— — — — — —
"As expected!"
Uchiha Madara narrowed his eyes slightly, smacking his lips. "The Flying Thunder God Technique has evolved to the point where you don't even need to set a technique formula anymore?"
"What a pain…"
At this rate, most jutsu would be useless against Minato.
"Then let's see how you handle this!"
"Limbo: Border Jail!" (Hengoku)
The moment he activated his Rinnegan, Madara unleashed one of its unique ocular techniques.
Invisible shadows—four of them—erupted from beneath his feet, surging toward Minato from all directions. They were completely unseen by the naked eye, yet unmistakably deadly.
"Hm?"
But Minato wasn't just any shinobi now—he had inherited the Uzumaki clan's Kagura's Mind Eye, and with Sage Mode active, his sensory abilities were off the charts.
He couldn't see the shadows… but he felt danger.
Without hesitation, he vanished from where he stood—and reappeared behind Madara, kunai in hand, aiming straight for the man's lower back.
But the moment Minato disappeared, Madara sensed the danger too. His instincts flared like wildfire.
"Shinra Tensei!!"
Boom!
A massive repulsive force erupted from Madara, blasting Minato away.
---
"Pfft—hahaha!!"
Up in the sky, Tsunade had seen the whole thing. She burst out laughing, smacking Renzo on the shoulder, nearly tearing up from laughter.
"Did you see that? Minato actually tried to stab Madara in the back! I always thought he was a goody-goody!"
Renzo laughed too. "Heh, now you see it! That guy's got a total S-type personality—super polite on the surface, but sneaky as hell deep down."
"But come on, who's his teacher again?"
Tsunade could only shake her head.
Pulling a stunt like that? Yeah, Minato wasn't as innocent as he looked.
Of course, that's not to say Minato was usually a shady or underhanded person.
In fact, quite the opposite—he was a kind and open-minded guy by nature.
But every now and then, that hidden sly streak showed itself.
"Fair enough," Tsunade nodded. "And honestly, what kind of straight-laced kid turns out normal after being trained by Jiraiya?"
She even started wondering if Jiraiya had corrupted the boy from the start.
Renzo snorted. "You're kidding, right? With Minato's natural personality? He was probably halfway there before Jiraiya even got to him."
"He did pull off a 'save-the-beauty' stunt and won Kushina's heart at like, what, twelve?"
Tsunade blinked. "Wait—he was already thinking like that back then?"
She hadn't really thought about it before, but if that was true, then Minato was way more cunning than she'd imagined.
Still, it didn't change his love for Kushina and his loyalty to his village and friends.
---
Back on the battlefield—
Madara's eyes widened in disbelief. "What?! You dodged my Limbo clones?! That's impossible! You little brat—can you actually see them?!"
He frowned deeply. This was the first time Limbo had failed him. Well… technically, it was only the second time he'd ever used the technique.
"…Nope." Minato chuckled. "Didn't see anything. Just sensed something dangerous. So that move's called Limbo, huh? Some kind of Rinnegan ability?"
That was good intel.
Madara frowned again.
Minato added, "Looks like I won't be taking you down in this state after all… But no worries—looks like the Ten-Tails is ready."
He made a hand sign. "Summoning Jutsu!"
The next moment, Madara descended from the sky, bit his thumb, and slammed his hand onto the ground.
"ROOOAAAARRRR!!!"
A massive, wood-colored monstrosity burst forth with a deafening roar. The Ten-Tails had arrived.
Its terrifying soundwaves rippled through the air, sending shockwaves across the battlefield and stirring up clouds of dust and debris.
"Hissss!!"
"What the hell is that?!"
"B-Bakana…!"
"What is this chakra?!"
"A monster?!"
From a distance, the Allied Shinobi Forces could barely believe their senses.
The chakra coming off the Ten-Tails was unreal—hundreds of times more terrifying than any Tailed Beast they'd ever encountered.
Even from kilometers away, they could feel the oppressive pressure. It made their chests tighten and their legs want to run.
"Could this be... the thing the Hokage mentioned? The Ten-Tails, born from fusing all nine Tailed Beasts?" Terumi Mei furrowed her brows, her voice tense.
Ōnoki nodded grimly. "Looks like it. And this is a huge problem. That thing's in a completely different league than us."
"Doesn't matter. We still have to fight. There's no backing down now."
The Raikage's body crackled with lightning as he spoke, voice low and serious.
Just moments ago, he'd honestly thought the battle was basically over. But clearly, things had taken another turn.
"So this is the Ten-Tails Renzo mentioned, huh?" Minato's gaze sharpened, but his expression stayed calm—almost excited.
"Yeah… it's on a whole other level. Just its chakra alone leaves mine in the dust. No wonder it's called the origin of all chakra."
Despite the pressure, he wasn't afraid. In fact, there was a hint of eagerness in his eyes.
After all, a few years ago, outside of Renzo, Minato had basically been unbeatable in the shinobi world. Not even Kakashi, Obito, Tsunade, or the others could keep up with him.
...Well, okay, maybe not Kushina. He admittedly couldn't beat her. But in his defense, he didn't dare try. She was so cute for him to try.
Being afraid of your wife while madly loving her is practically a shinobi tradition, after all.
...
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Madara had already leapt onto the Ten-Tails' head. Forming hand signs, he channeled his chakra directly into the beast—and instantly seized control.
At the same time, Black Zetsu emerged from the Ten-Tails' body, slithering up Madara and perching on his shoulder. Its raspy voice whispered, "The Ten-Tails has been fully awakened and unsealed, Lord Madara!"
'But to summon it this early…' Black Zetsu sounded a little surprised. 'Looks like the Five Kage really pushed him.'
Deep down, Black Zetsu was both nervous and... smug. He'd always found Madara a bit insufferable—arrogant, dismissive, looking down on everyone. Part of him enjoyed seeing the great Uchiha Madara being forced to react.
Of course, the concern was real too. If Madara actually lost here, that would be... a problem.
Especially now—with Namikaze Minato and the other monsters Konoha had produced in recent years, thanks to Uchiha Renzo's influence.
"If only we'd crushed that brat before he rose to power…"
Too late for regrets now.
...
"Tsk, tsk..."
Unbeknownst to Black Zetsu, his every thought was being read like an open book by Renzo, who just clicked his tongue.
"Crush me before I rose? As if."
He wasn't just some random upstart—he was built different. A walking cheat code. There was never really a chance for Black Zetsu to stop him.
At that moment, Madara began to move.
He formed a string of seals, and the Ten-Tails beneath him let out a massive roar as it started getting sucked into Madara's body—dragged in by an invisible force.
The beast thrashed and struggled, its instincts screaming in protest. But it was pointless. No matter how hard it fought, it was steadily being absorbed into Madara's body.
And as it happened, Madara's power skyrocketed.
"No! We have to stop him—now!" Ōnoki shouted, alarmed. As he warned the others, he activated his Light-Weight Rock Technique and soared into the sky, hands forming a powerful jutsu.
"Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"
A glowing white cube formed between his palms, then shot forward—expanding into a massive beam of light aimed straight at Madara.
"Sage Art~ Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!"
"Lava Style: Lava Monster Jutsu!"
"Grand Sand Mausoleum Seal!!"
Mei, Gaara, Minato—all of them launched their strongest jutsu at once, aiming everything they had at Madara.
BOOOOM!!!
A storm of sand and dust exploded into the air, swallowing both Madara and the Ten-Tails in a blinding flash.
It looked like he didn't even try to dodge.
"Did we… get him?"Ōnoki muttered, hopeful.
But the hope didn't last.
The dust cleared—and Madara stood there, completely untouched.
Ōnoki and the others stared in disbelief.
That was the strongest combined attack they could muster—and it didn't even leave a scratch?
"No way... He's already fused with the Ten-Tails…"
Minato's voice was heavy.
Madara's appearance had completely changed—his hair had turned stark white, and he now wore a flowing robe adorned with white tomoe patterns. In one hand, he held a black staff.
The transformation was complete.
Uchiha Madara... had become the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki.
---
Tsunade stared at the new, creepy version of Madara. "Ugh… he's so ugly."
"That's what you're focused on?" Renzo was speechless at this woman.
"Whatever. Are you sending Tom and Jerry now? I think it's their turn."
Hearing this, Renzo nodded. "…Yeah. Maybe it's time."
.
.
.