Author Note:
The prophecy has been fulfilled… 100 Power Stones have been offered. The bonus chapter descends!
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"Domain Expansion: Overlord!!!"
Guts's pupils shrank as violent Conqueror's Haki erupted from him like a raging torrent, forming a domain, a new technique he had developed himself.
The four Limbo: Border Jail clones in their Perfect Susanoo froze mid-motion, as if an invisible hand had gripped them.
Whether they existed in reality or in illusion, they were still creatures.
And as long as they were creatures, his domain would work.
Even plants weren't exempt.
"So you can lock down my Limbo: Border Jail… a pity I didn't get to fight you during the Warring States Period." Madara let out a faint sigh.
He hadn't expected someone to actually find a way to seal his Limbo clones.
"You are already an old man who's died once," Guts said with a laugh. "Don't waste your last years like this. Go home, marry a couple of widows, live quietly until the end."
Then his grin turned sharper.
"And if we had fought back in that era… could you even survive being accidentally killed by one of my basic moves?"
"Haha~~"
Madara only laughed in return. Once he'd set his mind on something, not even death had been able to change it.
A phantom began to shimmer around Guts's body, just like the aura Might Guy had when unleashing Night Guy.
Madara's eyes sharpened. He could see it clearly: a colossal red dragon's phantom coiled around Guts, radiating killing intent so real it made the air heavy.
"An illusion…? No… why does that thing feel real?"
His brows furrowed.
"The moon has reached the bottom."
Guts cracked his neck, stepping forward. Each step shattered the ground beneath him, destruction spreading outward like ripples.
"I'm not interested in dragging this fight out. Let's finish it in one decisive move."
Madara understood his intent immediately. Guts wouldn't give him the chance to activate Infinite Tsukuyomi.
The moon wasn't yet in the perfect position and until it was, Madara couldn't cast it.
So this was it. The final exchange.
The Six Paths power was immense, but it wasn't the limit of what one could achieve.
The bloodline of the Sage didn't automatically mean strongest.
The true owners of that title were the Ōtsutsuki beings who constantly transcended their limits in pursuit of higher dimensions.
If this were Aizen instead of Madara, he might abandon the Eye of the Moon Plan altogether and chase a new path to greater power.
But Madara was different. From beginning to end, he'd only pursued his vision of "peace" a world where his brother, Izuna, still lived.
Even facing someone who could surpass him, he wouldn't take a single step back.
Either make it… or die.
Listening to the voice of all things, Guts picked up on Madara's thoughts and couldn't help but speak.
"Although we're on opposite sides, and you're one sly old fox… I have to say, you're a man willing to go against the whole world for your dream. So stand proud… you're strong."
Even so, they remained enemies.
Guts sought to protect the world he'd claimed.
Madara sought to replace it with an illusion of his own making.
"Hahaha! Do it!"
Madara's laughter roared across the battlefield. Gone was the calm, century-old Uchiha elder, in his place stood the fiery young warrior of the Warring States Era, eager for the clash.
Everything was coming to an end.
Either make it… or die.
It was that simple.
"Heh…"
Guts smiled and in the next instant, his body blurred into an invisible shockwave, sweeping past Madara.
From above, the battlefield looked like two streaks of light — one black, one white — colliding again and again.
"Six Paths — Tengai Shinsei!!!"
Madara unleashed his next move. At this level, everything he used was already a killer move and without going all out, there was no chance of victory.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sound of the sky breaking echoed over the night.
Even from the medical camp, Tsunade, Kurenai, and Haruno Sakura looked toward the horizon their faces paling.
Above, enormous meteorites each large enough to wipe out an island came crashing down one after another like an unstoppable meteor shower.
The sight alone was enough to freeze the breath in anyone's chest.
Guts grinned, then became a red streak, shooting skyward like a blazing comet.
He clenched his fist.
"Galaxy Impact!"
What happened next defied belief.
The meteorites shattered midair, splintering into countless fragments that rained down across the entire Ninja World.
"Defend, now!!!"
Shouts rang out across every battlefield.
Ninja scrambled to throw up defenses, unleashing all manner of jutsu to block the falling debris.
Tsunade instantly activated her Strength of a Hundred Technique, smashing away boulders one after another but behind her, the medical barracks were reduced to rubble in moments.
No one had time to check on the injured. The sheer scale of this fight had eclipsed anything human.
At this level, nowhere in the world was safe.
On the battlefield, Six Paths Madara gasped for breath.
Even with the Ten Tails' body, his so-called "infinite chakra" he was being pushed to his limit.
Uchiha Itachi's words proved true: anyone, any technique, has weaknesses.
Even Ten Tails Jinchūriki flesh couldn't instantly heal under Guts's Conqueror-infused strikes.
And the rate at which Guts dealt damage… was faster than Madara could regenerate.
Rumble!!!
Sensing a violent surge from his right, Madara raised his Six Paths staff. Ethereal force erupted, straining against the crushing physical pressure.
But mid-block, his instincts screamed, he turned his gaze behind him.
Guts stood half a mile away, red energy swirling around him, completely unharmed.
Madara's eyes narrowed.
Shadow Clone? No… he doesn't use ninjutsu. Did he instantly switch positions after attacking me?
If so, the speed required for such a feat was beyond comprehension.
For the first time in ages, Guts felt it, the pure thrill of battle.
He looked at Madara, calm, raising his fist. Madara's shoulders tensed, bracing for impact.
Then Guts vanished... no afterimage, no blur, as if reality itself had skipped a frame.
In Madara's eyes, the fist loomed as vast as a galaxy swallowing everything in sight. There was nowhere to run.
"GALAXY IMPACT!!!"
Boom!!!
For a moment, time and space froze.
A thousand meters of raw force roared forward like a beast that knew only to devour.
In that frozen instant, Guts heard Madara's final words:
"It has nothing to do with Taijutsu or ninjutsu… Among everyone I've fought, no one can match you. I, Uchiha Madara, acknowledge you… as the strongest!!!"
…
He didn't know how much time had passed when another voice echoed in his mind, not Madara's this time:
[Achievement Unlocked: "The Real World" — Template Character: Issei Hyoudou — Completion Rate: 45.55%]
[New Skill Unlocked: Dragon Flames — Burns the Soul]
The massive progress came from defeating Obito and then Madara.
But unlike before, Guts felt no thrill, no burst of excitement.
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