Madara Uchiha quickly regained his composure and spoke with cold disdain.
"You're the Five Kage, after all. If you can't even handle a single meteorite, I've truly overestimated you."
"But if there were another one… what would you do then?"
The moment those words fell, everyone froze. Then, almost simultaneously, all heads snapped upward—even Minato Namikaze and Ōnoki, still suspended in midair.
BOOM!
Beneath the cloud layer, a second meteorite—identical in size to the previous one—was plummeting down at terrifying speed.
Even Minato, who had transferred the first meteorite away using Flying Thunder God, paled. Only he knew how much chakra that teleportation had consumed.
Ōnoki fared even worse. He had nearly emptied his entire chakra pool just to slow the descent of the first one.
And now a second meteorite appeared?
The old man might as well give up on life.
In that instant, everyone present finally understood the true gap between themselves and Madara Uchiha. The difference was like heaven and earth—immeasurable and impossible to bridge.
Even combined, they didn't come close to matching him.
When one person's power transcends an entire tier of strength, numbers become meaningless.
"I'll concede this—your strength as so-called Kage and village leaders is passable."
"But only one person has ever stood on equal ground with me."
"Everyone else… is beneath my notice—"
Madara's arrogant proclamation was abruptly interrupted by a voice dripping with mischief.
"Seriously? Now that's something I can't agree with!"
"Catch!"
A heartbeat later, Madara's field of view suddenly shifted, and an immense pressure surged over his entire body.
Staring at the meteorite right in front of him—the one now seconds from crashing into his face—he instantly understood what had happened.
Flying Thunder God.
Again.
Flying Thunder God again!
Minato Namikaze was still within his sight. That meant the only one who could've pulled this off was Kazuyama Gekkō.
"Damn you! You bastard!"
"Die!!"
The instant Muren Uchiha saw Kazuyama Gekkō, his body moved on instinct. His dōjutsu activated, his attack flashing forward in a single instant.
"Hmph. Impostor. You think I'm afraid of you?"
"Transparent Escape—open!"
His opponent's dōjutsu could distort distance, but only with proper focus. Kazuyama had long since developed a counter to that.
The speed at which Transparent Escape activated was instantaneous. The moment Muren thrust his pitch-black spear forward, Kazuyama vanished.
The spear sliced through empty air, hitting nothing.
"Huh?"
Missing this attack was strange. After several clashes with Kazuyama, Muren knew the man's abilities well. Transparent Escape made the body invisible but did not make it intangible. It couldn't nullify physical strikes.
It only hid his form—it didn't let him phase through attacks.
"Surprised?"
"Honestly, this mask… you don't need it anymore. Not at this stage."
Kazuyama's voice came from behind him, causing Muren to jolt in shock—he hadn't even sensed him appear.
Before he could react, Kazuyama had already ripped the mask off his face.
Revealing his true appearance.
"You bastard! My mask!"
His furious roar drew everyone's attention, and his exposed face was laid bare before the entire battlefield.
He was surprisingly handsome—marred by several sharp markings across his features, adding a wild, sinister allure to his looks.
"So it was you."
"No wonder your hatred toward me was so intense."
"What, just because I tossed you into the bathhouse? And you held that grudge for hundreds of episodes?"
"Muren Uchiha!"
Kazuyama recognized him instantly—he remembered every person he had pranked.
Former member of the Konoha Police Force—Uchiha Muren.
Just as he was processing this, a deafening explosion echoed from the sky.
BOOM!
The massive meteorite that had been descending moments ago had shattered entirely into a rain of debris.
And at the center of that debris stood a towering blue titan.
Susanoo.
Perfect Form.
"Damn brat! Damn Tobirama Senju!"
"Flying Thunder God! Flying Thunder God!"
Madara's enraged howl pulverized the rocks around him, chakra blasting outward with the force of his scream.
His hatred for Flying Thunder God—for Senju Tobirama—and for Kazuyama Gekkō was on full display.
"Damn it! Hokage, we need to get down!"
"The debris is falling!"
Ōnoki and Minato were still in midair. Seeing the debris descending, Ōnoki prepared to drop, but Minato was faster—grabbing him and instantly teleporting them back to the ground.
"Kushina!"
"All good! My barrier is already up!"
"And Minato, look over there."
Maintaining the Adamantine Sealing Chains, Kushina pointed in another direction.
Since they'd been in the sky, they hadn't seen everything clearly. Now, on solid ground, following her gesture—
They saw it.
Uchiha Muren, in a full berserk rage.
"A member of the Uchiha Police Force? Why is he—"
"So he's the one who was impersonating Madara earlier."
Minato grasped the situation instantly. Whether he liked it or not, the man was an enemy now. No debate needed.
"I heard Kazuyama's voice earlier. If he hadn't teleported Madara to the meteorite just now, it wouldn't have been so easy to deal with."
"But… where's Kazuyama?"
Minato looked around, but saw no sign of Kazuyama Gekkō.
With Transparent Escape active, no one could see him anyway.
Just then, two figures suddenly appeared before them.
"Hm? What's this?"
"Jinchūriki?"
The two unconscious figures were none other than Yugito Nii and Rōshi.
At the same time, Uchiha Muren completely snapped.
"You bastard!! Show yourself!!"
"Susanoo!"
His full-body Susanoo emerged once more—but unlike Madara's deep blue, his was pitch black.
Dual spears in hand, he slashed wildly in all directions.
But no matter how fiercely he attacked—
None of his strikes even grazed a single strand of Kazuyama Gekkō's hair.
"Ah… what a tragic soul. Your life is just a puppet for Madara Uchiha."
"And now, you can't even touch a single hair on my head."