Chapter 119

Apart from him, every other monk numbered at least in the tens of thousands.

Taken individually, these monks were not that strong,

but their Fire Temple had its own formation array!!

Once they surrounded the enemy and completed the array,

no one could possibly escape this place!!

Not even that monster on the altar!!!

"All disciples, hear my command!!!"

"Form the array at once!!! Slay this madman here at any cost!!"

"Anyone who wounds this man shall be rewarded with a hundred taels of gold on the spot!!!"

The old monk raised his arm and shouted loudly at the disciples behind him!!!

And upon hearing his words,

the look on every face grew electrified with excitement!!!

A hundred taels of gold—

for disciples like them,

would be enough to guarantee them ten worry-free years of food and drink!!!

Although they could clearly sense the overwhelming power of Hashirama Senju before them,

they trusted even more the Buddhist formation they had trained in!!!

They were tens of thousands strong,

while the enemy was only one man!!

【Sakura Haruno: These Fire Temple monks are disgusting—are they even monks? Greedy for money, every last one of them?!】

【Ino Yamanaka: What I find most ridiculous is their faces—the moment they heard about money, their expressions completely changed!!】

【Kakashi Hatake: These Fire Temple monks most likely came here with devout hearts at first, only to be corrupted by the general environment and this abbot.】

【Madara Uchiha: No matter how many ants there are, they are still ants. A swarm of ants actually thinking they can bite an elephant to death—truly laughable beyond words!!】

【Tobirama Senju: I have to admit I admire these monks' courage—facing another Big Brother, they still dare to make a move.】

【Hashirama Senju: I only hope the other me doesn't go on a killing spree. After all, these monks were bewitched by this abbot…】

【Hiruzen Sarutobi: Looking at it this way, it's basically impossible. This Lord Hashirama doesn't seem like any pushover—if he wants the Grass-Sword, he'll just go straight to Fire Temple and take it by force.】

【Shimura Danzo: This is what a true, qualified Hokage looks like!! The Grass-Sword is far more important in the First Hokage's hands than sitting in Fire Temple. Only the First Hokage can properly unleash its power and lead the entire Land of Fire to a new height!!】

"Form the array!!"

"Let this madman witness the might of our Fire Temple formation!!!"

"Such an evil heretic should be suppressed by the 'Buddha' himself."

With a great roar,

the Fire Temple monks instantly linked up in a dense, unbroken mass.

Every face wore an expression of absolute focus,

as if some mysterious presence were about to descend!!

Watching their uniform postures and movements,

a look of approval appeared unbidden on Hashirama Senju's face!!

He had not expected

that these Fire Temple monks, who looked so weak individually,

were in fact strictly disciplined,

surpassing many clans he had seen!!

And these Fire Temple monks,

when they saw that they had already laid down their formation,

yet Hashirama Senju still wore that faint smile on his face,

an intense fury rose unbidden in their hearts!!

The smile on Hashirama Senju's face

made them feel as though Hashirama Senju looked down on them!!!

As if Hashirama Senju were mocking them!!

"Boom!! Boom!!"

Golden light began to spread from the abbot's body to every monk,

and at this moment they seemed to become a single whole!!!

Even Jigen, standing off to the side,

showed an interested look on his face!!

For so many people to merge so seamlessly,

flawlessly into a single formation—

the one who designed this formation was a genius,

and these monks must have endured tremendous hardship

to achieve such perfect unity!!!

Then,

a colossal, furious-eyed Guanyin with eight arms

slowly rose from the ground.

Standing atop the Guanyin's head,

the old monk let out a lofty, proud laugh as he looked down from above.

"How about it? Hashirama Senju… our Fire Temple's formation isn't bad, is it?"

"You think our Fire Temple has survived all these years only because of the daimyo?"

"If you had left at the very beginning, I could have let you off the hook, but now it's too late!!"

"Anyone who dares to challenge our Fire Temple must pay the price — no exceptions!!"

【Jiraiya: Poor Fire Temple abbot, he still doesn't know what he's about to face…】

【Fourth Raikage: Sometimes ignorance is a kind of happiness. To be able to say such things to the First Hokage — it seems the Fire Temple's abbot has never seen what true power looks like.】

【Ōnoki: Although I admit their formation is also very powerful, and this Guanyin looks about the same as a Tailed Beast… but with only this level, wanting to deal with the First Hokage… is far too naive!!】

【Tsunade: …I just hope this old man can restrain himself, otherwise every single person in the Fire Temple will suffer…】

【Tobirama Senju: Little Tsuna!! Don't be too merciful. The people of Fire Temple are already enemies. When dealing with enemies, of course we cannot continue to be soft-hearted. Big Brother is too much like you, which is why so many tragedies happened!!】

……

"Is this all you've got — your trump card?"

"Is this all there is?"

Standing on the ground, Hashirama Senju looked up at the old monk high in the sky and said.

The old monk, whose face had been all smiles, heard Hashirama Senju's words,

and the smile on his face couldn't help but falter!!

"Hmph!! Hashirama Senju, even now you're still putting on an act?!"

"Facing this kind of god-like power…"

"You still think you have any chance of winning???"

"Facing our Fire Temple's strongest formation, you dare to spout such nonsense — truly absurd!!"

Hearing this,

a trace of disappointment appeared on Hashirama Senju's face.

He let out a soft sigh.

"This formation is indeed impressive — it can perfectly combine the strength of all of you together."

"I have to admit, the person who created this formation must be a peerless genius!!"

"But… your strength is simply too weak. Even combined together, it's still so feeble…"

After saying this,

the ground beneath Hashirama Senju's feet cracked open,

and an incomparably solemn, immensely huge wooden Buddha slowly rose up from the earth.