From within the rising mist of steam, Madara emerged with a fierce leap!
In an instant, countless fireballs shot out from behind him. Sarutobi Hiruzen narrowed his eyes. A master of all five nature transformations, he was a Ninjutsu grandmaster. Though he knew he couldn't defeat Madara alone, with the First and Second Hokage present, there was no fear in his heart.
Hiruzen leapt into the air and shouted, "Adamantine Staff—Extend!"
With a whoosh, the golden staff in his hand lengthened and spun rapidly. As Madara's barrage of fireballs approached, Hiruzen twirled the staff, creating a shield mid-air that blocked the projectiles.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The fireballs exploded against the rotating adamantine staff, but none broke through.
"Well done, Monkey!" Tobirama praised, throwing a Flying Thunder God Kunai straight toward Madara.
Madara snorted and tilted his head to evade it.
With a flash, Tobirama teleported to the Kunai's location and shouted, "We've got you!"
But Madara didn't even flinch. With a metallic clang, Tobirama's kunai collided with a ribcage—the skeletal frame of Susanoo.
"Tch." Tobirama clicked his tongue in irritation.
Suddenly, the Fourth Hokage appeared with a Rasengan spinning in his palm.
"Rasengan!"
Minato struck Susanoo directly. The Rasengan ground fiercely against the ribcage, and the pressure caused cracks to appear in Madara's Susanoo bones.
Madara's expression twisted with annoyance. The idea that someone other than Hashirama could damage his Susanoo was clearly unacceptable to him.
With a cold snort, Madara expanded Susanoo further, repelling both Minato and Tobirama with a burst of chakra.
Unfazed, Tobirama reached into his chest armor and activated another jutsu:
"Tandem Explosive Tags!"
Explosive tags shot out and latched onto Madara's position. A continuous chain of violent explosions erupted, engulfing the area.
Hiruzen wasn't finished either. He summoned a barrage of shuriken and formed a quick series of hand seals:
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
Whoosh!
A hailstorm of cloned shuriken flew toward Madara's Susanoo. The relentless barrage chipped and cracked the protective skeletal armor.
Even Madara began to feel the mounting pressure. After all, the ones assaulting him were four Kage-level shinobi. No matter how powerful he was, this wasn't a battle he could take lightly.
"Annoying pests…" Madara growled.
With a powerful leap, Madara launched himself out of the area.
Hashirama instantly gave chase. Against Madara's Susanoo, only his Wood Style could keep the upper hand. As soon as Madara fled, Hashirama began forming hand seals again, gathering chakra to summon Wood Dragon and Wood Golem.
Meanwhile, Onoki returned to the battlefield, having been treated by medical-nin. Blood still stained his robes, but his expression was resolute.
Gaara looked at the older Kage and mock-scolded, "Lord Tsuchikage, you should still be resting."
Onoki chuckled and waved a hand. "I said I'd stand back up again."
He looked toward Hashirama and smiled nostalgically. "Back then, I admired Lord Hashirama. He gave me hope for unity and peace in the shinobi world. But then... I lost that hope because of Madara."
Hearing this, Madara's eyes flickered with memory.
In a distant past, the young Onoki had stood beside the Second Tsuchikage, Mu, during tense negotiations with Konoha. Onoki had pleaded, "Lord Hashirama, didn't you promise cooperation?"
Madara had sneered and replied coldly, "There is no cooperation—only surrender."
Onoki had resisted, but Madara had crushed his will with a single glance, leaving a lasting scar on the boy's heart. From that day, Onoki had abandoned the dream of peace and focused solely on protecting his village.
But today, Onoki had rediscovered that dream.
"To fight beside Lord Hashirama… it's the greatest honor. If I die here, I'll die without regrets!" he declared.
Madara scoffed. "You're not the same child I once met, Onoki."
Madara turned his gaze to Hashirama, then to the other Kage present. He paused.
Continuing this battle wasn't wise. Not now.
Madara had other concerns. He needed to find Obito. There were too many variables he hadn't accounted for.
That boy Naruto… he had the Rinnegan. That wasn't supposed to be possible.
The Rinnegan had only ever existed in Madara's eyes—then transferred to Nagato. How did Naruto possess it?
And Kabuto—who was he really? Madara hadn't seen him since his reincarnation.
No choice. Even Uchiha Madara had to withdraw for the sake of the Eye of the Moon Plan.
He dismissed Susanoo and took to the skies, flying toward Obito's chakra signature.
"I can't win against this lineup now… but I will be back."
Hashirama watched him go, frowning.
Gaara and Onoki flew over. "Lord Hashirama," Gaara asked, "should we pursue?"
Tobirama growled, "What are we waiting for?! Fourth Hokage, come with me! We both have teleportation jutsu, and with my sensory techniques, even Madara can't escape!"
Hashirama raised a hand and shook his head. "No. Let's contact Naruto first and hear what he has to say."
Minato nodded in agreement. His son had entrusted him with a clear vision, and he trusted Naruto's judgment.
Gaara nodded too. He had always supported Naruto's leadership.
Tobirama grimaced, but with everyone aligned, he relented. "Tch… even that idiot kid has his moments."
Allied Shinobi Headquarters
Nara Shikaku received the Fourth Division's inquiry and passed the intel to Naruto's Shadow Clone at headquarters.
Naruto glanced through it, then nodded. "Let Lord Hashirama and the Hokage pursue Madara. Gaara and Onoki, lead the Fourth Division forward!"
Shikaku looked to the Raikage for approval. The Fourth Raikage nodded without hesitation.
Yamanaka Inoichi immediately relayed the command across the entire army.
Back on the battlefield, Tobirama grinned when the message came in. "See? I told you we should keep chasing! Come on, Monkey—let's go!"
With that, Tobirama vanished in a flash of teleportation.
Hiruzen nodded to Hashirama and dashed after him.
He had been trained by the Second Hokage and couldn't help but follow his orders by instinct.
Hashirama sighed, gave a few final instructions to Gaara and Onoki, then turned to Minato.
"Let's go," he said, and the two Hokage pursued Madara.
Gaara and Onoki turned to their army. Temari waved her fan to signal the advance, and the Fourth Division surged forward once more.
Back at Headquarters
Naruto's Shadow Clone received a new report—Kakashi's squad had succeeded. The last of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had been sealed.
With that, Naruto turned to Shikaku. "It's time. All units should converge at the main battlefield—where my true self is waiting."
The final battle was about to begin.
Shikaku analyzed the positioning. It was indeed the right moment to commit everything. The enemy was disoriented. Morale was high.
Thanks to Naruto's Shadow Clones stationed within each unit, the imposters planted by Kabuto had been exposed one by one.
With the deception eliminated, the mistrust within the Allied Forces completely disappeared.
Kabuto's infiltration tactic—using White Zetsu and the Impure World Reincarnation—had officially failed.
"Let's finish it," Shikaku said.
Inoichi nodded. "Right away."
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