— — — — — —
At the same time, Madara was slammed into the ground, buried under all kinds of ridiculously hard wood. He still couldn't believe what just happened.
"I got beaten by a mouse? Me? Uchiha Madara? After reaching the Six Paths level, I'm still being tossed around like a chew toy by some damn rodent?"
Madara felt like crying.
Was he really this pathetic? He couldn't even match up to Renzo's pet.
Was his plan… his so-called "peace"... just a joke?
"At least I'm not alone," he muttered, feeling slightly better as he watched Hashirama and Tobirama also getting humiliated by Tom.
"Buii! Buiii!" (Did I break your brain or something? Damn it, if I killed you by accident, Renzo-sama's totally gonna blame me!)
Jerry looked at the wrecked Madara and instantly regretted using so much Source Power. He knew this weird-looking guy was important to Renzo—killing him was not part of the plan.
"Bubiii!" (Holy Healing!)
He cast a healing spell borrowed from the Konosuba world, just to make sure Madara wouldn't die. But as he stared into Madara's dead-inside eyes, Jerry sighed and started his next act.
"Buiiiiiii~" (Oh no, my heart... I feel vewy vewy weak... am I about to die?)
Jerry dramatically collapsed, sending Tom a silent message:
We need to go—Renzo's plan might fail if we stay.
"Pika!" (WTF? This guy really has no warrior spirit... tsk, whatever. He's not even worthy of being defeated by me.)
Tom threw in a quick insult, then joined the act—pretending to stumble around, dizzy like Jerry.
And then, under everyone's speechless stares… they both returned themselves into their Poké Balls.
---
Deep within Madara's body, Black Zetsu was stirring. Seeing everything unfold, it muttered to itself. "We can't wait any longer. Who knows when that Uchiha Renzo brat will show up next…"
Black Zetsu leaned in and said, "Lord Madara, it's time to cast Infinite Tsukuyomi. We can't afford surprises. Don't forget—Uchiha Renzo is still unaccounted for but once the Infinite Tsukuyomi starts, then we win."
Madara frowned.
The slime had a point. So, he formed a series of hand seals without hesitation.
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
From the earth, a massive Divine Tree erupted, growing at insane speed until it towered into the sky, its branches bare.
"Infinite Tsukuyomi!"
In the next instant, Madara's Rinne Sharingan flared.
"Huh? What the hell?!"
"Are my eyes messing with me—or did the moon just turn into a Sharingan? With red tomoe and everything?!"
"No, I see it too!!"
Across the ninja world, shinobi everywhere looked up at the sky and freaked out. The moon had changed—unmistakably. Panic spread like wildfire.
But that panic didn't last long.
Almost immediately, their eyes glazed over, one after another turning into eerie replicas of the Sharingan. Within seconds, the entire world seemed to fall silent.
Only a handful of top-tier Konoha shinobi were unaffected: Renzo, Tsunade, Minato, Kakashi, Obito, Rin, Hashirama, Tobirama…
And then it got worse.
From beneath the feet of all those caught in the genjutsu, roots burst from the earth and wrapped around them, lifting them into the air like grotesque fruits on a tree.
"What the hell?! That's ballsy as hell!"
Even Obito and others found themselves targeted—thick roots rising up to wrap around them like they were prize catches.
Whatever chakra they had, it clearly acted like bait for the tree.
Unfortunately for the tree, Kakashi and the others were too strong. They casually destroyed the roots before they could do any real damage.
...
Back on the battlefield, Madara couldn't contain his excitement. His plan was finally taking shape.
"HAHAHA! HASHIRAMA! JUST WATCH! MY DREAM IS ABOUT TO COME TRUE!"
But Hashirama just shook his head, chuckling with a strange pity in his eyes.
"No, no, Madara… you're way too naive. You're about to face the biggest disaster of your life."
"…What?" Madara's smile faltered. His brow furrowed, voice turning cold. "What do you mean by that?"
He knew Hashirama too well. The guy wasn't the type to lie or make baseless threats. If he was saying something like this now, then… there had to be a reason.
A sinking feeling crept into Madara's gut.
"Will that Cat and Mouse return again? Did I overlook something…?"
Hashirama opened his mouth, ready to answer—
"BIG BRO!!"
Before he could say another word, Tobirama snapped, barking at him like a whipcrack. "Shut your damn mouth!"
Is he insane?! Was he seriously about to tell Madara the truth now?
"…Uhh…"
Hashirama froze like a kid caught red-handed. His smug face twisted into a pout as he sulked off to the side, crouched down, and started drawing circles on the ground with his finger.
"If I'm not supposed to say anything, then fine… but why'd you have to yell at me?" he muttered.
Tobirama: "…"
He put a hand to his forehead, sighing deeply.
Why am I even here?
Across the battlefield, Madara was practically seething.
"You damn Senju Tobirama!"
He was just seconds away from getting the answer he wanted—only for Tobirama to cut it off. His teeth ground together in frustration.
This is why I've always hated that guy… He's just so damn annoying.
Still, he took a moment to center himself.
"…Hmph. Whatever. This chakra… it's incredible. And it's still pouring in from the Divine Tree. Whatever tricks you're planning, it's already too late! I feel like I can beat that mouse again now."
Feeling the endless chakra surging into him from every root of the God Tree, Madara calmed down again and smirked.
But just as he was enjoying the moment—
Shunk!
A sharp pain stabbed through his chest.
His eyes widened.
He looked down…
His heart had been pierced.
"…Black Zetsu?! YOU—!!"
Madara quickly realized what had happened. The attack had come from inside his own body—from Black Zetsu. Of all things, that was what caught him off guard.
Wasn't Black Zetsu supposed to be his creation? His will?
"Kehehe… Finally. It's done. Thanks for all your hard work, Madara."
Black Zetsu's twisted form emerged from behind him, laughing darkly.
He had waited a very long time for this.
More than a thousand years of planning, of setbacks, of near failures—but none of that mattered now. Everything had led to this moment.
Controlling Madara's body like a puppet, Black Zetsu began weaving hand signs to summon Kaguya Ōtsutsuki—and bring her back to life using Madara as the vessel.
"You damn parasite…!"
Madara's eyes trembled in disbelief.
"I actually… even lost to you? What a sick joke…"
He looked utterly devastated.
"Madara!"
Hashirama's eyes widened as he saw his old friend get stabbed through the chest. He instinctively surged forward—but Tobirama stopped him.
"Don't! Now's not the time!" Tobirama shouted. "Renzo warned us—Kaguya Ōtsutsuki is about to be revived!"
"Hashirama… seeing me like this must be a real letdown for you, huh? Man, I really wish we could've had one last good fight…"
Madara laughed bitterly, his voice fading. "Looks like I was wrong all along. The Infinite Tsukuyomi… peace through illusions… It was all just a damn lie."
In his final moments, everything became painfully clear.
It was never his plan. It was never about peace.
From the very beginning, it was all just a setup—a grand manipulation orchestrated by Black Zetsu.
A con. A farce.
And the worst part?
It wasn't even that clever. He just… fell for it.
"Madara…"
Hearing Madara's last words, Hashirama's eyes welled up.
"Don't worry," he shouted. "You can go in peace! I'll take care of the rest!"
"I'm just glad you finally saw through it all. You came to your senses before the end. That's what matters."
"So rest easy. I'll talk to my granddaughter's husband and ask him to bring you back. When that happens, let's catch up properly."
Madara: "…"
Okay. I might be a terrible person—but Hashirama, you are just… unbelievable.
Rest easy and just go die? Seriously?
Still… Madara couldn't help but laugh.
That was just so Hashirama.
He really hadn't misjudged his best friend after all.
And if what he said was true—if he really would get revived someday—then Madara was looking forward to it.
In fact, if he could come back right now and beat the hell out of Black Zetsu, that'd be ideal.
He'd never been this humiliated in his life.
As for his fight with a brown Pokémon? He will never mention it again.
"…Big bro, are you out of your mind?! Don't just go promising something like that! You're not seriously thinking of reviving him, are you?! I'm completely against it!"
Tobirama looked absolutely done.
He had always suspected there was something… off about Hashirama and Madara's relationship. When Renzo called it "bromance," he wasn't sure how serious that was.
Now?
Now he was starting to wonder if he'd been in denial this whole time.
"Aww, c'mon, don't be such a buzzkill!" Hashirama said, grinning. "Madara already admitted he was wrong. Shouldn't we give him another chance? Without him, things are just… boring!"
"I'll keep an eye on him next time. Promise!"
Tobirama snorted. "Fine. Do whatever you want."
"But now let's see Kaguya Ōtsutsuki!"
.
.
.