Land of Lightning.
Somewhere near the Cloud and Thunder Gorge.
Standing before the towering peaks that pierced the clouds, Uchiha Setsuna, dressed in a black cloak, turned to the man beside him and said, "According to our intel, the Jinchūriki of the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails are currently here."
"Do you want me to sneak in and locate them?" Black Zetsu asked Madara from the side. "But I may get exposed."
In the past, he could move through these villages freely with his unique abilities.
But ever since Konoha publicly shared equipment and sealing barriers designed to detect him, it had become increasingly risky to infiltrate without being discovered.
Exposure was now inevitable.
The longer he stayed inside the barrier, the more accurately they could pinpoint his location.
"No need for all that trouble. Let's greet them directly and see what happens," Uchiha Madara said calmly.
Forming hand seals, Madara's Sharingan instantly morphed into the Rinnegan.
Moments later, under Setsuna's astonished gaze, a blazing meteor ignited in the sky and began plummeting straight toward the Cloud and Thunder Gorge.
Judging by its size, Setsuna had no doubt that the impact would completely flatten the gorge and shake most of the Land of Lightning with its destructive force.
Such a bold and overwhelming entrance would surely alert Kumogakure immediately.
Yet Setsuna wasn't worried.
On the contrary, Madara's arrogant and overwhelming way of "saying hello" stirred a long-lost excitement in him.
Yes, this is how it should be!
As a Shinobi standing on equal ground with the God of Shinobi, as the Shura of the Shinobi World—this is exactly how he should act!
The next second, powerful chakra erupted from a spot within the gorge.
Two black spheres shot into the sky at the same time, piercing the clouds and slamming into the falling meteor head-on.
A thunderous explosion erupted in an instant.
The impact of the meteor colliding with the Tailed Beast Bomb created a shockwave so powerful that it swept away the surrounding thunderclouds, revealing a clear yet burning sky.
The meteor shattered into countless pieces from the Tailed Beast Bomb's force.
But that didn't mean its destruction ended there.
Instead, the scattered fragments continued raining down, bringing massive devastation to the entire Cloud Thunder Gorge.
"They're here!"
Uchiha Madara's eyes had already sensed the approaching presence.
A few seconds later, Uchiha Setsuna's Mangekyō Sharingan finally caught sight of them—two enormous figures charging toward them at incredible speed.
They made no effort to hide their presence.
Especially Madara—after unleashing such a terrifying technique, the chakra surging from his body was like that of a rampaging Tailed Beast.
To any ninja with even the slightest sensory skill, his presence shone like a beacon in the night.
"The Eight-Tails and the Two-Tails have come? Excellent!"
Seeing the two colossal beasts rapidly closing in, Madara's eyes flashed with satisfaction.
In the next moment, he took a step forward—and from each of his shoulders, a Wood Release clone tore itself free.
The two clones detached from his body, hands held like scissor blades behind their backs, and dashed straight toward the incoming Tailed Beasts.
As they ran, brilliant blue chakra surged over their bodies, forming two towering, glowing giants. Just based on height, they stood even taller than the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails.
Boom!
No words were exchanged. Only raw, overwhelming force clashed.
The two chakra giants swung their weapons silently, colliding head-on with the two fully transformed Tailed Beasts.
"This isn't good, B! This kind of power… it brings back a fear I thought I'd forgotten!"
Inside Killer B's spiritual world, the Eight-Tails raised its eyes toward B sitting on its forehead, its voice heavy with concern.
"That's Susanoo! A Uchiha from Konoha?"
A new voice joined the fray—it was the Two-Tails speaking.
As a tailed beast of a village allied with Konoha, their connection to the Hidden Leaf had grown stronger over time, both intentionally and unintentionally.
Naturally, they had access to quite a bit of information related to Konoha.
For example, the Uchiha clan's Mangekyō Sharingan—and the powerful dōjutsu it granted: Susanoo.
As a Jinchūriki, the Two-Tails had once fought against that Uchiha from Konoha—Shisui Uchiha. And in every way, she was completely suppressed.
Those eyes of his... along with the Wood Release, were natural enemies to tailed beasts. One suppressed the mind, the other crushed the body.
But Shisui's Susanoo wasn't like this one. It had never made her feel fear to this degree.
"Yo yo, an unknown Uchiha. What a troublesome enemy…"
"Can you talk properly for once, B?! This isn't your concert!" Eight-Tails' furious voice echoed through their shared mental space, shaking the entire realm.
B froze, caught mid-pose just as he was about to break into a full performance.
"Try this on for size!"
Despite the argument in their mental world, on the outside, the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails acted in perfect coordination.
The Eight-Tails curled its body inward, wrapping all eight octopus-like tails around itself—and around the Two-Tails—forming a protective cocoon.
Then, it began to spin rapidly on the spot.
Tailed Beast Whirlwind!
Violent gales roared as the massive beast spun like a vortex, tearing through the battlefield with explosive force.
Even the two opposing Susanoo avatars had difficulty maintaining their balance in the face of such intense turbulence.
The wind didn't stop there. Even Madara Uchiha and the others further away were being pulled toward the center of the storm.
"Pathetic tricks."
With hair fluttering wildly in the storm, Madara scoffed at the overwhelming destructive force, his voice filled with disdain.
At that moment, the two Susanoo figures in the distance formed hand seals in unison and unleashed blazing streams of crimson fire.
The moment the flames appeared, the air itself evaporated. Even breathing became painful.
"It hurts—it hurts—it hurts!"
At the eye of the storm, the Eight-Tails took the full brunt of both fire attacks.
The scorching flames inflicted serious damage—it hated fire, and this was more than it could bear.
Three huge octopus tentacles smelling of grilled meat fell to the ground as the stopped whirlwind ceased.
The Eight-Tails retreated a short distance along with the Two-Tails.
"Use the power of Hollowfication! Hold on until Ai arrives!" Inside the mental space, the Eight-Tails grimaced but finally sighed and suggested this to Killer Bee and the Two-Tails.
"Are you going to surrender so easily?"
Seeing the huge figures of the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails quickly shrink, their overwhelming chakra was drawn back into the bodies of the Jinchuriki.
From afar, Uchiha Madara watched with his arms crossed, clearly seeing everything, and slightly raised an eyebrow.
As someone who could treat Tailed Beasts like pets, he didn't think the opposing Jinchuriki had any room left to struggle.
Even if the current Raikage and the Cloud ninjas appeared here immediately, to Madara it would only be a matter of making his clones move a bit more and use a couple more jutsus.
But in the next moment, two towering black beams of light appeared in Madara's sight.
At the same time, he felt a pressure that caught his interest!
Hollowfication?
Recalling the information given to him by Black Zetsu and Uchiha Setsuna, Madara immediately realized what this power was and became slightly more intrigued.