How can you say a character that is written to follow a script, “didn’t want to” do anything? They’re characters and unless Kishimoto explicitly made a character say that they don’t want to use a technique, then it’s not so. Example, when Madara stated that he didn’t want to use PS against the Gokage again. Or when Obito stated that he didn’t have enough chakra to have his Edo Jins use the paths of Pain.
It was plot restriction all the way around. His abilities were blatantly restricted so that his opponents could survive. Naruto’s Bijuu rasenshuriken (the one that chopped down the divine tree) could’ve been absorbed, plot demanded that it didn’t happen. Madara could’ve negged Eight Gates Guy...@bold: He did ‘tank’ them but he didn’t necessarily want to, he literally put up a TSB shield but Kakashi opened it up with Kamui. He literally launched TSBs at Guy to kill him but more plot armor came in with Minato teleporting them away. Again, if he went that far, why didn’t he go a little further? And for the Hashirama portion, he was literally restricted from using Wood Release against Edo Hashirama.
Madara is arrogant, it’s part of his character, but let’s not blindly ignore plot armor when it’s blatantly there. He was heavily restricted from using Wood Release -save for IT, useful Sage art techs - the two that were used were pointless, relied heavily on Limbo for absolutely no reason at all, didn’t use the TSBs anywhere near as proficiently as Juubito but yet, he’s literally a smarter character, restricted from using Susano’o, restricted from his Limbo clones using Susano’o, etc. The guy literally had WAYYY more chakra than Naruto and Sasuke combined. And when BZ ambushed, he technically could’ve swapped with his Limbo clones and escaped but plot dictated otherwise. If that’s not stupidly restricted, give me an example of what is.