"Rumble!"
The very foundations of the earth trembled and groaned under the overwhelming force of Madara's technique. Soil and solid rock formations that had stood for centuries shattered like glass as an unstoppable power erupted from beneath the surface. The transformation was not gradual—it was explosive, violent, and absolute.
Massive trees burst forth from the fractured ground with supernatural speed, their trunks expanding to impossible dimensions within seconds. These were not ordinary trees—they were manifestations of pure chakra given physical form, each one possessing the strength to crush buildings and the resilience to withstand devastating attacks. Within moments, the entire area within a hundred-meter radius around Madara had been completely transformed into a dense, primordial forest.
The forest was alive with malevolent intelligence. Every branch, every root, every leaf seemed to pulse with aggressive intent as they reached toward Minato like grasping tentacles of destruction. The very air within this artificial ecosystem hummed with the kind of raw power that had once brought entire armies to their knees.
"Wood Release!?" Minato's voice carried a note of shocked recognition as he witnessed one of the most legendary techniques in ninja history being deployed against him.
Seeing the massive tree trunks lunging toward him with the fluidity and precision of living serpents, Minato's pupils contracted with a mixture of awe and tactical analysis. Even though he had never personally practiced the Impure World Reincarnation technique, he understood the theoretical principles behind this ultimate forbidden jutsu developed by the Second Hokage.
The mechanics of the technique were both elegant and terrifying. By using DNA samples from deceased individuals, a skilled practitioner could summon their souls back from the pure land and bind them to sacrificial bodies. The strength of those resurrected through this method varied dramatically depending on the caster's mastery of the technique and the quality of the genetic material available.
One fundamental limitation was universally acknowledged: individuals summoned through Impure World Reincarnation could only approach their original strength, never fully achieve it. The artificial nature of their resurrection created inherent constraints that prevented them from accessing their complete potential.
Based on intelligence gathered during Madara's legendary battle with the First Hokage, it was known that Madara had somehow acquired samples of Hashirama's cells. This explained his ability to utilize Wood Release techniques despite being born into the Uchiha clan. However, the sheer scale and sophistication of the Wood Release he was currently displaying was genuinely terrifying in its implications.
If this overwhelming demonstration wasn't representative of Madara's peak strength during his natural lifetime, then what incredible level of power had the man achieved in the years following his battle with the First Hokage? The thought was deeply disturbing from both tactical and philosophical perspectives.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
As these thoughts raced through his mind, Minato's hands moved through the familiar cross-seal formation, summoning more than a dozen shadow clones with practiced efficiency. The technique was executed with the kind of fluid precision that spoke of thousands of hours of training and real combat experience.
In front of them, the massive trees continued their relentless advance, creating what could only be described as a tsunami of living wood sweeping across the battlefield. The sight was both magnificent and horrifying—nature itself weaponized and turned against its targets with crushing inevitability.
Minato and all of his shadow clones simultaneously prepared to strike, their movements perfectly synchronized despite the chaos surrounding them. Each clone drew on the same vast reserves of natural energy that enhanced the original, creating a multiplicative effect that would amplify their combined assault far beyond simple addition.
The next moment, more than a dozen versions of Minato struck out simultaneously, their coordinated attack focusing tremendous amounts of natural energy into a concentrated offensive formation.
"Frog Kumite!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The natural energy erupted outward in waves of devastating force, forming shock waves that were almost impossible to perceive with ordinary vision. The attack swept across the artificial forest like an unstoppable tsunami of destruction, and almost instantly, the violent forces tore apart all of the massive trees standing in their path.
Minato's tactical reasoning was sound and well-informed. Wood Release techniques possessed the inherent ability to absorb chakra from their targets, making traditional energy-based attacks largely ineffective. The most reliable method for defeating such techniques was to overwhelm them with pure physical force that couldn't be easily absorbed or redirected.
Frog Kumite utilized natural energy to create invisible attacks that, while not strictly physical in nature, possessed properties that made them extremely difficult to absorb through conventional means. The technique operated on principles that transcended the normal limitations of chakra-based combat, making it an ideal counter to Wood Release defenses.
More importantly, Minato had released such overwhelming amounts of natural energy in a single coordinated strike that even techniques capable of absorption would struggle to process the sheer volume of power being directed against them.
The massive display of destructive force naturally attracted the attention of Kushina, Nagato, and Konan, who had withdrawn to what they hoped was a safe distance from the main battle. The sound alone was enough to make the earth tremble beneath their feet, while the visual spectacle challenged their understanding of what individual ninja were capable of achieving.
After witnessing the incredible power that Minato had just unleashed, Nagato's face went pale with shock and dawning comprehension. The revelation hit him like a physical blow, forcing him to confront truths he had been avoiding throughout their previous battle.
At this moment, he finally understood the true magnitude of the gap between himself and the Fourth Hokage. In their previous confrontation, Minato had not been using anything approaching his full strength. The realization was both humbling and terrifying—if this was what Minato could accomplish when truly pressed, then Nagato's defeat had been inevitable from the very beginning.
When Minato successfully tore through all of the massive trees blocking his path, his eyes met Madara's once again across the devastated battlefield. For a brief moment, the legendary Uchiha displayed an expression of genuine surprise, as if he had just witnessed something that challenged his fundamental assumptions about the current generation of ninja.
However, that look of surprise quickly transformed into something far more dangerous—pure, delighted laughter that echoed across the battlefield with disturbing enthusiasm.
"How interesting!" Madara called out, his voice carrying genuine appreciation mixed with anticipation. "The power of this sage technique is no less than what Hashirama could achieve in his prime!"
The comparison was not offered lightly. No one in the history of the ninja world understood the true extent of the First Hokage's capabilities better than Uchiha Madara. They had fought countless battles against each other, pushing each other to heights of power that had never been matched before or since. When Madara made such a statement, it represented a definitive assessment based on direct, personal experience with legendary-level combat.
The declaration truly proved that Minato's current power was genuinely comparable to that of the First Hokage himself—a level of strength that had been considered mythical by most of the current generation.
Minato, however, derived no satisfaction from this evaluation. Recognition from someone like Madara was not something he had ever sought or desired. His motivations were far more personal and immediate than the pursuit of historical significance.
Over the past several years, he had achieved nearly complete mastery over the Nine-Tails' power through patient cooperation and mutual respect rather than forceful domination. His cultivation of Sage Mode had reached theoretical limits that few practitioners in history had ever approached. Combined with his numerous other techniques and innovations, Minato's strength had indeed reached levels comparable to the legendary figures of the past.
But to him, such comparisons were ultimately meaningless. Power for its own sake held no appeal—he simply wanted to rely on this strength to protect everything and everyone he cherished. Nothing more, nothing less.
Therefore, after successfully breaking through Madara's initial defenses, Minato and his remaining shadow clones maintained their momentum without any reduction in speed or intensity. The coordinated attack continued, with each clone preparing to strike again with the same devastating force.
However, Madara possessed decades of combat experience against opponents of the highest caliber. When more than a dozen versions of Minato launched their coordinated assault, the legendary Uchiha immediately initiated a tactical withdrawal, using the terrain to his advantage.
The remaining trees throughout the artificial forest responded to his will, gathering around his position to form multiple layers of defensive barriers. The wood moved with fluid intelligence, creating a constantly shifting maze of protection designed to absorb and redirect incoming attacks.
"Boom! Boom!"
Natural energy continued to tear through the wooden defenses with violent efficiency, though the Frog Kumite techniques performed by Minato and his shadow clones this time were somewhat weaker than their initial overwhelming assault. The distribution of power across multiple simultaneous attacks naturally reduced the individual impact of each strike.
Comparatively speaking, the trees forming Madara's defensive perimeter were not as robust as those in his initial assault. He had committed almost all available resources to the previous offensive, leaving fewer materials for defensive purposes.
When the final attack broke through the wooden barriers, Minato's original form advanced rapidly toward Madara's position while the shadow clones dispersed their accumulated sage energy back to the primary body. The tactical exchange had been successful, but both combatants understood that this was merely the opening phase of a much longer and more complex battle.
Madara, as a product of Impure World Reincarnation, possessed effectively unlimited chakra reserves and could not be defeated through simple attrition. The only viable strategy for achieving victory would be to identify the precise moment when he could be successfully sealed, then execute such a technique with perfect timing and overwhelming force.
"If the Tree World Advent technique is insufficient, then I'll employ this method instead," Madara said with calm calculation.
Just as Minato broke through the last defensive barrier and prepared to close the distance for direct combat, the legendary Uchiha formed a single-handed seal and smiled with anticipatory satisfaction.
"Bang!"
The ground beneath Madara's feet suddenly exploded outward in a network of expanding cracks, and an enormous Wood Release dragon head burst forth from the depths with tremendous force. The fissures extended rapidly across the battlefield, reaching Minato's position and forcing him to temporarily reduce his forward momentum to avoid falling into the newly created chasms.
"Wood Dragon Technique!"
Madara stepped onto the dragon's massive head with casual grace, allowing the creature to carry him high into the air as its serpentine body continued to emerge from the fractured earth. The wooden dragon was a masterpiece of both artistic design and devastating functionality, its enormous claws capable of crushing buildings as they slammed toward Minato's position below.
"Is this the same wooden dragon that once bound the Nine-Tails?" Minato murmured, his voice carrying a note of historical recognition mixed with tactical assessment.
The technique was indeed legendary—this was the same Wood Release construct that had successfully restrained the Nine-Tails during the battle that established Konoha's foundations. However, the fact that it could bind the great Tailed Beast didn't necessarily mean that its raw power exceeded that of the Nine-Tails itself.
The historical context was important to understand. The Nine-Tails had been restrained by the First Hokage only after it had already been subdued through other means. The wooden dragon's primary function was containment rather than direct combat, which explained its effectiveness against such a powerful opponent.
For someone with Minato's speed and tactical flexibility, such a massive creature would find it extremely difficult to land decisive attacks, regardless of its theoretical power levels.
"Boom!"
When the dragon's enormous claw crashed into the ground where Minato had been standing, it found only empty earth. The Fourth Hokage had already vanished from that position, his space-time techniques allowing him to avoid attacks that would be unavoidable for ordinary ninja.
At this moment, Madara was utilizing his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan to its fullest extent, the legendary dojutsu granting him perception capabilities far beyond normal human limitations. However, even with such enhanced vision, he found himself unable to track Minato's exact location during high-speed movement. The best he could manage was to observe the residual afterimages left behind as the Fourth Hokage changed positions.
"This is..." Madara began, his voice carrying a note of genuine surprise.
After carefully observing the directional patterns of all the afterimages Minato was leaving behind, understanding began to dawn on the legendary Uchiha's face. The seemingly random movements were actually following a complex geometric pattern, one that would have profound tactical implications.
Just as this realization fully formed in his mind, intricate black seal patterns began to appear across the wooden dragon's massive body. The markings were precise and purposeful, covering strategic points along the creature's anatomy with mathematical precision.
"Seal!"
Minato's voice suddenly rang out from multiple directions simultaneously, and the mysterious patterns erupted with brilliant light. The illumination extended outward to form dazzling connections between the individual seals, ultimately linking together to create an enormous barrier of pure energy.
When the barrier fully manifested, it locked nearly two-thirds of the wooden dragon's massive body in complete stasis. No matter how Madara attempted to control the creature, the bound portions remained completely immobilized, effectively neutralizing much of the technique's offensive capability.
Swish, swish, swish!
At that precise moment, Madara suddenly became aware that the area beneath the dragon's head—where he was currently positioned—was being approached by multiple versions of Minato simultaneously. The figures moved with bewildering speed, constantly changing positions as they advanced in perfect coordination.
"I can't track this clearly even with the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan?" Madara observed with clinical detachment.
Although his legendary eyes couldn't capture the precise details of Minato's movement, his chakra-sensing abilities allowed him to understand what was occurring. Everything he was witnessing was the result of Minato moving at speeds that exceeded even the Sharingan's enhanced perception capabilities.
This was reminiscent of Shisui's Body Flicker technique, though Minato could naturally employ similar methods with far superior results. The comparison between the two practitioners was hardly fair—they operated on completely different levels of capability and refinement.
"Ding! Ding! Ding!"
At that moment, an ear-piercing vibration filled the air as many of the approaching Minato figures began forming ninjutsu in their hands. The sound was sharp and resonant, speaking of techniques that contained tremendous amounts of concentrated energy.
"Senjutsu: Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!"
Multiple versions of Minato hurled their completed techniques toward Madara's position on the dragon's head, while simultaneously beginning to form additional hand seals for follow-up attacks. The coordination was flawless, with each action flowing seamlessly into the next.
"Do you intend to create an opening for sealing techniques while I'm forced to defend against these attacks?" Madara asked, his eyes reflecting both understanding and grudging respect for the tactical sophistication being displayed.
The strategy was elegant in its simplicity—use overwhelming offensive pressure to force the opponent into defensive responses, then exploit the momentary vulnerabilities created during those defensive actions. Against most opponents, such an approach would be devastatingly effective.
"Swish!"
The eternal Mangekyo patterns within Madara's blood-red eyes suddenly began to rotate with increasing speed and intensity. The motion was hypnotic and somehow threatening, as if reality itself was being drawn into the spinning vortex of those legendary pupils.
As the pattern rotation accelerated beyond normal perception, a fundamental transformation began to occur. New designs started to ripple across the entire surface of each eyeball, spreading outward in concentric circles that seemed to pulse with their own inner rhythm.
The waves of textural change gradually stabilized, and when the transformation was complete, an entirely new form of dojutsu had manifested.
The legendary Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan had evolved into something far more powerful and dangerous—a pair of eyes that contained rippling circles of power arranged in perfect symmetry.
Rinnegan!