A flash of yellow light streaked through the air, and Minato Namikaze's voice suddenly came from the right side of the Hokage Rock.
Judging by his position, Minato had appeared directly above his own face carved into the rock, while the figure clad in crimson armor stood atop the First Hokage's monument.
"Uchiha... Madara!"
Minato's face was filled with apprehension. In Sage Mode, he could clearly feel the vast, ocean-like aura emanating from Madara—a presence that seemed boundless and overwhelming.
"Ah, you look just like the face on the rock. So, you're the Fourth Hokage?"
"How unimpressive. It seems Konohagakure has been declining with each generation..."
Madara's visible Rinnegan gazed at Minato with disdain.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
In an instant, numerous figures arrived at the scene, surrounding Madara.
Madara, however, remained calm, standing in the center of the formation without a trace of concern.
"Interesting eyes, though imperfect..."
"Tell me, as one of the Uchiha clan's elites, are you interested in helping me create a new world?"
Madara's gaze swept across the assembled shinobi before finally settling on Itachi Uchiha.
Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan locked onto Madara as he replied in a calm tone, "The Uchiha clan only has meaning as Konohagakure's Uchiha."
There was no curiosity or surprise in Itachi's expression regarding the "new world" Madara spoke of.
Moments earlier, Itachi had attempted to use Tsukuyomi on Madara, but the terrifying ocular power contained within the Rinnegan had forced him to abandon the idea.
"Ah~"
"Very well..."
Madara said softly.
Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind swept out, and deep blue Chakra enveloped Madara's body. In an instant, the Chakra surged upward, transforming into a two-faced Susano'o. The two faces stood back to back, connected by a spiral-like skeletal structure in the center.
Then, the two-faced Susano'o began forming seals with its hands, while Madara himself simultaneously wove a different hand sign.
"Amaterasu!"
The moment Madara summoned his Susano'o, Itachi's left eye widened sharply.
Whoosh!
Black flames appeared out of nowhere, engulfing the body of Madara's Susano'o and burning fiercely.
In just a few moments, Itachi's left eye was bloodshot, with rivulets of blood streaming from his eye socket. It was clear that he had exerted his full strength, attempting to incinerate Madara with the "black flames of destruction."
However, in the next instant, everyone's attention was drawn to a sudden change in the skies above Konohagakure.
The serene blue sky, dotted with floating white clouds, was abruptly disrupted as a massive meteor tore through, scattering the clouds in its wake.
Buzz!
The enormous meteor made the very air hum with its immense impact force, accompanied by a sharp, deafening whistle caused by its friction with the atmosphere.
"What?!"
"What is that...?"
"Look at the sky!"
"What's going on?!"
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
"Is this the power of Uchiha Madara...?"
"The First Hokage... fought against an enemy of this caliber?"
The entire village of Konohagakure erupted into chaos.
Shouts of panic, screams, the sound of trampling feet, cries of children, and the desperate attempts of shinobi to maintain order filled the air.
Amid the cacophony, the meteor's descent remained unstoppable. When it was about 100 meters above the village, its massive diameter of over 200 meters became clearly visible to the naked eye.
Beneath the meteor's trajectory, the people in the affected area scattered in all directions. Though the ordinary civilians couldn't fully comprehend what was happening, it didn't stop them from frantically fleeing for their lives.
Escape!
They had to escape the meteor's range!
It was their only chance of survival.
Even the skilled members of the Anbu could do nothing but stare helplessly at the colossal meteor, a growing sense of powerlessness taking root in their hearts.
Whoosh!
"Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder!"
Suddenly.
A flash of yellow light streaked toward the meteor. In the blink of an eye, the enormous meteor vanished without a trace.
Moments later, a distant tremor from the ground seemed to press a pause button on the fleeing crowd, causing them to halt in their tracks.
"The Fourth Hokage!"
"It's Lord Fourth Hokage!"
"I saw that flash of light just now!"
"Lord Hokage saved us!"
"With him here, we'll definitely be safe!"
The surviving civilians cheered loudly, their voices filled with excitement and reverence for their village's hero.
They felt a deep pride in being part of Konohagakure. Only a strong village could maintain stability and prosperity in the war-torn ninja world.
"Shinra Tensei!"
The black flames engulfing Madara's Susano'o were instantly dispersed by an invisible repulsive force, leaving only faint traces of black marks in the air before they completely vanished.
"So, that was Tobirama's Flying Thunder God technique..."
"It seems there are still some commendable aspects to being Hokage."
"But what will you do about the next one?"
Encased in his blue Susano'o, Madara spoke mockingly, showing no concern for Itachi's Amaterasu.
As soon as Madara finished speaking—
Boom!
A second, even larger meteor appeared in the sky above Konohagakure.
The shadow of death instantly enveloped the civilians below.
Some of the terrified civilians seemed to have fallen into a state of hysteria. Drooling at the mouth, they collapsed to the ground, their vacant eyes staring up at the sky as they muttered, "Is this divine punishment...?"
"It's okay! It's okay!"
"Have faith!"
"Lord Hokage will save us!"
"He stopped the last meteor, didn't he?"
"Don't worry! Believe in our Hokage!"
Shouts of encouragement rang out, as if the civilians were trying to reassure themselves. Gradually, the words "Lord Hokage" grew louder and more fervent.
Whoosh!
The yellow flash appeared once again, but this meteor, with a diameter exceeding half a kilometer, was clearly beyond Minato's capabilities.
Clinging to the lowest edge of the meteor, Minato was crushed by the terrifying downward force.
At this moment, he was cloaked in a layer of red Chakra. The eight tails behind him stretched taut, as if trying to hold up the massive meteor.
"Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees!"
In the area beneath the meteor's projected impact, thick trees began to sprout rapidly from the ground. Intertwining and overlapping, they formed a massive wooden hand that reached upward, as if to support the descending meteor. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
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