Chapter 123

This energy was unlike any system he was familiar with,

as if it were an energy naturally born of this very planet!!!

As if this youth had already merged with nature itself,

able to borrow the natural energy drifting freely throughout the world at any time and any place!!!

If this were Isshiki at the peak of his strength,

he naturally would not need to have so many considerations and worries.

But after being betrayed by that traitor,

his strength had never recovered.

Having hidden in the shinobi world for so many years,

his purpose was to advance steadily and cautiously, gradually restoring his own strength,

and then to eliminate that traitor,

completing the original mission he had come to this planet to carry out!!!

Isshiki had already waited for many years,

and he naturally did not wish to fail at the very threshold of success!!!

However, the Senju Hashirama who had just appeared seemed to be an exception,

although his current strength had not yet reached a level that made Isshiki feel he could threaten him,

the energy he wielded nevertheless gave Isshiki an extremely strong sense of threat!!!

As if this energy were capable of harming him.

And judging by age, this youth was barely in his early twenties on this planet,

in a few more years, or even a dozen or more,

who knew to what extent his strength could ultimately grow?!!

So after pondering for a moment, Isshiki

decided to prepare to deal with this accident himself,

he did not wish for too many accidents to appear in his plans!!!

And this youth,

was probably one of the very few existences in all his long years of waiting

who could possibly affect his subsequent plans!!!

……

"Come out… my friend, you've been following me for so long—aren't you tired?"

"If you had something to say… back at the Fire Temple, you could have just told me face to face."

Hashirama Senju leapt down from the tree, frowning as he spoke toward the space behind him.

"Heh heh… young man… don't be so hasty…"

"I was merely curious as to why you could possess such strength at your age."

"Beyond that, I bear you no other ill will."

Isshiki, clad in a white haori, stepped slowly out from behind a tree trunk.

At the sight of his appearance,

Hashirama Senju's brows knit.

Just as I thought!!!

This fellow had been tailing him from behind the whole time!!!

In truth, Hashirama Senju had not actually detected anyone following him from behind,

he had only made this guess based on Isshiki's conduct at the Fire Temple and his own intuition!!

Looking at the warm yet courteous smile on Isshiki's face,

Hashirama Senju only felt an inexplicable, sour unease in his heart.

Because he could clearly see

that beneath Isshiki's seemingly warm smile there was not a trace of any genuine mirth!!!

And what drew the eye most of all were Isshiki's eyes,

they were a pair of eyes utterly indifferent, as if they regarded nothing at all in this world as worth their notice!!

This was not a kind of arrogance,

but rather as if he genuinely believed, from the bottom of his heart, that nothing in this world was worth caring about!!

Hashirama Senju had never seen such a terrifying and unforgettable gaze!!

Looking at the hostility that surfaced unbidden in Hashirama Senju's eyes,

Isshiki too felt great astonishment in his heart!!

He had originally only thought that this youth might cause a certain degree of impact on his plans in the future,

or even threaten him!!!

When he formally came face to face with the youth at close range,

he discovered that the youth seemed far more terrifying than he had imagined,

he could clearly feel the constant warnings emanating from within his own body!!!

This showed that the youth already possessed the strength to threaten him!!!

This made Isshiki feel a sense of crisis, and at the same time stirred a sliver of curiosity toward him,

he wanted to know what kind of trump card the youth actually carried within his body,

To be able to make him feel such a strong sense of crisis?!!

As his thoughts churned,

Jigen also began to take the youth before him seriously!!

He no longer simply treated Hashirama Senju as some native!!

78. Perfect Sage Mode! Jigen's Shock!

Hashirama Senju also narrowed his eyes slightly at this moment,

sizing up the Jigen before him.

Jigen did not underestimate him,

and when had he ever underestimated Jigen!!!

Among all the people Hashirama Senju had ever seen,

even Madara Uchiha had never given him this kind of pressure!!

This feeling made Hashirama Senju all the more firm in his own thoughts,

this shinobi world truly held many things unknown to others!!

Many existences, perhaps even stronger than himself, had always been hidden behind the scenes!!

Therefore he absolutely had to become even stronger,

only thus could he accomplish his own ideals!!

【Jiraiya: Now I understand why this First Hokage my lord could be so strong — he never changed his own thoughts from beginning to end, constantly pushing himself to become stronger with everything he had!!】

【Madara Uchiha: This kind of Hashirama is truly thrilling!! I believe he and I have far more in common to talk about — constantly growing stronger, constantly pursuing our own limits!!】

【Tobirama Senju: A big brother like this — perhaps he truly can create an era completely unlike any before, perhaps true peace can be realized in his hands!!】

【Orochimaru: If I hadn't seen these things, I wouldn't have known there was such a powerful existence in the shinobi world. This monk is clearly unreasonably strong, but I wonder what he's scheming behind the scenes?!】

【Hiruzen Sarutobi: At the very least… in the records of the Fire Temple, I've never seen any record of this monk, and even the head priest of the Fire Temple has never mentioned his existence.】

【Shimura Danzo: Hah!! Someone who has been hiding behind the scenes all along, possessing such powerful strength, yet has never once voluntarily appeared in the shinobi world — he must have an enormous plot!! He must be an enemy of Konoha!!】

【Fourth Raikage: From this monk's every gesture, I can tell just how strong he is. This kind of control over the body — I am far inferior to him… his taijutsu must also be extremely powerful!!!】

【Ohnoki: Impossible… Fourth Raikage… even you actually admit that your taijutsu is inferior to this monk?!】

Hashirama Senju and Jigen said nothing to each other,

the two faced off against each other,

falling into an eerie atmosphere!!

They both knew,