Madara rushed forward like a phantom and instantly seized Hashirama by the throat with one hand.
"Hmph, Hashirama... give it to me!"
Madara's Rinnegan activated, greedily absorbing chakra. But as the absorption began, Madara suddenly frowned. The Hashirama in front of her flickered—and turned into a Wood Clone.
"Substitute?" Madara growled.
Not far away, the real Hashirama revealed himself and shouted, "You're after the Sage Mode chakra within me, aren't you, Madara?!"
Seeing that Hashirama had seen through his intentions, Madara wasn't angered. Instead, he grinned. "Yes, I want a portion of your power. Otherwise... I wouldn't desire you this much."
As he spoke, Madara pulled open the front of his robe. Embedded into his chest was an eerie, grotesque face—Hashirama's face.
Hashirama's expression darkened. "Madara... you actually went that far?"
Madara's expression turned fanatical, his eyes gleaming with obsession. He looked at Hashirama the way a predator looks at prey.
"Hashirama, listen to me. The fusion of you and me... it's the only way to achieve true peace. Can't you see? I've become something new. I've merged your cells into my flesh. Your power and mine are now one."
Madara tapped his chest. "This is the path to the Rinnegan. Through that power, I now see farther than you ever could."
Hashirama clenched his fists, his brows furrowed.
At last, he understood it—the reason Madara sought him out in battle after death. Back during their final confrontation, Madara must have intentionally torn off a piece of Hashirama's flesh, induced suspended animation, and carved fūinjutsu into his body in preparation for his resurrection.
Tobirama arrived mid-air and glanced at Madara. His expression was bitter with regret. "Brother... I admit it was my mistake not to destroy his body when you told me to."
Hashirama sighed heavily. He had given Tobirama specific orders on his deathbed—destroy Madara's corpse. But Tobirama, obsessed with experimentation, had kept the body for research instead.
But in hindsight, Hashirama couldn't entirely blame him. Tobirama had always been a scientist at heart, someone fascinated by forbidden techniques. For someone like him, Madara's corpse was a goldmine of knowledge.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato Namikaze—the Third and Fourth Hokage—arrived and landed beside Hashirama and Tobirama. The four Hokage now stood united. Gaara floated down nearby, exchanging a look with Temari.
Temari understood immediately and shouted, "All shinobi, retreat immediately!"
Moments ago, Madara had used his Rinnegan and the power of the Sage of Six Paths to summon twin meteorites. Gaara had never been more terrified. Had it not been for Hashirama and Tobirama constantly relocating the shinobi, the entire Fourth Division would have been annihilated.
Gaara turned toward Madara, eyes narrowed, focusing on the grotesque face embedded in his chest.
He remembered the vision Naruto had shown him of the future—of Madara's monstrous power. Gaara knew now, more than ever, that the enemy before them was not someone ordinary shinobi could face.
Only Kage-level combatants could stand a chance.
Onoki had been severely wounded from the second meteor's shockwave. After Hiruzen rescued him, he had been sent back to the support squad for emergency treatment.
"Lord Hashirama," Gaara asked, "what should we do now?"
Although he was the commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces, Gaara knew to defer to the Hokage before him—especially the First Hokage, the God of Shinobi.
Hashirama stared hard at Madara. "Do everything in your power to bring him down—and then seal him!"
Tobirama nodded fiercely. "My brother is right. You can't hold back when you're fighting a Uchiha. Especially one as inherently dangerous as Madara."
Hiruzen readied his adamantine staff. Though he once revered Madara as the co-founder of Konoha, the Second and First Hokage had made their will clear. Now, it was time to follow their lead.
Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique was ready. He had been instructed by Naruto to maintain stability and ensure Madara didn't shift the tide on the Fourth Division's battlefield. His role was clear—keep Madara contained.
The combined might of the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Hokage should be more than enough.
Madara frowned slightly. The meteorites had failed to wipe them out—and it was all because of Hashirama and the other Kage.
Even with the power of the Rinnegan, the situation wasn't in his favor.
Tch. That brat Obito is utterly useless, Madara thought.
The original plan had been simple: use Nagato's Rinnegan to resurrect Madara with a living body, then re-implant the Rinnegan and easily crush the opposition. But things had clearly gone off script.
Madara turned to look behind him—where his ally, the reincarnated Mu (Second Tsuchikage), once stood. But he was gone. Already sealed by the Allied Shinobi Forces.
Madara clicked his tongue. "Hmph."
This wasn't going according to plan at all. It was frustrating. Infuriating.
But then again... he was Uchiha Madara.
And even surrounded, he still had confidence.
With a smirk, Madara clapped his hands together.
Hashirama's eyes narrowed. "What kind of seal is this—?"
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
Suddenly, enormous trees erupted from the ground, growing wildly and charging toward the Allied shinobi like a tidal wave of roots and branches.
Gaara's eyes widened. "He's using Wood Style?! That's—!"
He turned to Hashirama, who snorted. "Madara, trying to use Wood Style in front of me? Let's see how you like it."
Hashirama formed a seal and slammed his hands together.
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
From Hashirama's side, equally gigantic trees burst forth and surged toward Madara's forest.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The two Wood Style jutsu collided violently, shaking the battlefield as if nature itself had declared war.
Gaara soared into the air, muttering, "This scale... this isn't just battle. This is a war between gods."
Tobirama scoffed and threw a Flying Thunder God Kunai marked with his signature seal.
"Monkey! Fourth! Let's move!" he barked.
With incredible speed, Tobirama darted through the forest of trees, vanishing and reappearing with the buzz of teleportation.
He appeared right in front of Madara, who had already prepared his counterattack.
"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
A massive wall of fire erupted from Madara's mouth. The scale was terrifying—easily enough to incinerate dozens of shinobi in one go.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!" Tobirama countered.
A titanic water dragon surged out of thin air, roaring as it collided with the flames mid-air.
From above, Gaara observed in awe. "Second Hokage's Water Style... even in this desert, he can summon that much water?!"
It was awe-inspiring—and terrifying.
At that moment, Gaara was more convinced than ever that his earlier decision was the correct one.
Ordinary shinobi had no place on this battlefield. They would be nothing more than casualties.
As the water dragon and firestorm clashed, a massive steam explosion erupted, coating the battlefield in thick mist.
Despite the fog, Hiruzen and Minato continued pressing the offensive, moving in unison with the First and Second Hokage.
The battle against Uchiha Madara was far from over.
But for the first time... the tide was beginning to turn.
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