BORUTO'S MASTERS – SASUKE VS HASHIRAMA
The Camp
Doubts fill Hashirama's mind as Boruto retreats into the distance. He has only fought Sasuke for a few seconds and never really had the chance to witness him fight in the past. The only time he and the Uchiha survivor walked the same world was when the latter was resurrected, and the former was incapacitated. On the other hand, Sasuke has fought alongside him in the war. Hashirama is not without his advantages though, he has fought with Boruto for a long time now, and he has fought against Sarada, these two use fighting styles largely sourced from Sasuke's. Lastly, there is the gap in their battle class. Sasuke may be able to call on this viridian energy, but he doesn't appear to have mastered it to the same degree as Hashirama.
Hashirama calls Sasuke's bluff, ignoring him completely and instead leaping after Boruto.
Suddenly, Hashirama, having been charging after his pupil, appears right in front of Sasuke. There isn't much time to react, but as he gets his fists up to protect himself, he notices that the energy around Sasuke has changed, morphing into a divine cloak, viridian in colour. Sasuke is a class 7 warrior just as he is.
Sasuke lands a trio of strikes on Hashirama, fist, elbow, fist, his power may not compare to the 1st Hokage, but his technique is unrivalled by any shinobi. After the third strike, the Senju clansmen attempts a counterpunch and this is exactly what Sasuke is waiting for. The timing of the attack is good, but Sasuke's timing is godly, he avoids the counterpunch, countering with his own spinning kick. His foot lands firmly on the back of Hashirama's skull, spinning him twice as Sasuke's puts distance between the two of them.
Hashirama comes to a halt and raises his hands, preparing to block anymore incoming attacks. Nothing, it's as he feared, there is a difference in style between Sasuke and Madara. There are techniques and even strikes that are almost exclusive the Uchiha clan, but while Madara walked that path perfectly, Sasuke walked an entirely different path. One attacks relentlessly, the other reacts swiftly, adapting to his opponent and the battle with grace.
"That green energy, 'Space' energy I believe," Hashirama says, "However, I've never seen it in this exact colour before."
"My energy is not as limited as that," Sasuke reveals.
Sasuke runs towards the Senju clansmen, a pace much slower than that set by his opponent earlier. It's a calm that only Sasuke can maintain so well in the face of such battle. Hashirama has fought terrifying shinobi before having only truly been bested by Naruto, but Sasuke is a very different man to his best friend. Naruto fights as a hammer, all power with nothing held back, but Sasuke is a blade, used calmly and carefully to find the perfect cut.
Hashirama takes a single step back, assuming a superior defensive position. Sasuke strikes forward, his attack seemingly very slow.
Hashirama should have realised by now that his opponent is not fighting by the normal rules. Unfortunately, it has taken him too long to make the most basic of realisations, Sasuke's muscles are not right. For a man going nowhere near his full speed, he seems to be putting everything into going as fast as he can.
Suddenly, Sasuke's speed multiplies several times over. Sasuke lands a punch then two kicks as he spins his body parallel to Hashirama. As he lands back on his feet, he grabs his sword, slicing the length of Senju clansmen's arm. As he moves to strike a second time with his sword, his movements return to a normal pace as Hashirama backs away.
'He moved me from one place to another before, manipulating space to move me elsewhere. This is different though, he's not manipulating space to change the speed of his movements, nor is he using a power that boosts his speed. He's changing the rate of time his body is experiencing.'
Indeed, Hashirama is right.
There exists an element that deals with the fabric of all matter in reality, the way it changes, all that it can be and all that it has been. Understood by those with rare talent as 'space' energy, and those with equally rare abilities as 'time' energy, in reality both realisations are only half the true story. When one fully understands this power, they exist not as two elements but as one.
Energies green and silver, overlapping and intwined they present as a single viridian power.
Sasuke's power is 'spacetime' energy.
Sasuke sees the realisation in Hashirama's eyes, far slower than he expected. Hashirama, like Naruto, was never an intellectual powerhouse, but Sasuke respected something that few saw in either of them. When it came to battle, their minds were sharper than anyone else's.
"I was impressed by your powers during the war," Sasuke reveals.
"I have only gotten stronger since then, Uchiha."
"Maybe, but that Senju Hashirama was a mighty warrior too, and he was far more impressive than you are."
Hashirama condenses his 'death' energy into a dart, mirroring an old technique that he saw General Clyde use with his 'darkness' energy many times. Sasuke may have been able to catch his sword when thrown at full power, but if he so much as touches this little bundle of energy his arm will fall off.
Sasuke makes a small prism of 'spacetime' energy between himself and the 'death' dart. Stepping through the prism, he emerges behind Hashirama, his back to his village's first leader. Similarly, the dart also appears behind Hashirama, it's direction and momentum preserved as it flies into his back and knocks him to the ground. It is only thanks to the 1st Hokage's incredible healing powers that he is able to survive.
"There is a bridge between you and I that you cannot bridge with power alone," Sasuke explains to Hashirama, "When you battle out of hatred, there's a part of your soul that will always be holding back. That's why he always defeats us. You've drifted away from Naruto, and I've drifted towards him."
Nearby, Boruto finally reaches Shikadai and the others. He checks Mitsuki, ChouChou and Inojin, confirming that the three of them are OK before thanking Shikadai. Together, he works with his friend, combining their energies 'darkness' and 'death' to force back the hordes of warriors under Tao Ma's command.
Tao Ma himself charges towards Boruto at the head of a group of his subordinates. As they charge towards the two shinobi in an attempt to swarm them, Tao Ma creates his tentacle-like constructs, powerful melee weapons of 'death' energy, and swings them down towards the shinobi ensemble.
Previously, Shikadai would have had no chance of surviving an attack like that, but now his confidence is total as a 'death' enhanced golden wheel reincarnation explosion dismembers the constructs before they can strike down at them. Boruto's power is not only greater than Tao Ma's, his speed, reaction time and skill level are far greater.
Boruto charges into the horde of incoming warriors, at this close range his power over the kunai that he throws is far greater than it was from afar. He pulls a scroll from his waist, using it to some dozens of the small projectiles, casting them out in all directions. As the bladed weapons fly, he conjures up the chakra from within, using wind chakra to create invisible walls, bouncing the kunai in all directions. Many of the kunai are converted to rasengan at the exact right moment, Boruto using his tenseigan to determine which will connect with their targets much in advance. Others are left in their default state, Boruto realising that the blade will act as a greater deterrent to the progressing enemy, even though it isn't going to connect.
Some of the enemy manage to slip through Boruto's net, but their numbers are greatly reduced. He checks their energy levels as they slip through, deliberately throwing back more kunai to deal with any particularly strong ones. The remainder all fall into Shikadai's well-planted trap.
The shadow possession technique shouldn't work on people with this degree of power, but a shadow possession enhanced by his 'darkness' energy is more than strong enough. Dozens of them are caught in his trap, Shikadai uses his superior mind to manipulate them one by one, exerting an almost frightening level of control over them. For him, mopping up these slackers is no longer such a challenge.
Nearby, Sakura's pleas for Tsunade to come to her senses go unanswered. The 5th Hokage chases her pupil from across time, throwing several volleys of powerful strikes. Each of them strike with a power completely unmatched on their level, strikes so powerful that they could be mistaken for those of class 7 warriors. The two class 6 warriors have dedicated more to the pursuit of raw power than any other. Both masters of raw strength, one a dedicated sage with a double-transcendent element, the other one of the village's most successful ever team, herself a master of transcendent 'strength' energy.
Tsunade strikes Sakura repeatedly, each time believing that the 'death' energy should stick to her opponent and slowly destroy her, but it doesn't last no matter how hard she tries to make it. The lingering 'death' energy brings great pain to Sakura, but each time she is struck, she slaps the fatal energy with her own 'healing' equivalent.
Tsunade decides to be more lethal, grabbing for Sakura's head and smashing her own towards it as powerfully as she can. Both their heads rattle as they crash together, immense pain consuming them both. However, in a battle of wills where Sakura knows she is doing the right thing, she absolutely refuses to lose. Additionally, with her own 'healing' energy, the master medic recovers from the blow much more quickly than her master.
As Sakura is the quickest to recover, she grips Tsunade by wrapping her arm around the rear of her neck. Sakura strikes Tsunade with her vacant hand, knocking the 5th Hokage down into the floor. As Tsunade hits the ground, Sakura tries to follow up with yet another punch, so Tsunade rolls away. Each time Sakura attempts to strike her more sand is thrown up into the air as she misses.
Their view obscured for a few moments, Tsunade gains the advantage with her sage mode powers. She strikes the vision impaired Sakura repeatedly, several times more than should be required due to her unique ability to recuperate. When the sand finally clears, Sakura is down, gasping for breath as her teacher stands over her.
Tsunade reaches down for Sakura, the Haruno clanswomen mortified when she realises her teacher is really going for the kill with this blow. Sakura heard mention of Tsunade's new sage powers but didn't appreciate the advantage this gave her until now. She concludes there is only one way to win. As Tsunade drops down to her level, Sakura grabs her teacher's robe and slams their heads together once again.
Both are rattled, but Sakura's 'healing' energy helps her get to her feet first.
Sakura lands a combination of punches before Tsunade is able to recover, then, seeing her returning lucidity, grabs Tsunade's robe, slamming their heads together once again.
Tsunade glares at her student, with them both capturing something in the others' eyes for the first time since they met in the future. They see bloodlust, a raw determination to win this fight and to survive, no matter how violent they have to be. Sakura smashes her head into Tsunade's once again, their hundred healings marks touching as if a reminder to the two shinobi.
They both begin to draw on their reserves, releasing their hundred healings mark, the symbol of their time having trained together. Sakura knows that this changes nothing though, her strategy doesn't involve self-preservation, it involves attacking Tsunade repeatedly, until the Sannin can't get up. Whenever their heads collide it becomes a reset point for Sakura, each time giving her a few precious seconds she can attack within which Tsunade can't recover. A few precious seconds within which she can attack unimpeded.
Sakura's bloodlust weakens as the fight goes on, as her advantage over Tsunade increases quicker and quicker. Her own pain, though immense, becomes inconsequential as she sees the toll it is taking on Tsunade. However, the 5th Hokage continues to get up, unable to stay down no matter how much it may benefit her. She is being driven on to her own detriment, driven crazy by the man controlling the hive mind.
Sakura shakes her head, whispering the words, "I'm sorry," as she is presented with the chance to end this.
As Tsunade bears down on her, the Hokage's first chance to counterattack in a worryingly long time, she limps on her 2nd and 3rd steps, being thrown completely off balance. Sakura steps into her teacher, striking her head, then her legs from behind. Sakura doesn't hold back, pushing her elbow into Tsunade's limbs as hard as she can until she feels something break. It's a sequence of twenty strikes that the 5th Hokage is unable to answer.
After Sakura is done with her relentless assault, Tsunade appears done altogether.
Unable to support her own weight, the seal gone from her head and nature chakra having evacuated from her body, Tsunade collapses to the floor, a pitiful resemblance of her former self.
Sakura cringes as she watches, wanting to help with her newfound 'healing' energy but knowing that she cannot. Tsunade's recovery rate is great and she will be back on her feet before long, Sakura cannot make that any quicker, not out of pity, nor out of mercy. She has to protect the others so they can get away from here.
Close by, Hashirama has finally got his hands on Sasuke, and with each blow he lands against the Shadow 7th Hokage, he gets one step closer to defeating him. Sasuke regularly manages to use the space element of his 'spacetime' powers to divert the incoming strikes, but when they come with such frequency, not even his incredible powers can block them all.
Hashirama notices a little tap against the bottom of his armor as Sasuke knocks his knuckle against it, a delicate touch, subtle and so slow that it wouldn't hurt a fly. Hashirama notices the same thing as he did before though, Sasuke's body language, he tried as hard as he can to make that blow hurt. It was even slower than the last time he slowed time down, and that could only be for one reason, because he can speed it up even more afterwards.
Sasuke taps his knuckle against Hashirama's armor again, only this time thousands of times quicker, with speed so blinding that Sasuke's knuckle alone is enough to break Hashirama's hold on him, shatter the 1st Hokage's armor and knock him down onto his back.
As Hashirama hits his back he realises that this is a fatal position to be in, that against the likes of Uchiha Sasuke it cannot be sustained. He desperately throws one last attack towards Sasuke, wood in the shape of a sword coming from his palm, wood covered in 'death' energy, he lunges towards Sasuke's throat.
Sasuke reaches for his own sword at the same time, drawing it with as much speed as he can muster, knowing that the utilities offered by the space element of his 'spacetime' energy have yet to recharge. The moment the blade fully emerges from the sheathe he releases his grip on the handle. The wooden sword of Hashirama less than an inch from his throat, Sasuke suddenly shifts to the right.
Hashirama thought he had the timing of Sasuke's abilities perfect, and he did, but he forgot one crucial thing. Sasuke's control over 'spacetime' is not entirely sourced from divine energy, though minor in comparison the rinnegan also provides him the ability to shift through space.
Catching the sword that he swapped places with, Sasuke thrusts it down into the ground, marginally to the side of the defenceless 1st Hokage's head.
Hashirama realises what just happened.
He lost.
Sasuke won, and he spared his life.
Tao Ma runs back towards Hashirama, his proudest addition to the hive mind, with Boruto pursuing him closely. They approach against a backdrop of fallen warriors, each of them who tried to kill Shikadai and the others. Sasuke is pleased to note that Boruto and Shikadai defeated pretty much all of them, and that Sakura is healthy, healing the others.
Tao Ma turns to face Boruto, letting out an exaggerated laugh as he tugs hair from his head.
"This is all your fault," he tells Boruto, "You know that we're right, you've known that all along. You know that must die; you know that you are dooming your village if you fight to protect its enemies."
"I can't trust my own judgement right now," Boruto admits, "That is your fault Tao Ma. Instead, I'm going to rely on the judgement of my master."
"I am your master," Hashirama says.
"So am I," says Sasuke.
Boruto shakes his head, who could have imagined that it would come to this. Who could have imagined that he would be forced to choose between two masters, two of the most powerful shinobi to have ever lived, in these circumstances? Who could have imagined that it would be the formerly peace-loving 1st Hokage and formerly vengeful Shadow 7th Hokage? History has played a cruel trick on them all.
"I am trusting Sasuke," Boruto answers them.
Sasuke nods, pulling his sword from the sand and walking away, Boruto at his side. Tao Ma, Hashirama, Tsunade, the hive mind has been thoroughly defeated by the teacher-pupil team. They walk away unafraid of being pursued. Tao Ma knows that for all this power he has at his fingertips, he has been thoroughly defeated.
Sasuke creates another prism of 'spacetime' energy, inviting his allies to walk into it. One by one they walk into the anomalous energy, teleporting away. They arrive in unison, a slight time manipulation Sasuke's part. In a moment they have travelled ten miles from the scene of the battle, well into the zone where they can safely flea without fear of being discovered.
"That was very impressive," Boruto says.
"We have to discuss something important now," Sasuke says, "Where do we all go from here? Frankly, what we want now is probably different for each of us."
"You think we should go separate ways, don't you?"
"I haven't learnt much about this world, but I know the basics," Sasuke explains, "There are seven kingdoms, one in the centre holding the emperor himself and six around the outside. Walking through Furst's land of Okarin is impossible without being noticed, we need to go around the outside. In a world this large, we will never find the others if we all move together. To have any chance we need to head in different directions, that's just the reality."
"Don't we need to be united?" Sakura asks.
"We need to unite behind Naruto," Sasuke answers, "Boruto is strong, as am I, but right now he hasn't the confidence in himself to lead, and I am not a man that people will follow. You're right, unity is important, but we need to be united with Naruto, not with one another. That has to be the priority."
"We need different priorities, we each have different motivations," Boruto says. "I know my way around this world better than any of you. I'll head out with Mitsuki. We will search for my father so that he can put me back on the right path."
"I see."
"You two have something more important to do. You have a daughter that you have never met, a daughter who needs to know what you did here and that you're alive again. Master, please find Sarada and tell her that I am sorry for what I have done to her."
Sasuke knows of Boruto's relationship with his daughter and before now he didn't know how to feel about it. Clearly Sarada had made the right decision by sticking with Naruto, even as Boruto went on his crusade. Sasuke heard that she made the decision to bring him back to the village, just as Naruto once said he would do to Sasuke. The last thing he wants is for his child to go through the same pain Naruto did, spending years chasing after a man who didn't want to be caught. Now he is relieved though, Boruto is not the same man he was, he wants to do the right thing.
"Very well, Sakura and I will find Sarada," he says, "But we are not going to apologise on your behalf. If you want to offer your apologies you can do it when you see her next."
"OK."
Shikadai steps forward, shaking Sasuke and Boruto by the hand one after another. He then bows to each in turn, showing a respect and enthusiasm not normally in his character.
"You're going a different way, aren't you," Boruto realises.
"Boruto, during this whole incident I've realised how pathetic I have been. My brain proved to be more useful than ever before, but that's what frustrates me. I wasn't able to do anything with my own power, despite wielding a transcendent element I was afraid like a child, relying on you for protection. I can't do that in future, I have to become strong for myself. I think all three of us feel that way. That's why we're going to find our parents, wherever they may be. We have to apologise for turning our back on them."
"I can sympathise with that," Boruto admits, "Are you sure that you won't come with me? I could help you to become stronger."
"No, we have to do this on our own," Shikadai answers.
"I won't be coming with you either," Mitsuki answers.
That has Boruto curious, Mitsuki is his teammate, perhaps his most faithful ally, he was almost certain that Mitsuki would choose to go with him. Where does he have that he would rather be? Boruto asks but his first guess is that Mitsuki will opt to go find Sarada and tell her of what happened here.
"I'm going back," Mitsuki explains.
"To Sarada?"
"To Tsunade."
"Hey Mitsuki, you can't go back there, Tao Ma will kill you, I won't allow it."
"Why do you think Tao Ma wanted to kill us?" Mitsuki asks, "Do you think he believed we were some kind of threat, do you think that he was discriminating against us for not using 'death'. No, he wanted to kill us because he couldn't control us, but that won't be a problem when I go back."
"You're volunteering yourself to the hive mind?"
"I'm not a fool, I won't join the hive mind, but I will follow his instructions to the letter."
"Why?"
"I won't let Tsunade lose anyone else," Mitsuki answers. "Since she came to the future, she has had the worst luck of anyone. She has lost everyone that she cared about, when she made the decision to come here it was to reunite with her grandfather but even that was a lie. Instead, she has forfeited her free will and subjected herself to a life of torment. I can't let her go through that alone. Even if I am forced to do something terrible, I will do it so that she doesn't have to be lonely anymore."
Sakura approaches Mitsuki, hugging him gently. "You're a good man Mitsuki. Tsunade was grateful for everything, that's what she told me. Hold on to that, stay strong, that way you'll be able to smile with us again some time."
"I will. Thank you."
Their paths are now set.
Boruto moves to search for his father.
Inojin, Shikadai and ChouChou set off to search for their parents, not having realised that they died at Hannah's hands.
Sasuke and Sakura journey in search of their daughter.
Mitsuki returns to his pupil's side, determined to suffer so that she will not be alone.
Elsewhere in the land of King Weiss Max, in the land of Aturia, Homeworld's greatest hope is beginning to come to the surface. Pulled around by his comrades, Uzumaki Naruto remains unmoving, meditating on his element of 'life', making the most complicated breakthrough of anyone in the world.
The forces of Homeworld pursue Naruto, representatives of the king, the forces of the imperial guard, the elite hunter, the unbeatable experiment, they all bear down on him. Even Boruto pursues his father, something he considered impossible last night. Right now, Uzumaki Naruto is the most wanted man in all of Homeworld.
Motionless, right now he seems powerless. However, when his eyes open, a man will return to the world who can change things. A man will return to the world who can move people like no other. A man will return to the world more powerful than he has ever been before.
When Naruto awakens, he will be a class 7 warrior.
That day is now closer than ever.
Author Note
Hi All,
That marks the end of part 9, Boruto's Masters.
I will be updating next on Monday with the first chapter of part 10.
Part 10 will be called "Declaration of War".
I hope that part 9 has been enjoyable and that part 10 will be better still.
I will be returning to once a week updates until I have finished planning part 11.
As always, thanks for reading,
Cbehrills
In Response to 4Sigma's Question
Regarding whether pocket-worlders can awaken divine abilities
No, divine abilities are exclusive to the people of Homeworld.
You are right about Jashin, however, that was a unique situation as Jashin was a broken divine ability.
Divine abilities will be explored further in the future, hopefully I can satisfy your curiosity in those future chapters.
Thanks for reading.