Within the Illusion Realm, the battle had already begun.
The young chunin charged forward with eager cries.
"Charge! Capture Madara Uchiha alive!"
"You're already surrounded!"
Besides their youthful bravado, another major factor was that nobody could truly die within this illusion.
Madara Uchiha crossed his arms, leaping down from a mountain peak inside the Illusion Realm. "Do you also wish to dance?"
As his words fell, a huge, azure samurai-like form outlined his body.
Then, from his body emerged twenty-five Wood Clones, all wielding Susanoo!
This sight left everyone momentarily stunned.
"What? Can his clones use this technique too?"
"He must be bluffing!"
"Use Earth Release to stop these giants!"
However, the attacks that shattered the earth from those clones shattered their hopes.
Whether turning to flee or attempting to defend with ninjutsu, none could withstand a single slash from those Susanoo giants!
It wasn't over yet. Madara's real body and his Susanoo simultaneously formed hand seals. In the next moment, three massive meteorites pierced through the clouds, descending in a "pin" formation.
Though these young chunin had long heard of Madara Uchiha's powers, no amount of hearsay could compare to witnessing it in person!
The terrifying sight of the sky collapsing unleashed a pressure no giant could match!
"Cursed, our strength isn't even in the same dimension as his!"
"If his soul state is this powerful, what kind of monster was Leader-sama fighting against back then?"
Hearing their despairing cries, Madara's lips twitched slightly. "Fools, the one who truly faced that monster was me!"
Although Hashirama was powerful, Madara hadn't found him insurmountable. But that man—was so strong even he couldn't comprehend his full power!
Who knows how he had managed to survive back then?
Hearing Madara's "resentment," many people hesitated for a moment.
Seiki hadn't shown his strength in five years. He appeared before them once more as a gentle and amiable figure, making them almost forget—under Madara's brutal onslaught—that someone even more terrifying than Madara existed!
Then, they were utterly crushed by the vengeful Madara's onslaught!
From start to finish, barely more than ten seconds had passed. Madara's real body hadn't even moved from his original spot, only casually forming a few hand seals to push everyone into a desperate situation!
For the Five Kage watching from the audience stands, this outcome wasn't unexpected at all.
If Madara Uchiha could be defeated by these youngsters, he wouldn't have become the nightmare of an entire era!
Their earlier guesses had only concerned how long these kids might last, never imagining they could achieve any significant results.
"Truly merciless!" the Raikage exclaimed. "Was it Leader-sama (our leader) who chose Madara Uchiha for the second round?"
Mei Terumi's expression was filled with concern. "Even if we five stepped in, the outcome wouldn't change much. Is it too soon to have them face such a formidable enemy?"
"Mizukage, you're too soft on these kids!" Raikage snapped.
"Oonoki shook his head discontentedly, 'Look, it's only been a few years since the war ended, yet the internal atmosphere of the Alliance has become so restless and undisciplined—no one even shows reverence for a formidable enemy like Madara Uchiha!'"
Rasa nodded, "The Leader must be letting this restless environment settle to teach them a lesson—making them realize the kind of enemies our predecessors once fought!"
Minato smiled slightly, "There's also the matter of screening participants. If someone shows fear even in a battle against an enemy that won't die, then we should probably keep an eye on them!"
Within the Dream World, after the relentless bombardment of Susanoo and meteorites, most of the examinees had been eliminated.
It was only at this moment that they truly realized the importance of unity and cooperation.
A crisp, melodious female voice echoed in everyone's minds, "This is Ino Yamanaka from Konoha. I am communicating with you via the [Tōshin no Jutsu]. To defeat... to break through his defense, we must work together!"
The remaining individuals weren't surprised and quickly adapted to the situation.
"How do we team up?"
"Surviving and dodging these attacks is hard enough—how the hell are we supposed to counterattack?"
Everyone began discussing noisily, making it impossible to extract useful information.
Ino immediately activated the group silence feature, "Time's running out. Stop talking. Don't discuss—once I lift the restriction, immediately state your roles so we can create opportunities for our main attacker!"
The remaining candidates were all brilliant minds. Once they calmed down, they quickly reached a consensus.
Then, those who had been frantically fleeing all at once charged toward Madara Uchiha at the central area.
They had thought it through. With their current strength, taking out those twenty-five Giant clones was nearly impossible. Even if they succeeded, Madara could just create another dozen clones in an instant.
So, while a portion remained behind to restrain and block the clones, the rest took a desperate gamble and charged directly at Madara.
This awareness and determination even surprised Madara slightly.
"So, that guy Seiki Shimaseki truly raised quite a few interesting brats. However, I won't hold back at all!"
With a resolve to take the enemy down with them, the control group launched their first moves.
[Earth Release: Bottomless Swamp!]
[Earth Release: Mountain Soil Technique!]
[Ninjutsu: Mind Body Disturbance Technique!]
[Ninjutsu: Shadow Bind Technique!]
[Desert Coffin Imperial Funeral!]
A flurry of restraining and controlling techniques were unleashed onto Madara. For a moment, even the Giant samurai transformed from Susanoo was sealed!
"It's working..."
However, their joy was fleeting.
[Shinra Tensei!]
The sand, earth, and rocks binding the Giant were repelled and scattered!
Their efforts weren't completely in vain. Taking advantage of the moment Madara was restrained, the attack team had already completed their jutsu.
[Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!]
[Earth Release: Stone Punch!]
[Water Release: …]
However, Madara used his Rinnegan's ability to absorb chakra, neutralizing most of the attacks, "Useless! Useless! Useless!"
At that moment, Deidara's voice rang out from behind Madara, "How about trying this technique, then!"
Initially, Madara hadn't taken it seriously, but upon sensing the terrifying density of chakra, his expression finally changed.
"Feel the ultimate art, now!" Deidara shouted fervently.
The process was smooth and seamless, without the slightest hesitation.
Through countless simulations in the Dream World, he had died so many times that it became second nature!
A terrifying pillar of light instantly engulfed Madara and the rest. Blinding white light filled the entire space. The area violently shook, as if it were about to collapse!
Even the spectators watching from the real world could feel the shockwave of this moment.
"Wow, how incredible! That guy's [Self-Destruction] is actually this strong!"
"Is he dead? Even Madara Uchiha should have lost, right?"
As the dust settled under everyone's expectant gazes, the damaged half of Susanoo's energy body was revealed.
Seeing this, the crowd in the plaza gasped in astonishment.
"Wasn't even that attack strong enough?"
"So in the end, did Deidara's [Self-Destruction] only take down his teammates?"
The scene shook everyone to their core. They couldn't help but wonder—if Madara Uchiha in his soul state was already this powerful, how strong must the one who defeated him truly be?
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