. For the first time in years, there was someone who was not only strong enough to stand up against him but also push him back.

"Had my heart craved for such an enemy these past years?" thought Naruto curiously,

Regardless he focused his power to the front, and a large ball of dark energy started forming in the Susanno's mouth.

"You're truly strong, Kaiser Naruto..." complimented Hashirama, in a fatherly voice.

"Bijudama (Tailed Beast Ball)!"

Hashirama saw the monstrous bomb rapidly approaching towards him ready to evaporate every part of his reanimated body. In his defense, the Senju bit his thumb, performed a quick hand seal and slammed his bleeding palm on the ground.

"Kuchiyose: Gojū Rashōmon (Summoning: Five-Layer Rashomon)"

Five giant gates having various demonic faces lined up in Hashirama's defense. With great force the Bijudama collided with the defensive walls, and Hashirama quickly jumped away as Naruto's monstrous attack tore through nearly 4 of the gates. As it clashed with the fifth gate, the Bijudama was quickly deflected in the opposite direction where it collided with the barrier shaking the entire ground.

When Hashirama turned to locate his opponent again, he was shocked to see Naruto had managed to transform his ice sword into an ice axe. And now that axe glowing with bright blue energy had clashed with the divine gates pinning down Naruto's Susanno.

CRASH!

It took a lot of effort and destruction of 3 dragon tails, but Naruto managed to free his remaining Susanno and made it stand back straight.

"So the Bijudama was a distraction. Good thinking..." thought Hashirama,

The Hokage prepared himself as Naruto raised his hand again, and this time all remaining six dragon headed tails, and the divine sword of his Susanno targeted Hashirama.

"FIRE!" yelled the Kaiser,

"Katon: Goka Mekkyaku (Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation)"

"Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu(Water Release: Water Bullet Technique)"

"Fuuton Kazekiri (Wind Release: Wind Cutter Jutsu)"

"Doton Ishihassha (Earth Release: Stone Catapult Jutsu)"

"Raiton Rakurai no Jutsu (Lightning Release: Thunderbolt Jutsu)"

"Amaterasu Danmaku (Amaterasu Barrage)!"

Hashirama grimaced as an army of tidal fire wave, hundreds of water bullets, invisible wind blades, gigantic stone boulders, screeching tornado of lightning bolts and goblets of black flames were launched at him all at once.

"Mokuton: Moku Joheki (Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall)"

A semi-circular wooden shaped dome engulfed Hashirama as the combined attack made contact. The sound was deafening, even as hundreds of wooden pieces floated in the sky due to being hit by that attack. Then everything went silent...

Naruto narrowed his eyes and tried to get a closer look, when something emerged from the smoke.

"Mokuton: Mokuryu no Jutsu (Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique)"

A gigantic wood dragon with demonic yellow eyes emerged from the smoke with Hashirama standing on top of it. With great speed, the creature leapt forward towards the stunned Kaiser.

"Naruto, defensive measures quickly!" advised Kurama, sudden fear visible in his voice.

Without even blinking the Kaiser made a few hand seals, and muttered silently.

"Doton: Yomi Numa(Swamp of the Underworld.)"

A large muddy swamp was formed instantly. Hashirama steered his wood dragon in a different direction, but Naruto had anticipated such a move and had intentionally increased the impact area of his defensive measure. As a result, the lower half of the wood dragon was unsuccessful in evading the attack and got trapped.

With the monster halted, Naruto brought Hyorinmaru forward and gathered a large amount of chakra...

"Kokuryo Bofusetsu (Black Dragon Blizzard)"

Two ice dragons of the same size of Hashirama's wood dragon were formed. Their dark red eyes glowed murderously as together they leapt at the struggling Senju warrior.

Naruto panted harshly, the string of constant attacks had eaten up a significant amount of his chakra reserves. Hashirama had been right in a way, the Senju had a grave advantage in this battle.

The Kaiser gritted his teeth when the powerful wood dragon literally ate off one of the ice dragon's head, and Hashirama created a wooden hand from his beast to grab the other ice dragon by the throat. A moment later, Naruto's last dragon was shattered to little pieces...

What the Hokage hadn't expected was the Kaiser to leap wildly towards him with his Susanno,

BAM!

The tip of Naruto's Susanno's wooden shield hit the wood dragon straight in its face, making it roar painfully. Without even wasting a minor second, Naruto jabbed his ice sword straight through one of the wood dragon's eyes.

It screamed!

The Kaiser grinned as his sword channeled chakra inside the wounded beast...

"KATSU!"

Hashirama quickly leapt away as a moment later his wood dragon completely exploded, unable to digest the demonic energy that had destroyed its head. The rest of the body didn't take long to crumble...

This victory didn't come without a cost, as three more of Naruto's dragon headed tails collapsed and the Kaiser was panting.

Both warriors shared a fleeting glance and their hands moved in similar fashion.

"Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kotan!" (Wood Release Secret Technique: Birth of Dense Woodland)"

"Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kotan!" (Wood Release Secret Technique: Birth of Dense Woodland)"

From both sides, the two warriors created hundreds of trees formulating a vast forest. In a battle that would forever be remembered for ages, the twin forests clashed with each other. Nature's energy twisted to the whims of humans, each forest resembled the hopes, dreams, struggle and pain of their caster.

Blood leaked from Naruto's mouth as he poured his strength into that attack, matching Hashirama's power with his own while maintaining his large Susanno at the same time.

The Senju was also fighting back with fierce strength, but the Kaiser was determined.

Tears of blood slipped from Naruto's eyes as his body started to being pushed to its limits. All his life he had wondered why a powerful man like Madara Uchiha lost to someone like Hashirama. Now he knew why...

Slowly, but surely the Susanno was being pushed back as Naruto's own forest was slowly getting eaten by Hashirama's.

The Kaiser's hands started trembling, body started shaking, little black dots started appearing in front of his eyes but he didn't relent.

"For the sake of the thousands who have died for this day, I can't stop. I...won't..." thought Naruto painfully,

"HASHIRAMA!" yelled Naruto furiously, his Mangekyo spinning.

"AMATERASU!"

The Senju's eyes widened when Naruto unleashed a Tsunami of black flames, the scorching flames burned each and every tree, every plant, every leaf. In a matter of mere seconds, where once stood two struggling forests now only remained the charred ashes of burnt trees. Both forests now completely destroyed...

Naruto's remaining Susanno tails with dragon faces shattered, leaving only the body of the ancient power. Even that was slowly crumbling, with Naruto panting harshly.

"Enough, Naruto. At this rate, you will die..." advised Hashirama patiently, true concern evident in his eyes.

"There...is...no...other...way...for...me, Hashirama. Victory...or...death..." said Naruto tiredly,

"Isn't it possible for us to coexist? Make peace with the shinobi..." suggested Hashirama, his voice hopeful yet desperate.

Whatever this boy had turned into today, it was directly related to the decisions made by him and his brother. More than that, Naruto was not evil. He was simply a warrior with a different vision, just like him.

"Why...do...you...care...Hashirama?If...I...fall...so...does...the...Reich. It...works...in...your...favor..." said Naruto, coughing more blood.

For the first time, Naruto saw true sorrow in the older Senju's eyes as the man stared at him.

"I couldn't save Madara, I didn't pay heed to his advice and it led the world to this point. You of all people can understand the pain of losing one's best friend, I don't want to kill you..." said Hashirama honestly, and it made Naruto smile sadly.

"Hashirama, it's just not possible...for...us...to...show...our...guts...to...each...other" said Naruto sadly,

Those words struck a deep blow to the Senju's heart. His eyes teared up, an unbearable sorrow erupted in his chest as Naruto started walking towards him with his Susanno.

What made this even more painful was the gentle smile on Naruto's face, an understanding look visible in the Kaiser's eyes.

With trembling fingers the Senju clasped his hands...

"Mokuton: Kajukai Kōrin (Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees)"

Several large trees emerged from the ground and from their combined power a huge flower was born. Seconds later, it started releasing pollen that spread all around Naruto.

"Naruto..." said Kurama,

"Not yet, not yet..." muttered the boy,

His vision clouded as energy started seeping away from his body. The need to just lie down and sleep grew stronger with every passing moment. But if he did that, then he would never wake up again.

The faces of Kurenai, Haku, Kakashi, Sasuke, Tsunade, Sakura, Anko, Guren, the Sound Four and so many others flashed before his eyes.

People who had trusted him.

Believed in him.

Sacrificed everything for his dream.

And most of all...

"Yang, Rei..." thought Naruto fiercely,

If not for the Reich, if not for his comrades, if not for his comrades, if not for his people...then he had to fight for his children. Give them a life better than the one he had lived, they deserved that. And he would give them that no matter what.

"Naruto, use Ryujin Jakka..." advised Kurama,

"I can't. If it is used here, then it will destroy every single person inside the Capital. My wives and my children included..." retorted Naruto sharply,

"But-"

"You don't know its true power, Kurama. Unless I face a true monster on the battlefield, I can't recklessly use that power..." said Naruto seriously,

"But Hashirama, he'll..." said Kurama hesitantly,

"I'll deal with him. If you continue to support me..." asked Naruto, and received a grin from his fox.

"You need not ask. I'm with you all the way..." promised Kurama,

"Then lend me your power..."

Hashirama blinked. The fatigue vanished from the Kaiser's face, the crumbling Susanoo started reforming again. Nine giant tails again erupted from its back, a wave of red energy channeled through the entire structure.

Naruto smiled. A true genuine one as he looked at the stunned Senju.

"The Kyuubi supports you?" asked Hashirama in shock, and saw Naruto scratching the back of his head.

"He's a pain in the ass most of the time, but a good friend..." said Naruto honestly,

"Shut up..." barked the fox, making Naruto laugh.

"You did what we couldn't, what none of your predecessor Jinchuuriki couldn't. Naruto Uchiha, you..." said Hashirama in an astonished voice,

"The Fight's not over yet, Senju..." challenged Naruto,

Hashirama grinned. Clasping his hands together, he channeled all his chakra while giving his loudest battle-cry. Naruto raised his nine Susanno tails each holding a monstrous tailed beast ball, Hyorinmaru glowed brighter than ever, and the layers of bones on the Susanoo increased rapidly.

"Senpō Mokuton: Shin Sūsenju (Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands)"

Hashirama created the greatest statue Naruto had ever seen. Towering hundreds of meter above his Susanno, and having twice the mass it had the face of a Buddha. The most frightening thing about it were the thousand long, strong wooden arms.

Both warriors looked at each other one last time...

"NARUTO!"

"HASHIRAMA!''

And they charged.

Naruto fired all of his tailed beast bombs, Hashirama unleashed his army of wooden hands.

Strike after strike, blow after blow, the magnificent dance continued for several minutes. Layers upon layers of Naruto's Susanno started crumbling, while hundreds of hands of the Buddha Statue were getting destroyed simultaneously.

Hashirama raised the right hand of his Statue, a seal glowing on its palm. Kurama yelled a last minute warning...

Naruto's ice sword rose slicing the incoming arm of the Buddha, hundreds of wooden arms broke through the Susanno landing devastating blows on Naruto's true physical body.

With great strength, the Kaiser burned all of them with his Mangekyo's Black Flames.

Amidst the battle of their monstrous forms, Naruto and Hashirama's eyes connected with each other. Smiling, they leapt at each other away from the battling Susanno and Buddha Statue.

Hashirama dashed forward and stabbed his sword clean through Naruto's gut. The Kaiser's eyes widened as he coughed blood...

At the same time, Hashirama gasped. A sword held by Naruto had also pierced his gut...

Time seemed to stop as the greatest warriors of the shinobi era gazed into each other's eyes. Naruto had tears in his eyes, while Hashirama was smiling.

"Become a Kaiser the likes of which this world has never seen before..." wished Hashirama, gently patting Naruto's head.

"I will..." promised Naruto,

"And...please...look...after...Tsunade..."

Naruto nodded.

And Hashirama closed his eyes.

"Zanka no Tachi, Higashi: Kyokujitsujin (Longsword of the Remnant Flame, Void)"

The gigantic forms of the Susanoo and the Buddha Statue shattered into millions of tiny pieces. Hashirama had a peaceful smile on his face, the Hokage's body crumbled and the divine light emerging from it was sealed inside the steel of Ryujin Jakka.

The Senju faded into darkness.

"Your fight is over, Hashirama. Rest now..." said Naruto respectfully,

The Red Barrier disappeared with the crumbling of Hashirama's clones, the Kaiser fell on his knees. Body completely exhausted, blood oozing from his gut and various other body parts. The Mangekyo fading away and Ryujjin Jakka lying idly by his side.

His vision darkened, even as he heard several voices and the silhouettes of people approaching towards him.

"We did it, Kurama..."

And the Kaiser collapsed