Boom—
Within Konohagakure, deafening explosions echoed continuously as the figures of Madara Uchiha and Sasuke flickered rapidly.
The battle between these two instantly drew the attention of the ninjas stationed in the village. With the Shinobi World War raging on, the village was naturally a key defensive point.
But now, all they could do was watch the battle unfold before them—they had no way to intervene!
"Too fast, too strong..."
The clash between these two Uchiha was not something other ninjas could easily meddle in. Their speed was overwhelming, their power immense, and all the spectators could see were fleeting afterimages. This left them utterly helpless.
"Damn it..."
Naruto had already arrived at the battlefield. He initially wanted to use Flying Thunder God to teleport to Sasuke's side and fight alongside him. After all, the two of them had exchanged kunai for this very purpose.
But Kushina grabbed him firmly.
"Don't act recklessly! This is our village. Your priority is to protect it and prevent further destruction, not to cause even more chaos!"
Naruto understood her reasoning and restrained himself, but watching the battle between Madara Uchiha and Sasuke made him increasingly anxious. Moreover, he could tell that Sasuke was clearly at a disadvantage!
"Hmm?"
Just as his worry peaked, Naruto suddenly sensed something unusual. He turned his gaze toward the Hyūga clan compound in the distance.
"Kid, don't think that just because you've gained these eyes and improved a little, you've truly caught up to me!"
On a mountain peak, Madara grabbed Sasuke's wrist and spoke coldly.
"I'll admit, you've become more agile, but that's all there is to it. And frankly, I dislike you even more now."
Madara truly despised Sasuke. The boy bore an uncanny resemblance to Izuna, yet he had chosen to learn from the man who killed Izuna!
Madara strongly suspected that this was Tobirama Senju's deliberate doing. That cunning and sinister man must have orchestrated this to disgust him.
Madara now genuinely wanted to strangle Sasuke, but Sasuke's Flying Thunder God technique made it difficult for him to land a decisive blow.
"You're so annoying."
Sasuke was equally irritated by Madara. He spoke coldly:
"If you could do it, you wouldn't be wasting time talking. You're just a dead relic—you belong in a museum!"
Whoosh—
With a flash, Sasuke broke free from Madara's grip. His short blade, crackling with purple lightning, sliced toward Madara with intense force!
"Looks like I've been underestimated."
Madara showed little reaction to Sasuke's attack. While he wanted to strangle Sasuke, he was also curious about Black Zetsu's progress.
After some thought, Madara came up with an idea—perhaps he could escalate the situation to create a better environment for Black Zetsu.
"And fighting here... even if Hashirama comes, he'll struggle to fight freely."
Madara hadn't seen Hashirama yet, indicating that the man was likely on the front lines rather than in the village. This disappointed Madara slightly, but it didn't matter. He needed a warm-up anyway, and the bigger the commotion, the faster Hashirama would arrive!
"Then, let me show you the difference between us."
Madara snorted coldly, and in an instant, his Susanoo appeared!
The Susanoo drew its long blade, swinging it toward Sasuke with immense force. Madara's icy voice echoed:
"Besides, you're neither Hashirama nor Kitagawa Minamoto. You've never mattered to me."
Boom—
Faced with the ferocious strike, Sasuke narrowly dodged with a swift movement. But the forest behind him was instantly swept into a storm—countless trees shattered, and the ground split deeply.
"Tch."
Sasuke cursed under his breath, immediately activating his own Susanoo. Purple chakra enveloped his body, and in the blink of an eye, two "Complete Body Susanoo" figures loomed within Konohagakure!
"We can't fight here; the entire village will be destroyed. I need to lure him out."
Sasuke thought to himself, controlling his Susanoo to spread its wings and soar into the sky.
"An undead from the old era—stop embarrassing yourself. You said you don't see me as a threat? Funny, I feel the same way about you!"
"Hmph, ridiculous."
Madara saw through Sasuke's intentions immediately. With a cold laugh, he controlled his Susanoo to follow him into the sky.
His Complete Body Susanoo extended four arms, each wielding a long blade. Under his command, the Susanoo swung its enormous ninja swords once more!
"Compared to me, you're far too weak!"
"Hmph."
Sasuke hadn't expected Madara's speed to be so fast, but he quickly controlled his own Susanoo to counterattack.
Yet the sheer power of Madara's hundred-meter-long swords was unimaginable. Even though Sasuke tried his best to defend, the impact shattered part of his Susanoo's frontal armor, causing him to stumble mid-air.
Still, this was a marked improvement compared to their previous encounter—at least he wasn't completely helpless this time.
"Hmph, you've made some progress."
Madara nodded slightly in acknowledgment, but his gaze quickly sharpened.
"But this is just the beginning. Now, how will you respond to this?"
As his words fell, Madara's Susanoo raised its other arms, each wielding a blade, and unleashed a flurry of strikes toward Sasuke.
Boom, boom, boom...
Another series of thunderous explosions shook the skies, forming countless chakra cyclones that spiraled into storms.
The fierce winds swept across the land, causing the entire village to tremble.
"So this is the power of the Uchiha?"
The ninjas stationed nearby watched in bitter frustration. Such battles were beyond their ability to intervene.
The feeling of helplessness was deeply unsettling—even Kushina seemed momentarily dazed.
"Sasuke... that boy has grown this much?"
In that moment, Kushina noticed something unusual—Naruto wasn't causing a commotion as he usually did.
Turning to look, she was shocked to find that her son had disappeared!
"Naruto?!"
Unfortunately, her voice was drowned out by the roar of the battlefield above.
"Sasuke Uchiha is here—perfect. This saves me the trouble of trying to attract Kitagawa Minamoto's attention."
Within the Hyūga compound, Black Zetsu sensed the raging battle outside. He nodded slightly to himself.
He was actually frustrated. If Kitagawa Minamoto was in Konoha and he brought Madara to retrieve the item, Madara would be trapped. But if he came without Madara, either Kitagawa Minamoto wouldn't notice him, or he himself would be caught.
This awkward situation left him feeling helpless, but the current scenario was the best possible outcome.
"Now I can retrieve what I left behind and wait for Kitagawa Minamoto to arrive. Though he's become absurdly powerful..."
Through the White Zetsu at his side, he had been monitoring the battlefield situation, fully aware of everything happening outside.
Kitagawa Minamoto had single-handedly crushed an army of tens of thousands of White Zetsu and casually dispersed four reincarnated shinobi.
"Not only that, but Obito and Nagato are also suffering terribly. Truly frightening..."
Honestly, at times he wondered if Kitagawa Minamoto might actually be an Ōtsutsuki! His power had reached such heights that it was difficult not to speculate. Yet Black Zetsu had no concrete evidence.
Even though he had detected unusual chakra in Kitagawa Minamoto, it was still vastly different from Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's.
"Forget it. For Mother's sake, I must give it my all. Ideally, he'll eliminate Obito Uchiha, which would make things easier."
Black Zetsu mused to himself as he entered the Hyūga clan's hidden chamber.
Approaching the book, he didn't immediately take it. Instead, he needed to carefully examine it.
After all, the last time the information had been altered, it had terrified him to his core. This time, he had to thoroughly check before proceeding!
"Now then..."
Just as he prepared to inspect it, he sensed something wrong. A strange light flashed behind him.
"Rasengan!"
With a furious shout, Naruto suddenly appeared behind him, a massive spiraling sphere pressing down toward him!
"Damn it, why is he here?!"
Black Zetsu's expression changed drastically. With no time to check the book, he grabbed it and attempted to sink into the ground.
But the Rasengan struck him. While he felt little impact, the White Zetsu portion of his body let out an agonizing scream!
"You came here with a purpose. Don't think you can escape."
Naruto didn't hesitate, launching another attack against Black Zetsu.
"This is trouble!"
Black Zetsu's already dark face contorted with pain. He had little combat ability and strongly suspected that he'd been marked with a Flying Thunder God seal.
He needed to find Madara urgently, and he couldn't let the item fall into Naruto's hands.
"That's it—Kabuto Yakushi is in Konoha. He's Orochimaru's man!"
In an instant, Black Zetsu formulated a plan. His body began to split rapidly, while Naruto continued his relentless assault.
Boom, boom, boom—
Outside Konoha, amid deafening explosions and violent ground tremors, Sasuke's Susanoo was forced back.
Despite the immense impact and air currents, which even his high-level Susanoo struggled to withstand, Sasuke remained unfazed. After all, he had achieved his objective.
Especially as...
Whoosh— Whoosh— Whoosh—
With successive pulses of chakra, several figures suddenly appeared around him!
"Finally here."
Seeing the figures materialize, Sasuke felt a wave of relief, while Madara grew even more excited.
"So you've finally arrived, Hashirama!"
"Madara Uchiha!"
Tobirama Senju coldly eyed the figure before them, while Minato Namikaze furrowed his brow.
"So this is Madara Uchiha..."
"It's been a long time."
Only Hashirama Senju wore a smile, looking up at the massive figure and speaking softly.
"Madara."
"Yes, it has been a while."
Madara's smile deepened as he nodded slightly.
"Three Kage and one Kage candidate—quite an interesting assembly. But it matters not. This works perfectly for me."
"Make that more than one Kage candidate!"
At that moment, Naruto flickered into view, joining the battlefield.
He shot an annoyed glance at Sasuke before glaring at Madara and shouting:
"I'm also Minamoto's subordinate, and I know what you're after, you bastard!"
"Oh?"
Madara raised an eyebrow. At that moment, he noticed Black Zetsu appearing beside his Susanoo, causing his brow to furrow deeply.
Meanwhile, in the Land of Hot Water, Kitagawa Minamoto, who had been pummeling Nagato, Obito, and Kimimaro, suddenly paused.
He glanced toward Konoha with a peculiar expression, muttering to himself:
"Why did that troublesome thing end up in Kabuto's hands?"
"Damn it..."
While he pondered this, Nagato, Obito, and Kimimaro struggled to their feet.
They were panting heavily, their bodies covered in wounds, yet their fighting spirit remained intense.
"Whether we're worthy or not..."
As they spoke, black markings began to spread across their bodies.
The markings rapidly covered them, dramatically altering their auras. Simultaneously, the chakra within them grew more powerful.
They glared at Kitagawa Minamoto, letting out fierce roars.
"That's not for you to decide!"
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